Catching Up: 18 Months

I'm a little sad I missed doing an 18 month post for Kate. However, I did take lots of pictures on her 18 month "birthday". Here's a sample:

If you look closely at the pictures, you'll notice that Kate is sporting a bit of a goofy smile in the first and third pictures. This is because she learned how to smile on cue and "say cheese". Her "say cheese" smile is not quite as adorable as her natural smile, but it's still pretty stinkin' cute.

Catching Up: Hidden Acres Fun

So, I have been terrible at keeping up with Kate lately. In my defense, my life has been a bit hectic since...well, since before Christmas. But I am going to attempt to bring Kate's blog up to speed. We'll see how much I can accomplish during naptime today :)

Right after Christmas we moved to California so Brett could start work at Ernst and Young in San Jose. The problem: we had no housing in San Jose. And housing is hard to find when you have a Rottweiler. So we did the same thing we did last summer--Kate and I lived with Brett's mom and Brett lived with his aunt during the week and came home on the weekends. Brett also traveled a lot for work during this time. Long story short, it took us longer to find housing than we thought it would. While this was frustrating at times, that isn't really what this post is supposed to be about. While Kate lived at "Hidden Acres" (as we fondly refer to her Grandma's house) she also got to live with her aunt, uncle, and two cousins. She had tons of fun. We also had extended family visit while we were there - which meant even more cousin lovin'. Here are some pictures from Kate's adventures at Hidden Acres:

Gemma - January 2012

Kate - January 2012

Kate LOVED having 5 acres to run and play on

March 2012

Oobleck

Gemma that dinosaur

Babies in a basket

Also, it's probably worth noting for the sake of record keeping that during this time Kate got sick for the first time in her life. She came down with pneumonia and it was awful, but she responded to the antibiotics really well and was back to normal soon thereafter. It made me very grateful for the good health she has enjoyed for most of her short life.

Dear Kate: You are a Daughter of God

Dear Kate,

Today I was admiring this lovely picture that your aunt Kiasa recently took of you. I just love this picture, especially the way the wind is blowing your little curls. This picture captures you in all your perfection. And when I look at your gorgeous brown eyes glancing off into the distance there is only one thought that comes to me: that you are a Daughter of God.

I know that right now you know more of heaven than me. But you are going to get older. The veil of the Earth is going to encompass you and you are going to forget. Heaven will seem far away. That's when I need you to remember that you have a divine birthright. You are a spirit daughter of our Heavenly Father. He loves you. He cares for you. He watches over you. And He wants you to return to His kingdom and to claim that birthright.

Stay on the path. Look to the Savior. And don't let anything get in the way of your rights as an heir to the Kingdom of God.

Kate, you are special. And I don't say that because of all the amazing things I know you are going to accomplish. I say that because there is something divine in you. I say that because I can see the Light of Christ in your eyes.

You are so precious to me little girl. But I know that you are most precious to Him.

A Crazy Little Christmas

I feel bad that I haven't written anything since Thanksgiving. December was a bit of a crazy month. Brett graduated from BYU (yay Daddy!), I was working two jobs, we packed up the house and moved to California, and only a few days into January Brett started at his new job (another yay Daddy!). So our Christmas looked a bit...different. There was no tree. Almost no decorations (we did put up some lights in our window). And though there were few presents, there were still a whole lot of boxes and a really big mess. Here's what Kate's second Christmas looked like:

It was the first Christmas since Brett and I have been married that we got to spend it just with our little family, and I really enjoyed it. We slept in until 9am on Christmas morning. We opened stockings and ate pancakes. Then we went to church. After church Kate went down for a nap while Brett and I continued packing. By the time she woke up we were getting ready to head out the door to Christmas dinner (with Brett's aunt and uncle). Kate ended up opening only two of her presents on Christmas day. So we had second Christmas the next morning and she opened more presents. It was so relaxing and perfect.

Outside the church

Back at home in the warmth

Looking at the pictures from Christmas reminds me how Kate is really turning from a little baby into a little girl. It is a weird feeling- closing this chapter in our lives. There will always be a little fondness in my heart for Utah - for the house we took Kate home to, for the church Brett blessed her in, and for the kind friends and neighbors who helped welcome her into the world and supported us on this amazing journey through parenthood. Our little BYU baby is growing up. I am so excited for what this new year has in store for her.

Thanksgiving

Last Thursday was Kate's 2nd Thanksgiving, but the first one where she was able to eat the food! She wasn't very thrilled with anything but the jello. She wouldn't even touch the yams, which she normally loves. She left the turkey and mashed potatoes forsaken on her tray. But the red jello? She thought that was amazing.

Sadly, I did not get a single picture of her before dinner, when I got her all dolled up in her new dress her G.G. sent her. No, I waited until she pulled out her hair ties and put the jello in her hair before I started snapping pictures.

I took the opportunity while she was still strapped into the highchair to redo her hair in order to try and get some cute pictures. (Although the jello-in-hair pictures are adorable).

This next picture is my favorite from the whole day. When I first snapped it I thought, "Oh, I missed the shot". But then when I saw it on the camera I realized I had captured just the sweetest little face. There is something about the way she is looking at that basket of leaves that I just fell in love with.

I forgot to mention, we went to Brett's aunt and uncle's house for the feast. It was just them and some of the people from their church ward - mostly older women. So Kate was definitely the center of attention.

When we got home at 6:30pm, we were all exhausted. Kate had fallen asleep in the car (which she hasn't done in a long time). When I unbuckled her from her car seat and took her inside I expected her to wake up, but she just melted into my shoulder and went back to sleep. It had been so long since I had my baby sleep on my chest that the two of us just snuggled on the couch for a while. It was my favorite moment of the whole day.

 

Kate gives me so much to be grateful for every single day. I am grateful for her health, for her spunkiness, her silliness, her chubby arms and double chin, for her able mind, active body, and lively spirit. Seriously, this girl is even sweeter than all the pie I ate this year. There is only one thing I regret about this Thanksgiving. I forgot to get a picture of us as a family! I am still kicking myself about that. But other than that small blunder it was a great day.

Oh, and I forgot to mention one more thing. KATE CAN WALK. Yup, Kate took her first steps this past week! But this deserves its own post complete with pictures and video, so that's all I'm saying for now.

First Braids

I am mildly obsessed with Kate's hair. The other day I realized that it was long enough to braid. Yippee! It was so fun. But I have no idea how I got her to sit still for that long. So braids probably won't be happening again in the near future. Unless I invest in some sort of child hair-do restraint chair.

 

 

Kate: 14 Months

Loves to give kisses
Favorite words are "milk," "all done," and "more"
Newest word is "poopy"
Signs "please" and "butterfly"
Loves to make animal sounds - knows what the dog, cat, horse, and sheep say. Her favorite is the horse.
LOVES books - will anticipate what is coming next when you read her favorites.
Learning body parts - knows her tongue, belly button, hair, and toes.
Is silly 
Likes to be outside
Is weaned
Likes to climb the stairs
Will do "downward dog" yoga pose if you ask her (or even if you don't)
Dislikes diaper changes
Dislikes not getting her way
Has 7 teeth - 4 top and 3 bottom
Likes to help do the dishes and laundry (read: likes to throw dirty dishes and laundry on the floor)
Favorite foods are bananas, cheerios, and peanut butter toast 
Likes things that fly - butterflies, helicopters, and the falling leaves
Smiles all the time
Is the love of our life