Thanksgiving Holiday

We had whirlwind couple of days. Kate's Beiboo and Nana came in from Dallas and we went to the Driskill for Thanksgiving. Kate did not make it to dessert....

Friday we watched some football game(can't even remember what teams they were...haha) and hung out with Kate's Uncle B. Many attempts were made to get Kate to walk (i.e. offering her a cell phone-which almost worked) but after one step she was done. We will continue this battle...

After the weekly lunch at Vivo, Kate got to have steaks with her Aunt Funny on Saturday night.

Kate still has a bit of a runny nose but the doctor ruled out any ear, chest or throat issues. Overall she had a great holiday weekend and she loved getting to eat breakfast with her Dad four days in a row!

Sissie

Breakfast with Santa

Queenie treated Kate and I to Breakfast with Santa at the Christmas Affair last Friday. Kate met Santa. AS you can see, it was not the best first meeting and I don't think he got the gist of what she wants for Christmas(but could there be a better looking Santa??)...

Kate is now standing on her own but still not ready to take any steps solo. She has her first runny nose and we are headed to the doctor this am to check it out.

Tonight Kate's Nana and Beiboo are headed here to spend Thanksgiving. Our "big meal" will be at the Driskill and we will spend the rest of the afternoon in pure sated bliss (and watching football).

I failed to mention that Kate's Uncle B(my brother Barrett) passed the Texas Bar(yea!) and is happily practicing in El Paso. Laura, aka Aunt Funny, also passed the Oklahoma Bar but is now headed back to Texas(yea!) to take both the Patent and the Texas Bar! We are still working on getting her to stay in Austin and just be our nanny(no Bar's necessary). They are both headed here over the weekend and will get to see Kate-Uncle B has not seen her since May!! What a difference a few months can make!

Deep into November...

So what Kate has been up to???

A little over a week ago she met her second cousin Ben, his wife Ama, and their new son Rogan Obadiah Jupiter Schenk. They are residents of New Orleans but were forced out by Katrina in Sept. It seems someone was looking out for them because they were able to find a midwife and free housing here in Austin until after the baby was born. Ben's mom(Dan's aunt-his mom's sister) Pat was also visiting them in Dripping Springs and is pictured holding the baby. It was great to see them all looking so happy and well! They made us a nice dinner and we had a great visit!(Below is a picture of the family just after the birth)

Lately we have had a few medical issues-Kate was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday only to be completely fine on Wednesday(we do in to re-check her chest tomorrow). On Saturday morning I went to St Davids-briefly-because I thought I was having contractions. Thank goodness it was only gas and a few Mylicon later I was home. Dan was great in getting us to the hospital and staying calm. He assured me that we can visit the hospital anytime I feel I need to until this baby decides to come in late March(when she is due to arrive).

Today Kate and I decided to try a new recipe for cookies. I call them Brownie Black and Whites(basic brownie cookie w/white and regular chocolate chips)..Picture is upcoming(they are headed to Dan's office for a taste test tomorrow)

Looking forward to the week ahead as we are headed to the San Marcus Outlet and on Friday, Kate gets to meet Santa!!

Halfway there...

Happy Halloween!!!

Our Ballerina LOVED her first real Halloween. She started the night,playing with all the costumed kids at a party. Later she joined Grandad and Queenie for doorbell duty. She quickly learned that when the doorbell rang, more kids arrived and she did not want to miss the action. Also by the end of the night, she too was saying "Trick or Treat"(or "Tee").

StrollerFit Halloween

I think of this Halloween as our first true Halloween. Last year we had just brought Kate home from the hospital, weighing no more than most chickens, and she was none to happy with the constant doorbell ringing. So this year I wanted her to be a part of the action.

We started the day at Strollerfit. Shelly held a "Halloween-themed" class and it was a great way to ease into the day.

Halloween Cupcakes

Kate and I decided to let off a little steam and bake. It has been a while and I was really looking to make something cute for Halloween...Here are my attempts(all of which are headed to Dan's office for tasting). Kate contributed by sneaking a cupcake off the table while it was cooling. She enjoyed every bite(her shirt is now covered in red dye...) so they must not taste too bad.

Bat Cupcakes(Chocolate w/cream cheese filling)
Red Velvet Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

A note to the 6 o'clock game last night. Kate wore her burnt orange "Bevo Buddy" shirt up until it was time for bath/bed. Ironically the horns began their turn around just as Kate was nodding off...Coincidence???hmmmmm....

First Haircut (Belated)

Ok so these pictures have been sitting on my camera for over a week...Kate got her first haircut(badly needed-it was beginning to look a little "blond goth") on October 19th. It was a great place-she watched Elmo and sat in her car as the lady cut-it took all of ten minutes.



Kate went on a little adventure yesterday with her Queenie. While I was preparing dinner for the next twelve days (at a place called The Studio Kitchen), they drove to Brookwood. According to the reviews, Kate did great. She was met by my Granny, Aunts Julie and Nancy, and Lejuan(Granny's nurse). They had lunch (Kate loved the Squash Soup??) and shopped. Here is a picture from lunch(note Kate's stylish haircut)

More Pumpkins and More

Kate's 15 month check up was this week. She met all of her 15 month milestones(her dr does not adjust her age at all-she said there is no need!). Kate was not to pleased with the shot portion of the exam but suffered through like a champ. She weighed 20 pounds 7 ounces(although Sue and I both believe that their scale is off by about 2 pounds..) and is now 29 1/2 inches long. Dr Cardwell is not concerned about her weight at all and believes that she is just as perfect as we do.

We followed the exam by another trip to a pumpkin patch. This one was further north and was a great place for pictures! We met our friends, Sue and Jeremy and Cindy and Charlie-all alumni of the St Davids NICU. How amazing to think where they were a year ago and where they will all be next year! Ironically all the moms are pregnant and not expecting to revisit the NICU anytime soon!

Bubbette???

The man who did the ultrasound at 12 weeks was wrong. He did admit that he was only 90% sure we were having a boy. Leave it to me and this baby to be in that 10% of uncertainty....We are having a girl!

Her and I both got checked out today by Dr Barry, the perinatologist. Baby 2(since we are now having to search for our list of girl names!) looks great! Although her thumb was in her mouth for the first portion of the exam, she does have all ten fingers and toes. I was able to see all four chambers of her big strong heart and we have a great shot of her huge feet!

NICU Reunion

Hard to believe that one year and ten days ago(Oct 5, 2004) we were bringing Baby Kate home. She weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces and we thought she was SO BIG!

Kate Going Home

What an amazing year it has been!
Today was our first St Davids NICU Reunion. We had no idea what a big event is put on every year and it will be even more fun next year when Kate is able to enjoy the ponies and games!

We did get to see some of our favorite nurses(Emily was missing though and we are going to try and see her soon!). Most important Kate did get to hang out with Dr Rivera. He pretty much put me in my place about Kate's walking(or lack there of). Hard to argue with the man who saved her life...(below is Kate telling him just how horrible a mom I have been this year)

All in Orange

Someone was a bit angry that I failed to mention some football game that took place on Oct 8th...I believe his exact words were "We're talking about cinnamon waffles but not the end of a five year drought against OU for her future school". I am not sure what school he is referring to in that Oklahoma is not scheduled to play Harvard this year??

We did watch THE game and Kate wore her burnt orange. Football central is alive and well here on Wampton and we are doing our best to pass on the traditions (Kate already LOVES remote controls).

Last week was Kate's first encounter with a field full of pumpkins...

She refused to smile for the camera but we managed to get a few good ones...

Little Bubba...

A New Vice

Ok so I am not going to win Mother of the Year but Kate sure does love me. A mom from Strollerfit recommended we try these frozen waffles with cinnamon. Kate will never be the same.
They are not THAT BAD for her and it is something I know she will eat when all else fails. AND since she has started eating them(daily) three teeth have sprung up(two on top and one on the bottom for a total of 7 teeth!!). Coincidence...???

Kate's Beepee!

Kate has a very thoughtful Great Aunt named Julie who has been working to give Kate a beepee. The term "beepee" comes from the blankets that all three Wood children cherished(made by their Grandmother Mimi) when we were growing up (although we suspect Laura still carries hers around with her.... )

Julie sent three great blankets but Kate fell in love with one(the pinkest one in the picture). It pretty much ranks up there with her "kitty" and will likely be another object we have to kiss good morning to everyday. From the pictures you can tell that she is feeling better. Her throat still bothers her a bit but she seems to be on the road to recovery. A sign that she is back to normal is that naps are once again a battle and she is not as eager to get to bed at night...and for once, this does not bother me in the least. I have my baby back!

"When do you want her to get sick?"

When Kate was still in the NICU we asked her doctor when we might able to take her out in out in public. His response was "When do you want her to get sick?". "When can we take her to Target?" we asked and his response was "When do you want her to get sick?". What we did not ask was "When can we take her to My Gym?" since his answer would explain what we are going through right now.

Tuesday morning was our first time at My Gym. It is a gymnastics type place for little kids that allows them to climb and crawl on all sorts of things. She loved it and we signed her up for weekly classes. However, we are now reconsidering because Wednesday morning she work up with a high fever (up to 102.6) and clearly did not feel well.

After two trips to the doctor(Wed&Thur) it looks like Kate has a horrible sore throat(negative strep test thank goodness!) and possibly bronchitis or pneumonia. We have her on meds and I think she will be a new baby once she wakes up tomorrow.

This is our first true illness since coming home from the hospital and boy did Kate chose a tough one to start! I will post more about how she is doing in the coming days...

TV Debut!

Kate and I had to get up pretty early this morning. We were LIVE on KXAN(NBC) during their morning broadcast. Shelly set it all up and we were just there for the demonstration part but it was so neat to see the "set" in real life!

So far so good this week. We have hit two Strollerfit classes and I feel fine. I think I may start teaching one class as early as next week. I love that we are back in a schedule and Kate seems to be learning when nap time is...

Spending today cooking and stocking the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking. We are glued to the TV about Rita, though, and hope that it decides to head south and avoid the Texas coast!
Here's a little bath time from last night....


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Home again, home again

We are back in Texas! We had such a great time and already miss my folks and the cool weather! Kate and I are still trying to adjust to the time change.

Spent today at my doctors appts. It is so strange sitting in a waiting room NOT having to pacify Kate while we wait-I actually got to read magazines and just be quiet for a while...Everything looks great with little Baby #2. In fact, the ultrasound person put a 90% bet that we are having a boy. If the way I have felt during this pregnancy is any indication of what type of child we are having, we are in for it! They are keeping my due date at March 23rd but I measuring about a week later than that right now. I will enter the second trimester officially on Monday.(those are two of the ultrasound scans-sorry-imagine seeing his head, nose, body and one leg...)

Great news at Patton Medical! They got FDA clearance and I could not pass up an opportunity to bake something. Both are new recipes and I am not sure how they were received. The first is a take off on the Central Market Chocolate Chewy cookie that I love. These turned out a little more like meringues than the ones at CM...next time I may use a better cocoa than Hersheys and maybe add some mini-chocolate chips.

The second recipe was the caramel brownies that are just so easy but I realized I had no caramels after I had started so I substituted Rollos. I think they may not be all that the original brownie was and likely not a repeater.

And I must end with a picture of Kate and her new baby(guess we need to think about finding the baby a blue outfit...)

PS I did get the all clear to teach StrollerFit again-yea! I am starting with only one class a week to see how things (and little Bubba) are...

Did someone say SNOW???

We have had quite a weekend! Dan joined us in Idaho on Friday. He and I went to dinner at the Henry's Fork Lodge to celebrate our anniversary-fabulous dinner!

Saturday was the first official day of college football and we had the weather to match(and great fire in the fireplace by Grandad)!

There was also this little football game that we just happened to tune into...
Apparently the excitement of the victory carried over into Sunday. Here is Kate and Dan trying to stay awake for more football on Sunday.... Well at least one of them is trying....