Short and sweet

Well I have been slacking on my previous goal to make sure and blog more often.  The past 2 months have been very busy with Kate.  Mainly because during Kate's 30 minute naps (yes, only 30 minutes) I am busy doing laundry or any other household chores.....or to be honest--reading :) The Dr. promised me I would be able to regulate naps once the nighttime sleep was on a schedule. Kate just had her 4 month checkup.  She is a healthy and very tall girl, which the Dr. has pointed out more than once that she must get the height from dad.  She weighed 14.5lbs and was 25.5 inches long!  She is in the 95% for her height...Im going to have to learn how to shop for tall people!  I have never had to do that before.  Most importantly she is healthy and developing extremely well.  Amen!! 

Here are some things that are going on with Kate.
*She is smiling all the time and laughing occasionally.  She had a full blown laugh on June 21 :)  It made me and my mom both cry.  There is no sound in the world better than her laugh.
*She is sitting up..assisted of course but this is the only way she likes to be.  She doesnt want to be held like a baby unless she is eating or ready to sleep.
*She squeals constantly
*She lights up when Ryan gets home from work ...thats one of my favorite parts of the day.
*She loves bathtime, books and rolling around on the floor. She is not really rolling yet but she is getting close!  The minute you put her on the floor she starts going to her side.
*Last but not least, she LOVES Mia.  She just watches her all the time, I know they will be best buddies.  Mia has become very fond of Kate as well.  When you ask Mia "Where is Kate?"  she will instantly turn and run toward Kate. 

My heart just melts when she smiles at me and sometimes the way she looks at me will almost make me cry.  She is so much fun right now and really turning into her own little person. 

We started rice cereal this week so that has been a new adventure.  Kate LOVES it and it gets me excited for her to try other foods...we will start veggies in August. 

Well I am going to keep this post short since I have missed a lot of events but here are some pictures that will catch you up on whats been going down....The pictures go from most recent on the top to oldest at the bottom.

Look at that bod!

silly girl

Kate got to see her first movie with Harper!  We went to the Bring Your Baby Matinee at Stonebriar Mall.  We saw What to Expect When You Are Expecting.

She was VERY serious about her rice cereal....

                 Chillin...

Kasey's 30th birthday.  We had also much fun with Kelly, Caroline and Reese, Kasey and Harper, Chelsee, Peyton and Griffin.

Griffin, Harper, Reese and Kate.

 Kate got to meet some of the sweetest students I have ever had.  Love those Stansberry kiddos! 

Well now you are somewhat caught up on whats been kickin at the Kelly house.  Until next time!

A Giggle, A Game and A Growing Family.

Well we have enjoyed having Kate with us for 2 whole months!! She has been growing so much and so fast!  She has grown to love her bath time and her eating times!  She has begun smiling at Ryan and I all the time.  She is also able to hold her head up for a little bit during tummy time and when you hold her over your shoulder.  She is also getting better during the night.  We still have pulled the occasional all nighter but for the most part she is only waking up once during the night.  I will definitely take that!!!  She is our joy!  Ryan and I are looking forward to many more fun times watching Miss Kate grow!

I need a new camera because mine is too slow to catch her smiling!!


 Kate enjoyed her first Rangers Opening Day!  We had my mom, aunt and cousin Caylea over for hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, queso and peanuts...all our favorite game day foods!  Kate had her Rangers shirt on and we had a really fun time watching the Rangers win!!!  Kasey and Harper also came by for a little visit.

Miss Kate was pooped after all the Ranger excitement!!

We had a peaceful and quiet Easter at home.  It was just the three of us for most of the day.  I didnt feel comfortable taking Kate to church or to my grandmothers house just yet without having had her shots so my parents came by in the evening to give Kate her Easter basket.  It actually worked out that we stayed home because Kate was mighty cranky that day!  I of course had to put her in her Easter dress that her Great Aunt Suzanne gave to her.  She looked adorable!! 

    She's about to get mad!

    Aaaannnd we are done with pictures!  I did say she was cranky that day!  :)

Not too excited about her confetti egg either :/ Maybe next year!!

Thanks Gimme for my awesome Easter basket!!

We also have a very exciting addition to our family. Jennifer  (Ryans sister) and Scott had their baby!! William Frederick Ayer was born on April 10th!  He was a whole 3 weeks early so it was a bit of a surprise.  He is a healthy and very sweet baby.  Kate is very excited to have her first cousin and Ryan and I very proud of our sweet nephew!

Here are some pictures of Kate meeting him for the first time.

Kate is also very excited for Uncle Lance and Aunt Bitt to have their baby girl in August!  YAY for more cousins!  Kate sure is blessed to have 2 cousins so close in age!

Okay, I have talked about the game and our growing family but I have yet to tell you that Kate giggled yesterday!!  It wasnt a full blown laugh but she definitely giggled.  She loves when you make noises and kiss her feet.  Here is the video of her giggle.  Please pay no attention to my voice or laugh! 

Here are some more random pictures of her from the past few weeks. 

 Kate was tired and poor Mia is looking at me like "You used to love taking pictures of me" 

We LOVE our sweet friend Bryce! 

                        Even with a little drool she is cute...

Holding up my head pretty well!!

Okay this picture cracks me up!!  This is what happens to her hair if she has a nap in her swing.  Poor girl has a mini mullet!  However, its the cutest little mullet I have ever seen :)

Kate's birth announcements will be in the mail soon.  I know she is 2 mos old but better late than never!!  Laney was our professional photographer that day and did a great job taking precious pictures of Kate.  I am also very late in sending some thank you notes so those are coming soon as well :)  with her surprising us in February, I got a little behind.

I will try to post more often as to not have such long posts!! 

Blessings to you all!

Kate is 1 month old already?!?

We have very much enjoyed this month with Kate at home!  She is such a blessing and so much fun!  She has grown so much in just a month and she does something new everyday. 

We just had our one month check up this week and Kate now weighs 9 lbs and is 21 inches long.....she is growing!!  She also got a shot yesterday which made Kate cry and made mommy  teary.  From what I hear, next month will be worse.  I dont know who will need more hugs afterwards, Kate or mommy :). 

We have had many family and friends come to see Kate and also bring us yummy dinners.  We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives that have been able and willing to help us out!!  We have loved having people come to meet Kate and Kate has loved meeting all of her friends and family.  One special visitor was Granny, Kates great grandmother.  She brought Kate a plant to plant in our yard that would bloom around the time of Kates birthday every year.  She said that when Kate saw that the plant was blooming she would know that her birthday was around the corner.  What a fun idea!!  So Ryan planted it outside our kitchen window so that we could easily see it.  It has beautiful little yellow flowers on it!  What a fun thing for us to look forward to!!  I dont have a picture of the plant right now but I will take one and include it on the next post.

We made sure to wear our green on St Patty's day this year!  All of our friends went our to Lower Greenville and since we were not going out there this year, we made sure to send them all a picture and a message from the Kelly's.  The picture we sent them is below.  I just LOVE Kates expression!

Kate is not crazy about bath time but she is getting better.  She has started smiling a lot more, I know people think its gas but she seems to do it when she is looking at you and you are talking to her or singing.  I sing with her all the time and have started reading little board books to her before bedtime....I dont think its ever too early to start reading :)  I guess thats the teacher in me.  She is so attentive now a days and it seems that she is really listening!  The Dr. said this week that her eyes were very expressive and that she would probably be smiling at us sooner than later.  I didnt tell her that I thought she was already really smiling at us....I didnt want to sound like a bragging mom. :)  I may be jumping the gun on her smiling but there are sometimes I swear she is REALLY smiling at us..
We have also enjoyed a few walks since the weather has been so nice.  Kate and mommy have REALLY enjoyed being able to get out of the house.  I hope that after next week we will be able to take more outings since she will be 6 weeks old and I will be discharged from the Dr. 

 My cousin Tiffany and her son Hayes came to visit from Lubbock!  Kate and Hayes are 5 weeks apart.

Mommy and Kate

 Bathtime

 Sweet girl....I just want to kiss that face all the time!!

 My mom brought over my dress that I came home from the hospital in and we put it on Kate.  She looked too sweet in it.

 Some more pictures of Kate in another cute outfit.

 Kate LOVES her Auntie Em.

LOVE this little peanut!!  Cant get enough of her!

My best friend Laney (the one who took the pregnancy pictures of me) came over last week and took pictures of Kate for her announcements.  After the announcements go out I will put some of those pictures on the blog.  Also, next Friday is Rangers Opening Day!!  This is the first year we will not be out at the game but we all have our Rangers shirts ready...even Kate, and we are going to have our own opening day party here at the house.  Pictures to follow.

Thank you to all our visitors and all of the friends who have brought us dinner.  We have appreciated it all more than you know!

We are looking forward to the weeks ahead and watching Kate grow!  We are just feeling so blessed.

One last thought, we had a friend suddenly lose her husband this week.  My heart is so heavy for her and she and her 7 month old daughter have not left my mind.  This horrible situation has reminded Ryan and I to never take things for granted and to remember that everyday is a wonderful gift.  I think sometimes it is hard to remember that when the hustle and bustle of life gets in the way.  So just make sure to make everyday a blessed one and enjoy your family every minute.

Another post coming soon!

Welcome Baby Kate

Well last Friday February 24th, 2012 started out like any other day!  I had a cold that was starting to get worse and I thought it would be best to go to the Dr. to make sure that it wasnt turning into something else.  I really wanted to get rid of it since I knew I had a scheduled C-section for the next week (March 2nd).  We had originally set the C-section because Kate was still breech.  So after work I went to the dr and found that my blood pressure was high.  Now, I have NEVER had high blood pressure and my blood pressure was perfect 2 days before at my routine 38 week appointment.  Anyway, it was high enough for my Dr to be concerned and decide to keep me an hour at the office and check my BP a few more times.  I know this situation didnt help my BP at all since I was getting very nervous about what they were going to do.  Dr. Harper came back into the room and said, "Okay, well lets go to the hospital for more observation and possibly do the C-section tonight between 6 and 8 pm."  I had already called Ryan knowing that they would maybe send me to the hospital but I truly never thought they would want to do the c-section that night!   I still had in my head that they were just "observing" me, so when I showed up and they were all ready to hook me up to the IV, I knew that our sweet Kate would be coming that night.  I called everyone I could who I knew had to be there.  Ryan showed up thinking that I was just being observed, only to find out from the anesthesiologist that they were planning a C-section for 6:00.  Everything happened so quickly that we never had time to really soak it all in.  At 4:50 p.m, I showed up at the hospital, at 5:50 they were taking us back to the OR and at 6:10, our beautiful Kate was born.  She was 7lbs 3oz and 20 inches long with what looked like strawberry blonde hair.  She was bright eyed from the minute she came out!  Just alert as ever.

I thank God that I ended up going to the Dr. that day and that Dr. Harper acted quickly to do what was best for Kate and me.  I also thank God for a great C-section team. 

I also feel blessed for:
 a beautiful, healthy baby girl

my wonderful husband Ryan who has been so great through my recovery

my mom, who has been at our house this week helping Ryan and I get caught up on sleep, doing laundry, cleaning and making dinner--among other things. 

My family and friends who have sent love, and been over to see Kate. 

We are exhausted but our hearts are so full with love.  People have always talked about how having a baby is the most wonderful thing in the world and how you have a love like you have never felt before.  I always heard this and thought "Yeah that sounds great."  But really, its true, I love Kate more than I could ever describe.  She is the most perfect little thing I have seen and Ryan and I are so in love with her.  Every face, sound, cry that Kate makes is precious to us and we are soaking in every moment. 

Here are some pictures of Kate on her birthday as well as a few from our first week home. 

 Here she is!! 

 Sweet  girl was tired!  It was a crazy evening!!

Getting in some mommy time.

   I love her pose here! 

 Holding Daddy's finger....

We are enjoying being at home with Kate.  We are trying to get used to the sleepless nights and trying to get used to all the changes that a new baby brings but we wouldnt have it any other way.  She has already been so much fun!  My goal is to be better about blogging so I hope to keep everyone updated on how things are going with Kate.