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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Here is Kaitlyn, Great Grandma Florence, Nikki, and Auntie Anny. It was fun to see all my cousins and aunts and uncles. 
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.
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.
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.
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. 
Today is also Halloween and our little Kaitlyn has on a cute little pumpkin sleeper with matching pumpkin hat. I was tempted to go trick or treating tonight, but thought I would get some strange looks if I show up asking for candy with a 2 month old. Maybe if I dressed up like a cow I would get a better response?
Here is our little pumpkin with her daddy this morning. Unfortunately we won't be having any trick or treaters at our house this year. We are still not able to drive to our house. It has been over 4 weeks... but I hear that we should be able to by the weekend. I am crossing my fingers.
Here is Kaitlyn's 2 month old picture with the duck. She is almost bigger than the duck. She isn't smiling at you just yet, but she does smile when she feels like it. This past weekend we went to Mora so Nate could set up his deer stand. All his aunts were up to see Kaitlyn and her cousins. I had plenty of babysitters for the weekend. 
Here is a picture of Kaitlyn with her cousin Hailey. Hailey is 2 1/2 and just loves her baby cousin Kaitlyn.
This is my favorite picture from our adventure. Kaitlyn decided that this picture was worth taking, so she opened her eyes. Overall, we all enjoyed the sunshine and warmer temperatures. I think next year she will be more enthusiastic about going.
The other big milestone is that she rolled over yesterday. I know we are all amazed. I have yet to witness this, but when I picked her up from my aunt and uncles they said she rolled from her back to stomach more than once. I guess being early isn't an issue for our little girl.
Most of the time we can park in my neighbor Diane and Brandon's yard... but I have been able to park in my space in the cul-de-sac close to our house. I think people just know that we have a newborn so they leave the space for me. 
Here are some updated pictures of Kailtyn. She is growing so fast. We just finished a week without pooping, but the doctor told me not to be concerned. I never knew I would be talking about poop so much now that I have a little girl. The joys of parenthood. She is getting into a schedule too. She usually goes to bed around 8 and doesn't wake up until 2 or 3 to eat. After that she is up every 2-3 hours. At least I get more than 4 hours of solid sleep in a row. I can't believe that it has been almost 8 weeks that I haven't slept through the night. 
This is Kaitlyn's first bath in her baby bath tub. Daddy took some pictures and video. I think she enjoyed being in the warm water. She really likes it when daddy washes her hair. That is what calmed her down last week when she wouldn't stop crying for 4 days in the evenings.
Monday Auntie Anny came over and watched Kaitlyn while I went to get my hair done. They spent the afternoon taking pictures and hanging out. 
Here is Kaitlyn at 2 weeks old enjoying life at home. She has started being more awake now. She is usually awake in the morning around 9 am to 11 am. Than she fusses before she starts falling asleep again. She also wakes up around 2 or 3 and again fusses when she is waking up. Than she wakes up sometime in the evening for 2 hours before bed.
Here is Kaitlyn and Cody. Cody was a good boy and laid still for us to take a few pictures.
About 24 hours after Kaitlyn was born she developed a mild case of Jaundice. We had to stay an extra day in the hospital so that her numbers were low enough to get home. On Wednesday night at 7pm Kaitlyn was discharged and we were on our way home. The next day we went into our clinic to have her Bilirubin checked and it had jumped from 11 points to 16.9. (Still not in the danger zone.) The doctor ordered us to keep her on a bili-bed. This special bed has UV lights that helped her process the bilirubin in her system. So, the past 3 weeks we have been taking Kaitlyn in to get blood drawn every other day. She is still Jaundice, but the doctor thinks she is starting to work through it. The doctor thinks the main reason she is Jaundice is because she was so early. This has really taught me patience.
Kaitlyn did not mind laying on the bed. I think it was harder for me to not be able to hold her unless she was eating. We did this for several days. For the past week we haven't had to use the bed. Plus, the doctor gave us a week break from the Lab. We don't go back until next Monday to check her levels. Oh, and she weigh 6 lbs. 6 oz. as of Friday.
Saturday Nate and I spent all day out on the lake. We invited my sister Anne, her friend Lindsay, and our friend Sean out with us. We had a blast floating in different bays, feeding the sunfish our lunch, and enjoying a nice dinner at Lord Fletchers. The weather and water were perfect. You could not have asked for a better day. We sure do enjoy being able to spend time on the lake with our friends.
Here is Nate and I on our way back to the launch. The sunset was beautiful. We hope that we have a few more weekends like this before our daughter arrives.
Here is a picture of my sister and her friend Lindsay. We all got a lot of sun that day. Sean wasn't too big into letting me take a picture of him. Maybe next time.
