kate's first halloween

in

Kate dressed as a clown for her first Halloween. (Not that she had much say in the matter.) She really only wore the costume once a few days ago for our play group's costume party. She didn't even wear it on the actual day of Halloween... she was asleep by the time trick-or-treaters came, so what was the point? This will be a lot more fun when she's older!

I bought face paint crayons to try and put a little clown face on her, but she would have none of it. She's a cute clown nonetheless!







kate is 9 months old

in



Dear Kate,


You are 9 months old today! You have changed a lot over the past month. Here's what's been going on...


* We lowered your crib mattress a few weeks ago. You figured out how to pull up on your bumper then hoist yourself up to the rail. You love to start "nap time" this way. Banging your paci against the wood is also a lot of fun!


* You became a proper crawler a couple of weeks ago. There's no taking our eyes off of you! You're curious about everything. We have to keep everything off the floor that is off limits: shoes, Daddy's computer bag, Kirby's toys. You're very interested in the electric outlets, too. We're saying a lot of "no no" to you now!


* If anything has the least bit of height, you try to pull up on it. Of course, things like the coffee table, the piano bench, and your Leap Frog table all do the trick. It's funny, though, when you try to push yourself up from a toy that's only 3 inches tall. You get your booty way up in the air, and then you topple sideways. I try not to laugh.


* You love to "walk" with Mama or Daddy holding your arms. You are so proud of yourself! There have been a couple of times that you've stood without assistance for several seconds. You may not be far off.


* We don't see a relaxed smile from you much anymore. I think your mouth is just constantly sore from teething. You still only have the 2 bottom teeth that are fully in, and you still have a small nub coming up next to those. It's been in the same spot for a while. I guess this is how it will be for a while yet. Sorry, Pumpkin!


* You are quite the noise maker... you scream and squeal, blow raspberries, and even whistle from time to time. Yes, whistle. You make a tiny "O" with your mouth and breathe in and out. Sometimes you actually whistle! You're so talented. You're not yet making consonant sounds, so we're eagerly anticipating your first "mama" and "dada!"


* You have a bit of texture aversion. You like your foods to be pureed only. The flavors don't really matter; you like all fruits and veggies. The problem is that if it's just a bit too thick or if there are any chunks, you gag. This is something we're going to have to work on! We're also going to work on drinking from a sippy cup. The second any water/juice hits your tongue, you make an awful face and spit it out.


* Just in the last few days, you have started bouncing to music. It's really cute to see you "dance!"


I can't believe you are only 3 months away from your first birthday. You're changing so fast, and your personality is shining through more and more each day. You're still our happy, easy-going Kate!


We love you,
Mama and Daddy


Stats...
We went to the doctor today, so these are official numbers! It shows how bad I am at making estimates. The last couple of months I've been off the mark.

Weight: 19 pounds, 1 ounce (50-75th percentile range)
Length: 28 inches (75-90th percentile range)
Clothes: 6-12 month sizes, 12 month PJs
Diaper size: 3
Sleep: 6:45/7 pm - 7 am (You've been sleeping very well lately. We usually don't hear a peep from you.)
Naps: 9:30-11:00 am and the afternoon nap time varies. Lately you've only been sleeping for an hour for your PM nap.
Food: 4 bottles per day, totaling anywhere from 20 to 30 ounces. You also get two stage 2 baby foods per day. We're going to start 3 solid meals a day now.



Monthly elephant pic...


Compared to months 3 through 8...


The elephant pictures are getting really hard to take... I had to stay really close to you because you wanted to dive over the front of the chair or climb over the side. Not good!




Lastly, I can't resist adding this pic. Look at those sweet rolls!

poor baby

in

Kate is pulling up on anything and everything! She's getting really strong, too, and pops up quickly onto her rolly-polly legs. (And yes, her dress is tucked into her diaper cover. That pesky thing gets in the way of crawling.)



Unfortunately, she's not always steady. She's had her fair share of bonks and bruises lately. 


Poor baby.

Sharing Books: 'Yummy' & 'Cookies'

My friends Jennifer and Haley gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card for my b-day. They know how much I love kids' books! I held onto the card for about a month, scared to make that final decision on what to buy. My wish list is so long that it's hard to commit! Here's what I finally chose:

This one...



Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins
Published 2009
Starred review from Booklist (excerpt): Lucy Cousins, best known for her Maisy picture books, presents eight familiar tales: “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” “The Enormous Turnip,” “Henny Penny,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “The Little Red Hen,” “The Three Little Pigs,” and “The Musicians of Bremen.”... The writing is simple and direct, as befits these traditional tales. Illustrated in Cousins’ signature style, the bold, childlike pictures feature broad strokes of black paint defining the forms of characters and elements of the setting. 

 I bought this one last year for the library, and the young kids loved it. You'd be surprised how few nursery rhymes and fairy tales kids know now. I thought this would be a great selection for Kate as she grows up reading these traditional tales. And I love the pants the wolf is wearing. :)


And this one...


Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Published 2006
Starred review from Booklist (excerpt): Cookies provide the framework for this clever book, but the focus is really on the lessons to be learned about life. Designed as a dictionary of sorts, the book has an appealing design and delightful, endearing illustrations. Each spread features a word and a definition, which are further explained in an engaging picture. For instance, "Cooperate means, / How about you add the chips while I stir?"... Children and charmingly humanized animals mingle as they learn life lessons about everything from being open-minded to having regrets (too many cookies!). It all seems so real that young readers will want to jump into the pages and join the gang for milk and cookies.

As I've shared before, Amy Krouse Rosenthal is one of my fave authors. I love the simple, real-life explanations of each character trait. Since this book was published, more in the Cookies Lessons series have followed including themes of love, Christmas, and school. And right now, the 'love' one is on sale for $4.90 (hardcover!) at Amazon. I just added it to my cart. :)


Already thinking about what books to share next!

Happy Reading!

kate in her crib

in

Right at 8 months, we stopped swaddling Kate (finally). At bedtime she didn't have much trouble falling asleep without it, but it took her just a couple of days to start going to sleep easily at nap times. Now that she's so mobile, though, she's changing again! Now as soon as we put her in her crib, she starts crawling around, sitting up, banging on the headboard, and chewing on the bumper despite the fact that she is so tired that her eyes (just seconds before) were rolling around in her head. Sometimes we go up and lay her back down, but by the time we get back downstairs and look at the monitor again, she's already sitting up. It's a losing battle I fight, so I might as well just wait for her to conk out. Usually it takes 30 minutes or more for this to finally happen.

Yesterday she took a wonderful, rare, TWO HOUR nap after our photo play date. Here she is, all happy when she woke up...


Isn't she sweet?

Lens Baby: Chestnut Square

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What a gorgeous day to get outside and take pictures! This morning my Lens Baby group met up at Chestnut Square in downtown McKinney. It has cute historical houses of different colors, so there are lots of fun backdrops to choose from. Kate has become more mobile, and it's harder to get pictures of her looking at me. She's just so interested in everything else! Nevertheless, I was still able to get a few cute ones.

















For the full photo set...

Public Service Announcement: Google Reader

in

Tell me if this is you: You happen to have a few free minutes with your computer, and you want to check to see if the blogs you read (like "The Carlson Family") have been updated. The problem is, that some bloggers (we won't name names) go for like a month without posting then suddenly start posting several times in one week. Because you don't want to miss a new post, you check the site regularly, only to find it looks the same as the last 5 times you checked. Also, to open these sites in the first place, you probably just have them all bookmarked in your Favorites tab. You pull it down and click on each one at a time. Or maybe you subscribe to email updates that flood your inbox. I know. This was me a couple of years ago.


If you're raising your hand, don't be embarrassed. This post is for you! Google Reader is the answer to your blog-checking inefficiencies. (And yet it does so much more, too!) For your own sanity, watch this short video tutorial:


What's really cool about Google Reader is that not only can you keep up with the blogs you follow, but you can also receive Facebook notifications and Twitter feeds there too. It's your one stop shop. You can also download a free app for iPhone that allows you to view your Google reader wherever you are.

So what are you waiting for? Get Google Reader. Start clicking those little RSS feed icons and build up your subscriptions. Then come back here and let me know how much you love it. If you already use a reader, feel free to outline the many reasons you couldn't live without it.


And because I can't post without adding a picture of Kate, here 'ya go.