Kate's on a Boat!

Brett was able to take the Monday after Mother's Day off work, so we took the opportunity to visit his mom and brother in El Dorado Hills that weekend. Kate's uncle Kayle took us out on the lake for the first time this season. The highlight of the trip (for me) was that it was Kate's first time "swimming" in the lake. She was a little unsure about it at first (I think she thought she was going to just sink) but after she discovered that the life vest kept her afloat she loved it and kept saying "more! more!" She was not happy when we made her get out.

Kate also loved watching her dad, uncle, and cousin Mary wakeboard and wake surf. She especially liked pointing out when they would fall down.

Mary surfing

Kate and Grandma

First time in the lake!

Splashing

Brett and Kate have this habit of having too much fun together...

Driving the boat with Kayle

Oh, and for the record, I was pretty bummed I couldn't wakeboard. But hey, growing a person is more important.

San Jose Rose Garden

We recently took a family outing one afternoon to the San Jose Rose Garden. It was our attempt to explore some of the local culture and attractions. It was fun and beautiful.

 

One of the problems I am having as Kate gets older is that it is harder and harder to get good pictures of her. I probably have a million pictures of her when she is baby just looking at me and smiling. That doesn't really happen anymore! I partially blame this on the fact that I need a better camera (to be able to take pictures of her as she moves that aren't complete blurs). But the pictures I do capture, like this one of her and Brett climbing the hill together, warm my heart just as much as her big smile. 

Kate's Big News

Shortly after we moved into our new home in San Jose we found out some big news - Kate is going to be a big sister! I am so excited. Kate adores babies and points them out wherever we go. I anticipate that she will also be very helpful because she loves helping me with things around the house. Here are some pictures we took of Kate that we used when we announced the news to family and friends:

 

Kate's little brother or sister is due to arrive December 4th!

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.