Kickin' it with Cuz...

What an absolute treat...Natalia came for a visit and it turned into a slumber party! She stayed over with her mom, Kaitlyn's Aunt Sandra. The gals had such fun in their bumbo chairs and Natalia, being that she is 3 1/2 months older, enjoyed playing with some of Kaitlyn's toys that she doesn't know exist yet! As a mother, and wife to one of the Patterson twins, it was such a lovely visit with Sandra (married to the other Patterson twin). I feel as if both her and I have grown so much as individuals due to being married to these brilliant twins but especially due to becoming mothers. Life becomes more full, your perspective on living becomes deeper and your awareness of every action taken and word spoken becomes magnified. Children change hearts, lives and even your own purpose.
Sandra and I went to this great clothing store, Naartjie, and got lost in the baby clothes. The fashion possibilities were overwhelming. Needless to say we both made a dent in our pocketbooks picking out some of the store's finest!

San Diego Sun

Kaitlyn has been waiting for this day to arrive--she met her cousin, Truman, this afternoon for the first time. He is only a week older than her and lives in a town outside of Washington, D.C., so the opportunity to hang out is very rare. While this meeting was short, the two of them will have multiple days together in a couple more weeks (this basically means more pictures to come)!

Kaitlyn thought Truman was hilarious as he made high pitched screeching sounds during lunch and he loved making grumpy faces even though he was more than happy to be in Grandma's arms. Kaitlyn couldn't decide if he looked more like his dad, Uncle Jeff, or Uncle Benet (see photo).

I'm quite impressed with this little gem of mine. She endured two full days in the San Diego sun over this Labor Day weekend and definitely did not get her mother's skin. She showed no sign of sun damage, only a soft dusting of pink upon her cheeks and nose to prove she was outside enjoying the summer days. I on the other hand roasted and turned out like a lobster. Saturday she met some of Steve's dear friends, the Pentheroudakis family--a vibrant Greek family with a daughter, Eleni-Steve's classmate during Med School, who married into a vibrant Italian family. The festivities continued when today she met her two aunts and their sisterhood circle of friends. It was a jammed weekend of driving and socializing, she handled the stimulation with great finesse!

She's got legs!

Yes, my girl has the legs that will take her far in life, I just know it! 'Baby Chub' is too cute!

Three Months Old...

Little Miss Kaitlyn turned three months old today! I sat in awe thinking about how much she has grown and how her personality has blossomed. She is such a precious angel with a joyful presence. Steve and I are truly blessed.
Today she celebrated her age with her favorite friend Brody! It was a fun filled day of hanging out, laughing together, eating together and for the first time, driving together! Both babies were in the rear of the car while Laura, Brody's mom, was in the front with me. We were laughing so hard at our babies as one would begin to cry, then the other would cry ultimately leading into a vocal match of 'who can hear me the most...' It was a riot. At one point they were just talking with each other as if finishing the other's sentence. My favorite was when they began to harmonize as a baby singing session evolved out of the crying.
It wasn't until right before Brody was going to leave that Laura and I decided to place the two little ones in the Pack and Play together. We stood looking at them laughing uncontrollably. Both of them were making screeching sounds and giggling just for the sake of hearing themselves talk. One would giggle and then the other would giggle, all the while their little limbs lifting high to grab onto the colorful toys dangling above. My favorite moment all day, however, was when they began to hold onto each other's hands. True friendship.

Milestone Mania

Sweet Kaitlyn has embrace a week of milestones. I think it may be due to her approaching three month birthday, she is secretly trying to let us parents know she is GROWING UP! This photo illustrates one of the many milestones...her holding her own pacifier. The story goes as follows:
Dad is on baby patrol.
Dad gives Kaitlyn pacifier.
Pacifier falls out of Kaitlyn's mouth.
MILESTONE: Kaitlyn grabs pacifier and places it back in her mouth--this photo is how she was holding the pacifier.

Kaitlyn has developed her pinching skills! Her ability to use her thumb and index finger to grab items--yes, she's advanced! May I also point out that she likes to pinch my boob when breastfeeding...her pinching is nothing light, she has muscles, don't be fooled!

Another milestone, she slept for an eight hour stint! Sleeping for six hours in a row is becoming her normal routine, but an eight hour stint...that is a MILESTONE.

And yet, another milestone: Nana babysat Kaitlyn so that Steve and I could go out for a five hour celebration. This was a tough one for me, but a MILESTONE, none the less. I just wasn't ready to leave Kaitlyn for that period of time, but I pumped enough milk and knew she'd probably sleep for most of the time since they were five evening hours! She was fussy as we were leaving and I just kept my head high, walked straight out the door and knew she'd be fine. Were we going to be fine?? Within seconds of driving down the street a car went through a stop sign and just about hit us. My heart, gut, legs, everything went limp and tingly. Thank God we were fine, but it sure reinforced the achy feeling of knowing Kaitlyn wasn't with me.
As a breastfeeding mother, I must comment on how strange it is to be away from your baby and feel your boobs go through a series of let-downs (where the milk is being released in the ducts and literally 'letting down' the ducts to your nipples). Thank goodness for breast pads and/or thick bras or last night when away from Kaitlyn, I would have had two round wet marks across my chest. How embarrassing would that be? Not only for me, but for Steve as the celebration was his 20 year high school reunion--I could have really started some funny gossip.

Finally, she is asleep in her own crib. Now that's a MILESTONE worth noting! This started at naptime on Friday and tonight is her first overnight trip in her sweet nursery where trees are white, birds chirp and there is always a place to imagine! This means that Steve and I will now be getting accustomed to sleeping next to a baby monitor instead of the actual baby. Not sure I'm going to sleep too well tonight, but I'm up for the adventure.

There you have it folks. Kaitlyn Marie--a true pioneer... she is setting new trends and standards, not too mention, setting on foot more often than not. We think she'll bypass crawling and go straight for the walking!

Olympic Category: Sun Bathing

It was a day to cherish...both dads hanging with their babes! How many women are married to a twin, an identical twin at that? I felt like I should have left as Steve and his brother Stan were merrily being on Daddy patrol with their girls as they swam away in the lovely pool. This was Kaitlyn's first adventure in the big water and also her first shot at wearing a bikini (six months too big for her). Natalia, her cousin, was an old pro at the sport and a great teacher to get Kaitlyn up to speed!
While I don't feel a swimsuit is flattering on my soft figure at this point in time it sure was refreshing to be in the pool--and to be honest, once I had Kaitlyn in my arms, it didn't matter what I looked like. She was happy, I was happy and so was everyone else!
I have to thank my girlfriend who picked up this swimsuit as it not only matches Kaitlyn's nursery (everything is green and pink), it was absolutely the most darling swim gear. It also came with flip flops and a green terry cloth cover-up--which she did wear once she got out of the water. I wanted one in my size!
Splash on little one!

Tummy Time

Kaitlyn's friend, Brody, is only three weeks older--but age doesn't stop her. She already has eyes for him! His mommy, Laura, is becoming a dear friend of mine. We do morning coffee runs for each other and then meet up to just chat the day away and watch our little babies coo. I met Laura at the dog park back in January when we both were still pregnant. After a solid 30 minutes of chit chat we left the park and never exchanged numbers. It wasn't until mid April that I ran into her again, this time at the Hospital for an infant care class. Unreal. Meant to be. Having another mom in the neighborhood to swap stories with has been a real blessing! Her son is a future football player--in case you were curious!