Buzzzzz

Happy Halloween! Kate is certainly the cutest bumble bee I've ever seen....

I think she got hot after a while - look at that face! Either that or she thought this outfit made her look fat. My dad said "tell mommy vertical stripes are more slimming"

She got over it - here she is telling me a joke

The video is only a minute but so cute!

Kate's Dedication

We had a dedication for Kate, and it was so, so sweet. The purpose was to bring a small group of family and friends together to celebrate Kate. We are so blessed to have her, and we wanted to take time to thank God for her. She is a miracle, and we want to celebrate that. We also wanted to have people pray blessings for her life. It was so sweet to hear the prayers, blessings, poems, and words of wisdom that people had for her. She is a precious little girl and we know God has special things for her because she is His cherished daughter. We felt so loved to have such a wonderful group of family and friends present to celebrate this miracle.

Kate's new best bud

Kate and I met Ashley and Stella in Indianapolis and the girls were best buds from the start.


I love Stella Corotis!!

We have so much to discuss...

Good Strategy

This was a smart strategy: I was on facebook and there was a link that said "Want to vote early?" When you click on it, you enter in your name and address and it tells you where to vote and gives you the directions from your house to the location. Very smart, Obama. Get out the vote so the lines at the polls don't turn people away. Now that I have directions, I'm going to vote early!

(and by the way, if you live in Cinci, the location is 824 Broadway St. downtown.)

http://www.voteforchange.com/?state=OH&source=sem-fo-ev-fb-oh

Population Explosion! Please Respond

I was on Pampers.com today and I participated in a poll. I thought the results were FACINATING -

"How many kids would you like?"

One - 4%
Two - 20%
Three - 15%
Four - 8%
More - 53%

(Total votes 101,825)

Obviously there are lots of assumptions & caveats you could make about the voters, but still, 100,000 people is not a trivial sample size. What does this mean about the future population?

My answer, in case you are curious, was aligned with the majority. I'm sure this surprises some readers, and frankly it even surprises me. I will caveat by saying I don't want to give birth to that many kiddos (I think 3 feels like a good # there.) But I think Brett and I would like to adopt at some point. Of course you never know what the future holds, but that's my answer today.

JUST FOR FUN, and if you feel comfortable sharing, leave a comment with how you'd answer the question. (And a little logistical note - I changed my settings and it now should be easier to comment.)

Accessories inspire action

Kate was so excited to be sporting her new gold sandals (a gift from the Kences) that she stood by herself today for the first time. It wasn't for long, but she did it!

Shades, check. Pacifiers, check. Cow & Pig, check. Let's go have some fun!

Smart baby

Babies who have exersaucers are smart. I'm positive. I'm not saying it's necessarily causal, but I'm sure it's correlated. How do I know? Because smart parents have smart babies, and you practically have to be a rocket scientist to put this thing together. I struggled; it's a miracle this thing got assembled.

Obama Baby & Obama Mama

Today Kate and I went to an Obama Rally at Ault Park. It was so close we had to go see history. It felt like we were at a sporting event and we were rooting for our team - Team Obama. It was fun to see all the hoopla. Obama's speech was inspiring; he talked about freedom and the American Dream. It reminded me that we are all standing on our ancestors. Like my great grandparents who put their kids on a boat to America from Lebanon because they wanted a better life for them. That takes courage. You must believe deeply that freedom is important enough to risk your life for.

Here's a few pictures from the hoopla -

Getting Bigger

(I mean Kate - I'm actually getting smaller, thank goodness)

Doesn't she look big in her high chair? She hasn't started eating yet. The doctor said to feed her when she seemed "interested" in our food. Really? No huge interest yet. And the calories are negligible, so it's really just for "fun." Sounds messy to me, so we'll wait a little longer...


It's hard for me to believe, but she is learning to tolerate time on her tummy without screaming

Best Year of my Life

They say it’s my birthday! (well, yesterday) I’m 31 years old. I had a great birthday – I felt really loved. It started at 6:30 when Kate woke up, and after she ate I just enjoyed snuggling with her. Then at 8:30 flowers arrived at the door from Brett and Kate. I love getting flowers – I know they will die, but they are so beautiful. I got an amazing camera from Brett, my parents, and Nikki; I can hold down the button and continuously take pictures. Brett and I went out on a fancy date to the Precinct and my mom watched Kate. Then we went out with a couple of people afterwards for Beer and Cake. It was an awesome day.

We have a tradition that on your birthday that you answer 3 questions – 1) Best parts of your year 2) Toughest parts of your year and 3) What you’re looking forward to in the coming year. I highly recommend doing this – it’s fun and it’s good to reflect. Here are my answers –

1) Best Parts of the Year – This was definitely the best year of my life. After I quit my job, I felt like God told me to read Isaiah 61. I had no idea what it said, and when I turned to the chapter the title was “Year of the Lord’s Favor.” That has been my experience – I received blessings and favor the entire year. Quitting my job brought me so much freedom. I got to spend this year having fun, and it was amazing. And of course the obvious, Kate has been an incredible gift to us. I didn’t know how much I would love her. Overall, the best year of my life.

2) Toughest Parts of the Year – I’ve come a long way in my battle against performance, the need to define myself by my accomplishments. But in being a mom, this has definitely crept back in. Specifically, anytime Kate cries, I feel like a bad mom. I feel like I should be able to make her stop. And then, I feel embarrassed in front of other people, sad that I can’t help her, and overall like a failure. A newborn is a tough challenge for a performance junkie like me since they don’t really “perform’ – they just exist. They eat, sleep, play at little, and cry. Realizing this is freeing me up though.

3) What I’m looking forward to next year – Kate getting bigger and continuing to do new things. Maybe getting a job somewhere (we’ll see what happens.)

This year has really felt like a gift. I pray that I have more years as good as this one!

Welcome!

Hi, All!

Welcome to my blog! We'll see how this goes. The goals are -

1) not frustrate Kate when she's older because I kept no electronic journal of her life. I'm assuming in the future this would be equivalent to not having a photo album. so, this is a gift to her and those who want to see what she's up to.
2) share what i'm learning about being a mom so I don't forget it for next time and in case any other mom cares.
3) share anything interesting or funny

That's it! Expect a post weekly. I started uploading stuff earlier this month from when Kate was born, so feel free to check it all out, or not.
Love y'all!
Krissy

***By the way - if you have a blog and I haven't listed it on the side, comment and let me know the address! Thanks!

JOY

I'm going to be studying JOY and sharing what I learn. Why? Because I want more joy, and I bet I'm not the only one. Plus, I think it's something Brett and I know about ---people have said it's a gift we share. Also, I think some joy has been stolen from people lately, and I'd like that to stop.

First thing I've learned about Joy - it's about Resonance with God's heart. One of the clearest examples of Joy that I've found in the Bible is the story of the Lost Son. When he comes back, his dad throws a bash. The dad's joy is a reflection of his resonance with God's joy in the son's repentance. I think we all experience joy from the things that God is joyful about. A few examples for me - Kate's smile, being on water, having dinner with Brett, playing my guitar.

More to come...

4 MONTHS

Kate just had her 4 month check-up and she is doing great! 15 lbs and 25" - 75% percentile. She had a fungal infection (which was not a big deal - Lotrimin is clearing it right up), but I felt really bad I didn't know what it was. But, that's why you go to the doctor. She got her shots and here's a good tip - give Tylenol BEFORE the shots. She cried so much less this time than at 2 months. So, I cried a lot less too :) She's so much fun -

WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT...

Nikki came to the rescue! I LOVE that Nikki lives in Cincinnati. She means so much to me, and I'm so glad that she's close. When our power went out for a week, Nikki was a champ and let us stay at her house the ENTIRE time. It's generous to let people stay at your place, let alone a newborn. To top it off, she let Kate borrow her teddy bear.

Can you imagine back in the days before TV? I asked my grandma what they did, and she said they played games, cards, puzzles, etc. I think people were probably more connected to one another then - doing things together vs. just being in the same place.

VACATION IS THE BEST

We had such a great vacation at Norris Lake. We have wonderful, generous friends who invite us down and there is nothing better than being on the water. I think the point of working is so you can go on vacation :)

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BABY BUCKEYE

Kate can go to college anywhere she wants, but we sure are proud when she's in her scarlet and gray.

Her friend Cana, the Buckeye Babies, ready for game day




The Buckeyes are #1

The Beauty of Spontaneity

Recently my friend Kelly told me I’m the most spontaneous person she knows; I think that is a huge compliment. Motherhood makes it more difficult to be spontaneous, and she was asking me how I was adjusting. It certainly hasn’t been as easy, but I have continued to hold onto the value of not letting life pass me by simply because I have previous “plans” (or lack thereof.) Maybe I learned this from my grandma…

This past Thursday, my 87 year old grandma received an offer to fly on a jet on Saturday to Washington D.C. She, along with 10 other veterans, would be visiting the World War II memorial. My grandma has seen the memorial before, but she would not let this opportunity pass her by. So, just 2 days after she received the invitation, she would board the jet and headed to D.C.

I think this is AWESOME! When life comes your way, you don’t make excuses. Even if they are very reasonable excuses, like “I don’t walk as well as I used to.” No, when life comes your way, you say ‘I’m in.” Maybe that’s why at 87 her mind is as sharp as ever, because she continues to run after life (okay, walk slowly, but you get the point.) I hope her sense of adventure and love of life are always part of who I am.

APOLOGIZING IS UNDERRATED

Recently, I messed up. Afterwards, I went back and forth between feeling guilty and feeling like it wasn't really my fault. Overall, it was a small thing, but I couldn't get it out of my head. That is, until I apologized. And then - WOW, a weight was lifted. It doesn't even matter if the person accepts the apology; confessing that you've screwed up is freeing. It's funny that before you do it pride tells you it will be bad if you apologize. But once you do it, you are free.

DADDY'S GIRL

Even though Kate slept through most of her first buckeye game, both daddy and baby had a wonderful day.

"Daddy Kisses" with the Honey Bunny

3 MONTHS - WHAT I KNOW ABOUT KATE

She is JOYFUL

PRECIOUS

TALKATIVE

PEACEFUL

RELAXED

A LITTLE POOH BEAR