Christmas Celebrations, Part 2

Here's a cute picture from Christmas Eve dinner. Why play with new toys when there's a bowl around? Kaitlyn had us in stitches all evening with her antics. At least it allowed us to eat dinner in peace!

Christmas morning was filled with excitement...for the adults. Of course, Kaitlyn had no idea that Santa had visited the night before, but we were eager to celebrate her first Christmas. She was a great sport for the first few presents, happily ripping paper and chewing on ribbons. But apparently it's hard work opening presents, and she started getting a little cranky after a while. We opened the rest for her while she watched and took a much-needed break.

Here she is eagerly opening her first present from Santa...

...and here she is towards the end. She's not too sure about this strange new contraption.A little later, we took a picture of Kaitlyn with all of her Christmas morning loot.


And finally, some Christmas family pictures.

Christmas Celebrations, Part 1

After being out of town for a week, we are glad to be home! We spent a few days with my family in Fayetteville, and then traveled to Memphis to be with Jeff's family. It's always fun to be with loved ones over the holidays. Because of our travels, we celebrated Christmas several times, including one with just the three of us before we hit the road. Santa and the grandparents were very good to Kaitlyn this year, and she now has lots of new toys to play with and clothes to wear! Our car was packed to the roof with baby gear and gifts on the way home!

Like all babies, Kaitlyn had loads of fun with the wrapping paper. And she was moderately interested in the actual gift too! Here are a couple of pictures from our first celebration at home with Mommy and Daddy. Even though she had no idea what was really going on, she still had a great time.

In Fayetteville, we made the rounds to some extended family members. Here's Kaitlyn with Aunt Judy, my late dad's sister, on Christmas Eve.


And with Jerry and Sue, my mom's brother and sister-in-law.


The family visits continued on Christmas Day. We dressed Kaitlyn up in her Santa dress and took her to see my 97-year old great Aunt Lena. She can't get out of the house anymore, so she was happy to get a visit from her festive "great-grand-niece."


We ended up the day by visiting with Jim and his family. It was Kaitlyn's first time to meet Danny, Moneca, Dan David and Jon Morgan. I can't believe that Dan David's in high school! Time certainly does fly!

More pictures to follow in the next couple of days!

Christmas Girl

Here is Kaitlyn's official Christmas picture, taken by her own personal photographer, aka Daddy. We really have too much fun playing dress up with her!

Jeff and I have noticed a significant increase in Kaitlyn's activity level lately. When she's awake, she's constantly in motion. And those hands never stop grabbing for anything within reach. Although she's not crawling yet, she can pretty much get anywhere she wants to go with a combination rolling/scooting motion. We can tell that she wants to be able to move more quickly (i.e crawl), but she just hasn't figured out how to coordinate those arms and legs yet. But that's okay with us! I don't know if we're ready for the craziness and the childproofing that comes with increased mobility!

Her First Tooth!

Kaitlyn has officially entered the world of pearly whites. After her lunchtime bottle, I noticed a little spot on her bottom gum. I put my finger in her mouth and felt a sharp little tooth sticking out. Those things come up fast! I checked her mouth a couple of days ago and didn't feel a thing! I haven't gotten a good look at it yet, much less a picture. She either sticks her tongue out or puts her fingers in her mouth whenever I try. Fortunately, she hasn't been fussy at all with this first one. In fact, she's been sleeping a lot more the past few days. Maybe the whole teething process will be like this :)

Breakfast with Santa

Yesterday, we attended "Breakfast with Santa" at our church. One of the great things about being a first-time parent is having a reason to attend all those church functions that we never went to before. Our children's ministers, Janet and Melanie, put together a fun-filled program that included Christmas carols, stories, crafts, breakfast, and, of course, pictures with Santa. There were almost 200 kids in attendance, so Santa was definitely one popular guy!

We were hoping for the best when Kaitlyn met Santa for the first time, but we were prepared for crying. After all, a stranger in a bright red suit with a white beard covering his face is a scary prospect for a baby. I kind of "backed her in" to Santa so she wouldn't get too freaked out. She barely even looked at him. Instead, she was delighted by all the wonderful sights and sounds in front of her. She flashed the biggest smiles while the camera flashes were going off around her. Maybe she has a future on the red carpet!

Kaitlyn and Mommy

Kaitlyn with Mommy and Daddy

Kaitlyn, Kasha and Mirrors

Two things that Kaitlyn loves to do during the day:

(1) Look at herself in the mirror. It's instant entertainment that apparently never gets old.


(2) Watch our dog, Kasha. She also loves to grab a handful of fur and yank with all her might. We're working on the meaning of "Be gentle." Until we master that concept, Kasha has learned not to get too close.

Noah and Kaitlyn

Jess and Noah came for a quick visit yesterday. I can't believe the cousins are almost seven months old! They were much more aware of each other this time. Kaitlyn spent lots of time checking Noah out and admiring his Exersaucer. They're going to have so much fun together when they get a little older.

Unfortunately, Kaitlyn came down with a cold last night and didn't sleep very well. Poor little thing couldn't breathe through her nose because of all of the congestion. Somehow Noah managed to sleep through all the screaming. The rest of us were not so fortunate.

Uncle Jeff and Noah

Six Month Pictures

Here are some recent pictures that Jeff took of Kaitlyn to commemorate her six-month birthday.

Asleep with her Bunny

Since learning how to roll over both ways several weeks ago, Kaitlyn hardly ever sleeps on her back anymore. She definitely prefers her tummy or side. She loves to play and roll around in her crib as she's trying to fall asleep or after she wakes up. In this picture, she fell asleep holding her favorite bunny. How sweet!

Thanksgiving in Fayetteville

We spent Kaitlyn's first Thanksgiving at my mom's house in Fayetteville. She slept through the whole dinner while the rest of us pigged out on yummy turkey, cheesy potatoes and pumpkin pie! Kaitlyn got to spend a whole day with her Dad while my mom and I joined all the other crazy people for Black Friday shopping. And my mom was in heaven when she finally got to show off her granddaughter to all of her friends at church yesterday.

Kaitlyn with Papa Bell on Thanksgiving

Kaitlyn and Gran after church