Little Katie weighed in at 11lbs 2oz this morning. She had her wool socks on at the time, but this means she is at least 11lbs now…
2010-02-08 - Playground
We took little Katie out in the stroller again today. This time we strolled down to the pool and park area. We looked at the various pieces of equipment on the playground and wondered what little Katie would like to play on the most. There is this huge green turtle I think she will like.
Next to the playground is a swimming pool. It’s part of the perks for being in our community. We were thinking that little Katie will be about 7-8 months old by the time summer rolls around. She might like to have a dip in the pool from time to time.
My wife, little Katie and I got Valentine’s Day cards in the mail from my mother. This is effectively little Katie’s first Valentine’s Day.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) T
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6:00am and hopefully little Katie is sleeping now. She has been up for about 2 hours and I think she’s played out. My wife and I are done as well…
2010-02-07 - Flower Rattle
We mentioned in a previous post that little Katie’s favorite toy is the adjustable lamp next to our bed. Another toy she likes is the “flower rattle” that was attached to the swing. Here’s a picture on the right.
It has been a rough night and morning. Little Katie has not been sleeping soundly and as a result neither have my wife or I.
6:11pm and little Katie is sleeping. I know how much she loves football so I’m torn between whether to wake her up in time for the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl or not. The kickoff is at 6:30…I’ll let her sleep a little longer…
People ask me how I know little Katie likes football. Sometimes when it is on television she screams at the top of her lungs…cheering her team on as football fans all know too well! While some people may say that she is screaming for her next meal, I know better.
10:00pm and little Katie is screaming like mad. I’m not sure if this is because the Super Bowl just ended, or she is a Colts fan? Guess I will ask her when she gets a bit older. While many adults will choose to celebrate the New Orleans Saint’s Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts by going out drinking, little Katie will have “the usual” and then straight to bed (hopefully).
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Tonight was one of the first nights in which it was hard to quiet little Katie down. It’s usually she needs feeding, or burping, or changing, but tonight was a bit of a mystery. Perhaps she is just over tired…
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Little Katie loves to stare at her mother. She is fascinated. When she is in the “bouncy seat” and I rotate the seat, everything will move except little Katie’s stare. Not sure if she is recognizing her mother or the food supply at this stage.
Another Skype session with my mother this afternoon. Little Katie wore her red onesie with a white collar. She behaved a bit at first, but soon got hungry and fussy. Time for bed…
We are running out of diapers so I had to make a run to the store. It’s amazing how many different makes and types and sizes and such that are out there in the diaper world! I also picked up some baby wipes while I was there, and some baby Tylenol as well. Oh, and I picked up another box of earplugs. We are going to need those as well…
2010-02-06 - Homemade Pizza
My wife tried to put a little white sweater with pink cuffs on little Katie this evening and the “death-defying screams” bounced off the walls. She sure didn’t like that, but her hands were cold so we wanted to make sure she was warm. When it’s all little Katie has a relaxing recline on the pillow and all is well.
Homemade pizza for dinner tonight for my wife and I. Little Katie will get a “taste” of it a bit later… Actually a healthy store-bought pizza with some extra ingredients on top. Picture to the left…
11:29pm – Little Katie is up and ready for some fun. My wife and I are almost fainting and little Katie is just getting started…
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) The exhausting supply of diaper choices.
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Super Bowl weekend is here and little Katie is just besides herself with anticipation. Either that, or she has gas. She has been moaning and groaning and chirping and squeaking all night…
2010-01-05 - Doggie
The picture on the left shows a little plush doggie that we got from my wife’s mother. We don’t have a name for it yet, but we are working on it. We could always let little Katie name it, but that might take a while.
When little Katie is nursing she has started moaning. It’s like a moan of complete contentment, kind of like “there is no other place on earth I would rather be”.
It’s raining “cats and dogs” here today, and they say that we will be getting a rain and snow combination tomorrow. Glad that we are not situated a bit further north. Oh well, we have about 30 diapers left, so if we happen to get snowed in tomorrow and Sunday we will be fine.
Some of the broadest smiles that little Katie gives me is when I’m changing her. I think she likes the “cool breeze” when the diaper is off. I suspect it feels so “freeing” to her. I guess she really appreciates that.
My wife and I are on the bed watching “Super Nanny” and little Katie is sleeping in her “bouncy seat” between us. I think she prefers the “bouncy seat” to the “Pack ‘n Play” for two reasons:
1) She gets to be here with us.
2) It kind of “hugs her”…probably reminds her of being back in the womb.
I was holding little Katie at eye level this evening and started to mouth “hello baby”. She responded with a broad smile and tried to communicate back. She’s gotten into this mode quite regularly as of late.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie weighed in at 10lbs 8oz this evening.
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We are finding just how much little Katie will relax when she hears soothing music. It used to be that she would only calm down when she was fed, but music seems to be doing the trick more and more.
2010-02-04 - Baby Clothes From Mom
This morning I turned both the sound machine on the “Pack ‘n Play” and the melody maker in the toy sheep on, and little Katie relaxed quite a bit. She was crying before I turned them on, so we are making progress.
On the right is a photo of some of the outfits we got from my mother in the package the other day. See that red outfit? Well, little Katie was wearing it today. The outfit said “3 months”, but little Katie is fitting it perfectly.
When my wife picked up little Katie this morning and said brought her to me she said “Go see daddy”. Little Katie smiled and gave out a big laugh of excitement. This is the first time she has made a sound like this. She usually just stares at you, but I guess this is another sign that she is growing up.
My wife and I both think that today was the day that little Katie was animated the most. She seemed to be wanting to talk to us, but her vocabulary is very limited to “dah” at this stage.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie is growing like a weed…
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Little Katie seems to like the sound machine that is on the Graco “Pack ‘n Play”. Sometimes if she is fussy and won’t sleep it helps to calm her down.
2010-01-03 - Package From Home
The snow and ice finally melted enough that we could get out and about today. I picked up the package my mother mailed to us, and my wife got the package that her mother had sent to us, so it was a busy day in the mail department. Take a look at the condition of the package from my mother. Is there any wonder why the Post Office is having financial problems given this TLC?
Both of the packages were loaded with clothes and other goodies for little Katie. I will post some pictures of the goodies as time permits.
9:17pm and little Katie is into “staring mode”. She sometimes get into this mode where she just stares at my wife for minutes and minutes. No real expression, just an intense look of “what’s going on”.
We also notice that she loves to stare at lights. There is a lamp on the nightstand next to my wife that she is fascinated with. She is also interested in the adjustable lamp near my side of the bed. The light that streams in from the outside when she is being changed seems to provide no end of interest.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Pack your packages well if you want them to survive.
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Welcome little Katie to your first “Groundhog Day”. I just learned that Punxsutawney Phil emerged to see his shadow and this means we are due for another 6 weeks of winter. German tradition holds that if a hibernating animal sees its shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks (if no shadow is seen then spring is supposed to come early). Judging from all the snow and ice outside I think the little groundhog is right.
2010-02-02 - Icy Conditions
It’s raining outside today, but the ice is still here. It will be real nasty if it happens to freeze. Take a lot at the picture to the left. I’m going to work from home today.
I tried to put the blue onsie with the lion on little Katie this morning, but she was not be able to extend her legs. Our daughter is getting bigger by the day. It seems that she really started to grow in the last couple of days.
A friend came over to see little Katie today. Sometimes you have a hard time quieting little Katie down…this was not one of those times. She slept through most of the visit. She’s got a big night ahead of her of crying and keeping her parents up.
Little Katie likes to play the game I have affectionately coined “The Flying Chipmunk”. I basically cradle her in my hands and rock her vertically up and down in the sky. It sure does quiet her down and stop her from crying. Maybe she is asking herself “What in the world was that”?
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie loves “The Flying Chipmunk”.
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January is gone, and little Katie has effectively entered her second month of life. She seems to be getting bigger by the day. Soon she will be sleeping through the night (we hope).
2010-02-01 - Katie's Dream
Little Katie was a little fussy this morning, so I started to sing to her. She especially likes: “Come On Baby Let The Good Times Roll”, when it is accompanied with the appropriate “sound effects” mind you.
Well, we are still snowed in so I’m going to work from home today. I can see signs of some melting, so hopefully things will be cleared up by tomorrow. Little Katie is missing her strolls around the neighborhood… 
I bet this picture on the right is what she is dreaming about right now…a nice stroll in the fresh air with the sun shining on her face. Maybe tomorrow? Time will tell.
I notice that little Katie likes to watch the television. My wife and I don’t let her watch it for long mind you, but when she glances a bit in that direction it seems to hold her attention. Perhaps it is the flashing images? Perhaps it is the dynamic sounds? Who knows…she will surely become more acquainted with this medium as she gets older.
My wife was in the bathroom and little Katie started crying. She yelled out “can you change her”. I said how about into a quieter version of herself? Not too bad…just plenty of #1…
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) The wonders of the baby “nose pump”…
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There is still a dusting of snow outside, so we won’t be going anywhere today. Just me, my wife, and baby makes three.
2010-01-31 - Bouncy Seat
Since I’m “snowed in” today I might as well take advantage of the time and do a bit of blogging. This morning I would like to talk a bit about the “bouncy seat”. That’s a picture of it on the left. It’s a great little device. We put little Katie in it and the gentle bouncing motion seems to calm her down. There are buttons for calming vibration, 5 gentle melodies, and 3 soothing sounds. My wife likes it because it is so balanced she can gently rock Katie with just one finger. I like it it because it will stop her from crying. All in all, a great little device…we highly recommend it.
Time to clean out the diaper genie. Tough job, but somebody has to do it. Just think of what a mess this would be without the diaper genie…that’s what I keep telling myself.
Little Katie is getting a lot more animated. I can make her smile more and more. She likes it when I move my mouth and make funny sounds. She also seems to like it when I sing to her. Maybe we have a musician on our hands?
Four weeks ago this evening little Katie was struggling to be the newest member of planet earth. My how time flies. I find that she is getting heavier every day.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) All Hail to the “Bouncy Seat”…
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It’s 6:30am and I can hear the “snow and sleet” combo bashing into the window so I know what awaits me when I get out of bed. Won’t be long before little Katie glances a wondering eye towards this “white stuff” falling from the heavens…
2010-01-30 - We Have Snow
10:30am – Oh the weather outside is frightful. Check out that picture to the right! Snow, snow, snow… It’s quite rare in these parts, and I’m sure that all the little boys and girls would have wished it came yesterday so they could have the day off from school.
Glad that I’m not on the roads. In fact, on the news they are encouraging people to stay off the roads. It’s a good day to stay at home and “bring up baby”…
My wife and I had two Skype sessions this afternoon. The first session was with her parents. Her brother visiting so we were able to see him as well. Katie behaved for the most part. What a great thing this Skype is…
The next Skype session was with my mother. Little Katie was up for part of it, but started to get tired as the session went on. It’s a lot of excitement for her. She’s not used to being such a celebrity. She was “dressed to the hilt” with her pretty red “onesie”…
Pretty slow day here at the ranch actually. We were saying how little Katie is growing and will soon be too big for her newborn clothes. She will be almost 4 weeks old soon. My how time flies…
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) They grow so fast…
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