Kate's Last "Only" Weekend

...realizing this past weekend would be Kate's last weekend as an only child. We decided to make it count and focus on family fun. It started on Wednesday of last week with a field trip her school took to a farm owned by a family in the school. it was so gracious of them to ask every out. Once we got there, however, Kate realized that her definition of farm is far different than what she saw. They did have a hay ride, which she loved...me not so much since I'm more than pregnant...and they had a pony and 2 horses. That's about all they had. Kate is more used to Uncle Jason's house where there are several horses, and more importantly, lots of cows. She is also used to Papa Ron's house with even more cows and a pig (although I continue to argue that Porky is in fact a ferrel hog). Regardless, we had fun. Below is a picture of us on the hay ride, which I highly DO NOT recommend for the 8.5 month pregnant crowd.



On Saturday we decided we wanted to be with our dearest friends here (whom we had dinner with the night before too!) so we showed up to Sydney's t-ball game. If you haven't been to a t-ball game lately, you are missing a great time. It is so fun to watch Sydney watch us to make sure we are paying attention. Kate loves to cheer for Sydney. Of course, Kate thinks a tutu is proper attire for a ballgame, and really for everything else for that matter. She now wants a tutu on her body by 7:45 am everyday.



She really gets in to cheering for Sydney!



We also went to the movies and had dinner with some more friends on Sunday. As the day ended I caught Michael and Kate having a super sweet moment on the couch reading/singing her Bible. She LOVES to hear about Jesus and sing songs about him. Before you think she is so sweet and innocent, keep in mind her other favorite songs are Day Tripper and Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. That being said, she really is learning so much about the Bible and God. It's so neat to have that time together as a family to tell the stories and teach her the songs. I just love that time with her. I hope Jude just joins right in!

Basketball and Getting Closer!

...one of my favorite pictures of Kate. She just seems to be getting taller and turning into more of a kid (and less of a toddler) every day. In my opinion, this picture shows that growth.



The headband, while certainly a fashion statement, was also serving a purpose to keep the hair out of her eyes while we played basketball. She is, as Johnny Cash sang, a walking contradiction. She refuses to wear denim right now, unless it is a jean skirt, of any kind. She will not wear pants, and will barely wear knit shorts. It has to be a dress or a skirt, or if not a dress or skirt, then the top has to be something flowy enough you can tell her it is a dress. She wants to wear fancy shoes, and is actually really good at walking in high heels--she can even dance in them. But at the same time she wants to play ball, she has bruises up and down her legs, her favorite toy right now is a vet horse truck and trailer that has a working siren, and is a fan of climbing and jumping off of things. She likes to walk like a pageant girl, but likes to dance to the Zac Brown band.



In Jude news, he is on the way! Since we are having another c-section we know he will for sure be here by May 23rd, which is exactly 2 weeks from today. We are so excited to meet him! We have all been listening to the Beatles' Hey Jude a lot lately, and Kate can sing most of it now and does at random times. We'll keep you posted!

Easter and Spring Fun!

...Easter! We love Easter, and thankfully this year we had good weather. Easter is just a stone's throw away from Baby Jude making his appearance, so we are officially on baby watch. Amanda and Jude are both doing good and each day we keep the little guy in there the better. Amanda is officially 35 weeks today, which is only 1 week earlier than Kate was born, so we know it could be any day now.



Amanda's mom came down for the Easter weekend to see Kate and help us get the last few things ready for Jude. Last year Kate discovered egg hunting and I think we hunted eggs from Easter to Labor Day (before we finally "LOST" all of her plastic eggs). She remembered the joy of the hunt and we spent much of the weekend finding good places to have brief egg hunts around Lubbock. The grounds of the Health Sciences Center was the favorite, and we spent about an hour hiding and finding eggs. As a bonus to hunting eggs around Tech in the evenings is that we also spent a lot of time watching the jack rabbits playing.

For Easter morning we had bought Kate's Easter dress some time ago, but we forgot that it came with a matching dress for a doll. So, of course Boo got to dress like Kate for church and wear his Easter best! I think he looks good, don't you?



Headed into church.



Kate and Granny (or as Kate calls her, Guinea).


Hunting eggs at Tech!




What's Easter without a little egg dyeing?



Kate and Logan at Sydney's t-ball game. She and Logan really love each other. It took some effort for Kate to finally convince Logan that he should like her, but I think she finally managed.


I couldn't resist taking a picture of Kate sitting in her lawn chair with her legs crossed. Such a big girl!


Side note: Kate loves butterflies!


Happy Easter!

Dance With Me Daddy!

...Kate still in to dancing. Except now, she wants to wear my heals to do it. This past weekend, while I was getting ready for Jude's shower, I took these pictures of the 2 of them dancing. She can walk in heals surprisingly well.

Jude's Shower

...my beautiful friend Kristi being excited about our baby boy enough to host a shower for him. Michael and I have become very close to Kristi, her husband Jeremy, and their 2 amazing kiddos. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. They have really helped make Lubbock feel like home. As you can see, Kristi, and her sweet mom, put together a lovely table of goodies for the occasion. Baby Jude really liked eating all of it! I would like to thank the both of them, and my friend Kim for coming and celebrating Baby Jude with me.

Busy, Busy, Busy

...realizing we have a very busy, but very fun schedule. Michael and I are enjoying life and I think Kate is right there with us! Kate's school was able to go to the football field to play with coaches and players last week. It was so much fun and pretty neat. Kate LOVED playing ball on the field. However, she did not want to have anything to do with the coaches and players. Several tried to play with her, but she was not interested.

What's bigger? The ball or my belly?

This is Kate and her friend Lauren. She loves playing with Lauren (she has good taste...her parents are Okies!)



This is what Kate did any time someone tried to talk to her. She would talk to them, but only with head bowed and on the ball.

Unfortunately, her ball had rolled too close to this player so she wasn't able to put her head on it like in the previous picture, so she just stood there.

The Double T class! This is a picture of Kate's classmates, teachers, and student assistants.

Well, we've been going to the doctor pretty frequently lately. For about the last 6 weeks we have had weekly appointments at the high risk doctor, mainly due to the preeclampsia I had with Kate. It's really a great opportunity to see Jude on a weekly basis and I think it helps Kate bond with him.

Speaking of Jude, we have been very busy working on his room. Here is a sneak peak. We still have some things to do but the crib and new twin trundle bed are ready to go! This weekend Ron and Donna came down to help build shelves in his closet (and play with Kate). It was great to have some help getting things ready! We love how it is all coming together. I can't wait to get the pictures framed and hung on the wall. They are amazing.

Then and Now

...realizing how much Kate has changed in a year. I was uploading some new pictures to the computer when I noticed what pictures were included in the "past 12 months" album. When I showed Michael he said, "No, that was 2 years ago. That can't be last year." I said, "Yes it is." Then I showed him the information about when the picture was added to the computer. It is amazing that this time last year, when the tulips were blooming on campus, we took these pictures. Then we compared them to pictures we took this past week. What a difference a year makes!

Then



Now