Chill 'n Grill

We had a good time today at War Memorial Park at the Chill 'n Grill. We were able to spend time with good friends and see other people we hadn't seen for awhile. Rhythm 'n Motion dance studio performed and they were great! We also enjoyed seeing Flip Over Gymnastics and a couple of bands perform. Kara slept again for most of everything--it must be the outdoor air! Once Kara woke up she had a good time going down the slide with daddy and sitting on the bouncy space shuttle. :-) It was another really warm day in October!

Kara's new toys

We went to Toys 'R Us today and used the gift card our co-workers gave us for Kara. We purchased the Rainforest Jumperoo (a stationary jumper) and a Boppy. Kara has enjoyed both today! The jumper has three heights, so she will have a lot of fun with it for quite awhile. Right now the boppy is comfortable for her to lay on, but it's also great for tummy time. Plus, it will help keep her safe when she is ready to practice sitting up on her own.

A Good Night's Sleep

Last night Kara was very alert and wide-awake at 10 pm. We were wondering if she would ever settle down to take a bottle so we could put her in her crib for the night. Tim fed her a bottle at 10:15 and she fell asleep eating by 10:30 pm. We were completely thrilled when Kara slept through the night! She didn't wake up until 6:50 am this morning! What a monumental milestone! We praised her all morning long, and hope it's not just a one-night kind of occurrence. :-) Maybe our 12 week old (as of yesterday) is ready to sleep through the night, every night?! The pictures of Kara were taken around 10 pm last night when she was very happy!

Pumpkin Patch!

The four of us went to the Ridgefield Farm pumpkin patch and found some nice pumpkins to decorate our front porch! We will also carve a couple of them closer to Halloween. We had a good time, but it was HOT and humid. It just didn't feel like October 5th is supposed to feel! Unfortunately, Kara was asleep during most of the trip, and wasn't happy about being woken up for pictures. She'll probably enjoy it more next year. Tomorrow is the Chill 'n Grill at War Memorial Park in downtown Martinsburg. There will be dance studios, gymnastics groups, bands, etc...performing at the pavillion. There will also be good food vendors and inflatables. We're looking forward to having fun and spending time with good friends! I'm sure we'll take some pictures while there that we'll post later for everyone to enjoy.

Snuggle, Snuggle

Kara fell asleep on Tim's chest this evening. Doesn't Kara look adorable snuggling with daddy?! We're going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow, and we'll have lots of pictures to share of all the fun things we did!

More pictures from Saturday

Enjoy these additional pictures!

Visiting w/ Kathy's family

Today we drove to Virginia to see Kathy's sister, Krista, who just gave birth to our new nephew, Hunter! Hunter was born on September 18th and is a real cutie at 11 days old! He's also almost as big as Kara, who is 11 weeks old! After visiting Krista (new mom), Charlie (new dad) and Hunter the main attraction...we headed off to have dinner with and visit Kathy's parents and her nephews Aidan (5 yrs old) and Sean (2 1/2 yrs old)! It was a fun-filled day and we took lots of pictures!

She's a sweetie!

Kara is a sweetie, just like the little blanket says that she's laying on in the pictures. The blanket was given to Kara by our little friend, Kailan, who is 5 years old and fighting leukemia like a champ! Kailan used the very same blanket when she was a baby, but wanted Kara to be able to snuggle with it now. If you squeeze the corner of the blanket, it even plays music! Kailan was very generous to give her very own baby blankets (she gave us another one with a cute bunny on it) to Kara--thank you Kailan!

Beautiful Artwork!

Kara's birth-grandmother, Micara, is a wonderful artist, and one of her canvases is a gourd! She made the beautiful gourd for Kara that was posted on the blog back in early July. We thought Micara was so talented that we purchased three additional gourds from her before we left Oklahoma. Kathy asked Micara to carve two sunflower designs for the kitchen, and a leaf design for the family room. We just received the finished gourds in the mail over the weekend and wanted to post them on the blog because they are just so amazing! If you are interested in purchasing your own gourd(s), the contact information for Micara is: Hidden Canvas Artworx, Micara Coats, mcoats@sstelco.com. Micara can carve pretty much any design you would like into a gourd, and you can even request a specific shape of gourd. As you can see from the pictures, one of our sunflower gourds is a bowl, and the leaf gourd is open as well, so it can hold whatever we want to place in it. The pictures don't portray all the beautiful details, but when you come to visit us, you can check them out in person. Thanks Micara for making the gourds so beautiful--they are wonderful additions to our home!

All clean!

We just gave Kara a bath and she's all clean~and smells so sweet and good! We had a very nice weekend in Rhode Island. Kara was an angel on the airplane--for the trip up and back! Susan's wedding was beautiful, and we're so happy that we were able to be there for the celebration. Everyone loved meeting Kara, and we weren't lacking for people that wanted to hold her and snuggle with her. We also found out that Kara is a party girl! She stayed awake for all but 45 minutes of the reception! Tim swears that she was moving her arms to the beat of the music several times.... Kathy never saw it, but will take his word for it. :-)

Pretty gift

Kara received a pretty quilt that was made for her by Tim's Aunt Peggy. Kara was in a very happy mood this morning, so we decided to take a picture of her on her quilt. Kathy got her to smile several times, but couldn't snap the picture fast enough to catch the smiles!

All is well...

Kara is having a really good 2nd week with Laura, the babysitter. We're so happy to have someone that takes such good care of our sweet girl! On Friday morning, the four of us will be flying to Rhode Island for Susan's wedding--one of Kathy's best friends from college. This is Kara's 2nd time to ride on an airplane, and she's not even three months old! Kara was wonderful on the flight home from Oklahoma, so we're hoping for the same on the short (thankfully) flight to RI. Please pray for our safety and that Kara doesn't have any problems with her ears, etc.... We're really looking forward to seeing Susan, Dave (the groom), Sharon (twin sister) and Jim (Sharon's boyfriend)--as well as all of Sue & Sharon's family!

Kara's a big girl!

We got some pictures of Kara laying like a big girl on Daddy's pillow in our bed. What a cutie with a beautiful smile!

Better today

For those of you who read the blog on a daily basis, and are wondering if Kara is having a better day today...she is! She slept from 9:30pm to 3:30 am last night--the longest stretch yet. Tim seems to have all the luck. Whenever it's his turn to do the first feeding of the night, Kara always sleeps longer! It was Kathy's turn when Kara woke up at 5:20 am this morning--more gassy than hungry. Poor girl! When Kathy was changing Kara's diaper and getting her dressed for the day, Kara was back to her happy, normal self. She was talking and wiggling up a storm!

For those of you without children, or those who have older children (like me) who have forgotten what the vaccination schedule is like....Kara has to get the same 4 shots she received yesterday at her 4 month appointment (Nov 13th). Then there are a few more shots at 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months. There a even a couple more shots between 2-6 yrs of age! After a child starts 1st grade, the vaccination schedule is usually completely done. Is it any wonder that children fear going to the doctor when they're little?! At least when they're older, they know it's the nurse or the doctor giving them the shot--not mommy or daddy. My worst fear yesterday was that Kara thought I was the one inflicting the pain upon her, because I was up by her head trying to comfort her, and she was looking at me not the nurse. :-(

Kara is 2 months old today!

Kara had her 2 month old appointment with the pediatrician today. She weighs 8 lbs 15 oz, and is 21 1/4 inches long. If the appointment was tomorrow she would have weighed 9 lbs! The doctor visit was very traumatic for Kara, Kathy and Tim...because Kara had to get 4 vaccinations! It was awful to see our baby in pain. :-( Kara's crying (sobbing) just about did us in. The picture is of Kara sleeping--which about all she has done today. We hope Kara is feeling much better tomorrow!

Teething...or rabies???

Tim made me use the title for this post--it's definitely his sense of humor. As you can see from the picture, Kara is really drooling, and making bubbles too! Kara has been full of drool the past few days, and we read in our book "What to Expect the First Year" that babies can start teething as early as 2 months old. Kinda crazy, isn't it!?

A Great Day!

Kara had a wonderful first day at Laura's house! Laura said she was a perfect angel all day! That is just music to our ears. We are so happy that Sarah Anderson helped us find the best babysitter for Kara--thanks Sarah!

Tomorrow is the big day!

Kathy and Tim are both going back to work full-time...which means Kara is going to the babysitter's house! Kara was 8 weeks old on Friday, the 7th, and we know she will be well taken care of by Laura. It's just that we have really enjoyed staying home with Kara these past 8 weeks, and we're just not ready for it to end. :-( Unfortunately reality requires us to come to grips with this new phase in our lives. It's been several years since Kathy has had to think or worry about childcare for Samantha. The babysitter, Laura, has two daughters ~ a 3 yr old and a 9 mos old. So, when Kara is sitting up and becomes even more aware of her surroundings, she will have two sweet girls to keep her occupied! Please pray that we will all adjust well to the changes that will be occurring this coming week.

Crazy hair!

Kara is doing very well now. The eye infection has almost completely cleared up. Kara's hair actually looks very curly when it's just been washed. After her bath today, we just had to take a picture of her cute, crazy hair! :-)

Kara's first illness

Kara ended up with an eye infection after our weekend in Capon Springs. The infection caused her to have a low-grade fever on Sunday and Monday of this week. Kathy had to work on Tuesday, so Tim took her to see the pediatrician for a sick visit. Dr. Joe prescribed antibiotic drops for Kara's eyes, and it's already starting to look better! Kara was weighed at the doctor's office and she is now 8 lbs 7 oz! Our sweetheart is getting bigger!