From My Phone...

Some random pictures from my phone...

I had a headband made for Katelyn's blessing...it might be a tad big but I sure do love it!  The first time we tried her blessing dress on her she screamed...hysterically...even after it came off!  In an attempt to make Sunday go better we tried it on another time to get used to it.  She was so interested in her hands (which she has recently found) that she could not get them away from her face long enough to take a picture!  She sure loves to just chew on them!  The night of the blessing she was SO exhausted.  She slept forever.  We went to Salt Lake to pick up our car and while there we visited grandma and grandpa Winn.  She played with them for a minute and then passed out again. The whole next day she was passed out as well, it really wore her out!!  Ray and I were in the same boat though so we couldn't blame her for being tired! We love that she is now cozy snuggling up and sleeping on our chest again, she went through a little phase where she wouldn't lay on us and sleep unless she was craddled.

Tanner is starting to take an interest in her, he kept watching her and trying to grab her!

She is such a fun girl, when she sleeps she gets extra comfy and I love that you can see her little tuft of "bed head"!  

Katelyn...

This gal sure is getting good at tummy-time.  She can stay on her stomach for 5+ minutes with her head held high before she starts to get a little bored of it!  She is so smiley and playful now.  She loves to kick and swing her arms at the toys on her playmat.  She really does whack them hard too!  She loves to sing songs, especially when I hold her hands and make actions to them.  She loves when we hold her against our shoulder as we walk around so she can see everything. We had some friends over for dinner and her and Charlotte shared some good tummy time together.  Charlotte is 2.5 months older and I am certain they will be good friends! Sure do love Baby Kate!

Katelyn's Blessing Day...

Today we blessed our baby girl. It still seems unreal to us that we have a beautiful daughter.  Blessing her  made it a bit more real that she is definitely here and ours to keep.  It was such a great day with so much love and support from all of our family. We were amazed at how many came to celebrate with us.  We had over 100 people attend sacrament for the occasion.  Katelyn looked beautiful in her dress and was a little angel the whole time.

Raymond did a wonderful job of blessing her, he was incredibly nervous but did amazing.  Ray said she was awake and just watching everyone around her.  She didn't even make a peep though.  There were 19 people in the circle to bless her!  Those included were Raymond, Mike Maturo, Grandpa Winn, Uncle Rick, Steve, Cody, Uncle James, Uncle Matt, Uncle Rick, Scott Cash, Jeff Wurm, Jesse Lawson, Craig, Spencer, Jim, Blake, Bear, Jeff and Bishop Clark. We were so blessed to have them all in attendance.  

After sacrament we said goodbye to Maturo's so they could catch their flight home.  Then we headed to the Weber County Posse House for a yummy taco salad dinner. I was so nervous we wouldn't have enough food but I think it worked out perfectly.  It was so busy and crazy but so nice to see all of our families. They all loved Katelyn and kept saying how sweet and beautiful she is.  She had plenty of smiles to share with all those around her.  She has such a spirit about her, you just can't help but be happy when you are near her.

For the sake of me remembering all who came to support us: my mom & Dayne; my dad; Cody & Lexi; Jess, Kip & Briele; Steve, Jodi, Madison, Halli & Tanner; Mike & Roxanna Maturo; Grandma & Grandpa Winn; Grandma Stapel; Shelley, Brooklyn & Brady Peterson, Matt Katie Lauren, Emily, Sam & Whitney; Becky Rick, Morgan, Jordan & Sydney; Stacie & Tyson Summers; Dani Michelle, Mackenley & Charlotte Thurston; Mike & Jaime Horspool; Chelsie Lawson & kids; Amber & Jesse Lawson & kids; Blake & Kristi Rachel & Issac; Jeff Brenda Logan & Ashley; Jim Celeste Nikki Jenni & Brooke; Mindy Craig Alex Sarah Mariah & Rebekah; James Wendy Robbi Zac & Jake Stapel; Susie Corrissa Tess Sam & Maggie Matina; Lisa Scott Sarah & Mackenzie Winn; Spencer & Tiffany; Bear Sheralee Kaylee John & Austin; Camille Whipple; Jeni & Scott Cash; Tracy Catherine Taylor & Brady Stapel; Jeff Meredith Alyiah & Bella Wurm; Rick & Mary Wurm

Mike & Roxanna Maturo

Most of all Katelyn's grandparents and great-grandparents were there to celebrate with us!

Camille had her smiling extra big-I was so glad I was able to get them on camera!

 We were so happy for Katelyn to finally meet Stacie!! So glad she has moved back from Missouri!

 Again so amazed by all the family that came to celebrate and show their support!

I had some pretty awesome people that helped set everything up and plan everything out with me the week before and the day of!  All of my family was such a huge help!

 She is just beautiful!  I LOVE her so much!

Maturo's...

Mike & Roxanna Maturo came to visit us for the weekend and to attend Katelyn's baby blessing!  Raymond taught them while on his mission in California, returned after his mission to see them be sealed and we have both gone to visit them multiple times.  These are the most loving, kind and fun people.  They always boost those around them up so when you leave them you feel on top of the world.  We have dubbed them "honorary" grandparents to Katelyn.  Friday night they treated us to dinner at The Garden restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  We had a delicious dinner and they loved meeting Katelyn.  Roxanna was smitten by her and couldn't stop loving on her.  Saturday they came up to our house for brunch.  Raymond loved showing Mike all the work we have done on our house while me and Roxanna loved playing with Katelyn. They brought Katelyn a beautiful gift.  It was a hand-made minky blanket with crocheted edging and a crown with her name embroidered on it to signify that she is "the daughter of a King".  It also had matching burp cloth, bib and booties.  It is absolutely beautiful!

We had such a fun weekend with them and were so grateful that Mike was there to participate in Katelyn's blessing.  We are definitely better people because of them.

Duck Dynasty...

Steve and Jodi threw a very fun Duck Dynasty party.  We all wore our camo, ate fried chicken and biscuits with root beer straight from the bottle and watched some previews for the season to come.  We hadn't watched Duck Dynasty before but I have a feeling Ray is now hooked! It was a really fun and quirky night!

Katelyn

We can't seem to get enough of this girl.  She is my everything. She makes every day enjoyable and wonderful.  I can't wait for her to wake up in the morning and play with me.  She is always happy except for when I grab the camera/phone, then she becomes incredibly stoic.  She still sleeps wonderfully--7 to 9 hours a night.  Then she wakes up we eat/play for 1-2 hours and then she takes a nap for 2-3 hours...sometimes longer when I am holding her...which is almost always!  She LOVES her little "bug" toy that jangles.  We hung it from her bouncer and she will just sit and kick her legs to her it jingle.  She still loves bath time, we are experimenting with the bumbo in the sink which she really likes...she still slides out of her sling tub because she is to little. She is always looking around and seems to be studying every detail of everything she sees.  She still loves noises--Ray was eating a bag of chips while holding her and she thought it was hilarious.  I love nothing more than being a mom to this little gal.

Visiting The Grandparents...

We headed to Salt Lake to spend the day. Ray and the boys went to the RV expo while Jess and I went to the mall.  We also had dinner at my Grandma & Grandpa Winn's.  These 2 are seriously the best grandparents, they have been such a big part of my life and I am so grateful for them.  It is so fun to see them with Katelyn and see how much they love and adore her.  Katelyn had so much fun playing with them and studying their faces. It was a great way to spend our Sunday!  And as always, dinner at Grandma's house was AMAZING!

(Funny thing to remember, Briele was helping grandma roll out homemade bread and put it in pans and she decided to mark which roll was hers...by licking it! Haha, it was so funny!)

2 Months...

Katelyn had her 2 month check up and the doctor told me "you haven't screwed her up yet, so you must be doing something right"...that was just after I hit her with TONS of questions with everything from poop to what meds travel through breast milk to what things developmentally she should be doing!  Our little one is long and lean and right on track!  

10.5 lbs-35%

23.25 inches-87%

She got her first immunizations today and she HATED it.  She cried. I cried.  We had a good snuggle right there in the doctors office, rocked and sang and decided we were ok enough to go home and continue snuggling. Since getting the shots she has been incredibly tired, irritable and sad.  It breaks my heart.  She has been an entirely different baby since getting them.  She will just scream for no reason out of the blue, she sleeps but only for short intervals and then she is crying again.  We have given her tylenol a few times but she still is just so sad.  Ray and I were talking about how helpless we feel and if she were to get "actually ill" one day we will be complete wrecks.  We hate seeing our baby not feel good!  In between the crying and tears she still has the best smiles for us!  She is loving her toys even more and its so fun to watch her discover new things!

Happy V-Day!

We had a pretty chill Valentine's Day but it was perfect. We were pretty excited to be able to spend the evening together and just relax.  Ray was sweet and surprised me with flowers and chocolate covered strawberries-both of which I LOVE to receive.  I love having fresh flowers in the house and would buy them weekly if only $ allowed! We were also spoiled with treats by our family.  Katelyn got her first stuffed animal from me & Ray...I think I have decided to name him George the Giraffe.  He is pretty cute and contrary to the scowl in the picture I think she likes him!  Kate and I headed up to Morgan to visit Steve & Jodi and their fun bunch. The girls were VERY excited it was Valentine's Day and were having all sorts of fun! Ray and I went to Dickey's BBQ with my dad, we love that place!  Then we headed home, curled up in bed with a brownie sundae and watched a movie.  It was a very good day!

Katelyn...

Katelyn is such a good sleeper, I love it!  And I am grateful for it with me working graves! I don't go into work completely sleep deprived which is great!  She is such a happy girl!  We just play, sing, dance, and snuggle all day long and truthfully there is nothing in the world I would rather do. I complain about having to work part time but I am truly blessed to be a nurse and be able to work long shifts only twice a week and still make good money which allows me to be home with her the rest of the week! We love having so much time together...and we love when daddy comes home! 

1st Week @ Church

We took Katelyn to sacrament for her first time.  We have been hesitant to go with such a bad flu this year but we thought we would be ok to start going.  She was a gem, slept through the whole thing.  She looked cute in her little dress.  I don't realize how big she is getting on a daily basis but I had bought her some red tights when she was barely born and they drowned her, now they fight semi well.  It's sad/exciting to realize how big she is getting! After church we went to help Raymond's cousins, Chelsie & Ryan, move some furniture to storage.  We stayed and had dinner and watched a movie.  We love these guys, we wish we got together with them more often!  We always have so much fun with them!  They are moving to San Diego so I guess we will have to visit!

Saturday...

I love when we get to spend the day together!  I had worked Friday night so we all took a nice long nap on Saturday morning.  We then headed to Gibson's awesome mustache party and had a blast!

We headed up to Garland in the evening to clean the snow off of our trailer (which Cody did because he is awesome) and have dinner with mom and Cody.  Mom made a delicious dinner, Cody and Katelyn had a great nap.  On our way home we stopped and visited Rodger for a little while.  Overall it was a pretty chill day, which we love!

Lately Katelyn has been turning so much in her sleep that she will wedge herself sideways in the bassinet! It is pretty funny but sad when she has net imprints on her sweet little head!

Katelyn...

My little gal is getting so big!  While it's sad that she is no longer my teeny tiny newborn it is so fun to see her grow and become more interactive!  She LOVES her playmat, especially the elephant that sings!  She will sit under it and kick and talk and smile for the longest time! She is getting some cute chubby little cheeks!  She is still such a good baby, sleeps great, eats great, is incredibly happy!  We are so blessed!

Friends...

We were so excited that Briele was home from Disneyland so we went to visit and hear all about her fun trip!  She LOVED that I brought Baby Kate with me to play!  She loves to hold her, steal her blankets and give her cuddles!  It's pretty cute!

We also went to see Mackenley and Charlotte.  Mackenley is hilarious and would snuggle Kate and say "oh you are so sweet, yes you are, sweet little girl".  It was pretty darn cute!  We are lucky to have so many cute kids in our lives!

Swimming...

For some reason I REALLY wanted to take Katelyn swimming, I realized we would be in the water for 2 minutes and that she really wouldn't care but I still wanted to take her.  After not being able to in Ely and having weather interfere with plans during the week we finally made it swimming!  We even got to go with some pretty sweet girls!  We headed up to Logan, ate at Jack's Wood Fire Pizza (yum!) and went swimming at Steve & Jodi's hotel.  Katelyn didn't like or dislike swimming.  She was pretty neutral about the whole event, she was actually quite content being wrapped up and snuggled.  She even fell asleep while I dipped my toes in the hot tub!    The little girls are getting so brave at swimming and do all sorts of "tricks" such as jumping to us and dancing "like princesses" as we tote them around the water!  

The little girls are so cute with Katelyn.  They loved that she was wearing a swimsuit that was tiny and pink.  They loved to watch me giving her a bath and they would narrate each thing I did.  Lexi kept saying in a super excited voice with her body nearly shaking with excitement "Oh she is so CUTE! I just want to SQUISH her!"  It was so cute! It was a great night!