...now try not to get emotional

I have to admit that having Katherine nearly one month ago has changed me in ways I could have never imagined... I can't even put my feelings into words... All I know is that I would do anything for this incredible miracle...I would give my life for her... My love for her - it's not even possible for me to describe it with words... immeasureable... My gosh, I do love her beyond words...
In the last month, the flood of emotions have hit at various points... Like just before we were going to vote, I was feeding Katherine and looking at her beautiful face...and she was holding onto my finger. As I thought about what we were about to do, I instantly felt a wave of emotions... My vote this time was going to be mean so much more because of her... tears...
So, there are various times where I just start to tear up and cry for "no reason at all"
A most recent example... :)
In my travels to Madison, I've listened to a mix CD I have in the car. It's nothing "significant," but there are some awesome songs on the CD... Meanwhile, I heard this song back in the early summer for the first time... I thought it was pretty to listen to, didn't know the title or anything, but I recently found it again and bought it on iTunes...
And, in those intial "listenings" in the summer, I obviously didn't listen to the lyrics... But now, after holding my beautiful baby in my arms, oh how the words mean something so much more... tears... (and it doesn't matter how many times I hear it...still...tears...)
let me know if you need a tissue :)

Cooing and Giggling

A much happier Katherine after eating... She's cooing and giggling a bit... :) So daggone CUTE! :)

Baby K about to erupt :)

It's around feeding time... :) Enjoy the little babe as she starts to fuss... :)

dummies in the waiting room...

Katherine's first doctor's appointment...
~We were late because we couldn't find the pediatrician's office (duh)... I even looked up the directions online...and they had us turning at the street before the correct one... At 10:05, imagine the receptionist's face when she hears, "Umm, yes, we're supposed to be at your office for a 10:00 appointment..." on the phone... Yes, we had to call for directions...
~We get finally get there and get a lengthy sheet to fill out on our new baby... We sat in the very calm waiting room...filled with a mother and her infant son and two little boys and their mom... I got one word, our last name, filled out on the sheet when we hear the name of the infant called... Within a few minutes, we hear "Katherine..." from the doorway... I look up and see the two little boys (who are obviously not Katherine) and think, "Awww, someone didn't show up for their appointment... I don't think those boys are named Katherine..." I go back to filling out the information sheet and hear, "Katherine" spoken again...this time, with a little more urgency... I look around the room, then at Ry, and say, "ohmygosh..." Umm, yah...that would be us... :) I asked the nurse who was calling us to forgive us; we'd never heard our daughter's name called out loud before... :) Before we left, I think I saw the receptionist note "parents...not too swift" on our baby's record sheet... *sigh*
:)

K's big hairy brother... :)

Beezer, who has been the center of our world, really has had an interesting adjustment time in the last few weeks. When I say he was stuck to me 24/7 for the last 8ish years, I'm not kidding. He's been our "baby boy" for a long time... :)
When we brought Katherine home, we let him greet her at the door after I came in to greet him and love on him. He knew something wasn't right, though...he wasn't at all "the same" with me when I walked in... He knew someting was different...
For the last 3ish weeks, he's had very little to do with me. He didn't follow me around or anything... He'd lay there and just look at me with his head on his paws... Doggie depression, without a doubt...
When we took K for her first doctor's appointment, we put her in her carseat to travel, and you could see Beezer's eyes light up. I know he was thinking, "OK...so they brought this thing in the house with this chair...if they're putting her in it again, maybe that means she's LEAVING!!!" How sad he was to see us return with her later... No such doggie luck for him... :)
In the last week, he's started to come around. He lays next to me now...and comes to sit next to me for a neck rub or for a head scratch. He's even decided that it's OK to sleep near me again...
He doesn't really bother Katherine...he will give her a sniff every once and a while, but generally, he just admires her from afar... :) This is a good thing; I was concerned about his reaction and interaction with K... So far, it's been great, but I still don't trust him...

I should probably give Beezer more credit than he gets... He is funny with Katherine... He follows me around with her and wants to always see what she's doing or what I'm doing with her. For example, on Thursday, K was back in our bedroom sleeping in her bouncie seat, and I ran to the kitchen to grab some water to drink. (Beezer comes with me; I never leave him alone with Katherine.) She started to cry, and Beezer immediately looks at me and communicates with his big, brown doggie eyes... When I didn't move quick enough, Beezer walked into Katherine's room to see if she was there. When he realized she wasn't, he stood at her doorway and looked at me in the kitchen. Then, when I didn't come to him, he walked into our bedroom to see if she was there...when he spotted her, he rotated his body and stared in my direction and wagged his tail a bit...as if he was trying to say, "Here she is!! I found her...can you please come and get her so she won't cry...?" When I got her out of her bouncie seat, he sat right at my feet and let out a big sigh...

And thus we learned two things...

~He must hate hearing her cry as much as I do...(Gosh, that rips my heart out...)

~K has a great big brother... :)

amazing... :)

It's been awhile since I've posted...sorry! I always have good intentions and never follow through because SOMEONE always diverts my attention... :) I wouldn't have it any other way, though... :)
We've been LOVING having this new little bundle of joy... I don't know how many people I've told, but if I would have known parenthood would be this wonderful, I would have done it a lot sooner! There are no words to use to convey my love for this child... :)
Ry was off the week of Nov. 3rd...which was great. We enjoyed being together as a family! :) We voted on the 4th, which was also my 32nd birthday! (WOW!) After having Katherine, there wasn't anything that I wanted/needed...she is the perfect gift! :)
We also visited my school one afternoon...so my wonderful teacher friends could meet Miss Katherine. :) I also visited my classroom briefly but was really taken back at how different my kids were. It was like they were muted or something...hard to explain. Their faces lit up, but they were scared to come up to see me or Katherine...I know having a sub has been difficult on them. Anyway, it was great to see everyone, and we'll need to go back soon... :)

Katherine had a Dr.'s appt. on the 3rd, as I mentioned before... It was a much better appointment (she cried almost the entire time for her first appointment), and she managed to make it very exciting. Well, she managed to poop all over the exam table when she had her temperature taken, which meant that the nurse had to clean off the table and Ry had to hold her while I was getting wipes from her bag. Well, Ry didn't pick her up with her blanket for "protection," and she managed to pee all over the front of Ry's shirt, on his jeans, and even on his sneakers. Fun times... :)

This week, K and I hung out "just the two of us" and had a great week. While we missed Ry, we did enjoy being together. Generally, K and I spend the day hanging out, eating (her more than me :)), going for a walk with the dogs, and catching a few TV shows at various points. :) When she naps, I usually eat lunch, take a shower, or do something around the house. At times, I do nap, too...but I've not been that tired during the day... :) I'm loving being here at home with her...it's amazing and wonderful! Oh, this week, we did go in to the high school to visit Ry on Monday...so his teacher friends could see her, too! :) She was a hit, of course! :)
And, Miss K officially hit the "3 week" mark... :) I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I had her... Time is flying...

K had her FIRST real bath by us this week, too! :) Her belly button finally fell off on Sunday, so Tuesday was the "big day." She enjoyed her luxury tub...and liked that we ran a space heater for her to make the bathroom all warm and toasty! :) Then, she got to have another bath on Thursday...unplanned... :) We had a nice "explosive" diaper experience...but she came out of the tub clean and smelling beautifully!

I'm loving every single second of this "mom" stuff...and Katherine is really wonderful, amazing, inspiring... When I look at her, I just about lose it thinking about how amazing it is that she's here...and how incredible her life is...and how perfect she is... She's changed my perspective about nearly everything in so many ways...

I can't wait to see what the next week brings... I can't imagine it getting any better than it already is... I'm in love...again. :)

some new pictures :)

Click on the link below to see some pics of Katherine :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/winterobinspics/BabyK#

A few pictures...

K in the birthing room - the first time I got to hold her. :)


Our little angel

Well worth the wait...

It's been a long time since I've posted... :) I'm sorry... ;)

It's a girl!!!!

Katherine arrived on October 23rd. :) After 23 hours of labor and 3 1/2 hours of pushing, I can now say she was well worth the wait... :) I remain in awe...

Name significance...
First, we need to say it took us awhile to choose a name, officially. It wasn't until the lady came from the records dept. at the hospital that we finally picked... :) Let me just state one fact: It's hard being teachers and naming a child... :)
Katherine is just a name we liked... We like Katie or Kate, too, so we'll probably call her one of those names eventually. We didn't choose it for a particular reason... After thinking about it during my long nights at the hospital, I remembered that Katherine was also the name of my Nanny's mother. My Nanny, my father's mom, passed away in the early 90s, but her mother, Katheryn, is a mystery to us. She died when my Nanny and her siblings were very young, and they were all given up for adoption. No one has a lot of information about my great-grandmother... On my maternal side, Katherine is also a family name...
Elizabeth, her middle name, is also a family name. My mother's middle name is Elizabeth, my grandmother's first name is Elizabeth, and my middle name is a shortened version - Beth. I think the name Elizabeth goes back even farther, but I couldn't think of a better way to honor the most incredible women in my life... :)

We've been home for a little over a week now... :) Everything is going beautifully... I cannot complain about anything, really... Yes, I'd love a little more sleep, but just picking her up erases any sleepiness or anything that I may be feeling at that time. :)

She's nursing like a champ - she's gained about a pound since her weight check last week. :) Woo hooo! :) We got the "OK" to let her sleep as long as she'd like during the night so that we can start to establish a schedule/routine. :) This was music to my ears... There was a time right after we first got home when I have to admit that I was totally...incoherent with the feedings throughout the night! :) I would wake up to feed her but wouldn't remember what time, for how long she fed, etc. That was sort of funny as I was showing her pediatrician my "recording sheet" with question marks instead of true data... :) Now, I'm doing a little better with that... :) She tends to wake every 3ish hours, anyway... :)

Our families were here for the first week or so... :) When we got home from the hospital, my parents arrived a few hours later... My parents left and Ry's parents arrived 3 hours later... :) It is wonderful to have everyone here, yet I have to also admit that it's wonderful to be here as "just the three of us" now.

Katherine is a great baby... She's a good crier, but only when she's really tired, needs her diaper changed or is hungry. She's quite fond of her changing table area - we have lots of great conversations there. :) I love her little coos and baby talk... :) Ry and I are in total and complete love with this child... I stare in amazement as I take in the fact that she's "ours" and that we "made" her... She grew inside of me for several months...and that I was able to give birth to such an incredible human... And, equally so, it's scary to think how much we'll be doing and how much we'll devote to making sure Katherine grows and develops and becomes a person who is honorable and wonderful. We want her to be, simply put, her very best. :)

There is just so much to write, but I'll keep this post short. :) Birth story, various funny or interesting stories, pictures, etc. - they're all to come, I guess... :) When there is time... :)

We stand amazed and in awe of this life we've been entrusted with... We are in total and complete love... :)