The Benefields

Jill's Barnyard Birthday!

2012-02-01T21:27:00.008-06:00

Jill turned 2 on January 12, and to celebrate her birthday we had a few friends and family over for a barnyard themed party. We dressed the part, and had some fun farm crafts and treats!

The kids decorated their own barns with farm animal stickers.

Then we headed outside for a few games, like farm animal charades.

Back inside for some healthy snacks (before getting all sugared up).

And then, the good stuff. :) Jill picked the sheep cupcake, I think because it was covered in marshmallows.

Jill really enjoyed opening her presents. She was so excited about each gift. (Thank you to our sweet friends and family!)

Signing "Thank You."

Happy Birthday, Jilly billy! We love you so. You already have such a distinctive personality. You are spunky, silly, and sometimes downright hilarious. When you do test boundaries, you are quick to give hugs and apologies. Your snuggles can (and do) melt anyone! You and Kate are becoming such great playmates. It's so much fun for your Dad and I to watch. We pray that you two will grow into lifelong best friends. We love you and look forward to the wonderful developments and blossoming personality that your third year will bring!

A New Accessory

2011-12-02T00:06:00.004-06:00

Our beautiful girl is now donning a new accessory...glasses! Thanks to a very thorough vision screening at preschool (and a diligent screener who caught what our pediatrician's office missed), we discovered that Kate has an eye condition similar to what her dad was diagnosed with in elementary school. She has one strong eye and one weak eye (amblyopia). We were concerned that she may have to wear a patch to strengthen her weak eye, just as Josh did as a child. We took her to a pediatric opthalmologist, who told us the current research says to start with glasses, and if things don't improve then a patch may be the next step. We're praying that the glasses do the trick, because a patch just doesn't sound like fun at all. But, for the time being, we are so thankful that Kate loves her new glasses! And, doesn't she look all grown up!

Kate and Kiwi

2011-12-01T23:42:00.003-06:00

In Kate's preschool class, every child gets to take Kiwi the monkey (sort of the class mascot) home for a weekend. They are told to record their adventures with Kiwi and take pictures, then add them to a class journal. Kate was so very excited for her chance to take Kiwi home. He went with us everywhere!

They made bread together, enjoyed snacks, went to mom's allergy doctor's office, and even took a trip to a local farm with Adelaide & Abe.

Halloween 2011

2011-12-01T23:03:00.011-06:00

I'm playing blog catch up tonight. Here are some pictures from Halloween this year. We invited Bible study friends to join us, so we had a whole herd of trick or treaters. Kate and Jill were, of course, princesses. However, these princesses also wore super hero capes. I think it gave them a regal air.

We hadn't even started, and Kate already had the gleam of candy in her eyes...

The whole gang.

"Hey guys, wait up!"

Fall Camping Trip

2011-10-10T13:00:00.010-05:00

I've been rather slack in blogging this summer. I'll blame it on the extreme heat. Thankfully, we're finally getting a break in the weather. And, of course, the record setting drought that has stricken Central Texas was brought to an end . . . on the weekend we scheduled a camping trip. :) If we'd known that was all it took, we would have gone camping 6 months ago.

We met some friends (the Conlys, Carters, and Kinmans) at Inks Lake State Park. The plan was to camp Friday and Saturday night, but the rain forced us to pack it in a day early. Still, the kids had a lot of fun--during the day. Sleeping was another matter. This was Jill's first camping trip and she didn't quite take to sleeping a tent, even though it is a XL 3-Room Vacation Lodge.

We were teased just a bit about the size of our tent, but I was happy to have the space. :)

The kids were great at entertaining themselves and getting very dirty. We spent Saturday morning at Sweet Berry Farm and really enjoyed the pumpkin patch, feeding the goats, and picking beautiful flowers.

Saturday afternoon we fished at Inks Lake. Jill was a really determined fisher-girl. She didn't want to quit, even though we didn't get a nibble.

Jill also enjoyed riding around in our wagon. She had the best mode of transport.

Despite the rain and lack of sleep, we enjoyed spending time with our good friends and look forward to our next camping trip in the spring.

10th Wedding Anniversary Trip

2011-07-04T13:13:00.010-05:00

The 2nd of June marked our tenth wedding anniversary, and to celebrate Josh and I decided to take a cruise. (We'd never been on one before.) The kids spent a week with their grandma and grandpa, and Josh and I set off for a 7 day Carribbean cruise out of Galveston. It was a wonderful mix of relaxation and sightseeing. Our favorite parts of the trip were the excursions...the ports of call were Jamaica (Montego Bay), Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel.

Here we are on the stern of the ship, overlooking a beautiful sunset, on "Elegant Attire Night."

Our room was on the bow of the ship and had a window, but only a few steps from our room was the access door to the deck. It was almost like we had a private balcony, because that deck was often empty. Here we are on the deck, docking at Montego Bay.

Jamaica was probably the least fun port, mostly because we didn't book an excursion there--we just decided to wing it on our own. We did see some interesting sights and haggled with friendly (though eager) locals for some souvenirs for the kids. But the area we were in seemed very economically depressed and dirty. The port was very industrial and just not what we were expecting. We bought a hop on, hop off bus pass to see a few sights. We found a local restaurant and enjoyed delicious Jamaican jerk pork and rice. It rained on us a bit, but we made the best of it. When we hopped back on the bus, we were the only riders so the driver decided to take us on a private tour of the city center, where the local fruit stands and vendors were. It was good time, but we definitely recommend a guided excursion in Montego Bay...I think you'd be able to see more of the beautiful countryside instead of just the commercial areas.

The next morning we arrived in Grand Cayman, which is the complete opposite of Montego Bay in almost everyway. It is very obvious that there is a lot of money on that island. Everything was very pricey, and there were high end shops everywhere. We split a pork sandwich, appetizer, and coke at this seaside restaurant, and the total was $40 US.

We opted for a snorkeling excursion in Grand Cayman, and it was so much fun. Our cruise ship is in the background of this picture.

We saw beautiful reefs and a shipwreck, and the water was gorgeous. There were many fish, though not as colorful as I would have expected.

The third port was Cozumel. We found this to be a nice mix of cleanliness, hospitality, and decent prices.
We bought a day pass at a private island to enjoy a full day of hanging out on the beach. We (and about 100 other cruise passengers) took a small boat about 45 minutes along the Mexican coast to Isla Pasion.
We swam, relaxed, and enjoyed the Mexican buffet & bar.

On the way back from the island, our boat came across 4 teenage Mexican boys who had somehow gotten separated from their little sailboat out in the ocean. (We couldn't tell if the boat had capsized or if they got out to swim and the boat got away from them.) They were in distress, so our 3 person crew rescued these kids! Everyone on our boat cheered. It was exciting.

Having now taken a cruise, we can compare it to an all-inclusive resort vacation where we previously stayed...and I think we'd opt for the latter option in the future. Not to say that the cruise wasn't fun, but I think we got a little bored of being on the boat. Our ship was on the small side, so maybe larger cruise ships have more to offer. At any rate, it was marvelous not to do any cooking, cleaning or child-rearing for 7 full days. It was a great getaway for us as a couple, and a wonderful way to celebrate 10 years of married life!

Kate's 4th Birthday: Princess Party, redux

2011-05-01T15:04:00.015-05:00

Kate is still very much into princesses, so it was no surprise that she requested a pink princess-themed party for her birthday. So, much like last year, we invited Kate's friends to join us, decked out in their own royal attire. The timing of Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton made this year especially neat. Kate and I watched the wedding (recorded...not at 4am!) on Friday morning. She was so excited to see a real Princess Kate, and wanted to put on a "wedding dress" and crown for the occassion.

On Saturday, we made preparations for her party, and she was all smiles.

Once our party guests arrived, I had them all sit down and told them about a real royal wedding that happened just yesterday with a real Princess Kate! We played a little clip of William and Kate walking down the aisle and getting into their horse-drawn carriage. The girls were enthralled to say the least.

Afterwards, we played a few games in the backyard. Then, onto cake and presents.

Jill enjoyed the cake as well. :)

Kate received many lovely gifts from her sweet friends. Josh and I got her a "big girl bike," which was a big hit.

Kate, we can hardly believe that you are four! We are so thankful for you. Happy Birthday!

Ski Trip

2011-03-23T14:35:00.003-05:00

Some friends invited us to join them and 4 other families/couples for a ski trip to Utah. Neither Josh nor I had ever skiied before, but we were very excited to try it. We borrowed as much gear as we could, sent the kiddos for a fun week at grandma & grandpa's, and hit the slopes!

Me and Sunee on the lift.

We took lessons the first day, stayed on the green the second day, and then ventured onto a blue on the third day. It was definitely challenging, and there was a lot of falling involved. At one point, I was coming down pretty fast and realized I wasn't going to be able to stop, so I aimed for a big fluffy snow bank. I told Josh to take this picture, then I had to dig my right leg out.

Here's the house we stayed at.

This is the only blue sky day we had...it was actually only blue for a couple of hours. It snowed pretty much the whole time--32 inches while we were there! It was by far the most snow I've ever seen in my life. The guys who were skiing blacks said the conditions were fantastic.

We had a great time and made wonderful memories. We are so thankful to our sweet friends for inviting us!

Jill's First Steps!

2011-02-18T00:02:00.002-06:00

It won't be long before she is chasing her sister around the house! Enjoy the video!

Jill's First Birthday!

2011-01-19T15:01:00.010-06:00

Our little baby is one year old! So hard to believe. Jillian is a joy. She smiles nearly nonstop, and is such a sweet cuddler. She hugs me every morning and lays her little head on my shoulder at night. I hope that she never grows out of that. Happy First Birthday, Jilly-Billy!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T21:00:00.019-06:00

I love Christmas for many reasons, but mostly because it reminds me that I am blessed. Blessed beyond measure with plentiful provisions, a healthy and happy family, and--foremost--our Creator and Redeemer, who humbly took the form of His creation. It was wonderful to see Kate start to really "get" the Christmas story this year. As we did our Advent activities every day of December, Kate was excited and filled with anticipation for Christmas. Many mornings her first words would be, "Is it Christmas yet?" She was also excited about the decorations and loved putting "her" ornaments on the tree, as well as the tree topper. Next year, she'll have to give Jill a turn at that.

Soon after the tree went up, I realized we needed some sort of barrier to keep Jill's curiosity from littering the house with ornaments. Luckily I found a baby gate/playpen at a garage sale that worked well.

Josh surprised us all with an early Christmas present one night by buying and secretly setting up a fire pit on the back deck. He had me and the girls come out to find hot cocoa, marshmallows, and a nice warm fire. So sweet.

Since we'd be traveling for Christmas, Santa made a special early delivery to our house on the 21st. Kate laid out milk and cookies for the very first time, and went to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in her head.

This is what she found the next morning...a doll house!

Jill seemed pleased with her toys as well.

We spent Christmas at my mom and dad's house in East Texas. My mom wanted to dress Kate up in different costumes portraying the Christmas story and take pictures to make into ornaments. Kate was only too willing. She has a flare for the dramatics. Here she is with a solemn portrayal of Mary.

My two sweet shepherds.

And a Wise Man bringing gifts to a wiggly baby Jesus. When Jill escaped from her costume, Kate said, "Baby Jesus, swaddle up again."

Kate surprised us with a spontaneous Live Nativity performance. I caught most of it on video, but unfortunately I'm having trouble loading it on here. Here's a a still shot of her telling us the Christmas story. Note her props--the sheep and the tiny manger scene near the doll house.

Another highlight of our time was making a birthday cake for Jesus. Kate really enjoyed this, and we plan to make it an annual tradition.

The girls had great fun opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Kate received a real guitar, and it was a huge hit! It didn't take her long to start serenading us.

Of course, Jill was most fascinated by the paper but did seem to enjoy her gifts as well.

On the morning of the 25th, the girls awoke to find their stockings filled. Santa made a second pass to bring books and a few small goodies.

In addition to the fun of Christmas, the girls enjoyed spending time at their grandparents' house, where there are always great adventures like four-wheeling, hiking, and exploring in the woods. On Christmas Day, we gathered with extended family at my aunt and uncle's house (about 10 minutes away) for lunch. There were 8 young kids there, so Kate had plenty of playmates, and she even got to feed chickens and collect eggs! It was indeed a wonderful holiday!

Halloween

2010-11-02T00:05:00.004-05:00

Kate was very excited about Halloween this year. She chose to be a fairy princess (note the wings). I squeezed Jill into a 0-6 month frog costume because I thought it was so cute (and I got it for free), but the poor kid couldn't extend her legs so she kept falling over during the pictures. Kate helped me carve the pumpkin this year, and we gave it 6 teeth in honor of Jill. (For Kate's first Halloween, our pumpkin had 2 teeth.)

We trick or treated on our street with some neighbors for a while, then headed over to join some friends in their neighborhood. Here's Kate with her pals.

Jill has a cold and is teething pretty badly, but she was a trooper for the most part and enjoyed the walk in the stroller. The weather has been gorgeous, and we enjoyed the time outdoors with good friends.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-11-01T23:55:00.003-05:00

We attempted on two different occassions to take pumpkin patch pictures of the kids together, but Kate seems to be going through an anti-photo op phase. She has been a champion "smile and say cheese" kinda kid for most of her life, so I hope she grows out of this quickly. We did get some cute pics of Jill, though.

Here's Kate lookin' too cool for school...and pumpkin pictures.

On the move . . .

2010-11-01T23:18:00.006-05:00

Our little Jillybilly is mobile! About ten days after she turned 9 months old, Jill started crawling. Kate didn't crawl until 11 months, so this is sort of catching me off guard. Jill has already mastered her walker and loves chasing Kate around the house. I think that having a big sister has greatly contributed to Jill's desire to move. She is just not happy being stationary anymore...the exersaucer might as well be a prison cell.

Here's Jill in the walker, which by the way is murder on your heels when she rams into you from behind.

Here she is playing with her musical table/standing toy.

And here she is standing in her crib. Josh helped her pull up, but once there she LOVED the view, as you can tell. She has tried and tried to pull up on her own, and I'm sure it won't be long until she does. (These pictures remind me of similar photos of Kate at this age.)

Here's some video of Jill crawling. This was several days ago--she's actually much faster now. I guess it's time to babyproof the house again . . .

Summer Recap

2010-09-26T00:25:00.010-05:00

I haven't posted in about two months, so I'll try to recap some of our summer activities. In July I celebrated my 32nd birthday surrounded by my wonderful family.

My parents were in town so we decided to take advantage of Grandparents' Discount Day at Kiddie Acres. We arrived late in the day and had the entire place to ourselves. It was our first time there...interesting place. It has a bunch of old carnival rides like boats, airplanes, a ferris wheel, etc. Kate loved all of it. She especially loved riding a real pony and brought her cowgirl hat just for the occasion.

A good deal of our summer was spent indoors due to both the heat and to Jill's frequent napping. I'm looking forward to when she drops to two naps a day--it'll definitely make our schedule more flexible. So, this pictures chronicles one of Kate's favorite indoor activities--dress up, complete with "clip clop" shoes, earrings, and as many tiaras and necklaces as she can manage.

Jill's favorite activity is probably watching her big sister. It is so fun to see them interact. Here's an early morning shot (see Kate's major bed head) of them being goofy together.

Kate's friend Adelaide stayed with us for 4 days this summer while her mom visited her hubby who was working on a film in California. Kate absolutely loved having her first "sleep over." They dressed alike on this particular day. I thought they both looked so cute and grown up.

In August, we took a family vacation to Port Aransas. We rented a beach house along with my parents and my brother. It was a short get away, but we all had a great time--and Jill got her introduction to the ocean.

In September the girls and I spent a week in Elkhart visiting my parents and celebrating my mom's birthday. Time spent in the "country" is always full of adventures. Kate LOVES riding their four wheeler around and around the property, through the winding trails of very dense piney woods. She also enjoyed fishing in their pond and caught 3 fish while we were there! We also went to a cattle auction, to a horse barn, and got to see my aunt's chickens. Jill enjoyed grandma and grandpa's swingset and also taking baths in their big kitchen sink.

We had a fun summer, but I am ready for cooler weather and enjoying walks to the park without sweating bullets. We're also excited about our "school year" activities starting up, like Community Bible Study and MOPS.

(By way of a quick Jill update, she is now 8 months old and though she doesn't crawl, she does roll around like crazy in her crib. She has four teeth, all on the bottom. She babbles consonant sounds like "mamamamama" and "babababababa" which is fun for Kate to hear...she always exclaims, "Look Mom, Jill's talking!")

Jill's 6 Month Update

2010-07-12T00:47:00.000-05:00

Jill turns 6 months old today. She continues to be such a smiley, social baby! The past two months have brought many "firsts" to her world: toys, food, a tooth (came in on June 28), sitting up, and rolling over. (Okay, she's only rolled over once but we figure it is no easy feat to flip that 95th percentile tummy over.)

She enjoys the exersaucer daily, though the teething ring seems to frustrate her just like it did Kate.

Her favorite pastime is definitely the doorway jumper.

She has literally jumped herself to sleep three times.

Here's Kate getting in on the jumping action with her little sis:

When Jill turned 5 months old, we tried rice cereal. She LOVED it. We've since tried some other first foods (sweet potatoes, pears, and peaches), none of which she even remotely liked. The girl definitely prefers bland mush to anything with flavor.

The day we fed Jill her first bowl of rice cereal, Kate was so interested that she requested a bowl for herself. She polished off two bowls of yucky, tasteless rice cereal--just mixed with tap water--and declared that it was delicious. I'm pretty sure she didn't actually think it was so great...she just wanted to be included in Jill's food adventure.

Kate has been a doting big sister from the very first day we brought Jill home, but now they are really starting to interact which is such fun to watch.

In the past few days, Jill started sitting up with the Boppy pillow for support. I think she enjoys the new point of view. I know she'll be mobile in the blink of an eye, so I want to savor this time when I put her down and she stays there. :) Congrats on your 6 month birthday, sweet Jilly billy!

Four Months

2010-05-17T20:25:00.004-05:00

Jill turned four months old last week. At her check up, she weighed in at 16 lbs., 13 oz. and 25 1/2 inches long. Still quite the whopper. :) She's started regularly sleeping through the night without waking to feed. Aside from cradle cap and some serious teething, she is a healthy, smiley, happy bundle of joy.

Kate's Third Birthday!

2010-05-09T12:15:00.006-05:00

Kate turned 3 years old on May 3rd. Our little girl is so grown up! That weekend, we invited a few friends from our Bible study over to celebrate. It was a Princess Party! We had little princesses and princes (and even a Buzz Lightyear) running like banshees all over the yard. It was a great time. Kate's birthday falls at such a wonderful time of year for outdoor parties. The jasmine on our back porch always blooms the week of Kate's birthday and makes for a nice backdrop.

Kate's party also included the grand opening of the new and improved tree house playscape in our backyard. For the past couple of weekends, Josh had been working on building a new lower platform for the slide, so that it's at an appropriate angle instead of the crazy steep death drop that the previous owners had it. He did a great job, and I'm much more comfortable with letting kids play out there. Now it is a safe, fun place for Kate and her friends.

We had a treasure hunt for the kids, with clues hidden throughout the yard. The final clue lead them to a sandpit where they dug for buried treasure.

The princesses found the treasure! Rings, necklaces, and--best of all--ring pops. Kate was pretty excited about this candy that combined her love for bling with her love for sugar.

Even Jill got in on the princess action.

Kate received several princess dress up outfits as presents, which means her friends know her well. :) She was thrilled, and now her dress up trunk is full to the brim!

Uncle Casey gave Kate a mixer for her play kitchen, and she was very excited. Ever since seeing her friend Ella's mixer, Kate had been requesting one for herself. :)

Happy birthday, Kate! We love you!

Sisters: Comparing at 3 Months

2010-04-21T22:17:00.008-05:00

Here's Kate at about a week shy of 3 months (7/25/07)...

And Jill at about a week after 3 months (4/21/10)...

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Chunky Monkey!

2010-04-13T22:41:00.004-05:00

Jillian turned three months old yesterday. She is still by and large a happy, easy going baby, and her smile can light up a room. We are dealing with some mild reflux, which I suspect is contributing to occasional fussiness, but hopefully the medicine will kick in soon. She is 95th percentile in weight, so obviously it isn't affecting her eating too much. :)

Jill loves to watch her big sister, and Kate does her best to entertain us all. She loves to play dress up...the more bling, the better. This particular morning, she decided to add a cowgirl flare to the usual Cinderella attire. I think she may have a future as a rodeo queen.

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T21:09:00.003-05:00

Jill's One Month Old!

2010-02-15T20:30:00.007-06:00

Jillian turned one month old on the 12th, and I can hardly believe it. Truly, this month has flown. Jill is a pretty easy baby, and we are counting our blessings, especially considering we have a toddler to take up any slack in the "needing attention" arena. Poor Kate has been sick nearly the entire month since Jill was born. Needless to say, I will welcome spring with particularly wide open arms this year.

When Jill was first born, I didn't think she looked much like her big sister. But as the weeks have passed I definitely see a resemblance. Here are some pictures of the two of them from roughly the same age. What do you think?

Jill:

Kate:

Jill:

Kate:

Here's a picture to commemorate Kate's absolute favorite pastime in the world right now...playing Mommy. And of course she must use the real baby equipment. There's a baby doll or stuffed animal in the swing, bouncy seat, car seat, and pack-n-play at all times. We have had discussions about how the real baby takes priority, and thankfully Kate is being very understanding. But, beware--if you enter our house with an infant car seat, I guarantee that within 30 seconds Kate will ask you if she can play with it.

Here's Kate also playing Mommy with her new camera . . .

Jill's only really needy time tends to be in the 11pm to 1am time frame, and Josh has been great about staying up late with her. He says she is the perfect size to fit on his chest while he plays video games.

Another sweet pic of father and daughter.

We are so grateful that Jill is a happy and mild mannered baby. Here's hoping the next few months bring more of the same!

Pictures from Jill's First Days at Home

2010-01-23T20:12:00.006-06:00

Sweet Sisters . . .

Baby News!!

2010-01-13T21:20:00.006-06:00

Our baby girl decided to make her entrance one day before her 42 week scheduled induction. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Jillian Parris Benefield was born on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 8:38 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs., 12 oz. and measured 20.5 inches long. We were thrilled that labor started on its own and that it was much shorter than with Kate. We'll be going home from the hospital tomorrow and look forward to introducing baby Jill to friends and family. Until then, enjoy some of her first pics.

(P.S. Parris was Josh's grandmother's maiden name.)

Still waiting . . .

2010-01-07T13:20:00.004-06:00

41 weeks and counting. Baby girl has less than a week to make her arrival on her own. My doctor has scheduled an induction for next Wednesday. Looks like it might be a repeat of Kate's birth. We are thankful that baby sister is healthy and that the doctor is letting me wait until 42 weeks. But, if you can say a prayer on our behalf that labor begins on its own before Wednesday, we'd appreciate it!

Christmas at Home

2009-12-28T20:21:00.007-06:00

Since I am well past my "no travel" date per my OB, we spent Christmas at home for the first time since Josh and I have been married. It was actually really nice! Josh's dad and stepmom came to visit for a few days, then my parents came and spent Christmas with us. My brother lives in Austin and was able to join us, so it was nice to have family around. We had a wonderful time celebrating at home.

On a side note, this has been a really special Christmas season for us, not only because we are expecting our second child but also because Kate was old enough for us to share with her in a meaningful way the story of Christmas. We celebrated Advent with different crafts and activities all month long, continually focusing on the birth of Christ. Throughout this month I was reminded of just how much a blessing (and a responsibility) it is to be a parent and to get to share the one True Myth (as C.S. Lewis puts it) with a young soul.

Family portrait...all 4 of us! (I was 39 weeks last week. Now that Christmas is over, I feel more relaxed about our baby arriving. I just didn't want her to have a Christmas birthday. Now, come on baby sister! Anytime you're ready!)

Pawpaw, Nana (Josh's dad & stepmom) and Kate

Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Casey & us. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner then attended our church's Christmas Eve service.

Christmas morning surprises...a baby doll care center. Kate loves playing mommy to her baby dolls.

We also got her a camera. It is the only toy she has actually ever requested. And she is pumped! She took 400+ pictures the first day and filled up the memory card. Here she is telling me to say "Cheese!" followed by, "Oh, good job!" She's an encouraging photographer.

The day after Christmas, we decided to take Kate on her first spelunking expedition to Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown. We all had a good time.

Here's Kate and Grandma mining for gold outside the cave.

In the cave. (Kate asked cautiously about there being bats, but the only ones we saw were tiny and hibernating.) She loved the adventure!

Snow 2009

2009-12-14T12:24:00.004-06:00

We survived the Great Central Texas Blizzard of 2009 . . . and even caught some of the action on video. It only snowed for about 20 minutes (and none of it stuck), but we still had fun experiencing this rare treat.

Babymoon to Hot Springs

2009-12-10T00:16:00.005-06:00

After Thanksgiving, Josh and I left Kate with my parents and drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas for a babymoon. It was just a two-night getaway, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time.

This is the bed and breakfast where we stayed. It was built in 1905.

We toured a restored bath house, strolled along the local historic shopping district, and did some sightseeing.

It was a really nice drive up Hot Springs Mountain.

The view from the top:

At the base of the mountain, there are several public "jug" fountains to fill up your personal bottles with spring water, so I partook along with the locals.

The thermal springs are really amazing. Although most of them are capped now, there are still a few open and available to view. The water is 143 degrees coming out of the ground...note the steam.

On our last evening we went to a botanical garden that had holiday light decorations. 17 million lights filled this huge woodland garden...it was a nice, albeit chilly, stroll.

Thanks mom and dad for watching Kate and giving us this much enjoyed break before baby#2 arrives in a few weeks!

Pics from Thanksgiving

2009-12-09T23:28:00.009-06:00

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in East Texas. Kate was able to play with her little cousins that she doesn't see very often and have some "country" experiences.

Here's Kate and cousins Addison and Ethan enjoying a "tractor" ride.

Kate was excited to get in the driver's seat.

My aunt planned a pumpkin-turkey craft for all the kids to do.

Posing with their pumpkin turkeys.

Here's my grandma, Kate's great-granny, with some of her great grand kids.

More fun with the cousins.

Feeding "Scout" a carrot.

The kids had LOTS of room to run.

Here's Kate having fun in the autumn leaves.

Grandma and Kate.

Trick or Treating with Friends

2009-11-02T11:34:00.002-06:00

We invited the families in our small group to come to our house for trick or treating on Halloween. These are some of Kate's closest friends, so she was super excited to have them all over. She kept asking me all day, "Are my friends here yet?"

Adelaide the Monkey and Cinderella Kate . . . so excited!!

We also had another princess, a cowboy, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a fairy, and a pirate in our group of trick or treaters.

Thank goodness it was daylight savings time on Saturday night, because it made for great timing to keep the kids up a little extra later than usual. After rounding up candy from the neighbors, we returned to our house to put all the kiddos down for bed. The parents spent the rest of the evening hanging out in our backyard roasting smores by a (borrowed) firepit, enjoying the cool weather and good conversation.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-25T22:22:00.002-05:00

Our friend Sunee snapped this shot of Kate at a local pumpkin patch. I'm struck these days at how grown up our little girl is looking. So much has changed since we took her to her first pumpkin patch two years ago. At a baby shower I attended this weekend, someone mentioned that when raising your children, the days and nights can seem so long, but the years so very short. True indeed.

A Girly Girl

2009-10-16T12:32:00.008-05:00

Despite a total lack of coaching or prompting in this area, Kate has become a lover of all things princessy, frilly, fluffy, and shiny. Is this a phase all girls go through? If it is, I sure don’t remember experiencing it. As far as I can recollect, I was a tom-boy through and through. My idea of playing dress up was to tie a cape around my neck and fly around the room as Batman. (I always made my cousin or my younger brother be Robin--somehow I think I realized that even Robin was too girly.)

I always hoped that my daughters, if I had any, wouldn’t be girly girls. But of course, God has a sense of humor so it really didn’t surprise me that much when we passed a Cinderella costume at HEB this week and Kate nearly exploded with excitement. Maybe future Halloweens will bring us astronauts, pirates, or Batman. At least for now, Kate is every inch a girly girl. And, I hate to admit, it is awfully fun to watch.

Update on the Big Girl Room

2009-09-21T20:48:00.004-05:00

Kate slept in her big girl bed for the very first time today, and it has been a great success!

For naptime, she was pretty excited and told me she didn't want to read a book or anything, she just wanted to go to bed. She kept saying, "Goodbye!" (trying to get me to leave). So, I tucked her in, and then went to my room to watch on the video monitor, not quite knowing what to expect. She quickly got out of bed and went to turn on her owl lamp that she adores. Then, she turned it off and ran back into bed, as if sensing I was on my way in. I did go in and gently reminded her that she needs to stay in bed. I left, and once again the scene repeated itself. I went back in, and this time I wised up and put on the bed safety railing. That seemed to do the trick. I think Kate felt a little more snug and secure, and after talking to herself for a few minutes she fell asleep and slept for an hour and 45 minutes. Yea!

So tonight, we put her to bed and watched her, and she did get out once to turn on her lamp, but all it took was one visit from me to tuck her back in, and she settled down, sang some songs, and is sleeping peacefully now. :-)

Big Girl Room

2009-09-17T21:43:00.002-05:00

Kate's been staying with my mom and dad this week, giving me a chance to get her new room organized and decorated. Our plan is to introduce the twin bed now, giving her several months (if needed) to cope before the baby comes and Kate is evicted from the crib for good. After much debate, I went with the "Love and Nature" themed decor from Target. It has trees, owls, birds, and other woodland creatures and has pinks and greens, which was what I was looking for. I love the quilt, and I also think the wall decals are really cute too...the picture doesn't do them justice. They look much less "stickery" in person. Anyway, I'm so thankful to have Kate well cared for while I got her room finished and accomplished a whole list of other odds and ends around the house.

Potty Humor

2009-08-20T12:30:00.004-05:00

I've been telling some friends lately about Kate's recent obsession with potty humor, so I thought I'd record some of her moments here for posterity. It's so strange and funny that our sweet little toddler has developed the sense of humor of a 10 year old boy... enjoy.

Mom: "Kate, where's that quarter you had?" Kate: "Maybe it's in your booty."
Kate: "Let's sing the poop song!" Mom: "What's the poop song?" Kate: "Poopy poopy poopy poop, poop. Poopy poopy poop-poop-poop." (sung to the tune of 'Jesus Loves the Little Children')
Mom: "Kate, what do you want for dinner?" Kate: "Poop soup."

It's a . . .

2009-08-19T12:48:00.005-05:00

GIRL! Kate's going to have a little sister. We had the 20 week sonogram today, and everything looks great. We're so thankful that she's healthy and growing well. And, Josh is taking the news of being outnumbered 3 to 1 quite well. :)

Profile:

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Beach Trip

2009-07-22T20:19:00.006-05:00

Some friends in our Bible study small group invited us, along with the other families in our group, to join them at a beach house in Port Aransas for a week. It was a very fun vacation, and we are so grateful to the McClartys for inviting us!

The house was situated just a short walk from the beach. Here's Kate walking over the boardwalk.

Checking out the ocean for the first time! (I asked her to pose like this, because my parents have a picture of me at a very similar age pointing at the waves in Galveston.)

Kate and Adelaide having a blast.

We spend most of our mornings and evenings at the beach. Here's my favorite picture of Josh and Kate--my surfer dude and dudette.

Lots of sand castle building.

One afternoon we took a picnic to the ferry/harbor area and watched the big ships go by.

We also made an excursion to the Texas State Aquarium. Kate really enjoyed the dolphin show. Here's a few pictures of their biggest indoor aquarium.

The kids did a great job entertaining each other. Here they are playing "Rockband."

A group pic of all the kids: Ella, Kate, Adelaide, Claire, and Caleb.

Thanks again to the McClartys, and also to the Conlys and Carters for making the time so enjoyable.

Cowgirl Kate

2009-07-03T22:18:00.002-05:00

Kate and I recently spend a few days visiting my folks in East Texas. Kate dressed the part for our getaway in the country. Thanks to Aunt Cathi for the cute outfit and to Grandma & Grandpa for the matching cowboy hat.

Garden Bandits!

2009-06-09T12:20:00.002-05:00

I am at my wit's end over some sneaky squirrel bandits that keep stealing tomatoes out of our garden! We haven't been able to enjoy any tomatoes, because the ones that have come close to ripening are the squirrels' first choice. As of today, it's squirrels 3, us 0. We've tried some "scarecrows" and even putting out water for them (because I read that they eat the vegetables because they're thirsty). The scarecrows seemed to work for a day or two, but that's all. Anybody have any suggestions?

Kate Has an Announcement to Make

2009-06-07T20:17:00.003-05:00

We're thrilled to share the news that there's a baby Benefield on the way. E.T.A., early January. :-)

Kitchen Fun

2009-05-23T12:43:00.003-05:00

Kate's really enjoying her new kitchen--a birthday present from us.

I think it has sparked her interest in cooking, so now nearly everytime I set out to make dinner, she wants to help. She pushes a chair over to the counter and hops up, expecting to whip up something delicious. The other day she watched me slice onions and got her first teary onion eye. Not a fan. Other than that, she's in love with the kitchen.

Photo Session

2009-05-14T23:29:00.002-05:00

A friend of a friend is starting a photography business and generously offered to take some complimentary photos to plus up her portfolio. We meet her last weekend at a local park, where we quickly discovered Kate was way too interested in the ducks and geese to actually stop and smile at the camera. Despite that challenge, Erin still took some great pictures. Check out the preview she's posted on her blog. We think she has a great eye for photography. Good luck with your new career, Erin!

Asleep at the Meal

2009-05-12T20:36:00.005-05:00

Some kids can plow right through the day without a nap, but my child is not one of them. This is result of a skipped nap on Sunday. She made it all the way to dinner . . .

Kate's Second Birthday!

2009-05-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

Our sweet pea is now two years old! So hard to believe. Family and friends gathered at our house on Saturday to celebrate with us. We feel incomprehensibly blessed by these last two years. Kate is a joy to be around, and we can't imagine our lives with out her. Happy Birthday, Kate! We love you so!

Trip to California

2009-05-02T21:11:00.002-05:00

The week before Kate's birthday, we flew to California to visit Josh's mom. Josh grew up in Hesperia, which is in the California High Desert about an hour and a half northeast of Los Angeles. The landscape is gorgeous--sandy desert and Joshua trees with huge mountains in the backdrop. In fact, we were able to spend a day up in the mountains and found a few snow drifts left. Kate got to play in the snow for the very first time! We also drove down to San Diego and spent a day at the zoo, which was amazing. Kate had so much fun and was so well behaved for the entire trip...even on the way home when our flight from DFW was delayed for 3 hours. She was a real trooper (probably in a better mood than mom and dad at that point) and we were so proud. Here's some snapshops from our trip.

Kate and "Oma":

Playing in the snow on Big Bear Mountain:

In the Sky Tram at the San Diego Zoo. Kate was fearless and loved being so high.

I don't know what was going on here...either a hug or trying to steal some food out of his buddy's mouth:

We were told to talk quietly in the panda viewing area, because this female panda is potentially expecting and they didn't want her to be startled. Of course, that didn't keep Kate from excitedly yelling, "Panda!"

Kate's Week with the Grandparents (a.k.a. My Spring Break!)

2009-04-06T12:59:00.008-05:00

Over the week of Spring Break, my mom and dad offered to watch Kate and give Josh and I a little stay-at-home vacation. It was wonderful! Kate spent a fun-filled week in the country, while I had a productive and relaxing week at home. I slept in every day, completed my entire to-do list (everything from spring yard clean up to finishing Kate's baby book), Josh and I ate out multiple times that week with no kiddo in tow (think of it!), and I even had time for some pampering for myself. Now, I've felt a little guilty sharing my wonderful spring break with some other stay-at-home moms, who--whether they admit it or not--tend to have a glazed look of envy when they hear about my week. So, if you're thinking the only pampering you know involves diaper cream and wipes...forgive me, I just had to share. :)

Here are some snapshots that my parents took during Kate's week with them:

Sitting on Grandpa's tractor:

Checking out the bunnies & chicks at their local co-op:

At the Tyler Zoo:

Helping Grandma clean up:

Ah, fresh country air!

The Good Earth...and the Bad

2009-03-03T12:53:00.011-06:00

I decided to start a vegetable garden this year. I've wanted to ever since we moved into our current house, but the timing never seemed to work. I thought this spring would be perfect, since Kate is old enough to help "tend" the garden--and she loves playing and digging in dirt anyway.

So last week, I decided to break ground on the garden. Had I known the extent of "breaking" that was required, I might not have been so eager. Every single shovel thrust hit rock! I knew the ground around here was rocky, but come on. It's only a 6' by 6' plot, but you'd have thought I was busting up a driveway. But I trudged on...using muscles I didn't know were there until I felt them hurt the next day. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday went like this. Shovels and shovels of rocks. And, when I dug past the rock, there were about 6 inches of compact clay that might as well have been rock. Finally on Thursday night I asked Josh for help, and strong fella that he is he was able to finish up most of the plot. Of course, I told him it was much quicker for him since he didn't have Kate stopping him every 2 minutes to look for earth worms (or "wormen" as she calls them--thanks, Backyardigans).

During those first few days, I thought about what God said to Adam after he and Eve ate the forbidden fruit: ". . . cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Yep. I think I have a new appreciation.

After toiling in the garden all week, we finally prepared a bed that I think--hope--will bear some decent crops. Of course that's after eight cubic feet of compost and a whole bunch of raking/hoeing/aerating. So, today Kate and I planted our first seeds--some purple hull peas and sugar snap peas. I know she will enjoy watching them sprout and grow, as well as the watering and fertilizing along the way. It'll be fun, but it sure would be nice if we had perfect soil to begin with. I guess there'll be no need for compost in the New Jerusalem . . . but Austin's another matter.

The Last Days of Winter

2009-02-19T20:16:00.001-06:00

These pictures are from a trip to our neighborhood park that Kate and I made specifically to play in the leaves. I realized that winter was drawing to a close and Kate hadn't really played in leaves at all this year. So, we went to our park, which has a wonderful grove of oak trees, and made a big pile of leaves. Kate was tickled to sit in it and inspect each twig, acorn, and leaf she encountered. I love that she's an outdoorsy girl.

Then & Now...

2009-02-16T22:30:00.006-06:00

Prom, April 1996

Prom, February 2009

My parents came into town to watch Kate so Josh and I could go out for Valentine's Day. We attended a "Second Chance Prom" hosted by our Sunday school class at church. It was fun to dress up and spend a night on the town with friends.

Now it's time for so long...

2009-01-31T23:11:00.004-06:00

As if we needed any more proof of Kate's fascination--nay, obsession--with Blue's Clues, yesterday morning Josh was heading out the door for work as usual and he said, "Bye Kate."

Kate replied, "Bye Steve."

Hallelujah! We're on the mend!

2009-01-16T14:08:00.004-06:00

As our family and some friends know, for the past few weeks Kate has been battling a terrible sickness that kept her running a high fever for 9 consecutive days. We made three trips to the doctor during that time, and after testing her blood, urine, and a chest x-ray, they deduced that it must be super-duper virus that just had to run its course. We were so thankful that her fever broke on Wednesday and she seems to have made a full recovery. Thank you to everyone who prayed for her! (Now we just have to wean her off tv, eating on the couch, waking up every 3 hours, wanting to sleep in our bed, and every other bad habit we allowed in order to keep our sanity over the last two weeks.) Oi vey.

Christmas Wishes

2008-12-29T21:36:00.008-06:00

Josh and I are discovering how much fun it is to enjoy Christmas through the eyes of a child. We pray the years ahead are filled with the same joy and wonderment we were blessed with this year. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

(Though we wish we could claim credit for these pics, the props belong to Rocky Conly. Thanks Rocky!)

Jesus Loves Me/Counting/If You're Happy Medley

2008-12-18T13:23:00.005-06:00

This is guaranteed to be the cutest thing you've seen today. (Okay, I'm bragging, but I can't help it.)

UPDATE: After I posted this, my mom emailed and said she thinks Kate was trying to sing the second verse of Jesus Loves Me instead of starting to count. After re-listening, I think she's right. (In my defense, "Little ones to" sounds a lot like "One, two"...but I still feel sheepish in translating incorrectly. ) Oh well...it made a nice segue.

Trimming the Tree

2008-12-08T23:45:00.000-06:00

This was Kate's first year to put the star on the Christmas tree. I remember doing that growing up, taking turns between my brother and myself, and it always seemed like a special treat. I hope Kate thinks so too someday.

Snapshots from Thanksgiving

2008-12-08T23:03:00.005-06:00

Posing with the Grandparents by their new pond.

Grandma is so much fun.

Piano recital at Great-Granny's.

She's bringing down the house.

Lumberjack Josh.

We took Kate to see my Uncle Mike's cows...she was very interested in them, but still wanted to keep a comfortable distance.

I love this picture of my Grandma...she wants to keep a comfortable distance, too.

Kate's House

2008-12-08T22:29:00.003-06:00

This is by far Kate's favorite toy right now...a giant cardboard box. She colors in it (and on it), eats snacks in it, and even takes her flashlight to read books in it. Yea for cheap entertainment.

Here she had closed the doors to read a book with her flashlight...

Austin Children's Museum

2008-11-18T22:47:00.003-06:00

On Monday we visited the Austin Children's Museum, along with several other moms and kids from church. This was my and Kate's first trip to the museum, and she really enjoyed it. The place is packed with hands-on exhibits and other fun things for kids. I was especially glad that the day we visited was a designated "Baby Bloomers" day, for "3 and under" only, so there weren't any big kids to trample the little ones. Thanks to Cheryl for organizing the trip!

One of the first things Kate really enjoyed was the Construction Area, where she donned a hard hat and safety vest and went to town organizing nuts and bolts.

Later, we discovered what may have been the highlight of Kate's week...a giant cow. Kate climbed up on this platform to touch the cow and declare over and over with great enthusiasm that he was, indeed, a "COW!"

Here's Kate and Adelaide playing with rice in the "Little Explorers" lab.

Kate, Adelaide and Sadie Carrell, chillin' on the bench seat in the MetroRail replica.

We had a really fun day, and afterwards we enjoyed the crisp fall weather by having lunch at an outdoor cafe with the Conlys.

Camping

2008-11-10T19:47:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we went camping at Lockhart State Park with a few other families from our Sunday School class. We only planned to stay one night (Friday), since we knew from having already camped with Kate (when she was nearly a year old) that one night would be plenty. The weather during the day was beautiful, and Kate thoroughly enjoyed being outside and exploring the rocks and sticks and dirt. Sleeping, however, was another matter. It got very cold. I think the low was around 41 degrees. We bundled Kate up in several thick layers, so her body was quite warm, but her face got a little cold and she wound up cuddling with Josh in his sleeping bag for most of the night. It was one of those check-your-watch-ever-hour kind of nights. The Carters' tent was next door to ours, so our kid and theirs took turns waking us all during the night, despite multiple sound machines. We didn't get much sleep, but I thought in the end, the adventure was worth it.

The Grace Covenant Church New Parents Compound...

Here's Kate prepped for bed. Amazingly, she kept the hat and gloves on all night.

Ah, morning couldn't come soon enough. Thankfully we're still smiling.

Saturday was gorgeous, even a little on the warm side. (Soon after we took this picture, Kate and I shed our long sleeves for cooler attire.)

This state park had a playground that the kids enjoyed.

Kate was so completely tuckered out when we drove home on Saturday afternoon. We all were, for that matter. I hope as she gets older we can continue to take camping trips and help her appreciate and enjoy the great outdoors.

Corn dogs

2008-11-10T13:10:00.003-06:00

So, I just had to share a moment that occurred this afternoon during lunch with Kate. I fixed her a corn dog for the first time, and she was very interested in this strange looking food on a stick. As she watched me prepare it, I kept repeating the name "corn dog," saying that it was like a hot dog, but with bread wrapped around it. We then sat down and I cut it into bite-size pieces and put some on her tray. She picked it up, examined it, and clearly pronounced, "Dog food."

Our Little Halloween Monkey

2008-10-31T23:20:00.007-05:00

This was Kate's second Halloween, and she was of course way more interested in the goings on than last year. She loved her "monkey suit" and wore it a good part of the afternoon in anticipation of the evening's festivities. We first went to Uncle Casey's house to give him the honor of being her first "trick or treat." That's where we snapped this family pic:

We then returned to our own neighborhood, and once she saw other kids it didn't take her long to get the hang of this trick or treat business.

We just visited a few houses on our street, then returned back to our house to sit outside and hand out candy. Kate really loved sitting and sorting candy from her bag to the big bowl, back and forth. When kids came up and we showed Kate how to drop candy into their bags, she got really into it and didn't want to stop. She kept giving them more and more, until we finally had to cut her off before she emptied our supplies.

Inside, Kate continued the candy sorting. She loved checking out all the wrappers.

Of course, being that she's only 17 months old, the plan was for mom and dad (ok, mostly mom) to get 99.9% of the spoils and for Kate to get 0.1%. But, my scheme was ruined by the continued stream of trick or treaters at our door. We wound up with only a few pieces of candy leftover. :-( Considering Kate is sick with what we think is croup, she did remarkably well this evening, and I think the distraction was a good one for both her and us.

PS: This past weekend we had a visit from my wacky brother in his Halloween costume.

Kate was a little wary of Uncle Chicken at first, but then got up the nerve to offer him some tea.

We all had fun trying on the chicken head, and Casey is right...nearly everything you do in a chicken suit is funny.

NYC, Hock-style

2008-10-23T12:50:00.008-05:00

Two years ago, the Conlys and we Benefields had the opportunity to visit our dear friends, Joel and Stacy Hock, who had recently moved to New York City. It was a wonderful trip--so wonderful in fact that we've been chompin' at the bit to go again ever since! When the Hocks graciously invited us to come a couple of weeks ago, we jumped at the opportunity for a "baby-free" vacation and left Kate and Adelaide to be looked after (and spoiled no doubt) by their respective grandparents.

We had a blast! Joel and Stacy are phenomenal hosts and really know how to show their guests a great time. Delicious food, great conversations, cool sightseeing and entertainment... the list goes on.

The girls in Times Square:

The fellas.

Josh and I at the United Nations. (By the way, the tour is kinda a rip off...not completely unlike the organization itself.)

The whole gang eating at a tiny little no-name burger joint hidden away inside a really fancy hotel. Never know what you'll find in this city.

Autumn in Central Park. It was a perfect time of year to visit.

We miss the Hocks and really appreciate that we can have such a great time hanging out with them despite the fact that we don't get to see them very often. We look forward to their return to Austin some day!

Visiting California & Arizona Relatives

2008-10-06T20:05:00.015-05:00

Last week we flew to California to visit Josh's mom. She lives in Hesperia (in the mountainous High Desert of Southern California). This was her first time to meet Kate, and she was thrilled to say the least. Kate and her Oma (German for "grandma") had a blast getting to know each other!

Oma's house has so many fun toys and new adventures.

Oma doted on Kate and took spoiling to a new level while we were there. :-) She fed us delicious German food and stuffed us with chocolates and other yummy desserts.

On Wednesday morning we left for the four hour drive to visit Josh's sister and her family in Kingman, AZ. Josh, Kate and I made the long drive in a rent car without tented windows through the Mohave desert. Beautiful mountains and desert landscape, but hot! In Kingman, Kate met her Aunt Natia & Uncle Johnny, as well as her three cousins Christian (6), Aubrianna (4), and Jocelyn (2). The kids were SO excited to meet Kate. Kate was pretty amazed by these "big kids" and their whirlwind of activity, but by the second day she was completely keeping up with them.

On Thursday we took a trip to their local museum (Kingman is an old train depot/mining town and Route 66 runs right through it), and ate burgers at a 50s diner. We also visited a beautiful state park in some nearby mountains, where the temperature was 20 degrees cooler and the scenery was fantastic.

We hiked up the mountain as far as we could with kids in tow. Uncle Johnny carried Kate in a backpack carrier, and she enjoyed the ride.

We returned home for cake to celebrate Josh's 31st birthday. (Here Josh is wearing the special birthday hat that our nephew Christian made for him.)

We left early Friday morning to return to Hesperia to spend one last day with his mom before our flight left on Saturday morning. It was a quick trip but we enjoyed our stay and especially enjoyed introducing Kate to her California and Arizona relatives. We hope to return soon!

Fun Times

2008-09-26T14:34:00.005-05:00

My friend Sunee gave me the idea of yogurt-based finger paints (just plain yogurt mixed with food-coloring). Kate had a great time trying this out. ("What?! You mean I can make a mess with this stuff? Sweet!") Although, I have to admit Kate's attention span is somewhat limited. It took me way longer to set this up than the time she spent actually painting. But hey, we have fridge art to show off now.

Kate's newest toy is a baby doll stroller that I got from Once Upon a Child (resale shop near Anderson Mill & 183) for $3.50. She LOVES to push it around the house and even stops every so often to give her baby a drink from her sippy cup.

Last weekend, my parents visited to celebrate my Mom's birthday. As always, Kate loves playing with her Grandma and Grandpa. On Sunday afternoon we took a ride on the Cedar Rock Railroad. It was a nice to be outside and enjoy the great weather we're having.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed the train ride too.

Having fun with Adelaide

2008-09-22T19:47:00.003-05:00

My friend Sunee posted some pictures of her daughter Adelaide and Kate from a playdate last week. Check them out here.

New Pics

2008-09-18T13:07:00.002-05:00

Here are a few recent pics of our now 16 month old -- growin' like a weed.

Kate was pretty excited to get her very first baby doll (here she has it in a bjorn-like carrier). It's fun to see her starting to "pretend" play. She takes her baby for walks in the stroller, feeds it, and tucks it in for night-night.

Below Kate's enjoying a hearty meal of chili mac and peas. If there's one thing our kid is good at, it's eating. She's got a VERY healthy appetite and isn't very picky, which I'm thankful for, but she's pretty much terrible at chewing. I think she loves food so much she just wants to swallow it and move on to the next bite. Makes for some interesting diapers.

And here Kate is doing the macarena. Seriously, I don't know what she was up to here but it made me laugh and I snapped a pic.

July & August Videos

2008-08-26T21:15:00.017-05:00

The entire Benefield household has been under the weather for the second half of July and first part of August, so blogging has taken a backseat to wiping noses and dispensing Maalox. Kate turned 15 months old on August 3, and she is certainly keeping us busy these days. Here are a few recent videos...

Kate and her friend Adelaide dancing and being silly--they get along so great these days:

Josh captured video of Kate pushing the laundry basket back and forth in our bedroom, and for some reason she thought it was the coolest thing ever and decided to lend some sound effects:

This last video illustrates how Kate finishes her lunches lately. We're in a transition from two naps to one, and she's feeling it...

A week with Grandparents in the Country

2008-07-31T09:47:00.008-05:00

Last week we traveled to Elkhart to visit my parents and celebrate my 30th birthday. The plan was for Josh to leave on Sunday to go back home for work, and Kate and I would stay for a few days longer. Josh wound up getting sick while we were there, so he didn't get to partake in any of the birthday celebrations. :( He did go home and was sick all alone with no wife to give him Pepto and tell him not to eat tabasco sauce on his noodles (long story.) Poor guy. The upside to the story is that Kate and I were able to avoid catching his stomach bug and enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing week in the country. Here's a few pictures to document our time.

Now don't gross out. That's just a melted Snickers bar. While in Elkhart I helped my mom host a baby shower for my cousin, and we played the "guess the melted candy bar in the diaper" game (which, by the way, went over great with that side of the family...they LOVE the potty humor). My brother thought it would be hilarious to give Kate one of the diapers and get her to taste it, then blackmail her with the picture when she's 15. Here we're trying to coax her to take a lick...her expression says it all: "You want me to do what??"

My 30th birthday with a sweet little munchkin by my side.

On my parents' back porch.

Kate and her playmate, Grandma, who thoroughly entertained Kate the entire week and even let me sleep in each morning!

It was really hot outside, so Kate spent time nearly every day cooling off in this wash basin on the porch. So country.

Picking tomatoes in the garden.

Taking it easy in the swing...ahhhh.

Kate had a blast running around and exploring. I know she can't wait to go back!

Cuteness Factor Through the Roof!

2008-07-09T13:59:00.004-05:00

I ran into a mom in the mall the other day who said her favorite age for her children was from about 12 months to 18 months because they were fun, interactive, learning about the world, yet still free of toddler independence and attitude. I'm beginning to understand what she meant. I'm having such a blast with Kate these days. She is a ham and cracks us up all the time. I'm amazed at how quickly she learns. I want to cherish and remember these days, especially when the toddler attitude really kicks in and discipline gets tough.

Below are a few miscellaneous recent pictures of Kate:

When my parents were in town, my mom helped Kate play "dress up." Amazing what you can do with one dish towel and a clothes pin.

Enjoying a nice day at the park:

Okay, so she's not totally attitude free. :-) She's pointing to the little tikes slide on our porch.
I love this picture. She's so demure. "Oh, you just caught me getting out of the bath!"

Roomba Chasin'

2008-06-19T10:32:00.003-05:00

I usually turn on the Roomba (i.e., robot vacuum cleaner) after we leave the house, but this time I thought it might be fun for Kate to check it out . . .

A Beach Retreat

2008-06-17T20:17:00.010-05:00

To celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary (it was on June 2nd), Josh and I spent a few days in South Padre Island while my folks came to our house to watch Kate. This was the first time for us to leave her overnight. She did great! My parents had a wonderful time with their grandbaby, and Josh and I were able to relax and enjoy ourselves knowing that she was so well cared for. They even mowed our yard and had supper waiting for us when we got back! How blessed are we??!

Here's a few pics from our trip. We were able to stay right on the beach, which was nice. This is the view from our hotel balcony:

Relaxing on the beach. Our hotel is in the background:

That's Josh, waving his arms:

Ahh...it was a nice mini-vacation. Of course much of what we talked about was how fun it'll be to bring Kate to the beach next time. I'm already looking forward it! Thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa!

Kate Milestone Update

2008-05-30T08:40:00.003-05:00

Kate has learned so many new things in the last couple of weeks:

clapping
waving bye-bye
doing the sign for "more"
saying "dog" and "eyes"
running (which has resulted in new bumps and bruises on a daily basis, thanks to our tile floors)

The running really is more like a toddler version of mall walking. It's so much fun to chase her around the house. She gets excited and squeals when she hears me get close behind her. I'd love to post video of that, but unfortunately we had to ship our camera off for repair after the sprinkler park outing. :-) The good news is that the repair was covered under warranty, and it should arrive by Fed-Ex sometime today.

Brushy Creek Sprinkler Park

2008-05-19T14:13:00.003-05:00

Kate and I joined Cheryl Carrell's playgroup this afternoon at the Brushy Creek Sprinkler Park. This is such a cool park. It's fun, free, and only about 10-15 minutes from our house. Kate loved the sprinklers! She was pretty much mesmerized. She walked all around and through the water, pointing, clapping, and trying to grab the streams. I can foresee many more visits here this summer.

Chatterbox

2008-05-19T09:00:00.003-05:00

Kate is really starting to talk it up these days. Several days ago, I was trying to cool off some food before giving it to her and I told her it was hot. She said, "Haaahhhhh" (really loud, with great gusto). It was the first time she'd ever repeated something I'd said. She has said dada and mama before, but it is pretty sporadic. So, this was exciting. I then tried to parlay her "hot" into "hi," which worked fine because they sound pretty much the same in Kate-talk. So, all that day when I would say, "Hi Kate," she'd say "Haaahhhh" back. Pretty neat. Then last week, Josh came home from work and I said, "Hi Dada." And Kate said, very clearly, "Haaahhhh Dada!" Josh was so shocked! She really is working on communicating with us. This morning, she was sitting with me on the couch and I pointed to the polkadots on my shorts and said, "dot." I didn't expect her to repeat, but she did! She said, "Daahhht." :-)

We're still trying to get her to learn some basic signs, but nothing's taken yet. It would be helpful if she'd learn the sign for "more," because she's got the whole whining-for-food thing down pat.

Full Speed Ahead

2008-05-08T14:28:00.004-05:00

A couple of weekends ago Kate took her first unassisted steps, and since then we've been coaching her to walk without furniture, a walker, or a hand to hold. Today, I guess the coaching sunk in. The girl took off! She did three laps around our bedroom without stopping or holding onto anything. Here's some video of her walking in our office. There's no turning back now...

Kate's First Birthday!

2008-05-06T19:58:00.010-05:00

Kate turned one year old last Saturday! We had a backyard cookout, and family from both Josh's and my side as well as friends from our Bible study (the Carters, Jupes, and Conlys--who all have kids close to Kate's age) helped us celebrate.

The weather was beautiful, although a bit too breezy to fill up Kate's new kiddie pool, so we just inflated it and let the kiddos jump around. They had a blast.
Here's Kate while we're singing Happy Birthday to her. (Yes, that's supposed to be a ladybug made out of cupcakes.)

Kate didn't know what to make of her cupcake at first, but once she got a taste she quickly figured out this was good stuff!

Kate really LOVED opening presents. She was so excited at each gift. She received some really nice presents and money for a college savings account. We are blessed to have such generous family and friends.

We had a wonderful day celebrating the precious gift God gave us a year ago. These past twelve months have been amazing--watching a tiny, helpless baby develop into a little person who laughs, interacts, walks, and has an opinion! Now, it's full speed into toddlerhood!

Weekend in Elkhart - and FIRST STEPS!

2008-05-02T14:49:00.008-05:00

So, my friend Sunee has done a great job of blogging last weekend's adventure at my parents' place in Elkhart. She posted some of the better photos of our two kiddos, so rather than plagerizing her blog (which I was tempted to do), I'll just suggest that you visit her site.

Kate and Adelaide had a great time together, and I think now that Kate is getting more mobile they are going to be able to play even better in the very near future. Speaking of mobility, Kate took her very first steps this past weekend!! I was sad that Josh missed it, but we captured a few steps on video for him:

Here's some more photos from the weekend.

Kate tried out Adelaide's four-wheeler:

Enjoying the swing set at Grandma and Grandpa's house:

Here we are at the Grapeland Safari:

And, Sunee, I just had to post this picture. "Caaaammeellll."

Kate's First Camping Trip

2008-04-13T21:16:00.008-05:00

This weekend we joined a few other couples from our Sunday School class and camped at Pedernales Falls State Park. Since it was Kate's first camping trip, we decided to test the waters and only stay one night. We arrived on Saturday around noon, set up camp, and enjoyed lunch and a hike to the falls. The Gants let us borrow their backpack carrier, and Kate absolutely loved it. She rode in comfort and was high enough to take in all the sights.

She was so cute on her daddy's back, but I couldn't help but say over and over, "Master Blaster run Bartertown!"

Kate really loved being outdoors. Here are some photos of her enjoying the falls:

A little girl peeking out of a big tent:

On Saturday night, we enjoyed hanging out with the Lloyds, Carrells and their kids. Kate did great during the whole trip, but Saturday night was REALLY cold...it got down to 39 degrees! Even though we bundled Kate up, she still woke at 3am because of the cold. I put her into my sleeping bag with me, and she quickly warmed up and went back to sleep.

On Sunday after Kate's morning nap, we enjoyed a picnic lunch near the water. The water was far too cold to get in, but Kate did dip her toes. The weather during the day was perfect--high 70s. It was a fun weekend and wore all three of us out!

Visiting the Austin Zoo

2008-04-07T22:49:00.006-05:00

Kate and I joined several other moms and kiddos from our Sunday School class on a trip to the Austin Zoo today. It was great fun--both the weather and kids cooperated . . .what else could you ask for? I think the most interesting part for Kate was probably the petting zoo. Kate and her little friend Adelaide had fun feeding the goats and deer, despite the goat slobber. It strikes me in these photos, particularly the one where Kate is standing up holding the fence, just how big she is getting.

PS: I just noticed my friend Sunee's blogging of this same zoo outing. She has some great pics. Check them out here.

Zooming around at 11 months!

2008-04-03T15:28:00.003-05:00

Kate turned 11 months old today, and in honor of her birthday she decided to master the push-walker. She can now push it without any assistance from mom or dad! Here's video from this morning:

At long last...mobility!

2008-03-31T09:31:00.006-05:00

After months of trying, yesterday Kate finally crawled! It is a funny, one-leg-extended crawl, but a crawl nonetheless! Kate was showing off her skills at Bible study last night, and a friend called it the wounded-soldier crawl. Here's video from this morning:

We've said for months that Kate might walk before she crawls...and it looks like we weren't far off. For several weeks now, Kate has been cruising holding onto furniture. She is getting more and more brave, eager to let go and explore. Here's two videos of her coming to daddy, albeit still a little wobbly.

It is definitely a whole new world for her and for us!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T09:51:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful first Easter with Kate. Here she is discovering her Easter basket on Sunday morning:

Ready to go to church in her Easter dress (a gift from Kayla Welborn):

Playing with her Easter eggs in the backyard:

And, since I haven't blogged in a while, I need to catch you up on Kate's new skills. She is now confident enough to let go of furniture and reach out to walk to us. We still have to help steady her, but as long as she has our hands to grasp she is eager to walk. In just the past couple of days, we've noticed her balancing on her own for a few seconds, so I think it will be no time before she's walking by herself. Ah! Kinda scary! Here's video of her learning to walk with the push walker that the Conlys let us borrow. It's a little difficult for her because the wheels spin so fast, but if we help slow it down she's pretty good at it.

10 Month Update

2008-03-03T22:05:00.007-06:00

Hard to believe our little doodlebug turned 10 months old today. In the words of my dad, Tempus sure do Fugit. Much has happened by way of developmental milestones in recent days. Last week, Kate started "cruising" (i.e., holding onto furniture and walking). It's amazing how quickly she is mastering this skill. She is still very cautious, but is balancing better every day. As many of you know, Kate has yet to crawl. I'm told by our pediatrician and other mom-friends that this is perfectly fine. Many babies (including Josh) skip crawling altogether. However, Kate does seem to want to crawl now more than ever. Today she actually army-crawled/scooted backwards a little bit for the first time, so maybe she is getting closer.

I mentioned in my last post that Kate is becoming a chatterbox. She loves to "talk," and the latest sound that she's discovered is a really cute "b" sound that comes out something like "butta butta butta." I happened to catch it on video:

Kate's also learned to drink out of a sippy cup with a straw (she's really taken to it and seems to like it much better than traditional sippy cups). She looks like such a big kid to us with that cup! She's become very adept at eating finger foods and loves them, though she's also learned that Toby likes finger foods, too.

The Conlys let us borrow their push-walker toy that converts to a ride-on. Kate is still trying to figure out the pushing part, but she loves sitting on it! If you're able to enlarge this picture (sorry if that feature doesn't work...we're still figuring out the kinks in the coding) you can see Kate's teeth coming in. She's got 4 on top and 4 on bottom in various stages. They really have multiplied in just the past few weeks!

Day at the Park & other Fun Photos

2008-02-27T08:59:00.006-06:00

Kate and I went to our neighborhood park this week and enjoyed the great weather.

It was her first time in the "big kid" swing.

I'm so looking forward to this summer--we have great parks and a pool in walking distance. If her bathtime is any indication, I think Kate will love the pool. Here's a recent action shot of her splashing.

And here's another random photo that I think is cute. She's mimmicking mama and daddy on the laptop...

Thankfully, Kate has gotten over her cold, and we just finished the antibiotics for her ear infection, so all systems are go right now. She's really becoming much more of an outgoing kiddo, which is fun to watch. She's not apprehensive about strangers for the most part (except Matt Banks) and loves to be out and about. We were at a restaurant last night with the Conlys and the servers sang Happy Birthday really loudly to one of the customers, and Kate just loved it. I can remember a time when that probably would have freaked her out. :-) The ladies at the church nursery today told me that they think she's just itching to communicate. We'll probably have a real chatterbox on our hands in the not-too-distant future.

Colds, Teething . . . but Still Smiling!

2008-02-13T20:31:00.007-06:00

Kate and I both have been dealing with a persistent cold for nearly two weeks, but I'm happy to say that we're both feeling better and hope to kick this thing soon. On top of a snotty nose, our litttle sweetpea also has multiple teeth coming in right now. Two, maybe 3 on top, and looks like 1 on the bottom as well. I can tell her gums are hurting something awful, but she's being a trooper. She absolutely loves to stand up now...she's been doing it for many months, but now I think she feels more confident and is beginning to learn to shuffle her feet to maintain balance. I snapped a few photos of her standing up in her crib, grinning big. (In the last picture, although she looks a little crazy, you can really see her top teeth coming in.)

Picnicking at 9 Months Old

2008-02-04T22:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Kate's 9 month birthday! On Saturday we took her on her first ever picnic. We enjoyed lunch & feeding the ducks at the Wells Branch Pond (our old stomping ground.) Kate was interested in the ducks, but didn't quite know what to make of them. She wasn't scared, but she wasn't exactly enamored, either. But, she does love being outside so it was a fun outing in unseasonably warm weather.

Chompers

2008-01-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

After much wishin' & hopin', one of Kate's top front teeth is finally coming in! She's been working on it for several days, and this morning I saw a sliver of white poking through her gums. Oh, these moments are bittersweet, aren't they? She's just not going to look so babyish with top teeth! Last night we gave her a teething biscuit to help massage her gums, and once I saw that a mess was inevitable, I just quit wiping and let her have at it. She really enjoyed it, and here's the evidence:

In other news, Kate's also been battling a cold for the last 5 days, but today she seems to be doing much better. She hates the nasal aspirator (a.k.a. snot sucker bulb), so I bought a battery operated aspirator that plays music, to see if that would work better. She likes the music & doesn't fight me quite as much, and I like that you can see the fruit of your labor in the little collection tube (only a mom would say that). Anyway, as I said she is doing better so hopefully we won't have to use it much more. I, on the other hand, am just getting started on a cold. I hope it passes soon. (And no, I won't be using the snot sucker on myself.)

Video Montage

2008-01-13T15:20:00.000-06:00

I really wanted an excuse to play with Windows Movie Maker last night, so here goes. I've edited together several recent video clips that show a few fun things Kate's been up to lately. In the first clip, she is playing with her new soft blocks that she absolutely loves to knock down. Listen for her giddy squeals at the beginning and the end. In the second, she demonstrates her dexterity by passing a rattle from one hand to the other. In the third and forth, she shows off her skills at standing up--note the bouncing butt. The last clip is Kate jumping in her doorway jumper--watch for when she lifts both legs up to "coast."

8-Month Birthday

2008-01-03T21:09:00.000-06:00

Today Kate is 8 months old! Where does the time go?? Here's a little bit of info about what our sweetie pie is up to these days:

She's getting really good at drinking out of a sippy cup, but WAY prefers to slosh and slurp out of a big person cup. She gets so excited when we let her do it, but the water usually gushes out of her mouth & down her face.
Recently graduated to 3 "solid" meals a day. None of the portions are very big by baby standards...but she does seem to eat more food at dinnertime. So far she appears to prefer veggies over fruits. Right now her fav veggies are sweet potatoes, carrots, and green peas, and her fav fruits are prunes by far (but you gotta go easy on those prunes). She also likes avocados, but I've discovered that they give her constipation...I've thought about pairing the prunes & avocados to balance each other out. :-) Definite dislikes are butternut squash and home-prepared bananas (but she'll eat the awful Gerber bananas. Weirdo.)
Points and prods with her index finger
Can stand holding onto the couch with our support
Is getting much better at tummy time and is pushing up on knees every once in a while
Has learned how to screech at the top of her lungs and is, much to our dismay, proficient at it. Although sometimes it is a sign of distress, often it is just a vocal experiment. We hope this phase passes soon...
Lastly, she still enjoys being outside and going for walks and is more than willing to brave the winter chill to do so.

Kate's First Christmas

2007-12-29T19:02:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful first Christmas with our little girl! Despite a new tooth trying to poke through, she was a real sweetheart during all of our traveling. Here's a few photos of us this holiday season:

A family picture we took in front of our Christmas tree:

A pic of Kate taken at our Sunday School Christmas party:

Posing in her Christmas dress (a gift from grandma & grandpa):

With Josh's dad and stepmom at his aunt & uncle's ranch in Brownwood:

With my mom, dad, and brother at my parents' new house in Elkhart (would have been a great pic if Kate wasn't trying to eat her dress):

With Great Mammaw and Kate's new teddy bear:

With Great Grandma:

Here's Kate opening presents...as expected, she was more interested in eating the wrapping paper than checking out the gifts.

She also loved getting in the boxes...

Just a cute close-up:

Here she is back at home, enjoying her present from grandma & grandpa . . . a swing for our backyard!

Spitting Image?

2007-12-09T22:24:00.001-06:00

Since she was born, everyone has commented that Kate looks just like her daddy. Here's a baby photo of Josh and one of Kate that we took when she turned 6 months. You be the judge...

7 Months Old!

2007-12-03T13:14:00.000-06:00

Today is Kate's 7 month birthday. Being with her is so much fun these days. She is interacting more and more, laughing at our silliness, and developing a real personality. Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving, which we enjoyed spending with my folks at their new farm house in Elkhart (East Texas).

Here we are all bundled up in the cold country weather (I don't know what Josh was trying to prove wearing shorts)...

My mom enjoying her grandbaby:

This is a funny face that Kate started making during the Thanksgiving holiday. It's a combination of sticking out her bottom lip to pout and droopy the dog:

Viva Las Vegas

2007-11-28T21:39:00.001-06:00

For our first real outing without Kate, my parents babysitted while Josh and I went to his office's end-of-year party at the Bob Bullock TX State History Museum. The party was "Las Vegas" themed, and they hired an Elvis impersonator who was terribly cheesey--but I guess you'd be hard-pressed to find an Elvis impersonator who wasn't. I had a blast singing along to all the Elvis songs, and Josh had to explain to his coworkers why his 29-year old wife knows the lyrics to practically every Elvis song ever recorded. (When I was a wee lass, my parents put their old 8-track player in my room and the only tapes they gave me were Elvis and the Monkees, so guess what got played over and over and over...) We of course had to take a picture with the King, or pseudo-King.

Babies, Babies, Everywhere

2007-11-28T13:22:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty behind on blogging, so I'm going to try to play catch up with several posts. About three weeks ago, our friend Kendal had a baby shower and another friend, Charis, and her baby boy Colt came in town for the shower. I was happy to have them, as well as Sunee and Adelaide, over for lunch. Here's a group picture of us moms (and one mom-to be):

We attempted to get a photo of the three kiddos, but of course it was like herding cats to get them to sit still & smile at the camera. Here's video of the photo shoot fiasco:

6 Months Old

2007-11-14T22:37:00.000-06:00

It's so hard to believe that our little baby is now half a year old! She turned 6 months on Nov. 3rd, but I've been neglectful in my blogging. The stats: she weighed 18 lbs., 2 oz. and measured 26 1/4 inches long at her 6 month well check. 75-90th percentile. We're blessed with a healthy, happy baby. Here's some pictures of the not-so-little cutie pie.

Kate's First Halloween

2007-10-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

Our very own pumpkin patch . . .

After dressing Kate up, we took the opportunity to meet some of our neighbors. We figured Halloween is a good night, since everyone is home and ready to answer the door. It was really nice getting to know the folks on our street. Plus, it was fun showing Kate off!

"a veritable smorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord"

2007-10-30T23:20:00.000-05:00

Kate and I enjoyed the wonderful weather we've been having by window shopping this afternoon with my friend Sunee and her daughter Adelaide (who is 6 weeks older than Kate). When we got home, this is what we found in the backyard:

Seems our dog Toby has discovered that there's all sorts of tasty treats in the trash can in our garage and that he can sneak these goodies through the doggie door to the backyard.

Caught like a rat...or should I say, Templeton?

Colonel Sanders, I think you've got a critic:

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

This weekend we visited a pumpkin patch at a local church. Kate was very intrigued by all those big orange things. We picked out a pumpkin and plan to carve it next week to help celebrate her first Halloween.

Comedy Hour

2007-10-19T15:49:00.000-05:00

Kate smiles, squeals, and makes happy noises, but she has yet to let out a real belly laugh. I know she'll do it eventually, but hearing other people's babies the same age or younger belt out laughter just makes me want to hear it from our own little sweet pea. So, my mission these days is to give Kate plenty of opportunities to launch into hysterics. Here's video of me tickling her with an elephant puppet to earn some giggles.

Another tooth!

2007-10-15T08:51:00.000-05:00

This morning while playing with Kate, I noticed more white than usual poking through her bottom gums. I looked, and sure enough--there's a second tooth coming in! It's right next to the first one (bottom, center). It's no wonder she chews on everything in sight!

On another topic, although Kate still pretty much hates tummy time, she is getting better at it. She doesn't push up very high--I think she's learned she has more balance by keeping her arms spread out (see picture below). But, at least she's going for longer stretches without having a meltdown. She's also turning over from her back to her tummy a lot now. It still surprises me to put her down one way and look back and see her flipped!

A tooth!

2007-10-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, we have been wondering if Kate is teething. All the telltale signs were there: fussiness, chewing on everything in sight, drooling, etc.--but as a first-time mom I just wasn't sure if I was reading too much into things. Well, turns out our instincts were right. Kate has a tooth coming in! I felt a little ridge on her gums yesterday, and when I took a peek there was a little white sliver poking out. It made me stop for a moment and realize just how quickly she's growing up. It seems like her development has gone into hyper-drive over the last few weeks: sitting up, rolling over, eating solids, and now a tooth! I've always heard parents talk about kids "growing up so fast," but I suppose you never really appreciate how true that is until you observe it first hand.