9 Month Check Up

Just a quick update because Grandpa Mick and Grandma Jill are coming to visit in the morning, so tonight requires a little (read: a lot of) house cleaning.

But, today was Cate's 9 month check up. She is 18lbs 1.5oz and 26.5 inches tall! So, she continues to be my "petite" child, but she is still following her growth curves (which is all the doc cares about).

Based on a bit of sickness the past two weeks, the doc thinks there is a small chance Cate is allergic to wheat. So, we have put a hiatus on wheat products. We will re-introduce them in a few weeks and see if she gets sick again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she just had a weird tummy virus and that she remains allergy free. But, other than that small possibility, she is doing great and she passed her check up with flying colors.

She is fast asleep and I'm off to mop the kitchen floor! I'll add pictures of our visitors with Cate over the next few days.

Always a good day for a baby smile

 Cate finally has had a tooth creep through her gums right in the center of her lower gums. It is visible, but not totally in yet. That is why the smile picture is so filled with drool. At least she is a happy teething baby at the moment!

Oh yeah, and Chaz insisted I include a picture of the dog, who decided to "help" us with the clean laundry (by knocking it over and sleeping in it). Great.

Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  The good news: Cate made her first Valentine this morning, for her favorite guy (her daddy!) Yes, those are her handprints.

Bad news: she, I and the better part of her highchair are now covered in red ink. Good thing it is washable.

Happy Valentines Day to all of the family and friends that we love!

8 Months already??

Even though it is basically impossible for me to believe, my little girl is more than 8 months old (and for those of you keeping track, she's really getting closer to 8.5 months)! Last week I weighed her when we were shopping at the local mom & baby store, and she weighs 18 pounds already! No wonder she feels so much heavier than before. I'm getting worse and worse about updating the blog, in part, because she is getting more and more active. This means that we are always busy around here.

Cate still hasn't decided to crawl forward yet, but she will spin herself in circles on the floor, and has recently decided to scoot backwards if she is mad (e.g. wants something that I don't want to give her). I'm hoping that she will figure out the forward direction here in the next month or so.

Her increased movement means she can now get to things that used to be out of her reach. For example, on Sunday, she was playing next to me on the floor while I was clipping coupons from the paper. Suddenly, she has the pile of ads I was gowing through in her happy little hands. Here is a picture of the "what, mom? I didn't do it!" face.

Cate has always loved baths, but she has recently really begun to understand what bath toys are for. Bath toys are for eating, of course. She would stay in the bath for days chewing on that rubber turtle if I let her.

 Finally, I couldn't leave you without a picture of the track suit my mom (Grandma Jill) and my grandma (Great-Grandma Davis) bought for Cate. The teachers at her school LOVE it. They think she's the most stylish baby in the group. So, thanks, Grandma Jill!

Oh, we own a dog?

Cate has taken an interest in the puppy lately. She actually sat next to me petting him yesterday. Here is a quick picture of her and the puppy sitting on daddy's lap. Of course, she wouldn't pet the puppy for the camera, but oh well.

Cate has also increased the frequency of her babbling. Her favorite is da-da-da-da-da-da. But, a close second is ba-ba-ba-ba. She will rarely say ma-ma, but those are few and far between.

Finally, Cate has decided to be ticklish this week. It is hilarious. We tickle her under her arms and she laughs and laughs like crazy. When we stop, she looks at us as if to say, "again?" I love it.

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!!*