A Few of Our Favorite Things

I feel guilty that I haven't posted in almost 3 weeks, mostly because there is so much going on in Kate's little life that I need to be capturing. But it's primarily because there's so much going on that makes it hard to grab the camera every time there's something new or cute or funny. Kate is a pro-crawler at this point and she's also a pro at pulling up. She's starting to cruise (walking while holding on to the couch or something) a little. So you can imagine that we are staying busy trying to keep our eye on her so that she doesn't fall too much...a few falls are inevitable at this point.

One of Kate's favorite things since she was born has been music. When she was tiny it seemed to soothe her. As she has gotten older we can tell she just enjoys the music and wants to dance...and I'm sure she'll sing at the top of her lungs too once she's able to. She has been starting to kind of move to the music for a while now but it gets funnier and funnier as she's getting more mobile and independent. She will shake her booty sitting or standing if she hears a good tune. Here are a couple of clips of her dancing to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse the "Hot Dog Dance" and then the Sesame Street intro song.

By far Kate's favorite at home activity is playing with and pulling all of her books off of the bookshelf in her room. This is a go-to activity for Momma and Daddy if she's ever upset because it will instantly distract and entertain.

Kate's blanket at this point has become something that we absolutely cannot live without. If she sees it, she has to have it and instantly buries her head in it. It is a necessity at nap time and bedtime. Of course she has several blankets that are all wonderful but this one is THE blanket. It's so soft and cuddly and Kate LOVES it.

Bath time continues to be a favorite time of the day for all, Momma and Daddy included. This bath time in particular was especially fun since Kate's friend Adi Levy was over and the girls got to take a bath together.

And I can't leave out a couple of Momma and Daddy's favorites right now. I just love Kate's little snaggletooth grin as her teeth are starting to grow in. We are up to 3 (and I think it will be 4 any day now) and you can see the first bottom one really well now and I think it is so cute.

And the best for last...Kate's good ole belly laugh. We will do almost anything to get this out of her.

8 Months Old

Time is absolutely flying by! I can't believe another month has gone by and we now have an active, busy little 8 month old. This morning Kate weighed in at just over 22 lbs and things are about to get a little more exciting (and crazy) for Momma and Daddy! Kate has crawling down pat! Just this week she has really gotten the hang of crawling on all fours. She's not too speedy yet (which is a good thing for those of us chasing her) but we know it is just a matter of time before she is officially off.

Kate is also pulling up more and more every day. She's been pulling herself up in her bed for a couple of weeks. Now, if she's awake in her bed, then she's up looking over the edge, usually dangling a paci or gazing at the pacis that she's already dropped over the edge onto the floor (there are at least 3 pacis in her bed at all times now as a result of this game). She is also starting to pull herself up on anything that is the right height. Unfortunately (or maybe luckily) we don't have too many things in our house right now that are just the right height for pulling up, but she's trying out everything just to make sure. Her changing table has a shelf that is perfect for it...

Thankfully, we still have a great eater! Kate loves her baby food but we have also started to let her taste some of our food. She has liked a lot of things she's tasted--biscuits, waffles (no syrup yet), a regular baked sweet potato--so we offered her some rice and gravy for the first time last weekend. For those of you who may not be from South Louisiana, or may not know what rice and gravy is, it is the classic cajun dinner dish that Nick grew up eating and we eat it on a very regular basis as well. Basically, it is any meat (chicken, pork, beef or if you're feeling gamey...deer, rabbit, squirrel...) seasoned, browned well and then smothered with chopped onions and bell peppers and cooked for a couple of hours until it has made its own gravy. It is nothing like what true Southerners think of when they think of gravy. Anyways, Nick has been dying to get Kate on some rice and gravy so since she had been doing so well with her eating we decided to let her have some (without the meat). We pulsed it with our hand blender a little to break up the rice a little more and then let Pop Pop do the honors since he was staying with us. Here's the end product and Pop Pop going in with the first bite...

Here's Kate after the first bite...

Needless to say she was not impressed. Her face turned red, her eyes watered a bit and she cried so we gave up after a couple of bites. Maybe we have a little Southern girl that is going to need some time to get in touch with her Cajun side...and her Cajun tastebuds.

Here's a few other pictures taken this morning on her 8 month birthday.

We are ready for it to stop being so rainy so we can play outside...