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Archives for 2003

Katherine stands up (with a little help)

Katherine has her First Sleepover

We played in our annual PuzzleHunt contest with friends and co-workers this weekend. As part of this contest, we pulled an all nighter, and Patty spent Saturday evening at the house with Katherine. Katherine and Patty stopped by on Saturday to say hi and for Katherine to get a quick snack. Christine drove home briefly Saturday evening to put Katherine to sleep for night. While we missed Katherine terribly during the weekend, it was nice to spend time with friends pursuing the type of activities we used to engage in prior to having Katherine. It’ll be good to spend extended time with her this coming extended weekend.

Katherine stands up (with a little help)

We discovered this past Friday that Katherine can now pull herself up from sitting to standing position. We took turns holding on to her hands, and she would push down on our hands and wobbly pull herself to a standing position. Although she had been pulling herself up lately, we had been helping her a little bit. For the first time, she did it on her own successfully, and spent the remaining portion of the evening and next morning practicing her new skill. She was extremely excited. ๐Ÿ™‚

Mother’s Day

Sunday was Christine’s first official Mother’s Day. Last year Christine was pregnant with Katherine but this is the first year Katherine could actually give Christine a Mother’s Day gift (with a little help from Dad). Surprisingly enough, Dad coordinated Mother’s Day gifts for Katherine, Bisco, and himself. Christine is a great mom to Katherine and Bisco in addition to being a loving wife. After a lazy morning, we spent the rest of the day running errands.

Mother’s Day at the Fialas

The extended family got together to celebrate Mother’s Day at the Fialas. In addition to Art and Pat Fiala, Dave, Trina, and Will Fiala were there. Trina is 8 months pregnant with their second boy and looks great. Their first boy Will has grown up and loves to run around and play with Kevin and his grandparents (Art and Pat). Amy, Jason, and Kevin Olbright also attended the family gathering. Kevin is Will’s age and the two of them had a great time playing together. The Fialas have turned their house into a kid fun zone complete with toys, sandbox, swings, mini-basketball hoop, and of course their golden retriever Mandy. Kevin and Will immediately wanted to play on the swings. Both were experienced swingers and loved to have someone yell “boo” or give them a high five when the swing reached the apex of it’s swing.

Katherine patiently waited her turn for the swings (actually she had no clue). After the boys were done Katherine played on the swing. Katherine loves the swing. She likes having dad or mom stand in front of the swing yell “boo” when she comes close. Katherine has 15 minutes of pure joy of the swing before she’s ready to get off.

After the swings, we decided to line up the kids for a group photo shot. Will Fiala sat in the left chair, Katherine in the middle, and Kevin Olbright on the right. Kevin and Will have obviously done this before, sat patiently, and smiled. Katherine slowly sank in the chair and had to be readjusted a couple of times.

It was good to see everyone. Kevin and Will are growing up and hopefully someday soon Katherine will be able to play with them.

Dad’s Night Out at PEPS

On Thursday night, we hosted PEPS at our house. It was “Guys Night Out” so all of the guys (Frank, Rod, Dave, and I) went out to grab a beer while the mothers chatted. Hilary and Frank’s daughter, Francesca, is a little older than Katherine. Before we left for beers, Katherine and Francesca shared toys and played together.

Katherine’s Six Month Doctor’s Appt

On Friday, Katherine had her six month appointment. She measured 27.25 inches and weighed 16 pounds 2 ounces. This puts her in the 90th percentile for height and 50th for weight. Before the doctor came in, Katherine played on the bed tearing the butcher paper and hamming it up for Steve, Christine and Patty. The doctor then came in and she whimpered and cried – we’re pretty sure she is starting to experience stranger anxiety.

Given her recent adventure in Seattle, the pediatrician checked her out and said she looked fine. As with the last two doctor’s appointments Katherine got a round of shots – two in each leg. With the first shot she started to cry and calmed down after nursing for a minute or so.

Katherine has slept soundly since Friday – sleeping 10-11 hours Friday, Saturday night. She was a bit cranky Friday evening when we took her and Christine’s friend Sueling to dinner, but otherwise she has been fine.

Katherine’s First Mariner’s Game (And Big Fall)

Steve and I took Katherine to her first baseball game this past Wednesday. Since the Mariners were playing the Yankees (my home team), we took the opportunity to have Katherine try out her new Yankees hat which our friend Kristina had given her. Katherine was a bit puzzled by the hat and moved it to one side of her head (see picture).

We made it to the game and Steve carried Katherine into the ballpark with the Baby Bjorn. She seemed cheerful and loved the walk. As soon as we reached our seats though, she started to cry and every time the crowd roared or the announcer spoke, she would cry even more. The ballpark was clearly too loud even with earplugs and Steve walked Katherine around Safeco while I watched an inning or two of baseball. During the top of the fifth, we decided to leave, and I carried Katherine out of the park holding her in my arms.

If you’ve ever been to Safeco field, you know about the railroad tracks that Burlington Railroad uses. Well, I tripped over the tracks and fell face first holding Katherine who was facing me, squeezing her tight and landing on top of her. I must have broken the fall with my hands and shoulder, because they are still pretty sore. Katherine cried for a minute but seemed fine otherwise as we rushed back to the car.

We took her immediately to Children’s Hospital in Seattle, where the nice nurses, a resident and then a doctor checked her out and pronounced her fine. The pictures of her smiling with her wristband are all before the resident appeared, at which point she cried and cried during her examination. The resident checked her head for any swelling and her body for abrasions or bruising. Then he checked her ears, eyes and limbs as well as listened to her breathing using his stethoscope. I’m not really sure how he heard anything since she was really crying by this point. (This was the first time that we’ve noticed full-blown stranger anxiety.)

We ended up getting home by 11:30P. Katherine was exhausted and we were just thankful that our Seattle adventure was over. Katherine spent the night with us in our room, and we checked her out every several hours per the doctor’s instructions to make sure she was OK.

PS – if that weren’t enough for one day, Katherine’s second tooth started to appear. It’s also on the bottom, but two teeth back from her right bottom front tooth (not a front tooth)!

Katherine’s First Tooth, Progress

Katherine’s tooth continues to emerge. Today we can feel the entire top edge of her lower right front tooth pushing through her gum. She was cranky today and only slept 1.5 hours. We’re thinking that this has something to do with her tooth. Hopefully, she rests up tomorrow, as we’re taking her to Safeco field for a Mariner vs. Yankee game in the early evening.

Katherine First Tooth Appears

This past Friday, Patty informed us that Katherine’s first tooth was about to appear. Sure enough, today Steve felt Katherine’s lower right front tooth. Christine confirmed that a small point of her tooth had poked through. Katherine had been pretty cranky for a few days prior to this, stuffing her hand (and anything else she could get her hands on) in her mouth and crying occasionally. We think this had been due to teething. Once the tooth appeared, she seemed much more cheerful this afternoon, taking an hour and forty minute nap and then smiling thru dinner and the first part of the Alias season finale.

Katherine reached one other key milestone on Friday. She reached from a seated position to the bars of her gym and pulled herself to her feet. She has been trying to do this in her bath as well – putting her hands on both side of the bath and trying to leverage herself up. We also found her in her crib, pulling herself up her bumper and grasping her crib bars. So, today we removed her crib bumpers and also lowered her crib mattress one notch. We also removed the dangling part of her Tiny Love mobile.

This was a big day for Katherine!