Rancho with Grandpa

One of our last outings while Grandpa David was in town was a walk to the farm at Rancho.  We went earlier during his visit too, but too late to see the animals at the farm.  This time we went in the morning and packed a lunch.  But alas, the farm is closed Mondays, so we missed the animals again.  But we had a lovley walk.

 

And a lovely lunch.

I just love watching these pigtails bounce.

 

One month

Happy 1 Month Kate!  As we realized Kate was turning 1 month, we remembered how when my mom, Grandma Susan, was here to help out when Emeline was born, she surprised us with not only a delicious dinner, but also a special cake to celebrate Emeline's first month of life.  It was a difficult month, given that at one month, she hadn't even reached her gestational due date, so it was definitley a month to celebrate accomplishing.  In memory of that celebration, we thought it was only fitting to get Kate a cake for her 1 month celebration too!  Here are some pictures of Katie Sue and her cake!

 

 

 

At one month, Kate is still very much a newborn, but getting more alert every day.  She mostly just eats and sleeps, but she has longer and longer periods of being awake.  She's pretty good at tummy time and getting good head control, and doesn't seem to fuss much at it.  She still eats every 2-3 hours around the clock. She's got a very loud squawking cry, that goes from calm to squawk in almost no time.  It's loud, but it's good to know we will always hear her.  She's got beautiful blue eyes, though I wonder what color they will be later, a very interesting color light blondish/reddish brown hair, and the sweetest little red lips.  Oh, and her cheeks are delicious and getting chubbier everyday.  Here's a little video of her I took at 4 weeks.

Here are some pictures with her piggy for her 1 month photo shoot.

 

 

 

 

And here is our first of her growing photo series!  Look how she's grown in 3 weeks!

One week, 6 lbs 8 oz, 20 inches long (down from birth weight of 6 lbs 14 oz)

One month, 9 lbs 9 oz, 21 inches long

Fun at Preschool

The teachers at Emeline's preschool are really great about taking pictures and sending them to the parents along with a weekly update.  I love hearing about the fun things Emeline is doing, as well as getting a few snapshots into her day.  Here some recent favorites. 

 

 

 

 

Ice cream with my girls

I've been blessed with so much help with the girls, since my dad is still here, that I haven't actually ventured very far into the world of caring for two kids yet.  But I'm trying to be observant and stragetize whenever I can.  I also have lots of opportunities to blog when my dad takes Emeline to the park or on other fun outings.  So, in August, when my dad goes home, and preschool is on summer vacation, don't be alarmed when the posts stop.  Or maybe you should be alarmed and send in some reinforcements?  But I digress...

One afternoon I went for a solo outing with the girls to have some ice cream.  It was great to get out for a walk, and give Emeline a treat as well as some mommy time.  Kate slept through most of the outing.  Emeline loves ice cream.  Who doesn't right?  Whenever I ask her what kind of ice cream she wants, she says "chocolate", being sure to pronounce every syllable of that word.  We went to Baskin Robbins.  I felt bad just getting her chocolate ice cream when there are so many flavors to choose from, but I didn't hold her up to see the 31 flavors available.  Maybe a bit overwhelming for a two year old?  Here are some pictures.

Tricycle riding

Little did we know that Emeline had already been mastering the skill of riding a trike.  Most trikes she's tried are too big for her, so she can't pedal well, but when we assembled her new trike and adjusted the fit for her, she just started pedaling away!  I was amazed, I thought she wouldn't get the coordination and strength to pedal for another few months or more, but I guess I underestimated her.

So the next day, Grandpa, myself, baby Kate, and Emeline went for a walk to a nearby elementary school so she could practice riding around.  Grandpa helped push her on the trike to the school, but after the trip there, and some riding around at the school, she had it down, and she rode almost the whole way home by herself!  That's our big girl!

Tricycle building

Baby Kate is a very generous little sister.  When she was born she brought gifts for her big sister.  When they met for the first time in the hospital, Kate gave Emeline a fun sticker book.  Later at home, she gave her a music player, so Emeline can play music for Kate while she nurses.  And most recently, Baby Kate gave Emeline a new tricycle, so she can ride around and play in the backyard.  Emeline was very excited about this last gift from her little sister.  She even said she would share her tricycle with Baby Kate when she was big enough.  Emeline really enjoyed building the trike with Papa!

 

Sisters

Silly...
 

 

 

And serious...

A few faces of Katie Sue

 

 

 

 

 

Newborn videos

Newbornland is a very tired, but beautiful place to be.  We love watching Kate move around slowly and figure out how to move her body, take in the world without judgement in her big blue eyes, smell her sweet smell, and hold her close to us.  We know how fleeting this stage is, so we're trying to take lots of pictures, and remember to take videos too.  I never want to forget this sweet stage of life.

Wes and I get such a kick out of the newborn rooting reflex.  Did you know that newborns have the ability to find and latch on to the breast by themselves?  It's pretty cool, if you hold them on your chest, they will bob their heads up and down looking for the breast, if they don't find it, they lift their heads up and look, and if they still don't find it they start moving their hands around to look.  Kate is a big eater, so she does this very well.  


We don't have a video of that, but....another part of the rooting reflex is that if you touch their cheek when they are hungry, they will turn towards the stimulus with an open mouth.  We love to kiss her cheek, and then she'll turn towards us to give us kisses back.  



And here's another of her alert and looking around.

Kate's Inspiration

How did Kate Susana get her name?

Kate is a name both Wes and I liked when we were considering baby names the first time around.  It's simple, classic, and Wes really thought Katie Zuber sounded super cute, especially for a little sister.  So when we found out we were having another girl, we came back quickly to this name.  Kate comes from the name Katherine, which means "pure".  Wes thought we might name her Katherine, and call her Kate or Katie, but I liked the simplicity of Kate, and I preferred to call her that from the beginning.

Early on in the pregnancy, we tossed around lots of middle name ideas, but none that either of us could agree on.  But as my mom's melanoma progressed, and we watched her slip away from us, the name Susana started to ring true in our ears as a memory of my mother's name Susan.  My mom was not big on traditions or things of that nature, so I'm not sure what she would think of her granddaughter bearing her name in her memory, but I hope that it would make her feel loved, honored and remembered.  I also hope Kate will feel a connection with her grandmother, despite not being able to meet her.

My mom, Susan Elizabeth Gonzales - around age 1

Kate Susana Zuber - 10 days old

We did struggle with the idea of giving our daughter a name where she will be one of many, but it is also because we have many Kates/Katies in our lives who are very dear to us, that even though it's a common name, we both have lots of fond memories with it.  After deciding on the middle name Susana, we thought Kate Susana sounded beautiful together, and we can even call her Katie Sue!


We love you mom, and we love you Kate.  We hope this name is a blessing to you both.

Kate's First Bath

Getting ready to go in...

Papa places her carefully in the whale tub...

Oooh, not liking this so far...

Ok, if I can suck on Papa's knuckles, this is bearable...

Warm wash cloth makes it better...

 

 

 

Curly hair when wet!

Getting out is not much fun either...

Warm and dry!

 

Post bath with Papa! 

 All clean :)