Got Milk?

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Dr. Caterina w/Sarah.................Brandi, Dr. Bottiglieri w/Sarah, and Gina

So we went in for the girl's well visit last week and they are growing. There is this old wives tale that if you double your 2 year old's heighth that is how tall they will be as an adult. If this is true Katelyn will be 5'10''. Perfect heighth for a volleyball player! We'll take it!

Sarah is following in her sister's footsteps as string bean for the first 6 months and weighing in at 8lbs 14oz (10th percentile)at 2 months old. The biggest jump for her was that she grew 3 3/4 inches in 1 month!!! She jumped from the 25th percentile up to the 75th percentile! Looks like an advertisement for "Milk Worked for Me".

I am so sad Dr. Caterina wont be our girl's pediatrician anymore. He's been so great to work with and we'll miss his charming care. On that note I wanted to add a shout out to Dr. Bottiglieri (my OB). He and the girls are absolutely wonderful! Thanks guys!

Pump It Up

There are many small things I am grateful for but one that I haven't given credit to is a small inflatable gym called Pump It Up. This indoor activity served as a play area for Katelyn this last winter season. The best part of all is that it was free. Pump It Up is free for adults and children under 2 (because they can't do a lot on their own) and has open play times on Mon, Wed, and Thurs. AJ was nice enough to capture some cute shots of Katelyn in Jousting gear during one of these great days.
Also I couldn't help adding this photo of quite a lot of the little ones Katelyn gets to play with out here.

Katelyn's Two!

I can't believe our 'Baby Katelyn' is two! She's growing up so fast! Here are a few photos highlighting this achievement!


Beautiful April Blossoms

Bright and Early in the Morning!

40 Butterfly/Ladybug Cupcakes Later...

Happy Birthday To You...

>
Standing Room Only...


Relaxing After the Party or should I say "Pauty"

Things we love about Katelyn:
She has so much enthusiasm for life.
She is by far a much better dancer than me or Nate.
She loves to be outside and her new favorite phrase is, "it's a plane".
She loves to laugh and tease her Dad ('No' has a special place in her vocab).
She is pretty good at saying bye and smiling...except for a new fear of nursery.
She loves her sister and wants to make sure she knows where Baby Sar is at all times.
But best of all, she prays even when nobody tells her to. We caught her blessing her sippy cup before she took a drink the other day...priceless.

We love you Katelyn!

First day of School-or Not.

Starting out Bright and Early

She's got her backpack ready!

Celebratory Stairclimb and Sarah's Sad She Didn't Get to Participate.

We jumped the gun (Kateyln's still not two) and had Katelyn sit in with an older kids joy school. Thanks guys for letting us come once. We decided it's a tad bit advanced for her just yet but I couldn't help post the picture of her first day of school. She learned all about Bugs and Rebecca even gave Katelyn her own cricket to take home. She had a great time playing with everybody and learning about the weather, alphabet, and most important Bugs!

My Brother Came to Town!

Jeff and Becky came in for quick trip to celebrate their 5th Anniversary. Congrats you guys. We of course filled their time away from the kids with our two little ones. Thanks for spoiling them with attention. We showed them around Baltimore and Inner Harbor. We all went down to the dinner and show at Medieval Times in the Arundel Mills Mall. Wow, that was so cool! Katelyn thought it was awesome. She stood up and waved her red flag proudly. She was dubbed "Queen of Love and Beauty" and offered the Red Knight's flag during the jousting competition. Even the food was delicious.

Sarah's Blessing

We blessed Sarah on Sunday. She did really well, no crying. She's such a good baby. Katelyn, of course, wanted her Daddy-Thanks to Darice for taking her out in the hall for us. And Nate you did a really great job. I still have to make fun though.
If you didn't hear last time around Katelyn got squirmy and rolled off Nate's hands. Lucky we have a large family and Nate's uncle Paul caught her. Nate was retelling the story at church right after the blessing. He picked up the diaper bag and it was caught on the blanket in the carseat. Impeccably timed to Nate's confession, Sarah rolled out onto the church floor in her burrito wrap. She didn't cry but looked up at Nate and just blinked. Poor Nate. I promise he really is a responsible father.

Spring Break

Scary Horse in Rearview Mirror, Amish Horse and Buggy


We went up to Intercourse, PA for Spring Break with the little ones. We stopped to get some homemade rootbeer (I must confess I like our Dry ice method much better) and some yummy homemade BBQ chips. This was the best place to go see on a budget. Nate treated me to a day at the Spa for massage and facial. I can't believe how cheap it was. Boy was it nice. Nate played with the girls while I was pampered. We missed the Edged Weaponry Museum but were able to see the Quilt Museum (we know who planned this trip). It was Good Friday so we missed the candle dipping too but we found a fun place of hodgepodge stuff called the Outhouse. Interesting. Ooh and we got some delicious Shoofly pie. All in all it was a success! As you can see Katelyn loved having the time with her Dad! The last photo is of her right after she pushed Nate off the bed!

Mommy and Me Photos

Okay so I am really lazy at getting these up but Alisa Stacey did such a good job I had to show you all. These were the pictures taken the day before Sarah was born. My belly in all it's pregnant glory.

Congrats Fuzzy (Spencer)!

Spence just opened his mission call...he's going to Lima, Peru. He reports in on June 8th. We are so proud of you Uncle Fuzz! It's nice we've all been there on a family trip in 2003. Of course we did see an intense fight over territory between two street shoe shiners while we were in Lima...we won't remind Colleen. The beautiful Wonder of the World, Macchu Picchu, is just south of Lima outside of Cusco. I will have to look for our photos to add some personal ones. For now google images will have to safice.

Katelyn's Glasses Fettish

Katelyn loves, loves, loves to put on glasses. She even wraps them on her belly. Super cute and fun. Oh and she loves her toothbrush/paste, and shoes. Nice that she likes to accessorize.

Details--edited

As previously promised I will relay my experiences with Sarah provided a disclaimer that some things are too sacred or personal to post on the internet.
Katelyn and I spent her last day as an only child spoiling her rotten. We watched movies in the morning, went to storytime with Miss Julie, McDonald's with her friends, a quick stop to see Baby Luke and Katie, home for a nap, and out to get photos of just the two of us. During her nap I finished her scrapbook and updated my journal...just in case. We spent the last night snuggling close on the couch and splashing bubbles all over the bathroom. Nate and I had a special evening, finally finding peace and comfort from a long pregnancy full of false alarms, reading our patriarchal blessings (okay maybe I was the only nervous wreck). The next morning Nate gave me a beautiful priesthood blessing, again, finding truth and comfort.
Then it was off to the hospital with an empty stomach and enjoying the rare 72 degree weather in the beginning of February; Katelyn spent the day admiring the Guymon girls and Nate ate the delicious cookies Rachel supplied us (paybacks for not having to fast since mid 2005). We had a lot of waiting with the obligatory 2 hour prior arrival time and being bumped back from all the emergencies. I really didn't mind (who relishes being cut open, honestly?). We chatted with the nurses...all 4 of them (2 nurses double booked to me, student nurse, and sn supervisor).
The anesthesiologist was so NICE! I couldn't believe how kind he was. Anyway it was a huge relief because I had just experienced the student nurse's first catheter placement. I guess someone has to be her first. We were wheeled down to the OR and everyone was upbeat and excited for us. Spinal block went off without a hitch (such a pro) and I was ready to go. My anesthesiologist said I looked pretty strong, would I like a mirror to watch the procedure. Okay I have to pause to say I never in a million years would have thought I would EVER want to watch, but I did. So I did. It was one of those experiences too sacred and personal to relay, but I will sum it up as a very tender and beautiful experience. Everyone was so excited calling out here she comes, here she comes.
My blood pressure started dropping and I had a major coughing fit...who would have thought I would get sick AT the hospital (okay I know I was sick before but I didn't have any symptoms so it SEEMED like I got sick there). Apparantly I was a moving target.
They kept refering to Nate as "Dr. Starley" and had him cut Sarah's umbilical cord, rather comical after the nurses doubted he could change a diaper properly with Katelyn. Not a necessary title nor correct since Nate hasn't officially graduated yet, but the guesture was really nice. Off to the PACU with our new wee one. More sacred and personal moments with nursing but again a very tender and special experience.
Nate left to get Katelyn after Sarah and I were settled in the recovery room. She was so excited when she came in! Oh I just love my two girls! Katelyn snuggled with me and was very fond of 'her' baby sister pointing out all the features she knew the words to.
My incision has healed nicely, better at 2 weeks out than nearly 2 years, (amazing how your skin heals when you don't have an allergic reaction to the sutures...I love that my Doctor was willing to go the extra mile to clear things up and protect my ability to have more babies). The 4 night, 5 day stay was happily filled with your phone calls and visits. Thank you, thank you. On the way out we realized the weather had changed from the sunny 72 to a fridgid 11 degrees. Ouch. But alas, we survived and are happy to note the temperature has risen again just in time to go out on walks with my girls.
I can't tell you how blessed I feel to be a mom all over again and be able to share it with my amazing husband. It's amazing how my heart has grown to feel that same intensity for Sarah as I have for Katelyn and Nathan rather than been subtracted from them. I know our Heavenly Father feels this way about each and everyone of us too. It's a remarkable feeling. Anyway thanks for listening to my tender moments and if you made it this far in the post, you are a true devoted bloggee.

Week with Grandma Colleen!

We had a lot of fun this past week with Nate's mom here! She was great to take the girl's out in the stroller despite the 17 degree weather and jump around at Pump It Up Gym. We caught up on laundry, conversation, and cooking. Boy does Colleen make an awesome Chocolate Chip cookie. We miss her already and she's only been back in Utah for 24 hours.--Thanks a million 'Nana' and 'Papa' Ropelato for the stroller!