Happy Birthday Baby Cate!

Cate is ONE YEAR OLD today! I can't believe it.

I never want to forget how fun and funny my little girl is, so I've written down some of her stats, skills, and quirks so my future self and posterity can have a glimpse into the little slice of Heaven we are enjoying by having this girl in our lives.

Some of Cate's tricks and skills:
-"Oh no!" -she puts both hands on her head
-"Hello hello" -she holds a phone, or anything that remotely resembles a phone, up to her ear
-"Night night!" -she plops her head onto a pillow (works anytime but bedtime)
-Waving hello at everyone!
-Folding her arms for prayers
-"Pat pat" toys, animals, or friends :)
-Bonking foreheads
-Biting noses (good skill for life?)
-Blowing raspberries
-"Wild!!" -she waves her arms crazily up high
-"Goal!" -she holds her hands above her head
-Kissing (only on the mouth hehe)
-"Big hug!"
-"Shake shake" -any toy she's holding
-Dancing to ANY music
-Singing nonsense syllables to music
-Singing while patting her mouth
-Playing Peek-a-boo like a champ
-Eskimo kisses
-Turning light switches on and off
-Opening doors with handles
-Blowing kisses
-Standing without holding anything
-Walking along furniture or while holding hands
-Speed crawling
-Opening all cabinets and drawers
-Deleting iPhone apps
-Sending text messages of gibberish
-Growing teeth
-Growling
-Saying DADA
-Clapping
-Drinking through a straw
-"Expecto Patronum!" -she points a pen at you haha
-Dunking her face in the bath water
-Climbing out of the bath tub



Some skills we're working on:
-Sleeping more than 3 hours at a time at night
-Walking
-Growing hair
-Keeping socks on
-Eating solid food
-Staying healthy for more than 8 weeks at a time
-Saying MAMA

Places Cate has been:
Indiana
Utah
California- including Disneyland!
Florida-including the beach!
Kentucky
Tennessee
Georgia
Alabama
Louisiana
Texas
New Mexico

Other fun Cate facts:
Height- 28 1/2 inches
Weight- 22 1/2 lbs
Number of teeth- 11
Favorite music- everything but especially all dubstep and all songs that her toys play
Favorite food- anything salty
Favorite toys- Cabbage Patch baby Sheldon, her singing puppy walker, lots of different stuffed animals, and all flip flops
Favorite book- My Big Dinosaur Book (she thinks the scary carnivores are funny!)
Favorite activities- exploring, dancing, playing in the bathtub, pat-patting other baby friends an animals, and riding in grocery carts
Number of nights Cate has slept all night- 0 (her very first night of life was the closest she ever got)
Number of times Cate has been sick- 5, maybe 6
Number of times Cate has had antibiotics- 3
Shoe size- 2
Number of times someone has mistaken her for a boy- one million
Number of cousins older than Cate- 6! Charlie, Londyn, Carson, Naomi, Eliza, and Jackson
Number of cousins younger than Cate- 1! Sawyer is exactly 10 months younger than Cate
Number of cross-country moves- 1!

Number of days Chris and I have thanked our Heavenly Father for our crazy beautiful, crazy smart, crazy mischievous Baby Cate- 365.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY CATE!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Garage Sale Weekend

We had a garage sale this weekend! It was so much more work than we thought it would be, but it was worth it. We had a lot of fun! Emerald, a Young Woman from our ward, came to help out with Cate. Muncie is a big garage sale town- lucky for us! We met some of our neighbors for the first time, and the weather was beautiful even though it was the middle of November. It was a fun time at The Little Blue House.

I am including a cute picture of Cate and her friends Graysen and Alexis from when I babysat Friday night. I love those kiddos!

We spent Sunday afternoon at Grammy's house and had a great time eating and eating and chatting and watching the Cate Show and eating.

More adventures coming soon!!

Chicken and Noodles

Cate and I visited Grammy and Grampy last night! My cousin Alex also joined us. We had a quick visit before dinner with Aunt Libby and her kids, Claire, David Jr, Ellie, and Annie. Cate loves her cousins!!! Ellie and Annie love when it's their turn to hold or watch Cate. They helped Cate into a baby-sized rocking chair that belonged to Grampy when he was a baby. :)
We were treated to Grammy's homemade chicken and noodles (over mashed potatoes obviously because this is Indiana) and homemade rolls and homemade chocolate cake and homemade hot fudge sauce... are you drooling yet? Cate ate mashed potatoes and green beans for the first time! She doesn't normally eat baby food or other solids except for a bite or two, but she loved Grammy's cooking! Then Grampy fed her chocolate ice cream. We played and chatted until bedtime. I am so lucky to live near my grandparents. I love them so much!

Cate's First Halloween!

Cate celebrated her first Halloween by dressing up as a Ladybug. Ta da!

Thank you thank you Nana Carla for the amazing costume!

For my whole Indiana childhood, my siblings and I went to our relatives' homes to Trick-or-Treat. My grandmother is the youngest of 9 (NINE!), all of whom lived in Frankton, Indiana, about 45 minutes from our home in Carmel. Halloween was a fun time to go visit since it was uncommon to have all those great aunts and uncles all together for other holidays. I couldn't wait to take Cate to Frankton (a half hour from us in Muncie) to Trick-or-Treat just like I had done as a child. We stayed up way past our bedtime and had the best time! 

We let Cate hold a fun sized Kit Kat for this pre-Trick-or-Treating photo. Then Chris ate it.

(PS My mom just told me yesterday that my dad would raid our candy bags when we were asleep! I guess I should have known... but I feel like my whole childhood was a lie.)

Cate's first stop- Great Great Aunt Doris in Frankton!

(Aunt Doris recently got an iPad! She loves to see pictures of Cate online!)

Next stop- Great Great Aunt Mim in Frankton! 

Aunt Mim is almost exactly 92 years older than Cate :D

Cate LOVES animals, especially this cute girl, Abby. Cate grabbed Abby's face with both hands and tried to eat her nose.

GG (Great Gramma Dot) was at Aunt Mim's too! Cate's face LIT UP when she answered the door. She knows her GG!

Then we visited Grammy and Grampy (Great Grandparents) in Frankton. 

Cate, Catherine Elaine Coonradt, is named after Grammy- Norma Elaine Crowder. Grammy gave Cate an orange Tootsie Pop! Best Grammy ever.

Cate and Grampy. IS THIS THE GREATEST PICTURE EVER?!

Then we went next door to Great Aunt Libby's house. 

(You hardly look old enough to be a great aunt, Lib.) 

Libby skipped part of her online master's program class to play with our little ladybug!! Yay ditching!

Trying to get our ladybug to fly. 

So happy we got a shot of Cate and Daddy on Halloween!!

Our last stop was to see Great Aunt Becky and Great Uncle Todd (and aren't they GREAT!) in Cicero.

We had so so much fun visiting and watching this little bug crawl around (read: get into EVERYTHING!) all night. 

We were treated to yummy cornbread muffins and chocolate donut holes. I love my family.

Thank you to Aunt Becky and Uncle Todd for letting us Trick-or-Treat so late! 

 

Happy Halloween!!! 

Go Lady Hilltoppers!

Today marks the end of an era. While technically Lauren has a few more weeks in the soccer season, today was Senior Day. Before her game, Lauren was recognized not only for being a senior but also for having excellent work ethic. I am so proud of her! I spent most Saturdays of my childhood at Lauren's soccer games. She is so talented. I have always been proud of her accomplishments in soccer, but I am most proud of her beautiful character. I can't wait to see what she will accomplish next! Great job Lolo!! You're the best!!!

Jackson's Orchard

Yesterday Cate, Gramma Dot, and I drove down to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to visit my little sister, Lauren. We also met up with my parents who drove up from Naples, Florida, and my Aunt Becky and Uncle Todd who also drove down from Indiana. Lauren is a senior on the soccer team at Western Kentucky University, and tomorrow the seniors will be recognized before their game! It was also Lauren's 22nd birthday this week, so we have plenty to celebrate. We spent today visiting Jackson's Orchard nearby. It was scenic and charming. We saw hundreds of pumpkins, including some varieties I had never even heard of before (cheese pumpkins anyone?). And bonus- I bought apple butter that I can't wait to taste/eat with a spoon. My favorite part was the petting zoo. Cate was fearless and sweetly curious with the animals, and Lauren and I got so many cute pictures that I felt the need to put them all in a blog post (even though I haven't posted in months!) instead of posting each one to Facebook or Instagram. Enjoy!

Catherine and Katherine

My dear, sweet, wonderful friend Katie came to visit the Little Blue House for her Spring Break! Katie is a rockstar graduate student at the University of Arkansas, and her home is near Philadelphia. She tours the country from time to time in her trusty Pontiac, and sometimes her little dog Casey joins her. We are fortunate to be the halfway point between Katie's school and her home, so we have had the pleasure of hosting her several times this past year! Last week, though, we kept her for 3 whole days!

We crafted (obv), and Katie made this adorable headband for Cate!

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING THIS BEAUTIFUL!?!

Chili's. Duh.

Katie made Fancy Mac 'n Cheese, and it was dee-licious.

Mint Cake Balls. Holy Moly.

Cate spent some time getting to know Auntie Katie.

Size comparison!

We spent a day and a night in Carmel and were spoiled by Gramma Dot.

Katie got mixed up with the police in Carmel.

We may make a trip to Bub's a tradition. Next time, Cate will attempt the Big Ugly.

Come see us again soon Katie!