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Catching You Up!

Well, well. The prodigal blogger has returned. But all joking aside, there has been so much going on, that keeping up with this blog has been the last thing on the list. This morning, though, while it's just Katie and me sitting here, trying to decide what to do with our day, I thought I should at least add SOMETHING.

We celebrated Tim's and Katie's birthdays in September. My parents were here, as well as Luke and Lucinda. Although we didn't get to spend as much time together as we would have liked, it really did turn out for the best, since that is when we had the huge windstorm that knocked out power to most of Louisville for several days. It was better for everyone that plans were changed prior to all that!!

Katie had such a good time with her cake! It was the first time she'd had sugar like that, and at first, she seemed a little skeptical, but that didn't stop her from going back for more, and more, and more! On her actual birthday, we took her to Build-A-Bear (they actually had power). She didn't really know what to make of the whole thing. The loud sounds of the machines scared her, but she really liked her Kitty Cat we made her -- we named him Nenno (that's what she calls our cat, Fresno).

The last weekend in September, we went to Hagerstown so Tim could candidate at Real Life Community Church. After he preached that morning, the congregation voted, and it ended up 100% positive for us to come! So, by February, at the latest, we'll be ministering at a small church in Hagerstown, MD! Now we just have to sell the house here . . . . But God is bigger than the housing market, and He'll take care of it perfectly, just at the right time. We also got to celebrate birthdays again that weekend with Tim's parents -- more presents and more ice cream cake, oh boy!!!

Last week, Tim and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Fortunately, it was Fall Break at school, so I wasn't even working that day! Unfortunately, I woke up feeling REALLY bad that morning, and was diagnosed with strep a few hours later. So, on antibiotics, but still dealing with a horribly sore throat, we went to The Melting Pot for dinner that night. The food was SO good, even though it hurt to swallow -- at least I didn't have a cold, or something that affected my ability to taste the food!!! Then, because I'm such a generous person, and marriage is supposed to be all about sharing, my poor husband woke up the next morning feeling as crummy as I was. So, now we have matching "His" and "Hers" bottles of antibiotics!

This weekend, Tim is in Maryland, at the University of Maryland's 100th homecoming celebration. He's getting to play in the band for their Homecoming game (you know he's loving that), and he's also getting to catch up with some of his old friends he hasn't seen in a LONG time. We miss him here, but we're glad he's having fun!

Where did the summer go?

It's already the middle of August -- where did my summer go? Oh, I remember now! June was the Florida trip for Nick and Melissa's wedding, July was the Maryland trip for Donny and Randi's wedding (which also involved a week-long visit with Grandma and Grandpa Girdler), August took us to Lafayette Indiana for Melissa and Josh's wedding . . . . And for the past week, I've been working to get things ready for the start of a new school year -- which starts tomorrow!!!
In the midst of all this, Katie has done some amazing things! She is pulling up and walking around things she can hold on to (chairs, the pack and play), and she is learning to stand all on her own -- it's all about balance! She has also learned to identify a few of her toys by name. We can tell her to "Get the ducky" and she'll look around, pick up the ducky, and triumphantly hold it up and grin! She can also "Get the music" (a musical Baby Einstein toy that Grandma Girdler got her), and she can "Make it sing"!!
Katie also got her "big-girl" car seat -- she outgrew the infant carrier, so we bought her a big girl car seat, which she loves -- we call it her throne! Because of that, she is also riding like a big girl in the shopping cart at the grocery store, and she is sitting in a big girl highchair at restaurants. Our biggest challenges with that are 1) she likes to chew on everything (and that's gross on those carts and highchairs). We bought her a plastic cover thing-y that we put in shopping carts and high chairs so she can eat it and we don't have to worry! 2) If she's sleepy, too bad! Whereas, before, she could just sleep in her carrier, now she either has to wait, or fall asleep with her daddy or me. Sometimes that's a challenge!!
Perhaps the biggest stride Katie has made has happened in the past week. She is beginning to sleep in her crib at night. Until now, Katie has slept in her papasan seat in our room. Now that she's nearly a year old, she really needs to be sleeping in HER room, in her crib. So, last Thursday, as hard as it was, I put her in her crib at bedtime, determined that she WOULD eventually fall asleep there! 2 hours later, sure enough, she was asleep. She only slept about 3 hours there that night, but that was a start! Friday night, we reduced crying time by an hour, and added an hour of sleep time. Saturday, she cried for only half an hour, and slept 4 hours; Sunday, she fell asleep during her last bottle, so I put her down while she was sleeping. She woke up slightly, but went right back to sleep! Yeehah!! She woke up around 4, but we're getting there. Monday night, I laid her down while she was fully awake (though drowsy), and she didn't cry at all -- she was awake at 3:15, but we're getting there in small increments!! Yea, Katie!!! (insert clapping here). Now, the thing we have to overcome is getting back to sleep in the middle of the night! But we're determined -- we'll make it!!
I'll do my best to post some new pictures sometime this week. We've got some good ones -- I just need to get them together so they can be posted! Until then . . . .

Our Fast, Fun Florida Trip

About a week ago, we took a short trip to Florida for our friends' wedding. Katie did SO well in the car -- what must it be like? Riding for hours at a time, backward, not able to see out the windows, not able to see Mommy and Daddy, having just a few toys . . . we could go on and on. But she really does ride well in the car. We counted up the states she has been through in her short 9 months of life -- Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, D.C., Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida! What a traveler!!! And she has spent the night in Kentucky, Illinois, New York, Maryland, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. Too bad she won't remember this stuff!!

Anyway, we stopped Thursday night in Alabama -- between Birmingham and Montgomery. Then Friday we continued down into Florida. Our condo was great! It was small, but we didn't really need a lot of space for SLEEPING the two nights we were there. It had an efficiency kitchen, and a great bathroom. Katie did a lot of crawling around on the floors there! She didn't like the travertine tile in the kitchen and bathroom, so when she crawled to those parts, she turned around and went back the other way!





Friday night we ate dinner at a place right on the water called the Crab Trap. The seafood was great, and the atmosphere was fun! We watched a storm coming in over the water -- lightning everywhere!!

Saturday, we braved the rain torrents and ate lunch in the car!! Fortunately, the rain stopped in time for the wedding!! We traveled about 10 minutes from the condo to the church -- Katie was already asleep. The wedding was beautiful, and Katie stayed asleep through nearly all of it! After the ceremony, we headed to the reception. Everything was so simple and elegant. We got to chat with some friends, old and new, and we had a great time sharing the day with the bride and groom!




That evening, we took Katie to see the Gulf of Mexico. We wanted her to have the experience of dipping her toes in the water -- she hated it!! For one thing, the water was colder than her "normal" bath water, and also, bath water doesn't rush up and get your toes -- this water did!! But we got some good pictures to show her when she gets older!!



Sunday -- Father's Day -- we gathered our things together and headed for home. We were trying to decide whether to try to make it all the way home, or to stop somewhere in Tennessee. After what seemed like an eternity in the car, we finally decided to stop. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Cracker Barrel, and then headed back to the hotel to collapse into bed, exhausted. (Isn't it something how much energy is sapped from your body just from traveling?)

Monday, our goal was to make it back to Louisville in time for Katie's Dr's appointment for her 9 month checkup. We drove into town and straight to the pediatrician's office! Just in time!!

All in all, it was a great trip -- quick, but a nice getaway! Just what we needed to recharge our batteries! Now, we're back into the daily routine, waiting until next month for our next quick getaway -- which will, fortunately, be just a LITTLE bit longer!

It's Been HOW Long?!?!?!?

I know, I know -- it's been almost 2 months since I've posted. Those of you with small children will completely understand and forgive me. Those of you who will one day have small children will one day understand and forgive me. Those of you who haven't had small children in a while will hopefully remember what chaos life can be, and forgive me.

Anyway, so much has happened. We have seen both sets of grandparents -- we made a trip up to western NY to see my parents and my grandma.
That was the week of April 7. As of then, Mom and Dad's new house was done, and ready to move into. They had already had the new furniture delivered, and just needed to move things from the old house on Main Street up to the new place on Messenger Street. What a beautiful house! They certainly deserve to have a brand-new, clean, in-shape, wonderful house. They have lived 33+ years at the old address, which wasn't even new, then!

And Tim's parents were here for a SHORT (too short) visit, on their way back to MD from a trip out to Illinois to see Grandma Girdler. Even though it was only a few hours they were here, it was time well-spent. Katie got to see her grandparents, and they got to love on her for a while. A fair trade!And I am SORRY that I forgot to include the fact that my sister and Luke were here for an overnight -- much too short a time (I think that's why I forgot)! But we had a great time -- Katie got to see Aunt Ellie and Uncle Luke (she hadn't seen Uncle Luke since she was born) -- and the time went by WAY too quickly. That's why we need to do that more often!!



I am now finished with another school year, and Katie is done (for the summer) at big-girl school. She has done so well there, and it has been really good for me to have her so close. When she goes back in August, she will have only a month and a half until she moves over to the "ones" room. Can you believe it?

We went to a Louisville Bats game two weekends ago. It was Katie's first time out at an event of that magnitude. We got tickets from a friend whose brother has season tickets and wasn't using this game's. So Katie got to sit over top of the visiting team's dugout for her first baseball game!! How fun! (please forgive the VERY unflattering picture of me, but I had to include it , since it's the only one of the whole family at the game!)



Katie is really into trying to crawl. She can get up on all fours and rock back and forth -- I can't wait for her to move forward -- just a little bit, even. What an accomplishment that will be. She is definitely getting too big for her Papasan chair -- which poses slight problems, because that is the only "bed" she knows. She can sit up in it, and the other day, she even managed to get herself completely turned around in it -- feet at the top, head hanging off the bottom. Ghhhh! So we will soon be making the transition to the crib, I think. I don't know what I'll do without her sleeping in our room with us -- I've gotten so used to having her right there. It's definitely nice to all be together for at least a few hours a day. (I know, those of you experienced parents out there are saying, "There will come a day when you'll try anything to get those kids to stay out of your room!!" But that's not yet for us, so we're enjoying THIS time!!)

Well, I think those are the major updates. I'll try to be more consistent now that I'm home for the summer. We have some trips planned (all for weddings of friends), so we're praying that the gas prices don't go up any more than they already have!! Hopefully we'll have some more good pictures to post soon, too. That should help keep me motivated!!

In Honor of Opening Day . . . .

This was the end-all, be-all picture for yesterday.

A Spoiling Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Girdler came out to Kentucky for a spoiling visit! They brought so much stuff with them that their car must have been nearly flying on the way home for the lack of weight! They got to be here for Easter -- and Tim got to preach -- and they were here to celebrate my birthday with us, and to see our sweet Katie-girl (that was the REAL reason for the visit!)

Both Grandma and Grandpa have the magic touch -- Katie would just drop off to sleep while they rubbed her back! It was the cutest thing ever!
And here are pictures of Katie's Easter outfit! Doesn't she look cute? Those little white patent-leather shoes remind me of the one Easter many years ago that my own Daddy pulled the station wagon right up on the front lawn to get as close as possible, and carried two little girls out to the car in the pouring rain so they wouldn't get their white Easter shoes muddy. Aren't daddies the best?!?

Ladies and Gentlemen, We've Got Teeth! (or, Tooth)

Sorry to say that I don't yet have a picture to go with this one, but maybe one day soon!
We have our first tooth poking through -- after fighting the good fight, complete with fever (and a trip to the ER), we have a tooth -- a sharp, little pain-inflicting tooth! (Pain inflicting for Katie and for Mommy (when my finger gets in the way!)) And tooth number two isn't far behind! We can see it in its place right next to the first tooth -- it's either just beneath the surface, or it's JUST broken through. But, regardless, it's there!! Watch out big-people food, Katie's soon to be on the prowl!!

And she's just aching to crawl! She gets onto her tummy, and can turn around to face any direction; then she tries SO hard to pull her legs up to crawl, but she can't quite get them to coordinate with the rest of her. Oh, she gets SO frustrated -- screaming, crying, but she keeps on trying again and again. It's going to happen soon, I just know it! That means we're going to have to baby-proof SOON!!! Just today when she was pseudo-crawling, she got into a sales flier and tried to eat it, and she managed to get a sticker stuck on her hand. Man, oh man, our life is going to change drastically soon!

Look at my new big-girl toy!!!

At daycare, Katie has been playing in an Exersaucer, and she's really been enjoying it. So we resigned ourselves to the fact that we'd have to be making a new purchase. We didn't get an Exersaucer, but we got something similar called "Bounce, Baby, Bounce!" It's got a bunch of toys around the tray like the Exersaucer does (just not the overwhelming amount like that does). But instead of the rocking base, this has a bungee platform that will bounce as she pushes it with her legs (once she can really reach it!)


Anyway, that was Thursday's purchase, and Mommy assembled it while Daddy was hard at work last night. Katie sat in her chair and patiently watched as it was built, but I imagine she was thinking, "Hurry up, Mommy -- I want to PLAY!" She loves it -- especially the things that she can reach and put into her mouth! Anyway, we figured this would give her something else fun to do for a little while, instead of always having to be lying on her back to play, or flipped over on her tummy, which still makes her frustrated, though she is getting the hang of rolling back over onto her back. Keep working at it, Katie-girl! You'll get it -- growing up is such hard work! And Daddy just managed to snap this picture this afternoon that encapsulates that last thought completely -- Whew!! It's hard work growing up!!

Snow Days and a Trip to the ER

Kentuckiana got a major winter storm this weekend. School was out on Friday, which meant that we had to miss day care (a.k.a. big-girl school) -- on only our second day!! But Mommy and Katie got to stay home -- nice and warm and cozy inside. But Daddy still had to go to work. And boy, did it snow. We got a LOT of snow on Friday -- about 4 inches before dark!! Then, during the night, we got about 8 more inches!!!!! Everything was covered!! That was more snow than we've had here since 2004!!! There was so much snow that Daddy didn't have to go to work on Saturday morning, so we could all just spend the day together! Two boys came and asked if they could shovel our driveway for us -- for $10 each. We agreed, and they did a PHENOMENAL job!! It looked like it had only rained, not snowed a foot!!! Amazing!!And in the midst of all that, we realized that Katie was running a fever. We took her temperature, and it was 101. So, we called the pediatrician, and he said that, just to be safe, we should take her to the ER, just to be sure it wasn't anything serious. SO, we got all bundled up and headed to the hospital. After all the paperwork, and the initial triage, we got put in a pediatrics room. Fortunately, things weren't too busy on a snowy Saturday. The doctor came and examined her -- said that there was nothing obviously wrong -- no ear infections, etc., so he wanted to do a couple tests. They swabbed her throat to test for strep; they swabbed her nose to test for the flu; and they drew blood to test for other things. That was the worst thing ever -- Katie cried, Mommy cried -- it was bad. But all the tests came back negative. They said it was just a virus, most likely. She is likely teething, as well, which can lead to an elevated temperature, too. So, they discharged us with instructions to give Tylenol every 4 hours. She was groggy, but feeling better -- acting more like herself last night, and then today, she has been mostly "normal" -- I know some of you are thinking, "How can she be normal? Look at her parents!!" HaHa!! Very funny!! Anyway, she's doing better, and hopefully will continue on her upswing tonight and tomorrow!!

A New Hat and LOTS of Formula

Well, our Katie girl outgrew her first winter hat. It was too tight and was leaving marks on her head -- OUCH!! So Katie and Mommy went shopping for a new hat. We found our treasure at Janie and Jack (on sale, of course, because who could afford it otherwise?) It's SO cute, and it's big enough that she'll be able to wear it again next winter, too. Right now it's a little overwhelming, but that just makes us look cuter!

And, then, one Saturday, our doorbell rang, and we answered it only to find a big brown cardboard box on our step. We brought it in, and opened it up -- Grandma and Grandpa Congdon bought us enough formula to last for the rest of our life!!! O.K. not really, but there were a LOT of cans of formula -- 24 cans (the little ones) -- but those are the BEST to just throw in the diaper bag when you have to go somewhere. So we're set with formula for quite a while now -- THANK YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!!!!!!!

New Milestones (is that redundant?)

Boy, oh boy -- people have told me how quickly time goes by when you have a newborn, but can you believe it's been 5 months since Katie was born? Yep! This Friday, February 15, will be 5 months already!!!

She's been doing so much lately -- eating "big girl food" like oatmeal, peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, some fruit (though she really doesn't seem to like fruit as much as she likes veggies!) She's also been developing her coordination -- she plays on her playgym, grabbing at things and learning how to make things "work". She gets so frustrated sometimes when she can't make the fishy "sing" -- oh how she howls! She loves to try to sit up like a big girl. The look on her face is just precious when she gets into her sitting up position. She has tried (several times) to roll over onto her belly, and Tim caught one time where she actually made it! We haven't seen any real success since then, but we know it's coming!!

We've had to move up to size 2 diapers!! Day after day, we were having to wash her Papasan seat, since it was SOAKED every morning!!! Normally we consider it a blessing that she sleeps for, like, 10 hours a night, but those days were crazy!! Laundry first thing in the morning!!

The best thing, though, is that she's getting more hair! We were wondering if she would go all through her life with her Grandpa Congdon's hairline. But, since we managed to get some of that cradle-cap off her head, the hair's been coming in beautifully! Of course what's growing is all on top -- we'll still have to wait for the hair in the back to fill in, but it's about the same color as mine, and fine-textured, and it's beautiful because it's all hers!!