We couldn't stop her from turning 1!

We tried.

(sort of.)

It was bittersweet, as are most (all?) milestones. Excited to watch her continued development, sad to see the dependent baby begin to slip away.

She still is a baby, but we watch everyday as she comprehends new things, communicates more and generally kicks butt.

Here she is the morning of her birthday, enjoying her birthday cupcake. She was a fan!

She was the star of the show at her party and I am pretty sure she knew it!

She got into unwrapping presents :)

Blaise got into it, too!

At one year she was standing and taking some practice steps.

I made butterfly cupcakes to go along with our theme.

The aftermath:

Kate has been an unbelieveable addition to our lives. She has become a pretty spunky little girl and a joy to be around. 

Way Back When My Baby Turned 8 Months! (in July!!)

little bit behind, over here, but she's cute anyway (and cheeky as ever!)!!

Out on the Town

We went out to eat in Chicago (or in "town" as Blaise says) while Grandma and Grandpa hit the Children's Museum at Navy Pier with Blaise. Kate enjoyed her trip out with the big kids. She even got her own ribs to enjoy.

Then we hit Binny's, that made her feel like a big girl!

I am trying to figure out photoshop and this is one of my first first attempts.  The left image is the original and the right one has been edited.  My ISO was so high that I had a hard time reducing the noise to an acceptable level (eh, like none), but she is hopefully a little sharper and brighter.  The noise factor isn't as disturbing in this smaller image, but anything larger and it is pretty obnoxious.

Kate is (was) 7 months!

Kate turned 7 months while we were in the US. She began scooting around about a week before and was gaining independence daily. She is a happy baby and quite giggly. She has added another dimension to our lives. We love having her cheeky self around!

Five Months!!

Kate has such a wonderful personality.  She has to be sweetest baby ever.  There is so much I should be saying about her, I am just at a loss as to where to start.  She is becoming quite vocal and she is getting really good at rolling both back to belly and belly to back.  She really loves to play and be active - she must be involved in what is happening or she isn't happy.  She had been sleeping 5-6-7-even 8 hour stretches, getting up only once at night for a feeding, but she has recently gone through a growth spurt (thank God, she plateaued at 12lbs for about 2 months) and is now nursing 2-3 times a night.  I feel more tired now that I did when she was two months old.  She loves cuddling and reading books, but I think what she loves the most is Blaise.  She always smiles and laughs at him and the feeling is mutual, he really adores his little sister.  I'm not sure how I got so lucky to have such amazing children.

Four Months!!