rusty and cate

To celebrate Rusty's blessing day,
Cate gave him a big High 5...on the face.


Then she tried to comfort him...

by poking him in the eyes.

Grandma came to the rescue.
Cate held his hand.

All that crying made her worried.

Then Cate made it all better
by sharing her hair accessories.

I think this might be Uncle Kevin's
Cotton Candy Pink nightmare.

Congratulations, Rusty!
Thanks for a blessed day.

mini pedi

When we found out that we were going to have a baby girl I was thrilled. All those special mommy-daughter moments started going through my head.

Painting her toenails.

Putting her hair into little piggy tails.

Going to the mall to get her ears pierced.

Teaching her how to shave her legs.

Buying her first brassiere.

Picking out fabric together and sewing her prom dress.

I imagined her first pedi to be a cheery shade, maybe something called Cotton Candy Pink. I dreamed of how perfect her little toenails would look peeking out of her cutest pair of summer sandals.

I didn't paint them last summer. I'm not sure they make a nail polish brush small enough for those preemie toes.

Spring is here and so are my thoughts of those cute summer sandals and having my mommy-daughter pedi dream come true. Imagine my horror today when I walked into the room and saw that Aunt Cindy had painted Cate's toenails.

Not pink. Not red. White.

My Cotton Candy Pink dream was shattered.

Her hair is too short for piggy tails. Next on the list is getting her ears pierced. I asked Dan once how old he thought Cate should be when that happens. He said twelve.

She'll be twelve in 84 days. I'm sure he meant months because how could he possibly expect me to wait 12 years for that special mommy-daughter moment?

I know which earrings will be her first. Some sparkly little faux diamond studs. Only one color will do.

Cotton Candy Pink.

dinner with the Dicks

The Dicks were here. So were some Kemps, a few Hunsakers, a Dyck and some Olds. We had a mini family reunion on Tuesday night. We're just sad Grama Bama went home on Monday and missed all the fun. We could have added a Clark to the mix. Maybe next year.


The lovely lady holding Cate's hand is Helen Dick. She is my mom's cousin. Helen's mother (Helen Reimer) and Glenora's mother (Eva Reimer) are sisters. So Helen Dick and I (and Judy too) are first cousins once removed.

Helen (whose maiden name is Dyck) is married to John Dick. He's the snowy-haired fellow sitting on the arm of the couch. Dan, Danny and I met Helen and John this time last year. They are from Canada and vacation in Arizona in the winter. They were passing through Utah on their return trip home. We dined in their R.V. last year. Imagine the fun with little 16-month-old Danny opening every cupboard and drawer in their tiny R.V. kitchen. I have a headache just remembering it.

Helen contacted Norbert (holding Cate in the picture) this year and asked if we would like to meet up again. I decided that we should probably get together at my house instead of the R.V. That way we'd have room for Judy and the boys to come along and meet them too. Helen's brother, Jake Dyck, was along for the ride as well. He's sitting on the couch behind me in the picture.

In case anyone is wondering, Judy's husband (Dave) is out of the picture because he was at school. Jarrett is out because he was hiding behind the kitchen door. Dan is out because he was taking the picture...and because he makes fun of Canadians.

Cate with her first cousin twice removed

Danny, me, Jake and Cate

We had a nice time eating and chatting. I even got a new facebook friend out of it!

eleven years

Happy anniversary, Dan!

You git what you git
and you don't throw a fit.

War Eagle,
Cathy

p.s. Thanks for the reminder.

probably

Probably RSV. That's the diagnosis for Cate.

Probably a sinus infection. That's the diagnosis for Danny.

I didn't realize RSV could be a "probably" but that's what the pediatrician said yesterday at Cate's 9 month check up. She's had a runny nose and cough since Saturday night. He says she's in the window of opportunity for it to get better or worse. Oh, joy.

She didn't have to get any shots this time but she did get a toe pricked for blood. They tested her hematocrit (level of red blood cells) and it came back a little low. Now she gets to take iron supplement drops for the next 3 months. Oh, joy.

Danny had a cough for a week. It went away last week and it's back again, along with a runny nose. The doctor saw some drainage in the back of his throat. I don't know how he managed to see anything with Danny's lack of cooperation but I guess that's why we pay him the big bucks. So Danny's on an antibiotic now. Oh, joy.

I'm going to be sick next.

Probably.

big bath

I gave Cate a bath in the big tub for the first time. She LOVED it. She spent 20 mintues splashing water, grabbing toys and clapping her hands. She even had wrinkles on her toes when she got out.

mmmmm

Anyone hungry for a Danny sandwich?

Looks yummy to me.

cate

Cate spent some time in a little photo shoot last week with my neighbor, Candis. She was stingy with her smiles (Cate, not Candis), mostly because she was just into her somebody hold me part of the afternoon. Here are some of my favorites.

bye, grama bama

See Cate's expression in this picture? That's how we're feeling around here today.

Grama Bama left for the airport this morning. Jarrett, Kris, Danny, Cate and I were watching out the front room window as she drove away with Judy. We were waving furiously and so was she.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jarrett said, "I miss her already."

Kris said, "I always cry when she goes."

Danny said, "Grama not go bye-bye."

Cate said, "Who's going to hold me all day?" (Well, she didn't actually say it but I'm pretty sure she thought it.)

Here's more pictures from her visit. I'm hoping they'll make her come back sooner than she planned.

Cate loves getting snuggles from Grama.

I think Grama was teaching Danny how to plug his ears so he'll be prepared for when she starts to sing.

Grama Bama bought new jammies for all the kids. The boys' say "Don't bug me." Cate's have butterflies on them.

Danny's doing a little experiment to see if he can get electrocuted by the Operation game.

Come back soon, Grama Bama.
We miss you already!

nine months

2 crooked teeth
1 little dimple
2 big beautiful eyes
1 adorable giggle
2 chubby cheeks
1 happy baby

antique

From the mouths of babes

(or an almost six-year-old)

"You're an antique, Grama.
That means old."

bubbles

perfect timing

Birds are singing.
Bees are buzzing.
Dandelions are blooming.
Cate is napping.
Big boys are outside playing.
Grama Bama is smiling.

I couldn't be happier that Spring and Grama Bama
decided to show up in the same week!

Perfect.

bowling

On Saturday we headed over to Jack and Jill's for ten frames of bowling fun. Actually, only the first three or four frames were fun. I had no idea how long it would take for five adults and three kids to have all their turns. It was more like four kids and four adults since Grama Bama got to use the bowling ball slide too.

Cate was an angel the entire time.
Aunt Judy? Only until the fifth frame.

Danny thoroughly enjoyed himself. I don't think he had a clue what was going on though. He rarely ever stuck around to see if his ball knocked down any pins.

Check out those cute little bowling shoes on Danny.

Danny, Kris and I were the only people to not break 100.
Maybe I'll try bumpers and the ball slide next time.