One of Brady’s goals is to go to one UT football game every year.    We didn’t make it last year because I was pretty miserably sick during those first few months of pregnancy, but we decided to make the attempt with Kayla in tow this year.  Fortunately she has some grandparents that will take any chance to see her they can so Grammy & Pops and Aunt Becky met us in Austin to watch her while we went to the game! 

Kayla did pretty well sleeping in the hotel room with Brady and I, and despite some nap disruptions she was generally happy.  On Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch.  Aunt Becky took some really great pictures despite Kayla’s fussiness and disinterest in the pumpkins.

It has been over a month since I have blogged about our sweet girl!!! There is so much going on with her that it is overwhelming to even get started. Here are some highlights of what has happened since her 3-month birthday.

First Cold

"I'm sick"

Just a few days after her 3-month birthday, little miss came down with her first cold.  It was awful.  We had some rough nights of very little sleep and trying everything to keep her comfortable.  This is when we were introduced to the “I’m in pain” and the “I’m really scared” cries… so heartbreaking to watch her panic when she couldn’t breathe very well due to congestion.  Sickness was always a bummer before but as a mom, I HATE it.

Grammy & Pops Visit

Brady’s parents came to visit the weekend after her cold.  It was just the right time to get some extra love and they brought her favorite toy EVER: the firefly!

4-Month Birthday

weight: 14 lb, 14 oz (67%)   height: 24 (89%)

Trip to California

Kayla and I got really brave and took a flight to California to visit my family for a week.  I was really hoping that she would sleep the whole flight, but she proved to be too observant (gets that from her daddy) and kept me on my toes the entire time.  She didn’t fuss too much though and her sleep schedule didn’t get thrown off like I feared.  And she didn’t get sick!!!  That is what I feared the most after the miserable cold she had just recovered from… Praise God!

Kayla loved hanging out with Grandpa Matt.  He made crazy sounds and faces that took some getting used to but once she warmed up to him, he got lots of smiles. He showed her fun things like the “tushy toss” and the “booty bounce”

Nana and I took Kayla to visit my Great Aunt JoAnn in Stockton.  She is my mom’s dad’s sister and I have many memories of playing at her house as I grew up.  It was so nice to spend some time with her over delicious tea and cookies.

Auntie Lisa escaped her busy life as a grad student to come up and spend the weekend with us.  We all had so much fun eating yummy food, hanging out around the house, clothes shopping, and sewing.  Sadly, we didn’t get any pictures of Kayla and Lisa together on this visit.

5-Month Birthday

So I’ve been meaning to post a formal “3-Month” post for Kayla ever since her 3-month birthday.  The 3 weeks since then have been a little rough with teething and her first cold, so let’s see if I can fill you in on what was going on at that milestone.  I did take a picture in her chair on her 3-month birthday.  I didn’t think she seemed to have grown much until I put it next to the last one – wow, that teddy bear really gives some perspective!

Some highlights from this month:

• She is so alert!  So much so, that where we had to fight to keep her awake to nurse, we now struggle to keep her on task.  After the initial hunger is cured, sometimes she would rather look around or smile and talk to mommy instead of getting a full meal.  I try hard to avoid eye contact, but she can be very persistent with her huge gummy smile and I often give in and smile back (during those times I affectionately refer to her as “little rascal”)
• Kayla went to the nursery at church for the first time.  They tell us she is a good baby and when we go to pick her up, she seems to be very calmly observing her surroundings.
• We had several days of more frequent feedings.  We aren’t sure if this was due to a drop in my milk supply, a growth spurt, or perhaps a combination of the two.  Thankfully, we are back to the 3 hour eat-wake-sleep cycle now and the milk supply is back up!
• She found her hands!  She has been holding her hands together and putting them in her mouth a lot.  She is also becoming more coordinated and instead of just batting at toys, she concentrates really hard on touching them.  She can also grip a ring when we put it in her hand.
• We are pretty sure she started teething/pre-teething.  She started gnawing on her hands constantly and chomping on Brady’s thumb and suddenly has large amounts of drool.  These signs accompanied by increased fussiness and sleep disruption make us think she must be having some pain
• Kayla loves playing in her play gym.  She spends a couple hours a day looking at the birdies and swinging at her favorite rattle