Does it get any cuter than this??

Picture Overload!

We've been doing lots of fun things lately so I've been taking lots of pictures. We had a fun but busy weekend with family. Football games, shopping, halloween party, Dustin's birthday party, late night fun listening to a band at a bar (well, too late so it wasn't fun for me anymore!)...

Mommy and Kate before church on Sunday.

Aunt Deenie bought Kate this Elmo cheerleading outfit. She was all ready for football games on Sunday.

Her new Elmo backpack from Grandma

Kate the witch...We went to a Halloween party on Saturday.

Sword fighting with Daddy


Kate enjoying her first M&M

Kate and I went to a pumpkin patch with Aunt Mellisa last week. The pumpkins were pretty deformed and ugly but we had a fun time!

HELP! Hair Emergency!

What am I supposed to do with Kate's hair?? We really want to grow her bangs out. But what do I do in the meantime? And even when they are grown out, her hair is so fine that it will probably just be hanging in her face anyways.

So if I want her to not have bangs, do I have to wear her hair in a ponytail until she's 5?? I really like her hair when her bangs are swept to the side but they don't really stay.


I even tried gel! It works pretty good for a while. When I'm at home with her I just push her hair out the way a lot but since she's at daycare it's just a pain. So I need help!! What do you do with your kids or what do you think would look best on Kate??!??

random picture sampler

Being a working woman and mother is testing my ability to do many things at once! So blogging gets pushed to the back! Here are some random pictures I've taken over the last few weeks.

We went to a high school football game with Dustin's family. It was lots of fun and Kate had a blast. She loved pointing to the field and saying "foofall!" She didn't even mind the cold or rain!



Kate loves her family. Here she is with her pappys and her Uncle Justin. She learned how to say Justin this week and while we were at his house she would walk around looking for him yelling "Justin, Justin!"




Kate on her new potty chair!

Cute or just silly?? Kate insisted on wearing her hat on Sunday because Daddy put his hat on. My brother said she looked silly and made me take it off her!!



This poor girl was so tired tonight that she fell asleep on the kitchen floor while I was making dinner. I would have NEVER thought that was possible.

Bullies, cars and thirsty babies

I haven't even taken one picture of Kate (or anything for that matter) since the last post. I've had nothing exciting to report or blog about. Life is going good. Work is going much better for me. Kate walks right up to the door at day care and tries to push it open to get in. She doesn't even cry anymore! She has turned into a little bit of a bully but we're working on that. I was peeking my head in the door yesterday to see how she was and I saw a little girl take a toy from Kate. So Kate did was most toddlers would do (right??!) and hit her repeatedly over the head with it! Oops!! I am soooo happy though that Kate is back to her silly, happy self at home. She's my favorite person in the whole world!! Anyways, I took a few pics today so I thought I'd share.


I bought Kate this car at a yard sale today. It seems like one of those things that every kid has to have. She loved it! Here she is cleaning it off just like Mommy did and Daddy pushing her in the garage when he got home from work.



I love watching how sweet Kate is with her babies. She loves to give them hugs and kisses, feed them and give them something to drink. I often find cracker crumbs in their mouths! Here she is making sure baby doesn't get thirsty.

Where is my baby?? This adorable little girl is definitely not a baby anymore! Her hair is getting so long and is always in her face so we're trying the ponytail!


Things are going better at the daycare. Kate doesn't always cry when I drop her off and she doesn't have her binky stuffed in her mouth all day long anymore. She's even started eating their food and sleeping for an hour and a half...it's a start. I'm not loving my job but I know this will really help our family so I'm gonna stick it out and hope it gets better. It's a tough job for just above minimum wage. Anyways...if Kate's happy we can all be happy.

Kate is getting ready for football season. Go Steelers!!

What's your name?

Update after week 1

So we just finished up week 1 at the daycare and I thought I'd update you. Well I'll keep it short because I was taught that if I didn't have anything nice to say then I shouldn't say it at all! Overall, it wasn't good. I had an alright time with my kids. They seemed to warm up to me by the end of the week and started to listen. I feel pretty comfortable around them. My teacher side and my mom side worked well together to make it through the first week. So it was pretty good for me. However, Kate HATED almost every minute of it. She wouldn't eat or sleep and cried most of the day. In her defense, she is also getting 6-8 teeth all at the same time...her molars and her eye teeth. She had a fever of 100-102 every day and was just miserable. She falls asleep on the way home and is miserable until I put her to bed. By Friday, she cried as soon as I stepped into her daycare room in the morning. Needless to say, I'm not terribly excited to start a new week of this but let's just hope it will get better. (figure it can't get any worse!!) Cross your fingers. I'll keep you posted!
Here's Kate at a wedding reception on Saturday night. This girl had some serious sleep to catch up on this weekend!

GREAT NEWS! (i think...)

So as some of you may know, Dustin has been the one working and I've been staying home with Kate. It's been really great. I really love being a stay-at-home mom and I love all our time together. Well, it's been a bit of a financial struggle to enjoy this time together. So it was time for me to look for a job. Long story short: I GOT A JOB! I will be working at a daycare full-time and Kate will be attending the daycare (free of charge) full-time.

This answer to our prayers is bitter-sweet. I'm so excited to be able to make money for our family without paying an arm and a leg for childcare and allow Dustin to work less and focus on school. But I'm really going to miss Kate!! I mean REALLY REALLY miss Kate! There may be lots of crying. (on my part!)

I think Kate will really enjoy having kids to play with. I will be the head teacher in the 2 year old room. Unfortunately my degree and experience gets me just above minimum wage but with no childcare costs it's great. So, this is the start of yet another phase in our lives. I feel like this is such a blessing. It was exactly what I was looking for for right now.

Look who's got some new dance moves...

Kate Elizabeth is one of my favorite people...ever!

So as many of you may know, the title of this blog is true!! I thought I would share some things you may or may not know about my Kate!
1. She loves to sing and dance! It's just too cute to watch.


2. She's a girl that knows what she wants. And always has been. Like when she wants to wear her snow boots in the house...even with no clothes on and in the middle of summer and dance around!


3. She knows about 30 words including but not limited to: mama, dada, hi, bye, baby, Elmo, ball, bubble, cheese, fish, shoes, Pappy/Pap, thanks, night night, doggie, catch, duck, quack, boo boo, moo (well actually it sounds like beuooo...if you can sound that out!) Jesus, cracker, cookie, bath, hip hip horray, up, no, amen, yuck, poop.

4. She has a really great sense of humor already! She cracks up at us or herself often. We have lots of fun together. She's really got quite the little personality!


5. Kate is a mama's girl. period.




6. The girl knows how to throw a tantrum. period.

7. She's a great eater most of the time. She loves fruits and veggies. Grapes are #1 at the top of her favorite food list. Followed by bananas, strawberries, green beans, and of course the beloved crackers that she begs me for all day and night. "ca ca" or "coo coo" is all I hear some days! (cracker or cookie)

8. Some of her favorite things to do include playing with her baby, Elmo, her blanket, reading books, playing outside, taking a bath and playing with her ball.

9. Kate is VERY friendly. She says hi to everyone in the stores and helps them push their cart sometimes, too. She LOVES to give hugs and kisses to her little friends!


10. She is by far the greatest blessing in my life. They say that a baby changes your life and I was prepared for the changes, physically. I knew there would be another person in the house I'd be taking care of but the emotional changes are beyond my description. She brings me the greatest joy. I love to watch her grow and learn. I love to hold her when she's scared or crying. I love to look into those big blue eyes as she says "Mama mama" ALL day long! I feel like I've found what I was meant to do. I love being a mother. Our children will probably never know the impact they have on us until they have their own someday. At this time I am so grateful for my own mother, who passed away 10 years ago, for all her love and sacrifice. I now understand her love for me.

Me and Kate: April 26, 2007


My mom and me: April 23, 1982