Menu: Slice of Heaven

My Mother-in-Law was visiting for a while in the earlier part of December through the Christmas holiday as she was in recovery from a total knee replacement surgery! Intense for her, fantastic for us. Kaitlyn was able to spend some quality time with her Nana daily! As part of my caregiving services I was the executive chef of Hotel Patterson's main restaurant---generally I wear the chef hat with ease but with Nana around I have to admit I was quite intimidated. However, on a few occasions I would create a dish that would take her to Heaven and back. On this particular evening I delivered a stuffed pepper to Nana while she was still in a light slumber. Kaitlyn and I went to check on her and found her in Cuisine Heaven!
With Kaitlyn in tote I chop, steam, blend, mix, slice, puree, spin, stir, heat, boil, bake, grill, toast and even roast--possibly this is why Hotel Patterson's restaurant is getting such rave reviews these days!

Could she be any more cute?

It happens anywhere and everywhere. I'm at the cashier to order a coffee and my order isn't taken until after the employee locks eyes with Kaitlyn, gasps, makes some baby sounds, comments on her enormous eyes and incredible beauty. I'm walking into the grocery store and some bystander looking for car keys hollers out, 'what a cute baby, oh my'. I'm in the elevator and Kaitlyn makes friends.
Forget me, I might as well as not be there, she will be fine on her own-I'm sure of it! People are always struck by her babyface--I often tell Steve, 'Babe, we did good' and he quickly reminds me that he will have his shotgun ready when she starts dating! Ha! Protective Father-just like my own! She is a magnet, anywhere and everywhere, people notice her. I could be suffering from one of those 'I'm fat, totally fat, nothing fits me anymore, I just want to hide but I still need to go to the store for eggs' kind of days and it doesn't matter, people could care less about me, they probably don't even see me (which is completely fine-I'm not complaining), all they see is this gorgeous charismatic girl with huge brown eyes looking at them and they trip over their own feet. I've seen it too often-really, Kaitlyn turns heads.
I took this photo a couple of days ago, actually, I took a series of photos because I was struck by her beauty. Was it because she was wearing my favorite color for her? Chocolate? I get days like this...I find myself staring at her in amazement, blown away that she came from me. This little being I created! I can see why so many strangers notice her, I find myself speechless at times by her beauty.
I'm sounding like a stuck up mom who thinks her baby is superior to all other babies-not the case, I just really recognize that this little bundle has something special about her-it's in her eyes, in her smile, in her glow that so effortlessly appears each day. She is captivating and I know the general population thinks the same! There are big things she will do in her lifetime, I just know it!

T is for Tooth, Tupperware and Talk

Baby Kaits is truly growing up! Already six months old she faces the realm of teething daily which finally brought something to fruition, the beginnings of her first pearly white! That's right a little white tooth was found peering through her gum and of course, razor sharp, was felt by me while nursing this morning!

Kaitlyn is also fond of a common household item, Tupperware. Aren't all babies fascinated with this American classic--having roots back to 1946. I'm sure every generation has a photo like this one: sweet baby in tub engrossed in tupperware playtime!

Now Talk is all Kaitlyn wants to do. From morning to night like the cycle of the sun, she wakes up talking and goes to bed talking. This week, however, her talking began to make some new headlines as she found an interest in repeatedly saying 'Da Da'. While she may not realize the importance of her words, we certainly do! Lucky Dog Steve, he wins this one--'Ma Ma' should be just around the corner!

Birthday Memories

So Turkey Day really can be an over the top-deck out your front yard with holiday decor type of celebration. It was Sunday morning, November 23, and the brothers were out with their girls walking the neighborhood streets of Camarillo when they found this Turkey warming up someone's lawn! It wasn't a typical Sunday morning, mind you, it was the twins birthdays! In 2006 this lucky day was planted on Thanksgiving which made for a unique celebration-this year, however, is was fortunately on a Sunday allowing us to start our day with homemade blueberry pancakes and end it with not only an incredibly decadent meal at the Waterman in old town Ventura, but this over the top-football themed birthday cake:I'm no pro, but I sure have fun decorating cakes. This one was a T-shirt design with two Raider candles and on the divided shirt was the logo for the two rivaling schools that Steve and Stan pursued for undergraduate studies.

Snippets from DC

Kaitlyn in her typical 'Hello World, I'm ALIVE' energy!

Uncle Jeff holding the cousins on departure day! We left to the airport shortly after this photo...

Teething.

Teething some more.

Uncle Fr. Denis with the pack.

Uncle Garrett, Little Garrett and the memorable sock puppet embracing the joyous Kaitlyn.
Below: Kaitlyn getting some love from Jenna and mommy.

Soaps, Suds and Smiles

Bathtime, while it's a bit of a chore as it includes slippery moments, soapy suds and sometimes tears, it brings out the best alertness Kaitlyn has to offer. She is adorable during and right after a bath-this picture says it all! You must know, however, shortly after her candid shots I found a lovely wet mark on the bed. Go figure. All good things come with a price! She's 100% baby, I should have known.

Surprise Vacation...

What started out as a plan to get a vacation after the Thanksgiving holiday turned out to be a Thanksgiving holiday vacation. Earlier in October I had a real Momnesia moment and booked a trip for Kaitlyn and I to visit my brother, Jeff and his wife, Steph with their new son, Truman (he's only a week older than Kaitlyn). Originally I had planned on going to Hawaii with them but plans changed and visiting them in Falls Church, their current homestead just outside of DC, became the option. I purchased our flight without consulting a master calendar and to my surprise I booked our trip to depart on the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving-which was never the intention. I suppose some things just work out and this was one of them...a real treat!

Kaitlyn has been having the time of her life-overly stimulated with laughter and stares, her eyes have rarely shut. She is the bulldozer of the two cousins, the center stage, the leader of the pack while Truman typically  sits back and chills, lets her do her thing. Occasionally he begins to fuss when he gets a little irritated with her dramatic personality, but he's taken quite a liking to her despite the extra outbursts on her part!

Along for the holiday festivities, Jenna, my long time girlfriend, trekked down to the DC area from NYC. Kaitlyn has taken a strong liking to her-most certainly for her stylish ways and gracious personality!