1 Year With Kate

by - 11:24 PM

Katherine,

Happy first birthday, Little Love.  You seem to have had a wonderful day despite spending much of it in the car running errands.  You accompanied us to the eye place for glasses, the bakery to order your birthday cake for Saturday, the park to visit a friend then to her house to pick up Ruth's kitten.  We paid a visit to Grandmother and Granddaddy before making a stop for an oil change and to Publix to pick up a something we left the night before that they were holding for us.  Tonight we celebrated your birthday with Grumps and Ahna, and Unca Benji with supper at Texas Roadhouse and a cupcake back at the house.  You got to open one of your birthday presents from Grumps and Ahna tonight along with your Easter gift.  We let you stay up till your birthday minute, and despite only cat napping twice in the car, you were a happy girl for the very long day.


It is always amazing to me, just how much a baby grows and changes in the first year.  You go from having to work at nursing to drinking from a bottle and a cup, and picking up and eating real food.  You start out so weak that you cannot even hold up your head, to walking and climbing on people.  You go from someone who seeming knows nothing to recognizing people and phrases.  You start out with a quiet chipmunk cry and now babble with inflection, attempting to mimic words and clearly saying Da-da if nothing else.


This month you are now, walking like a pro.  You walk most of the time, and when you fall you rarely crawl the rest of the way but stand up.  Everyone in Alabama has gotten a kick out of watching you stand from a squat, you don't even use your hands to push up off the floor most of the time.  You just stand right up.  Britt is telling everyone that you are practicing to be a catcher.  After watching Sarah Grace this past week, you have even started "wrestling with Daddy" trying to climb all over him, and his feet and legs, rather than crawling around him when you wanted him or something on his other side.  Today, you took a little walk with Granddaddy.  He used his cane, and you just about kept right up with him walking next to him.  When he turned to come back to his chair, you pivoted in that slow way of yours, and tried to catch up with him, as he as already on his way back.



You have 5 teeth in all the way, which is painful when you bite down.  We think you may be starting on some more.  You chew on the pacifier sometimes, but especially like to bite down on clothing or other fabric, and then pull it out of your mouth.  I'm convinced you are going to rip holes in something.


We began mixing some milk in your formula today.  You didn't seem to have a problem with it.  The formula is handy to have in the diaper bag, but when we get you home, we plan to try to get you on milk as soon as we can.  You still haven't found a food that you don't like.  For a bit I thought you weren't going to like uncooked tomatoes, but after trying them a couple more times, you decided they were ok after all.  Today, Daddy gave you gatorade for the first time, and just water to drink.  You liked the gatorade, but hated the water.  Typical, none of our children seem to like to drink water.  Daddy jokes that you are a sloth.  You are so slow, especially when you eat.  You look at the item, and very slowly but precisely with a pincer grip, pick up a piece of food, look at it, sometimes setting it down and picking it up several times, before putting it in your mouth, and very slowly taking your fingers away.  This week you have even started trying to just put your face down on the tray to eat instead of picking up food.  Who knows what that's about?


You seemed to love your cupcake tonight.  Lately I just about have to force the first bite of food in your mouth, to get you to try to eat something.  Then I can't feed you fast enough after you taste it, but it's like you don't want to try it.  Strange since you are still trying to eat everything you find in the floor.  Tonight, I had to practically pry your jaws open to dab some frosting and chocolate cake in your mouth.  You liked it and then ate a little more.  But mostly you loved crumbling the cupcake and smearing the frosting all over that high chair tray.  We had a good time laughing at you and you shrieked with delight several times.


In the last week, you have travelled to PA, to meet Mrs. Kathy and her family.  She is one of two very specially ladies that you are named after.  You enjoyed playing with and meeting new people.  You especially seemed to enjoy Zane, he and Britt still have a lot in common, and since you adore Britt, I'm not shocked that you enjoyed him.  We then spent several days in DC, you did great with the car rides, and sitting either in the carrier with me or in the stroller.  You did a very good job riding.  You got to meet Old Carroll, and they were so happy to see you.  Almost like night and day, a switch flipped through, and you seem to have some stranger anxiety all of a sudden.  It took Bro. Jonathan several days to win you over, and you don't seem to trust or like Unca Benji at all.  While you love your Daddy a great deal, I think your preference is for me.  As long as I'm the one holding you though, you seem to be really happy to smile at and talk to other people.


Watching you open presents was fun tonight too.  Since you are in that phase where it is fun to empty every bag, box, and purse, so pulling things out of the gift bag was easy.  You were slower at pulling off wrapping paper.  But by the end had the hang of pulling off great big papers.  Of course you thought the box it was wrapped in, where you could open and close it was the best part of all.


You have grown so much, and no matter how much you change, you remain a sweet, contented, happy girl.  We are so thankful for you, and the joy you have brought into our lives, little rainbow.  We can't imagine life without you.  You complete our life in a wonderful way.  We love you more than we can say, and pray that God does great things in your life.

Love,
Momma


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