SNOW!!!!!

Like every other mom in Birmingham this morning, we got up, saw it was snowing, got the kiddo up and bundled, then went outside to take pictures in the snow. Forget that she has a cold already and that it is damp and cold out - we MUST get pictures of her in her first snow!!! Sarah Katherine was less than impressed with the whole thing, but she was a sport for us to take her out in the less than fabulous conditions.

After we came in she was super excited to be back in the warm. Here she is very happy to be watching her bear mobile.

A Little Day in the Life of...

Here's a little picture into the day in the life of little bit. She is starting to get stronger, so we are able to do some more fun stuff now! Here she is in her jumperoo that Santa brought her. She is still WAY smaller than the seat, but at least we don't have to pack in a blanket with her to keep her from falling through the let holes. :) She really enjoys all the colorful excitement on every side and is really digging jumping up and down. Even when we hold her now she kicks constantly like she was in the jumper. She's building up her muscles, but I think we have a little way to go before crawling (hopefully she won't prove me wrong and get to moving tomorrow!). We have a ways to go before we are any kind of baby proofed around here.

Sarah Katherine is "talking" non stop now though. I am working constantly to get her to say "mamma", but she just laughs at me like - yeah right, mom. No words that we can really distinguish as actual words, but she especially love squealing at the dogs. Even if Sarah Katherine is fussing, seeing her girls really picks her up. I can't wait to see her when she can get down in the mix with them and really pull their ears and tails.

We are having our first brush with "the crud" though. Sarah Katherine has been congested, couging, and sneezing for close to a week now. We have now invested in some sort of exciting vaporizer, so we'll see if we can avoid the $25 copay to just say it just has to run its course. I guess if this is all she's gotten so far we can count ourselves blessed! It's not effecting her sleep at night, so she's not too bad off.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a great day Valentine's Day weekend it was for us!

Friday I came home pretty tired and wanted to just put on PJ's and relax. We did just that, but went to the drive in movie to chill. Let me tell ya - this is how we will be going to the movies from now on, Sarah Katherine can snooze, fuss, eat, whatever and we won't bother anyone because we are in our car. Plus it's just $10 per car load, you know the cheapscate in me loves that!

On the actual big day, we started off using a gift card to get a yummy lunch, then it was off to shop for some clothes for David (yes, his idea!), then to see a movie (my choice! - Sarah Katherine has officially stopped sleeping through movies, even during nap time. Lesson learned), then to a really nice dinner of sushi - which I haven't had since I got preggo, then a stroll around Homwood, and finally a stop at a sweets shop for ice cream. What a great day!!! Sarah Katherine was of course dressed for the day in her red outfit and special bib her Aunt June gave her. Even with a little help she made me a Valentine's card! Can you believe how gifted she is?! Not even 6 months and making mom a card, I love it!

While a 5 o'clock dinner and home by 8 is not exactly like our earlier Valentine's Day celebrations, I must say this is probably the best Valentine's Day I've had so far. I'm super excited for the V'day's to come.

Who could resist this cupid's arrow!?!?

My awesome Valentine - thanks so much!

Entranced by Singing...

Here is a picture our Uncle Fred took of Sarah Katherine watching the Allens sing weekend before last. The girl was completely enamored by the whole thing! :) This past weekend we were in a store and she was getting fussy and I started clapping to the beat of the song that was on the PA and she was totally engrossed. Let's hope this means she'll be a music lover like her mom and dad!

5 Months Already?!?!

Well I am in total shock that little miss is 5 months old and that I have been a momma for 5 months. That sounds like such a short, inconsequential amount of time, but man how things have changed! I totally thought everyone was just spouting off stuff when they said "you'll forget what life was like before your child", but I guess they were telling the truth. I am so thankful for the time David and I had together for just us to do our own thing and really build the foundation of our marriage, but this new phase of parenthood is really wonderful.

Ok well, here's the catch up on us. This past weekend we went up to visit David's family and to meet our new niece (she is 2 weeks old). She was just precious! I never heard a peep and she was good and cuddly. :) We also got to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles - it was a really good time! On Saturday David's aunt and uncle and their family (the Allens - http://www.allenministries.com/) sand at my father-in-law's church. Sarah Katherine loved EVERY minute of it. She kept her mouth open basically the whole time because she was so excited (or she thought she was singing!).

The weekend before last we met up with our buddies to have lunch with the gals! Here is a pic of SK and her buddy Daniley after a gals day. It was great catching up with Danica (Daniley's mom), we went through our pregnancies together, so we swap war stories of our little ones.

Adventures in Rice Cereal

We have officially moved onward and upward to food! One meal a day Sarah Katherine has a rice cereal / baby food substitute for her bottle. She did well the first time (pic's below), but after that the novelty wore off and she just wanted her food and a spoon didn't get it to her fast enough! Luckily our friend that keeps SK during the week hasn't had problems, so D. thanks for teaching her patience!

Khaki, we love you!

Just before Christmas my grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer. It was quite a shock because she was doing well even as recent as Thanksgiving. The doctors determined there wasn't anything they could do because of her age and fragile state, so we did our very best to spend as much time together as possible. This is the grandmother, Katherine, where Sarah Katherine's name came from. Toward the end, the only thing that really got a reaction from my grandmother (Khaki - I called her) was little Sarah Katherine. I am so glad that God blessed us with this little one in the timing he did. He knows all and knows what's bestt for us even before we can fathom it. Sarah Katherine was able to bring joy not only to Khaki, but also comfort to all of us. They snuggled together on the bed and talked to each other every weekend from Christmas until the last week of January. Khaki passed away 32 days after diagnosis and is now rejoicing in heaven with all our relatives that have gone on, specifically my brother Brian. I know they had a joyous reunion and are praising God together. Below is the last picture of my Katherines together as well as a picture from baby dedication in November of me, Sarah Katherine, my mom, and both my grandmothers.