I Can't Believe I Missed It!

I was in the other room and heard Kaitlin crying on her activity mat. When I went in to check on her, she had rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time!! I totally missed it :(

Illinois

Kaitlin took her first airplane trip to Illinois this past weekend with me and my mom. Our first stop was in Assumption, Illinois where Kaitlin met her Great Grandma Stewart (my mom's mom) as well as several other members of the Stewart clan. Great Grandma just celebrated her 98th birthday. I can only imagine how much this world has changed since she was Kaitlin's age! We knew it was going to be cold in Illinois, but we weren't expecting to see snow while we were there! On Saturday, we drove slowly and carefully over to Springfield to visit with the Kidd side of the family. We enjoyed eating Mexican (a Kidd family tradition) and Kaitlin got to meet her cousins Kayla, Josh, Sheila, and Billy for the first time. We wish that other family members had been able to join us, but unfortunately, the bad weather kept them away. Hopefully next time we will be able to stay longer!

Pathetic Animals

Maybe Harley and Simba think they will get more attention if they lay on Kaitlin's things?

See Me Grow - Part 3

Here is the latest installment of "See Me Grow." We couldn't help but put two pictures of Harley and Kaitlin for this month because they are both great pictures!! In one Harley is curious and "checking out" Kaitlin and in the other Kaitlin is laughing and Harley is looking pathetic (which is pretty much what he looks like most of the time anymore). Also in this installment of "See Me Grow" are pictures of Kaitlin in her car seat coming home from the hospital and from just the other day after we finally broke down and removed the head support (she hasn't needed it for a while now). Wow! What a difference!

Kaitlin Visits Santa!

Since Kaitlin is on Santa's nice list (see outfit in picture/post below), we took her to visit Santa 2 days ago. It took a lot of pictures, but we finally got one of a happy Kaitlin. Unfortunately, we did not have the same luck capturing a happy Santa (it was almost his quittin' time).

Too Fast

Kaitlin started wearing size 2 diapers yesterday. I guess it has me feeling reflective because I keep thinking about how tiny she was when we brought her home and how much she has already changed in the past 3 1/2 months. When Kaitlin left the hospital, she weighed 6 lbs. 1 oz. When I took her to the doctor two weeks ago, she weighed in at 11 lbs. 12 oz. and I'm sure she has gained since then! Basically, her weight has doubled. Not only has she grown, she is much more responsive to us now: she "talks" to us when we talk to her, she giggles (see the post "Daddy Makes Her Giggle"), she can hold her head up and roll from her back to her side, she is becoming much more vocal about what she wants, and she is sleeping through the night (nine hours for the past 3 nights). As Kaitlin approaches her 4 month birthday on December 23, I am really starting to realize just how fast babies grow up!! It is getting harder and harder to remember how tiny she once was and as she learns more and more my heart is filled with both excitement and sadness. Excitement to see her personality develop and get to know her and sadness knowing that she won't be a baby forever. So, I will take the recent advice of a friend and take pictures every day and maybe when we look back at them we can figure out which day she grew up.

Picture of the day:

50% Mommy 50% Daddy

I caught some pictures of Kaitlin rolling from her back to her side yesterday. She gets in a good workout because she goes from her back to her side over and over and over again. She just looks like she's having a great time! And since she is wearing her "50% Mommy 50% Daddy" top, I thought I would start a poll to determine who people think she looks the most like - Elizabeth or Keven! Cast your vote in the lime green section on the top right hand side of the blog.

Daddy Makes Her Giggle

Elizabeth is usually the one to get Kaitlin to giggle, but I had her rolling after changing a stinky diaper.

So Big

Kaitlin looks so big and grown up sitting in her Bumbo! (Don't worry, it stays on the floor.)

Fantasy in Lights

We took Kaitlin to the Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens last week. She was mesmerized by all the lights! Her favorite lights were the animated ones as well as the ones that hung down over our heads. Here are some pictures.

Thanksgiving with the Yosts

We spent Thanksgiving with the Yost family this year in Plantation, Florida (outside Fort Lauderdale). Kaitlin met her Great Grandparents, her Great Aunt Hazel, Uncle Kenny and Aunt Melissa, and cousins Kyler and Kohl. Everyone was very excited to meet the newest member of the family!! This was her longest road trip yet and Kaitlin was a champ! She did start to get a little restless towards the end of each leg, but who wouldn't after 13 hours in the car?

Kaitlin with Mommy and Daddy.

Kaitlin with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma

The Generations


Kaitlin, Great Grandpa, and Aunt Hazel

Kaitlin with Kenny and Melissa

Kaitlin and Kyler























Kaitlin and Kohl























Having fun with Pop Pop!

Chillin' on the couch at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house.

Uncle Scott

On our way to south Florida for Thanksgiving, we stopped in Orlando to have dinner with my brother. This was Kaitlin's first time meeting her Uncle Scott! It was also our first time meeting Scott's girlfriend, Andrea. We had a very nice visit!

See Me Grow - Part 2

Now that Kaitlin is three months old, it is time for another installment of Harley pictures. These were taken on November 18 (top), October 17 (middle), and September 16 (bottom).

Charleston

Keven had a conference in Charleston, South Carolina the week before Thanksgiving, so we decided to take Kaitlin and make a mini vacation out of it! We had lots of fun taking Kaitlin to my alma mater, the College of Charleston, and some of the places that I used to frequent as a student. We ate at Hyman's Seafood Restaurant, walked to Waterfront Park and the battery and did lots of shopping at the Market! We also caught up with some friends. We ate dinner with Deb Guess who was my campus minister and "mom" away from home as well as with Tommy & Sue Matthews, mine and Karen's "adoptive parents" while we were in school. Overall, Kaitlin had a very fun first vacation! Here are some pictures!

Kaitlin and I in front of the main gate into the College of Charleston.


Kaitlin and I in front of Randolph Hall and the Cistern - where I spent many hours studying and relaxing as a student (more of the latter, I'm sure).

The whole family in front of Randolph Hall and the Cistern.


The fountain at Waterfront Park


Reading a book at Waterfront Park (I used to do a lot of that when I was a student!)


With the new "Cooper River Bridge" in the background. We never did cross it!


More of Waterfront Park


Here we are on the battery - right where the Cooper and Ashley Rivers meet!


All packed up to go home! In the "old days" Keven and I would have each had one suitcase and the dirty clothes bag. Having a baby does make traveling a bit more complicated!

Kaitlin's "boyfriends"

Several of our friends here in Auburn have also had babies recently. The funny thing is, we seem to be the only ones who had a girl! So, Kaitlin is going to grow up with lots of boyfriends!! Here are some pictures. Fortunately for us, she doesn't seem interested in any of them right now!!


Above (left to right): Zach, Jack, Kaitlin, and Chaz


And then there's Jake
(the only date for which she'll stay awake):

Play Time

Here are some pictures of Kaitlin during her morning play time on Wednesday. She holds her head up really well when she is on her Boppy pillow or on someone's shoulder, but she doesn't do as well when she is flat on her tummy. She's getting stronger, but gets tired of "tummy time" pretty quickly.















Kaitlin has a ball just laying on her blanket and looking around the room. They're so easy to entertain at this age!