3 Months Old!!!

The past month has been a busy one! Matt and I celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary and Katie had a month full of firsts! She got her first helmet, her 1st visit with many Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and friends, her first Halloween, and her first trip to Maymont Park.

Monday I go back to work and this weekend has been a bit emotional for me. I'm going to miss my little girl so much! But - I know that Grandma, Grandpa, Popa, and Abu will take great care of our Katie Bug. Below are a few pictures marking some of the milestones of the last month....and some of the new toys/games Katie is enjoying these days.

This first set of pictures show some of Katie's family and friend who have visited over the past month. First is Katie with her Cousin Brooke.

The picture below is of Katie and her friend Libbie. Can you believe these two were born on the same day?!?
Below is Katie and her friend Danny (who is about 3 months older than her). During their play date Katie took over Danny's play gym, Danny tried to eat the foot of her sleeper...and at the end of the day they called it even. :-)

Happy Halloween - NOT!!! Katie wasn't very cooperative in letting us get a good picture of her in her Halloween costume. She appears to be saying...."Please stop taking my picture and get me out of this outfit!!!"

Me, Matt, and Katie on our 5-year Anniversary.

Me, Matt, and Katie at Maymont Park. You may notice I'm "wearing" Katie in the Moby. Thanks so much Uncle Joe, Aunt Tara, and Cousin Brooke....Katie spends a couple hours each day in the Moby! :-)

Love the pic below....Katie and Daddy during bathtime! Bathtime is - BY FAR - one of Katie's favorite times of every day. She's never cried in the bath...and we hope she continues to enjoy this nightly ritual.

Within the last week we started letting Katie spend some time each day in her Bumbo Chair. She is still a bit wobbly, but she's getting used to it. Its a whole new way for Katie to view the world! :-)

Another new development is that Katie is now "playing" with her toys. She can bat at her animals and try to grip and hold them. Her hands hit what they are aiming for about 50% of the time.....we are still working on the whole hand-eye coordination thing! :-)

Our Pumpkin Picks A Pumpkin

Last week in preparation for Halloween, Katie and I took a trip to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Katherine and Cousin Claire. The weather was closer to summer than fall, but we all enjoyed ourselves. By enjoyed ourselves I mean Katie was indifferent, Claire had a blast, and Katherine and I spent more time trying to position a 2 year-old and an infant for pictures than we did actually picking out the pumpkins! :-) Below are a few pictures from our adventure.

Here's Katie in the car seat just before we left the house. This little grin says - I think we are getting ready to do something fun. Am I right mommy??

We found a goard shaped like a Boppy Pillow and used it to prop Katie up for this one. I have to say Thank You to Katherine because this Halloween outfit is a hand-me-down from Claire. We even went back to Rob and Kat's house and looked at pictures of little Claire in the outfit from 2 years ago! :-)

About the picture below, Katie says thank goodness mommy got her hair cut and her roots done 2 days after this picture was taken...she looks kind of rough....maybe I should let her sleep a little more at night. Mommy agrees!!!Aunt Kat, Cousin Claire, and my little chunk Katie!

Helmet Head

As part of Katie's post-op care she will be wearing a helmet for the next 9 to 10 months. A little over a week ago, Katie got her first helmet. The first few days were tough, but she is finally adjusting.

The helmet makes Katie's chubby cheeks look even chubbier because they are smushed together. We titled this picture Lips and Cheeks! :-)

Katie likes to stare, coo, and smile at the animals in her bouncer. In fact, that's the only way that her mommy and daddy get ANYTHING done around the house when she's awake! :-)

The two pictures below were taken during Katie's helmet free time. She is allowed 1 hour each day helmet free. One picture is from tummy time....one is in her bedtime outfit and hat.

2 Months!!!

Katie is officially 2 months old! Our little girl has grown so much in just 2 short months. She's smiling and cooing and changing daily. Below are a few recent pictures of her to keep you all updated.

Katie's Surgery

One week ago today Katie had surgery on the metopic suture of her skull (in english - the bone in her forehead). The day started for us at 3 AM when she had her last feeding before surgery. We arrived at Chippenham Hospital around 5:30 AM and she was taken into surgery around 7:45. Turning her over to the nurses was - BY FAR - the hardest thing Matt and I have ever had to do. In Matt's words...she's been through more medical issues in 7 weeks that we have in 30 years. I'm happy to report that she's doing great! The pictures below are some before and after photos.

Below is Katie the day before surgery.......a happy baby with NO idea what was about to happen to her. I felt guilty all day Monday. I knew surgery was the best/only option for her condition....but, I did not want to put her through the pain and trauma.

Katie sleeping in her carseat on the way to the hospital.

A picture with Daddy the morning after her surgery.

In her carseat on the way home from the hospital. A picture of her incision...about 25 total stiches.

Her swollen face....Poor thing!!! It took almost 2 days before Katie would smile at us again. But, by Thursday morning she was finally getting back to her old self. Popa came over and helped out that day.....and Katie greeted him with a big, gummy, toothless smile!Over the weekend, Aunt Annie came for a visit and to help out post surgery. This is a picture of Annie and Katie getting to know one another. :-) Annie kept Katie while I got some extra sleep in the mornings. She also did our laundry and grocery shopping. Thanks so much for coming Annie!!! In addition to Aunt Annie, we owe a special Thank You to several family and friends for making this past week as easy as it possibly could have been. First - Thank you to Aunt Sally who arrived at the hospital at 7AM on Tuesday to spend the day with Matt and I...supporting us and keeping us distracted while Katie was in surgery. Second - to our parents for all their help and support this week. Third - Aunt Katherine for helping Saturday and organizing meals for us & Uncle Rob for running an errand at the hospital for us. Finally - all of our friends who have provided meals, prayers, support, and love. Thank you to everyone!!!

Here is a picture of our little girl one week after surgery. She's looking much better....and doing great post-op!

Katie's Halloween Costume - Please vote!!!

Halloween is only a month away. So, this week I took Katie out in search of her first Halloween costume. We found two possible options and would like to have your help in making our final decision. There are pictures below of Katie in each costume and a poll on the right. Thanks in advance for voting!!!


Now - if you look at the expression on Katie's face you may notice she is a bit biased about which costume she likes most. Please don't let that effect your vote!!! :-)

Katie Update - 1 month and 1 week

Our little girl who came home at only 5 1/2 lbs. is now about 8 1/2 lbs. I took the picture below this morning before we left for church. I was super excited because its the first outfit that wasn't either a Premie or Newborn size. Notice she's getting a little chub on her...also she's a little ticked that I woke her from her nap to take this picture!
This week Matt setup the playmat that Aunt Sallie gave Katie. She was a little overwhelmed initially by the 12 dangling items and 20 different bright colors. But one feature she did enjoy was the mirror. Notice in the picture below that she's checking herself out! Thanks so much Sally!!!

Katie is still a bit of a bobble-head, but she finally started holding her head up this week. See below.

This is a cute one of her smiling at her UVA bear mobile in her crib. Grandma Brammer - thank you for my cute yellow outfit. The flowers almost match the crib sheets.

Katie and I do morning walks together. Over the past week or so it has been much cooler so I've started bundling her up in her VT/UVA blanket in the stroller. This is a before walk and after walk set of photos. She almost always goes to sleep about 10-15 minutes into our walk. Check out that double chin!! :-)

These last few pictures are just for fun. My favorite is the one where she's sticking out her tounge! :-)