Hard to Believe

...me thinking how big Kate is looking these days--like a real, live little girl. One of my co-workers and his wife had their first baby (a boy) this last weekend. He seemed so, so small, but weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz., which was almost twice the size of Kate when she was born. Here was the post Amanda made 1 year ago...I can't believe it's the same little girl in the photos.

A Mystery Package (part 2)

....Kate finally getting to play with what was on the inside of the mystery package. Quote of the day from the Parents company that made the toy, "When the toy does less, the child does more." Let me confirm this statement for you Parents Toy Company, our child does a lot with this toy! The picture at the end of this post is a face of pure joy. She has always had good rhythm and likes music, so it wasn't a surprise that her favorite part of the set is the drumsticks. And don't worry Tiffany and Brandy, when she's this excited about something it doesn't get annoying; it's just fun to watch.

A Mystery Package (part 1)

....getting home from our orientation dinner tonight to find a mystery package on our front porch. Our amazing friends, Brandy (in Fresno, California) and Tiffany (in Eugene, Oregon), mailed Kate's birthday presents to her. Kate had so much fun with her mystery package--from the brown box to the actual presents, a fun dress and a music set with drum. She played forever with the music set tonight and had to drag her away from it for bed time. I have a lot of pictures of her with the drum, so I will post more later! Thank you Brandy and Tiffany, we all love it!

Birthday Girl

...Kate's 1st birthday! Well, the day is off to a quiet start, other than the occasional thunder. It's a cool 70 degrees and rainy. It is the perfect day to celebrate since it is not too hot to think. Kate and I are at home. We just returned from having lunch with Daddy at work so Kate is pooped and napping.
I have been reflecting on the last year and can't believe how fast it has gone. It feels like just yesterday that everyone rushed to the hospital for the early arrival of our little Monkey. She has had quite a year. She has been to Austin (twice), Houston, Oklahoma (multiple times), and Hawaii! She has gone from weighing 5 pounds to somewhere in the mid-20's. She can say Mama--her first word, Dada, Bubba (that's what we call our pup Stanley), and ball. She can give me 5 and wave hello and goodbye. She's not walking yet but can stand unassisted for about 10 seconds so it will not be long. She loves her puppies more than anything and likes to share her toys with them. She likes spicy food (especially Asian food), hamburgers, fruit, yogurt, and CAKE! She really likes cake.
She has her moments but overall she is the best little girl ever. I am humbled that God gave me the blessing of being Kate's mommy. I didn't know if I would ever hear the name "mommy" come from a little one. I am reminded at the true miracle she is and hope that I can be the best Mommy I can to her. She deserves it.

A Second, First Birthday

...Kate's Lubbock birthday party. We had a great time, and I think Kate did too. We had some good friends over to the house and just kept it low-key for her first birthday. Amanda made some amazing tye-dye cupcakes...and the cake mix was from scratch, so they tasted as amazing as they looked. They were definitely a big hit with the little kids and the fully grown ones too. Here are some of the picture highlights, with more to come later.

I asked her how old she would be on Wednesday, and look what she made. She's a genius I tell you.


Her "happy birthday" banner.


The cupcake tree didn't have many cupcakes on it once the party got started.


Here's the inside of one.


Some of our friends (see Kristi's Cuties blog on our page) found these cute shoes for Kate that when she walks on them squeaks like a dog toy.

Our New Puppy Kate

...Kate may be...possibly...potentially...spending slightly too much time being raised around dogs. Last night Kate crawled to the back door (which is where the dogs go in and out), put her hands on the glass, pulled herself up, and....wait for it...barked. Yes, you heard me. She barked. She barked at the back door like she was just one of the dogs. I'm thinking that some time spent around other kids at the Tech child development center this fall might be a good thing. Don't you?

Leaving Oklahoma

...loading up our silver sleigh and leaving Oklahoma. I know, we've been back in Texas all week, but I'm a bit behind on posts...so consider this the next chronological step in my blog posting stream of consciousness. Funny, I just started thinking about our family's definition of home. I've always identified myself as an Okie, and still do, but our little family is no longer an Okie dominant crew. We have 2 Okies (Amanda and I), 1 Kentuckian (Sophie), and 2 Texans (Kate and Stanley). Kate's birth happened so fast last year I wasn't able to coordinate having an Oklahoma flag and some red dirt soil in the delivery room. See, that stream of consciousness takes all kinds of twists and turns.

I digress. On the night before our departure we took some pictures of Kate (and the dogs) outside in Amanda's parents' back yard. Here are some of the highlights...


Granny showing Kate her goldfish


Kate now trying to catch one of Granny's goldfish


Kate still trying to catch a goldfish and Sophie hoping she succeeds


Me and the dogs taking one last look at the Oklahoma evening

A First, First Birthday (part 3)

....the present pictures! As you can see she had a mountain of them to open, of which she was genuinely interested.

the haul


this could take a while


she's found one she wants to open


the bow got her. She might have Attention Deficit Di oooohhh shiny.


cousin Kason helping explain how the present thing works.

A First, First Birthday (part 2)

....Kate's first taste of cake! She wasn't too sure about it at first, but she started to get the hang of it as she went along. She stayed fairly clean, but she loved the strawberry cake!

A First, First Birthday (part 1)

...Kate's first, first birthday party. Since we knew we were going to be in Oklahoma for a week around the 4th of July, we decided to have Kate's birthday party a couple of weeks early for our family and friends in the sooner state. In case you didn't notice, it was a monkey party. I took a lot of pictures today and will upload some of them over the next few posts (including the first taste of cake and opening presents pictures!). The weather cooperated beautifully today with a high in the 80's, and 30 of our family and friends came over to wish Kate a happy birthday. Amanda worked hard in the kitchen making cupcakes, making cake, making icing, then icing the cupcakes and cake. More pictures to come later...

Happy 4th of July!

(Kate having her first taste of Baker sweet tea...it doesn't get any better than this Kate. Picture with her Great-Grandpa Baker and G-G Debbie.)

...a great 4th of July! I played in our family's "Harrington Family & Friends Golf Tournament" this morning and played well. We then went over to the Baker's for our traditional 4th of July get together. The Baker's is my mom's side of the family and we had a great time spending the 4th with them today. And, by the way, if people out there who follow the blog don't know my mom's side of the family--check out the picture with Kate being held by her Aunt Tami (my mom's sister). Can you tell they're related?????!!!! Kate is now sound asleep, even with fireworks exploding every few seconds in all directions. Happy 4th everyone.

A Kate trifecta...mommy, swimming, and a puppy!


Related much? Kate with her Great Aunt Tami.


Kate, Aunt Tami, and her Great Grandpa Baker