at 10 weeks

i think i'll follow the rule we used in a student organization i used to advise. if you have something negative to share, sandwich it between two positives.

the first positive: sunday was a jared's first father's day. we celebrated in sundown at cam and stacey's. what a delicious spread! four generations of jones/buchanans/mccauleys gathered for delicious ribs, sausage, brisket, baked beans, and, of course, lots of love for baby cate.
i have to say, it makes my heart happy for all of us to be sitting in a circle just watching her be the sweet baby she is. i love seeing her adored by her family. and no one adores her more than her amazing dad. his love for her is a beautiful thing to behold. thank you, thank you, thank you for blessing little c with jared. now the negative...we had our 2 month appointment with dr. g today and little c is too little. she's only gained 1 ounce since our 3 week visit. so mommy is closing shop and our friend similac advanced is taking over. i'm really bummed to be out of the feeding business. there's no changing that. however, there is a silver lining to my little cloud.

as j pointed out, i will be able to get some extra zzz's since he can give her last meal at night. apparently, i've been in a deep, deep sleep the last couple of nights when it was time for her 11:30 meal. 2 nights ago, j said, "honey, it's time to wake up," and i asked him, "what do i need to do now?" last night when he attempted to rouse me from my sleep i said, "just let things take their course." i have no memory of either conversation. i guess working half days and late night (for me) nursing are taking their toll on my coherence.

j also pointed out that other people will get to be more involved in her feeding. perfect timing for the second positive.

most importantly, cate will get what she needs to move past weight maintenance and start growing. she has been such a good baby. sleeping, smiling, cooing. i can't imagine the super baby she will be when she gets enough to eat!

and i would be less than honest if i didn't include one positive thought i had. i'll be able to have a glass of vino much sooner than expected. hey, i've got to try to cheer myself up somehow!

cate had her first big round of immunizations. she took her 3 shots like a woman. there was some screaming, but she calmed down as soon as i picked her up. i think the scooby doo bandages helped. rot roh, scraggy, this baby got some serious shots!
vital stats from the visit:
height: 22.8 inches (75th percentile)
weight: 7 lbs 12 ounces (3rd percentile)
head circumference: 19.5 inches (15th percentile)

hopefully, we'll have a fat, happy baby at our next visit.

the second positive: the ohio grands are headed to the LBK on thursday. we are so excited about spending some good q.t. with grandma and grandpa. cate can't wait to play with them! traveling mercies, rog and di.

two sweet, sweet months

today our precious little cate is two big months old!
we celebrated with classy, pop, aunt stacey and uncle cam in ruidoso. little c seriously loved the mountains. what baby wouldn't love being held nonstop by grown men and women speaking goo goo in attempt to make her smile?

she rocked her tiny overalls and owned sleeping in her pack n play.

as sweet as she looked,


pop learned she doesn't always smell so sweet.

hey, i've got to give the kid something to talk about it therapy.


we are so very thankful you were born, cupcate!

lucky number 7

we've had seven lovely cate-filled weeks. she's busy taking her mid-morning nap just now, so i'll hopefully have a chance to quickly recap the last few weeks.

• cate met the scary red nose sucker. both nostrils were completely obstructed so when she cried, her inhalation created a huge snort. she did not like big red at all. i was super hesitant with nostril number one because she was so upset, but confession: it is oddly satisfying for mommy to wrangle those little boogies. i liken it to popping a zit or extracting a splinter. i know. i am the weirdest mommy ever.
  
• little o and little c have been hanging out. olivia does such a great job playing with her and holding her.
• cousin nick came home. he looks fabulous and he's a natural baby holder. cate was very happy to meet him!
• j and i had 2 nights out. classy and pop watched little c at our house while we ran errands and grabbed a steak. aunt l'anna and uncle jeff sat with cate during jordan and alisha's wedding. they took lots of pics. how lucky are we to have lots of people who love us and cate (ok, mostly cate) and want to take care of us. lovely.
• we celebrated memorial day with the jones family. uncle dee spent lots of time holding cate. he got lots of smiles.
• cate is doing such a good job on her sleep! i hope i haven't won't jinx us by typing this, but we've had 2 nights in a row of continuous sleep from 1:30 a.m.-6:30 a.m. the babywise plan has worked really well for us overall. a huge thanks to all the friends who have shared encouragement and wisdom from their experience. we had a healthy fear about the sleep thing before cate arrived, but there is really no way to prepare for how tough it is not to sleep for more than an hour and a half at a time. it has been a huge blessing to feel like we're making progress. i'm so proud of her!
• there is total and complete cuteness going on from minute to minute every day. we're so lucky to get to be her parents!