Life with Kate~ Kate is 3 months old!

Sweet Kate is 3 months old! 

She is getting chunkier and oh my goodness is it cute. (I can't say the same about myself!) She still has her blue eyes and long blond hair, though I do think her hair might have a tent of red in it. She's talking in her sweet baby language a little more every week, smiles bigger, and is on her way to laughter. She loves eskimo kisses, and when we blow on her tummy! 

She's playing with toys on her activity gym, but so far those are the only toys that peak her interest. She is letting me read longer books to her, which is a lot of fun this time of the year because I have so many wonderful Christmas books. She loves looking at the pictures. 

Bath time is still her favorite time of all! 

She is enjoying play time on her back a little bit more, and she is getting back into her tummy time. She is pushing up a little bit more this month. 

I think what excites us the most right now is how much sleep she's been letting us have lately. She's been sleeping a good 7-9 hours every night! 

I know this won't last forever, but we are so grateful for it while we've got it. 

Here are some of the month's highlights! 

Kate started things out with her 2 month Well Child Visit, which included an exam and of course... vaccinations. She handled it all like a champ. We were so proud of her and thankful to the Lord!!!

Kate had her first Thanksgiving! I wish I could say it was so much fun and we did all these fun things, but Blake and I had horrible colds and were sick leading up to Thanksgiving and the whole week after. I actually got an ear infection myself! It's definitely challenging to care for a baby when you feel bad, but thankfully Kate stayed well! 

My grandparents came into town for Thanksgiving though and that was so special! Kate got to meet them for the first time. 

 

Kate has still been really good during church. This picture is from a Sunday where she wore one of my dresses from when I was a baby. She has however started to get a little more active. She is usually good through worship service, but class is harder. I wasn't sure what to do because I knew our church nursery was very crowded and so I was nervous to take her in there. So I prayed about it on Saturday evening, and then that following Sunday morning there was an article in the bulletin about a new cradle roll class for the little babies under 7 months- and I knew 3 of the ladies who were in charge of the class this quarter. My heart rejoiced!! We went into the class and Kate loved it! I know that it shouldn't be a problem if I want to leave her in there now, and I just feel so blessed! 

And of course.... it's Christmas time! It took awhile, but Blake and I finally got around to decorating for Christmas. It's a lot different decorating when you have a baby! I'm thankful to have a husband who loves it as much as I do. 

We went to Lunch With Santa at our church and Kate got her picture taken. She had no clue! I have a feeling she'll have more of an opinion on this next year because all of the 1 year olds were crying! 

Now... promise not to make fun of me on this next one! I wanted us to have a little Christmas morning of just the 3 of us and our own tree and last Saturday was the only morning we'll have together that can be relaxed before the New Year. We had so much fun! On Friday night I made steaks for Blake and we took Kate out and looked at lights. We read her the story of Jesus's birth before bedtime. Then in the morning we opened up our presents and made waffles! We watched Disney's Christmas Carol (with Jim Carry) and then headed over to my parent's house for more fun! 

It was fun having my brother home! 

 We drove out to West Houston Church of Christ to go through their Celebrate Jesus hayride. They had different scenes set up acting out different parts of Jesus' life- starting from his birth and ending with his ascension into Heaven. It was a lot of fun- and apparently a very popular place to be. We waited around an hour in line... and the line to drive through in your car was even longer! Kate handled it like a champ though. 

 We also visited my parent's church this past weekend. It was fun for Kate to meet all of our Westbury family! "Uncle Calvin" held Kate for children's time. 

And last but not least.... Kate begins her fourth month with another doctor visit! She was so cranky last night so I took her in to see the doctor this morning, turns out our poor girl has an ear infection! She's got her medicine now so hopefully it will only get better from here! Her usual pediatrician was out today so she got to see my old pediatrician, Dr. Kline. 

It was fun to see him again- he's still going strong! 

It's been quite a month, with many new experiences! Difficult and yet incredible at the same time! We love our baby girl! 

Kate is 2 months old!

Our little pumpkin is 2 months old! 

It's unbelievable how quickly our crazy new life began feeling normal. Kate had a great month! She is now starting to sleep longer stretches at night time- sometimes even 4-5 hours! Although the other day it was 2.5 hours so there is no "normal" yet. Her day schedule is of course still not a schedule either. Some days she sleeps all morning and is wide eyed in the afternoon, other days it's reverse, and other days she is awake all day or asleep all day! Thankfully she is pretty flexible and doesn't mind going places with me during the day. 

She started to really enjoy her swing this month, which makes things a lot easier when I want to get something done or when Blake and I want to eat dinner! She continues to like tummy time, but not quite as much as she did a few weeks ago. She's still working hard though! She enjoys play time on her back a lot more now and is starting to play with the toys on her activity gym and follow the noises they make with her eyes. 

Discovering her toys on her activity gym.

Working hard during tummy time! 

Speaking of those eyes... they melt my heart as she's starting to gaze at us more and more. She is even starting to crack a few smiles at us. (The non-gas kind!) I can't believe how much she is growing! It's sad to be putting up some of my favorite clothes she is now too long for... but it's also exciting to see her in new outfits! I love this picture... it's comparing the difference of exactly one month in her strawberry outfit! Everyone told me how fast they grow... but you don't understand until it's you're baby! I look at people's toddlers and they might as well be teenagers- that's how big they seem! 

We went back to church for the first time and Kate did great! She slept through worship service and class. Our preacher said a prayer of blessing over her and that was special. I've also started taking Kate to Ladies Bible Class on Tuesday mornings and my Wednesday morning Bible study and she does great through those too. 

We celebrated her first Halloween! She slept though most of it but woke up around 8:30 so we read her fall books to her and played with toys. No pumpkin patches or festivals for us this year, but I look forward to participating in those next year! 

Another fun activity for Kate was a visit from her Grandma and Grandpa Jesch! She really loved getting held and loved on by them as well as getting in some good play time! Blake and I enjoyed the extra hands for a couple of days. I'm pretty sure I only changed her diaper once a day the whole time they were here! 

It's a lot of fun being close to my parents too! Mimi and Gramps like coming by too. Speaking of which... we've settled on a grandpa name for my dad. For those who don't know, my dad didn't want a grandpa name... he actually thought his name could be Steve. Sigh! So when my mom signed cards from them she signed "Mimi and --" So we ended up calling him "Dash" for a while. But he decided on gramps now... though dash is still said at times. 

We got our first pictures as a family of 3! That was a lot of fun! We drove out to a park in Katy and our photographer, who is a friend from church did such a great job! 

Well, that about sums up her second month! We had a lot of fun! Here are a few more pictures of Kate and her sweet expressions! Love! 

           

Life With Kate... One Month Old!

Kate turned one month old yesterday! What a month it has been! Here is her one month picture! 

I tried to take one without the pacifier, but I didn't get very far! 

Our Kate is usually a very content girl, but she does in fact cry! (Can't forget to document that!)

The month her triggers were gas, during diaper changes and clothing changes, hungry, getting strapped into her car seat, and wanting to be held. She was easily soothed with a brief suck of the pacifier, getting fed, and being held and cuddled. 

Kate loves her tummy time! 

 She loves to sleep and play on her tummy. I realized that I don't have a good tummy time picture of her awake from this month! That'll be a goal for next month! 

Kate also loves to play on her back with her activity gym. She doesn't spend very much time on her back though because she likes to roll around to her sides. 

All of the experts recommend babies sleep on their back but this girl doesn't seem to agree with that. 

 So she sleeps in her rock and play to keep her from turning over. She loves how city she stays in it. I love how easy it is to check on her when I'm in bed!

She finds a lot of comfort in laying on her daddy like this with her arms spread wide. 

Makes my heart smile. :) 

Kate LOVES her bath time! We have a little cup with holes on the bottom that she loves having water dripped over her through. We enjoy getting her squeaky clean! :) 

Blake is so good with her. I love watching him be her daddy. He was made to be a daddy to a daughter(s). He's gentle and so caring with her. Love. 

 Last night by brother flew home from OC for his fall break and he got to meet Kate. :)

By the way... she now fits in the pumpkin outfit I've been anticipating. I have to roll up the pant legs a bit but thats ok. 

She loves to sleep. She sleeps almost always. I hear that I shook enjoy that while it lasts so I am! I love singing to her- everything from broadway tunes, childhood favorites, and worship songs. When I'm not singing to her I'm playing music for her. Her Mimi likes to come over and cuddle with her after school and read her books. Mimi also loves to bring her books! Kate will have a massive library having my mom for her Mimi! 

Blake is constantly amazed with how she is growing and developing. She holds her head up and has a lot more control over her head now. You can really tell when she's thinking. She moves herself during tummy time. Blake made a video of this and posted it to Facebook. She's doing great! Blake also takes over morning feedings on 

Kate has come so far this month. I've come far as a mom too. I'm learning to truly embrace this new role I play and I love it. There are some hard moments, but I've got such great support around me. There are fears I never knew about and tasks I never thought about before but God gifts us mothers with a super natural ability to get through it. I've had so much fun getting to know this sweet babe of mine, and I can't wait to see what else she teaches me! We are so blessed.