Kate (2.5 Months)

good sun + cute outfit + (mostly) happy baby = some darn cute pictures!

Sharing Books: Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink

One of the most fun things about my job as an elementary school librarian is that I get to shop for books with someone else's money! This year I have spent over $10,000 on books suited for Kinder through 5th grades. The problem is, though, that I don't personally get to keep them. (Bummer, right?) So, I find myself buying a few favorites that I just can't pass up. Kate has to have them!

As I read reviews and keep current with what's new in children's literature, I want to share some of those great titles here for my mommy friends (or anyone else who loves a good kids' book).

Here is my latest acquisition:

The Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink boxed set of board books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. (They also come in regular binding.)

Little Pea is the first book of the series. Little Pea doesn't want to eat his candy at suppertime. His parents promise he has to just eat 5 more pieces before he can have dessert. Sound familiar? It's such a clever premise that the author decided to do two more stories following the same format. Little Hoot is an owl who wants to go to bed early like his forest friends, and Little Oink is a pig who would much rather keep his room tidy than the pig-sty his parents demand. Be sure to check out other books by this author - you can't go wrong!

Sleepy head!

Kate went NINE hours between feedings last night. Too bad I was anticipating her screams all night... I might have gotten some extra rest! Is it too much to hope for a repeat tonight?

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary. Nick and I dated 4 years, so this makes 9 years as a couple. I know it sounds cliche, but I can't believe how the time flies.

We're going out to dinner Saturday night at Rick's Chophouse in downtown McKinney to celebrate. It may not sound like a big night out on the town, but we are so excited for a date!

Rehearsal Dinner

Post-ceremony photo shoot

Blog-worthy?

So, I haven't done a blog post in a while. Every day is starting to feel the same...not to say we're on any kind of schedule yet! Even though nothing stands out to me as "blog-worthy," I thought I'd share a few things, inconsequential as they may be!

*Kate is getting big! She's a bit over 11 pounds now. We go back to the pediatrician a week from tomorrow, so we'll see what the official word is then. It's crazy how just a couple of pounds makes her feel so much heavier in my arms. I wonder how on earth I'm going to lift her car seat as she grows!

*She seems to be a morning person like her mama! She wakes up all smiles. Unfortunately, she tends to get fussy in the evenings. Her daddy can usually get her calm by lying her on her tummy on his chest. Too bad you can't let babies sleep on their tummies. She would sleep like a champ!

*I'm so glad the weather is getting warmer. It was cold and gray for so long - it kept us so cooped up! We've now been on TWO walks! I was so glad to see that I can handle the stroller and Kirby.

*Kate and I also do errands just to get out of the house. I always liked going to Target before, but now I really like going to Target. Kate ends up just falling asleep in her car seat as I roam every aisle. I have to show considerable self-restraint not to fill the cart with dozens of items that I cannot really justify the purchase of. Going on walks is probably safer.

*Being at home really gives me the redecorating bug. I blame HGTV. I now have a long mental list of new furniture purchases I would love to make. Dangerous. At the top of the list of wants is wood floors. I've been saving a little bit at a time; it's still a long way off though!

*Kate has been sleeping in her crib! At first she just slept in the bassinet of her playyard we have set up in our master bedroom. The problem is that Kate is a very noisy sleeper. What chances I could have been sleeping, Kate would be grunting and sighing and making all sorts of cute baby noises that are not so cute at 2 in the morning. The move upstairs has been a pretty good one. Kate sleeps in her room, and Nick and I are in the guest room. I constantly check the video monitor to look at her, but I keep the sound off so that I can sleep. I can hear her from her room when she really needs me. She sometimes goes 4 hours between feedings at night, but she's really inconsistent still. I look forward to consistency (and sleeping through the night).

Here are some pictures I took this morning of Kate (7 weeks). Her eyes are still deep blue, but we can't quite make out what color her hair is. It looks different in different lighting - brown, blonde, even red... we're just not sure!