Dear Cate...month 11

You, my precious darling are growing...

Time has escaped me this spring and I've neglected to tell the world just how smart (and beautiful) you are.  You my little love can not only crawl (very quickly) but you are pulling up with ease and trying to just plain stand up while playing with your toys.  You get this look on your face as if to say, "why isn't this working" when you can't.

You are cruising on things, and transferring well between objects and I have a feeling that VERY soon you're just going to start GOING...and not stop.  I'm in no rush to push you, for you are our last babe, and honestly I wish I could just put a stop to your growth right here.  

You are so much fun, and a total ham.  You love when your sister and brother play with you, and laugh heartily at their antics.  Not even Daddy can make you laugh like Maggie can!

At your 9 month check up you weighed in at 18 pounds, but you've been eating everything in sight since then so i'm curious to see what you'll tip the scales at on your birthday.

You are willing to try just about anything, and eat more regular food than your big brother. 

You're wearing 12 month, or 12-18 month clothes now, but for the length...we have to take them ALL the way in at the waist (if possible)  Sadly, some of your 3-6 month leggings make great capris on you!  Your hair is still wild and crazy, and you wouldn't be you without it!  At least it only takes a few bribes and around ten minutes now to do, instead of the two person team and twenty minutes like a few months ago.

Darling girl, we are SO excited about your upcoming birthday and can hardly believe how fast this past year has went by.  Please take your time, you don't HAVE to grow so fast.  

Love, Mommy (and Daddy too)

Dear Cate...month 6

 

Dear Cate, you are SIX months now.  

Half a year.  Already.  Amazing.  Mind boggling actually.  You are 17 pounds and 26 inches long.  You love to eat, and still LOVE that bottle.  You roll over, smile, laugh, throw toys, say Mama and....

 Can sit up now....sort of...maybe.  For a few seconds anyway, lol.  You are so stinkin' cute and get SO excited about sitting up and looking around that you forget that your not so great at it(yet).  BUT you gets better everyday.  

Your Daddy loves to harass you that your favorite word is Mama and you say it ALL the time, but you don't seem to care.  Just to show him, you also now say "bubba" no matter how hard he coaches "dada"  You LOVE to annoy Fionn by demanding Daddy time, which he considers all his.  

You are now sleeping in your crib exclusively, and enjoy your saucer (almost as much as the high chair)  You still only have your two bottom teeth, but have been in a foul mood the last few days so I assume the two top are getting ready to make an appearance.  You also still love to babble and sing, and definitely make your voice heard.

It's been quite the month and I can't wait to see what the next one brings.  You are starting to scoot yourself (very slowly) across the floor and it makes me think that you're figuring things out...

Until next month, all my love.

Love, Mommy

Showing Her Off:

We went to the park last weekend for Family Portraits and I brought my camera along as well (imagine that)  These are some of the images that I got of our little lovebug. 

 Daddy's FULL attention, just the way she likes it.

 Oh yeah, she's got him RIGHT where she wants him.

 

And her big sister.  She adores her, but it goes both ways.  Those are the "sister" hats that Maggie commissioned me to make while pregnant for them.  That is Cate's second, and it looks like it's about time for a bigger one AGAIN!

Here are just a few others that we took in the last week.  She had a BUSY week!!  The Steeler ones are personal favorites, while the the bottom one is from our trip to ZooBoo last Saturday.

Dear Cate...month 5

 

 Dear Cate,

TODAY you are FIVE Months old!  You are such a beautiful little soul, so full of life!  You continue to make us smile with your bubbles and laughter.  Just last night you "sang" along with a song.  Granted it was GLEE, and J-Z but hey, you were digging it!  

You now weigh OVER 16 pounds and last month you were almost 25 inches long already!

You've had quite the month.  Not only do you roll over now, but you now reach for things on a regular basis and actually "play" with your toys.  You even have inched yourself forward a few times laying on your play mat.  Getting that little bottom off the ground still seems like it's going to take a while, but I'm sure you'll be up and crawling before we know it.  

You've changed so much just in the last month that I can hardly believe it.  You somehow skipped over most of your 0-3 months clothes and are making your way QUICKLY through your 3-6 months.  

At your last check up last month, doc thought that it was time to start you on food.  SO we started oatmeal a couple times just to try it out, and now just this week you ate baby food for the first time.  You weren't sure at first, but now really like meal time!

 You are so adorable, the way you go from serious to absolute excitement in a blink of an eye.  You also now do the "swim" ALL the time when you are excited.  You have to move both of your arms and legs at the same time in almost a doggy paddle.  It's how we know you're REALLY excited.  You do it when we lay you down for tummy time, and you crack yourself up when doing it!

 We originally thought you would be a thumb sucker, just like your big brother, but in the last month (since you started teething) you have really come to want your pacifier when you're really tired. 

 You still adore your daddy, and you and your brother still fight for his attention and time daily.  I'm happy to report that MY arms is still your favorite place to be and I'm happy to have you there.  

  

It's been a beautiful, blessed five months with you darling! 

Love, MOM

Dear Cate...month 3

Dear darling Cate, last Friday you turned THREE months! I know, already, it amazes me too!  You are such a HAPPY little girl!  I am so happy to be YOUR mommy.  God surely broke the cute mold when he made you!  I mean, I was sure that there could not possibly anyone as adorable as your brother and sister until you were born...now I know for sure that there can NOT be any more cute genes left out there!  Your mommy and daddy are so lucky!

You love your big brother and sister, but really only have eyes for your daddy!  Just tonight he came from work, and as soon as you saw him, your little face just lit up and you smiled from ear to ear.

You love to "talk" to us as of late and have really started "cooing" and are starting to make more and more noises.  You have also started to roll over already (you absolutely amaze me!)  For a little girl who was born a whole month early, you are ready to take on the world!  

You have also started sleeping through the night (most nights) and now drink 6-8 oz. every 4-5 hours.  You do NOT like to hear your brother upset and will cry now just because you hear Fionn crying.  You LOVE to give your big sister a hard time, but you adore her at the same time.(you already have this little sister thing down pat)

Basically, my darling girl, you are the apple of our eye and we have no idea how we ever functioned without you.  We are so excited to see you grow, but wish that time would SLOW down just a tiny little bit! 

xoxoxoxo

-Mommy

ps. for the grandmas out there...here are a few more pictures of our little beauty!

Cate's newest trick, she loves making bubbles!