Kate - 12 months

1 year! We made it! I've had fun looking back at pictures and reading old blog posts this week. The other day I happened to find a bag of Kate's preemie clothes. I held up a onesie that was a little big on her when she was born, and it looked like doll clothes. It's so hard to believe that my crazy, fun, chunky monkey was ever so little.

Length: 28 inches

Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz - I really thought she'd make it to 20! :(  

Clothes: 12 months

Sleep: Not much change here. She sleeps great at night, but naps are a struggle almost every day.  

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: I've switched Kate to whole milk, and she loves it. The transition was pretty easy once we found the right sippy cup (Thanks Maggie!). Kate loves to eat...most of the time. She eats pretty much all table foods. She's not a fan of most vegetables unless I hide them in rice or soup. I guess I have a typical toddler on my hands. She LOVES Cheerios! She'd probably eat a whole box in one day if I let her.

• Toys/Games: Kate got a sandbox for her birthday, and I think that's her favorite right now. She loves being outside, so it's perfect. She also got a little pool, so I'm excited to get that out and let her splash. Kate is still so amused by her daddy. Her favorite game right now is for Brian to hide behind the corner and then jump out. She knows what's coming, but she squeals and jumps into my lap every time!

• Other: We went down to Valdosta to meet Kate's new cousin last month. She was a little curious about baby Bo, but she was so entertained by her older cousin, Jack. She climbed on him and kept her eyes on him anytime he was in the room. We also went to their neighborhood pool. They have a little kiddie water park, and Kate loved it! I'm excited to take her to the beach this summer. 
  
  

Developmental Milestones: Kate has 6 teeth (2 bottom, 4 top). She knows how to use them! I've been bitten a few times, and it hurts! Kate is crawling and walking now. She didn't start crawling until after she walked. Now that she's figured out how to crawl I think her walking has regressed. I guess it's easier to crawl. No more sitting her on the living room floor with toys while I fix dinner. She's right behind me as soon as I start walking.
 

Kate - 9 Months

Kate had her 9 month appointment today, and I've just been so excited to share her growth! I know it's not a huge deal to many people, but we've had some serious growth! When Kate was born she was under the 2nd percentile for both length and weight. Well, as of today she's at 10th for length and 45th for weight! Yay!

Length: 26.5 inches

Weight: around 17 lbs 10 oz  

Clothes: 9 months-Pants are a little long, but overall she's fitting pretty well into 9 month clothes.

Sleep: Naps are still hit or miss. Nighttime sleep is usually pretty good, but I think she's getting to the stage where she realizes she's alone at night. Occasionally she rolls over to her tummy and won't roll herself back over. She'll just lay there and scream until we go roll her back over. It's pretty awful, but I know it'll get better! :(

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: We're down to 3 meals (bottle & solids) a day, with an occasional bedtime snack if she does poorly with one meal. There's not much Kate doesn't like when it comes to food. She loves her fruit though! She also really likes chicken mixed with spinach. I make pretty much all of her food, so I've been able to play with different combinations. We're working on finger foods, but Kate doesn't have the pincer grasp yet.

• Toys/Games: Daddy is Kate's favorite toy/game! He can make her laugh all day long. She might be fussy and whining with me, but when he walks in the room she brightens up. She also loves stacking toys. That is, she loves to unstack/knock them over. She has a snail that has nested pieces on top. We can't get all the pieces stacked before she knocks them over. We finally has some nice weather this weekend. Kate got a car from her Aunt Maggie and Uncle Maggie, and we pulled it out and let her ride in it for the first time. She absolutely loved it! I can't wait to have more warm days.

• Other: Kate experienced her first snow day. I really didn't think she'd like it, because she does not like wind at all. We took her out though, and she actually liked it. She kept trying to get out of my arms and get down in the snow. Whether it's snowing or warm, Kate loves being outside. Music is another thing Kate really enjoys. She loves to "dance" to any music she hears.
   
  
  

Developmental Milestones: Kate has 2 teeth (both bottom), and today her doctor said her top 2 are moving down, so it won't be too much longer until we're cutting more teeth. We're still working on crawling. She's making very slow progress. I mentioned her growth earlier in my post; her head is 95th percentile, so it's hard work to keep that thing up and hold her body up too! Kate loves to talk/sing. She says "dada" all day long. Every now and then she'll throw in some different sounds. She talks and bounces pretty much all the time though. She's one busy little girl!

Kate - 8 Months

 A lot has happened since my last post two months ago. We visited the urologist-for the last time! He told us we don't ever have to go back unless something unforeseen comes up. That was great news because we have to go to Atlanta for that. We also had Kate's first Thanksgiving and Christmas. We decided to have Thanksgiving at our house for both the Frenches and the Fergusons-2 days in a row. Everything actually went very smoothly, and Kate slept through both meals. She was pretty good and played with everybody before we ate. It's not very common that Brian and I both get to sit down and enjoy a meal without rushing, so we almost didn't know what to do!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas was exciting. We went to see Santa, and Kate did great. On Christmas Kate had fun ripping all the paper, and she tried to put every new toy in her mouth as we opened them. She got some good stuff! Kate got to see her great grandfather (my grandfather) again for the first time since early August. Last time she was only 12 weeks old and not a very happy baby.

Checking out the goodies from Santa

  

Mmmm...new toys

I enjoyed my two weeks at home with Kate so much! I'm so thankful to have a job that allows these breaks throughout the year.

Length: Last time we checked she was still around 2-3%, so she's short! 

Weight: around 16.5 lbs

Clothes: Mostly 6 months. Some of her 6 month outfits are a little small, but 9 month clothes are huge on her.

Sleep: Kate is typically a pretty good night sleeper, but she got her first tooth right after Christmas, so we've had a few rough nights lately. We're finally getting into more of a schedule with naps. She's down to two naps a day, about an hour in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon (on a good day).

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: We've gone down to 4 bottles a day, which is good because Kate prefers solids over her bottle.We're starting to get into finger foods and make her baby food a little chunkier. She loves green beans and avocado! She hasn't rejected anything we've given her so far, so hopefully I've got a good eater on my hands. She also really likes Mum Mums. (I like them because she can feed herself.)

• Toys/Games: Kate got so many toys at Christmas that we haven't even introduced them all. She has a music table and loves it. She's gotten pretty good at standing on her own while holding onto the table. She likes pretty much any toy/book we give her. The first thing she does with any new toy is turn it over to look at the bottom. The next step is to taste everything! I guess she's just a curious little girl. :) Kate also likes to play peek-a-boo. She's learned how to cover/uncover her own face, so it's become much more fun.

• Other: We've transitioned to a bigger bathtub, and Kate really enjoys sitting on her own playing with her bath toys. It's so fun for me to watch her. She seems like such a big girl! Daddy is definitely Kate's favorite. Anything he does makes her laugh. She just lights up when he gets home everyday. Another thing Kate loves is mirrors. She could stare at herself all day. One of the flowers on her excersaucer has a mirror and she likes to bend it over and put her face right on it. It's so funny!

Developmental Milestones: We have a tooth! I didn't even realize it was coming, because Kate has been drooling and chewing like crazy for months now. In my last post I mentioned that I didn't think she would ever sit, because she preferred to stand. Well, about 2 weeks later she proved me wrong. Now she can sit all day long. She still can't get herself to sitting on her own, but I'm sure that's not too far off. Now we're working on crawling. Kate still hates tummy time, and I hate forcing it. Brian is better at getting her to try and move her arms and legs than I am, so I let him work on that every evening. :) Once Kate does crawl I don't think walking will be too far behind. She's gotten really good at standing while holding on, and is getting better at pulling herself up. One of these days I guess we need to start baby proofing.