Nora Kate at 1 Month

As of Saturday, Nora Kate is a month old.  I waited to publish this update until after her 1 month check-up which was today so I could include her stats.
At one month Nora Kate weighs 10 pounds and 4 ounces!!  She is 21 inches long.  Dr. Booher wrote on her report, "I think that Nora Kate is doing super.  Her weight gain has been excellent!"
Nora Kate was born weighing 13 ounces less than her brothers who both weighed 7lbs 13oz at birth.  Just for the sake of comparison, at Dawson's 1 month check up he was 9 pounds 10 ounces, and at Carter's 1 month check up he weighed 10 pounds 9 ounces.  It's funny though because after the first month at each check up when I compare the boys' stats they are only within an ounce or two of each other (Dawson just lost more weight than Carter or Nora Kate right after birth before beginning to gain again).  So Miss Nora Kate was born 13oz less than the boys, but now she has almost caught up to both boys in weight.  John and I can both tell that she has gained and filled out a lot this month, but we both incorrectly guessed her to weight just over 9 pounds.
Nora Kate is a GREAT eater, and she really has been from just a few minutes after she was born.  I've never struggled with her in the area of eating.  She actually will go longer than either of her brothers would in between feedings at night too!!!  She will go about 3 hours (sometimes she will even go one stretch of 4 hours) during the night between feedings.  This is WONDERFUL!  The only part of this that is not so great is that she really, really struggles after she eats with spitting up, hiccups, and just being uncomfortable.  I've started holding her upright for a while after feedings instead of laying her right back down after burping her, and this seems to help some. If she does start spitting up and hiccuping, she is awake for long periods of time crying at night.  On John's nights off work, I kindly :) let him take a turn with her at this point, and it must be something about her Daddy because it seems she settles down faster for him than for me.  This uncomfortable state she's in trying to lay down at night after eating is what the doctor diagnosed as reflux, so we're hoping after we get her started on the medicine (Zantac) for a few days that this will improve.  I must say, though, that it is so, so nice to get the long 3 hour stretches of uninterrupted sleep when she goes right back to sleep after her feedings.  I really am thankful for the fact that she can go longer in between feedings, because I was just reading some things I had written down last fall about Carter, and at this time last fall when Carter was 5 months old he was still getting up 5 times a night (more on a bad night) to eat!!
Nora Kate is definitely what John and I call a "hold me baby."  Some children (Carter) are content to sit in their infant carrier, swing, or bouncy seat, or lay on their back-time gym, but others (Dawson and Nora Kate) are "hold me babies."  Nora Kate is happiest being held and in the carrier where I wear her against my front-probably because this feels like she is being held. 
We love our little "hold me baby" though!  And lucky for Nora Kate, we (we being me, John, Dawson!, and all the grandparents) are more than happy to hold her.  She is such a sweet little snuggler; she just snuggles right against you when you hold her.  Her favorite way to be held is vertical with her head laying on your chest all snuggled up against you. 
Now that Nora Kate is a month old, I have put her in cloth diapers!  It's so nice to have her and Carter both in cloth now because I felt like we were using a TON of disposable diapers with all the diaper changes newborns require!  With two kids in diapers, I am more glad than ever that we decided to use cloth! 
Nora Kate LOVES bathtime!!!!  As soon as we put her in the water, she relaxes and is alert looking around happily.  Even if she's crying before bath, she stops as soon as she gets in the water!  Her sweet big brother, Dawson, likes to help with baths too.
Initially when I described Nora Kate after her birth, I mentioned that we were unsure about her eye color.  Now, however, we are positive she has blue eyes like her Daddy and Dawson.  Carter and I are now in the minority at our house with our brown eyes.  :)
Nora Kate's hair has gotten thicker since birth, and it's looking a little darker now too.  She still doesn't have a lot of hair, but it's more than either of the boys had at this age!
I am having such a fun time dressing Nora Kate in all of her girly little outfits and accessories!  I think I'm guilty of taking a picture of her in every different outfit. :)  Dawson always comments on her clothes or hairbow-sweet brother!
In her 4th week, Nora Kate got to go to the Knoxville Zoo a second time-this time with Daddy, Mommy, Dawson, Carter, and her Nana!  She also went to Gym Bugs to let her big brothers play while she slept snuggled against me in the Ergo baby carrier. Her fourth week she got to do her first finger-painting activity too :) as we made handprints for the grandparents in celebration of Grandparents Day.  (This did not go too well because when you put wet paint on an infants hand-even if they are asleep-all they do is make a fist.  Instead of a handprint, she ended up decorating their gifts with her fist print while the boys did handprints).  In her fourth week, she attended Dawson's soccer practice and soccer game!
We mailed Nora Kate's birth announcements out to family and friends this week, so they should have arrived on or around her 1 month birthday on Saturday. 
The first weeks are such a precious time, that it makes me sad that they are passing so, so quickly, BUT I feel like we have slowed down some and are definitely taking the time to appreciate this time and hold and snuggle our precious little Nora Kate A LOT-because we know how quickly it passes!  We love our precious daughter so very much!
Here are a few pictures!

Nora Kate at 4 weeks.

Nora Kate at one month looking very tiny in the big chair.

Nora Kate with her big brothers!

Nora Kate with her big brothers!

Nora Kate with her big brothers-she fussed for a minute and without being told, both boys started patting her.  SO SWEET!

Nora Kate's first time in cloth diapers.

Our two in diapers.

Cloth.

Pink and blue.

I meant to include this in a post two weeks ago.  But we have resumed our after dinner "family walks" (as Dawson calls them).  Nora Kate enjoys being outside and is usually always very calm and alert on the walks.

(We were on a walk in this picture, and just happened to stop in front of this house in our neighborhood-it's not our house.)

Nora Kate 4 weeks.

Nora Kate 4 weeks.

Nora Kate's second visit to the zoo!

 

 

 

Nora Kate's birth announcement!

Carter is 17 Months

Friday the 13th of September Carter turned 17 months old!  He was born on a Friday the 13th too! 

Carter is at such a fun age!  He understands SO much of what we say, and can communicate with words, signs, and pointing what he wants.  This is really nice, and he loves being able to talk to us!  I really cannot update this anymore with the words he says because he is adding so many new words to his vocabulary every day, it's impossible!  I do, however, want to remember a few things he says that we think are cute or funny.  He calls his paci "bobby" which is hilarious to us because he goes around the house looking for it yelling, "Bobby? Bobby? Bobby?" He calls Nora Kate's pacis "bebe bobby," and when he finds one he immediately looks for Nora Kate and tries to put (ram) the pacifier in her mouth.  We have really been trying to cut down the amount of time Carter has his bobby, so we have taught him to leave it in his bed.  So, now he puts it in his crib and says, "Night, night, Bobby!" If you were listening to Carter, you'd think we have a family member named Bobby that he's always talking about!  Another favorite that Carter has started using a lot this month is "right back!"  I have been holding up 1 finger and saying this to Carter for a while now when I'm just leaving the room for a minute so he won't cry at the baby gate in the playroom.  He obviously understands what it means, because now when he leaves the room or sometimes just walks across the room from me he will hold up one sweet chubby finger and say, "ri back!"  Carter calls every bug (and Dawson's hermit crab) bees, so he's constantly yelling out "bee!" and pointing!  If there's a spec of dirt or fuzz on anything, he points to it calling it a bee.  He won't quit saying "bee" until we point to it too.

One of the things I never want to forget from this age is how Carter sings the song "The Ants Go Marching."  If we say, "The ants go marching two by two" Carter yells, "Hurrah, Hurrah!" And he fills in the "hurrahs" at all the appropriate points in the song.  One day at naptime I turned on the monitor and it was quiet for a few minutes.  Then I heard Dawson sing, "The ants go marching two by two," and then Carter yelled, "Hurrah! hurrah!"  It was too cute for me to go in and tell them to settle down and go to sleep.  So I let them sing the song, then they got quiet on their own and napped!  Sweet brothers!

The biggest change in Carter's life this month was becoming a big brother the day after he turned 16 months old!  At first I felt horrible for Carter because he would just cry for me and say in a pitiful voice, "Mommy, bebe, Mommy, bebe, Mommy, bebe." Every time I was holding or feeding Nora Kate which was ALL the time at the beginning.  BUT as I have recovered and been able to carry Carter and do his normal activities with him, he is no longer jealous and doesn't get upset when I'm holding her and not him.  Carter is always such an active boy that I've been worried about him being gentle and calm around Nora Kate, but he really has learned quickly...although I still don't leave the two alone together in a room, mostly because he tries to be TOO sweet-rough hugs and snuggles, aggressively putting her bobby in her mouth, or climbing up the side of her bassinet or in her swing or bouncy seat with her.  He's so interested in her, and when Dawson holds Nora Kate-Carter ALWAYS wants a turn next.  When Carter wakes up in the mornings he says, "bebe? bebe?" and goes around the house looking for her until he finds her.  Carter will never remember being the youngest child since he was only the youngest for 16 months, but with his happy personality I think he will never care that he wasn't the baby of the family for long...plus he thinks he's Dawson size/age anyway!

 Carter keeps us laughing!  He's such a ham!  He loves to dance any time he hears music (Dawson's like this too), and John says they get it from me.  :)  Carter has learned more animal noises this month, and a few more signs.  He now signs hot (and says hot too) and then he'll proceed to try to blow whatever is hot...this started with food but now he does it with anything we tell him is hot! 

More random things from this month-

-He has learned to jump with both feet off the floor. 

-He has learned what candy is (thanks to having a big brother), and I truly believe he can hear this word from a mile away.  The only thing he gets more excited about than candy is blueberries! 

-He is FINALLY cutting more teeth.  Although he still only has four, he's working on cutting two more on the top!!!  We're so excited because I really think he will be able to eat more and better when he gets a few more teeth. 

-Speaking of teeth he LOVES to brush them. 

-Carter has also started telling us "pee pee," and going into the bathroom.  We have taken him to see if he needs to go several times, but I think he's telling us AFTER he has gone...I'm not trying to potty train him now, so that's fine.  But I am encouraged that it's a step toward potty training. 

-Carter LOVES to color.  Unfortunately one day last week while I was cooking dinner, Carter got a crayon and did a little art on the wall and playroom couch. So now we get to try to remove that art, but he does love to color on paper too!  :) 

-Carter also loves to read.  We read to him A LOT, and he will sit forever and listen to it.  Dawson gets books and "reads" to Carter too, and Carter just sits and listens as if Dawson is reading the correct words to the story. 

-Carter loves to "wrestle" and "play rowdy" with Dawson and Daddy. 

-He also loves to play chase in the playroom and run circles.

-Carter LOVES LOVES LOVES to sing songs.  He sings along with us and does the motions to the following songs:  The ants go marching, Bringing home a baby bumble bee, Old McDonald, Row row row your boat, Baa Baa Black Sheep."  It's so cute!

-Carter weighs 25 pounds.

We absolutely love Carter sweet personality.  He is so affectionate, wild, silly, cuddly, and precious!  Here are his pictures!

 

 

Carter 17 Months

Carter 17 Months

Why sit in the chair for pictures if I can stand and dance?!

Carter 17 Months

Why sit in the chair if I can pretend to ride the arm rest!?

Carter 17 Months with Siblings!

If I thought getting the monthly pictures of Dawson and Carter together was hard, hah!  It is not easy to get three kids not crying, sitting in the same chair, and looking close to the same direction!  But look at Carter's sweet smile...he loves his brother and sister!

Carter 17 Months with Siblings!

The day Carter turned 17 months we visited Lolly and Pop, and Pop showed Carter pictures in a photo album of me, Erica, and Logan when we were little.  Carter loved looking at the "bebes" AND some of the "bebes" even had "bobbys" in the pictures!  I just thought this was a sweet picture of Carter with his Pop!

Nora Kate is 3 Weeks

Time is passing way to quickly!  Nora Kate is 3 weeks old today.  During her third week, John had to go back to work.  I am so grateful that he got to take two weeks vacation to stay home with us.  This time was very special because with either of the boys he was never able to take this much time.  It was wonderful because he got to spend a lot of extra time with Dawson and Carter (which they, of course, loved!), help me (a lot!), and spend the precious first days with Nora Kate as well.  I was sad for his time off to come to and end.

During her third week, Nora Kate had some fussier days here and there and had a few days where she didn't sleep well at all, BUT, thank goodness, I think things are improving!!!

As for sleep, Nora Kate is sleeping longer stretches of time than either of the boys did at this age (she will usually go one long stretch of time that is between 3 and 4 hours during the night!), but the only difference is that both boys would always go right back to sleep, but Nora Kate sometimes stays awake and fusses for an hour or more.  She's starting to improve on this, I think!  :)

She's a great eater and has been since the beginning.  I'm estimating her to be over 8 pounds now, since she was gaining an ounce a day.  I can tell she's gained because she's filled out more!

Her brothers are getting used to having a little baby in the house, and both are very, very sweet with her!  I love to watch the boys look at her and pat her.  So sweet!

 

Nora Kate's birth was in the Daily Times.

All three sweet kids in their pajamas one night before bed!

After I snapped the above pictures Carter leaned over and gently patted her on the head.  So sweet!

Dawson and Carter think Nora Kate's baby items are so fun...I'm sure Nora Kate would too if she ever got a turn in them! :)

Carter has started hugging and kissing the "bebe," as he calls her.  It's so sweet.

The boys love being outside, so Nora Kate has gotten a good amount of outside time lately too!

Nora Kate watching her brothers in the playroom!

Sweet girl!

Dawson snuggling Nora Kate.

On Saturday, I took the boys and Nora Kate to visit their Great Mamaw.  This was her first time meeting Nora Kate.  Nora Kate is named after her Great Mamaw (Nora) and John's grandmother (Katherine).  Nora Kate is also the very first Great Granddaughter for Mamaw-although their are lots of boys.  So being the first girl and her namesake, this was a special meeting!

Mamaw had a special gift of a bracelet for Nora Kate!  Above is a picture of it on her tiny little wrist.  I love it, and can't wait for her to be able to wear it!

Here's a picture of Nora Kate with her Great Mamaw.

Early morning snuggles with Mommy!  Sweet girl!

 

The next few photos are not from Nora Kate's third week, but they are pictures that were on John's phone from the day our sweet Nora Kate was born! The above picture was take about 3 hours before Nora Kate was born.  I was texting a few people back that had text to check on us, and still pretty comfortable!

I wish we could see the entire clock behind me on the wall, but it was 2-something pm, so an hour or so before Nora Kate arrived (which was at 3:42pm).  John decided to take one more picture of me pregnant with Nora Kate.  I think it's the angle of this picture, but it makes it look like I have a beach ball under the stylish hospital gown!  :)  Now I'm glad we have this picture though, because you can tell that I was still doing really well just a short time before her birth-up moving around and even smiling for a picture! :)  I didn't know how very soon I'd be holding our sweet baby in my arms-the best part!

 

 

I found this picture on John's phone from the day Nora Kate was born.  Look at those toes!  Dawson, Carter, and Nora Kate all have the same feet! :)

August 2013

Wow, it's hard to believe that August is over!  It seems like everything we were doing and had planned centered around August-Nora Kate's due date and Carter becoming a big brother, Dawson's first day of preschool and beginning of soccer.  But now that all of those things have happened, we're on to September and wondering what to do since we hadn't really planned anything past Nora Kate's due date! :)  It's actually really nice that we don't have much planned because this allows us to be at home as much as possible and attempt to find a routine around all of these changes.

We did have an awesome August, though!  I've already written about most of the big events from the month-Dawson's first day of preschool and soccer, Carter's first hair cut, and, of course, Nora Kate's birth-but we did a few more things in August that I don't want to have forgotten either!

 

 

 

 August 2nd we had a play date at the park with some friends!  It was perfect because Dawson's friend (Jay) who is about a week older than him was able to come along with his older brother and Carter's friend, Magnolia, who is a few weeks older than him came too.  So both boys had kids their age to play with!  The kids rode their bikes, we had snacks, and we took along Dawson and Carter's parachute to enjoy with friends.  It was a hot, hot day, but we were able to take advantage of the pavilion's shade and had fun doing the parachute there!

 

 

 The boys and I after church a week before Nora Kate's due date.

 

Dawson and Carter love to go to the park to ride their bikes!  We had a fun time at Sandy Springs with Dawson riding along the trails and John and I taking turns pushing Carter.

We rode to the playground at Sandy Springs so we could have some playtime!

 

 

Dawson and Carter have started really playing together pretty well.  I love to watch how sweet they are when they interact like this.  I was in the kitchen getting their lunch ready and was surprised not to have them both glued to my side in the kitchen, so I looked in the playroom to find them talking about and working on these tractors!  So sweet!

 

 

 

The Thursday before Nora Kate's due date, we met some friends at Gym Bugs to play for the morning!  I had been forever since I had taken the kids there, and Dawson AND Carter had a blast this time.  Everything there was the perfect size for Carter, and he loved it!!

 

We attended Olivia's first birthday pool party.

Dawson had a blast swimming with his Daddy and with his friend Charlie!

During John's time off from work after Nora Kate was born, we decided to take the kids to the zoo for the morning!  Carter crawled behind Dawson into the prairie dog tunnel for the first time! 

Carter loved playing in the mist, and he'd hold his hands out like this every time with this serious look on his face!

Driving the zoo safari truck.

Our first zoo outing with THREE kids!

Dawson loves the Wee Play area at the zoo.  He cooked us a lot of delicious pizza here!  :)

Dawson got really close to this gorilla who was eating pasta noodles by the glass!  This was the first time we had gotten this good of a view of the gorillas in this particular exhibit!

John took the boys to the duck pond one evening!

(For several days, Dawson was on a kick of wanting to wear this Hawaiian shirt EVERYDAY! So every night I washed it.  This particular day he decided to wear it with gym shorts! haha!)

I took the kids to visit their Great Mamaw at the end of August.  I plan to write more about this in Nora Kate's weekly update, but I wanted to go ahead and share the pictures of them with Mamaw now.

 

That wraps up August for us!  Although we don't have a lot planned for September, we do have a few exciting things-Emily's wedding and John's birthday are both in the second half of the month.