Kate's Surgery

Tubes in the ears, just two days before her first birthday. What a rough week! Because of Kate's frequent ear infections we went ahead with the procedure as scheduled today. At 6:15 this morning, David checked her in at the SurgiCenter and by 8:30 I got a phone call from him saying everything went fine.

I had heard that sometimes babies have a hard time getting over the anesthesia, but Kate was in good spirits all day. Actually, she was in VERY good spirits. By lunchtime she was up and about, eating well, and doing all the things she normally does, like crawling up the stairs to the second floor unassisted!

Also by lunchtime, she was walking. REALLY walking. And at fairly good speeds. For the past week her balance has been good, but it's almost as if the procedure made her balance better (which makes a lot of sense. Ever have a head cold and feel a bit wobbly after getting out of bed?). Today she walked circles around in the house, got up without using her hands, and even swayed to music. Wow. The change in her is unbelievable. Tonight after dinner, David and I watched Kate explore her new and improved walking abilities as she chased after Ethan and his toys. The smile on her face and the sound of her delightful squeals were the highlight of my day.

We do have some video footage of her walking, but I'm too tired to upload it right now. Stay tuned!

Just for Fun

Here's a video clip of both the kids trying out their legs...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHNvshs0X1I

First Day of "School"

Last Thursday was the kids first day of what we call "play school", or Mornings Out for Moms at one of the churches in our town. On the first day, it was Ethan's turn to bring snacks for his classmates, which is why he's holding that white bag.

Kate did beautifully on her first day. She took a nice long nap in the sleeping room across the hall! I was worried that she would miss her morning nap on her days at school. Looks like I have nothing to worry about!

What did I do the whole three hours I had to myself? Went to my favorite coffee shop, had some good quiet time at the church, then did my grocery shopping! It was a good morning :)

11 Months

It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks Kate will celebrate her 1st birthday. The year has whirled by so quickly and she is no longer my little baby girl! This realization hit me the other day when I was shopping for some clothes for her (she is quickly growing into the next size up). As I searched the racks for 12-18 month clothing I noticed how unbaby-like they were! Instead of soft, cuddly pinks, I saw lots of denim, brown, bright, jewel colors and modern prints. While dressing Kate will always be fun (for as long as she lets me dress her), it is clear that she has passed from baby to toddler.

Her walking skills are getting better and better everyday. Just today she took two small steps on her own! It won't be long before she really will be chasing after her brother (though she does a good job of it on all fours anyway). For now she is content to walk while holding onto the furniture or her push toy, and then letting go and crawling at full-speed till she hits her destination. I haven't weighed her, but she seems to be consistently growing. I'm curious to see what her 12 month appointment will bring.

Kate loves:
pulling books off our book shelf
grabbing Ethan's toys
mommy and daddy
throwing food
wrestling with Ethan

Kate does NOT like:
people she doesn't know
her changing table
being left alone
baby food, or anything like baby food
cuddling



In other news, we have decided (for now, at least) to put tubes in her ears. Since March, she has been on eight or nine rounds of antibiotics to treat ear infections. And flu season hasn't even begun! After seeing an ear, nose and throat specialist it was clear that she would be a good candidate for this minor procedure. While David is hesitant to allow the surgery, we are also reluctant to keep treating her with antibiotics over and over again. We are scheduled for surgery on Sept 30th.

Last Day at the Pool

The pool officially closed Labor Day, so we thought we would go just one last time.

Goodbye, Summer! We'll miss you...

Officially Thirty-Something

31 years today. It's all downhill from here! Just kidding :) Now that I'm past the huge milestone all birthdays for the next several years will be ho-hum!

Today, David came home from work at lunch and gave me the afternoon off. What a nice surprise! I took a trip to nearby Funk's Grove and Sugar Grove Nature Center to spend some quiet time walking the trails. I can't remember the last time I spent over an hour in this kind of silence, surrounded by the beauty of God's creation. How peaceful, how healing, how refreshing!Afterwards, I rejoined the world by doing some shopping at our local mall, bought a few items, and returned home just in time to blow out the candle on my birthday "cake". Ethan, of course, insisted that he blow out the candle and open his presents. It was hard convincing him that there were no presents to open!

My present? Dinner at one of my favorite resturants in town, Rosie's. YUM! David and I had a delicious meal, and a romantic moonlit walk on the grounds of Ewing Manor (where the Illinois Shakespeare Festival is held every summer). A day that was already filled with so many birthday wishes from friends and family through the mail, over the phone and email was topped off with a selection of petit fours from Janet's Cakes.

A SWEET ending to a perfect day!

Chicago! Chicago!

I always love going up to Chicago. This past weekend we went up to visit with friends, particularly my friend Angela who now lives in Seattle. Since she was in town for a week we decided a brunch get-together was in order!

The Snyders packed up for the weekend. Saturday we went to Navy Pier, spent the night at Heather and Steve's, and the next morning we attended my old church, Park Community. They recently built and moved into a new building, so I was very excited to check it out. Kate was mostly happy on the drive up as long as she had a snack to munch on.

These are pictures from the brunch, hosted by Heather and Steve. I was surprised that the children behaved as well as they did! Anna (Ben and Colleen's daughter) was content playing in the hallway.

Ethan and his new friend, Charlie, were happy watching Thomas videos...

Here is Angela and her beau, John. They were the guests of honor visiting from Seattle!

Vann, Amanda and their daughter, Charlie. They are expecting baby #2 in November!

Heather and Steve, our gracious hosts...

...and five of the eight original Chicago Gals. Liz, Monica and Melody, we missed you!