Our Weekend fun~

So it was Superbowl Sunday so we had a little PaRtY with yummy snacks. Ice cooler with Rootbeer, chicken fingers, Taquitos, Chips Salsa/ spinach dip, deviled eggs, smoked sausages, and a yummy veggie tray. It was so fun!!! Who played... i am not sure... jk. But for those of you who know me, i am not a huge football fan. But it was a lot of fun~



So Saturday was a Beautiful day so we played basketball. It was so nice to get out and play hoops- We played knock out and 2 on 2. Right after playing 2 hours of basketball we played 2 hours of frisbee with some friends of mine from the singles ward who are all married now. It was a very active day but we love it, especially since it is in January!






So, while we all played basketball, Kaitlyn hung out in her stroller on the grass in the shade. She was such a great girl. (she always is) and a couple times when i went over there to check on her, she had lost her pacifier and was going to town sucking on the pillow around her. (picture below)

It was really funny to see. She just likes to lick everything. Whenever i hold her she licks my shirt. It is pretty fun to see her tongue always busy, even right after i feed her. She was presented with a problem (loosing the pacifier) and she solved it. She is our little problem solver~ Doesn't need mom and dad to fix her problems~ she can do it on her own!!



So tummy time has been the only thing i would say Kaitlyn has struggled with. But within the last couple days she has been doing better and she is happy about it, which makes me happy too!



On Friday, we had our friends Anna and Jeff and Andy and Heather over and we made Pizzas (Chicken Alfredo and Pepperoni) and had chocolate fondue and played Clue~ It was so much fun to hang out with them and enjoy their company. All in all, it was an awesome weekend!

The JoY of Becoming a MoM~

There is certainly a type of joy that comes from becoming a mom that doesn't come from anywhere else. I am so amazed at my little girl when I look at her and how much she has grown.

She has become my "buddy" - we hang out all the time together and I love that she knows who I am and recognizes me and I love that I know everything about her. What makes her sad, how she likes to be held and what makes her smile. I feel like i am Physic because i even know about when she will wake up from her naps... and what her routine is~ it is pretty fun! Oh, and I LOVE how she watches me when i leave a room and smiles at me when i get back! Makes a mom feel good!

She is so adorable and I can't believe that she truly belongs to Alma and I. It is so amazing!

I will admit, at first it is a little overwhelming because your life does change, but boy oh boy does it change for the better. I can't imagine our lives with out her. After the delievery and recovery, and those endless nights without sleep, i wondered how anyone could ever have more than one, but now i see all the joy and love that comes right along with this bundle of joy.

All the things that are hard about getting them here, all disappear (9 months of pregnancy... being uncomfortable and sick and watching the scale climb higher than you ever thought you see in your lifetime. especially in a short amount of time... stretch marks, labor, DELIVERY... (i promised after that last one (delivery) i was done having kids.) everyone told me that i would forget all the bad things. I didn't think that was possible. But it is. I don't know if there is just a delete button that gets pushed and deletes all of those bad things. But it happens!

There is a love and Joy that comes from becoming a mom and it is truly amazing. I heard about it but you don't know what it is like until you truly experience it and also getting to see that little perfect being look right at you and smile! It truly makes your heart melt~

I am so thankful for Alma

I can not stop thinking about how grateful and blessed I am for my wonderful Husband!

He has helped me out with so much during the first six weeks that Kaitlyn was here!

First, getting through Labor and the "Unexpected Natural Delivery"

I know I could not have made it through that without him. He helped me so much when we were in the hospital telling me that everything was going to be OK when everything seemed to be going wrong.

Playing card games that he made up... trying to keep my mind off the contraction.

I know that having Kaitlyn natural would have been so much harder if he wasn't there holding my hand and dabbing my face with a wet towel, keeping me calm and cool. He was such a great supporter through the whole thing and he never freaked out or "tossed his cookies." I needed him to be strong for me and it was so great to know that he was there 100%. He stayed so calm through the whole thing which made it so much easier for me.

Also, recovering and moving.

He was such a great help making sure that we were moving and helping me take care of all the last minute items like "forwarding our mail to our Texas address" and all those little things that seem to POP up right before you move.

He was so helpful while I was recovering, always making sure I was alright and that I was recovering the way that I should. There was a lot of times when I was so exhausted and he just made sure that I was getting rest that I needed.

It was so helpful to have him home and not having to run off to work or go to school for the first 6 weeks Kaitlyn was born. I feel so blessed that we had that time together. He was so awesome during those six weeks and I can't thank him enough for all the help that he gave me.

He would bring Kaitlyn to me when she needed to eat and then he would take care of her, burp her, play with her, even CHANGE HER!! and put her to bed while I would rest. I am in awe of how wonderful and caring he was and continues to be.

Even now that his internship has started, he still finds the time to help me bathe her every night and get her ready for bed.

He always gets puts the car seat in the car and gets it out for me... which if you know my car, it is tiny and harder than it looks and carries the car seat when we go out places 'cause he is so much stronger than me.

I am so grateful for his love to me and Kaitlyn and we are truly blessed to have him in our lives. He is such a great husband and father and I can not express enough how grateful I am for him and his service to me.

Thank you Alma.

7 WeEkS!

Well... Kaitlyn is growing fast. I cant believe how fast these last seven weeks have gone!

When your pregnant, those last seven weeks take forever! Then when she is here, it goes a lot quicker! It is weird to think I haven't had a full nights rest in almost two months!

(More if you count those nights she was kicking me and keeping me awake while pregnant.)

And I probably won't have a good nights rest again.... until my youngest is 21 years old. Or at least this is what my mom happily informed me.

She seems to be growing so fast and is really starting to let her personality shine through. It is so wonderful to learn who she is and the spirit that she brings into our lives. It is amazing how much personality they can show when they are this little~

I love her pout!
She doesn't make noise when she does it and it is the cutest thing in the world. Sometimes we like to let her cry it out so we can see her pout. I just know that this is how she is going to get Daddy wrapped around her finger.

Dressing her up in Blue Jeans... like a Big Girl!

One month!

I feel like Kaitlyn is growing so fast. She is doing so well. Sleeping pretty good for what she should be, and she is growing and changing right in front of our eyes! We feel so blessed to have her! Here are some pictures of her growth!
Looking at Dad!

Getting tired!
She is always so happy and content!
She loves to stick out her tongue!

Kisses from Mom!

Enjoying the weather in Texas~

So we are really enjoying the weather here in Texas. It is the end of December and we are outside walking around, pushing Kaitlyn in a stroller, Alma in shorts and both of us in short sleeves. It is so weird to think that back home it is so incredibly bitter cold.

I did notice all the Texans had sweaters and jackets on. I guess that is what happens after you have been here awhile. Temp. in the 70s is cold.

It is great to get out of the Idaho weather just at the right time. Every now and again we look at the weather there and feel sorry for those who are freezing. Scraping their cars early in the morning... just the thought makes me cold!

We are going to be here in Texas till the middle of April for an internship that Alma got with a company in Houston. I am so proud of everything he is doing. He is so amazing in so many ways, and he really takes care of our little family. We truly feel blessed~

Alma did the drive all by himself and now knows how big Texas really is.

We are enjoying the time we get to spend with my parents playing Tennis and basketball and of course putting puzzles together and playing "Clue"

Us + outside + without coats + the end of DECEMBER = HAPPY!

Here is something that every mom loves to see... She really is Daddy's little girl.

Love it!

I love dressing her up for church.

I kept asking Alma if I am going overboard with dressing her up... it is just way too fun!! She has more clothes than I do. Have to get good use of them all before she is too big for em!

Catching those little moments on camera...

****WARNING****
ALL OF THE PICTURES ON THIS POST ARE OF KAITLYN. :)

This was taken on the way to church the day we blessed Kaitlyn. I think her "Brain Squeezer" was just a little too big. It was so funny to go over to the car seat and see her just patiently sitting there like this:



Today she fell asleep in my arms and she loves to suck on her hands... she fell asleep while suckin' on her finger. It was a lot funnier in person. She was really pulling her lip down, she slept like this for about 10 mins. I just had to take a picture of it:




I feel like she is already growing so fast. Her cheeks are getting chunkier and she is starting to feel bigger already!




This is her "Baby's first Christmas" outfit! I loved it!




There is nothing like having a baby girl and getting to dress her up. This is her ready for church last Sunday:

2 1/2 WEEKS!

We Blessed Kaitlyn Diane Bates in Wells, NV last Sunday and here is a picture of her all dressed up in the dress that Alma's mom made for her. She looked so amazing! I still can't get over how beautiful this dress is! We made it to Texas and we are enjoying the humid warm weather. At least I am. It is nice to not have to bundle up Kaitlyn everywhere we go. She is doing great. She hardly ever cries. When she needs something she grunts. It is the cutest thing. She sleeps great. I wouldn't mind if it was a little better but I really can't complain. I get up in the night with her and when I look at her it all becomes worth it. She is so amazing and we love her more than anything! Here are some picture updates.

KaItlYn DiAnE bAtEs Is HeRe!!!

Kaitlyn is here!! We went in for an induction on Wed. Morning at 7am and she was born at 8:08pm. It was a little rough but we are so glad to have her here!!! Alma was seriously the best coach in the world! Without him I could not have done it!

Here she is sticking out her tongue.

She has her eyes open and alert all the time! Love it!

Nap time!

First bath!

Minutes after she was born~

All ready to be induced! at the start of the day~

39 WeEks and ReAdY!!!

Here I am at 39 WeEks and we are ready to have this little girl!!

Front view~
Side view!!

We are ready whenever she is so hopefully it comes sooner than later. My mom said if she is anything like me she is probably saying her goodbyes to all her friends. So it might take awhile~ :)