Double Ear Infections? What?

Last Friday Kaitlyn had her 9 month wellness check. She is getting bigger and following the curve, but is still short. She weighs 16lbs 9 oz. (No need to buy the next stage car seat.) When the doctor looked in her ears... they were infected. What? I had no idea. She hasn't been crabby or showing me any indication she has ear infections. In some ways - it is cheaper since I don't have to pay co-pays for wellness checks. So, we are back to medicine and poop up the back. Good news is that we only have a few more days of this.

Memorial weekend we went to Perham and Detroit Lakes. My cousin's daughter had her graduation open house, so we took a little road trip to celebrate. After the open house we headed to Detroit Lakes to my Aunt and Uncle's cabin. Cody enjoyed jumping off the dock and playing catch. It was pretty windy, so we didn't spend too much time outside. Here are some pictures from our stay at the cabin.

Kaitlyn loved all the attention from my cousins Jenna and Liz. I enjoyed the free babysitting.
We love the cabin. Thank you Kevin and Mary for letting us stay and enjoy some time away from home.
Kaitlyn enjoying a little cat nap at the Lakes. She found a little stuff animal to cuddle up too during her nap. I think she enjoyed her new Pack n Play.

We think Kaitlyn's teeth are starting to come and she also has a little bit of a cold. Here is her infamous open mouth, tongue out breathing through her mouth. She loved to play in the grass as we watched daddy and Liz play an outdoor game.

Here is Kaitlyn and Mommy enjoying the dock. We were watching Liz and Daddy catching fish. She had to wear her winter hat because of the wind and her ear infections. She didn't mind because she was outside.

Nine Months Old

Wow - Today our little girl is 9 months old. Here are some pictures of things we have been up to the last few weeks. Here she is on her favorite Quilt my cousin Michelle made for Kaitlyn. It was really hard for me to take this picture without her wanting to play with the duck.

Kaitlyn is such a happy baby. She is always full of smiles and giggles. She hasn't started crawling, but has figured out that rolling gets her where she wants to go.

Kaitlyn loves to swing. Diane, Hailey, Kaitlyn, Cody, and I decided to go to the park after our walk. She giggled and smiled the whole time she was swinging.

Here is Kaitlyn and I at the park. It was really windy that on our way home the wind pushed the strollers. Diane had to take several pictures before Kaitlyn would look at the camera.

My Bridal Shower - May 18th, 2008

Sunday I had my bridal shower. We enjoyed some fun games, great food, and wonderful company. Here are some pictures from the big event.

My Matron of Honor and I. Kristin has finally made it on my blog. It only took me getting married, but here she is in all her glory.
Kaitlyn got to wear a pretty veil like her mommy. She had so much fun at the shower that she didn't want to take nap. Good thing she slept the whole way home.

Where's Spring?

Only 4 more weeks until the Big day.... We are counting down the days. A few weeks ago I had my Bachelorette Party at the Grand Rios Water Park Hotel. A bunch of my girlfriends spent the night and enjoyed some waterslides. I am not a big fan of the hurricane water slide.... it shoots you out into a giant bowl and you spin around until you drop into the pool below.

Here is a picture of Anny and I. They made me wear this out to dinner. Actually, it was a blast. Plus it was my first night away from Kaitlyn and I really enjoyed it.

Here we all are enjoying dinner at the hotel restaurant. My shirt I am wearing actually says BRIDE.... do you like the black and white stripped shirt underneath? Is that saying something about marriage? LOL!!!

Kaitlyn and I took a walk on Mother's Day. I put her new sunglasses on and she kept them on the whole walk. I think she liked that the sun wasn't as bright and she could see things.

8 Months Old

Kaitlyn is 8 months old. She is getting so big. She loves eating cereal, can sit up on her own... roles around to get from point A to B, has tried to eat Cheerios and Rice Krispies (Mom is a little nervous about this eating solid foods, so it is a slow process.) Loves to giggle, has tickles toes, and sleeps through the night.

Kaitlyn and Hailey this past weekend at Grandma and Grandpa McNeilly's House. Kaitlyn loves to play with all of Grandma's toys and to watch her big cousins play.
Daddy took Kaitlyn on her first pit bike ride around the yard. Before we know it she will be racing at the local fairs.
Kaitlyn loves going on walks. The other day was pretty windy... So - Can you find Kaitlyn in this picture?
Kaitlyn is becoming a pro at holding her own bottle... sometimes we have to reminder that this is her new job. She also likes to drink water out of a sippy cup.

Our Last Trip to Mora

A few weeks ago... We traveled North to Mora. Kaitlyn played with her cousins Darren (15 months) and Hailey (3 years). Hailey and Kaitlyn had some quality time together when we arrived on Friday Night. Hailey is a big helper with her little cousin.

Here are all the cousins... Darren is a mover, so this is the best picture we got of the three of them.

Kaitlyn and Thomas love to play together... Wait - let me rephrase that... Thomas loves to lay by Kaitlyn to be petted. I guess you could call petting and pulling the same thing... Kaitlyn usually has a hand full of fur at the end of the petting session.
Kaitlyn got to play at her Cousin's house... and she got to try out all of their toys. She loved sitting on the big truck.

Our Little Girl is Getting So Big

I am so big that I can hold my own sippy cup. I haven't mastered the bottle yet, but my daddy is really working with me on that task. I do like my water warm... I am not a big fan of cold drinks yet.

I am also learning how to sit up on my own. I love being able to see all my toys around me. Sometimes I fall over, but mommy just sets me back up and I continue playing.

Look at how big I am getting compared to my duck. I am finally bigger than my duck.
Now I can hold my duck. While I had my cold I learned how to breath out of my mouth and now I love to keep my mouth open and tough hanging out.

Pictures

The Cousins - Kaitlyn (6 months), Hailey (3 years), Darren (15 months). It tooks several tries to get this picture.
Kaitlyn hanging out with daddy. She is going to miss being with him when he starts work in a few weeks. (and her daddy will miss being with her.) Don't you love my hair?

Nate and I at the Supercross Race. Nate is not a big fan of pictures.... and this is not the best picture of me. Oh well! We had a lot of fun.

7 Weeks of Sickness

Wow - it's been awhile since I have written on my blog. I apologize to everyone that have been disappointed with my lack of blogging. Not to make excuses, but let me take you back 7 weeks ago.

It was Ash Wednesday and Kaitlyn and I came down with a horrible cold. I thought... okay a week of runny noses and coughs .... and than we will be healthy again. Well, I was wrong. Several weeks later... our colds had improved, but Kaitlyn got some stomach bug and spent a week throwing up. During this week - we realized she had a double ear infection. We put her on an antibiotic - which she hated... so was she throwing up because of the medicine. No one will now. After 10 days we took her back to check her ears - she still had the double ear infection... this time we tried a new antibiotic and the chiropractor.... Me on the other hand still had a runny nose, but my symptoms starting getting better. But wait... After I thought I was feeling better I ended up spending the night in the bathroom (unrelated to the cold) - I decided a trip to the doctor was in order. I had a sinus infection... so now I am on an antibiotic. Wait... it gets better. Now Kaitlyn seems to be over her cold... and I come down with a 102 degree temperature... yicks!!! Than 2 days later Kaitlyn is running a high fever. I am now convinced that we have influenza... back to the doctor for Kaitlyn. She still has a double ear infection... What? So, now she is on a different antibiotic... I have told you that she hates medicine. Back to me... I am still not feeling well and now I have a hard time breathing... I go back to the doctor the next day... I have bronchitis and am put on 3 different medicines. This brings us to today! I am still coughing and blowing my nose.... Kaitlyn is feeling better. The good news is that during this whole time... she still smiles.

I guess... my thoughts are WHEN WILL IT BE SPRING? I am ready to be done with the doctor and all the co-pays... the runny noses and of course the sleepless nights.

Okay - not everything in the past 7 weeks have been horrible. Kaitlyn is learning to love cereal and bananas... this week we are going to try carrots. Yummy! She has also moved into her own crib in her own room. I am so proud of myself... it only took 7 months to do. So far she has been sleeping great and so has her mommy.

6 Months Old

Kaitlyn is six months old... wow - time flies when you are watching a little one grow. She is changing so fast. The good news is that she isn't mobile yet. She is starting to enjoy tummy time more and more, but we still have some time before she is crawling all over the place. Last Friday we tried cereal for the first time. I put in her bottle to see if she would stop eating in the middle of the night. It worked, but she still likes to wake up... maybe she is checking to see if we are still there. On Monday we tried using the spoon. She wasn't a big fan, but we will keep trying. She is good at spitting back at us.

The last week has been kind of rough. She has had a cold for 2 weeks now and it has progressed into a horrible cough and a double ear infection... wait... there's more... she also got some sort of stomach bug too. Good thing her daddy is able to stay home and comfort her. She is also not so sure about the medicine. It is a chore to get her to swallow it.

Here are her details for her 6 month wellness check:
Height - 23 1/2 inches - she is still short.
Weight - 14 lbs. - we are in stage 2 diapers - yeah!!!

She is below the curve for height, but is moving up on the charts for weight and head size. I kind of like having a petite little girl. She is also a talker... sometimes I hear her say mama, but I think she is just learning to make different sounds.

I Can Do So Much!!!

One week from today our little girl is going to be 6 months old. I can't believe it. She is doing more and more every day. This morning I had her in a bouncy chair and asked her "Where are my smiles?" and she looks at me trying not to smile and gives me her pouty lip and than smiles. Kaitlyn is learning how to hold her own bottle. I still thinks she likes us to do it for her, but sometimes she will do it herself.

This past weekend we went to St. Cloud to spend the weekend with Nate's family. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and went swimming for the first time. I wanted to see how Kaitlyn did when we dunked her under the water. I think it was harder for me than for Kaitlyn. She only cried for a second when she came out of the water.Here is Kaitlyn and her nana. She loved all the attention from Nana and her Aunty Anny. Sometimes mom and dad can get kind of boring.

I love this picture, but was is the deal with the garlic toast? I think Nate was getting kind of hungry and that is what he wanted to focus on.

Five Months Old

I can't believe our little girl is five months old already. She is getting more and more active everyday. She loves to play with easy to grab toys, her burp rags, and petting Thomas and Cody or should I say... She tries to eat them too! She has also found her feet.



She is finally bigger than the duck. I am hoping that at her 6 month appointment she will have moved up on the length chart.

This past week my mom came to visit for a week. Kaitlyn loved all the attention from her Nana and Aunty Anny. It was nice because I would get up at 6:30 and give Kaitlyn to my mom and I would go back to bed.

Boating season is just around the corner so we bought Kaitlyn a life jacket. She didn't mind having it on and we hope that she gets used to is, so when it is time to out on the lake she will be ready.

Date is Set - 06-07-08

Nate and and I are going to make it official on June 7th, 2008. We will be getting married in Excelsior.

Late Christmas Post

I know that Christmas was several weeks ago, but I finally downloaded my pictures from our camera. Here are some cute pictures from some of our Holiday adventures.
Here is our niece Hailey at the Crystal where we celebrated Christmas with Nate's side of the family. She loved to help open her brother Darren's and Kaitlyn's gifts.Aunty Anny bought Kaitlyn a new Adidas outfit. The jacket is a little big, but she loves wearing pink... just like her mommy.
Here Kaitlyn is sporting one of the onesies that I made for her before she was born... One day she will be out on our pit bike winning races.

This past weekend we went to our friends house to do some ice racing on the pit bike. Of course Nate wants to get the newest Yamaha, but that will have to wait until after the wedding. Priorities!!!! Our friends have a son that is one month older than Kaitlyn, so we decided to get them all bundled up and take them to watch some ice racing... after about 10 minutes they both fell asleep from the noise or boredom... I am not quite sure. Maybe our dreams of her racing are a little farther than away than we think.

Happy New Year Officer

Welcome to 2008. I have to say that my year has started out with a little excitement if that is what you want to call it. New Years we spent with our friends Justin and Amy and their son Colten who is one month older than Kaitlyn. Of course, Kaitlyn wanted to stay up to welcome in the New Year even though I tried everything to get her to fall asleep. Anyway, after watching the ball drop and some new year hugs... we decided to pack up and head home. On our way home... I got pulled over for speeding. It was the first time I drove this way home, so I wasn't even sure what the speed limit was, but I was doing 40 in a 30. After about 10 minutes... the officer came back and informed me that the speed limit from here was 55 mph. Thank goodness I didn't get a ticket, but it sure did brighten up my New Year... I guess my resolution of not getting pulled over is already shot. :)

Four Months Old... plus more!!!

Four Months Old

I can't believe that my baby is 4 months old today.

Nate and I took Kaitlyn for her four month doctor's appointment. She is getting bigger, but is still pretty small to her peers. In the doctor's words: "She is short!" Here are her stats:

Height - 21 1/4 - 3%

Weight - 11 lbs. 13 oz - 12%

Head size - 15 1/2 - 10%

Even though she is small she is a very active little girl. She loves playing with some toys, giggles and laughs with her dad when he is home with her. They love spending time together.

I tried really hard to get her to smile, but she just got four shots in her legs... so she wasn't too happy with her mommy and daddy.

A Visit to Grandma's House we go...

This past weekend Anne, Kaitlyn and I went to Perham to visit our Grandma and other family members in the area. We spent a lot of time visiting with my aunt and uncle Barb and Gary and Cousin's. My Grandma got to meet Kaitlyn for the first time. I am so happy that we got some pictures taken.

Here is Kaitlyn, Great Grandma Florence, Nikki, and Auntie Anny. It was fun to see all my cousins and aunts and uncles.

A Weekend to Remember

"A Poopy Engagement" - Literally speaking.

Let me set the scene on how Nate would describe the event. It is Sunday evening at the Moore McNeilly household. We are enjoying our newly arranged basement and space heater. During a commercial break of Extreme Homemaker, I got up to go to the bathroom. Nate on the other hand had other plans from when I came out of the bathroom. He turns on the hallway light and gets down on one knee. (He claims he was waiting for some time.) When I come out I ponder why the hallway light is on and as I turn the corner he is down on one knee. I was very surprised and just couldn't believe it. (How did I not figure this out?) He asked me to marry him and I said.... YES!!!!! Kaitlyn on the other hand is sitting nicely in her swing and was making a little surprise of her own. Yes, she decided to poop through her diaper and her daddy had the privilege to change it. So, after all was said and done... it was literally a poopy engagement, but one worth remembering. We haven't set a date, but I will make sure to let you all know.

Kaitlyn's Baptism

Not only did I get engaged on December 9th, but our sweet girl was welcomed into God's family. She was baptised at the 11am service at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Excelsior. My favorite Pastor's Scott and Dave officiated the ceremony. She looked so cute in her dress that was worn by her Grandma Sue, Great Aunts, First Cousins once removed, Aunts, and Cousin Hailey. She is the third generation to wear this dress for her Christening. She only cried while we put the water on her head... Pastor Dave said that he did put ice cubes in it. (I do know that he was only joking.) After the service we enjoyed some home cooked sloppy joes at her Grandpa Bob's House.

My sister Anne and her boyfriend Randy are Kaitlyn's God Parents. We are happy to have them be part of her Christian Life.

Why you don't go on Vacation in our office.... Especially to a warm climate.

My co-worker Scott decided to take last week off and spend time in Cabo with his wife and friends. This left the rest of us to suffer through 2 snow storms and frigid temperatures. We didn't want Scott to feel left out of our weekly adventures... so we decided his office needed a makeover... Remember the saying... A pictures says a thousand words...

I have one last picture I want to add to this post. It is my favorite picture of our little girl. She is wearing a hat that my co-worker knitted for her. She also loves to play with her toys and smile for the camera.

She is getting so big... Last night she was cooing and a lot... She is going to be a talker like her mom. I really think she was having a conversation with me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow, I can't believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone. Pretty soon it will be 2008 and Christmas will seem like a distant past. I don't really have any themed pictures for Thanksgiving, but I thought you would enjoy some cute pictures of Kaitlyn. The other night we decided to put her in her exersaucer... and she loved it. Granted we have to stuff a blanket around her since she is so little and her arms don't reach the toys, but she loves to look at all of them. I also would like to point out that her little legs just dangle, but I solved that problem by putting a pillow under them so she can stand a little better. Thomas loves hanging out under there too as you can see in the picture.Thanksgiving we spent in St. Cloud at Nate's Aunt and Uncles... okay it was Sauk Rapids, but who's keeping track. Than on Saturday we went to my dad and sister's house for a ham dinner. Kaitlyn loved to see her aunty and grandpa. This next Saturday they will be watching her while we go to Nate's works holiday party.

Here is Grandma and Grandpa McNeilly with all the Grandkids. Kaitlyn, Cousin Hailey, and Cousin Darren. Cousin Hailey loves her baby cousin and helps me when I change her diapers. Darren doesn't really seem to care yet... but just wait until she starts wanting to play with his toys.

Here is Kaitlyn with Grandpa Moore. I am not sure what she is looking at, but it takes some patience to get the right look for all the pictures I take... You should see what I have for other picture attempts.
Here is Kaitlyn playing with Daddy last weekend. She is so smiley in the morning that you can't help but want to wake up and play with her. She also took another big step this weekend. Well, maybe not Kaitlyn, but mommy. She is now taking naps in her crib... I haven't made the move for sleeping there at night... that will take some more courage on Mommy's part.

3 Months Old

Wow, our little girl is 3 months old today. She is growing up so fast. Her new achievements are that she loves to smile. She is so happy in the morning when we are getting ready. She just lays in her bassinet smiling and giggling while I get ready for work. We pretty much have a routine down in the morning.
The past three weekends we have been in Mora. Nate did some deer hunting while Nate's mom, sisters, and aunts went to local craft fairs. This past weekend Kaitlyn cried real tears. We think she was a little gassy and her little stomach wouldn't let it out... so she cried. It was cute, but sad to see her little eyes water up and tears run down her cheeks. Daddy pumped her legs to get things moving to relieve some of the pressure.

It is so much to watch her grow and become more active and alert. She loves to watch her cousins play when we are up north. It is also fun to dress her in 0-3 months clothes finally! She was wearing newborn clothes for the first 2 1/2 months of her life... Now the challenge is to make sure she gets to wear each outfit before she out grows them.

Here is Kaitlyn smiling... it is hard to get her to keep smiling. She gets a little confused when you put the camera up to your face.