Have I Mentioned...

...that THIS is happening?

She started taking steps when we were at my parent's house at Thanksgiving & it gets better everyday! She still doesn't use it as her main transportation - but I don't think we're far!

It's all in the details...

My mom came to town early & help me implement the ideas that had been swimming in my head. I didn't want to spend much money (I mean she is only one. She won't remember it...or so David keeps reminding me...). I had made all of it & she was great helping me decorate!

There were groups of these pom-poms hanging all over - from the ceiling, from the lights, etc.

The gift table & cupcakes...

The cupcakes had little papers in them that said "Happy Birthday Kate" with a 1 in the middle.

We spread pictures all around the room of Kate from throughout the year...

I also made a banner for the fireplace (see the background of the above pictures) and used the Hobby Lobby letters from her pictures on the mantle (mom's idea!)

Her highchair had a banner too...

Her shirt is appliqued with a pink one & her name embroidered across it (with bib to match, since we all know my kid can't wear a bib or else she'll look like someone took a waterhose to her). And her outfit finished off with an adorable little mini skirt under a girly tu-tu!

David cooked the burgers & we had cupcakes for dessert.

The kids played with some of Kate's toys from home & in this "ball pit"....

I *might* have gotten in too...

She opened her gifts...

It was a relaxed time that we really enjoyed with our friends and family! Thank you everyone for coming!!!

Next up: Kate's chair picture & monthly update!!!

Pary Time!

After a brief break in birthday posts...I think it's time to get back to it!

Gotta get 'em done before it's time for Christmas posts!

What. A. Day.

Whew!



Maybe I should say, what a weekend! This story is not for the weak of stomach. It is for me & my records (since I can't seem to keep up with a baby book or any other type of journaling these days) So, turn back now - you've been warned!



It all started on Saturday night. Well, Saturday morning when I woke up to Kate covered in throw up. Her first. I spent the rest of the day horribly nauseated. We had already made plans to go out on a date that night, so even though I wasn't feeling great, we went anyway (can't pass that up!).

Saturday night was a little rough. I still didn't feel great & by that time neither did David. Then, at about 3 AM our power went out. Not the whole street or anything - just us. David spent the rest of the night trying to fix the breaker while I got up each time Kate cried just to make sure she didn't get sick again. (Thankfully she didn't! *sidenote* she had eaten A LOT the night before & I think just got a little too full, because she didn't have any other symptoms) Around 10 we decided we might as well head to church. So, we did, spent the rest of the afternoon calling David's electrician to come over (thank you!) and then hanging out at David's parent's house since Bethany was in town.

And that's just the beginning!

We went to bed glad that our electricity was on the the time being, knowing it would get fixed in the morning. About an hour later David told me he was feeling bad again (after feeling good all day). His fever was at like 101.5 & now his stomach hurt. By 1:30 he throwing up. My poor husband! There is nothing worse than a sick husband! They're the strong ones! So I spent the rest of the night getting a glass of water & a cold rag for him every few hours. (and checking on Kate too). At around 5:30, he was vomiting again, but this time he made the most scary noise after he did. He got back in bed saying that his side hurt. By 8 o'clock he was getting up (having not slept). When he did, he got sick again & really complained of his side hurting. I knew something was pretty wrong seeing as how he goes weeks without telling me things hurt usually.

I started making some phone calls. Did I mention Faber White is my hero?? He's in our small group & an ER doctor. I called his wife Meredith & told her what was going on. She passed the message along to Faber (who was ON HIS DAY OFF) and he told us it really sounded like David needed to be seen at the ER.

So, off I went, getting Kate's things together. Bethany B came right over to get Kate - told me to just pack her pajamas and not worry about her the rest of the day. What a blessing! I didn't have to tell her what to feed her, when for her to nap, etc. I knew I could just trust her completely with my baby girl!

I got David dressed & we headed to the ER. Faber met us there & just made the whole experience amazing! He explained things so my worried mind could understand, assured us that the surgeon on call was great, and definitely did not make us feel like an inconvenience since he was there, taking care of us ON HIS DAY OFF.

We spent the next four hours (no time in ER time) getting a CT scan, blood work, etc. David got some morphine & zofran & was feeling much better! They were pretty sure it was appendicitis & that we'd be headed for surgery soon, but we were just thankful he was in good hands. A few days of recovery & all would be better!

Turns out it was NOT APPENDICITIS!! He has a bad infection in his intestines & the bulging pain in his side is probably some torn muscles in his abdominal wall from when he was throwing up. (YIKES!) Dr. White gave him some mediciine & sent us home.

David's feeling much better now. Still some pretty good pain when he has to cough & it'll take a day or two to kick the infection, but I left that hospital so thankful. So thankful I had a healthy husband who spent most of his sick time telling me how sorry he was that I was having to do so much, and how thankful he was for me. So thankful that I was there only with a sick husband, not a dying one. So thankful that I wasn't there with my child. So thankful that I had friends who are like family to help us (and family who had already packed to get in the car and drive 5 hours to come help!). So thankful that in the grand scheme of things this was just a tough weekend. By the end of the week, we'll all probably be feeling good - sitting & enjoying our family & celebrating our Savior's birth. What a good reminder.

A swingin' time...

My parents got Kate her very first swing set for her birthday!! (yes she is spoiled rotten!) My dad spent the entire morning & afternoon on Saturday putting it together - BY HIMSELF!!! Did I mention it was raining? He was determined though, so he pulled all the parts up onto the porch & got to work!

He only called for back up a couple times...

On Sunday, the sun came out and Kate got to try it out. She LOVES IT!

We've been out everyday to swing. It's the perfect afternoon thing to do when we are dying for Daddy to get home! I can't wait for the spring when we can stay out longer!

Thank you Nana & Poppa!!!

For my Grandparents...

All of my grandparents were so sweet to send Kate birthday gifts even though they were unable to be here to celebrate with us. I thought I'd give them a chance to see how much she loves them!!



Nannie & Papa (my dad's parents) got her this great Phonics set for the refrigerator. It says the sound of each letter & sings a little song about it. She loves pulling the magnets off & pushing the button to make it sing the song.

Grandmommy (my mom's mom) got her this busy station. It keeps her occupied forever! She loves to move all the little parts around.

And Pop(my mom's dad) & Saundra got her this Playskool garden toy. It was so fun to watch her learn to put the little parts in the different compartments. She's growing up so fast!!!

Thank you!!!

**Be sure to scroll down & check out the other posts I've done in the past couple days**

More to birthday posts to come!

Wake up! It's your birthday!

Last Saturday, my sweet baby turned 1! We started the day with a big breakfast of homemade buscuits, blueberry pancakes, bacon & eggs.

After breakfast, we had a little mini-party and let Kate open her gifts from us, my parents, my grandparents, and a few of my mom's friends who had sent a gift!

David & I got Kate her first baby doll & stroller. She loved it!!! Every time she sees it now she says "Daydee!" So cute!

She wanted to baby to share it's pacifier...

Next up...fun gifts from my grandparents!

You can have your cake....

...and eat it too.

More birthday posts to come!

12 Month Stats

Went for Kate's 12 month/1 year appointment. She did great as usual. I had taken her in the week before for a cold thing - didn't want her to get the other kids sick at her party - just a cold, nothing big...but she had weighed in at 24 pounds! That would be 4 pounds in 3 months. Normal when a newborn - NOT normal at this age! I was shocked! I was pleased when I found out these were her stats:

Height: 30 inches (78%)

Weight: 22.6 lbs (74%) - much more on track!

She took her shots like a champ as usual! Doc said she looked great & was developing right along schedule. Was thrilled she had already dropped the bottle & had moved to whole milk without much fuss. We're supposed to drop a milk feeding - same amount just only 3 feedings. I'll do this someday :)

Happy 12 Months Kate!

Kate...how old are you??

This Month Kate...

--started taking steps (4 at a time)

--calls MaMa by name when wants something

--starting to say more things - repeating especially

--signs more - please, more, eat, & all done

--fake laughs when she hears someone else laughing

--dances EVEN MORE

--sleeping schedule is the same (wonder how long I can hang onto that!)

I'm sure I've forgotten some since it took me so long to write this...but this latest month has been very eventful, so look forward to Kate's 13 month post!

Today...

I'm sitting here, it's 12:48 at night, and I'm remembering that right at a year ago right now, I was about to get my epidural. I had labored through some serious hours of contractions & David finally convinced me that I just needed to get some sleep if I was going to be able to push in a few hours.

All day long, I've been thinking what was happening a year ago today.

12:30 pm - I went in for a 40+ week appointment
1:15 - they hooked me up to a monitor to check Kate's heart rate, and realized it wasn't changing with my contractions (this was from 3+ days of hard contractions that weren't close enough to call "active labor" pphh)
2:30 - Doc told me to go home, get my stuff, & go to the hospital. I was in labor & it was time to have this baby!
3:30 - checked into hospital
8ish - my parents got to town
10ish - contractions got REAL hard & I really started having to work through them. In some strange way I really enjoyed this. I loved knowing that my baby was coming & that my body was working to get her there.
1ish -got my epidural
lots of not sleeping, lots of beeping of machines
4ish - I begged for my epidural to be turned down. I hated the way it felt.
6:30 - Dr. Martin came in to explain that Kate's heartrate had now gone above the level it was supposed to & it wasn't coming down (again, too long with too many contractions). I thought we were just discussing that a c-section was possible, but by the end of the conversation, I was being prepped for surgery. I had to face the fear I had felt most of my pregnancy. But, it was ok, a healthy baby was all I wanted. I cried, but I was just so ready to meet her.
7:20 on Friday, December 12th, Kathryn Elizabeth Mitchell was born. All 8 lbs and 12 ounces of her (doesn't seem like much to the 24 pounds she is today!). She changed my world.

This year has been amazing. I have loved EVERY MINUTE of it. Some of it has been so hard. I cried more over this child (& I'm sure there's much more to come!) than I knew possible. In joy, in saddness, in frustration, and in love. So much of it has been so fun...both of us laughing so hard with each other, and playing as a family. And a lot of it has been so sweet - cuddling, reading books, kisses, & watching her with her daddy.

I just can't believe this day is here. Today, my baby is turning one. I plan on soaking as much of her up as I can. I know I'll blink & she'll be in college. But, today she's...

A year ago today...

...was my DUE DATE. That magical day they tell you your baby is SUPPOSED to come.

MINE. DIDN'T. Not for 3 more days.

Today, I've been thinking about what it was like a year ago today...

--I walked Wal-Mart trying desperately to get this baby to COME OUT!





--I started having hard contractions. Yes, every five minutes sometimes, but also every 20 sometimes.





--I looked like THIS:
Seriously. It's a good thing she was only 3 days late. I might have blown up.

A visit with Santa

We had a fairly sucessful first visit with Santa. Last year, Kate was way too little to visit Santa (just 2 weeks old at Christmas!), so this really feels like her first Christmas for me. She definitely cried at first with Santa. We have quite a humorous picture of the cousins (Connor & Kate) both screaming in Santa's lap, but Kate ended up pulling it together & I got suckered to buy the expensive pictures...

...but she sure is cute :)

Christmas Tree Farm

After a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parents house, we ended our time there by going to a christmas tree farm in Elgin, TX on our way out of town. Cole, Kristin & Connor were able to come, so it was a family affair!

Growing up, we did this every year, so it was fun to go back and do again. A little tougher with kids who just want to run around, but couldn't, but still a lot of fun.

When we first got there, we got to check out the animals at the little "farm".

Then, we headed out on the hayride to find a tree.

It was a little windy...

I don't think these two can get any cuter...

Of course we attempted some cute cousin pictures.

Connor showing some love to his cousin (or pushing her down...whatever!)

After lots of walking around & searching, we finally found the perfect tree.
Dad cut it down...

and Connor drug it in.

After all the tree hunting was done, mom & dad tried to get a picture for their christmas card...


...have I mentioned how hard it is to get a good picture of an 11 & 18 month old together?? At least dad was smiling :)

We got some decent ones individually...

And Cole's family got a good picture.

Us? It's ok...

After eating some yummy bar-b-que, we headed back to East Texas. It was so nice to be in Austin for over a week - a chance to relax, but it sure is good to be home.

Lots of changes happening around our house as Kate's 1-year birthday approaches. Hopefully I'll get to blog about all that soon!!! (this one only took me 3 days to finish!)