Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve with my side of the family and Christmas Day with Justin's. It was Katelyn's first Christmas and of course she was showered with lots of gifts. I think she got a little overwhelmed with all the festivities Christmas Eve because around 7 p.m. she had quite the meltdown. We had a hard time getting her settled down, but luckily managed to get lots of cute pictures beforehand. 

Here she is in her pretty Christmas dress and black patent leather shoes. 
Here is our little family. 

Aimee , Aidan, Katelyn and Logan

My Baby Katelyn...4 1/2 months

Katelyn is now almost 4 1/2 months old.  At her 4 month doctor's appointment she weighed 13 lbs. 5 oz. which put her in the 50th percentile.  She had grown 2 inches since her 2 month visit and is now 25 1/2 inches which puts her in the 90th percentile. Maybe she'll be tall like her daddy. She is such a great baby with a big personality. Here are some of the things she does...

1. She's rolled over several times, but can't quite figure out what to do from there. She will usually scream until you turn her back over. She isn't much for tummy time, but will lift her head pretty high a couple of times, then give up and suck her thumb with her face buried in the blanket..pretty cute.

2. She smiles and giggles at anyone who is willing to make silly noises and faces at her. She is a bit ticklish on her sides and back.

3. She is sleeping through the night!! Hallelujah, praise God! We put her to bed around 7 p.m. and she is out until around 6:30 or 7 the next morning. She started that a couple of days before she turned 4 months old.

4. She loves to be held sitting up so she can see what's going on. She likes her Bumbo seat for only a few minutes because I think it makes her feel too confined. She is definitely a wiggle worm.

5. Her Pawpaw says she likes to watch cartoons and her favorite is Handy Manny :). (Hey, he keeps her for me while I work, so if he lets her watch TV, oh well, I'm just grateful he is willing to keep her)

6. She grasps toys and can shake them around for a few seconds. She usually ends up beating herself in the face with them.

7. She can put her big toe in her mouth. It's cute to watch her play with her feet.

I actually hear her waking up now....6:30 on the dot.

What a difference a year makes...

Last Christmas Justin and I had just recently found out we were pregnant. In fact, we found out December 3rd last year. We could only imagine what our next Christmas would be like and now here we are a year later and we have our beautiful little girl. This Christmas will be so much fun.

Here is a picture from December 4th this year. It snowed and we took Katelyn out for just a second to snap a couple photos.

Pictures by the tree.

Katelyn Meets Chloe

This weekend we got to get together with some of Justin's family. His cousin Mary Beth has a daughter who is just 3 weeks older than Katelyn. Her name is Chloe. They were both so much fun.

Happy Turkey Day!

The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch

Firsts

Katelyn had some "firsts" today. This morning she rolled over! I didn't think she would really do it, but I had her laying on her back playing like she does every morning. All of a sudden she rolled over on her side and struggled a minute, then flipped over to her tummy. Of course I didn't have the camera ready and later when I tried to get her to do it again, she only made it to her side. 

Also, she sat in her Bumbo seat for the first time today. I only let her sit for a minute because she really isn't ready to hold her head up for a long time. But she looked oh so cute and really loved it!

Katelyn Talking and Smiling

Here is some video of Katelyn at 10 weeks old. I had to take it from the side, because if she caught a glimpse of the camera, she would just stare at it and stop making sounds. You'll see that at the end she sees it.

A New Discovery

Katelyn has discovered the joys of thumb sucking. Sometimes she gets really mad when she can't quite get it in her mouth, but she's been getting the hang of it. I don't really think I should encourage this habit, but for now I just think it's cute, so of course, I take pictures.

Bye Stang Goodbye!

We sold the mustang this weekend. Justin has had this car since he was 16 and has never had anything different...until now. We finally decided to get him a more practical vehicle since we now have the baby to carry around. 

My 2 Month Old

Katelyn is 2 months old now and really starting to develop a personality. She loves to coo and can get quite loud with it. I love it. She also will smile at you if you get real close and talk to her.  It's so fun to try and catch a photo of her in the act of "talking"...

We went for her 2 month check-up and found out that she weighs 10 lbs. 5 oz. now and is 23 inches long, which is average weight and above average height for her age. 

All I Want for Christmas....

Personalized Pacifiers™ The Solid White Gold Diamond Pacifier

$17,000.00

Notice the price on this pacifier. Wow! I think Katelyn deserves it...don't you?

I Love My Daddy

I love my Daddy...

Because he loves me...

Murphy Family Visit

Katelyn got to meet some of her extended family this past weekend. Here she is with her cousin Bryan, who never wanted to put her down. He was so good with her, she even fell asleep in his arms. 

Katelyn and Aunt Glenda.
Aunt Connie rocking Katelyn.

Sheila loves Katelyn.

Katelyn at 6 weeks

Katelyn is just a little over six weeks old. She has started to smile and coo and I even heard her laugh a little in her sleep the other night...so cute. Everyone says she looks like her daddy, and I couldn't be more proud of her.  Here are just a couple of my favorite pictures that we took this week.

What's Goin' On

So I have neglected the blog, but for good reason. Having a newborn requires sooo much of my energy that I barely have energy left for anything else. We are working out some feeding issues with Katelyn. She is having problems with acid reflux that we are trying to resolve. It's emotionally draining when your baby has trouble eating. Hopefully, the formula combined with her medicine will help. Keep us in your prayers as we work on our issues. I'll leave you with a couple pictures of my beautiful baby.

 

Here's the Story

So I said I would post more on the birth of Katelyn, so here goes. 

We went in to be induced at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 11. Not 15 minutes after we got there I was in a hospital gown and in the bed. Yikes. I don't know what I expected, but they don't play around. After answering a few questions and signing all kinds of papers, the nurse hooked my IV up to the Pitocin to start my contractions. They started out mild and gradually increased in intensity. I labored until I finally dilated to about a 3 or 4 (can't remember exactly) and then it was time for the epidural. I think I got it around 1:30. I was excited for the epidural because I had been told how wonderful they are at relieving the pain. Well, it did relieve the pain....on the left side of my body!!! I was still feeling the contractions on my right side and continued to feel them for quite a while...at least another hour and a half I think. The anesthesiologist tried giving me more medicine which still didn't work for my right side, and after a while gave me some other medicine that finally numbed me completely...ahhh relief! I then laid back and actually felt awesome...even fell asleep for a few minutes only to find out about an hour later that it was time to start pushing. So at 6:00 p.m. I started pushing and did so until 8:00. I made a lot of progress, but the baby was just not having it. We then made the decision that a c-section was necessary and so I was wheeled to the operating room. I was feeling exhausted, a little delirious and a bit of relief that this was finally going to be over soon. They prepped me and made sure I was still numb and at 8:29, Katelyn was born. I felt a lot of emotions that day and am glad that I can say it is in the past. However, I do feel like God gives you the strength to get through things that you otherwise would think you could not handle. I am surprised at how well I handled everything, however I couldn't have done it without the support of all my family and friends, especially Justin and my mom. So that's the story in a nutshell. Here are a few more pictures.

I did not fall off the face of the Earth...

I had a baby! Our daughter was born August 11, weighing 6lbs. 9oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful and healthy and we could not be more proud of her. I plan on posting more about the day of her birth soon, but right now all my spare time goes to caring for her and rest for me (I'm still recovering from the c-section.) Here are just a couple of pictures...enjoy :).

Pregnancy Stats

We had our weekly doctor visit today to find out...

Katelyn is not too big like we previously thought. She is actually weighing right on track at 6 lbs. 12 oz...according to the ultrasound we had today. I'm feeling very happy and so excited about what the days and weeks to come will bring.

I am 1 cm dilated and 90% effaced.

2 weeks till my due date!

Stolen Picture

I stole this picture from Julia's blog because I really liked it. This is of my mom, me and my baby. I am 37 weeks pregnant here and really excited that it's almost time for us to meet Katelyn.

Is this TMI?

We went to the doctor today and found out I am 1 cm dilated... probably too much information for the blog, but I don't care. I'm excited! And I wanted to say thanks to you girls who gave me encouragement a couple of posts ago when I was freaking out about the baby's size. You all made me feel a lot better. Today the doctor said that the baby isn't quite as big as she had previously said. So, I think I may have been worrying too much about nothing. 

18 days till D-day!

22 days!!!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I'm going to be a mom in 22 days... give or take. How do you really prepare for that? I mean, we have all the necessary equipment... the carseat (which needs to be put in the car), 

the crib, 

rocker, 

blankets, 

clothing, 

and diapers. 

Our house is stuffed corner to corner with baby stuff... mostly pink baby stuff. But even with all that stuff, I feel so unprepared for this new adventure of taking care of a new life. I've read the books, talked to friends and family, and studied the internet, but until that baby is here, I don't see how I can really understand the weight of it all. I'm excited beyond belief, but the emotion that is ranking just a little higher than excitement is fear!! 

What if I can't handle the crying? 

What if I can't figure out the whole breast feeding thing? (no picture available)

What if she gets sick? 

What if I never shower again :) ?? 

Well, I have 22 days. Ready or not, here she comes. (And I can hardly wait!!!!! :) )