"God, that's good!"

The pediatrician said that we could try any time between her last appointment and her next (scheduled for March 10th) so today was the big day - Katie's first "solid" food.





"Solid," of course, is a relative term but describes her meal of reconstituted rice cereal as well as can be expected.





Although this picture might suggest otherwise, pretty much all of the first meal seems to have ended up inside her tummy.





Cleanup also went well.


There are many more pictures and even two videos in the 5-6 month section of the photo album - click on the link to the left and enjoy :)



p.s. those who get the title's allusion...we felt justified since her meal is partly of human origin...although more voluntary than in the song...... ;-)

stealth ninja tricks

If a baby rolls over by herself and neither parent sees it happen....does it make a noise?

Something like that! LOL!

Katie was happily playing on her floor-mat-gym-thing while Mom and Dad were reading on the couch - all of a sudden, we looked down and she was on her tummy!



no repeat performances yet, but unless Simon the Wonder Cat got involved (and he's not saying), our girl just hit another milestone :)

About a week ago, she rolled herself right off her changing table and scared Mom half to death (not to mention Dad, who was upstairs before he even realized that he was moving) - she's a quick little thing...and a little bit sneaky.

We also had our first sickness when she woke up at 4am with that horrible barking croup-cough. Fortunately it went away almost as quickly as it started, and we got to meet another of the pediatricians at the practice. We also learned a little bit about giving medicine to a baby - definitely one of those things you don't appreciate until you experience it first-hand LOL!

Learning every day...

Katie is learning more and more about manipulating her environment - already she's getting more interested in the gee-gaws on her exersaucer (not to mention looking adorable in the mouse ears that Uncle Greg gave her for Christmas).



She's also starting to handle toys and other objects with both hands and even also using her feet to move things to her liking, like the block toy she's holding in this second picture.







And there's always that killer smile, which is at the ready more often than not.....

5 months old!

Well, Katie's 5 months old now, and she's growing and learning so much, it's hard to keep track! A few weeks ago, she found her feet and has managed to start chewing on her toes. She's also reaching out for things she wants, recognizing people beyond Mommy and Daddy, and she'll smile and giggle at just about anyone.

Current stats (measured at home): 15 pounds, 26 inches long

Our girl is finding her voice and is currently exploring the continuum of vowel sounds, squeeks and squeals. We're looking forward to consonants, and are competing to try to get "ma-ma" or "da-da" to be the first one, even though we know it's going to be quite some time for that :)

We're starting to experiment with rolling over - with a little bit of help, she's managed back-to-front and front-to-back. Tummy time is much less of a chore, and we've entered the wonderful world of the exersaucer! This was a Christmas present and is now a piece of furniture in the house - the thing had roughly 8 million pieces, and Katie's not quite sure what to do with it yet, but we can tell it's going to be a lot of fun in the coming months...

Also - if you go back in the archives to September, 2007, you can read the Daddy-eye-view of Katie's arrival....

New Tricks

Katie seems to have finally figured out the whole "tummy time" concept. This picture was taken at Great-Grandma Rosie's house. She also recently started rolling over - only from Mommy's lap so far, where it's easier to push off by kicking Mom in the stomach (the first time was quite a surprise), but she seems to enjoy the process, so we're sure she'll be rolling all by herself soon.

Four Months Old

Today was Katie's four-month birthday and the day of her checkup! Dr. Mumma declared her totally fit and progressing nicely. The current stats are:

14.7 pounds
25.25 inches long

She got the same shots as at the 2-month visit and spent the rest of the day being c-r-a-n-k-y! There were purple bruises on both legs :(

We managed a quick visit to the SEUSSICAL vocal rehearsal, but she was definitely not in the mood to hang with the big kids today (although she was certainly dressed for the occasion).

Happy New Year!

Just before the New Year, the whole family went for a weekend visit to Akron, where Amy used to live, so that her friends could see Katie in person. We stayed at "Uncle John's" house and had a wonderful time! Katie actually slept the whole car ride there and again the whole car ride back home (4 hours each way!)

John & Josyf playing with Miss Katie --->



Katie spent New Years Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Shaffer so that Mommy and Daddy could go to a party at Uncle Greg's house. Grandma said she just missed being awake when the new year changed.....