Kate meets the Gonzales clan

Great Grandma Diane and Great Grandpa Carlos came to town to see their kids, and also to meet baby Kate.  Now they have two great granddaughters.  Here's Great Grandma Diane holding Kate for the first time.

 

And Great Grandpa Carlos.

And some more cute photos with Emeline in her new outfit from Grandma Diane.

 

 

 

 

Uncle John and Aunt Pilar and cousin Lauren got to meet her too.  I love the look on both John and Kate's face in this one.

And with the girls!

Now, Kate just needs to meet Uncle Daniel, and she'll have met the whole Gonzales clan...well the immediate family that is ;)

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!