Disney: Part 2

We were blessed to return to the most magical place on earth with Joel's family in November. This family vacation is one that we will never forget! We spent 6 days experiencing ALL of the awesomeness that Disney has to offer! Everything was already decorated for Christmas- and this just added to the magic!

Kathryn LOVED spending this time with her cousins: Allie, Becca, and Miller. The kids had a blast together. Every morning Kathryn would wake up and immediatly start asking where they were! The kids love walking around the parks together. Kathryn would not even hold our hands by the end of the week- she would only hold her cousin's hands!!

It had only been 6 weeks since our previous visit- but I was amazed how much Kathryn had changed!

She actually liked (or should I say "tolerated") the characters!! We were able to get several pictures AND autographs for her book! She can now say Micky Mouse- and her favorite saying of the trip was: "Where's that mouse?"!

Making up for lost time....

I am so sad that I have let so many months go by since my last post. How did that happen?! It is now December 23rd, and we are all anxiously awaiting Christmas!!

We blinked and Kathryn will be 18 months old on the 26th of this month. I always laughed when people would tell me how fast they grow up- but it is so very true!! I am not even sure where to start how much Kathryn has grown and changed since our last post. I think the easiest way is to simply post our Christmas letter for this year. I think it about says it all.

I do feel like I need to take some time to tell what Kathryn is up to now! We are most impressed with the rediculous amount that she talks!! She repeats just about anything we say- and speaks very clearly. When she wants something she says "please" and when she gets it she says "thank you" with little or no prompting. We are simply amazed at how much our little girl has grown!!! It makes me excited and a little sad at the same time.

Kathryn's 17 month stats:
* LOVES to talk!! Can say about 30-40 words. First real word (not just babbling mama and dada was "mommy". We will never forget that night- it was a couple of days after her first birthday. She woke up with a raging 102 fever- that later developed to 105!!! We had to put her in a cold bath with me to cool her off- she was lying on my chest and murmred "mommy" in the most pitiful little voice. My heart nearly broke. I would have done anything to make her pain go away. We later found out that she had Roseola... aparently it is pretty common in little ones and the number one symptom is an out of control fever!!

* First Sentence was at 17 months: "where is Maddie AND Dooley"? She is so cute when she asks questions. She puts her hands in the air and shruggs her shoulders. It is amazing that they even absorb body language!!! She loves to jabber!! We can now understand about 80% of what she says- but on occasion she will get going and we have no idea what she jabbers about!!! I was so proud earlier today when she asked for some cheese. I asked her "what do you need to say"- and she said "please"! Then she said "thank you" after I gave it to her! It is the little moments that make me so proud!

*Nicknames (I will add pronunciations where they are needed): Me: Mommy, Joel: Daddy and sometime Joel (I think it is too cute!), Maddie: Maddie, Dooley: Doowee, William: Wee Wee (no, we did not teach her this!), Caroline: Cee Cee, My Mom: Mommy bea (code for: Mama Bear) or pops, or poppy, My dad: Poppy or pops(although the other kids call him Papa bear), Joel's dad: Pops, Joel's mom: pops, and some other things that we can't figure out!, Loren: Uncie (pronounced: "un-k-ie", Allie: Ayie (pronounced: "A-yee", Becca: Bec, Miller: Miur (pronounced: "mi-ur").

*Big News: We finally got our first haircut!! Kathryn was successfully growing a baby mullet. It was not the most pleasureable experience- and I had to hold her- but we got the job done! I hope we have a little while before the next haircut event!!

*Favorite Foods: Alaways changing! Just b/c she eats something today- does not mean she will eat it tomorrow! Consistant favorite foods: Cheese, apples, pasta, bananans, yogurt smoothies, dogfood (totally gross, I know), cheerios, beans (espcially black eyed peas), and ice (weird, I know), ice cream and french fries will ALWAYS be on her favoirte list (I know, I know, we are terrible parents!!). You would never know that our little girl started at tiny 5 lbs! She has a nice little belly that shakes when she laughs like a bowl full of jelly!!

*Teeth: we have 8 on top- and until 3 weeks ago- only the bottom 2 front teeth. She is not a great teether. We always know when one is erupting... she gives us a wake up call about 2am- and it is not pretty. That brings us to sleep....

*Sleep: Thankfully she has my sleeping genes and sleeps like a champ when we don't have any teeth interuptions! She usually goes to bed between 8:00-8:30 and sleeps until 8:30 or 9am!!! I NEVER thought we would EVER see this day! She is now down to one good nap a day. She usally naps for about 2-2 1/2 hours a day- usually aroung 1-3:30pm. I am FINALLY able to do my real job and get some work done most afternoons- I had forgotten what that felt like for about 15 months!!!!

* Animals and Numbers: She now knows MANY animals and the sounds they make: Dog (obviously!), cat, tiger, dinosaur, pig, duck. Other animals she can say: sheep, fish, mouse (Micky Mouse- yes, she can say Mickey too). We are most impressed that she can count to 10!! We work with her in the bath tub counting her toys- she takes a little prompting- but she can get all the way from 1-10!! Joel thinks she is a genius!!

*She announced that she was poopy last week. The walked by me saying "poopy, poopy, poopy"- sure enough- I checked her and she was poopy. I would like to think that this means she might potty train early- but I guess we will just have to see!!

* Favorite Shows- used to be a big fan of Micky Mouse Club House- but now she LOVES Seasame Street. Her code name for Elmo is "augie"- pronounced "au-g-ie". We have no idea where she came up with that name- but we just go with it!! She has started to learn the character's names: Cookie, Big bird, and Abby to name a few.

*LOVES TO DANCE!! She stands in place and sticks her booty out and squats up and down. I think she has inheritied her daddy's dance moves! It is scary how good her rythm is! Her daddy is going to have to beat those boys off with a stick one day!!!

* LOVES: Maddie and Dooley. They are her best buddies!! They sit right beside her at meal time and anxiously await any bites they can get! We always know when Kathryn is finished eating: She leans over her chair and begins to feed the dogs by the handful! It is their most favorite time of the day!! We are working on stopping that behavior b/c Kathryn will do the same thing in resturants where there is no 4-legged vaccumes!! She loves to sit on Maddie's back and ride her like a horse.

Maddie has done unbelieveably well with Kathryn. She let her ride, pet, and chase her. When Maddie has had enough- she quietly slips upstairs for a nap (I think she secretly hopes Kathryn won't notice!). Dooley and Kathryn love to play. Kat loves to take bones to her while she lays on her bed- then she will promptly take them back. This made us super nervous when Kathryn started this behavior.... but Dooley is amazing with her!!! They are a little pack- and I am so excited to say that I believe Kathryn is the pack leader. Maddie and Dooley always back down to her- and let her have her way! Ceaser would be so proud!

Welcome to Micky Mouse's House!!!

I never thought we would be those parents who would take a kids to disney long before they would every remember they had been! I am learning to "never say never" when it comes to parenting!! We were sucked in by my mom and sister to join them and the kids in September of this year. It actually worked out perfect- we flew (yes, I said flew- more on that in a moment!)to Disney on Joel's birthday and were able to celebate his 34 years down there!! was a very quick trip- we left on a Thursday and flew back home on Sunday afternoon. We met Mom, Laura, Jason, Caroline, William, Loren, and Beth (Loren's girlfriend) there. We were totally spoiled and stayed at the Beach Club- which had not changed a bit from when I was a kid!



Kathryn did suprsingly well on the flight! She was alseep both ways about 2 min after take off- and slept until we landed. We upgraded to 1st class anticipating the worst- but she slept and I was able to have a couple of cranberry-vodkas and relax!

Meeting Micky and the gang DID NOT go over well!! He are a few picutres to let you see how that went..... You be the judge!


Her favorite rides were: Peter Pan, Dumbo, the Carosel, the great movie ride, the people mover (we rode this 3 times while she slept in my arms!!), Nemo (at Epcotthe Animal Safari (at the Animal Kingdom).... just to name a few. She loved the shows- especially Beauty and the Beast- well, acutally she slept through 80%- which allowed Joel and I to actually enjoy it!

We were nervous about her not being able to get naps- but she adapted rather well and slept in the stroller as she needed.

When I came time to leave.... Joel and I got over-run with emotions and sucked in! I am sure you are wondering what I mean by this? Well, we bought season passes. I know, I know!!! We are totally nuts- but to place is just so darn magical!!! We made a pack that we would get our money's worth- which brings us to my next post!!!......Overall- I would give Kathryn's first trip to Disney 2 thumbs up!! She was quite the trooper and I think she had a blast (for a one year-old!)!!! Enjoy the pictures!!

)

9 Months.... and Kathryn's Crawling!

Watch out world... Kathryn Alice Tarpley is on the move! Kathryn has grown so much in the last month. At the begining of the month Kathryn was barely eating solid foods, was thinking about pulling up, like to rock back and forth on all fours. Now, Kathryn is pounding puffs, strawberries, oranges, corn, carrots, and anything else she can get her hands on! She pulls up like a champ- and is crawling everywhere! We have attempted to "Kathryn Proof" our home- and we will see if it stands the tests of "Hurricane Kathryn". It is so fun to watch her explore her world now that she is on the move and can get around. I am sure this is the first of many new changes and developments- it is both exciting and a little sad to see her grow up!

8 Months.... Movin' on Up!

It seems as if the time is flying by! Our little baby Kathryn is 8 months 2 weeks and 5 days old today (according to the baby ticker)!! She is quickly growing into a little person and becoming so independent! In the last month she has grown and changed so much... even just in the last few days. Joel says that she is learning things entirely too quickly! Enjoy the update.... get ready: it is a LONG one!

Kathryn has been up to so much.... I don't even know where to start!!! In the last month Kathryn has mastered sitting up totally without assistance- she can go from lying to sitting, and is thinking about crawling and pulling up! She just sits and watches the world go by! She now sits in the grocery cart when we go shopping... and looks so sweet. You can tell she is very observant- she loves to people watch (like her mama)! She is beginning to branch out with her food choices.... she will now tolerate mixed veggies, corn, and is a BIG fan of Gerber's "Hawaiian Delight"! She has fallen in love with the biter biscuits and banana puffs- and I am very impressed with her fine motor skills.... for those of you in the medical world- she has an excellent pincer grasp! She has almost got the hang of the sippy cup... she knows what to do with it- and the taste of apple juice (don't worry it is diluted!) keeps her motivated- but the cup is still a little heavy to hold on her own.

She is like her mama in more ways than one... she has become VERY vocal! She loves to scream! She is not upset- she just loves to hear herself... and like to know that you are listening and paying attention! It is quite cute- and gets a lot of looks in public!

Super Big Deal: Kathryn is so very close to crawling. Last week we looked over and she was up on all fours- this week she started rocking on all fours- and on Monday she took her first leap after Dooley's tail.... and splat- right on her tummy!

She is very persistent- and she got right back up to go again! We had to lower her crib over the weekend- we glanced at the monitor and she was sitting up on her knees! She was almost asleep on her side when we had left the room! She now loves to sleep on her belly- I was a bit nervous at first... but she is insistent upon sleeping that way- we walked in one morning and she was asleep with her bootie up in the air!

She is all about exploring and testing her environment.....it is so fun to watch her learn and grow.

Super Duper Big Deal: My little fish started swimming lessons last week! We have started her at my work (Dynamo)- and she is in the Dynababies class on Saturday mornings. We decided that I will be teaching her swimming for the rest of her life... so daddy gets to do the baby lessons. It nearly killed me to be on deck!! She loved the water- and was hardly phased by the fact that she was in a HUGE pool and not her own little tub. She was most interested in the other little babies in her class!! The babies did not go under water during class, so I asked the instructor if she would mind standing by while Joel dunked her.... Daddy didn't have the heart to do it- so the instructor let her go under- And.... she didn't even swallow any water OR cry! It was such a proud moment for me! I almost cried! Here are some pics of her swimming with daddy:


Kathryn defiantly knows her name and is becoming VERY aware of her surroundings!! You can can call her from across the room and she drops what she is doing to look up! She is also very aware of when we leave the room, and she has started to have a tiny bit of stranger anxiety. She still loves her bath time. She now loves to play on Mommy and Daddy's bed after her bath.


Her favorite toys have become any phone and all remote controls! Who needs books and fancy toys when there is a remote in the room?! I know I might be a bad mom, but we have started watching a little TV during her morning play time. Mommy is not so great at entertaining in the morning... so we let Micky Mouse Club House and the Dinosaur Train help out sometimes :). Kathryn and Mommy are both learning so much from the Dinosaur Train (on GPTV if you are wondering)! Last week we learned about Theropods! She even has Dino PJ's! Uncle Jack would be so proud!

We have also introduced her to the awesome world of Kentucky Basketball! Here are some pictures of her in her UK Cheerleading outfit (thanks to auntie Sara) cheering the cats to an SEC victory! I guess we will have to pull out the red and black for football season :).




The best news of all is that our little girl is continuing to grow and becoming happier and healthier everyday! She now weights 18.8 lbs and is in the 54th percentile for her weight! A far cry from the little 5.5lb baby we met 8 months ago! She is almost totally out of her 6 month clothes, and is transitioning into size 3 diapers!! She now eats solids with every meal, even gets a couple of puff snacks each day! I am so proud of how much she has grown!

I never understood or appreciated what it meant to be a parent until Kathryn...... Don't get me wrong-there are good days and also some bad- but Joel and I love our little Kathryn so unconditionally. She truly melts our hearts!!

7 Months and On the Go!!!

The month of February has been full of adventure! Kathryn has discovered freedom in her walker. We picked it up at a garage sale when I was pregnant... it has been the best $5.00 we have spent yet! She goes all over the place in it, and she has realized that she can take some revenge on Maddie and Dooley! She loves to chase after them, and investigate our house plants (among other things)! I came home and was unloading the groceries. I turned around and found this:

and when I called her name, I got this:
I have a feeling Ms. Kathrnyn is going to be a handful when she begins to crawl and walk!

Kathryn also celebrated her first Valentines Day! Here is a picture of her investigating her first V-Day card from her daddy:
I am sure it was very tasty!

Atlanta got 5 (yes, 5) inches of snow! This was our second snow of the season- and they called it the blizzard of 2010! It was fun, but very short lived. All of the snow was gone in a matter of a couple of days. It was a bit cold for K. to enjoy the snow... but Maddie went BANANAS!

I forgot how much she loves the snow! She will always be a KY doggie at heart! She turned into a wild women in the snow! See for yourself:


Speaking of Maddie and Dooley: Kathryn is becoming quite the little pack leader. As many of you know, we are BIG fans of the Dog Whisperer.... so we are trying to teach the pooches that Kathryn is their pack leader. I love this picture:

I think she might be the littlest pack leader of a 110 lb rottenwiler and a 65lb pitbull! I am sure there are some people who would call child protective services... but to us- these are Kathryn's sisters!
Just another day in the life of the Tarpley's!!

6 Months and Growing....

Kathryn turned 6 Months on December 26th! How did that happen? She is getting SO big! Yea for size 2 diapers! She is almost totally out of her 3 month cloths, and I have broke out the 6 month stuff! She can't quite get into the 6 month Gymboree stuff- but the 6 month Carters fits perfect! She is now eating more and more solid foods. Her most favorite is sweet potatoes (she takes after her daddy!). She also really like rice (the fruit flavored kind), and her least favorite food is bananas! Apple juice really makes her get excited, but it is only a special treat (when she needs to poo poo)!

New Developments: Kathryn has really begun to explore her vocals this month. She loves to make this high pitch scream.... and then she will giggle at herself.

I think she is starting to realize that it gets a reaction out of us! She has also figured out how to make the "motor boat" noise with her lips. The day she figured it out.... she did it non-stop! She LOVES her exersaucer and jumper. She has also finally gotten big enough to try her little walker. She can scoot herself backwards... but has not yet discovered how to go forward!


She also really likes her Baby Einstein DVDs (Mommy also like these b/c I can get a little work done when they are on)! She has finally found her feet.... and will not let them go! She sucks on her toes (and actually prefers them over her pacifier!). When her feet are stuck in footy pj's she resorts to her thumb..... this could be a challenge to break this habit in the future!

She has really started to notice her cousins. She LOVES Caroline... she always giggles when she comes around. William is now walking, and he has taken an interest in Kathryn. I think that they are going to get into trouble together (when Kathryn starts to walk)!





Kathryn's Schedule: Kathryn's is finally starting to get a more consistant schedule. She usually wakes up around 8:30am and has a bottle. She has 4 naps a day for about 45min each (she is NOT a good napper!) at 10:30, 1:00, 3:30, and 5:30. She eats her bottles around 8:30, 11:00, 2:30, and 4:30; and her solids around 11:30, 3:00, and 6:00. She is the happiest after she eats in the morning, and she is getting MUCH better about falling asleep. Our old bedtime routine would take hours (I am still trying to forget some of those nights)!... she now falls asleep in about 15 minutes (Praise God)! For those of you who know me, I am not a very scheduled person... but I have worked VERY hard to help my baby get on a good eating a sleeping schedule. So far, I would give myself a B+!

6 Month Stats:
Kathryn had her 6 month check up right after Christmas, and our little girls is still long and lean! She now weighs 15.4 lbs (42%), is 26 inches long (63%), and her head circumference is 16 3/4 (54%). As you know, she has already had her first bout with an ear infection... and the medicine made her have explosive diarrhea! I feel so bad for her! She just can't win this month! We are still working (for the past 2 weeks) to get her well. She is almost there! The best news I have to report is that our little girl is happy. She really is a different baby than the one we know in the dark days of colic. She smiles, laughs, and plays for 90% of the day (she used to cry for 90% of the day)! This is a welcomed change.

The best news is that she is now sitting up! She started sitting up at 6 months & 3 weeks. It really seemed that she started over night! I think she really likes the independance!

Mama bear has started pulling some of my baby pictures- it is a bit scary how much she looks like me. There are some pictures of me that I see and I think that it is Kathryn! Take a look and see for yourself!

Me at 4 months

Me @ Thanksgiving 1980 ( 3 1/2 months)

Me at Christmas 1980 ( 4 1/2 months)

My first Birthday! Can you believe how much I look like MY mom!



Joel and I still look at her and can't believe she is ours. Even on the most challenging days.... we love her so much and can't imagine our lives without her. I finally understand what it means to love unconditionally!!! Until next time......