Labor Day Weekend Lake Trip

We were lucky enough to spend Labor Day weekend at an awesome lake house on Lay Lake, a little south of Birmingham. My whole family was there--Papa, Nonna, Aunt April and Uncle Alan with their 4 kids Camden, Owen, Langley and Harper, and Aunt Anna and her 3 kids Mary Emma, Daniel and Liza. We also celebrated a wedding while we were there and welcomed a new uncle (and brother-in-law) and cousin into the family. We are so excited to have Uncle Jason and Conner as the newest members of the Johnson clan! Anna and Jason had a beautiful, sweet ceremony on the lake house property. We were also lucky enough to have Granny and Granny Betty (my Great Aunt and Granny's sister) there with us for the whole weekend.

There was a pool on site and Papa rented a pontoon boat so we spent most of our time enjoying the fabulous weather and beautiful days. Kate still loves to be outside so this weekend was right up her alley. The weather was perfect so we spent the majority of our time outside on the porch when we weren't in the pool or on the lake. Kate loved being in the pool and wanted to be pulled around the pool either in her swim ring or just with her legs kicked out behind her. She had her first little dunk in the pool (it really was very minor) and luckily Uncle Jason was there to lend a hand getting her out. Kate had fun playing with her cousins and seeing what all she could get into at this new place. Overall it was a perfect weekend and we are SO VERY THANKFUL to Nonna and Papa for the trip!!!

Pool fun!

Boat riding with Daddy

More of a happy girl on the boat

Riding on the boat with Nonna

First game day of the football season poor Daddy had to be surrounded by a bunch of Bama fans...even Kate

We have been trying to teach Kate how to give kisses. Over the weekend Daniel puckered up for Kate and she decided that she'd give him a kiss. She doesn't hand out too many so we were tickled that she was so willing to give kisses to Daniel. She always goes in for a kiss mouth wide open.

Here are some quick pics snapped during the wedding festivities. Kate was very well behaved.

Waiting for the wedding to start with Daddy

Playing with Papa and Liza after the wedding.

Looking at Camden through the glass door.

The whole family.

A couple of pics we snapped just before we left Tuesday morning. We were all sad to leave because we had such a great time!

Taking one last look at the lake and surroundings with Papa before packing up.

Thanks again Nonna and Papa for such a great weekend! We had a great time, and as you can see from all of the pictures, Kate had a blast! Here is a link to a slideshow of some of the wedding pictures.

Kate Loves LSU Too

After my Ready for Football Season post Nick was anxious to get Kate pumped up about LSU since I had posted the video of her dancing to the Alabama band. So we broke out Mike the Tiger and got Kate dancing. Hope you enjoy the video...

10 Months Old

Kate was 10 months old on September 2...I know, I know I'm a whole week late...we've been busy around the Speyrer house. Two weekends ago Kate and I flew to Florence for the weekend and then turned around and went to Lay Lake just south of Birmingham last weekend for the Labor Day holiday. Both trips were great but just left me with little time to blog. I hope to catch up some this week.

Kate is just over 24 1/2 lbs, getting into everything and is just so much fun! Kate is standing and cruising like a champ. We know that she can stand on her own, and if she's really busy sometimes she will forget to hold on and will stand on her own, but if we try to get her to do it she just simply will not do it. We joke that she's a scaredy cat. She immediately squats down. So she's taking her time in the standing and walking department for now. However, I do think that when she makes up her mind that she'll give standing on her own a try, I don't think it will be long at all before she's walking. Kate's starting to get into everything. She has opening drawers down pat, but luckily since she's not standing much she's not getting into our cabinets...yet! She's still a dancing machine and we love it! She does not discriminate in music choice...if it's got a tune she will shake her booty to it! Kate is also jabbering more and more. We can tell she has a LOT to say but is still sticking to the basics. She says Dada the most...of course Nick loves that...but she also gives other sounds/words a try. One that she does the best is "app-uh" (apple). She doesn't quite know what it means yet but is great at repeating it. Kate is also understanding more and more of what we are saying to her. She's been waving bye for a while now, claps her hands for "Yay!" and to patty cake, and knows what we mean when we say "No". The things she hears it about the most she will now look at us as she approaches the object and will shake her head and wave her hands telling us that she knows she's not supposed to touch it before we ever say a word. She understands when I tell her it's time to eat or change her diaper and many other things. One of the latest is that she will pat her tummy if we ask her where her belly is. Very cute! We are having so much fun and look forward to each and every day that we spend with our little girl! We are very blessed parents! Here are some recent pics...

Picture on her 10 month birthday!

Flight on the way to Florence. Everyone on all planes (4 in total for the weekend) were amazed with how well Kate did. They were definitely in awe that someone her size would watch a video like she did. All I can say is thank goodness for Baby Einstein!

On the plane on the way back.

Kate with Granny. Granny got Kate a great puzzle book that we love! I had actually left Kate's favorite puzzle book on the plane on the way to Florence so we were excited that Granny got her another one.

Kate with Daniel. Daniel is so sweet and really wants to hold Kate when he sees her and for once Kate cooperated and sat with Daniel for a few minutes.

Playing with Mardi Gras beads at Nonna and Papa's house

Dancing with ABC Elmo with Mary Emma, Liza and Daniel.

Ready for Football Season!

We are getting excited about football season being just around the corner, as I'm sure many of you are too! This weekend we decided to take Kate to visit Mike the tiger at LSU. It was the middle of the day and it was HOT so Mike was in a corner taking a nap but Kate was still happy to see him! She loves to be outside! Here are some pics from our visit with Mike.

Kate and the Mike statue

Checking out Mike's habitat with Daddy

Kate, Daddy and Mike (you can see him laying down behind the leaves taking a nice nap)

Kate and Daddy in front of Tiger Stadium

We made a trip over to the LSU store right beside Mike's habitat. Found a cute game day outfit for Kate and tried out a few other fun things in the store...

Now, you all have to remember that even thought Momma is a good sport and cheers for the Tigers too (except when they are playing Alabama), this is a two team household so Kate has to have her time getting ready for Alabama football too. Here's Kate in her Bama duds...

I think she looks happier in Crimson than in purple, don't you...

This is Kate's tough football face

Kate's Daddy would not be happy to know that Kate and I spend little of each day like this...

Turn up your volume and you can hear the Alabama band playing on the computer as Kate cheers along.

9 Months Old!

Yesterday was Kate's 9 month birthday. Our unofficial growth reports are that we still have an above average busy little bee. Kate is bigger than most 12 month+ kids that we've had her around lately. She weighed in at 24 lbs yesterday and we'll get some official growth stats from the doctor on Friday.

As you would expect, Kate is busier than ever. She is all over the place crawling. One of her favorite things to do is take off into another room so that someone will chase her. She's pulling up and cruising a little and the latest is that she will let go and stand on her own for a few seconds. This is still very new though and we've only seen her try it a few times, but if it is like everything else Kate's learned so far, she'll have it mastered in a week or so. Kate is dancing all the time. It is so cute! She knows exactly how to play the songs she wants to hear on her toys and she'll get them going so that she can shake her booty! We are up to 4 teeth and it seems like they are just going to keep coming. As you can tell by the unofficial growth stats, our girl is still a good eater. She's been self feeding some small snacks for a few months and she's starting to eat some "regular" food. We give her baby food most of the time but I am now fixing her a serving of whatever we are having for dinner (as long as it's appropriate of course) and she's doing great! She's loved chicken spaghetti, chicken stew and even some of Daddy's jambalaya. I think we are going to have a very vocal girl on our hands. Kate is jabbering more and more. If people are talking (and not paying 100% attention to Kate) she will just start joining in on the conversation to make sure that she's not forgotten about. She's regularly saying Mama, Dada and Nana, but of course doesn't always use them correctly. She waves bye-bye and loves to clap her hands in praise of herself (she knows that if she claps then we will excitedly cheer "Yay!"). We are having a blast! It just keeps getting better and better! We are so blessed! Here are some recent pics

There are very few moments where Kate will sit still enough for us to get some cuddle time in. Here's some rare cuddle time with Daddy before Kate went to bed.

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...