3 Month Old Katie Rose

Here's a cute bath time photo. There are also 2 new posts below. Wow, our girl is 3 months old now. We've ALL come a long way, baby! I think back on when we first brought her home. I thouht the day had gone well and while breastfeeding was painful and awkward, I felt like I knew what I was doing. My first uncertain moment was when it came time to put her to bed. I had no idea what blanket to use or how to make her feel secure. I feared I would smother her, or that one blanket wasn't warm enough while another was too hot. I had no idea what to do! 3 months later I can swaddle her in the dark half awake with one hand behind my back. I also remember her screaming fits and how anxious it made me that I couldn't calm her down. I remember begging her to stop crying through my own frantic tears. Nowadays I don't know if it's her development or mine, or maybe I'm just getting better at tuning out her screams, but I can calm her down in a matter of minutes. I think we're going to be good at this parent thing after all.

At 3 months here are some things Katie Rose loves:

#1 above all else, bouncing on the exercise ball

Being propped up on our shoulders so she can see out

Being swaddled

Nuby pacifiers that are only available at Super One in Stevensville and Roseaur's in Bozeman

Playtex drop in bottles. No other bottle is acceptable to her.

Red wine. I dipped her paci in it the other night. She had no objections nor funny faces.

Bath time until we have to wash her neck and hair.

The 5 bulb light fixture over our dining table. She's totally mesmirized.

Dancing - again with the bouncing.

Pushing up on her legs.

She still hasn't rolled over and she's still not intentionally grabbing things though the fist to mouth operation works perfectly and once in a while she'll hold her bottle. She's getting better though. Her fists are starting to relax a little. She hasn't found her feet either although this morning she was staring intently at the pandas on her pajama feet. It won't be long.

Below is a slide show of Katie Rose over the last 3 months. Most of those photos were taken with my phone. We stayed in bed late nearly every morning for the first 2 months and the phone was easier than our camera.

3 Months of Katie Rose

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

WHO DAT!

Thanks to a certain little baby who helped us get a more than certain tax refund, we bought ourselves a big screen tv. We earned this tv with sleepless nights, ringing eardrums, aching backs, and hell, pregnancy alone. We also figured we would be spending alot more time at home these days so we might as well stay home with quality.

Here are Rob and Katie Rose sitting on the exercise ball watching the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

Having a big tv also earned us the opportunity to host a Super Bowl party. Maybe it's the southern hospitality gene; I love having parties. It's also carnival season in Mobile so we turned the party into a Mardi Gras/Super Bowl party and who better to be playing than the New Orlean's Saints? I made chicken and andouille sausage gumbo and oysters rockafeller. I also littered the house with all the tacky Mardi Gras decor. I even had a hand painted Mardi Gras linen towel in the bathroom. And yes, it was ironed. Mom would be proud. We had tons and tons of food and good friends to celebrate. The tv was beautiful, the company fantastic, the food plentiful, and the laughs abundant. Keith even named me the queen of the ball. He is invited back next year.

Katie Rose's First Brush with the Law

K-Ro has been found guilty. One week ago at daycare Katie Rose Vernon was found guilty of not being where she was supposed to be. The State came to visit her daycare as part of an annual inspection following the provider's license renewal. Katie Rose was found to be in violation of the law. We work hard to raise a child who is self-assured and respectful of the law, so imagine our disdain to hear of her mischief at such an early age. She was in the back room swaddled and fast asleep on a futon (which by the way rests on the floor, not above ground). By state law children who are sleeping must be in some sort of safety crib and nowhere else. As her mother I am not at all concerned about the dangers of the crime commited. I say let sleeping babies lie. What concerns me is Katie Rose's complete and utter indifference to the entire situation. When a child gets in trouble a parent must take an introspective look at the child's home life. I now realize she has slept swaddled on our bed, on our couch, in her swing, and in her bouncy seat with nary a thought to what she was doing. Clearly I have misguided her.

"We treat Katie Rose like our own. I would never let something happen to my girls, nor yours, and I try to do at daycare what parents do at home. That way it seems normal to them," our daycare provider stated. But just to be cautious, she held Katie Rose and rocked her for the remainder of the state's visit. Katie Rose enjoyed the extra attention very much, getting exactly what she wanted in the first place. Minor delinquent? Positive reinforcement of bad behavior? Or smart, smart cookie? You decide.