So Big!

I took Kaitlin for a weight check today and she weighs 18lbs, 14oz She is up 1 lb, 6oz since the last time she went. This is great news and the doctor was very pleased with her gain. No bloodwork! WooHoo!!!!! I was very proud of Kaitlin today because she was such a big girl at the doctor's office. She didn't fight me when I put her on the scale and she sat there quietly until the nurse got her weight. Then, when the doctor examined her, she sat still and didn't cry at all! What a big girl!


How big is Kaitlin?


















Soooo big!

Fourth Meal

Apparently, Kaitlin has subscribed to the Taco Bell "4th Meal" idea. Last night when I was getting her bottle ready for bedtime, Kaitlin climbed into the refrigerator, opened the fruit drawer and reached in for a banana (the drawer is too deep for her to grab one herself). Then she practically pulled the bread off the shelf. All the while signing "eat" over and over again. She ended up eating 2/3 of a banana, 3/4 of a piece of toast, a slice of cheese, maybe 10 goldfish crackers, 3 mini nilla wafers, and drank 5 ounces of milk. I'm pretty sure the only other time I've seen her eat anything close to that amount at one time is on pasta night. If she hasn't put on a good bit of weight when I take her to the doctor next week, I will be shocked!

A Goofy Weekend

We went to Disney World this past weekend for the marathon and half marathon. The weekend started off well for Keven because the Gators won the National Championship on Thursday night. We were in the car for part of the game, but got to watch the last half when we stopped overnight in Tifton. While I am not usually a Gator fan, I will admit that I was rooting for them this time and I even taught Kaitlin how to do the Gator chomp.

On Saturday, Keven, Kenny, and I ran the half marathon. It went really well and I finished in under 3 hours! Our friends Annie and Fred ran the half marathon as well and it was fun to visit with them before and after the race. We haven't seen them since their wedding and still haven't met their daughters:( Keven took on the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge and ran the marathon on Sunday as well. He is definitely goofy!

We ate dinner at Chef Mickey's on Saturday night and got to meet all the best characters: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald Duck. If you're going to Disney and want to do a character dinner, that is definitely the one to do. Kaitlin was soooo excited to meet the characters and didn't get scared at all like we thought she might (except for one group hug from Mickey). We took Kaitlin to The Magic Kingdom for the first time on Sunday and she had a great time. She got to meet Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore! She also got to experience a Mickey ice cream bar which she loved! Here are the pictures which I'm sure is what you really want to see!

Kaitlin's First Haircut

Kaitlin's bangs were starting to hang in her eyes, so while we were in Florida before Christmas, Pop Pop gave her her first haircut. She wasn't too thrilled with the process, but at least she doesn't have hair in her eyes anymore! And Pop Pop was excited to be able to cut her hair since he has always cut Kenny's, Keven's, Kyler's, and Kohl's.

Thank You

Kaitlin is doing well with her signs. Here is a special
message to everyone who sent her a Christmas gift:

Merry Christmas!

Here are some pictures from our Christmas festivities.



















Kaitlin reaching for Mommy; not a big fan of Santa Claus at this age!




















Our "big" girl hardly ever sleeps on Mommy anymore - so sweet! (Vacation is tough; especially at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house.)




















If we hadn't already ordered our Christmas cards when I took this picture, it definitely would have been on them!

Kaitlin's 15-Month Checkup

Kaitlin went for her 15-month checkup today as well as the dreaded MMR shot. Kaitlin weighed in at 17 ½ pounds and 30 ¾ inches. Her weight is not even close to being on the growth chart, but her height is still right around the 50th percentile. There were two kids in the waiting area who were in for their 12-month checkups; both of them were much bigger than Kaitlin! She is just a skinny skinny girl. Buying clothes for her is a constant struggle. I just bought her a pair of leggings yesterday; the tag says 12M: 28-30.5 inches, 20-23 pounds. See my dilemma?

Overall the doctor said she looks great and she wasn't really concerned about Kaitlin's weight since she has started walking since her last checkup and she was recently sick for a month. She does want us to bring her in for a weight check in about a month just to be sure we're not missing something. Please pray that Kaitlin will eat well and gain lots of weight over the holidays!

Kaitlin has started to say a few words. She says daddy a lot, but rarely says mommy (although we know she can). This makes me very sad :( She also says cookie, cracker, light, and yum yum. She was trying to say please this morning, but of course it sounded nothing like it! She also makes some animal noises when she feels like it including quack quack, moo, ssssss (snake), and grrr (bear).

Kaitlin can make lots of different signs and loves to watch her "Baby Signing Time" videos! She even uses sign language to ask for them. The signs she does the most include milk, more, please, book, all done, banana, dog, hat, wash hands, Baby Signing Time, and ball. She is just now really starting to use her signs to communicate and is very good at signing "more, please" when she wants more food, especially cookies! She loves her mini Vanilla Wafers! Some other signs that Kaitlin can do are drink, eat, car, thank you, airplane, train, coat, cracker, shoe, sock, brush teeth, and it hurts. It seems like every time we watch one of the videos she does a new sign.

Kaitlin spends most of her time wondering around the house getting into this and that. She particularly enjoys putting objects inside other objects. Her latest skill is taking off her socks. Everytime I lay her down for a diaper change the feet go up and she pulls her socks off. She also tries to put them on, but it's not quite as effective! Well, I really need to try to get something done before Kaitlin wakes up in a half hour, so I should end this very long post. Here are some pictures of her trying to put on her socks!

Our Little Champ

Kaitlin has been sick for about a month now. It started with a cold that led to an ear infection and now she has a lingering cough and congestion. I took her back to the doctor yesterday and the ear infection has cleared up, but he was concerned about her wheezing, so now Kaitlin has to be given breathing treatments with a nebulizer every 4 hours. The first few times were quite traumatic for all involved, but I got some great advice from another mom and now Kaitlin lets us put the mask right on while she watches a video. We're very proud of her for being such a big girl!




















Clearly the treatments aren't nearly as
traumatic as Kaitlin first let on:

October 30

Today was a very big day for us. It was Keven's birthday and also Kaitlin's first time trick-or-treating (don't ask). First on the agenda, was PlayGym where all the kids wore their Halloween costumes. They looked very cute and had a few special treats including a jack-o-lantern bean bag toss and choolate chip cookies. In fact, that was Kaitlin's first time eating chocolate. She seemed to enjoy the cookie once we gave her one without frosting. (And no, PopPop, you still can't give her chocolate when she's at your house in November.) After PlayGym, Kaitlin and I ran a couple errands and then went home for lunch and a long nap.

While Kaitlin was napping, I was pretending to be Martha Stewart and decorated Keven's birthday cake - a train. I disovered pretty early in the process that I am not Martha! The cake turned out really neat though and I included some pictures of it because I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. For reasons I don't feel like explaining, the city of Auburn decided that trick-or-treating would be on October 30 instead of on Halloween, so Kaitlin went trick-or-treating for the first time tonight. We had our community group over and we all took our little tots out together. It was lots of fun and neat to go with a group. At one point, Kaitlin sat down in the middle of the cul-de-sac and starting going through her bucket. It was funny! She also had fun playing on the front porch after everyone left.

Trunk or Treat

We had lots of fun at Trunk or Treat at Cornerstone last night. Kaitlin played some fun games and got lots of treats. Her favorite game was definitely the pool of ducks; we had to drag her away from it kicking and screaming! But, I think Kaitlin had the most fun just walking around the church foyer after Trunk or Treat was over. She was definitely the cutest little cow I've ever seen :)