The Holiday Card

I think I've finally gotten all of the holiday cards out to friends, fam, etc. but I'm certain that I've forgotten to send to so many. I'm trying to compile a more complete list of addresses but it's a major work in progress. I've seem to have lost track of the wedding guest list spreadsheet that had so many contacts. That feels like it was many moons ago and definitely a few computers back.

Thought I'd share the card here on the blog because I love it so much and know that with my incomplete mailing list, I had to have missed sending to so many! Kate definitely has spiced up our traditional, boring holiday card with her cuteness ; ) Brandi Traina with Traina Photography captured all of these amazing photos! She is absolutely amazing and if anyone is in need of priceless pictures, she's your go-to person! Her eye is incredible and she is so much fun and easy to work with. A photo shoot with an infant is no easy task, but I'm amazed at the shots she was able to capture from the comfort of our own home! And, many, many thanks to Kami for designing such a cute card! You're the best!!!

I love the expression on Kate's face on the front of the card! Kyle's favorite picture is the one of her grinning with the little ski cap! I love them all - stay tuned for more pics from this session - yes, there are actually more great shots that we weren't able to include on the card.

Happy holidays!!!!

Kate - 6 months

I'm behind again in posting but hopefully will get all caught up before the new year! That's the goal! Here are a few of my fave snapshots of Kate at 6 months with her monkey (that still doesn't have a name). She turned 6 months old on Dec. 16 and is still growing like a weed! She's still in the 90th percentile in weight (18 pounds, 9 ounces) and we'll find out tomorrow at the doctor just how tall she is! She's been in the 97th percentile in height too - just crazy! Kate is babbling more and more at this age and every now and then, I like to think I can make out her saying "mama" or something to that effect ; ) She's definitely more in tune with the world around her and is very observant. If we go somewhere new or out and about, she definitely scopes the place and people out. She loves the outdoors, although it's too cold to go outside these days. Her favorite thing in the world is Cooper dog! She screams and smiles so often when he's around. Guess they actually spend the most time together, so to be expected, right?! She's sitting up these days on her own - but not for too long before losing her balance and falling over. My favorite new trick of hers is giving kisses! I'll say "can I have a kiss?" and lean in toward her and she'll lean toward me with her mouth sort of half open and lay one on me. It's the best thing ever! The other day, she actually grabbed my cheeks with both hands and laid one on me - gotta love it!

Kate's First Thanksgiving!

Kate's very first Thanksgiving was spent in Nashville, Tennessee visiting family and could not have been better! We are all so thankful to have her as the newest addition to the family. To get to Nashville, we flew with Kate for the very first time...which was an adventure. I had intended to take pictures of her/us at the airport but with all the other airport chaos, that just never happened. We got to the airport and realized we had left several crucial items - I swear, sooner or later, I'll get this packing thing down. We left the car seat base and an essential bottle part, all of which had to be purchased so that we could survive the trip. The flights were packed due to the holidays. Maybe I would feel otherwise if the airport had not been so busy, but if you're traveling with an infant, my advice is to cough up the extra bucks to purchase the additional seat and have the extra space for a car seat or whatever would make them most comfortable. Traveling with a five month old in your lap is not an easy challenge!

Thanksgiving weekend was spent relaxing, eating, shopping and before leaving town, we even went to a hockey game! Kate was mesmerized with hockey and despite the cool temps inside the arena, she gazed at all of the players, ice rink, and loved all the music and lights! We got to go in style and had our own suite, so it was nice to move inside to warm up and toward the end of the night, Kate totally passed out and had a nice comfy space to rest!

Here are some of our favorite pics from the weekend!

Kate turns 5 Months Old

I can hardly believe Kate is already 5 months old! Time flies and I'm just loving this age and her cute little baby body! She's got the cutest rolls and my favorite outfits are the little long john pajamas that look too tight on her ; ) I'll have to post a pic of her in those! Seriously, it's just adorable! Here is a quick snapshot we grabbed of her with her monkey so you can see how big she is these days!

Mimi and G-Paw's Visit

My parents (Mimi and G-Paw) came in just over a week ago for a quick visit to see Kate (mom was here just two short weeks prior to that and we'll see my entire family over Thanksgiving) but nevertheless, they couldn't resist making the trip to see her and we always love to see them! They are making the most of their new home closer to their grand baby! Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend.

Daddy Let Me Show You How It's Done...

["daddy, you look confused?!?...let me help you out!"]


["you see, it's as easy as making everything add up to 1..."]


["I would show you but I'd rather just chew on this pen"]


["daddy, aren't you proud of me?"]

Last weekend, Kate and I crashed in on daddy (in the dining room) while he was working away and Kate became very intrigued with her new surroundings and all the paper spread out everywhere! I just loved these pics of her sitting in daddy's lap and the whole series gives you an idea of just what went down. Kate was telling and showing daddy all kinds of stuff.

First Real Food - Well, Sort of!

Not exactly what I should classify as real food, but it beats a bottle of soy ; ) After our four month doc visit, our pediatrician told us we could start her on some rice cereal whenever we were ready but she warned us that most babies really hate rice cereal and will cry bloody murder. She told us to use Kate's formula to make it pretty runny and that the point initially is to just get her used to eating off of a spoon (as opposed to sucking on her bottle).

Kate has never, never, never turned down an opportunity to eat (or at least take a bottle) - ha!, so I felt pretty confident that she would love the upgrade to rice cereal and wouldn't throw any fits about it like the pediatrician forewarned. And, my instincts were right! It was pretty fun watching her face as we fed her spoonful after spoonful ; ) She was a natural at eating off of a spoon and there was only one moment (you'll see the pic above) where she was tired of me probably snapping pictures and cried just a little. Otherwise, as we predicted, she loved every bite.

Guess we'll continue to try to feed her a little rice cereal from this point forward. I have no idea what's next after this but I assume it'll be another upgrade to something even more yummy!!