finally...

Well, after not posting much the past month or so, here are a few recent pictures of the little one.

In a cute outfit, sticking out her tongue! At Aunt Judy's house, petting her little baby goat. While we were in Maryland, Kathryn got really into animals, because my grandma has a dog (a sweet Boxer). So Kathryn of course loved the goat, too, who is only 3 weeks old. In the picture are Grandma, Ali (holding Kathryn), and Willow (holding the goat).
While trying to find picture albums, my Grandma came across this little stuffed tiger that my Pop-pop had put away to give to Kathryn. It was very special for her to have something from him, and she loved it immediately. She fell asleep with it one afternoon, and when I went to check on her, I just had to snap this picture. She put it right on top of her to go to sleep. How cute! :)
Finally, this is Kathryn's second cousin Joey. Since Joey is deaf, he is very concerned that Kathryn learn sign language. He gave me a very helpful note on how to get to a good American Sign Language website. It's called ASL Pro. Thanks, Joey!

Checking in...

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. What was supposed to be the return to "normalcy" in our house (whatever that may be) this month has instead continued to be another month of craziness. The beginning of this month began with a staff retreat with Acts 2, after being in Bridgewater taking care of Nick and Ali the previous two weeks. Then we were home for two weeks, before heading up to Baltimore. Kathryn and I spent the week up in Baltimore because my grandfather, "Pop-pop", passed away, after suffering from a stroke back in June, and many ups and downs. Although it was a sad time, we were able to spend lots of time with my extended family, which was nice. I had so much help and love from the family for Kathryn, and was able to pitch in a little and help out while I was there also. But now we are back and are ready to begin fall and determine what our lives will look like now with Johnny teaching, me working part-time, and all that comes along with that. I hope to load some newer pictures and post them soon. I did want to highlight a blog entry I just read that I found quite poignant, real, and funny. As a new mom going through much of what Elisa talks about, I had to laugh (and amazingly didn't cry, yet) at her honesty and portrayal of what it's like. If you click on this link it will take you to the blog.

8 months old!!

For the past 2 months on Kathryn's "month" birthdays, we have been traveling on the road. So, I haven't been able to post her picture or any new stats. So I figured I'd post a few of our more recent pictures of her, as well as catch you up on some of her goings-on. Although she still can't crawl yet, she's getting closer and closer by the day. We're just waiting for that little light to go off in her head, and for her to actually move her arms and legs in sync. I'm both excited and apprehensive about the crawling stage. She's now eating a variety of foods, and just recently started on Cheerios. She loves being able to feed herself, and also enjoys scattering them all over her high chair tray (as well as everywhere else!). She likes to pull up to her knees or standing on people, but hasn't tried it out on furniture yet. She waves bye-bye, but only when she feels like it (and sometimes at random times throughout the day, just to practice!). She is getting very lovey to others, and is great at hugging and kissing on the cheek (see the second picture of her kissing her bff Noa). I of course very much enjoy the sweet cuddles she now gives. She knows when she's getting her picture taken by the orange "red-eye" light that comes on right before the picture is snapped. Whenever she sees that light come on, she'll cheese for the camera, as in the last picture. She's also starting to show a heart of compassion toward others. Last week we were on a staff retreat for Acts 2, and there was a little 11 week old baby there as well. He and Kathryn were on the floor, and when he started crying, Kathryn picked up her paci and tried to give it to him.

Here's a picture of a new face that she's been doing. It's kind of a fake smile, the best I can describe it. She went for about a week where she sported the new look pretty much constantly. It's now less common, but she still will do it occasionally.

rain

Just wanted to let everyone know that it's raining here in Roanoke. This is blog-worthy because I am just not sure the last time it has even rained here. Our grass is brown and crunchy...it's like we have straw or mulch or something like that for a yard instead of grass. I hope it doesn't affect the leaf colors this fall. Yay for rain, finally!

WahooWa

This past Saturday was UVA's first home game of the season. So, of course, we loaded everyone up and headed over to Charlottesville for the day. Although it was quite hot outside, it was a fun time. The 'Hoos played well, Kathryn did a super job being out all day, even napping on a picnic table outside the stadium area (see the third and fourth pictures), and we had a great tailgate afterwards. Enjoy the pictures.

mom...and loving it!

I've been meaning to write this post for some time, now. A few weeks after Kathryn was born, I was invited to join a mom's Bible study through a friend. I began attending once she was about 2 months old. In this study, we read the book mom...and loving it! I highly recommend this book for all mothers. It was relevant even with a 2 month old, and the parts that didn't apply yet will in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. It was great studying it with a group of other ladies committed to raising their children in godly homes. If you do read this book, let me know what you think of it!

First day of school!

Today was Nick's first day of kindergarten and Ali's first day of middle school. Here is a picture journey of the morning!

Ali's new haircut

For mom, this is Ali's new haircut. She insisted mom would be fine with her cutting all her hair off, so hopefully you like it!

little Wahoo and Crooked Paci

Last Sunday, on our way home from Va Beach, we just happened to pass through Charlottesville on "Meet the Team" day. So, we of course stopped to say hi to our favorite Wahoo Jon Copper. And we couldn't leave without getting a picture of Kathryn at Scott Stadium for the first time. So, here is Kathryn with Jon and Johnny in the hall at Scott Stadium. The first home game is coming up, and she's getting so excited! I've been wanting to catch a picture of this for some time. Kathryn tends to put her paci in sideways all the time. I have therefore given her an "Indian" name of Crooked Paci. Her thoughts in this picture: "Just try to take it from me..."

a few more vacation pictures!

Here are a few more of our vacation pictures.


This was the day before we left for vacation, at the Deyerle Family Reunion that's held every 3 years in Roanoke (Johnny's family). The two dear ladies in this picture with Kathryn are Virginia (standing) and Sal (seated). Virginia was the oldest in attendance at the reunion. We sure do enjoy these ladies, fellow Wahoo's at heart, and look forward to enjoying another football season with them! This is Auntie J-rob with Kathryn at the Cheesecake Factory. She made a cool hat for Kathryn!
See, I told you I was actually there in Va Beach too! Our family at the "board"walk.
Kathryn lounging at the pool, working on her tan...

walking on water

So I know that the whole purpose of this blog is mostly to post pictures and updates of Kathryn, but I have read several blogs lately of people posting their thoughts, which is always very interesting, intriguing, and thought-provoking to me as well. So here are my ramblings for the day. Sorry for those of you looking for Kathryn pics...more will come soon!

It has simply just amazed me at how I can be so tossed about sometimes. Although I know that circumstances don't change God and who He is, they can so easily change my perception of Him. Oh for the faith to be steadfast in my faith. News such as sickness, hardships, friends with cancer, etc. can shake me so much, and I become like a ship tossed about on the waves. It is a constant struggle for me to keep my eyes on the Lord. I love the story of Peter walking on the waves, because it so honestly depicts us as God's children. Peter saw Christ walking on the water, and wanted to do it too. He was able to get out of the boat when called, and walked on the water himself! However, as soon as he looked at the wind and the waves, he began to sink. It's not that the wind and waves didn't exist before. They were there the whole time. He simply didn't see them before because he was looking at Jesus. He was focused on our Lord, and therefore didn't sink. But as soon as his eyes looked at his circumstances instead, he got scared and started to go down. I am so guilty of looking at the wind and waves in my life, and of sinking down as a result. Oh that I would just keep my eyes on Him and walk on the water...

As promised...

As promised, here are some more vacation pics. I have some more still, but they were taken vertically, and for some reason I can't seem to be able to get them to rotate and post upright on this computer. As a result, there are actually no pictures of me, but I promise I was there. I was behind the camera for most of these pictures! :) We had a great time, and are so thankful that we were able to get a vacation. We got to do so many fun things. We went swimming several times, went to the beach (I even got to spend a whole morning at the beach with Jeni...thanks!), went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory (a real treat!) and for seafood, visited the aquarium, went to Fort Story to see the Cape Henry lighthouses (and got to see dolphins jumping out of the water...so cool!), played lots of video games, especially Wii, watched tons of tv (since we don't have cable, it was quite a treat), got to see where Jenny and Jeni live and spend some good time with them, and much more. Thanks Chris, Jenny, Jeni, Mrs. Robertson, Chris's mom and her husband for such a great vacation!

Kathryn's first visit to the beach!
She wasn't a big fan of the ocean or sand. It was also nap time.
So, after rinsing off, she fell asleep.
We sang some Karaoke at Chris's apartment. Kathryn is a virtuoso already!
We got to hang out with some other friends, too. This is Jenny and her mom. They came with us to eat at the Cheesecake Factory!

Swimming with Jeni Newnam at her pool.
We visited the aquarium in Va Beach. It was under construction, so we weren't too impressed, but Kathryn enjoyed looking at all the big fish and turtles and other animals!
Chris, Johnny, and Kathryn on the boardwalk (which really is a concrete walk) after we went out for seafood at a local place.
One of our games of Settlers of Catan: Cities and Knights. I actually won a game, even though it was only my second time playing (the cities and knights version, that is!). Just call me "lord-ess of Catan!"
On our last day we went to Chris's mom's house for lunch and a swim.
This is Kathryn with Chris's mom, who just adored having a baby around for the day. She was her "Grandma for the day". Kathryn enjoyed all the attention!

Vacation

Check out Chris France's blog for some pictures of Kathryn on vacation. We have been staying with him in Va Beach this past week. We will post some pictures of our own once we get the chance!

Sorry mom...

I need to apologize for not updating recently. The internet at our house is pretty inconsistent, although we can't complain since it's not ours. Maybe one day we'll get the internet for ourselves! :) Anyway, here are a few pictures of Kathryn from the past couple of weeks. I should be able to update a little more this week since we're in Va Beach on vacation, and have our faster computer here and high speed internet at Dr. Uncle Francey Poo's house.

Homemade

This is a before and after picture of Kathryn's sweet potatoes. I'm trying my hand at making some of her baby food. Sweet potatoes are all I've tried so far. Once you cook and puree them, you freeze them in ice cube trays, and then you have individual servings that you just thaw and feed them. It's really quite neat, much cheaper than Gerber (but Gerber is still great, too!) , and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Other helpful time-savers:
-Buy chicken when it's on sale; then you can cook it and cut it up, then freeze it in freezer baggies. Label the bag, then when you want to make a casserole that calls for cubed, cooked chicken, you have it already made and ready. Just thaw in hot water, cut the tip off the edge to drain the water out, and it's ready to add to the casserole!
-Making your own baby wipes is also easy and cheap. Cut a paper towel roll in half, add 2 cups boiling water, and 1 tablespoon each of baby wash and baby oil. (Thanks Sara-Beth!)

Swimming

We took Kathryn to the pool the other week for the first time with some of the kids from Acts 2. I wasn't sure how she'd like it, since the water was pretty cold. But she absolutely loved it. She kicked her little legs around, and let us pull her through the water by just her hands. She put her face in several times, and loved when we'd throw her up in the air and splash her down. Looks like we've got a waterbaby on our hands!