Still Here....

We are still here. I have been a slacker about my blog. We really don't get out much and there is not much news.

Brady's dad has gone downhill very quickly in the last couple of weeks. He has been in the hospital and they are sending him home today with Hospice care. He is so miserable, I just hope it doesn't get so prolonged that he has to live like this for a long time.

Kate is getting big and into everything. She has 8 teeth now. It was so funny, she just got them all at once. She is sure wanting to stand up. It is funny to watch her try to figure out how to stand without holding onto something. She usually ends up on her butt, but I imagine she will figure it out before too long.

We are looking forward to spring and some nicer weather. Kate's birthday is on Easter this year, so that will be fun (at least for me!!) Our snow is almost gone and it has been raining. I feel spring in the air! Yeah!

We are looking forward to a couple of trips this summer and fall. My old work gave us a travel gift certificate for my five years of work there. When we got it I was hugely pregnant so we hadn't used it yet. We booked a couple of three day trips and we are really excited about it. We would never have gotten to go if we had had to pay for it ourselves! Brady said I could buy a new camera to take, so I am hoping for some fun pictures to share!

Gratitude

I have been feeling very grateful lately. It has been on my mind a lot that we are really very blessed. I was listening to Good Morning America this morning while I was in my big chair reading and watching Katie play with her little kitchen set. It was 8:30am and I was still in my pj's and not feeling too bad about it, either. I was hearing them talk about childcare costs and how people are struggling with that more than ever right now and it struck me how blessed we are. I get to stay home with my sweet baby every day and just enjoy her. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, a home to live in, a reliable vehicle, food, clothes, the best family anyone could ever want, and I get to buy a new purse now and then when I have some extra dollars. I belong to a church full of wonderful happiness and purpose alongside some of the most awesome people ever. I cannot believe how blessed I am. I am overwhelmed by the feeling that I have this abundance of blessings in my life and that I have done absolutely nothing to deserve them. I guess that is my goal now. To try to deserve them.

New Year...

We had a nice holiday and a fun New Year's and are now settling in to our routine again and getting along nicely. Things are usually quiet and slow and that is how we like them. We had a New Year's Eve party here and it was really fun. Kate was pretty sick before Christmas. We even made a trip to the Emergency Room. It was pretty scary, but she came out all right. After waking up all night with a high fever and needing more medicine, she forgot how to sleep all night and nap in her crib. After about a week of that after she was fully recovered, we had to remind her how it was done. I am glad to say it took only one night of letting her cry herself to sleep for her to remember and she is falling asleep on her own in her bed at night and for both of her naps. Needless to say, it is much better! She sure is a sweet little thing. I can't believe how mild-mannered and even-tempered she is. She just doesn't get upset easily. We are being spoiled and when we have another baby, we will get the full taste of that, I am sure. For now, though, we are enjoying her and watching her grow. She is getting teeth #3 and #4 now. She is getting a third one on the bottom, and of all random teeth, one of her top teeth - on the side! Not even a middle one. I have to say, it looks pretty dang funny. I keep trying to get a picture and will post it as soon as I can get her to stop trying to chew on the camera long enough for me to take it!

She has also finally decided she will sit and play instead of just rolling everywhere. And, just like everyone predicted, she decided to sit, crawl, and pull herself up to kneel and stand all within a matter of days of each other. She sure keeps me on my toes!

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Tuesday evening with my whole family at Amanda's house. Santa came and Katie sat on his lap. It was so fun to see her with him. We got totally spoiled by everyone and had a yummy dinner.

On Christmas Eve, we went to my parent's house. Josh was there and we had a spaghetti dinner and just hung out. That was also really fun.

Christmas Day was so nice. We got up and had all of Katie's Santa stuff there for her to find. She seemed to like it and she loved opening the presents and ripping the paper. It was fun to get it all set up. The weather was horrible, but we braved it and got to Brady's parent's house with his whole family, where we got spoiled again!

All in all, we had a wonderful holiday. I just with it would have lasted longer!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was really nice. We went to Brady's sister's house with Brady's whole family. We had good food and good company. Tammy (sil) and I went shopping on Friday. We got to Home Depot at 6am and I got home at 6pm. It was a lot of fun and we got lots of good deals! Needless to say, I was exhausted, but got what I needed!

Twilight...

So, we went to Twilight last night at 12:30. It was so good. I went with Amanda, Amy, Amy, Kristy, Rachel, & Becca. We went and had pie first and then jetted over to the theater. We have had our tickets for ages, so we busted right in there and got our seats. We had a wonderful time. I forgot to take pictures, but I did get one of the marquis for today's showings. If you haven't seen it: GO!!

If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard

I recently had a birthday. I can't believe that I am going to be in my twenties for only 50 more weeks! I turned 29 on November 1st. I got up to a beautiful package from Brady. He got me a CD I have been wanting and some perfume I have been wanting. He does a good job. We also got to go pickup shopping and out to dinner while our TOTALLY AWESOME neighbors had Katie. They are so great. It was a fun day. My "girls" took me to dinner at Garcia's and I got to wear a ridiculous sombrero and they sang to me. What fun! They all gave me some fun gifts, shirts, jewelry, a Scentsy warmer, a DVD, socks, all kinds of fun!



Also, my Katie girl has two little teeth peeking out the bottom and I have been trying to get a picture of them. They are so cute! She is a little eater now and will eat anything you put in her mouth! Hallelujah! I was so hoping I wouldn't have to deal with a picky eater. My problem is going to be keeping stuff OUT of her mouth! That kid will put anything in there. I experienced last night just what can happen. She loves tags and is always chewing on the ones on her toys. Last night she was playing on the floor and Brady and I were in the kitchen. We heard her gagging and coughing so I dashed in to check on her. She had a tag clear down her throat (it was still attached to the toy!) and couldn't get it out. I grabbed it out and picked her up to pound her on the back so she could catch her breath. I guess the gagging was too much for her and she puked all over me. Carrots, people. Needless to say there is now a white t-shirt and onesie in the garbage and a nursing bra (argh!) and pj's soaking in Spray 'n Wash. Oh, what fun!!!

And, last but certainly not least, Brady's dad is not doing well. I am afraid we will probably lose him before the year is out. He is arranging with Brady and his brothers what needs to be done for their mom in the spring. When I had Katie down there on Halloween he looked at her and just cried and cried and told me and my mil Dixie how he knew he didn't have much time left with her. I have never seen him absolutely break down like that. It was all I could do to maintain my composure. It was just me and Katie and my in-laws there, and it was a very bitterweet moment for me. He is such a sweet, wonderful man and just the best father to my hubby and his siblings. Brady is the only one of the siblings who will be speaking at the funeral. It is an assignment he is taking very seriously and wants to do well at. I am so thankful to this wonderful man for raising such a wonderful husband and father for me and Katie. He is one of the least selfish people I know and Brady is the same way. I have been so blessed to know him for the short time I have. I just wish that Katie could know him. She will have to delay that for a while, but she will have that chance someday, and I am so thankful for that knowledge.