Kate is One

 It is hard to believe it has been an entire year since Kate came into this world.  It seems like it was just yesterday.  My feelings of her birth are still close to my heart.  When you hold a new born baby it is like you are holding heaven.  For weeks after, I remember just looking down at my perfect baby and cry.  They were tears of joy and gratitude.  I could not believe this little precious baby was mine and Heavenly Father would bless me with this sweet spirit.  I love Kate more and more each day.  She makes life so fun and I am so grateful I get to be apart of her life.
 

Kate had an exciting month.  The big news of the month is Kate is a walker!  She took her first steps a week before Thanksgiving.  By the Monday after Thanksgiving, Kate preferred walking over crawling.  While my mom put up the Christmas tree, Kate walked in circles around the house.  There was a lot of falling and getting back up but Kate was determined to walk.  She did this for about an hour and could have kept going if I hadn't stopped her for a nap.  Kate maybe the shortest walker I know but she sure is the cutest little walker around.

Kate had her one year check up a day after her birthday.  She weighed in at 16lb. 5oz. (1%) and 27 inches (4%) tall.  She is just a little thing.  Two more teeth came in this month making six total teeth.  Kate seems to be a very healthy baby.  She has been really lucky in the sickness department.  I only remember her getting a fever once and a cold once.  I hope her good health sticks around.  We all know a healthy baby is a happy baby which also makes mommy happy!

As I look back at pictures of Kate this past month I can see she is looking more and more like a toddler.  My baby girl is growing up and I can see it in her face.  The facials she makes seem so grown up.  Her walking makes her seem older as well.  It is really amazing how much a baby changes over a year.  Kate went from a helpless baby who was dependent on me 24/7 to a one year old who eats table food and wants to feed herself, says a few words, walks, plays with toys, gets into everything, usually knows when she shouldn't be doing something and looks at me to see how I am going to react, loves to give kisses, has the cutest fake/courtesy laugh, loves stuffed animals and is starting to do what I ask.  I am amazed each day at what Kate is learning and how much she is growing into the cutest one year old!  

Hurray for ONE!

 

Kate had a Birthday shout hurray!

Kate turned one on Sunday.  

We celebrated a day early with a fun party with family.

We started the day off at Lava Hot Springs to swim in the indoor kiddie pool.

It was fun for everyone and the temperature of the pool was a perfect 92 degrees. 

We then came back to Pocatello for pizza, presents and cake.

Kate sure loved her presents! 

 

 She was excited about everything she received.  

She would give her presents hugs and kisses.  It was sometimes difficult to get her to open another present because she was so excited about what she already had.  Her facials were priceless and perfect.  It was so fun to watch her reactions to the all the fun gifts. 

Kate was pretty delicate with her cake.  I thought she might like getting the cake everywhere since she sometimes makes a mess of her food but she took little bites and only ate about 5 bites of the cake.  I was totally fine with it!  I didn't have a huge mess to clean up and didn't have a baby who was on a sugar high. 

Kate's birthday went so much better than I expected.  She wore the hat I made her!  When we tried it on her the day before she kept ripping it off so I was sure she would do the same for the party.  I'm in love with the hat and so glad she kept it on.  It made all the pictures so cute!   She also loved swimming!  She loved her gifts and her expressions to her presents made everyone feel like a million bucks because she was so excited about them.  And she didn't love her cake too much!

I don't think I could have planned it any better!

It was so fun to celebrate Kate's day with my parents,

Nate's parents,

 Ryan, Rachel, Noah,

and Camille and Andrew who we didn't get a picture with:(

Nate and I are pretty lucky to have Kate as our daughter.  

She is full of spunk. 
She has quite the expressions that make us cringe but laugh at the same time.

She keeps us on our toes with her speedy walking skills and her love for discovering new things!  It seems like she is always pushing the limits of what she can get away with but we realize it is all part of being a toddler and trying to figure out this crazy life we live in. 

 She may already be a handful but she is the joy of our lives.

  She loves life, which helps us see life in a new light.  It is the little things that really bring true happiness!

 So glad you are apart of our family Kate!  We love you!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

11 Months

 Kate started this month off with her top two teeth coming in at the same time.  For a week she suffered the pain of teething.  Kate's bottom two teeth didn't seem to bother her as they made there way up but her top teeth were killer and she was the grumpiest she has ever been.  It was not only rough for Kate but me as well as she wanted to be held constantly and was sleep deprived.  We were both exhausted by the end of the week and were happy when the teeth made their appearance so we could get back to our normal, happy selves.

Kate spent a lot of time with her cousin, Noah, this month.  She loved it!!  Noah not so much.  Noah isn't too good at sharing and Kate just destroys everything in her path.  They weren't a good match but Kate loved following him around the house and wanted to do everything he was doing.  I think Kate wished she had an older sibling after the fun she had with Noah.  The day after Noah left she sat at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him to come down.  It was pretty sad to watch her and know he wouldn't be coming down to play.  Kate loves to be social.  After seeing her love hanging out with Noah it has made me think we need to find some little friends for her to play with.  She is at the age where she wants to interact with other babies.

Two of Kate's cousins were born in November.  Baby Tate was born on November 7.  He lives in Missouri so we haven't met him yet.  We love Facetiming to see his cute face and Kate likes to put her mouth on the phone to give Tate kisses.  Baby Lily was born on November 16.  We met Lily this past week.  Kate wasn't too happy when I would hold Lily but she seemed to like her when she was in her bassinet.  She would try and touch her hands and face.  I think Kate thought Lily was like one of her stuffed animals or baby and wished she could have hugged and squeezed Lily like she does with her toys.  It might not be easy but we are going to have to teach her to be soft with the new babies.  We are so excited about these two little spirits who have joined the Nielson family.  Kate is going to have so much fun with these cousins in the years to come! 

I cannot believe this girl is going to be turning 1 in less than two weeks.  
This year has flown by so fast.  It is amazing how much a baby learns and changes in a year.
 I love spending my days with Kate and seeing what new things she learns!

Happy Halloween 

from the cutest ladybug around!

 

 

 

10 Months

Time is flying by.  

Every month seems to go by faster with my baby Kate.

This past month seems like a blur and I am not even sure what new things Kate did or learned.

One new thing is for sure, when it comes to eating Kate wants to do it herself.  She has become little miss independent.  If I try and feed her she usually refuses but if I put the food into her hand she will put it right into her mouth.  She is becoming more picky by the day it seems.  She is not into the baby food these days and is not to fond of anything besides cheese, yogurt and crackers/bread.  She is good at trying new foods but will take a few bites and then brushes the rest off her tray.

Kate is still a speedy crawler.  I keep thinking she is going to start walking but with how good she gets around with crawling it might be a couple more weeks.  She has no problem with standing up onto things.  She even stands on her tiptoes, like a little ballerina, when trying to open cupboards.  It is pretty cute.  Kate does a little bit of walking around furniture but if she needs to get somewhere fast, she sits down and crawls. 

I feel like Kate has the most energy of any little baby.  She literally does not sit still.  You should see her at church.  All the other babies her age or older sit so nice on their parents laps but not Kate.  She goes back and forth between Nate, my mom and I every 30 seconds.  It is exhausting.  If she is on the ground she is getting into everyone's bags to see what fun treasures they have.  People even comment on how much energy she has.  It is almost like she is on a sugar high 24/7.  It is nice living at home so I can get a break every so often.  I thought I would get past the "sleeping when baby sleeps" phase by 10 months but I still need a nap when Kate naps. 

With all this energy comes a lot of fun, too.  Sometimes it is hard see it because I would love some quiet, cuddle time with Kate but I really wouldn't change it for anything.  Kate has so much energy and excitement for life.  Her joy for life comes through her laughs, smiles, exploring new things and baby talk.  When I hear or see those things I cannot help but be happy.  The thing that brings her the most joy right now is her family.  The life and light that comes to her face when she sees someone she loves is heartwarming.  It is one of the best feelings I have felt.  Through her face I know she loves me and it melts my heart.  Kate is a great example to me of her joy for life and I am trying each day to rub some of her joy onto myself.  I hope she always has this joy and excitement for living!

9 Months

Kate is almost 10 months but I better report on her being 9 months.  She went to her 9 month check-up and came away in the 1% for height and weight.  She didn't even gain a pound in two months.  We blame it on the Cuoio genetics and the fact she doesn't stop moving.  Kate doesn't know how to sit still and who knows if she ever will:) She is busy, busy, busy.  It is exhausting but it is fun to see her explore and learn new things.

Kate has started to really enjoy some of her toys.  She has a small baby that she smothers with hugs and kisses.  She lights up when we give it to her.  She also has a lamb stuff animal she loves.  She pretty much does the same thing to it as she does the baby doll.  She often cuddles up to it when she is falling asleep.  It is pretty cute to see her love her toys.  Now we if could just teach her to do those same things to her parents.  Kate doesn't like to be cuddled and it makes me a little sad cause I would love it if we could just sit and cuddle on the couch but just like her dad, her cuddle limit is about 5 seconds and then she is on the move again.  I am hoping when is a little older she will learn to relax and cuddle with me.  Of course she shows me in a million other ways that she loves and needs me.  I am pretty good at making her laugh and when I get home from being away from her, her face lights up with excitement to see me.  It is amazing how my baby can make me feel like a million bucks just from her face expressions and the noises she makes.  

 Kate has a few games she plays to entertain herself.  She loves to open and close the door.  Of course she cannot open and close the door all the way but she will swing the door back and forth for quite some time.  She also loves the door stops on the walls.  She flings and flings it none stop.  She loves the noise it puts off.  Peek-a-boo is another game she loves and she could play it for hours.  Hiding behind the couch or around a corner and popping out makes her laugh with excitement.  I love hearing her laugh and it always puts me in a good mood. 

We are sad the weather is getting cooler.  Kate loves to be outdoors and being outside always puts her in a good mood when she is a little grumpy.  It is going to get harder and harder to take her out with it being cold and especially when it is windy.  She doesn't do well with wind and being cold is never fun.  We will for sure be counting down the days to spring and summer.

8 Months!

 Kate has had an exciting month!  

She has hit some big milestones!

First off, Kate has become mobile.  At the end of July she started crawling.  Crawling has led to getting into everything, following me around the house, pulling on my leg and pulling herself up.  Next thing we know she will be walking.  We hope it takes a couple months for her to figure it out but she gets stronger and smarter every day so who knows it maybe next month.  Kate loves being able to move but with it has come bumps and bruises.  Falling down has not stopped her though.  It just seems to make her try harder.  She is a pretty determined baby and I am amazed at what she has learned and figured out this past month.  Having a mover on our hands has made life a little more crazy. 

Kate has become very talkative this past month.  When she is playing by herself she goes off babbling like she is talking about what she is doing.  It is the cutest thing.  She is also a big talker when she is sitting in her highchair.  Her favorite word is ba-ba but she is starting to say mama!  Hearing my name melts my heart even if she might not know she is saying my name. 

 

Kate got her 1st tooth this past month.  It is not easy to see since it hasn't grown all the way in but it has cut through her gum.  She has handled teething pretty well.  She hasn't gotten a fever and she hasn't been too grumpy.  She does chew on everything whether it be shoes, bar stools, toys, my arm, or books.  If she can get to it, it goes into her mouth.

I sure love this big, hazel eyed baby of mine!