Sunday, May 6, 2012

Cate {8 Months}



“So I've been tryin' ta slow it down

I've been tryin' ta take it in

In this here today, gone tomorrow world we're livin' in”

~Kenny Chesney Don’t Blink



I watch Cate on the monitor each morning as she plays with her lovey when she first wakes up.  She talks to it, blow raspberries on its nose and wrestles with it.  And then I walk in and say "good morning baby girl" and she responds with a thump of her legs inside her sleep sack and smile showing me that big top tooth and her two small bottom teeth.

In a blink she has gone from newborn to infant. Three teeth with the fourth one just poking through, she is headed to age of one and I don't want to blink.  Eight months later she is still “high maintenance” 
as we like to call it around here but she is content for the most part.
 

She smiles at anyone and people stop us sometimes to tell us that her smile is like a "doll" with those big, button-like blue eyes.  One eye has a streak of brown in it that sparkles in the sun.  

She still rarely laughs, only when that one special guy in her life, her brother, gives her attention. 
Seriously, if he walks by her and says something as simple as “Hi Cate” then it is a belly laugh that we can all hear and yes we have captured on video.


She is in a phase where the bottle just is not her friend. She drinks less than 25 ounces a day.  Glenn and I just don’t get it. Maybe because Brady drank every last drop and she does not.  Or maybe it's because she never seems settled when she eats.  Regardless it is frustrating and she closes her lips and refuses to drink. 

But, she loves table food. No, not baby food and purees. That came and went in a blink. Table food. What we eat she wants. She will try anything. At 8 months, she is on more table food than most. Any fruit, vegetable, crackers, yogurt and breads.  

She wants to touch everything. So polarizing from Brady who was content to observe and still is.  Cate wants to touch it all, put it all in her month and is fearless in doing so. She will dunk her head in the water stream as we fill her bath, will open her mouth to eat when are and will reach for anything that is near her including Brady's toys.   


Cate is a sleeper..finally. She is a rock star sleeper challenging her brother for the title of “best sleeper in the house”.  She is down by 6:45 and we rarely hear from her before 6:15. I would love to push that back a bit but she fights it and it usually backfires with her waking up even earlier.  Like I said, she’s kinda high maintenance. 

Like any mother, I have my concerns. Some validated and some because I am a “glass half empty” kind of girl.  She bears no weight on her legs and she does not roll. She will not go from sitting to her belly or vice versa.  Brady was like this too but he loved to pull up and was always standing. Even in an exersaucser rarely are her legs bearing any weight.  I know she is small  and I am tired of people reminding me of that.  Sometimes I think we are still playing catch up from the the first few months but still I worry as I watch babies her age crawl, pull up and roll.  

With summer coming, I am sure my instagram feed will be full of pictures like the one below. I mean seriously, there is nothing better than a baby in a romper. She has a closet full of cute clothes, specifically rompers, a swimming suit that will make anyone’s ovaries explode and cute little legs to go with both.

And at night as she drinks some of that last bottle I watch her eyelids struggle to stay open, gazing in to mine. And lately, I have not put her down. I have rocked her because I know that soon she won't let me or need that motion to make her soundly sleep and I try not to blink.  

To my 8 month old Cate, I beg you not to grow up to fast and I swear I won't blink. 

"Best start putting first things first.
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can't flip over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth.”
~Kenny Chesney Don’t Blink


3 comments:

  1. So cute! That romper is adorable! I'd kill for a 6:45 bedtime! How awesome!

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  2. That smile and those eyes are absolutely GORGEOUS. I love her!

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  3. Also, I have been so nervous to put K on table food, but reading this made me not so scared. And to think, I have done this before... :)

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