Happy FIRST Birthday!

Kate is ONE.  Wow.  I am happy and sad at the same time.  This past year has flown by, and been filled with tons of firsts, with laughs, cries, and smiles, and lots of fun.  So much has changed over the past year.  We have gone from a family of 2, to a family of 3 with a newborn, and now a family of 3 with a toddler who is into everything!  And I do mean EVERYTHING.  So, with all that being said, here is Kate's final monthly update.

Eating:
Great.  Kate wants to eat anything and everything that we are eating.  Forget baby foods.  She doesn't want it.  The problem is that she's not really good a chewing.  She likes to put way too much food in her mouth and doesn't chew it well enough before she wants to shove more food in.  I saw a picture of one of my friend's little boy.  He is a few months older than Kate and was eating a banana.  He was holding the whole thing, and was obviously chewing/biting off of it.  How I WISH that we could do that with Kate.  We can't.  She would try to put the whole banana in her mouth, and at the very least she would take a bite that was WAY too big. (Update- in the time since I started writing this post, I tried to give Kate the whole banana.  No bueno. She definitely tried to stuff way too much in her mouth.)

It's almost impossible for us to eat at the same time as her.  It's not good enough for me to cut up or break up some of my food and put it on the table in front of her.  She doesn't want it.  She still wants MY food, off of MY plate, or if there is a big piece of food (like a sandwich) she wants to bite off of the big piece. It's like she thinks that the small, broken up pieces in front of her are not real food.  It makes eating WITH her almost impossible.  If we're at home, and she's in her high chair, and I'm not eating something at the same time, all is right in the world.

In the past week we switched Kate from formula to organic whole milk.  She didn't even blink at the change, so I'm guessing that means she likes the milk.

It probably sounds like I'm complaining about all of the food difficulties.  I'm not.  I know all of this is part of the learning and growing up process.  It definitely makes meal time difficult, but it is what it is.  She's only one!

Sleeping:
Again, great.  She still goes to bed around 8 and wakes up around 7:30.  She usually goes back to sleep right after breakfast, then takes a mid-afternoon nap, and another short nap around 5-6ish.

Walking:
Everywhere.  We had to get baby gates to contain her!

Teething:
Right now Kate has 9 teeth- 5 on top, 4 on bottom.  One of her 1-year molars just popped through in the past day and I think the others aren't too far behind.  I'm sure teething is no fun for a baby, but she's a trooper.

Personality:
Kate is so funny!  I love her little expressions and "tricks".  Here are just a few things that I LOVE about her:

1. She's getting pretty good at mimicking us.  If you ask her to blink, she'll squint her eyes at you.  So funny. She also tries to imitate sounds and words.  So much fun.

2. She waves "hi" and "bye".

3. She claps, especially when she hears other people clapping.

4. She's a little dancer.  If you ask her to show you how to dance, she'll wiggle and move her little body.

5. She says Mama very well, and will say Dada.  I'm told she has said bye, dog/doggy and Papa a few times, but I've yet to hear them.

6. She loves shoes.  Seriously.  A few days ago, she went in her closet and specifically pulled out a pair of MATCHING shoes.

7. She loves to share her food with me.  She'll pick up a piece of food and hold it out to me.  If I lean down to her, she'll put it in my mouth and grin really big.

8. If I tell her "I'm going to get you", she'll take off running and laughing.  Well, at this point it's more like walking as fast as she can, but at the rate she's going, it will probably be running pretty soon!

9.  Sometimes she walks with her arms thrown out behind her, like she thinks she's flying or something.

10. She loves remotes, cell phones, laptops and technology in general.  We had to give her her own remote to keep her away from the real ones.  It doesn't go to anything, but she doesn't know that.

11. Kate is such a happy girl.  Lots and lots of smiles and laughs.  They make my day!!

           

           

            

 

 

         

Kate's birthday party is TOMORROW so it will be a busy day, but check back to see Kate's one year pictures.  We used Linsey Wilson again and she did an awesome job.  If you live in the Upstate SC area, check her out!

Tonight

Today was Kate's very last day as an under-1 year old.  Of course I took pictures and we had fun, but I'm not sharing that tonight.  Tonight I was thinking about what we did a year ago today.  You're probably thinking we were washing clothes, packing bags, getting ready for a baby, etc.  You would be wrong.  We were at a concert.  You see, although Kate's due date was the day before (August 8th), we honestly didn't expect her to come on her own.  Kate's birth mom was set to be induced the morning of August 11th.  We pretty much thought that's what was going to happen. 

So on August 9th, 2011 we went to see Hillsong United in concert.  We had bought the tickets way before we even knew about Kate.  There was no reason to back out, our bags WERE packed and we were already ready.  Well, I guess as ready as you can be.  

We left the concert and I remember telling Kevin it was my favorite concert I'd ever been to.  If you ever get the chance to see Hillsong United in person, go!  The only downside was that they started about 30 minutes late.  But it was a great night, and kept my mind off of all of the "what ifs".  We got home well after 11... and it was a week night, people!  The next day we got the call that Kate was on her way. 

How different a year is!  Tonight, my house was quiet at 9:30.  I've spent the evening playing with a little girl, getting party stuff ready, and watching the olympics. And I wouldn't change a thing.  We didn't have 9 months to prepare for a child, I didn't carry Kate in my belly, and genetically her DNA does not come from me or Kevin, but she is OURS.  And she is loved.  No, I definitely wouldn't change a thing.  Not one single thing.

There's still time to enter my giveaway.  If you'd like to win a copy of the newest Veggie Tales DVD- click here. 

Beep Beep!

Well we have another driver in our family.  Kate got an early birthday present tonight and she LOVES it.  

It took me about a week to put this thing together, working on it off and on.  I finished it up tonight, and Kate got to see it when she woke up from her nap. 

I showed her how to push the horn and make it go "beep beep".  I only showed her a couple of times and then when I would say "beep beep", she would push the horn.  I think she's a fast learner. :) 

Her feet don't quite touch the ground yet, so I had to push her around the house.  She liked it so much that she was ticked when when I stopped.  This was the face we got...

I have a feeling she is going to have LOTS of fun with her new toy.  Kate wants to give a big "thank you" to the Elphicks! :)

5 more days to enter my giveaway... click here to go over to the giveaway post to enter to win a new Veggie Tales DVD.

iPhone Kinda Weekend

I didn't even pull out my real camera this weekend, so I'll have to re-cap the past few days using pictures from my phone and from Instagram!

The first 2 pictures are couple of days old, but I thought I'd share anyway.  We finally got a few baby gates to keep Kate in the same room that we're in.  Success!  This was when she first saw the gate.  Her reaction?  She hiked up her leg and tried to climb over it.  I think we're in trouble.

If you remember from this post, the last time I gave Kate green beans they were the Gerber pick-ups kind and she did NOT like them.  I tried to mix in cheerios and it did not work.  She picked out all of the cheerios.  Well, apparently it's only the Gerber green beans that she doesn't like, not all green beans.  I've made them twice for her and she's eaten them like they're her favorite food ever.  Good to know she likes her Mama's cooking!

This picture is from yesterday.  She was in a good mood.  Probably because she had food.  Who knows.  I told her to wave though, and she did. :) 

I spent this afternoon getting some of Kate's party stuff ready for next weekend.  FIVE days until I have a one year old.  This time last year, Kevin and I were wondering when we would get THE call that Kate was on her way.  It really is amazing how much has changed in a year!  Here's a sneak peak of a few of the things I've been working on.  I'll definitely show it all once we have her party, but this will have to do for now.

While searching Pinterest last night for some easy hair styles, I came across this one.  I am not good at fixing hair AT ALL.  Basically my style consists of just wearing it all down (99% of the time), wearing it 1/2 way up, and a pony tail.  I tried this one and it was pretty easy.  And if I say something is easy, it's easy.

While Kate was eating dinner tonight, I tried to get a quick picture of the two of us.  I used my camera phone and flipped the camera around so that we could see ourselves on the screen.  Guess I hadn't done that with Kate recently, because she thought it was the greatest thing ever!  She loved it.  So I snapped a few more...

So that's it for us!  We had another great weekend.  How about YOU?

PS- I posted a GIVEAWAY POST earlier today.  Check it out if you'd like to win a Veggie Tales DVD for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, etc.  You don't have to do anything to enter, just follow me and leave a comment on the giveaway post letting me know you'd like to win!  The giveaway runs from now through 9pm on August 10th.  Check it out.

Veggie Tales Giveaway

In honor of Kate's birthday this Friday, I'm doing another giveaway!  It's not really in honor of her birthday, but the timing worked out that way so I'm using the excuse.  :)  So here we go...

I hope that by my past blog posts, anybody reading out there can tell that I'm a Christian.  I love Jesus, and hope that one day Kate decides to love and follow Jesus too.  Even as an almost 1 year old, we are sharing Him with her constantly.  We I sing to her Christian children's songs (when nobody else can hear), we read from her Children's Bible each night, and she is at church every Sunday and Wednesday.  Kate will grow up hearing about Jesus from both Kevin and me.  We will do our best to teach her, but who can't use a little help?  Kids are going to want to watch TV, and as parent's it's our job to make sure what they do end up watching is appropriate, and hopefully somehow educational.  That's why I love Veggie Tales.  

So, I'll be giving away a copy of Veggie Tales: The Penniless Princess- God's Little Girl.  

Here is how Big Idea (the production company) summarizes the DVD:

The DVD's story is based on the children's book A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and helps to teach an important lesson about knowing your own true worth and trusting God, no matter what happens in life.  Veggie Tales: The Penniless Princess- God's Little Girl includes plenty of engaging and fun music fit for families, including the all-new Silly Songs "Best Friends Forever" and the featured song "No Matter What", both in sing-along versions in the DVD bonus features.  Other bonus features include a special tour of London with the popular French Peas characters, a hilarious look at the history of the Teddy Bear, a discussion guide for parents, and behind-the-scenes clips.

I've watched the DVD and although it probably would appeal to little girls more than boys, it is by no means a girls-only movie.  It definitely teaches a good lesson in self-worth and how special we all are as God's children.

So how to win?  

1. Follow my blog and let me know in a comment that you're following.  If your email address is not included in your profile, please include that in your comment.  I'll need to be able to contact the winner to find out where to ship it!
2. For an additional entry- share this giveaway!  You get an additional entry for each share on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc.  Let me know in a separate comment each time you've shared this and please include the link showing where you've shared it.

The giveaway runs from now through 9pm on Friday August 10th (Kate's birthday). Good luck!!

PS- This DVD isn't out yet, but it releases on August 14th.  If you don't win, you can purchase it on Amazon.com or at most Christian stores.

Sharing

Kate is big on "sharing" right now, which is a good and bad thing.  

When she eats her dinner, she will shove a few pieces in her mouth and then hold some out to me.  If I open my mouth, she'll stick it in there as if to say "now you have some".

A few nights ago she was playing with a cup in the bathtub.  She would hold it up to her mouth like she was drinking out of it (don't worry- I wouldn't actually let her have water in the cup).  Then she would hold it out to me as if to say "your turn!".

And now, she's shared her cold with me again.  What a thoughtful little girl.  Her 1 year molars have started to come in, and I honestly thought that all of her cold symptoms were related to the teething and not an actual cold.  It wasn't until I woke up with a sore throat, sinus headache, and all-around yucky feeling that I realize Kate really DID have a cold.  I'm a terrible mommy.  We're both on the mend now, so all is well and we're enjoying our last week with an under-1-year-old.

Shoe Shoppin'

On Tuesday Kevin and I went to Khol’s and Academy Sports to find a few things he needed for his trip to the PGA tournament in Kiawah next week. While he was looking for his stuff, I took Kate and wandered around. Of course I ended up in the shoe section. I found the CUTEST little Nike’s and had to try them on Kate. They fit perfectly. So I put her on the ground and let her walk around in them. She would high-step in them, since she isn’t used to wearing REAL shoes. She normally wears sandals, but not something that covers her entire foot. I let her walk for a few minutes and then put her back into the shopping cart so I could put the shoes back. Well, she did NOT want me to take those shoes off of her feet.  Seriously. She got so mad when I tried to take them off.

I ended up having to put her in the big part of the shopping cart and push her around until we found Kevin so Kate could show him her shoes.  Not that she told me to do that.  It's just the only thing that stopped the crying.

I really wasn't planning on actually getting the shoes, but I caved.  I'll wrap them up and let her open them next week as her birthday present. :) Besides, every girl needs a good pair of tennis shoes, right?