6 months already!

Kate is going to be lots of trouble! She learned to "dead man" crawl with her left arm about 2 weeks ago and is able to get to pretty much what ever she wants.  Time for us to start making this house safe because she'll be standing and walking in no time! She is 15 1/2 pounds and 25 1/2 inches. Kate has strawberry blonde peach fuzz and dark hazel eyes. She is well traveled so far; Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mexico in her 6 months of life.  I started giving her solids about 1 week ago, sweet potatoes and rice cereal.  Today we tried peas... not sure if she enjoyed those as much.  It has been a joy to she her grow and develop. Still can't get enough of her!

Utah 2013

Well, we successfully drove across the United States with an infant- a 25 hour drive! On the way there, we stopped at Four Corners, AZ CO UT NM.  We have now been in 4 places at once and have magical power!

We went camping in Alpine Canyon with my family the first weekend we got there.  Kate met her cousins, aunts and uncles for the first time.  

This is her cousin Zander sharing his toys with her in the pack n play.

Kate's first camping experience- She slept alright, just got a little cold so I threw my sleeping bag over her, covering her completely.  My parents slept in their new trailer they got each other for their birthdays, Linsey and McCartney slept next to the trailer in a tent, Brandon and Kim's and our families slept in larger tents down the road.

During the weekend, we went hiking and kayaking up in Timble Fork, fishing in the nearby river, made s'mores, talked around the campfire, and slid down Slidding Rock.  It was fun to hang out with my family.  Kate got a lot of attention! 

 Bryan and I had lots of people to show Kate off to, Grandma was top on the list!

 We hiked the Y with Michael and Lauren. It definitely takes your breath away when you live at sea level!

 Bryan went to Amy's sealing and this was the best picture he could get! oh well. She had a lunch and reception later that day, which Kate and I attended.  It was nice to see all of Bryan's family and extended family.  So many of them!

 We drove a lot! To Lehi from Louisian, up Alpine Canyon, down Alpine Canyon, to Provo, back to Lehi, up to Salt Lake city, up to Ogden, back to Lehi, up to Salt Lake City, back to Lehi, over to American Fork, back to Lehi, and home to Louisiana.  Poor Kate.

 But that usually ended up in a sweet, sleeping baby.  

Bryan hiked Mount Timpanogos with his brother Adam, sister Stephanie, and nephew Jared.  They hiked it under 8 hours! Adam brought 5 oxygen tanks so he didn't get altitude sickness. It worked, but he is silly.

It was really nice to see all our family and introduce them to our sweet angel.  Hopefully we don't have to drive anywhere for a LONG time.

5 months

My sweet Kate is 14 pounds 3 ounces and 24 inches long.  She is sleeping through the night and can sit up on her own.  I have to catch her at times when she loses her balance or looks somewhere else.  She has traveled to Dallas, Texas to visit the Merrell family and attend Ruby's wedding (Bryan's best friend through optometry school).  She is such a good traveler! She has quite the smile and shows it off for everyone to see.  She has gone to her first concert and loves music/dancing.  We just can't get enough of her!

4th of July

We were excited to go on post for the 4th of July this year.  The band Lynyrd Skynyrd was coming to Louisiana and we couldn't wait to see them perform.  Kate stayed up the whole time; didn't even act tired. 

We went with our friends the Vogel's, who live right up the street from us.  She had her baby a couple days before me.  

More at Four

Just thought I'd put up some of my favorites from Kate's 4 month photo shoot by my friend Vanessa. Which one do you like most? 

4 Months

Our little Kate bug is 13.0 lbs and 23.75 inches long. She's got a big noggin like her dad, 39.9 cm! She is sleeping through the night about 3-4 days out of the week. She has become more aware of her environment and shows interest is what mommy and daddy are shoving in their mouths.  She has rolled over and is now sleeping un-swaddled on her tummy. Kate has discovered her thumb and soothes herself to sleep with the right one.  I think it is so cute, however, I know the consequences later down the road- so I've been covering up her hands! She's not too happy about that. 

We love her so much!

Kate's Penthouse

" Kate's Penthouse"-That's what grandma Debbie called our beach side quarters in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico because Kate was on vacation with BOTH her grandparents. We had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Koplin, Grandma and Grandpa Ahlborn, Harold and Renae Zentz (Bryan's sister), and Adam Ahlborn.

This picture was taken at the airport on our way home.  I think its a pretty good picture of us all.  Unfortunately, Adam is not here because he had an earlier flight (Plus, he was out dancing all night with his Mexican girlfriend.  Yes, he picked up a girlfriend for the week we were there!)  

Even with a baby, we were still able to do lots of fun stuff.  It helped that we hand a lot of willing hands! 

I went zip lining with Harold, Dad, Renae and Debbie. This is a great capture of the group before our first line.  There were 10 in all.  It was quite the view of the little town, rocky river, and jungle below.   

Grandma Koplin and Grandma Ahlborn giving Bryan and Kate a hard time!

We went on a boat ride to Las Caletas on a Vallarta Adventure Excursion. We went with Dad, Adam, Debbie, Renae, and Harold. I got really sea sick on the ride there.  Dad, Bryan, Adam, and I went scuba diving, while the others took care of Kate.  The water is definitely different on the west side of Mexico.  The water is a lot colder and the visibility is about 20-30 feet.  There were times I was nervous to leave the guides side! We saw lots of fish, sting ray, one GIANT turtle, eel, and capsized boats.  We also got to meet this trained sea lion.

Adam, Dad, Bryan, and I am in the back swimming to the platform.  I had a difficult time with this second dive; my weight needed to be adjusted, I was feeling very sea sick, and the water wasn't calm down under.  

Adam receiving kisses.

Kisses for Rebekah.

Bryan getting kissed.

Dad looks very happy to be kissed!

Bryan and my dad went on 4 other dives while they were there.  Those lucky chaps! I didn't sign up because of Kate, but we made our own fun.  Plus, I was still feeling super nauseous from the boat ride.  Maybe the water messed with my ear because it continued for about a week after we got home from Mexico.  

Kate and I played in the sand, the ocean, and the pool while the boys were away.  Doesn't she look so cute in her tiny swim suit and glasses.  The optometrists' baby HAS to have glasses!

Mom with happy Kate!

 Bryan giving kisses to Kate!

 As you can see, we had lots of fun with our family. It is different going on vacation with a kid, but do-able.  I knew that from the get go and prepared myself for more of a relaxed, resort vacation. We were still able to do lots things and take Kate on most of the adventures.  I am just so glad she didn't get any sun on her precious skin! She is one lucky girl- an international vacation at 3 months!