Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' ...

Cate rolled over last night! We were so surprised. It seemed like she was getting close, but my last words before she made her big move were, "I bet in another month or so she'll have this!" First, she rolled to her right. We were so excited we smiled and told her how great she was at rolling over. We put her back on her tummy, and she triumphantly rolled to her left. This video is of her third time:

Movie Star!

We've taken a few more videos of Cate, and here they are:

First, Tummy Time:

And next, A Chat with Daddy:

Our little chatter box is more and more fun every day!

March Madness

In honor of Coach K's 900th win, here is a photo of my two favorite Duke fans. This photo was taken the night of the Duke-Carolina game that was played at Cameron Indoor Stadium in February. It seems hard to believe, but I was a student at Duke when Coach K won his 500th game. I even bought the commemorative t-shirt. You can bet Sam and Cate will be wearing these outfits again Thursday night when the Blue Devils take on Arizona:

Our Little Leprechaun

Grandma got Cate a very awesome outfit for St. Patrick's Day, so on the morning of the big day I talked to Cate about her special green get-up:






Of course she was excited, because this is what was in store:

Aloha! Aunt Dale Visits from Hawaii

We had so much fun when Aunt Dale came to visit Cate from Hawaii. Unfortunately, she didn't bring any of that tropical weather to Utah but we sure loved seeing her! Here are a few photos from her visit:

Cate is 11 Weeks Old!

“She Looks Like a Million Bucks” This was Dr. Buchannan’s official assessment of Miss Cate a week or so ago at her 2-month check up. She weighed in at an impressive 10 pounds, 13 ounces, and she has grown three inches since she was born. She is still our lengthy lady—she is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for height. When it came time for the doctor to report on the all-important measure of head circumference and he delivered the news that Cate is in the 20th percentile there I tried not to look concerned about her first below average mark. (Not like we hadn’t noticed she has a small head, but still.) “Totally within the range of normal,” Dr. B assured me. “So she still has a big strong brain in there, right?” Yes, he assured me, she does. Take that, Lake Wobegon!

Poke! Besides her physical, Cate also got shots at her 2-month appointment. Some of my mom friends have told me this was one of the worst experiences of their lives, but I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal. She got one vaccination by mouth and I got a real kick out of how she kind of stared down the nurse after it was in her mouth like, “Well, you got it in there, but you can’t make me swallow.” Of course, the nurse eventually won out. Then came the poking, which was quick. Cate only cried for about 30 seconds and then she was fine. Fine for about six hours, that is, until she had a total meltdown around 8 PM. Sam was at work and I knew that what I needed was … Baby Tylenol.

I had actually tried to find some before Cate’s appointment, but hadn’t had any luck. Then I forgot about it, until the biggest meltdown of Cate’s little life. I called a friend from church to ask her to bring me some, but all her kids were in bed and her husband was out of town. Thankfully, she called another friend who promptly arrived with Children’s Tylenol, the box of which clearly stated it was for 2-3 year olds. As she was getting Cate’s dose ready she said, she said, “I know the box says 2-3 year olds, but this is definitely what you need.” Just as I was considering my Rookie Mom comment about not feeling comfortable with this big kid stuff for my 10-pounder (and dismissing that idea because this woman has four kids) she said, “Did you know I’m a nurse at Primary Children’s Hospital? I work in the E.R.”

There have been only a few times in my life I’ve been more grateful that to have held my tongue. It turns out .4ml of Children’s Tylenol is basically a miracle dose of a wonder drug.

Cate is Eight Weeks Old!

Here is Cate sporting her 80s-style headband for our first trip back to the gym since she was born:
Book Smarts Yesterday, Cate and I went to visit a friend of mine who is probably a few years older than my parents. Cate had gotten a little fussy in my friend’s lap, and I put C down on a blanket, gave her her pacifier and told her to pull herself together so that she could visit with her new friend. It took her about 30 seconds to get it together and then I handed her back to my friend. “Oh, so did you read all sorts of parenting books?” my friend asked. Nope. Totally made that “pull yourself together, Cate” line up myself. Honest truth: I’m totally winging it.

It’s definitely not that I’m unfamiliar with the parenting book movement. Let’s be honest: most of my new Mom friends are late twenty-somethings and early thirty-somethings with doctorates. We’re a bookish bunch. My friends’ nightstands are stacked with books like, “How to Ensure Your Child Reads by Six Months” and “101 Things Your Child would be Better at if You’d Eaten all Organic while Pregnant.” It’s not that it didn’t occur to me to read a parenting book or two, but I know myself well enough to know I can’t handle that kind of guilt. (Confession: I didn’t read Consumer Reports about a single baby product, either.) Our parenting strategy basically involves talking to Cate like she understands English and giving her lots of kisses. Cate isn’t reading yet, she doesn’t have a white noise machine, and I let her fall asleep on her blanket in the middle of play time. I don’t wash her clothes in special detergent and most of the time when she drops her pacifier I just put it back in her mouth.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed she’ll get in to college.

Knuckle Sandwich Cate still hasn’t figured out how to suck her thumb. She’s gotten close, but she just can’t seem to get it untucked from under her pointer finger. As a result, she gets her little hands right up there in her mouth and then sucks on the knuckle of her first finger like her life depends on it. It’s as if she thinks that if she sucks on her knuckle hard enough her thumb will pop into her mouth. Silly girl.

Goobers be Gone! Cate’s eye boogers are gone! Her tear ducts finally unclogged! Hurrah! It happened really suddenly just a day before she turned two months old. She woke up to eat in the middle of the night and her little eyes weren’t crusted shut. I’m very excited for her! Jack won’t be the only boy making a move for long!