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 :)

One week

Here's our Baby Kate at one week, and her new little piggy to help us see how much she grows.

One week, 6 lbs 8 oz, 20 inches long

At one week, Kate is still pretty much eating and sleeping, but she's doing both well.  That is she eats well and sleeps well, though more eating than sleeping these days.  She is as sweet is can be and she loves to cuddle.  We could hold her and stare at her for hours.  She's got quite the cry when she wakes up to eat though, sometimes she sounds like a seagull squawking.  Sometimes we get an hour or so of awake time when we get to watch her blue eyes take in the world.  Enjoy some outtake photos of Kate and her piggy, as well as some pictures of her with her eyes open.

 

  

Emeline is also doing well.  We can tell she's in a transition, getting used to having a baby around, but she shows a lot of interest in Baby Kate, and she loves to hold her.  

 

Since Baby Kate got a new piggy, Emeline got a new piggy too...but not just any piggy...Olivia!  And Olivia dressed as a cow that she can wear on her back.  She also got a new book about Olivia all dressed up, and has had fun with her special present.  

 

 

4th of July

Kate got to meet a bunch of new friends on the 4th of July.  Our church home group had a picnic, and naps and feedings all lined up, so we decided to go and spend some time with friends.  Everyone was very excited to meet Baby Kate.  Kate got to meet lots of people, including a few of Emeline's friends' little sisters.  

 Here she is checking things out on the blanket.

Here's Jack's little sister Cosette saying hello.

And the three round two baby girls from our home group....little sisters Cosette, Faith, and Kate.

The whole group!

Grandpa David meets Kate

Grandpa David arrived the Tuesday after Kate was born, to spend time with his granddaughters, cook, clean and gennerally help us out in our sleep deprived state.  We are very grateful for his generosity and company.  Here are his first moments with Baby Kate.

 

First doctors appointment and a few more firsts

Kate had her first doctors appointment on Tuesday.  It was an adventure packing the family in the car and having an outing.  Here's our backseat all packed up with kids!

Emeline saw us getting out the stroller we used with her a while back, and immediately got upset saying it was "her stroller".  But she was content to push her sister after we got inside.

 

Here's little Kate getting undressed for her check up.

Kate weighed in at 6 lbs 4.5 ounces, down 10% from her birth weight of 6 lbs 14 ounces, but the doctor was not concerned because she's been eating well.  We came back a couple days later and she was up to 6 lbs 8 ounces, so we are glad her weight is on the rise.  

 

After the doctors appointment Emeline was antsy, so we ran a quick errand nearby, got a snack, and headed to the park for a short time for Emeline to run around.  Here's Kate sleeping while Emeline swings on her favorite swing.

We forgot how portable newborns are, and Kate is very content to sleep a lot, while she's not eating of of course...which is quite frequent.  But since Kate is breast feeding well it's been much easier than we expected to be out and about, and Emeline still does best when she gets a lot of time out of the house.  So we've taken advantage of having both parents home to do some short outings early on.  Later in the week Grandpa David took Emeline to Gymboree, while Wes, Kate and I ran some errands.  Then we all had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, so we got to have another first with Kate.  First time at a restaurant with two kids!

We are grateful that we have such healthy, beautiful girls, and we are enjoying being home with them immensely!

Kate goes home

All dressed and ready to go.

Introducing the car seat.

Not such a fan.

Ok, acceptable.

 

Proud papa. 

 What the stork dropped off ;)