Katie's First Thanksgiving

I joked this week that for Katie's first Thanksgiving, I needed to dress her up like a turkey -- including tying her arms and legs together and sticking an apple in her mouth. I decided there would be no way to post photos like that without being arrested for child abuse, so sorry -- she's fairly normal-looking in these photos.

We had a fun Thanksgiving. We hosted my parents, my brother Mike and his wife, my brother Jason and his wife and their two kids, and best of all, my grandma! Yep, she was able to join us for a little while, which was very special. Here's a photo of 4 generations -- my grandma, my mom, me, and Katie.

Oh, and I had to cook almost nothing, which also rocked. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for getting up before dawn this morning to cook! Tomorrow we'll be visiting with John's siblings, and the day after that we'll head out of town for the day to visit with my extended family. Hope everyone is having a great day with family as we reflect on the many blessings we all have.

Winner of American Idol 2024

Katie and I were watching American Idol clips tonight on YouTube, and Katie decided that it's never too early to start practicing for her turn. (After all, 2007 champ Jordin Sparks has been wanting to audition for AI since she was 12 and had to wait until this year to try out -- and win!)

Katie and I were watching Fantasia Barrino sing "Summertime." Nothing like a little Gershwin to inspire my future Broadway star!

Speaking of American Idol, watching it was my biggest guilty pleasure while I was pregnant with Katie! I was glued to the TV every Tuesday and Wednesday night this spring, sometimes redialing with a cell phone in each hand, voting (and even praying) for Melinda Doolittle to win. I know, I'm a real loser. I even shelled out $60 to go see the Idols on tour in September! (Totally not worth it.) But I'll be one of the first to buy Melinda's first album whenever it comes out.

Katie Does the Electric Slide

At Russ's wedding reception this weekend, Katie and I enjoyed dancing -- an activity I usually avoid as much as possible. However, it's much more fun with a baby! My first post on this blog was of us doing the Macarena. Below we're doing the Electric Slide.

One of my biggest regrets from my own wedding is that I was taking photos during the Electric Slide and thus missed being able to do it in my wedding dress. (Actually, maybe I can surprise John on our 5 year anniversary in March by donning the wedding dress and doing the Electric Slide around the house!)

Katie Visits with Grandpa and Great-Grandma

At least every other day, Katie and I try to visit my dad's mother, Mary Roberts. Grandma's physical and mental health have declined rapidly over the last 2 months, and she's now in a rehab facility until her strength and mental acuity hopefully return. Nothing makes Grandma happier than seeing her little great-granddaughter. There's a photo of Katie on her dresser at the rehab facility, and Grandma says that all of the nursing staff have been much friendlier toward her now that the photo of the baby is there. :-)

Here's a video of Katie being held by her Grandpa and Great-Grandma on November 15. As you watch this, please be praying for my grandma, and for my parents as they try to make the best decisions regarding her care. I'm particularly concerned for my grandma's salvation, as she doesn't seem interested in spiritual matters at all, even as she faces her own mortality. Thanks for your prayers for her.

Look Ma, I'm Walking!

One of Katie's favorite toys right now is the Johnny Jump-Up. We introduced it to her earlier this month, and you can see from the video below that she thinks it's super-fun.

The Baby Dance

One of the funniest things we do with Katie these days is the Baby Dance. Katie has had strong legs since she was born, and we noticed she often rocked back and forth while standing up. However, now she does it on cue. All I have to say is, "Katie, do the Baby Dance!" and she'll rock back and forth and smile. If she's fussy, it's an almost surefire way to get her to stop crying. If we're in public, she'll look around at the people around her to make sure they're paying attention to her before she performs. She knows that she's cute when she does it, and she wants to maximize the attention she gets when she exerts the effort! :-) Here's Katie doing the Baby Dance for her Aunt Laura, whom she visited with this weekend in Florida.

Flashback: Halloween

Since I'm starting this blog when Katie's already 5 1/2 months old, I'm going to periodically post "flashbacks" to earlier times in her life. Here's the story of Halloween 2007.

When I was preggers and registering for baby items, I came across an adorable lion costume and added it to my registry. The reason? When John was growing up, he played the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. Except that they didn't have a real lion costume -- he had to make do with a Big Bird costume with a mop on his head. How humiliating! When I saw the costume on the baby registry, I thought, "My baby is going to have a real lion costume!"

My friend Allison (Clark) Sahay sent me the item as a baby gift, and was delighted to know the story behind it -- thanks, Allison!

So on October 28, I got Katie dressed up for the neighborhood block party, which included a costume contest. As I put on the hood, she cried. As I put black face paint on her nose, she cried. However, when she showed up in public and realized how delighted everyone was to see her, she started to enjoy her costume. When I dressed her up again on Halloween itself, she started giggling when I put the face paint on her. And when she saw me putting the lion costume away in storage, she started crying and reaching for it. She's such a ham!

I'm also proud to say that Katie won 3rd place in the neighborhood costume contest. (Of course, according to this stage mom, she deserved at least 2nd -- she was robbed!! ) Here are some photos of Katie in her lion costume, including one with the ribbon and the lion Beanie Baby that she won.