Bad parenting, but finally some sleep

It is Winter here in Nebraska (we're expecting 2-6 inches of snow today according to the radio), and like every other Winter, this one comes with its fair share of cold/flu viruses. Cate has caught another upper respiratory infection, which means no sleeping. Since Sunday, every time she falls asleep, she coughs until she wakes up and then she cries. She had been sleeping in 20-30 min increments (including during the night - NO SLEEP for mom & dad either!)

So, finally last night on the suggestion of her daycare teacher, I hauled her swing up from the basement. Yes, the baby swing that she loved (was in CONSTANTLY) when she was an infant, but hadn't used since she was about 4.5 or 5 months old (when she got too active to sit still). I wrapped her up, turned on her humidifier, and let her sleep in the swing. Now, I know babies are supposed to sleep in beds. I've never let her sleep in the swing before. But, we were desperate to stop the junk from pooling in her lungs so she  could sleep. And, she SLEPT! She slept from 7:30pm to 7am, only waking three times (11pm, 2:30am, 6am). She only woke up at 6 because the batteries in the poor swing had died. Plus, when she woke, she was able to go back to sleep with only a little comforting (instead of being up for hours like the nights before). So, not a perfect night of sleep, but I actually feel like I got to shut my eyes last night.

So, to my aunts Mary Jo and Wendy, thank you for the swing -  not only did she love it as a baby, it is still a lifesaver. Let's hope she kicks this sickness soon.

MLK Jr. Day

We are so hopelessly overdue for an update that I'm not even going to try. Cate is 7.5 months old, and she LOVES to play. If it were up to her, we would spend the whole day sitting on the living room floor banging together toys. Here are a couple of big smiles on MLK Jr. Day.

*Thank you to the loving grandparents who bought some of these toys for Christmas!!*

The Last Specialist Visit (for now)

Today we went to see Cate's Orthopedic specialist for what we hope is the last time in a long time. She got a pelvic x-ray. That was NOT fun. Of course, you can't explain to a 6-month old that it won't hurt. All she knows is that she is scared and cold and being held down so she won't blur the images. But, after that traumatic moment, the rest of the visit was pretty great. Her Orthopedist confirmed that her hips are still developing normally, and that we don't have to go back for a visit until she is two years old.

On another happy note, my school ends for the semester today! So, I know Cate and I are looking forward to winter break! Chaz has three more working days after today, so I know he's counting down the days to Christmas too!

Christmas Parties

We've been to two Christmas parties at Chaz's work over the last week. Last weekend, we had the family Christmas party at the Lincoln Children's museum. Cate had a lot of fun dressing up as an elf (in the special tree hat her Aunt Deb sent her) and playing with all of the toys. Here is our baby elf sitting (by herself!) in the giant chair on the second floor.
Here is Cate playing in the toddler section. She was waving at herself in the mirror.

Here is Cate playing in the kids Vetrinary medicine area. She found a Wiener dog that looks just like hers at home.

Then, this past weekend Chaz & I had the adult Christmas party hosted by his work at the university's Alumni center. Here is a quick photo the babysitter snapped before we left.

We hope all is well for you all, and we can't wait to see many of you over holiday break.

6 month check-up

Cate had her 6 month check-up today. She is officially 15lbs 7 oz and 25" tall. She is still a bit smaller than average (20th-35th percentile), but as the doc points out, her mommy & daddy aren't too tall either. Otherwise, she is great - hitting all of her developmental milestones like a rockstar.

I had a bunch of cute pictures planned, but our camera's memory card died tonight. Booo. Good thing I had all but the most recent pictures backed up. I hope Cate buys me a new memory card for Christmas!

Cate has also continued her trek towards solid food. She is still eating cereal once a day, and tonight we added sweet potatos when she was done with her cereal. She LOVES sweet potatos. I'm afraid she'll never want cereal again now that she knows potatos are an option.

Oh, we have our first semi-annual parent-teacher conference at Cate's school on Dec 20th. I suspect this will start a long career of parent-teacher conferences.

I hope to have pictures to share soon.

Dah! An update!

Okay, so I've basically forgotton to update the blog in the last month! I'm sorry! We have had a crazy/busy/good/bad/stressful/joyful month.

Since my last update, Chaz, Cate & I took our first family trip on an airplane to California. I had conference for my work in San Francisco, and Chaz & Cate bummed along as tourists. Though I was quite busy, I enjoyed the presentations I gave and watched at my conference, and Chaz and Cate had a blast riding the street cars and touring all of the local parks, a few museums and other notable places in San Francisco. She was a doll on all of our flights. Minus a couple of min of fussing, she ate and slept better than I have the right to expect a 5 month old to do. Of course, we forgot our camera. We bought disposable cameras there, so as soon as we get those pictures developed, we will put them on the internet! Until then, here is an adorable set of pictures of her riding on daddy as we packed.

We returned from San Francisco on a Wednesday night at 11pm (we got home from the aiport at 12:30am) and Cate and I left for Michigan the next day (Thursday) at 8am! We met my mom (Cate's grandma) halfway (in Chicago) and went to Michigan to see our family and old friends. Cate got to meet her great-grandmother (grandma's mom) and her great grandfather (her grandpa's dad) for the first time. She also met a number of my aunts/uncles and cousins. I, of course, forgot my camera again! Jeez. I am not good at this parenting/pictures thing. We did have a chance to take a four-generations photo when I was in Michigan. Here is a Sears photo of great-grandma, grandma, mom and baby.

I got home on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. After working two days, Thanksgiving day arrived. We loaded up into the car and took off for Kansas. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Chaz's family, and Cate got to meet a number of his aunts/uncles/cousins for the first time.

When we got home Thanksgiving night, we decided to give Cate her first Thanksgiving meal (actually her first meal ever). She "ate" rice cereal. Actually, she didn't eat anything, as I think she spit it all back out onto her bib. But, in the 5 days since, I think she's actually started swallowing whole spoonfuls before spitting the rest out onto her bib.

After our crazy month, I suppose it is no surprise that Cate is a bit under the weather. Cate has been making these awful gasping noises and has had this very sad-sounding cough for a few days. This morning, she was having some trouble breathing, so we went to the doc. So, according to our doc, she has laryngitis. It is bad enough when I lose my voice, but she sounds so sad because when she tries to cry, only a squeak comes out, and when she tries to babble at me ("talk") she just makes this gasping sound. As a result, I stayed home with her today, and she wanted to cuddle all day. Here is a picture of her cuddling with her dad and the dog on the couch.

Cate is 6 months old tomorrow!!! I can't believe it. According to the doc today, she weighs 15 pounds exactly! She is growing so fast.

For my Sister

My sister, Rachel, has been on a buy the baby "I love my aunt" propaganda mission since Cate was born. So, Rachel, here is the most recent purchase on the baby.

Cate says "Thank you Aunt Rachel". She also says the pens on the counter are a really fun toy.