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Monday, June 28, 2010

Kim visits Texas!

Kim was so sweet to come down for a visit to meet Kathryn (and I guess she wanted to visit me too ;) ). We had a great time and I love that she was able to see Kathryn while she's still tiny. Here are some pictures from our great visit with Kim.

Kim's first day here. Kathryn loves her Aunt Kim!

It wouldn't be a true visit from Kim without a trip to Souper Salad ;-)

My little fashionista

Showing off those cute little muscles!

Because its so darn hot right now and there's no sight of it cooling off until the fall, I hate that I can't take Kathryn for walks. Instead, we ventured to the mall for the first time to take a walk in the air conditioning. Thanks to Kim's help, the trip was a success!

I love her mischievous look in this picture!

Mrs. Chapman was sooooo sweet to send Kim down with a gift for Kathryn! This has to be the softest teddy bear I've ever felt - it's made from Alpaca fur and feels amazing! I can't wait for Kathryn to be old enough to snuggle with it. I have a feeling this bear is going to be her favorite snuggle buddy. Thank you SO MUCH Mrs. Chapman! :-)

All snuggled up with Auntie Kim

Check out that gorgeous engagement ring! Can't wait for Labor Day 2011!

Family shot :-)

Thanks so much for visiting, Kim! We had a great time and can't wait to see you again soon!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day

We celebrated a fairly quick Father's Day today because E.J. had to be at work in the early afternoon (darn police officer crazy schedules!) so it was more like, Happy Father's Morning! But it was still a great day because it was E.J.'s first Father's Day. It started out with some of his favorite sausage and egg breakfast tacos and ended with a new dessert recipe I tried out, (thanks to my favorite chef, Giada De Laurentiis) frozen brownie sundae...delicious! Here's a few pictures from the day.

Dad and his girl, Kathryn (or "Katie-bug", "K-bug", or "Bug" as he affectionately calls her. Basically, she's his lady bug!)





Modeling the new slippers she "picked" out for dad!


Frozen Brownie Sundae (bottom layer: brownies with chocolate chips and a chopped up toffee candy bar. middle layer: dulche de leche ice cream. Top layer: heavy cream and milk chocolate chips melted. In the end topped with strawberries blended with powdered sugar and lemon zest = greatness/no chance of loosing baby weight...especially with the left overs in the freezer!) :)

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Happy Birthdays!


I thought it would be fun to track Kathryn's growth each month by taking her picture on the rocking chair in her nursery. Here's her one month picture taken on June 4, 2010!



Happy 1 month sweet girl!

The following day was my 27th birthday, so we took a few pictures together.






Nana and Pop Pop meet Kathryn

My mom and dad (Nana and Pop Pop) drove down from Vermont for a visit soon after Kathryn was born. It was great to have them here...plus they're the best house guests ever because they insist on being put to work (thanks mom and dad, you're the best!). Mom cleaned the house from top to bottom (a much needed cleaning after being neglected for a while with a new baby), cooked and baked delicious meals and desserts, and as always gave me some ideas for decorating :). Dad and his endless energy stained our deck, repaired things here and there around the house, and helped E.J. cut down some huge, dead trees around the pond in the backyard. Can't thank you guys enough for everything you did for us!!

Dad staining away!



E.J. cutting down some branches



Dad hanging out with the horses



Of course, we didn't put them to work the entire time ;). They got lots of cuddle time in with their first grandchild.

3 generations!







One of the many adorable outfits from nana :)



Towards the end of their visit, Uncle Sam and Aunt Heather came to visit, which was a blast! I hate that our visit was so short - can't wait to see all of you again (hopefully much sooner than later!). Aunt Monica was even able to make the drive down from Dallas, an added bonus!

Getting a manicure (nails filed) by Great Aunt Monica



Nap time with Uncle Sam



Aunt Heather and Uncle Sam!



Sam with Oliver and Madison (can't forget the doggies!)



Thanks again for such a great visit, mom and dad! LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU! You're the best parents a girl could ever ask for.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Welcome, Kathryn!


Kathryn's First Picture
I've been meaning to start this blog for a while, but time definitely got away from me, especially once Kathryn was born. My first few posts may be a little behind, but hopefully I'll catch up quickly! I'm excited about having the blog so our family and friends can "check in" on our life down here in Texas :).

So on to the baby stats: Kathryn was born on May 4, 2010 at 9:13 pm. She was 8.13 lb and 20 inches long. As soon as she was born she did a big stretch with her tiny little arms (precious!).

Being in labor happened much faster than I imagined. I was having small contractions every hour that morning from midnight to when I woke up for work at 6 am. When I got to work, I immediately called my doctor and they wanted me to come in to monitor the contractions. It turned out I was having small contractions and my doctor wanted me to go home and rest. She told me she thought I would go into labor within the next 24-48 hours, so I assumed I still had some time and was going to tell my work I wouldn't be back in. I went home and relaxed for a bit and then decided I could make dinner early so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. I started making a big pot of pasta e fagioli and the contractions began to get worse, but I continued to cut up the veggies and do all the prep work because my doctor told me if I could talk during the contractions then it probably wasn't the real thing...well, I could definitely talk and I had some choice words that I didn't have a problem voicing loudly, even if I was alone in the house :).

After writing down the times of my contractions and seeing that they were clearly getting closer together, I called E.J. at work and told him to come home because it was time to take me to the hospital! (Luckily I had just finished up the pasta e fagioli, which I packaged up and put in the freezer - it was great to have a meal all ready when we finally got home from the hospital!) We were at the hospital by 5 and my labor progressed pretty quickly and smoothly. I don't think I could have asked for things to have gone better. She was born just 2 hours and 47 minutes from her due date!

Before we knew it, our little baby was here and the doctor flipped her over and E.J. was the one to announce, "it's a girl"! It was so exciting to finally hear the surprise we had been waiting to hear for 9 months!

Proud parents!

Proud Daddy!