Smith Chronicle

Our first camping trip with 2 kids!

2011-06-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

It was a short, spontaneous trip--and was fun! The kids had a blast playing in the tents, dirt, and on the beach. We were surprised at how easy everything went (well maybe not easy, but it wasn't crazy!). I think we'll be up for more camping this summer!

Enjoy the pics!

Happy girl

2011-06-11T16:53:00.001-07:00

Loving the sunshine!

Miles turns one!

2011-05-26T22:54:00.001-07:00

My sweet child,
How are you one already?
My smiley Miles, mellow Miles, I love you so much.
Forever and ever,
Mama
5-20-2010

First haircut

2011-02-28T22:58:00.001-08:00

Todd did a great job cutting Kate's hair tonight, while I nervously watched (fearing we were giving our daughter a mullet!)
It turned out super cute!
My baby is all grown up!

Miles Smiles

2011-02-01T13:24:00.001-08:00

Always smiling! Miles is now crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on everything too! He is a busy, smiling, boy!

Shopping trip

2011-01-08T12:50:00.001-08:00

First time with both kids in the cart! They loved it!

Happy girl

2010-12-28T15:47:00.001-08:00

Such a lovely girl!

Happy boy

2010-12-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

7 months old and a constant smile! What a lovely little boy!

Empty bedroom

2010-11-18T20:11:00.001-08:00

Why am I posting a pic of my bedroom? To show how there are NO children in it! Yes, Miles is having his first night in Kate's room--now THEIR room!
He's in his crib, w/a crib tent so that Kate doesn't throw all her lovies in on him. :)
Bedtime went very well. Miles went down first, and Kate about 15 minutes later, and there hasn't been a peep yet.
So far, so good!
Hurray!
Love Julie

Bedtime

2010-11-17T20:32:00.002-08:00

Happy boy!

2010-11-17T20:32:00.001-08:00

Playing in puddles!

2010-11-17T20:28:00.001-08:00

Halloween fun

2010-10-24T20:29:00.001-07:00

This is from family fun night at Kate's co-op tonight. Aren't they the cutest? I love that Kate grabbed Miles' hand!

Funny Video

2010-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Check out this great video of Miles and Kate!

Enjoy!

Julie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDxxL-0Q1z4

Floor time for Miles

2010-09-28T13:30:00.001-07:00

It's not quite the floor, but it's SAFE floor time! (That is, until Kate tries to throw toys in...)

Playing with Jack

2010-09-22T13:44:00.001-07:00

We're so excited to have our friends- Natalie, Larry, Jackson and baby Addy- back in Seattle! Kate loved playing with Jack this week!

Kitchen fun

2010-09-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

Thanks Grammy & Grandpa!

Playdough fun

2010-09-17T15:02:00.001-07:00

Thanks auntie Sue, uncle Ryan, and cousin Rowan! So much fun!

Kate's 2!

2010-09-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Loving her new backpack from Miles!
More pics to come,
Julie

Potty training

2010-09-09T22:21:00.001-07:00

Kate's been doing a great job using the potty these days! She loves telling us about her jelly bean reward "1 for pee pee, 2 for poo poo!"
I just figured out how to post pics from my phone, so hopefully we'll get pics up here more often!

Doing laundry

2010-09-09T22:09:00.001-07:00

Miles seems less excited about this arrangement than Kate does!

more pics

2010-07-24T13:14:00.001-07:00

we are enjoying a toddler-free weekend, as Kate is having some special time with Grammy & Grandpa Rothfus! Miles is loving the one on one time, and we are loving the quiet! :) I thought I'd take advantage of it and post a few more pics.

Here are a few of Kate wanting to be just like Miles...I love these!

Some from our weekend with my grandparents--Kate and Miles' Great Grandparents!

pics

2010-07-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

a variety of pics from the last 6 weeks...

Birth Story

2010-07-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

I finally have a few moments to try and capture Miles' birth story. His birth story really starts on the Sunday before he was born, and although I wrote briefly about it in previous posts, I'm including it here to have the complete story.

The Sunday before he was born, we were driving back from a relaxing weekend in Leavenworth. We stopped at a friend's house for a little baby shower from my work friends. I had a lovely time visiting with my friends and they were so generous to give us some food for our freezer to help once the baby came. Little did we know how soon we'd need it!
Later that night, just as we were getting ready for bed, I discovered I was bleeding. I called the on-call OB and she wanted me to come into triage and be seen. A neighbor came over to spend the night with Kate, so we didn't have to bring her with us. We ended up staying the whole night until Monday afternoon while they decided what to do with us. At one point the OB said, "well, I don't think we have to section you right now..." not exactly what we were expecting to hear! We had an ultrasound and had continuous monitoring all night to watch baby, and everything ended up looking good. Bleeding stopped, baby looked good, so we were sent home Monday afternoon.

Tuesday I had my regular OB appt and had another non-stress test just to make sure baby still looked good, which he did. He was moving actively and everything seemed to be going well.

Wednesday I woke up and our little boy wasn't moving very much. I (obviously) had taken the day off work, and was just laying low resting, but our baby wasn't moving like he normally did. I called the office to talk to a nurse and was advised to come in and have more monitoring. My mom came over to watch Kate and we headed it around 3 for another non-stress test. This time, baby boy wasn't looking as good on the monitor. He had a decelleration of his heart rate once, and my OB wanted me to be monitored further. So we headed over to L&D triage (again!) for more monitoring. We had more ultrasounds and monitoring. The ultrasound did not look very good--they score babies on breathing, tone, activity and levels of amniotic fluid--and we only got 4 out of 8. So again, we had the discussion of c-section now, or wait and see. Baby looked better on the monitor, so after a discussion with a perinatologist, we decided to wait for the morning and have another ultrasound to look at baby.

So Thursday morning we had another ultrasound, and while our baby was looking better, my amniotic fluid levels had dropped significantly. They decided that we needed to get our little guy out, but since he was just 36 weeks, decided to do an amnio to check his lung development(this was around 10am). If it came back that his lungs weren't fully mature, then we'd try to do some more watchful waiting and let him grow a few more days. Luckily, the amnio showed his lungs were mature and we then scheduled our c-section for 5:30pm.

We spent the rest of the day getting ready...my mom brought Kate in so that we could see her before and get some last pictures of our family of 3. I was feeling so emotional at this point--it was such an up and down week, back and forth about delivering this baby or not...ugh! I had really been looking forward to another vaginal birth (yes, looking forward to it!), but this was one of those times where you are glad that c-sections are options.

So around 5pm, everyone started to come in, prepping me for surgery. We headed down to the OR and got started. The surgery itself was straightforward and without any problems and our little Miles was born at 5:58pm! It was hard not to be able to immediately hold him, when they took him over to the warmer, but Todd was able to stand right next to him and be close. Finally Todd was able to hold him and he immediately brought Miles over to me so that I could meet our son too. It was so emotional--I was crying practically the whole time, and yet I didn't cry at all during Kate's birth. Such different experiences!

We headed over to recovery and after awhile my parents & Kate were able to come in and meet Miles too. Kate was tired as it was bedtime, but she was excited to see Miles and give him kisses. So precious.

We stayed in the hospital until Saturday evening (about 15 minutes longer than the required minimum of 48 hours!) and came home to get settled. Miles had difficulty with nursing for the first couple of weeks and I had to pump after feeding for awhile, but now he's nursing like a champ! We're all adjusting well, and life seems to have gotten back into a (new) routine.

I'll work on getting some new pictures up soon!

love, Julie

Pics of Miles & Fam

2010-05-25T22:05:00.001-07:00

Miles Lloyd Smith

2010-05-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

Miles Lloyd Smith was born yesterday at 5:58 pm! He weighed 5lbs 11oz and was 17.5 inches long. Despite being 3 1/2 weeks early, he seems to be doing very well! We're enjoying this time getting to know him and resting when we can.

Kate has been great with him, giving him gentle kisses & loves.
pictures to come later.

C-section in 2 hours!

2010-05-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well we are back in the hospital--since yesterday afternoon--and they've decided that today will be out little boy's birthday!

Baby boy had some decreased movement yesterday, and now today my fluid is low, so we are going to have a c-section at 5:30pm. We're excited & a bit nervous, but overall are looking forward to meeting our son!

We'll update when we can. We do have internet access, so comments are welcome!

Thanks,
Much love,
Julie & Todd

Baby sooner than later?

2010-05-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

We had an unexpected trip up to the hospital Sunday night. I had some bleeding as we were getting ready for bed, and they wanted me to come in and get checked out. I was feeling otherwise fine--a little crampy, but nothing too out of the ordinary. So a dear neighbor came over to stay in the house while Kate slept (it was 11pm!) while we traipsed up to first hill.

Once we got up there, they put me on the monitor to watch for contractions & monitor baby. The doctor came & examined me, and felt pretty concerned about what was going on. She didn't think the baby looked great on the monitor and wasn't sure why I was bleeding. She ended up saying that we needed to get admitted to the hospital for further monitoring, and that maybe she would need to do an emergent c-section. Todd and I were pretty shocked at that! So our plan was to have an ultrasound to look at our baby & the placenta, and then get admitted to the antepartum unit for more monitoring. I had an IV placed & was given a bunch of fluid too. Luckily our ultrasound looked good, baby looked good, and they couldn't see any obvious source of bleeding. It also showed that my cervix was starting to shorten & that baby boy was breech again! After that, (around 2am) we headed down to our room where they hooked me back up to the monitors. My bleeding started slowing down around 5ish and baby was looking much better on the monitor. By the morning, they decided I could eat and get off the monitor for a bit to walk around and see if the bleeding reoccurred. Luckily everything looked good, so they decided around noon that I could go home and just take it easy.

I had my regular OB appt today and we're holding steady. I am 1 cm dilated and she said my cervix was maybe halfway shortened. I spent some more time on the monitor, just to make sure everything was fine, and baby looked good.

They're still not sure what caused the bleeding--maybe it's just from my cervix changing and this could be the start of labor--or who knows what else...

So, since I'm just at 36 2/7 weeks, they'd like me to try and get to 37 weeks. If he comes before that, chances are that he'll be fine--most often babes will have some trouble with regulating their temperatures or have breastfeeding problems--but overall do very well. but it's still preferred to make it until 37 weeks. So quiet activity at home, no working and we'll try to make it until next week. We'll check at my Tuesday appt to see if he's still breech and if he is, then we'll need to schedule a time to try a version next week too. If I go into labor before then, they'll have to do an ultrasound to check position and if he's breech, then we'll likely do a c-section...or if I have more bleeding, we'll head back to the hospital to get checked out again.

Phew! What a busy couple of days! We're now on standby, ready to head up to the hospital at any time--but who knows what's going to happen. We could be having a baby this week, or I could go another 3 or 4 weeks! Talk about having to just let go of control! It is what it is, and we just don't have that much control over it.

We'll keep you posted as things progress,
much love,
Julie

Ultrasound results

2010-03-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Just got back from our ultrasound today and thankfully, everything looks great. Phew! I love being a pediatric nurse, but sometimes the knowledge that comes with that gives me more anxiety than is probably warranted. of course I worried all weekend, thinking of the kids I see at work and wondering if our son was going to be ok... Ugh!

They did a fetal echo first, and spent a lot of time looking at his heart. they didn't see anything concerning--just one beat during the whole exam was a little irregular, and they said that within normal limits.

All the amniotic fluid levels were normal, and they measured him to get an estimated weight--3 to 3 1/4 lbs--on the higher side of normal, but still normal. And we even got a little peek b/t his legs to confirm that he had a penis still! :) (good thing since I already have passed on all our girl clothes!) He is turned sideways right now, with his butt on one side of my belly and his head on the other, with legs up by his head. So he kind of looks breech, but sideways. The tech thought the positioning might have contributed to the larger measurements at my OB's also.

So all in all, it was a very reassuring ultrasound! Thanks for checking in with us and sending your positive thoughts our way.

Much love,
Julie, Todd, Kate & baby brother (who still remains without a name! Any ideas??)

March updates

2010-03-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Thought I'd take advantage of Kate's nap, and share some family updates for the month. Kate has done well in her "big bed"..still her 3 sided crib, but we are working on getting her a twin bed soon. She does a great job of staying in it during her nap or at night, and loves to just romp around in it during the day too! "Big Bed!" she exclaims! Super cute. Her words are starting to get more clear: uh is now up, baba is now baby. It's amazing to see her little mind work.

Sue & Ryan had their baby Rowan yesterday! Kate was very intrigued with him, giving gentle kisses, and looking very unsure when he started crying. It will be so nice to have him be a little introduction to babies for her. :) He is such a cute baby too!

I had a routine OB appt today to check on our little boy. I'm measuring a couple weeks ahead of where I am, and he had a bit of an irregular heartbeat today...so we're going in for an ultrasound on Tuesday. My OB wasn't too concerned and gave me orders not to worry all weekend--which of course, is easier said than done! Hopefully everything will look fine, but I certainly appreciate your positive thoughts as well!

We're still moving forward with Operation GO (get organized!) and I've almost got all the big things checked off my list. Todd's planning on spending some extra days at home in the next month to try and finish up some house projects too.

I'll keep you posted on how our ultrasound goes on Tuesday.

Much love,
Julie

Big Girl

2010-03-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

Much to my surprise today, when I went to get Kate from her nap today, instead of sitting in her crib, I found her by her rocking chair, looking at books! She had this look like, "oh, hi mom...was I supposed to stay in my crib?" I was so shocked! I popped her back in her crib & asked her how she did it. She proceeded to swiftly kick her legs up and thrust her body up so that she was balancing on all fours, on top of her crib. Then she started crying--it was like she forgot how to finish getting out! I helped her down, and she immediately asked to go back in her crib to try again. :) So funny. And so frightening!

Nonetheless, tonight Todd removed one of the crib railings, so that the crib is now more of a 3-railed 'daybed' that she can safely crawl in and out of. She thought it was pretty cool, but we'll see how the night goes! We padded the floor and put a little towel roll under her mattress pad to try and act as a bumper to the open side. I'm so curious to see what she does in the morning!

How did my little baby get so big?! Time sure flies.

much love,
Julie

February updates

2010-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Not much to report from the Smith household, but thought I'd post some small updates from us.

Our baby boy is growing well and is a very active little guy! We are still working on names...nothing is really standing out to us yet, but we hope to come across something soon! I've had a few more aches and pains w/this pregnancy, which supposedly is normal, so I'm really looking forward to some prenatal massage that my OB wrote a prescription for. :)

Kate is just as busy, curious, & rambunctious as ever. She has so many words right now--although most of them sound so alike it's hard to always know what she's trying to say! She'd been doing a great job with her signs, and last week I was trying to get her to say "please" with her mouth, instead of (or in combination with) signing. I said, "say please, puh, puh, please." And now for please, she says "puh, puh," and doesn't sign it anymore. I feel like Todd and I know this secret language that she speaks and have to interpret for everyone else. :) This week she also went poop & potty on the toilet, after telling me she had to poop! Pretty exciting, although she hasn't had any repeats of it yet. We're not too keen on potty training before this babe is born, but if she's really asking for it, we'll go for it. We'll see how it goes!

We have new gutters on the house (hurray!) and Todd is continuing to make great progress on residing it. It's been a little bit on the back burner as he's had some fun opportunities for other projects, but I know it will eventually get done. We're also having some folks help us with our backyard, starting next week (!!!) so that we have a fun place to play this summer while Todd and I learn to manage a newborn and a toddler. I'm so excited for that project to start!

I have a new knitting project to start on soon. I figured I better start knitting something for babe #2, and whipped out a cute little hat a couple weeks ago. Now I have a basic sweater to do for him. Maybe it will be a good project to work on while watching the upcoming Olympics. :)

I've been also meaning to say thank you to everyone for leaving such lovely comments on our site. I've wanted to send out some personal emails to say thank you and to chat more, but the time just escapes me. But I want you all to know that I appreciate you checking in on us and wishing us well. I hope that your new year has gotten off to a good start and that you are having time for the things you enjoy.

Much love,
Julie

It's a ....

2010-01-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

Boy! Bring on the trucks, fire engines, baseballs, and dogs! :) Our ultrasound went great today--everything was measuring appropriately and our baby boy looked perfect.

We're so excited to know that we're having a little boy. Now we can start narrowing our names down and I can clean out all our girl clothes. I'll have to add that to my list in Operation GO (Get Organized). :)

I'll try to get an u/s pic posted soon!

love,
Julie

Pics to enjoy

2010-01-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Life is busy in the Smith household...running after a toddler while pregnant is a great workout! Quiet time is precious these days, so without further ado, enjoy some recent pictures.

Mmm...chocolate!

A favorite thing to do...watching daddy work outside!

This would've been our holiday card picture if we had our act together. You can enjoy it here!

16 weeks pregnant

Check out Kate's stocking. I finished knitting it Dec 24th at 10:45pm!

Mmmm..spaghetti!

Hangin' with Uncle Bill & Grandpa at Thanksgiving

Full of Thanks

2009-11-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

This fall is flying by, and it's hard for me to believe it's already Thanksgiving! Our little family of 3 has a lot to be thankful for this year. Kate is moving and shaking everywhere! She's a busy girl, running all over the house, and her language skills are just taking off. She's doing a great job with her signs (we do some baby sign language with her) and she's saying a new word practically every day now. Today's new word was "poo." :) Gotta love that.
I'm enjoying my work at the hospital, and feel like I (finally!) have a reasonable work/life balance. I actually picked up my knitting needles this past week and started a little neck warmer for myself. It may take me 3 months to get it done, but at least I'm knitting!
Todd's been slowly chipping away at the house. He's re-siding it and enclosing our porch by himself. It's tough to find time to work on it now with the weather so miserable out, but it's getting done..and looks fantastic! I'm so impressed with his handiwork. He's also had some time to work on his artwork and currently has some pieces showing at a shop in Kirkland for their artwalk.

But there's one other thing that our little family is most, incredibly thankful for this Thanksgiving...and it is that we are expecting another baby! I am 11 weeks pregnant, due June 13th, 2010. As many of you know, Todd and I had a challenging time getting pregnant with Kate, and are overjoyed that we were able to have a spontaneous pregnancy for baby #2. Kate and her younger sibling will be about 21 months apart. Life will definately be busy, but I think it will be fun to have kids close in age like that. 2 under 2. Yikes! :)

I hope this holiday season finds you well.

Enjoy some recent pics.
Much love,
Julie

Happy First Birthday!

2009-09-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, our sweet Kate Scarlett!

It is so hard to believe that our little baby is now one year old! She is such a delightful little girl.

She brings us so much joy, love and happiness, and we are excited to see what this next year holds for us.

Love,
Julie

First Fever

2009-09-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Poor baby. She woke up yesterday in the middle of the night crying, and super hot. Her temp was 102.3, and all day stayed between 100-102. We gave her some tylenol and offered lots of water and nursing, especially since she didn't want to eat much. She doesn't have any other symptoms like cold, or GI stuff...just was a bit more fussy and clingy than normal.
Today she woke up crying at 3am and her temp was 104.3. Poor thing was so hot! Still no other symptoms, so I brought her in to the doctor this morning. They made sure her ears were fine, and checked her urine for infection--which came back normal. So he said to keep doing what we were doing--fluids, rest, tylenol as needed for comfort. If she's still got a fever on Thursday, or she gets much worse, then we'll bring her back in.

My poor Kate. We're missing our last new-parents group today, which she loves, but that's just the way it goes. Hopefully she'll start feeling better soon. She has her first day of "preschool" (really just a new co-op playgroup) on Wednesday, but has to be fever free for 24 hours to be able to go. And--her FIRST birthday is also on Wednesday! So we'll see how she does. Obviously, the most important thing is for her to be feeling better!

I'll keep you posted on how she's doing! This is the first time she's really been sick, so Todd and I are feeling a bit anxious, but I think she's going to be just fine.

Love,
Julie

11 months

2009-08-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

How is it possible that our little baby is almost 1 years old?! She's becoming more toddler-esque and less baby every day.

She enjoys eating lots of foods now. Macaroni and cheese seems to be her favorite. :) Lots of cheese and yogurt. Egg on toast, tuna sandwich (although I think more ended up on the floor than in her tummy!), and avocado are other foods she's trying. And cheerios. Lots of cheerios. :) She's also had a few sips of a fizzy fruit drink, and a couple bites of cookie and loves those treats! It will be fun to see her with a big piece of cake at her birthday.

She's still close to walking. Spending time standing by herself, and she's taken a couple steps by herself. I thought she'd be walking by her birthday, but we'll see. She's pretty fast crawling and loves it when we chase her around the house.

She's starting signing a little bit too. She does "all done" and every now and then I get the "milk" sign. I think she tried signing "more" this week, but I'm not positive that's what I saw. She loves to point and gets her point across with that most of the time. She points to EVERYTHING and says "s-da" which we think is "what's that?" So cute!

I can't believe that she's almost 1!

Here are some new pictures of her looking super cute (as always!).

Leave us a message when you check out these cute pics!

Lots of love,
Todd, Julie and Kate

10 1/2 months!

2009-07-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

This summer is flying by as quickly as our little girl is growing! She's a busy girl, crawling everywhere, trying to find lots of mischief. Just this week, she's started to try to stand up without holding onto anything. She kind of bounces up from a sitting position to a half standing, and then plops back down on her bum. It's fun to watch her try to figure it out! She likes to be standing, cruising around the furniture, and is wishing she could walk by herself. I don't think that will be too far off now!

She loves to play in the water. We've been going to the different wading pools in seattle, and she's really enjoyed it. She'll crawl around in it, sit in it, and even bends over and puts her face in the water! She just loves the water.

She's very vocal, with lots of babbling. Occasionally she'll say "bye bye," and earlier this week she said "all done" and "hi baby," although I'm not sure that it's anything more than mimicry right now. There's also lots of mama's and dada's which is fun to hear.

She's a happy girl, and likes to laugh and smile. She's started giving lots of kisses and cuddles, (although sometimes she's too busy to cuddle!), but when it happens, it makes her mom and dad just melt. It's so hard to believe she's almost a year!

I'll work on getting pictures up soon...

Love,
Julie

"Ba, bye!"

2009-07-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today Kate and I were at the UW participating in a research study. It was her 7th visit for this study in the past 2 weeks, and every time that I leave with her, I wave and say "say bye-bye Barbara" (Barbara is the researcher). Well today I did the same thing, and after I said "say bye bye," Kate waved and said "ba-bye." I looked at Barbara and said, did she just say "bye bye?!" She agreed! I wasn't expecting to hear words yet, and so it took me by surprise! I guess it just really shows that Todd and I are raising a genius. :) We tried to get her to say it again, but of course, Kate wouldn't say anything more.

How amazing!

I'm so in love with her!

Julie

9 1/2 months!

2009-06-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

It is so amazing to see the number of motor skills our daughter has acquired in one month! From 6-8 months, she was sitting up by herself, and just starting to pull herself up if the circumstances were right (low enough table, positioned just right). And then from 8-9 months, she's just taken off! She's rolling way more than she used to, crawling, pulling herself up on everything, & cruising around the furniture (still slowly thankfully!). It's really remarkable to see how everything comes together. So now we have a very busy little girl, crawling around the house, chasing us down, and having us chase her down! :)

I was at my parents house in Cle Elum on Sunday and had put Kate down for a nap in the back bedroom. We were out on the deck enjoying the sunshine and some iced tea, and were keeping an ear out for baby Kate noises. After an hour or so, I started to hear some noises, so I went inside to go get her. I opened the door, and there she was! She'd pushed the door open from the bedroom, crawled out and down the hall, and was in the entryway, looking around for the action! It was so funny!

She's been really into dogs lately too. If we're out for a walk and she sees a dog (even a block or two away), her whole little body starts shaking with excitement. "ooh, ooh, ooh!" she exclaims. We saw Sue & Ryan's 2 dogs on Sunday and Kate was so very excited. She was chasing them around the house and was so happy when they gave her kisses. At first when they kissed her, she had this look like, "what in the world was that?!" and then it quickly turned into, "I loved it!". The only time she wasn't sure about them, was when doggie Mackenzie found Kate's binky and had it in her mouth as she was walking around the house. So funny, but Kate was feeling a little jealous that she didn't have the binky! :)

And now some exciting news...although technically this should belong in the 9-10 month post...Kate has 2 teeth! She got her first one a week ago Monday, and then the second one popped through this past Sunday. So 2 in one week. Both bottoms. She's been doing pretty good with them; not too fussy, but definitely a drool monster. Sleep was a little tough this week, and Todd and I caved and let her come into bed with us a little too often. It started when she was waking at 5am, but over the week she slowly inched that time up earlier and earlier. It's so nice to cuddle in bed, but she's a bit of a roller/tosser in bed and none of us were getting good sleep. So last night we had our first cry-it-out session. It wasn't too bad...it ended up being about 45 minutes of crying including the times when I would go into the room to lay her back down and try to calm her down. She finally fell asleep and slept until the morning. Needless to say her eyes are a bit puffy today, but hopefully we're on the right track. Since I'm working tomorrow, Todd's on duty with it tonight.

Eating is getting fun. She's really not that into the pureed foods, or maybe it's just that she doesn't like to be spoon-fed anymore, but she's doing great with finger foods. She's addicted to the cheerios, and enjoys bits of pork, chicken, fruits, and some veggies. At her nine month dr appt she weighed 17 lbs 1 oz, which follows the her growth curve nicely.

She's been such a fun, happy baby. Lots of smiles and laughs, waving, bouncing, crawling. We've gone to the wading pool a couple times this week and she adores it. She loves to see the other kids and play and splash in the water. She is such a great kid!

More pictures to enjoy:

Visiting with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa

Kate checking out baby Josie!

What's so exciting with babies? I've got my cheerios, and that's all that I need.

Fun at the wading pool

Moab Pictures

2009-06-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Moab this week and had a great time! I don't have much time to talk about it now, but I know what you really want is more pictures, so here you go! Maybe we'll put the rest of them on picassa, but for now, enjoy these!

By the way, Kate now has forward motion! She doesn't quite crawl on her hands and knees, and it's not really a true commando crawl, but she kind of "worms" it. She reaches forward with her arms and pulls herself forward as she kicks with her legs. As I'm writing this, she just wormed it from one side of the room to the other so that she could get into her toy box!

And she's also waving hi and bye! Not sure if she knows what it means, but she likes to do it! Just now, she's playing in her toy box and looked up at me, smiled and waved! So cute!

Picture Updates

2009-06-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures finally! She's such a cutie!

8 months!

2009-05-18T22:11:00.001-07:00

Another month has whizzed by, and I really don't know where it's gone! Kate is getting bigger (fancy that!) and I believe that she is starting to grow some hair. It's still pretty sparse up on top, but I think I'm seeing some new strands of hair pop out of her noggin. :) And although practically every week since December, Todd and I have thought that she's teething, she remains toothless! I suppose it's a good thing, since she's nursing, but it just makes us wonder when they are going to come. I was 9 months old when I got my first tooth, so we'll see what she does. I'm not sure how old Todd was--I'll have to ask Anne about that one!

Just this week she's added lots of "dada's" and a very cute "blah" to her advancing vocabulary. She doesn't seem to relate the mama or dada to either of us yet, but it's certainly fun to hear! I think Todd was pretty jazzed when she started babbling dadadada. :)

She's still desperately trying to crawl, but despite her best efforts, only moves backwards. Lately she just wants to hold our hands and walk all over the place. It's fun to see where she wants to go, and what toys she's trying to get. She's had lots of laughs, and is just starting to getting to be a great cuddler, where she nuzzles her head in or tries to kiss us on our faces. This involves a lot of drool, but is definitely worth it. :)

She's had lots of adventures this month too. While I've been at work, she and Todd have spent some fun time downtown, exploring the central library and going through the market. They've also visited our friends Derek, Corina and their babe Gabriel who just turned one. Sounded like she had a fun time playing with him! She and I have been to the zoo many times this month (gotta love how close it is to our house!) and just last Friday had a great hike through Discovery park. We got a new backpack carrier for her that we're going to use on an upcoming trip to Moab and so we tried it out on the hike. She did really well in it, and I think she liked being up high to look around better. She got lots of cute looks from people. I know, my daughter is the cutest baby ever. :)

I guess this isn't really an 8th month update, but on the home front, we're getting ready for some house projects this summer. We've hired a friend to do some design work for our backyard, and Todd is getting excited (if that's the right word) to re-side and (I say possibly, he says definitely) re-do the porch. It's going to be a lot of work, but will create an entry way for us so that you don't walk right into our family room. I can't wait to have a coat closet!

I just started knitting a little sweater for Kate for this fall/winter...It's fun to have some time to knit again! I'll post a pic once I'm finished with it. Probably will take me 2 or 3 times as long to make it as it did pre-Kate, but I'm getting good at taking advantage of naps now!

Todd's been diligently working though his architecture exams to obtain his license. It's a long process that involves 7 tests, but he's making good progress. Good work Todd! :) He also prepared a wonderful Mother's Day evening for me this month. I had to work all day, but when I came home he had the most delicious dinner ready (roasted chicken with apples & onions, wild rice and lightly steamed chard), with candles lit, and the baby sleeping in her crib. It was too divine.

I'm sure I have some pictures to post, but it's getting late, and I need to go to bed. If I wait to post this after I get pics, I'm afraid that time will fly even faster, and it will be 9 months already. I'll do my best to get some up this week.

Thanks for checking in,
Much love,
Julie

7 months! (well now 7 1/2 months...takes me too long to post!)

2009-04-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

We've had another busy month, enjoying our little baby become more of a little girl! She's still loving sitting up, and is doing such a good job at lunging for toys and keeping her balance. Sometimes she'll lunge so far that she starts to move into this half-crawling position, and by the looks of it, it doesn't seem that crawling is too far off! She squirms all around on her tummy now too. She can move in a 360 degree circle on her tummy (only clockwise!) and just this week has started scooting backwards in a straight line. How frustrating to move further away from your toys, when you are trying to get closer! :) We had a funny moment yesterday when she was on her tummy. I was trying to distract her into getting more tummy time and was singing and dancing with her sun hat. I started throwing it up in the air and she thought it was hilarious! Big, belly laughs! I managed to get some video of it and will try to post it at the end of this post. So much fun!

She's babbling more, lots of mama's, baa's, ffff's, and gaa's. Haven't heard the daa yet, but I'm sure it's coming. She's real vocal, either with those sounds, or she also likes to growl a lot. Must feel funny in her throat! Super cute.

She's starting a bit of the separation anxiety now too. Sometimes momma just can't be close enough for her! It's endearing, but at times trying--for example when I would like to make a run to the bathroom sans child on my hip! :) That's ok though...she's such a love bug that it's hard not to want her with me all the time anyway!

Oh, she also loves to walk around holding our hands. Not sure if this means she'll be an early walker (oh dear!), but she sure loves it right now. We were at the park this week, over by the slides, and she wanted to do some walking. I put her down, holding her hands for balance, and she walked right back over to the swings! So cute! She does love the swings.

A few days before her 7month birthday, she decided that she likes to eat! We'd been offering baby food for about a month prior to that, but she really just wasn't into it. She'd close her lips, turn her head and refuse to eat. She wanted to eat--she kept reaching for our food--but just wasn't ready I guess. I figured she'd eat when she wanted to, and sure enough she did. All of a sudden, when I offered her food she eagerly went for it! We've had lots of fun trying new foods and watching her get it everywhere on her body. She gets excited to eat and has liked pretty much everything we've offered: sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, carrots. Good stuff!

I'm sure there's other new things that she's doing, but I just can't remember them all! I really should post more often, even if it's just a quick update. As it is, it's hard to complete a big post like this! (I'm finally finishing this May 2nd!).

Here are some pictures to enjoy:

Kate in her party dress at one of the many baby showers she attended this month!

Getting ready for an EEG for a research study at the UW (she was such a good sport!)

Mmmm...sweet potatoes!

See, I really do like food!

Playing with my toys!

Good friend Aidan making me laugh!

How many pictures does it take to get all 3 kids looking at the camera?
One? Nope.

Two? Nope. (Kate's trying to eat Charlotte's shoe)

Three? still nope. Aidan's got the smiling down, but the girls are a bit behind! (well at least Charlotte's trying to direct Kate's chewing to something more appropriate). :)

Here's the video of Kate laughing at me tossing her sunhat around the house. At the end, you can see me pitifully roll my ankle and fall down. Ahh, the things you do for a laugh! :)

Cherry Blossoms!

2009-04-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Kate and I were off on another adventure in the sun today! We went to the quad at the UW to enjoy the blooming cherry trees. It was spectacular! Kate loved all the people watching and the sun on her back.

More pics to prove how cute she is...

Also, she started playing peek-a-boo yesterday! It is so much fun watching her cover her face with a blanket, and then pull it down real fast, grinning and waiting to see our reaction. Such pure joy.

Think I'm in love.

Fun in the Sun

2009-04-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

Kate spent part of the afternoon today enjoying this sunshine that we're having by playing at the beach with mom and auntie Sue! She loved playing in the sand...she kept digging her hands in it and letting it fall between her fingers. She was pretty messy by the time we had to go home, but that's what being a kid is all about, right? ;)

Enjoy the pics!

Julie

Half a Year, Already!

2009-03-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

This month seems to have gone by particularly fast, even though I know I said this last month, but I think my proof is with the lack of posts! I know you all are probably aching for more pictures of our darling girl, and I'm sorry I've slacked with that! I hope this month I'll do better! :)

Kate is growing into such a lovely little girl. She's a happy, joyful, easy going girl. She certainly has her moments of fussiness and crankiness, but those moments don't last for very long.

She's sitting by herself now, which she absolutely loves. Whenever she's put on her back, she strains to lift her head, shoulders, and as much as her body as she can, to look around and see what's going on. She'd much rather be sitting up to check everyone out, than laying down! She's good at playing on her tummy (as long as she's in a good mood!) and rolls over periodically. She definitely rolls, but she hasn't figured out that she can do it when she wants to. So far, she only rolls when she's fussing and protesting being on her tummy, or if I bring a toy over her head and she rolls to look at it. At least for now we can ensure she gets good tummy time! I've heard that once they realize they can roll whenever they want, it's much harder to get the tummy time in. :)

We've started using highchairs when we're out at restaurants, as well as at home, and she really likes being a part of the action. Todd also popped her in a grocery cart this weekend for the first time, and he said she was loving that too. Anything that gets her sitting up!

She went on a swing for the first time this month too! She thinks swinging is so much fun! She's still a bit tiny so we have to pop a blanket in behind her for a little extra support, but she loves it! She has huge smiles, her legs kick wildly, and she makes her happy vocalizations. It is so much fun for us too. Now we have a good reason to go to the park--it's fun to see her in the swing with all the other little kids playing around. She's not just this little babe that sleeps and eats anymore! She's playing! :) So much fun!

What else?? She's found her feet and likes to try to grab them and shove them in her mouth. She's babbling a lot--she says her vowels and lots of "mmms" and I've heard an occasional "bah." Sometimes she says "mmm mah" and it sounds like momma, and we joke and say that she's a genius and already has her first word! :) Such simple pleasures now.

Her 6 month appt was yesterday (and I mean monday--yes, it's taking me 4 days to get this post written!) and everything went well. Her weight is still hanging around the 10th percentile: 13lbs 8 oz. We've looked at my own growth charts and her weight and my weight have been practically identical. I was 13lbs 4oz. Too funny...we're just a couple of tiny girls!

We've started giving her a few tastes of food, although she hasn't been too interested yet. Well, she acts like she wants food, but then gags or spits it out. She's swallowed a little bit, but not much yet. So we're just taking it easy and following her cues. It sure provides lots of fun picture opportunities!

I'll try to update this month more often than last, but until then, here's some pictures to enjoy!

Thanks for checking in. Please leave a comment for us to read to Kate!
Love,
Julie

All bundled up and ready for a stroll

Oh, mom...

First time swinging!

Playing with my bff Charlotte (before I mastered sitting up!)

Swinging with my buddy Sam.

Hmmm...not so sure about avocado.

Definitely not sure about this avocado!

Lounging in my high chair

5 months old!

2009-02-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

How quickly time flies! Our Kate Scarlett is already five months old, although it seems like just yesterday that I was writing about being 4 months old!

She is such a fun girl these days. Lots of smiles and laughs, with occasional squealing :) . She is really quite a happy girl. She loves bath time--she always takes her bath with mom or dad in the tub with her, and she loves to kick her legs and play with her turtles. And when I say play, I mean she tries really hard to get the turtles in her mouth! I think we'll have to take her swimming at the pool one of these days!

She's really into standing up now too. When we hold her in a sitting position, it's not very long before she arches her back and kicks her legs out to try and get into a standing position. She just wants to see what's going on and be a part of all the action.

She's started to pay more attention to other kids, especially her friends Aidan and Charlotte. Aidan is 3 1/2 years, and Charlotte is 1 yr and Kate is so interested in what they are doing! I think she's taking notes, saying to herself, "they stand up and then move their legs...hmmm..wonder if I can do that?" Pretty soon she'll be chasing after them!

I think it won't be long now until she starts eating some food too. She's been very interested in watching us eat, and lately she's grabbing my cup whenever I'm holding one. I'll let her mouth it, and she just drools all over it!

She's also reaching for everything that's within 6 inches of her. Toys, the phone, clothes, anything--we're definately more on the baby-proofing thoughts these days because of that. She's keeping us on our toes!

Sleep's been more of a challenge this past month. She's continued with waking every 3-4 hours at night, despite the pleading her mother does to return to the 7-9 hour stretches. I know, I know, it was too good to be true, but a girl can try, can't she?! Actually the past couple nights have been a bit better...we've warmed up her room a bit and she slept 6.5 and 7.5 hours. Maybe we've found the magic potion...

Ok, enough with the written updates. I know you're hankering for more pics, so here you go! Thanks also for all the comments from the last post. It's so nice to see who's checking up on us. We appreciate you thinking about us!

Enjoy,
Love
Julie

I'm too cool for my sunglasses.

Admiring my first Valentine's Day card from Grandma

It's so fun to play with friends! (Left to right: Avery, Linnea, Kate, Amelia)

You are so funny, momma!

Lovin' daddy time!

Fun Pics

2009-02-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a few new pictures of our darling girl.

Enjoy!
P.S. Kate really likes it when you post a comment after you check out our updates!

Enjoying a day with dad and trying to eat my sweater.

Playing outside in the sunshine (yes, mom made me this hat!)

Just showing off the hat again!

Smiley floor time

When will spring come?? (it's hard to see, but it's snowing in the background)

Four Months Old!

2009-01-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is growing so fast! We've had so much fun with her this past month, watching her grow and learn every day. She's now rolled from her back to belly once, and belly to back a handful of times, although she's gotta be naked to do any rolling at all! She's laughing a lot--tonight at dinner, we sat her down on the table next to us, and for some reason, she thought it was the funniest thing ever! She gave a good hearty laugh, which made Todd and I laugh, which made her laugh more! She's giving out many smiles and likes it when we blow on her tummy and kiss her cheeks. She thinks it's really funny when mom sings skitamarink-ka-dink-ka-dink (or how ever you spell that!) and she could (and does!) stroll for hours with dad.

Sleeping has been a bit of a mixed bag this month. She sometimes gives us NINE consecutive hours, and other nights, she's up every 3-4. We can't really figure out a pattern to that, but just try to take advantage when she's feeling generous. Naps have started to even out though. She takes a couple shorter naps in the morning, and a long 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.

I started back to work this month, and so she and Todd get to have long days together, just the two of them. They both seem to be doing well with that, and, although my first day back to work was really tough, it's getting easier to be away. It does feel good to be back with patients and feeling productive, in a non-mommy way.

She has her 4 month appt next Monday...we'll get to see how much she weighs now, and of course, more vaccinations.

I'll leave you with some more lovely pictures of Kate:

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy holiday week again, with visits to the grandparents and more 'firsts.' At Grammy and Grandpa's (Rothfus) house, Kate went on her first snowmobile ride! It made me super nervous, as there definitely was NOT a car seat involved, but because of the large amount of snow that arrived overnight, it was either the snowmobile or a very long walk in the cold! She did great, of course. Todd plopped her in the bjorn and she slept the whole time we rode down to the car. Too cute!

At Grandma and Grandpa's(Smith) house, Kate went sledding for the first time! Grandpa made a very cool attachment to a sled so that her car seat carrier fit right in. We towed her behind us as we walked downtown Leavenworth for lunch. She was awake for the first part of it and seemed to like it (well, as much as we could tell!) After lunch we took her to the sledding hill, to a part with a modest incline and let her sled down it! She thought it was fabulous. Check out the video for more proof of that. :)

I forgot to mention that last week she rolled over for the first time! She went back to belly, which is more unusual to start with, but it just goes to show that we have a genius on our hands.

We had a great time visiting with family, and I appreciated all the help I got with Kate. Her Grammy and Grandma got to have lots of cuddle time, and I got to get some knitting done! I'll have to post a photo of my latest project.

Todd's gearing up to start his tests to obtain his Architectural license. His first test is on Monday, and then he'll have a test every 3-4 weeks until May. It's a pretty rigorous examination, but he's looking forward to getting started on it.

I'm heading back to work next Wednesday. I'm feeling ready to rejoin my colleagues and to get back into the other 'nursing' world. It will be hard to leave Kate for 13 hours at a time, but knowing Todd is home taking care of her will make it much easier. I'll just be working every Wed and every other weekend, and he'll be staying home on Wed to care for her. I think they're going to have lots of fun having so much one-on-one daddy time!

Enjoy more pictures, and Happy New Year!

Much love,
Julie

Oops! You caught me with my hands in my mouth again!

She doesn't seem to appreciate our efforts to keep her warm.

Out enjoying a rare snow day!

Yes, she's trying to eat her snowsuit.

Winter Wonderland in Seattle

Feeling Sentimental

2008-12-24T12:33:00.000-08:00

As I look down at the sleeping babe in my arms, I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness and disbelief. A year ago today, we had our first true chance to start our family after nearly a year and half of trying. I was feeling so hopeful and nervous at the same time and trying to stay relaxed. Two weeks later we received our first positive pg test and were overjoyed, as well as cautiously optimistic. And as you know, in September we finally welcomed our lovely Kate Scarlett into this world.

Christmas has a new meaning for me now. It's always been a time for family, and now it's a time that reminds me of how our Kate came to us. It was an incredibly hard journey for us, but we now have this wonderful new person in our lives.

My heart goes out to those couples still waiting to start or to add to their families. Your strength amazes me and we think of you often.

Merry Christmas,
Julie

Big Girl Crib

2008-12-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

Todd and I decided that we were ready to move our sweet Kate out of the co-sleeper in our room and into her big girl crib in her room this week. She's been a good sleeper, although this past week she was starting to wake up more frequently during the night. I wasn't sure if it was because she was going through a growth spurt, if she was just stirring and I was nursing prematurely, if she just wanted to nurse for comfort, or something else. I also wanted to have her sleeping in her crib by the time I went back to work, so that I could get better sleep. So we decided to try putting her to sleep in her room to see if her sleeping pattern would improve.

Her first night in her big girl crib was on Tuesday night, her 3 month birthday. :) Todd was staying home from work on Wednesday, so we figured if it was a disaster and I was up all night, at least he'd be home from work to take care of her so I could sleep. We did our normal bedtime routine, but in her room instead of ours, and put her down in her crib at 9pm. She didn't stir or fuss at all, and slept until 5am! I nursed her again, and put her back down in her crib and she slept until 7:45! How fabulous is that?!

Last night went almost as smooth. She went down at 9pm, but fussed around for about an hour. She just kept sleeping and then stirring and having tiny little whimpers, but a binky helped and she finally was out around 10. She woke up around 3, nursed, and went back to sleep in her crib until 7:15.

I am so proud of her! She's doing so well! Napping has been a bit better the past few days too. Not sure if that's a coincidence with a better night sleep, but I'll take it. She's spending more naps in her crib and less held by mom and dad. My little baby's growing up! (Ok, now I know just because she's sleeping well right now, doesn't mean that she always will, but it sure feels good right now !)

Check out this great video of Todd trying to get Kate to laugh. It's so fun!

3 months old

2008-12-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! How did my little baby become 3 months old already?! It's truly amazing how fast time flies sometimes. She is doing so well! The past week or so has been a bit more challenging--but this is a normal time for challenges to occur as babes are mastering more skills and becoming more aware of the world. She's awake a lot more of the day, and you can really see her looking around taking everything in. She does get over-stimulated more often now, and we have to pay attention to her signs that she's had too much. She's smiling a lot, giving us occasional laughs, and just becoming a wonderfully delightful person.

I'll be heading back to work in January (just part time) and am trying to really enjoy these days with her. It will be great that Todd will get to spend more time with her once I go back, as he'll be taking care of her when I'm at work. I think she's looking forward to more one-on-one time with daddy too!

More pics for you to enjoy:

My dear friend Sarah and her daughter Charlotte (11 mo)(aren't the girls cute in their matching outfits?!)

Todd & Chad doing daddy duty

Sam (Lisa's son)(8 weeks) and Kate (12 weeks)
Sam's almost as big as Kate now!

Cousin Brianna

Kate's first Christmas tree

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T21:08:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend with both families. Here are some pictures:
Thanksgiving pictures
At the Rothfus Residence in Ronald, uncle Bill came down from Orcas for a great couple days visit. Check out the step stool he made for Kate. Grammy(julie's mom) made a great turkey dinner. In leavenworth, 4 generations came to visit. The oldest being my(todd's) 93 year old Grandad, Madeira from Ohio.

Also, A big smile on the changing table! Almost 11 weeks old now.

Early Thanksgiving with friends

2008-11-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went to over to Micah and Amy's for a friends Thanksgiving dinner. Evan & Petra and Micah & Beth also joined us. These guys grew up with Todd in Leavenworth. Everyone brought food to share and the food was delicious! Amy even cooked the turkey by herself for the first time and it turned out great!

Enjoy the pictures! Can you tell who the star of the party was? :)
click here

And here's a cute one from today:

More Pics

2008-11-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

I know this is really what you want to see!

Enjoy!

These are some rad pants that my aunt Jane & uncle Jim sent from Australia. The pictures don't do them justice, but the pockets aren't real--they're sort of painted on. Super cute!

Front side of her hot pants

Hanging out

Kate and Sam (Lisa's new son--4 weeks old) at our new mom's group. Actually you can get a better look at her hot pants here!

My current favorite--Life is good!

7 Hour Stretch

2008-11-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that Miss Kate slept SEVEN consecutive hours last night! Woohoo! She's been fairly consistently sleeping 4-6 hours since she was about 4 weeks old, but it was often like a 9 to 3a stretch, or 10-2a. That in itself is great--I know lots of 8 week old babes still wake more often than that.

So last night, she'd been taking an evening nap, and woke up around 10p for another feed. She ate really well, and then I decided to try a new swaddle technique that I learned at this great new parent group that I go to here. We used to swaddle her, but she kept breaking free from it...so then this last week we had just been putting her in this, but she'd squirm and squirm and wake herself up.
This is the special swaddle technique: It's a 2 blanket swaddle...the first you use to wrap their arms, and then bring the blanket up between her legs and around the chest (kind of hard to describe). Then the 2nd blanket you just do a typical swaddle. She nursed a bit more and I put her down in her crib asleep around 11pm. She woke up ready to eat at 6am! How brilliant is that?! Needless to say, I'll be using that swaddle again!

First Babysitter

2008-11-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

Today marks the first day that we left Kate without me or Todd being there! I had a dentist appointment today and had planned on taking miss Kate with me. The office said it was fine to bring her along and leave her in the car seat at the front desk. Unfortunately this morning she was a bit on the fussy side and I was worried that she'd scream the whole time that I was there! She'll tolerate her car seat when it's in the car and moving, but she does NOT like to be in it without movement! So I spontaneously called my friend Stephanie (who's also a pediatric nurse!) to see if she'd be able to watch Kate, and she said she'd love to!

When I left the house, Kate was screaming and Steff was already on the bouncy ball trying to settle her. Yikes! But despite the screaming, I knew she was in good hands! My appointment went well, and 2 hours later I was home. When I walked in the door, I was afraid that Kate would still be fussing, but instead I opened the door to Kate sleeping in Steff's arms while she was knitting! :) What a relief to see 2 contented faces!

It feels good to know that I can leave her and that her world (or mine!) won't fall apart!

Bring on date night!

Julie

Dancing pre-birth

2008-11-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Thought it would be fun to post an older video showing Julie trying to get the baby to come out a couple weeks before her due date. Dancing to Lady Sovereign's "those were the days" watch as Julie get's down.

First smiles and more cute photos

2008-10-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

1st smile on camera

Hi momma!

Mom sure is having fun dressing me!

Just hanging out

Rocking with Grammy

Spending time with Grandma

Getting ready for bath time!

First vacation!

2008-10-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my birthday, Todd and I decided to be brave and spend the weekend in Portland, with 5 week old Kate! Friday evening we took the train down. It was a beautiful ride..the sun was setting and miss Kate hardly made a peep! When we got off, a couple people even commented on how good she was. That made us feel like super-star parents! :) We stayed at this great hotel--the front desk upgraded our room AND gave us a complimentary bottle of wine. It was such a nice and unexpected treat. We spent Saturday walking around the Pearl district and going to the Saturday market. That evening, Todd took us out to dinner at a great restaurant. He had octopus and rabbit, and while my choices were predictably more conservative, I did try his more adventurous meal (which was actually pretty good!). Again, Kate was well behaved!
Sunday we spent the day walking through Washington Park. The trees were so beautiful, with the leaves changing colors. It was sunny and warm...a perfect fall day! Kate loved all the walking that we did--especially because her daddy was carrying her the whole time!
We had a such a lovely time.

Enjoy some pictures of our trip.

Love, Julie

1 month old!

2008-10-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Miss Kate Scarlett is already one month old! We've had so much fun getting to know our little one and she's been such a good baby. Sleep has been going well and she really doesn't fuss too much. Sometimes she needs help getting to sleep, but it's been pretty reasonable.

We've had lots of friends over to visit and meet our Kate. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Friends Alia & Stephanie

Nina

Katie, Tim, Andrew

Alexis

Joey

Kenny

Micah

Erin & Eli

Lauren & Kyle

And here are some cute ones of just her:

1st entry into the Smith Chronicle

2008-09-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is our first post of our new blog site. It's an honor to announce our new baby daughter, Kate Scarlett. It's a great thing, this duty called parenthood.

This site is a means to keep friends and family up to speed on us. A family that blogs together, stays together: A modern day sunday phone call to parents and friends....haha.

Anyways, we'll post pictures, news, stories, B.S. and the like. We look forward to it.