I was pretty nervous for you leading up to this day. Between the three of you kids, you are my more shy, reserved homebody. While you love to play with your sister and like to be around other kids, you don’t necessarily play with them. You prefer to often play by yourself when we are with other kids. You don’t speak up when you’re around other adults and nothing makes you happier than being at home in your pajamas. Additionally, you really haven’t been away from Mom or Dad since Kate was born 15 months ago so you have become really accustomed to being at home, staying in your jimmies all day and not having a regular school-type routine.
Last week, we attended your open house and while quiet, you didn’t seem too scared or nervous. I think it helps you are going to the same school as Lexi and are even in the same room that she was. I also bought you a couple new shirts and some awesome new green shoes to wear to help generate some excitement for you.
I hope this year you’re able to become a little more outgoing and start to learn more of your numbers and letters. You love to count and know all your colors and shapes but identifying numbers and letters isn’t something we have ventured too far into–nor have you shown any interest in learning about those things.
Today is your first day of kindergarten and the beginning of a whole new phase of life for us. Carpool lanes and birthday parties and after-school activities and friends and playdates and packing lunches and early morning and a fairly regular routine.
You are attending a private school, St. Vincent De Paul and start at 7:30 in the morning (holy cow!) and finish at 1:35. You wear a cute little uniform. While we were picking them out, you told me ‘I would just prefer dresses mom’. I don’t like the pants or those blue shirts–they look like clothes that boys wear. So you have a couple of dresses and a couple of skirts with cute peter pan white collard shirts.
With the early start time, we’ve slowly been transitioning you to earlier bedtimes in the week leading up to this. Last night, everything went smoothly and you were sleeping by 8:00, which helped you naturally wake up around 6:30 this morning.
Yesterday, you requested to have a donut for breakfast since it was a special morning and you ate that while you watched Doc McStuffins and I put in a headband braid (princess hair as you like to call it).
You showed very little nerves and even said, ‘I can’t believe this is my first day of kindergarten today’. Leading up to this morning you had been telling you me you were a little nervous and the previous night were pretty upset about going to school as you were going to miss playing with your brother and were worried about missing out on what Daddy, William and Kate would be doing without you. To help keep your nervous at bay, I bought you some bracelets and deemed them as ‘Brave Bracelets’ so when you were feeling a little nervous about something, these bracelets would help you be brave. You were so excited by this. You did something in the Laundry room that you said would have normally made you nervous and came back to me and said ‘Mom, they really work. I wasn’t even scared when I touched the pointy thing in the laundry room’
We also started a new tradition last night and the night before school starts, we’ll have ice cream for dinner. The original plan was to go to the ice cream factory, but it was closed so we went to DQ and you had your first Blizzard.
Daddy also spent a lot of time creating a pretty awesome sign for you last night to remember all things YOU when you started Kindergarten. We got pictures of it this morning and then headed out the door.
You chatted nervously in the car asking me if I remember what my first day of kindergarten was like and if I was scared or how did I feel. We talked about how you could choose to eat carrots or apple slices for your snack and then you had your beloved Chicken Wild Rice Soup for lunch, crackers and cookies from Grandma.
When we arrived, you grabbed my hand and confidently walked into school (while I fought back the tears), found your locker, grabbed your headphones and folder and brought it into your class. You put your headphones in your cubby, handed your folder to Mrs. Burke and found your name tag, gave me a quick hug and then began coloring.
Following drop-off, mommy went to the annual ‘Boo-Hoo breakfast’ that your school holds for new families. I got to meet a couple of the other parents and learn more about the school schedule, important dates to know about and have a moment to decompress my emotions a bit.
The day went by quick and the whole family came to pick you up. You didn’t share a whole lot, but said you had a great day.
My sweet girl, as your enter your first day on kindergarten, we are both a bottle of emotions. You keep telling me, ‘I’m excited. But I’m a little nervous. But Mom, it’s ok to be a little nervous. Everyone is a little nervous on their first day of school’
In some moments, you are so wise beyond your 5 short little years, Lexi, and I’m so proud of the little girl you have become and for you to enter this next exciting phase of life. I have spent a lot of time praying about you. I’m less worried about this specific year as I know you are going to do amazing, but more worried about what is to come in this next phase of ‘school age kids’. There is so much to be excited for. This year you’ll start to make ‘real friends’ that you have picked out because you ‘click’ or have similar interests not because you live next door to them or I am friends with their parents. These are kids that you may be friends with for the rest of your life. This year, you are going to learn to read and how to do math, and go to gym class and music class and attend birthday parties.
Even with all the exciting things that are to come, there are also many things the scare the daylights out of me, like school shootings and being bullied or becoming a bully or trying to hard to fit in or make friends. So I have spent a lot of time praying for you not only this year but this next phase of life.
I pray that you are confident yet humble, adventurous yet cautious, strong yet empathetic, kind-hearted yet determined, spontaneous yet reliable, a leader yet respectful, hardworking yet imaginative, courageous yet adaptable, friendly yet forgiving and above all Happy.
I pray that Daddy and I are always a safe place for you, that we have and will continue to provide you with strong morals, values and that you continue to let Jesus be a part of your life and help guide you all the tough things in life.
And with that, I leave you with a little quote by a wise, wise man.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. —-Dr. Seuss
Your personality has come through loud and proud this month! You love to be in the middle of all the chaos of big brother and sister. You want to be where they are and you want your voice to be heard. You babble a lot, and whine a lot, both with a high volume. There is a lot to compete with so I get it but wow is it loud in our house.
You’re also a bit of a flirt. You wave to anyone you see in the grocery store, as cars drive by or as you are in the car waving to others. If someone makes eye contact, you scrunch your face to your shoulder and give them a $1000 grin.
You took your first steps this month but still prefer to crawl. You were a bit of a stinker and took them while Mommy and Dada were on a trip in Los Angeles. You had taken a step here and a step there before, but never 5-10 in a row like you did with Grammy and Papa.
Eating is a funny and stressful adventure with you. You love any and all food, but your favorite is really fruit. Every time you sit down to eat, it is a mad-dash to find enough food to fill you up. I’ll give you a handful of food, turn around to finish getting everyone else’s meal ready and you grunting for more. I have to raid the cupboards and fridge to find something to fill that growing belly and it never feels like enough. You also are very thirsty. You will easily down an entire sippy in a meal and we’ll refill it several times between each meal as well.
This month you had your first real adventure with Grammy and Papa. Mom and Dad went on a little trip to California so you and Lexi and William spent some good quality time with Grammy and Papa. Papa really worked on walking with you and this is where it sorta started to click for you.
Loves: Swimming, peek-a-boo (you now put your hands over your eyes), clapping, laughing at what the other kids are laughing about, throwing your cup off tray, waving
Dislikes: Bath, actually listenting to books, snuggling, sitting still
words: num-a-num-anum, mama, dada, papa, uh-oh
You climb up stairs really well, which for the most part is great. The most challenging thing about that is you also want to climb up the bunkbed stairs which are very steep, wood and have no railing or safety and I’m terrified of you falling off them or getting up on the top bunk and then falling off.
You understand the word no, and will shake your head when you are doing something you knows you shouldn’t, like throwing food off your tray.
Surprisingly, the kids small toys like legos, shopkins haven’t been a problem even though they are EVERYWHERE. You do pick them up and put them in your mouth and suck on them, as soon as we notice, we’ll say, what do you have in your mouth? You open up and spit it out.
No changes on nap schedule. It is still 2 times a day for about two hours each time.
Two of my favorite parts are the day are when I get home from work. You get so excited. You wave your arms around uncontrollably like a silly little monkey and open your mouth as wide as a crocodile. It is just the best.
Then, at bedtime, I always attempt to read you a couple of books, which you pretty much have zero interest in and just climb out of the chair. BUT, when it is time for bed, I’ll get your blankie, bunny and a paci and as soon as I turn off the light you start babbling or singing. We sit down in the rocking chair and sing Twinkle Twinkle and you sing (make noises mimicking singing) with me. I can usually sing about two songs before you start squirming and want to move. As a non-smuggler, I cherish these brief moments of stillness with you to just love and appreciate you and how lucky I am to be your mom.
And maybe, just maybe you might grow back into the snuggles again.
Love,
Mama
Sorry, no pictures, this month. Something happened to my computer
When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited to be having a summer baby. It meant outdoor birthday parties, and opportunities to take pictures outside verses having to figure out themes for indoors. These pics surpassed any dream or expectation I could of ever had. They are a perfect representation of your sweet flirtation but slightly stoic personality and are cute cute cute. I am obsessed.
Dear Kate (or Hoover as Daddy likes to tease you),
Girlfriend, you can pretty much eat anyone in this family under the table. You love anything and everything food and drink related. You’re favorites are any kind of berry. You also love noodles, ice cream, graham crackers, cheese, melons, chips, goldfish, cheese-its, vanilla wafers, chicken, corn, tomatoes, tortillas, broccoli, hot dogs, hamburgers, rice, eggs, pancakes, sausage, french toast and the list goes on and on. The one thing you haven’t really loved is cereal and toast, but you will eat it if you don’t have anything else.
During meals, there is usually a mad scramble to find additional food to feed you. You’ll eat everything I’ve given you and sign more so we dig through the cupboards to find something to fill you up. When you are hungry, watch out! You’ll start saying mumumum, which eventually turns into yells of ‘Aheeeeee’ until we put something in your belly. You’re also always very thirsty. You drink whole milk and water from a sippy and will easily cash an entire cup in one sitting. This month, you’ve also figured out/realized there is a special spot on the tray in your high chair for your cup and will regularly place it there.
Your 8th tooth (bottom left side) finally popped through. So now you have 4 on top and 4 on the bottom, which is really helping with the hoover status mentioned above.
We also spent a week up north at a cabin right after your birthday with the Sampson family. We celebrated your birthday up there and you enjoyed lots of attention and lovin’ from your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
You’re relationship with your siblings continues to blow me away. William loves to be around you and love on you with hugs and kisses. He sings songs to you when you’re upset and is always trying to make you laugh. You and Lexi have a special language with one another. For years, she has done what we call ‘baby bird’ where she makes two spine-tingling high-pitched noises that sounds like what a baby bird would do. Recently, you’ll respond to her in s similar high-pitch noise that mimics her inflection and tone. The two of you will go back and forth to each other several times with your bird call
No walking yet, but I would guess by the end of the summer. You pull yourself up on everything and zoom scoot along furniture, but you haven’t started to stand unsupported or move from sitting to standing without holding onto anything, but I think you’re close. Sleeping is your jam and I hope you never grow out of that. You go down around 8 or 8:30 and sleep until 7:30ish. You’ll nap twice a day most days. First nap is 2-3 hours and the second is an hour and a half to two hours. All we do is give you paci and a stuffed animal pal and you shut your eyes before I turn off the slight and shut the door. So amazing and easy!
Words:
Mamamama
Dad
Mumumum aka num num num which means food
attempt to say all done, but it is really just a ‘ah-d’
Loves: Paci, Bunny, Food, Drinking, scooting (just moving in general), stroller rides, laughing at Lexi and William, mama, dada, Peek a boo, Guess Who book, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Who Says Quack, getting into Lexi and William’s toys, swimming/bath
Dislikes: diaper changes, sitting still (even to read books) snuggling (but will do it occasionally now), Toys–you only want to scoot around, wearing a lifejacket,
Nicknames: Kate the Great, Beetle, Hoover, Beetle-the-etle (which has morphed into etle; which has morphed into Eatsie (I think that’s how those names came about).
One evening we were watching Lexi play soccer and you leaned forward out of the chair you were sitting in and nose-dived into the foot of another lawn chair. You immediately developed a goose egg on your forehead and refused ice to help any swelling. Thankfully, the goose egg disappeared by the next morning, but left you with a nice little bruise on your forehead.
Around the 4th of July, we went to the beach and you loved sitting in the water splashing around and amazingly didn’t eat a ton of sand. We also purchased a medium-sized pool and you love to kick around in there with me.
We also spent an afternoon out on Papa’s new boat. You really hate your lifejacket, but were much happier when we stopped the boat and you could crawl around jacket free. You even took a snooze in one of the chairs. We laid you down, gave you your bunny, paci, turned the sound machine on and put a towel over the chair to make it a little dark and you were out.
Finally, we rounded up your 13th month up at the Bothwell cabin. You had lots of fun playing with your cousins and enjoying the fresh crisp air of the north shore.
It was a busy and fun month. Watching you grow, learn and experience new things is such a joy and I love every inch of you my sweet girl.
I’m not going to lie, your birthday snuck up on me. The other kids, I starting planning their parties in my head 3+ months before. You my sweet girl, was a couple of weeks. There was a lot going on. It was the end of Lexi’s preschool, her dance recital, my cousin got married, we were up at the cabin for memorial weekend and then camping the first weekend of June, which was quickly followed by Auntie Sheila’s baby shower and Daddy’s birthday which happened on the same day AND was the day before your party. But even with the lack of extensive planning it turned out pretty cute.
I kept it pretty sweet and simple knowing it was just the Bothwell’s that were coming. We celebrated with the Sampson’s the following week at the cabin.
The party theme was watermelon. So you had a watermelon smash cake and personalized watermelon onesie and a watermelon-looking fruit pizza. I also created a watermelon fruit bowl (which I forgot to take a picture of) and created vases out of watermelons for some floral arrangements.
The weather was perfect and we were able to hang outside in the backyard while daddy grilled.
You demolished your cake. It wasn’t the first time you have had cake or frosting (because duh, you’re a 3rd kid–you do get some perks out of 3rd baby syndrome). Note to future birthday party planners–do not give your child brightly colored frosting–it stains. Thankfully, we had taken all your clothes off and we took a bath mid-party but you had some red legs, toes and fingers for awhile there.
Then the following week, we celebrated with the Sampson’s up at the cabin. You loved your cake but were willing to share it with others–whether they wanted it our not.
There are no questions that you are a sweet little beetle that is loved by all.
What a tremendous year of joy and love we have to celebrate today. People keep asking me, can you believe it has already been one year? And there are lots of me that can’t believe it. I can so vividly remember being in labor with you, getting ready to go to the hospital and all of the anxiety and worry that I had leading up to that moment. Then you arrived and we had a summer that dreams are made of. You were the easiest most mellow baby and slipped into the mold of our family without a second thought. We had so much quality family time. The big kids played in the backyard in the pool or were riding bikes almost everyday while you just snuggled on my chest. We just enjoyed a low-key lifestyle for 3 months. (It was a little most stressful than this in reality, but this is how I remember it.)
Then, there is this other part of me that feels how an it only be one year? It is difficult to remember what life was like before you. How could I possibly ever think my heart was full without you in it? How could William and Lexi grow into the little people they are without you to teach them patience and about being thoughtful and to show their love towards. Also, coming out of that magical summer, school started for Lexi and I went back to work, Daddy became a full-time (for the most part) stay-at-home Daddy and life and balance got a lot more complicated.
But, here we are, 1 year later and you continue to be the smiley, happy little cherub that I constantly smother in kisses.
Speaking of cherub, you had a HUGE growth spurt over these last 3 months. You weighed in at 23 lbs and 5 oz (the biggest of your siblings at 1), are 30 inches long. All your stats are in the 80-90th percentile. The line graph at the doctor was almost vertical from the trajectory you were on at 9 months. You love to eat and only eat table food now. You can’t stand it if someone is eating and you are not. You’ll whine and beg until you get some of it yourself. Even the sight of food is tempting for you.
You crawl around like a mad woman and pull yourself up on everything (walls, legs, tables, chairs). You will walk when holding onto our fingers but are too chicken to stand unsupported (whenever we try, you sit down immediately). If I were to guess, I think we have another 2-3 months before you walk.
I stopped nursing quickly after your 11 month post and within a week or so you had weaned yourself from a bottle too. It would take you FOREVER to finish one, if you did at all. You would take a couple sips and then get up and play, come take a couple more. Daddy finally said, this is enough and cut them out and you could have cared less. So now, you drink whole milk from a sippy throughout the day, but still pretty regularly before bed. We’ll rock and you’ll drink it and then you lay down in your crib with your bunny and paci and you our lights out.
You have a whole slew of nicknames: Katelyn, Kate, Kate the great, Beetle, Beets, Beetsie, Hoover and Itle. You respond to all of these and I would also say that they are all consistently used.
You have 7 teeth, 4 on top, 3 on the bottom with the 4th one on the bottom quickly making its appearance and 2 on the top that are going to be coming in soon.
Clothes: Size 18 months
Diapers: Size 4 (close to 5s)
Shoes: never wears them, but maybe a size 4?
Likes:
Food, fruit especially, avocado, cheese, popsicles, freezes, ice cream
bath
being carried around
naps
stroller rides
being tickled
watching the kids play through the window
knocking down William and Lexi’s block towers or magnatile creations
climbing all over Mama
Dislikes:
Cheerios
ritz crackers
getting your diaper changed
sitting still (books)
grass
life jackets
growing teeth
Itsy Bitsy, Beets, We love everything about you and how you make our family perfect. I’m so excited to watch you grow over this next year.
I had it all planned out in my head. Today, you are 11 months old and tonight was going to be my last night nursing you. I’ve been holding onto nursing by a thread. We’re down to one session right before bed each night. I’m sure you’re barely getting anything but I’m having a hard time being ‘done’. You are my last baby and I’m never going to nurse again. There is a big part of me that is so ready to be done. For the last 5 years (minus a few short months) I have given my body up to you three babies between growing you inside or feeding you outside. I’m ready to have my body back to myself again. BUT there is another little part of me that can’t believe it’s over. I am proud to have carried you inside of me and nursed each of you for an entire year (minus 1 month for Kate). It takes a lot of work, dedication and sacrifice to do that. I never had the option to sleep through the night, unless you did. There was no taking turns between Daddy and I on who would get up with you in the middle of the night. I did it several times a night, every single night. But I also bonded with you and felt your little breaths against my chest when you feel asleep being burped. I smelt that sweet milk breath and listened to you snore in my arms. I heard the ‘hupe hupe’ noises as you gulped the milk spilling into your mouth. And because of all of this, I can’t just ‘be done’. I need to know, enjoy and savor the last time I will nurse one of my babies. And tonight just wasn’t that night. You bit me, were squirly, and kept crying as you were trying to nurse and I just can’t end on a note like that. So, we continue but will imagine that it will end at some point before your next post.
Another huge milestone this month was crawling. You were army-sliding backwards last month and this month you kind of figured out forward progression by reaching for things from a sitting position. The crawl started out with the the dead leg pull, where one leg made no contributions to moving forward but was just drug along. Eventually you figured it out and crawl everywhere pretty quickly. The bigger thing is you just want to pull yourself up on everything. You have no interest in toys but love to pull yourself up on furniture, my legs, sides of counters, tables and have even attempted the stairs.
This month you cut a couple more teeth, another two on top and one on the bottom for a grand total of 7 teeth!
For as long of a winter as we had, the spring has been pretty amazing. We pretty much went from 2 feet of snow to 80 degrees. You love being outside and feeling the wind in your soft baby hair.
Sleep continues to be awesome. You go to bed around 8 and wake up around 7ish. Still taking 2 naps a day, each one lasting 1.5 to 3 hours long!
Finding enough food to keep you full is a challenge. You just shovel everything into the good old hatch. You are obsessed with berries and avocado–like you diminish and entire container of berries in one sitting by yourself and just keep signing ‘more’
Lately, I have felt like you are a twin to Lexi, just 5 years later. So I pulled up some pictures of Lexi at 11 months and then of William too and was SHOCKED at how similar you look to both of them. All three of you at 11 months.
Little Kate, we love you so much and are so thankful we have you all to ourselves. Happy 11 months!
I’m not sure to call it a quiver or the super shakes or what when you get really excited your arms and hands will shake like a hummingbird’s wings. This usually happens when you are about to eat, have a bottle, see Lexi or take a bath. At first, I was really worried that you had really low blood sugar or something like that, but I’m pretty sure it just happens when you get really excited.
For the amount of food that you shovel into your mouth, there is no way that you could have low blood sugar. During any given meal, you’ll easily down an entire avocado, fruit/veggie pouch, handful of crackers, cheese, couple of pickles and a bowl full of noodles. The only thing we’ve given you that you don’t seem to be a fan of are cheerios. Grapefruit, oranges, chicken, blackberries, raspberries, apples, broccoli, turkey, crackers, cheese, noodles, bread, peanut butter, toast, pancakes, sausage, eggs, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, cookies you name it, you love it.
As a result of transitioning to table food so well, I think you’re starting to wean yourself from bottles. We give you a mid-morning and and afternoon bottle, both 6 oz and between the two, there is usually 2-3 oz that you don’t finish. My pumping sessions had gotten to be pretty pathetic, barely producing 3 oz total. So this past week, I cut those out and am just nursing in the mornings and before bed. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue to do that until your one. The frozen breastmilk stash was starting to get pretty low, so I bought formula for the first time ever and we’ll start incorporating that into the mix for the next two months to hopefully lengthen the amount of breastmilk you get. Because of the hoover status mentioned above, you had a huge growth spurt this last month and a half or so and are officially out of 6-9 month clothes. I think you were in them for a total of a month and a half–which is crazy considering you were in 3-6 month clothes for 4 or 5 months! Size 3 diapers are getting pretty snug too.
You’ve also made some progress on the mobility front. You roll from back to belly more frequently and even slept on your stomach for the first time ever this month. We are putting you on your tummy all of the time and you have started to scoot backwards and spin around to get stuff you want, you haven’t figured out how to move forward. We’ve even tried to put you on all fours and move your arms and legs in a forward motion, but you just push yourself up to a sitting position and are as content as can be sitting and playing. You have no real interest in crawling at all. You do seem to enjoy standing up much more. You haven’t built up your guns enough to pull yourself up on anything but love to stand and wobble around.
No complaints on the sleeping front. You sleep from around 8ish to 5am-ish, nurse and go right back to sleep. Then you’ll nap around 9:30 and again around 1:30 for about 2 hours each time. You absolutely refuse to cuddle in anyway shape or form and it just kills me a little that my sweet babe doesn’t want to cuddle with me. On the flip side, you are the easiest baby in the world to put to bed. I lay you down awake, put a stuffed animal and your paci in your mouth and you roll over and go to sleep usually before I’ve even walked out the door. So I guess I’ll have to give up cuddling for good healthy sleeping habits, but promise me you’ll cuddle with me when you get older?
Other monthly shenanigans: You celebrated your first Easter. The Bunny brought you some applesauce pouches and a new swimsuit! You also came down with your first sickness and fever on Easter. At first, I thought you were cutting teeth, but your fever spiked above 100 degrees and it lasted for several days. You were very restless and un-consolable. One night, I was up with you for several hours as you just wouldn’t stop screaming. The only thing that helped was to get into a new environment, so we went downstairs and turned the fireplace on and you watched the flame flicker around. After day 4, I took you into the Dr. just to make sure you didn’t have an ear infection. Then, the following day, your fever broke and a rash appeared all over your body–tiny little dots. They weren’t raised or anything, but it was just a side affect of your body fighting the virus off.
You love to play parrot–in that you copy noises and gestures. You’ll make this noise ‘Ehha’ and we repeat the sound to you, and this goes back and forth sometimes 10 times. You also love to bring both arms above your head and then smack them down onto a hard surface. You will play this game with anyone who will give you the time of day.
At the end of the month, your top two teeth cut through the skin. You were a little whiney and up in the night, but for the most part, they came in pretty smoothly.
Sometimes when you laugh, it sounds like a machine gun. You love to take baths and splash around by banging your hands against the water or kicking your legs while you’re on your back getting you hair washed. You and Lexi are kind of obsessed with each other. She loves to climb in your crib with you, play with you, talk to you and be by you all the time. And I have a feeling the you feel the same. When she is around, your eyes just follow where she is going and she can get you rolling in giggles like nobody else. With that said, she also kind of gets up in your bizness more than you would like and you have to shoo her out of your personal space from time to time. I hope this relationship stays just as strong as you two grow older.
And that my sweet little Kate is your 10th month in a nutshell. I can’t believe you are going to be one in two months. In my mind, you are still like 6 or 7 months old. You continue to be the happiest most content baby ever. Every time someone comes over or sees you, they are just blown away how happy you are all of the time. You don’t have fear of strangers, you love your siblings, you love to play by yourself, you are a rockstar eater and sleeper. You truly are too good to be true and your Daddy and I are so in love with you and the little family we have. God is Good and we are Blessed.
Peanut Smiles 