Long Overdue

I've got a lot of updates, so let's get right to it. First, the pictures. There aren't a lot, but they include the first picture of Kate actually smiling. Most of her cutest moments are either while I'm holding her, when it's hard to snap a pic, or while Mommy's holding her, when I don't want to intrude.

Kate's recently taken her longest-ever trips, first to Orange County for lunch, then to the Bay Area for a long weekend....she handled both beautifully. She slept in the car to and from the OC, and got to visit friends and relatives while we ate. Then last weekend, we drove up to Danville and stayed with Kate's great-aunt and great-uncle (ha!). We took a side trip to Calistoga to visit Kate's aunt and uncle on Friday. Kate practiced her winemaking (see the picture below), we got a great little tour of Napa, and we had a really enjoyable time. On Saturday we went to my cousin V's soccer game and had a great family/friend get-together afterward. On Sunday we drove into San Fran to watch the Nike Women's Marathon and cheer on our close family friend. She did a great job and Kate slept almost the entire time. That actually seemed to be a theme....she slept on the five hour trip to Danville, she slept to and from Napa, she slept through the marathon, she slept through the seven hour drive home (aside from a dinner stop). Of course, with all that sleeping, she was a little more active at night. All in all, though, she was a great baby all weekend.

On Wednesday Kate had her two-month checkup with the pediatrician, though Saturday was the actual milestone. She got her first big set of vaccinations and handled it like a trouper. After a big injection in each thigh, she cried for about twenty seconds and then recovered quickly. She was a little cranky last night, but a dose of Infant Tylenol did the trick. The pediatrician was happy with her progress in all other areas, and her measurements were particularly noteworthy. She's now 25 inches long, which is in the 99th percentile. It's a good thing she's long, because she's also 15.5 pounds, which is in the 100th percentile. Her head circumference is in the 98th percentile, giving her the big girl trifecta.

Aside from objective measurements, Kate's also come a long way in the two weeks since my last post. She's hit some great milestones, but most don't show up in pictures.

• She can now hold her head up consistently....it's still a tiny bit wobbly, but it makes it much easier to carry her around.
• She's also smiling, and the difference between gas smiles and real smiles are now very obvious....I think the gas smiles are still a little bit cuter.
• She still doesn't enjoy "tummy time" that much, but she's pushing a lot and bearing weight on her legs....it's like she's going to walk before she crawls.
• She's not very vocal, but she can make some basic non-cry vowel sounds, which is all that's really expected at her age.
• She's discovered her hands, and will routinely suck on her fist, swing her arms around, and (gently) hit anything in range, including herself.
• She'll hold onto anything within reach, including blankets, pacifiers, and our shirts.
• She can roll from her back onto her side, but she hasn't made it all the way over onto her tummy.
  

She really changes from day to day. We never know what she's going to do next, but we're looking forward to finding out.

Isn't this outfit awesome? She looks like a dramatic New York retiree, but she's darn cute. She's also demonstrating how she can sit up (when propped against something) without needing her head supported.

While in Napa, we stopped by and checked on the next batch of the family wine. Kate's learning how to do punch downs so she can help the next time she visits.

Here's the family at V's soccer game...Kate slept through most of that as well.

This is one of the first real smiles I've captured on camera. They get cuter, and she's getting better at it by the day, but it's nice to have photographic evidence.