Katie's Travels

Our family has spent a lot of time in the car over the past few days. I've done most of the driving, but Katie has been a good sport and pitched in several times.

We started our trip by driving to Lancaster and visiting with my grandmother. This was 20-week-old Katie's first meeting with her 84-year-old Great-Grandma Lehman, and as you can see the two of them got along famously!

On Saturday afternoon we drove into downtown Lancaster for my cousin's wedding. It was wonderful to see Caleb and Jes, as well as many other family members. Katie wore her new dress from Grandma Whitebread.

Then it was on to Pepperell, Massachusetts for a great visit with Stephen, Emma, and cousin Samuel. This was our longest drive (8 hours) and Katie was quiet and content almost the whole way.

We're now with my parents in Monson, Maine. Katie has warmed up very quickly to both of them and we're looking forward to a visit with Tim, Amy, and cousin Malachi in the next few days!

Sunday Is A Day of Rest

Happy and Cute

What Are You Looking At?

Yeah, I'm talking to you. Is there some kind of a problem here? Because if there is, my associate Sophie the Attack Giraffe and I would be happy to take care of it. What's that? I'm not sure I like your attitude, my friend. You sure you want to go down this road with me? Sophie and I never start anything, but we're always willing to finish it, if you get my drift. I don't wanna see you around here no more.

Top O' the Mornin' To Ya!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

4 months!

Last week Katie turned 4 months old!

She had a great visit to the pediatrician on Friday...all except for the shots, of course. She's a healthy 14 lbs, 6 oz (75th percentile for weight) and 25 inches long (75th percentile for height). The doctor confirmed my suspicion that she is, in fact, teething. You can now see two little teeth sprouting up on her bottom gum. I tried to get a picture but when I got close she grabbed the camera and tried to put it in her mouth! Needless to say, she is trying to chew on anything within her grasp and is drooling constantly (see pictures below). Luckily for us she hasn't been extraordinarily fussy.

The doctor also said that we could start feeding her solid foods now but we decided to keep her exclusively breastfed until 5-6 months. Research has shown that babies are less likely to develop food allergies if they only have breast milk for the first six months and since I have Celiac Disease (which is hereditary) we think this is the best decision. She certainly seems interested in table food, though! She usually sits with us at dinner and she's always reaching for our food or drinking glass. It's going to be fun for her to try new food soon. She has also become quite a good little sleeper. She now takes 1 1/2-2 hour naps 2-3 times per day and sleeps from 8pm-7:30am. I'm so glad that she's getting so much rest so that her little brain can knit itself together but sometimes she's sleeping so much that I miss her! She is such a joy these days.

Katie and Abe

We enjoyed a fun visit yesterday with John, Karlen, and Abe.  Abe is John's son, and John is my cousin, so that makes him Katie's second cousin.  As you can see from these five photos, he's one of the happiest, sweetest, friendliest little baby boys you could ever hope to meet.  

We had a great time watching the two second cousins playing together on the couch (and I hasten to assure all grandparents and great-grandparents that Katie bounced back quickly from the "sleeper hold" that Abe is applying to her in the final photograph).

New Developments

Katie has been growing and developing in all kinds of fun ways recently. Her actions are becoming intentional and it's super fun to watch. Now when we put her on her play mat she'll reach out for the hanging objects or when she's in her swing she'll bat at the hanging toys on purpose and not just by accident. Unfortunately, this new development comes with the pulling of my hair, earrings, or whatever else is within her grasp!

Katie is really lifting up her head when she's on her tummy, as seen in the picture below, and will occasionally roll over onto her back. One thing we like to do together is dance and I can sometimes get a giggle out of her with certain dance moves. I hope to catch that on video soon! She's on a great napping schedule during the day and is sleeping from 8:30pm until 7:30am without a peep nearly every night. What a blessing this stage has been!

Our Bug

We have come up with many nicknames for our little Katie since she was born but there is one that has stuck: "the Bug." I'm not sure how we came up with this nickname, since she neither acts like nor resembles an insect, but we call her "the Bug" many times a day. We'll say things like, "The Bug needs to be changed," or when she's crying in her crib we'll say, "Free the Bug!" Here is a picture of our Bug in a special bug outfit that my parents bought her.