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!!
