Dear Kaitlyn: Four Months

Dear Katy:

I'm a broken record, but you just continue to grow and amaze us! You fill our days with such happiness, and you are a wonderful reminder at the end of the day to let go of any stress from work (or just life in general). Your smile and laugh are infectious and it's impossible to be upset for too long around you when you're happy. What a blessing you are!

This month you seem to have grown so much — in maturity, size, and spirit! We laugh because there are some typical baby things that you just never took to, so you've always seemed a little more mature than we expected. For example, you never really took to using a pacifier, and you also never liked being held cradle-style. Aside from when you were first born, you just don't like being held that way (I suspect it's because you like being held upright so you can see what's going on). The picture below was taken when we were joking around with you about being "a little baby"... which strikes me as funny because you are, in fact, a little baby! 

 

You love to laugh, talk in your own special language, and interact with people. Even though you're still a little shy when people put their faces close to you too quickly, you love to look at everything around you, smile at whoever is passing by, and observe what's going on. You're so aware of what's going on, and I love that about you! When I carry you somewhere, you inevitably crane your neck around to watch where we're headed. But you make me laugh because when I then carry you facing outward, you turn your head around to see who's holding you. I swear you already have a sense of humor! 

Sleeping: Have I said "thank you" yet for your amazing sleeping habits at night, little one? Even with starting daycare and acclimating to a new routine, you still remained a sleeping champion baby! Bath time/bedtime has routinely started at 6:30pm, and you are usually asleep by 7:30pm. Thanks to daycare, you are very tired at the end of the day and it almost feels too easy to put you to sleep. But even on the days where you don't fall asleep right away, you're very good at hanging in your crib for a little while and self-soothing until you fall asleep. I wake up around 5am to get ready, and then Daddy usually wakes you up around 6:15am and gets you dressed. You greet him with such smiles!  

On the weekends, you are even more amazing! You go to bed at the same time as during the week, but you're usually able to sleep until sometime between 7am and 8am. This is so nice for us, as we get a little extra sleep too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you're always able to sleep this well! 

As far as napping goes, you've gone through phases. You're an excellent napper at daycare and often have a 2-3 hour nap sometime during the day. When you're at home on the weekends, however, your napping is much  more sporadic. We're hoping to get a better napping routine down as we all get more used to our new routine of work/daycare. You love to be swaddled tight at daycare, which cracks me up considering you've always despised being swaddled at home! 

Eating:  You finally started taking bottles! Hallelujah! I was so relieved once you started to eat more regularly (and with less resistance) at daycare. For the first couple of weeks, you only ate 6-8 oz. per day — over a 10-hour span! But starting in your third week, you upped the amount to in the teens, and by the end of this month you were eating over 20 oz. per day. 

Through the first half of this month, you were still exclusively drinking breast milk (via bottle during the day and nursing in the morning and at night). Towards the end of the month, I added in one bottle of formula per day. You don't seem to have a preference, which is a relief. Next month we will slowly start to ween you from breast milk and breastfeeding altogether. 

Stats: You just had your 4-month well visit and you weighed in at a whopping 14 lb. 10 oz. I was sure you would be heavier, but it turned out that you did a lot of your growing in height! You are 25.5 inches tall already — in the 90th percentile for height. This must be Daddy's genes kicking in!

Clothes Size: You have a lot of clothes that are 3-6 months or 6 months and fit perfectly. It seems that you've done a lot of growing taller and not much growing wider. There are many 6-9 month items that fit you too. You're still in size 2 diapers (although I tried out the trick of putting a size 3 on you overnight since you tend to pee a lot while you sleep! TMI?).

Milestones/Firsts:  It seems as if you learn something new each day, and I love that about this time in your life! You've had a lot of firsts this month.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's house. This also led to your first sleepover and first interaction with a puppy! They took in a little 5-pound Maltese, Jack, so there was actually something in the house smaller than you. You didn't seem overly interested in him, but maybe you will be when you get a little older. 

You had your first cold this month. And your second. And Mommy had two colds as well! I hear this is a rite of passage when first starting daycare. Especially when you start in November! 

You also grabbed your feet for the first time, and it seems like you haven't stopped grabbing for them since! If you're wearing socks, you love to pull them off. And when you have your PJs on, you love to grab onto the feet of them and suck on the PJs. And if you're wearing nothing at all? Well then you just suck on your toes! It's pretty funny to watch you do all of this. And I now know where the pose "Happy Baby" comes from in yoga! 

You also had your first belly laugh this month, and I could swear my heart nearly burst when I first heard it! It was truly one of the sweetest sounds, and for some reason I decided to shout for your Daddy because I was so excited about it. You're a little ticklish under your arms, so every now and then I will selfishly steal a laugh or two! Daddy really makes you laugh though — one night he was giving you a bath while I was downstairs cooking and I could hear the two of you cracking each other up! It was adorable!

You lived through your first election this month. And while you didn't really have an opinion one way or another (both candidates were equally willing to kiss babies, and that was important to you!), you had a special outfit to announce the results the Wednesday following the election. (You can thank Ember for this timely hand-me-down!) 

You rolled over for the first time! You like to roll from your belly to your back, and it's fun to watch your facial expression when you do it. Ms. Debbie at daycare also said that you rolled over twice from back to belly in your crib! This is one that Daddy and I have yet to witness, however. 

Likes/Dislikes: You still just love your Daddy, and you light up whenever you see him or hear his voice. You spend a lot of special Daddy/Katy time on weekend mornings since he will often get up with you to let me sleep for an extra hour. He makes you laugh, and you love how he dances with you and sings to you. It's so special to see your relationship grow already! 

You really like your primary caregiver at daycare — Ms. Debbie. She gets lots of smiles from you, and she was one of the first to really be able to give you a bottle with ease. And actually, in general, you really seem to like daycare! You don't mind our early morning routines, and it's been fairly easy to drop you off each day. Plus, it's fun leaving the house as a family to start our day.  

You've started to love toys, especially books, rattles, and toys with lots of places for you to hold onto and grasp. Your hand/eye coordination is very good! You also like holding onto a couple of dolls (soft plush), like this sock monkey that you got as a gift from your Grandma Renee's sister, Carla. The picture with the sock monkey makes me smile...it looks like you have blush on! 

You love to stand up, and you're so strong and steady when you do! The second your feet are planted, you stand straight up, look around, and smile from ear to ear. You're so amused by it, and in turn, it's one of my favorite things that you do right now! 

You still love bath time as much as before. You love being held up above our heads (airplane). Even though you're content for a while playing with toys or a book, you just love to be held by Daddy or me, and that makes us feel pretty good too!

As for dislikes, you still aren't a huge fan of being in the carseat when you're not going anywhere. However, you have gotten much calmer these days, and you rarely cry anymore in the car unless you've got a wet diaper or are hungry. You really hate having the boogies sucked out of your nose, but who wouldn't?! Unfortunately, with two colds this month, you had to endure quite a bit of that. You're still a no-go on the pacifier even though I keep trying periodically. And one major dislike is crowds — you're just a little nervous when you're in a loud group of people, many of whom want to talk to you and hold you. It's a lot for a little gal like yourself to take in and we know why you get scared. We're hoping that you get a little more comfortable in crowded family gatherings and such because there are so many loving relatives who would love to play with you!

Visitors: Your Grandpa Gary and Grandma Renee came for a visit all the way from Wichita! You saw them several times over the course of a few days. I think they had a lot of fun meeting you, and you even let Grandma Renee hold you for a while. As to be expected, you had lots of other repeat visitors like Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie Ashley, and Auntie Shannon. 

Dear Kaitlyn: Three Months

Dear Katy,

You're three months old now, and we are so amazed at how much you've grown and changed. You truly light up our days and give us so much to smile about! You and I enjoyed our last month together of my maternity leave, and what fun we had! I'm so grateful to have had so much time with you before having to go back to work. 

The weather was great for being outside, so I tried each day to take you for walks around the city. You also got to listen to (and smell) me cooking and baking in the kitchen as you hung out in your swing, and you started to be more amused by toys (you love laughing and smiling at the birds hanging from your bouncy seat!). Your Grandma was able to visit you often, and you enjoyed taking shopping trips with her! You just seemed to grow so much, both in body and spirit.

One of our favorite things is that you show joy with your whole body! You watch intently, and then all of a sudden you start to smile big and laugh, which also involves you throwing your hands up and kicking your feet. Usually you turn your head from side to side too — it's great! There's so much joy emanating from you in those moments, and it's contagious!

You also have a more serious side, and you stay alert about what's happening around you. When Daddy comes home, you turn your head the minute you hear his voice. You have the cutest expressions even when you seem more contemplative. I love those faces as much as the smiley ones!  

Sleeping: You remain the sleeping baby champion!! People don't believe me when I tell them how well you sleep. We've continued our routine of bathtime/last feeding around 7:00pm, which means that you're usually asleep by 8:30pm or so. Sometimes you have a harder time falling asleep, but even at the latest, you're asleep by 10pm. And then? Then you SLEEP! You sleep until anywhere from 6:30am - 9am, depending on the day. Mommy really really appreciates how well you sleep at night! 

Your napping routine is less exact. You usually get fussy about 90 minutes after you've woken up, and you'll often nap in your swing for two hours or so. And if you don't get a longer nap in during the morning, you almost always take a long snooze in the late afternoon. Towards the end of this month, you started taking shorter "cat naps" where you'd wake up after 30-45 minutes and be ready to eat/play.

Eating: You continue to be exclusively breastfed, and your eating is (as it has always been) stellar! The bottle saga continues though, my sweet baby! You're adamantly opposed to drinking from a bottle, and even though your stubbornness is so frustrating to us, I almost have to appreciate how much you stick to your guns! It's impressive! In your first two days of daycare, you only had a couple of ounces (and even those you drank accidentally or under protest). I had to leave work on my lunch break to come nurse you. Don't tell, but I was glad to have an excuse to come see you!

Stats: I'm not sure! Your next pediatrician appointment isn't until December, so we don't know for sure how much you've grown or gained. But we know it's happening because you're definitely outgrowing your clothes and you have the cutest little baby Buddha belly.

Clothes Size: You've completely outgrown anything 0-3 months, and even a lot of 3-6 months seem like they'll only fit you for a couple more weeks. A lot of your clothes are 6 months or even 6-9 months. You're a growing girl! 

Milestones/Firsts: The most notable first this month was your first day of daycare! You started going on Thursday, November 1st, so you (and your mama!) only had to survive two days before the weekend. You didn't cry when I left you, but you only drank about 1.5 oz. of milk from the bottle and I had to come feed you (as mentioned before, I was secretly happy to have a reason to come see you!). The first few days really tired you out, and you "slept like a baby" those nights! We were so proud of you for hanging in there those first couple of days! I think you had a couple of firsts there too — you listened to a xylophone and piano for the first time, you went for your first wagon ride, you saw your first baby, etc. 

You also found your thumb this month! For a while you were sucking on your hand/knuckles, but you've figured out how to get just the thumb in your mouth. It's pretty cute, and it cracks us up when you're slurping on your own hand! You sat in the Bumbo for the first time too — you seemed so perplexed about being able to sit upright without one of us around! Your neck is so strong though, so you don't need help holding it up anymore.

You experienced your first hurricane! On October 29th, Hurricane Sandy (aka "Frankenstorm") rolled through the northeast and left a trail of destruction and darkness in her wake. We were so lucky in Philly to not lose power, but your grandparents and other family were without power for more than a week! The weather turned very chilly right after, so we were so happy that we didn't have to worry about you getting too cold without heat.

Likes/Dislikes: You love the moment when you wake up in the morning and see me standing by your crib. You are so happy and give me lots of smiles. No matter what time it is, it makes me so happy to see you! You love when Daddy sings songs to you. Some of your favorites are Three Little Birds, A Bushel and A Peck, and the Good Morning song he sings to you. I sing to you a lot also, but I tend to make up silly songs as I go along. You don't seem to mind yet! You love to snuggle and you're starting to touch and grab things more as you learn how to use your hands. You still love bathtime, and we have fun playing in the tub each evening. You seem to like the ladies who work at daycare, and you give them lots of smiles.

You do. not. like. bottles! I will take it as a compliment for now, but I hope that you manage to get over this the longer you're in daycare. You're getting a little better about being in the carseat, but you still prefer to move vs. sitting still once you're strapped in. You still won't suck on a pacifier, but we try periodically just in case you've changed your mind (you haven't yet!). You're still very vocal when you wet your diaper, so we continue to change you very quickly thereafter!

Visitors: You visited my work with me this month, and you got to meet several of my colleagues. They thought you were pretty cute, even though you cried a little! There was another get-together with the Coulson side of the family so they could see how much you'd grown since they last saw you. And your Great Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob came to Philadelphia to visit you — how special you are! 

Happy Halloween!

Katy's a little young for door-to-door trick or treating considering it was still cold, wet, and windy from Hurricane Sandy.

However, we still had some Halloween fun and put her in a watermelon suit that was given to us when she was born (thanks Aunt Alex!). She looked super sweet!

 Happy Halloween!

Baby's Room

Earlier this year, we began to convert our guest bedroom to a nursery for Kaitlyn. We wanted her to have a room that was girly, but not too frilly. Colorful, but soothing and not too loud. We slowly created and collected the various pieces, and we're really happy with the final product! 

First on the to-do list was the paint color. I love neutrals and wanted to go with a warm gray for the walls. We settled on Sherwin William's "Dorian Gray" (though we color-matched at Benjamin Moore. Their Regal Matte finish is fabulous — it's scrubbable, has no sheen, and goes on smooth like butta!).

Next we worked on the furniture and found a dresser (Land of Nod), changing table (Ikea), crib (PBK), and glider/recliner (Little Castle, ordered via Buy Buy Baby). Because we started on the nursery so early, we were able to wait for sales/promotions on all of these pieces except for the changing table — don't pay full price if you can afford to wait for something to go on sale!

We decided on the Brooke bedding from PBK and bought the crib bumper and a couple of shams for the daybed. It looks so pretty against the gray walls and white crib! The crib sheet is green gingham and also from PBK. 

My mom and I made a trip down to Fabric Row in Philly to find curtain/pillow fabric that would complement the bedding. We ended up finding a beautiful plaid at B. Wilk Fabrics and sewed large panels for either side of the main window in her room (we even lined them...so fancy!). I had a little bit of fabric leftover and, at the suggestion of an interior designer friend Ashley, made simple panels for two small windows in the room. I then used a complementary pink gingham to sew ribbons to tie up the panels during the day. Basically, they're a cheap and easy variation of a roman shade. Perfect!

We also found a lovely pink quilted fabric to make euro shams for along the back of the daybed. And the pink gingham went towards a lumbar pillow for the glider. 

My parents gave us the beautiful cross-stitching that hangs above Katy's changing table. It was something that I recognized immediately, as it was made by my late godmother, Aunt Patti, when I was born. My parents had it re-framed and gave it to us on Easter. Ever see a room full of Italians cry over a cross-stitch? I have! (The changing pad cover is from Target and the baskets underneath are from Home Goods.)

The lamps were my grandmother's, who passed away recently. They're a beautiful, antique milk glass, and my dad re-wired them so that the cords/plugs were up to snuff. It's so nice to have some old family pieces in our new little girl's room! 

So far, the room has been very functional and a lovely place to spend time with Katy! And it even accommodated my in-laws, who visited us in September. We're hoping that Kaitlyn is able to grow into the room without a lot of updates too.

Dear Kaitlyn: Two Months

Dear Katy,

You're two months old today, and we continue to be amazed at how much you've grown, learned, and changed since just one month ago!

Each day, we are overwhelmed by your cuteness, the brightness in your eyes when you smile, your curiosity, and your awareness of the world around you. I find myself saying over and over, "She's so sweet, I can't stand it!" But it turns out that I can stand it, and I've loved the time that we've spent together. I'm already dreading returning to work and leaving you with someone else all day.

You have smiles for me when you wake up in the morning and from naps. And sometimes when you're eating, I'll look down to see that you've been staring at me with a huge grin on your face. It's the sweetest! I'll miss those smiles so much when I go back to work.

Sleeping: You are a sleeping champion! We are continually amazed (and are keeping our fingers crossed) because you sleep so well. This month, we started a bedtime routine with you. First we give you a bath around 7:30pm, and then I feed you, and then I put you down. You don't always fall asleep right away, but usually you're in your crib asleep by 9:30pm or so, give or take an hour. And then...here's the best part...you sleep until anywhere between 6:30am to 9:30am! In the beginning of this month, it was closer to 6:30am, and then I would feed you and you'd go back to sleep for a few hours. As you got closer to two months old, you started sleeping through that early morning feeding and often wake up between about 8am and 9am. Thank you, little girl! Mommy sure does appreciate all of the sleep she's able to get!

As for napping, you generally take a snooze sometime around 11am for about an hour (earlier and longer if you didn't sleep in as late that morning). And you still like to take a longer snooze in the mid-afternoon and usually wake up around dinnertime.

Eating: You are still exclusively breastfed, but not for lack of trying. You are not interested in drinking from bottles and have done so as sparingly as possible. We think that this might be our biggest challenge, as you will need to eat from a bottle soon once you start daycare. Our fingers are crossed that you'll grow more used to it over the next few weeks.

I've discovered that when I eat/drink dairy products, you seem to be much fussier/gassier/etc. So I've been drinking almond milk and trying to avoid dairy for now.

Stats: You had a pediatrician appointment when you were about 6 weeks old. You weighed in at exactly 12 pounds, and you grew to 22.5 inches long! You also got your first round of vaccine shots (I cried with you!). You're still wearing size 1 diapers, but once we use up our current stash, I think we're going to move to size 2. You seem to be growing so fast!

Clothes Size: You are too big now to wear most of the 0-3 months clothes, except for a few items here and there. For the most part, you're wearing 3-6 months...and even some of those are starting to seem a little small!

Milestones/Firsts: Several times this month you have slept through the night — but I mean SLEPT. THROUGH. THE. NIGHT!! We're talking 9pm to 9am! You can hold your head up now pretty much on your own — you get a little wobbly every now and then, but for the most part you have full control. It's so cute to see you have your head up while you peer around! You smile all the time at us, but now you also laugh! It's the cutest thing, because you scrunch your face up and you get this adorable double chin.

We put you in an Adidas track suit (your Daddy's outfit of choice!) for the first time, and you looked so adorable! You did your Daddy proud in it!

Likes/Dislikes: You still love bath time, and you've learned that you can splash the water when you kick your legs! I love the expression on your face every time you do a few kicks. You look so pleased with yourself! Even when you're super tired and fussy before bed, you always enjoy your bath.

You love to fall asleep on my lap once you're done eating, and I love snuggling with you — we've taken a few good naps together!

You love to smile and giggle at Dad and me...and we love making you smile more! You have the sweetest sounding coos, and we can't get enough of them. You smile at Dad as soon as he comes home from work — and you love the sound of his voice! He sings a lot of special songs to you, and you like to fall asleep dancing with him. You also love to laugh at the birdies that hang from your bouncy seat — it's so cute to hear you laughing at them! And you've enjoyed sleeping in a swing that cousins Kate and John lent us.

You still love to eat, but you continue to dislike bottles. We'll keep trying! You still don't like pacifiers either. You still get a little upset when you're in your carseat or stroller and standing still — you like to be a girl on the move! (You must have inherited this gene from your Grandma Lydia!)

Your Aunt Susan make you a lovely quilt, and I just loved your stern expression when your Dad put the quilt over you for a picture! You like to look at the colors and do your "tummy time" on the quilt.

Visitors/Introductions: Your Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Dave came from Kansas to meet you! You loved snuggling with Grandma Kathy, and she sang you songs and hosted several naps on her shoulder!

And here you are with both of your grandmas! I think you may have sensed it, but you were surrounded by so much love that day!

You also met the Hollanders this month, as well as the Mittermaier side of my family. They loved you! This was your first time meeting your cousin Joey, who is about a year and a half older than you. We can't wait for you two to play together!

You are such a special little person, and it's such a joy being your mom! It's amazing how much personality you have already. You are perfectly and uniquely you, and I hope you always hold on to that, my sweet girl!

Dear Kaitlyn: One Month

Dear Kaitlyn,

You are one month old today, and Dad and I can't believe how fast time has gone. We call you our "sweet girl" because that's just what you are. You are such a good baby, and we feel so blessed to have you with us finally! We wondered for so long what you would look like, and you are just perfect. We think you look like a blend of the two of us, though some people say you look more like me or Dad. Time will tell!

Sleeping: You are a good sleeper! You slept in our room with us for the first few weeks. While you were sleeping in our room, your "nighttime sleeping period" typically lasts from about 9pm to maybe 7 or 8am. Often you'd sleep for 3-4 hours before waking for a feeding, so you graciously let your mommy get a few hours at a time. Even though I was awakened 2-3 times throughout the night, I never felt helplessly exhausted this month — people even told me that I didn't look like a tired new mom...what a compliment! At exactly 3 weeks old, you slept in your crib for the first time — what a big girl! That first night you slept from 9pm - 3am before you woke up to eat!! Then you went back to sleep for several more hours before you woke up again. I think you like being in your own room, where it's quieter and you can fall asleep listening to a lullaby CD. Thank you for being such a good nighttime sleeper!

Napping for you is less regular, but you will usually take about two naps a day for anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours (you like to take a long nap in the late afternoon, which always makes me nervous that you won't sleep that night!). You've had some gas issues and a ton of hiccups, which I think makes it hard for you to fall asleep sometimes.

Eating: You were a great feeder from the start. We didn't have any latch issues, and you gained weight like a champ! It seems like you want to eat more often than the "average baby" — usually every two hours unless you're sleeping at night and then you're able to go longer. And sometimes you eat even more frequently than that, and I feel like I haven't gotten up off the sofa all day! So while I feel like a feeding machine, I'm so happy that you and I were able to have success with breastfeeding. We want to start introducing bottles to you soon so you get used to them. Grandma fed you a bottle about a week ago when I went to the dentist — you were a little clumsy with it but drank 4 ounces!

Stats: By 1 week old, you were just a half ounce shy of your birth weight (8lb. 14 oz.). I'm guessing you weigh around 11 pounds by now. We'll know for sure at your next pediatrician appointment in a couple of weeks. You wore newborn diapers for the first week or two, but only because we wanted to use the carton up that we had on hand. You quickly switched to size 1, and those seem to fit you much better!

Clothes Size: Some of your newborn clothes that we got as gifts were too small even when you got home from the hospital! You wear clothes that are mostly 0-3 months.

Milestones/Firsts: You had your first ride in the stroller when you were 1 week old on a warm summer evening. Dad and I took you for a stroll around the block, but it was a short walk since it was still fairly humid outside. You looked so tiny in that big stroller! We took you for several more walks in the following weeks too, and you enjoyed being outside in the warm sun.

You had several trips out this month — your first was to the pediatrician for your one-week check-up. You did great at the doctor until the very end when you got hungry. But I fed you in the exam room and you went back to sleep in the car. Dad and I ambitiously decided to try having lunch at Honey's Sit & Eat, one of our favorite neighborhood "joints"...you slept the whole time and we really enjoyed our lunch. I think people must have thought we were crazy to have a one-week-old in a restaurant! 

That following weekend, we had another outing to lunch at Chipotle and then to Buy Buy Baby to pick up some more clothes and supplies for you. You did really well! I fed you in the nursing room at BBB since you woke up a little bit upset. But you seemed content with me holding you in the store. 

You also made several trips out to Wegman's with Grandma and me for groceries, and you seemed to like being in the Moby wrap while we were foodshopping.

You also had your first trip to the Reading Terminal Market, one of our favorite places to have an early lunch and buy fresh produce/groceries on a Saturday morning. My friend Shannon met us there to meet you, and once again you slept the whole outing!

I also had my first outing by myself, and you stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa. They took you for a walk, brought you outside on the roof deck, and you did great! And I had some time alone for the first time in a while — I think it was good for the both of us!

You went to the annual August Birthdays Party at your Great Grandma's house — she turned 80 this year! She loves to hold you, and you two seem to enjoy each other's company! Since you were also born in August, you're the latest addition to the yearly photo we take of all the August babies.

You smiled for the first time (with it not being gas-induced) on the day you turned one month old! We had sensed for a few days that you were starting to show happiness via smiling, but we got a definite, purposeful reaction from you at one-month old. It was so exciting and made us do and say really silly things just to get another out of you.

Likes/Dislikes: You love to snuggle with Daddy and me, and we're not complaining! You don't mind being in the stroller or carseat as long as we're moving. You do not. like. standing. still! At least not as long as you're strapped into a carrying device. You really like to take baths, so we have a fun time each evening washing you up. You don't like having a wet diaper, and we find ourselves going through a ton of diapers! But once you're wet, you're super fussy and changing you seems to make that all better. You love to eat! And you're not pleased if eating is delayed. You just love when Dad sings to you, and his favorite tune to put you to sleep is Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. You like to watch lights and screens (you stare at the curtains/windows, lamps, the television, etc), and you seem to like music.

Visitors: You were a popular girl this month and had a lot of special visitors! In the hospital, Grandma and Grandpa were your first visitors on the day you were born. The next day, you were visited by your Grandma's side of the family (Great Grandma and Grandpa Puffy, Aunt Karen, Rich, Aunt Carol, Uncle Bob, and cousins Christina and Gina). And later that afternoon, Daddy's friends Alex and Rory and Ashlea and Tony came for a visit. Ashlea was only in town for a few days and was hoping you would be born before she left town — so great timing on your part, Katy! Once you got home from the hospital, you were visited by Ashley and Justin and took in your first roof deck sunset with them. A couple of weeks later, you met your cousin Lauren, Aunt Patti, and Uncle Don, who were in town to move Lauren into her dorm at Temple. You also had another visit from my friend Shannon.

All in all, it's been a pretty laid back month. But I must say that I'm glad that nothing too eventful happened! At about one week old, your skin started peeling, and your entire body basically molted! It was a little crazy that we could peel big pieces of skin off of your face/hands/legs/etc. And then you had a bout of baby acne, which made your skin look a little sad for a couple of weeks. But towards the end of your first month both things seemed to resolve themselves.