One Month Already?!?!

As I mentioned in my previous post, the first two weeks of La Vida Kate were pretty hectic. Between the discovery of her congenital cataract, visit to the ophthalmologist, news of the need for surgery, and Jeremy's illness, we were all pretty wiped out! As a result - and I'm bummed to say it - I don't think I took as many pictures. So, this update is a bit overdue, but if there's ever a time I can be forgiven for that, it's when I have a newborn and a 4 year old, right? :)

My mother-in-law Donna SAVED OUR LIVES by staying with us a couple of nights our second weekend home. We couldn't have made it without her coming to the rescue and helping us catch up on sleep. I'm thankful to say that Jeremy is back to 100%, and I'm feeling much more human, too... though I'm still scatter-brained and a little tired, so forgive me if this post jumps around a lot. 

If you know me at all, you know I just had to document Kate's first trip to Target. Bringing her along means there's not a whole lot of room in the cart... but a girl's got to join her mommy at her happy place, right? :) Though Kate looks uninterested in this photo, I can assure you that the next time we went, her eyes were wide open. That's my girl!

So this is an unusual spot for a woman in my family: after her first doctor's appointment, Kate was UNDER-weight. Pretty crazy, right? She was 8 lbs 12 oz at birth, 8 lbs 8 oz when we left the hospital on 4/5, and still at 8-8 when we saw her pediatrician on 4/17. So we entered unfamiliar territory: we were sent home with instructions to wake her up every 4 hours to eat. (Kate is a VERY good sleeper. BLESSED!) 

Six days later? Homegirl weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz. Atta girl! Here she is after that appointment... 

(Notice that Newborn sized onesie is QUITE snug.)

...and here she is at three weeks old officially:

BIG news on the cataract front, by the way: our second visit to the ophthalmologist on 4/17 was very reassuring. In short: we are postponing Kate's surgery to May 21 so that she'll be a bit older and better able to tolerate the anesthesia, and Dr. Wang's information on longer-term management of the cataract proved much less intimidating than we originally thought. Plus, Dr. Wang is just really impressive. We've been blessed to have caretakers of our kids who are great blends of head and heart. She knows her stuff and is going to take care of our little Kitty Kate, but she also has a great "bedside manner" and explained everything very clearly. So, it's good to know we like her, because we are going to see her VERY OFTEN - every three months after surgery, in fact! :)

On a frivolous note: I decided that if we have to sport daily eye patches, then by God, we will get cute ones. Here's a sassier one for her four-week-old milestone. (She was just starving as I took this picture.)

I can tell I'm not really rocking the brevity thing here, so I'm going to go into bullet-point mode. 

Kate, here's the skinny about you at one month old... 

• Here is a random picture of you in a bow. You don't really like bows, which is okay with me for now, because honestly? I haven't decided where I stand on them. I do like this smaller, more tasteful one that a student got for you. 

• Here you are at one month old (5/3/13) in an outfit I bought you the day I found out you were a girl. It isn't pink, but I just love it. It is a size three months, which is what you wear most of the time. Newborn stuff is tight on you, and, like your brother, not long enough. Also, I refer to this facial expression as the "Church Lady," and I shudder to think of how many people will read this and wonder what I'm talking about.

• Your big brother Luke is still deciding what he thinks of you. I'd say that for weeks 1-3, he barely acknowledged you, though when you cried, he cried. We think it was a combination of worrying about you and jealousy - after all, when you cry, Mommy and/or Daddy takes care of you quickly. This picture below is the first "official" picture of you two together. Luke is being very sweet about giving you little kisses (and sometimes gentle head butts... we're coaching him on this). He's realized you aren't going anywhere, and he's warming up to you. :)

• Funny thing about you, Kate: you rarely cry, but when it's time to eat, you start screaming as if you are being actively mauled by a bear. You can really wail, and with our new wood floors downstairs, it echoes. You've got pipes!
• You are SO STRONG! Here you are doing some tummy time. I am seriously amazed at how strong your neck is. Even at a little over a week old, if you were on your tummy, you moved your head from one side to another. (It took you a bit, but still!) That said, you get frustrated often because you are just a baby, but you perceive that your strength level equals that of an NFL linebacker. I predict that when you get moving, you are going to be a handful!

Finally, here are your official one month pictures! Here you are scoping out your room. 

 You're a little more stretched out in your crib here.

And here is YOUR first "bear and chair" picture at one month old...

...and big brother's. 

I definitely think you guys look like siblings, but at this point, I think you guys look like yourselves. What does everyone else think?

I'm sure I'll blink and it'll be time to write about your second month, Kate! In the meantime, know this: we are soaking up our time with you as you're so tiny! We know from Luke that you little ones grow up so fast!