A Grateful Heart

As a quick follow-up to the previous post, the Tooth Fairy's first visit yielded a deposit into Katelyn's 529 college savings account. What a smart fairy! She also had a follow up appointment today with the dentist and the gums are healing well, which is good news.

On Thanksgiving morning, we traveled to Lake Carroll, IL to see Jason and Cassie. Debbie and Jennifer made the trip from Tennessee as well. We had a great time together catching up, telling stories, and laughing!

On our way there, someone wanted to take the car for a spin (yes the car is parked). They grow up so fast, don't they?! 

Our little turkey hanging out with Grandma Debbie on Thanksgiving.

Aunt Cassie and Katelyn looking at pictures.

Katelyn and Uncle Jason lounging on the couch.

Daddy and daughter - getting ready to head out to lunch.

The whole crew at lunch - Michael, Jason, Cassie, Jennifer, Debbie, Missy, and Katelyn. Whoever sat next to Katelyn also got the honor of playing "repeatedly-pick-up-all-of-her-toys-as-she-drops-them-over-the-high-chair" - this is her new favorite game :)

All of us in front of the fireplace at the restaurant. Katelyn wanted to drop more toys on the floor instead of get her picture taken!

On Saturday, we helped Jason and Cassie pick out their Christmas tree at the local tree farm. It was a bright, albeit cold, day so we enjoyed the sunshine, some hot cider, and the scent of evergreens! We must've done a good job of keeping Katelyn cozy because she slept through most of the excursion (she still loves to cuddle and take naps on our chests.)

Family photo at the tree farm. Here was last year's photo at the same location. (Malone didn't make the trip this year; instead he played with his puppy pals at the PetsHotel in Maple Grove.) 

Sleepy girl. (I'd like to know where I could get some lashes like that...)

Jason, Debbie, and Jennifer on the hunt for the perfect tree.

Jen, Cassie, and Jason hauling "the one" to the car. Mission accomplished!

Jen relaxing after cutting down the tree!

Cass and Kate

Jason and Katelyn high-fiving

Uncle Jason lets Katelyn get away with a lot more than she does at home! (Little hands on the keyboard... and ahem, is that a Budweiser?!)

Grandma Debbie got Katelyn the cutest little talking/singing puppy. Here they are exploring it together.

Time for bed. Here's Katelyn looking over the balcony to wish everyone a final goodnight!

We had wonderful weekend celebrating with family. Thanks, Jason and Cassie, for hosting us. We're so thankful for all the blessings in our lives and of course family tops the list. This time of year always reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: a grateful heart is a happy heart. (And it's true! Give it a try :)

A Visit from The Tooth Fairy

Katelyn got her first school picture taken in October. If you're anything like me, you're surprised they have school picture day at a childcare center... not to mention school pictures of the infants, but we thought this turned out pretty cute! Here's a picture of her school picture (the quality isn't the best, but you get the idea.)

Back to the title of this blog. No, your eyes do not deceive you... you read that right. The Tooth Fairy will be stopping by our house tonight. Allow me to explain...

On Tuesday morning I got a phone call at work from Katelyn's school. The director said Katelyn had an accident - she was standing at the ballerina bar and leaned forward too quickly, driving her bottom lip/tooth into the bar which basically split open the gums and dislodged the tooth, so it was loose. After an emergency visit to the pediatric dentist (taking a 9-month old with barely two teeth to the dentist is not something you do everyday - as such, the all-female staff were pretty enamored with her), we were advised to monitor the gums and watch the tooth as it was fully exposed and pretty wobbly. We set up a follow-up appointment for Monday. Basically just a waiting game, but our hope was the gums would begin to reshape around the tooth and eventually hold it securely again.

Michael (have I mentioned he's an amazing dad?) stayed home with Katelyn yesterday afternoon and she was surprisingly happy and unfazed by the injury. Thankfully, she was still taking a bottle, eating baby food, and taking a pacifier just fine. Despite our best efforts to be gentle with the tooth, enough damage was done that it completely fell out today. (It's really troubling and I'm having a tough time with the fact.) The dentist said there's not much that can be done about it and unfortunately, Katelyn won't have a tooth in that spot until her permanent one comes in. As if we weren't heartbroken about this already, this news was even more upsetting. The good news is that Katelyn does not seem to be in any pain and is still her happy little self. We're also counting our blessings as this could've been a lot worse.

So, as strange as it sounds, Katelyn will get her first visit from The Tooth Fairy tonight. Parents worry about everything, but we never imagined this scenario in a million years. Katelyn already has her share of stories and this one tops the list as one she'll tell for life!

Catching up on another event from this week... Katelyn was a champ on Monday at her 9-month check up. Here are her growth stats:

Weight: 18 lbs. 15 oz. (50th percentile)

Length: 28 inches (50-75th percentile)

Head circumference: 17 3/4 inches (75-90th percentile)

This Thanksgiving we're eternally grateful for Katelyn, her health, her continued growth and development, and her vibrant, fun personality! She's truly a gift from above. Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We're off to Illinois in the morning and are looking forward to it. Safe travels!

Veggie Tales

 Peas, squash, carrots, corn, green beans, you name it, Katelyn loves it! She loves veggies to the point that I would question whether she's actually my child had my belly not protruded for 9 months to prove it! This marks another way she's definitely her daddy's daughter; he's a veggie lover too. Look how happy she is gobbling up her butternut squash and corn concoction...

And it gets better: she is especially fond of the most unappealing looking veggies like lovely green pureed peas.

To make things even more interesting, the girl does not like fruit. (I know, I don't get it either ;) We still offer it to her, but she'll usually only eat an ounce or two (all while making tons of crazy "eeew, this stuff is gross" faces). See for yourself Katelyn's reaction to pears...

And it's not just pears, here's her reaction to banana/mango...

We're hoping her love of vegetables continues. After all, to this day Michael would choose a spinach salad over an ice cream sundae any day of the week (and this is why we're a good match, I'll always take care of that unwanted sundae! ... Probably a good thing Katelyn doesn't take after me in the eating department :)

9 Months Old!

Katelyn Clare turned 9 months old on Wednesday! How is it possible that her time in the womb now equals her time outside the womb?! Michael and I are both in awe at how fast the time has gone and even more awestruck by Katelyn's development. We continue to be amazed by all the new things she's learning.

Here are a few of her recent discoveries:

~ When she drops something, it's almost always followed by an "uh-oh." Her favorite spot from which to drop things is her high chair.

~ Katelyn knows how to play peek-a-boo and loves it! At home we hadn't played that game very much, but they play at school and whenever she "helps" with laundry at home, she'll take an article of clothing and hold it over her eyes until we say, "Where's Katelyn?" and then she'll lift it away when we say, "Peek-a-boo!"

~ When we say "Night night" Katelyn tilts her head to the side and leans forward like she's resting.

~ The girl is a crawling machine! She went from getting in position to crawl a few weeks ago to full-fledged booking it across the room these days. Two nights ago when we were playing, I said "Can you go play your drums?" (Fisher Price bongo drums which play music) and she crawled across the floor right to the drums (which were nestled between lots of other toys) and patted them to play the music!

~ Katelyn has her own way of giving hugs and we think it's pretty much adorable. When we say, "Katelyn, can you give Daddy hugs?" she will lean forward to touch her forehead with Michael's and sit still like that for a few seconds. She has so much love to share!

~ She's moving on up! She's been spending more and more time in the infant 2 room at school (the room for mobile infants) and she'll be starting in there full-time starting next week. Such a big girl!

Katelyn has her 9-month check up on Monday, so we'll get her official height and weight stats then. Here are some other things that Katelyn is up to at 9-months old...

~ She has just one tooth on the bottom, but we think more are on the way based on the volume of drool going on.

~ Bath time is a favorite way to round out the day. Katelyn gets super excited when we say "It's bath time!" She usually squeals and her eyes get big and bright! She's fascinated with the water and tries to grasp it when Michael pours it from her little pitcher.

~ She's now eating 2 meals a day of baby food - around 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. but continues to nurse 6 times daily. When in her high chair, she likes to dangle her arms to the side to let Malone sample the food on her fingers. They are quite the pair, let me tell you!

~ She suddenly loves our stereo. She thinks it's fun to dance with us and is especially enamored with the fact that music comes out of the speakers - she smiles when we get near the stereo.

~ She loves to "dance" or bounce up and down when seated on the floor when we ask, "Katelyn, do you want to dance?"

~ Katelyn loves to be held by Michael when he gets home from work. She always reaches out for him.

~ The term busybody is an understatement for Katelyn... she's always on the go (either crawling or pulling herself up on things) and never wants to miss a beat!

Michael and I can't get over how much FUN we're having with Katelyn. She brings us so many laughs, smiles, tender moments, and snuggles and we simply can't get enough! We love you, Katelyn Clare!

Snowy Saturday

We woke up to a 3 inch white blanket covering everything outside this morning and it continued to snow all day long. We ended up with about 10 inches and while most of our plans had to get rescheduled, we still enjoyed the day together at home. Here's a peek at how we spent our snowy Saturday!

Katelyn pulled herself up on our legs, on the bed, on the crib, on the wall, and anything else she could find (she probably did this hundreds of times during this day alone - I wonder if her legs will be sore tomorrow?)

We read lots of books. Here's Katelyn with the oh-so-appropriate "Snowy Day" book.

And more pulling up to standing...

We played a learning game on Michael's i-Phone... there's an app for everything under the sun including, "My Very First App" which teaches colors, shapes, letters, objects, and more. Katelyn will probably be a techie like her Daddy :)

Watching football and napping with Dad. Naps are especially relaxing in the midst of a snowfall, don't you think? That is until the snow plows come down the street. As a result, this snooze didn't last too long!

We watched the snow pile up higher and higher on our patio table throughout the day...

Happy girl in her high chair...

Katelyn has been saying "ooooo" a lot lately. Can you tell by these pictures?

We've been working on Katelyn's table manners, but she still grips the table with her toes. Ha, ha!

And that's a wrap! We had a nice day relaxing at home and watching the snow fall outside - the first of what's sure to be many more snowy Minnesota days ahead.

Celebrating 11.05.05

How is it that the weekends come and go so fast?! This one went particularly quick because it was full of fun - and we even had an extra hour in there! We had a great time with my parents in town and enjoyed a special night out celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary!

With so many good football games on Saturday, we had lunch at a sports bar and Katelyn was a proud Cyclone fan (the Clones needed all the support they could get against Nebraska).

Though our 5-year anniversary was on Friday, Michael was traveling for work and didn't get home until late that night, so we celebrated on Saturday evening instead. My parents stayed home with Katelyn while the two of us enjoyed a night out on the town. We were long overdue for a date night and it was just what we needed. It was wonderful to connect, reminisce, laugh, and enjoy quality time together just the two of us. 

Here we are heading out for the night (and we thought the background sign was especially appropriate - it reads, "All because two people fell in love" - a wedding gift from my friend Beth.)

Our family of three photo...

While Michael and I were out for dinner, here is Katelyn enjoying a feast of her own... carrots! What a silly girl!

Someone is ready for bed! She hit the hay around 8 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. in an effort to manage her sleeping schedule in the midst of daylight saving time.

Katelyn playing with Grampa on Sunday morning. She's wearing her cozy butterfly jammies from Great Grandma Ridnour :)

The weather was so nice all weekend - in the 50's and 60's. We took a family walk (while Michael out did us all and went for a run!)

Today was another beautiful day, so Katelyn and I went to the park. She loved the swing!

What a great weekend! It's incredible to think back to 5 years ago and see how our lives have changed, but changed in ways that make us both better individuals and a stronger couple. We're blessed beyond our wildest dreams.