Our Little Lady's Birthday

Catherine turned 1 on Saturday. I am just posting this because I wanted to wait until we had her appointment with Dr. L and had all the stats. First, a little comparison from pics her first week at home and now

Saturday, we woke up and started her special day with breakfast at our FAVORITE place, Susan's! It is so yummy and Catherine chowed down on her cinnamon roll and some of my sausage.

Afterwards, she came home, played, open gifts from us and got ready for the party! Around 2, GrandDa, DaddyBen, Honey and Daddy Brooks all arrived. Catherine was still down for a nap. So, when she got up she was SURPRISED to have so much company.

She was a little shy at first, but showed out some on her new ride-on from Honey and Daddy Brooks.

Around 5ish, the rest of the party arrived, The Peschels, The Browns and Grammy and Grampy. We had a hot dog/brats bar with calico beans and party potatoes. I forgot to take a picture of the yummy food before everyone dove it.

We ate and played outside. Once everyone finished, it was time...the moment Catherine has been waiting for since she was born...her first bite of cake! (I'll let the pictures do the talking)

Catherine got a redneck bath and went back to "playing" with Bree. We put the sprinkler on the trampoline for the big kids and they had a BALL. Bree and Catherine played in the baby pool, until their diapers were about to explode.

The kids jumped on the trampoline, squirted each other (and the adults) with water, caught lightening bugs, played baseball, ate Popsicles and had a great time. We sat outside watching them and chatting away. Needless to say, the party last long after Catherine went to bed.

She had a great time at her party! I can't believe it's already been a year.

Today, we went to see Dr. L. She had to get FOUR shots. It was pitiful, but she finished crying about 20 seconds after I scooped her up off the table.

Catherine weighs 19.5 lbs (still 25th percentile) and is 29.5 in long (75th percentile). Dr. L checked her ears, eyes, throat, legs, soft-spot, tummy and heart. Once he finished, he looked at me and said, "She seems to be perfect. I can't find a thing wrong with her and I've looked!" HA!

Catherine's development:

• drinks solely from a sippy cup (I threw the bottles away on Saturday night!)
• eats only table food
• walks 5+ steps without assistance
• walks as far as she wants to holding some one's hand
• says ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, bye-bye
• takes a sassy some, but still sucks her thumb
• IS A BITER! (we are working on that)

Catherine loves...

• her baby doll
• playing peek-a-boo
• having pillow fights
• someone jumping out and scaring her
• to dance...mainly to "Party in the USA"
• to sing
• bologna
• cheese puffs
• green beans
• her sisters
• tearing paper
• "reading" books
• rocking
• being held
• brushing her teeth
• climbing
• oatmeal cookies
• being the center of attention
• hanging upside down
• sneaking in Emma and Hannah's room and pulling everything out of the shelves as fast as she can
• bath time

Catherine hates...

• being put down
• strangers
• being told no
• sitting down in the bathtub
• wearing shoes
• watermelon
• when I walk out of a room without her
• skipping naps
• getting her ears cleaned out
• crawling in the grass
• a quiet room when she sleeps (probably due to having noisy sisters!)
• wearing hairbows (this makes me so sad!)

Catherine Grace,

A whole year has flown by so quickly. You have grown and changed so much from the tiny baby you were into the little person (with a huge personality) you are today. You are so wild and into everything. You love to explore and I love to watch you figure things out. I cannot believe the temper you have, but with that temper comes sheer determination like I have NEVER seen on a child your age. I know with that determination, you have big things ahead for you. You are so loving and playful. You adore your sisters and want to be everywhere they are. I think that you believe you are as big as them and can do anything they can do.

Your smiles brighten our days. We could never imagine our family being complete without you, sweet girl. Your spunk and craziness keep us laughing with (or at) you all the time. We love you SO much.

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Our Beach Adventure (Part 3)

Wednesday morning, we were a little slower to get up and out the beach, (at least the adults were!). To keep the girls occupied, my dad taught them to slide plastic cups down the banister in an attempt to make them into Catherine's diaper bag.

They had fun, but it got a little too easy. That's when Uncle Jon jumped into the game. He sat on the couch and tried to slap the cups away before they made it into the bag. The girls thought it was HILARIOUS!

Finally, we made it down to the beach. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. We enjoyed more fun beach time. The waves were not as big, but still big enough for Emma. Hannah continued making her "salad soup" and Catherine enjoyed being held and eating. She even managed to get her hands on an UNOPENED adult beverage. It kept her occupied for about an hour trying to get a drink! It was a great beach day!

That night we ate and decided we would head into Destin for some fun. We got about a mile from the house and the fun began:

Hannah: "Mommy, I have something in my nose."
Me: "Do you have a booger? Here is a tissue."
Hannah: "Nooo...it's not a booger..."
Travis: "Hannah Brooke! Did you stick that up your nose?"
Hannah: "Yes, Daddy and I just can't reach it to get it out!"

Hannah found a rhinestone (we still don't know where it came from) and apparently decided she would stick it up her nose for safe keeping. So, we turned around and headed back to the house. I have no pictures, but we had her on the kitchen table trying to get it out with a pair of tweezers. Then, Hannah sniffed. The rhinestone was gone!

After some mild freaking out about what we should do, we decided that it probably went down her throat to her tummy. She said her nose didn't hurt anymore and she could breathe, so we just got back in the car and headed to Destin.

The main reason for going to Destin was for one thing: HERMIT CRABS! I guess a long time ago, I mentioned to Emma that I got a hermit crab from the beach when I was a little girl. Well, I am so glad my two eldest have memories like elephants, because that is all they talked about the whole way to Florida and every night we were there.

We got their crabs, Spongebob and Sandy. Emma loves hers and takes it out of the cage ALL.THE.TIME. (I know it's going to get lost in this house!) Hannah loves hers, but refuses to touch it. Catherine crawled over to Emma's and picked it up to check it out. Poor girl got her little finger pinched and now cries every time she catches a glimpse of them!

It was an exciting night! We came back and put the girls to bed. Travis, Jon, Nicole and I tried to go crabbing, but as soon as we got on the beach, it started raining. Boo!

The next day was another beautiful day on the beach. All was well until we saw it. A big black tar ball washed up on the beach. It was so sad! There were very few and it was our last day, but it just breaks my heart to see first hand what is happening to the area that holds so many childhood memories for both me and the girls.

That night, we just hung out and finally ate the watermelon that Travis had to buy on the way down there. It was the BEST watermelon EVER!

After the girls were in bed, we attempted crabbing one last night. I forgot my camera, but OMG! We had so much fun. Nicole and I were laughing so hard. Jon and Travis didn't bring their nets, so they would corner a crab and just look at each other as if to say "Who is grabbing this thing?". Travis caught one in his shirt and they were so excited. Once the excitement died down, Travis said, "Now what?" HA! The chase was much more fun than the catch. We had a blast and stayed up WAY too late.

That was our last night. We were all so sad to leave. Hannah cried and Emma wouldn't really talk part of the way home. They had so much fun. We all did. We are counting down the days until our trip next summer!