Splishing & Splashing at Six Months

MaryKate is officially 6 months and at her doctors appointment weighed in at 19 lb 1 oz and 27 1/2 inches long. This puts her in the 95 percent for height and 90 percent for weight... The good news is her head is back on the charts! Her cranium is now only 97%. Hurray for 3 other kids out of 100 having bigger noggins than MK!

She is eating solid foods! She and I both don't love it yet, but everyone tells us it takes time. (Its been 4 days) So far this week she's had rice cereal twice and oatmeal cereal many times. I put it in and she spits it out... repeated over and over and over :)

MaryKate loves her bath time. She has graduated to the big tub and thinks its the greatest thing in the world! She loves to splash, splash, splash! For modesty purposes, I put her in her bathing suit and had James video her so that Cambria, her cousin, could see "Her Baby MaryKate" in the bath tub. Here you go Cambria! Enjoy and sing along!

Last week we got to spend an afternoon with Carrie and Adam doing fun things in Salt Lake together. MaryKate & I took them on a fun free tour of Sweets Candy Factory. They give you fresh yummy candy right off the line & these awesome hair nets!

While James was taking a final & studying his brains out, we also took them to Mars!

And to the Moon! (or maybe just the planitarium... you decide)

If you know us well, you know we live above a dry cleaners and Sally the Seamstress, who has been MaryKate's pseudo-grandma, retired this month. So we made her a cake and had a little party down stairs at the cleaners. We're sad to see her go. She gives great baby tips!

Almost six months...

First our family's progress in one sentence a piece.

James has two and a half weeks of school left this semester and is taking wedding photos this weekend.

Kathy is getting published for her help on research aimed at curbing childhood obesity and is looking for new things to do.

MaryKate is writing her thesis on the reason objects that are heavy tend to be pulled down more by gravity (a.k.a. why her head makes it hard for her to sit up).

The rest are just pictures James took with his new camera.

And yes they are all of MaryKate, except the last one which was the view off of our porch this morning.

p.s. in these two pics, Kathy's arm is photoshopped out. MK is almost sitting up but is not quite there yet.

Spring Break in the Sunshine!

James had Spring Break and we decided to flee from the snowy mountains and head for the sunny skies of Arizona and California. First we stopped in Flagstaff and stayed with Kaylyn & Darren for a night and then went to Phoenix for 2 days to stay with Phillip, Alicia, & Lila. It was so fun!

This is a fun little pic of Cousins: Emmett (Phillip's son) and MaryKate. He is 10 days older and is the only baby we've seen that can make her look average size... He's actually bigger! What beautiful eyes he has!

They took us out to eat at one of my old high school favorite restaurants near my house called "Chino Bandido". It is a mixture of Chinese and Mexican and has amazing snickerdoodles and lava cookies. James and I haven't recommended a cheap local restaruant in ages... so we decided we have to recommend this one if you are ever in Arizona. We devoured the food before we could get a picture of it, but I converted James. He LOVED it! Here's the website link for it if you're interested: www.chinobandido.com

We also visited James' sisters, Bonnie & Dawn's families in Lavine and then drove down to Tucson to hang out with my parents, brother David, & sister Becky. This is a pic of Becky's son Malachi with his awesome paper airplanes that he made with me at the park.

After Arizona, we drove to San Diego, CA to stay with my Aunt Jen & cousin Laura's family. She got us in for free to the San Diego Zoo. It was our first time there and we had a blast!

MaryKate loved looking at all the animals and plants. She was looking at a baby gorilla here.

It was so niceto relax as a family! James didn't even bring his books. We had him all to ourselves!

James and MaryKate at the beach.

It was too windy to put her bathing suit on and the wind made her gasp for air every 3 seconds. Maybe she's still a little young to be a beach bum, but maybe next year she'll love it more!

A Few Discoveries!

Ben & Becca's family go on an adventure every Saturday after their chores are done and this rainy, cold Saturday they spent it with us in Salt Lake at our favorite Frogurt (frozen yogurt) shop and at the Salt Lake City Public Library. Together we discovered how really huge and amazing this library is. It is 6 floors of awesomeness!

Hannah & Sarah LOVE reading... especially graphic novels! (They're like comics, but novels.)

Justin LOVES Garfield. It was fun to watch him read and laugh to himself out loud. You can see where MaryKate gets her love for reading.

MaryKate is doing Great! She is still sleeping like a champ! 10 to 12 hours a night, plus lots of naps. We just love her!

Our ward threw my friend Jessica & I a joint baby shower last week. It was so fun and the women in my ward are so generous! Mary Catherine is my friend in the blue, who hosted the party at her home. She also had a baby the same month as us. Lots of babies!

And now for the 2 new discoveries... Drum Roll Please...

1. MaryKate is sitting with a pillow! OK... so thats not that climactic, but the next one is!

2. MaryKate has discovered her tongue and can't get enough of it!
Watch the video below for a good laugh or smile. Isn't it fun!?

Excessive Amounts of...

• Toothbrushes:

I was cleaning my bathroom the other day and was shocked at how many toothbrushes we have for a household of only 2 people with teeth! We loose them, buy new ones and find them again in our suitcases or random bags. I don't know if this is an issue for others, but I guess too many is better than not enough!

• Garbage:

I have a confession: My name is Kathy and I am a trash stacker. I know... it is a terrible, lazy habit, one that James pleads with me to overcome. He promises to love and support me as I fight this gross temptation. But I can't seem to kick the habit. Its like I do really good for a while and then I slip up again. It happens so subtly. I started young. I got in with the wrong crowd and it seemed like everyone was doing it: my brothers, my sisters, my friends. I remember my Mom begged me to give it up, but by then I hardly even noticed I was doing it...I was so desensitized. Maybe you or someone you know has struggled with this same addiction and has some advice for me on how to stay clean.

• Hair Everywhere But My Head:

There are a few things about having babies that some people never tell you. Maybe they fear they'll discourage you from getting pregnant or maybe it's so gross that it's too taboo to talk about. One of these subjects I have recently discovered is hair loss! I can't tell you how grossed out I am by my own hair. I apologize to James and MaryKate because sometimes it gets grosser than bugs or insects all over the house. I find massive quantities of my hair in the shower, on counters, on the floor, in my hair brush, in MaryKate's hands, on my clothes and on James. So disgusting! When does this end? Someone told me 8 months. I'm hoping for sooner or I may have nothing left!

• Laughs & Giggles:
  

Like you have seen before, MaryKate is a giggler. She loves to laugh and smile and when she does it fills me with hope and light. Maybe this gets old to you, but to us, it never does. So indulge me one more time. Here is a video of her laughing last night. It went on for over 5 minutes, but I thought I'd keep it short. Enjoy a giggle!