a brief update

it's karen again. (i bet tanna's going to tell me to get my own blog--lol!)

kate had her four-month checkup yesterday. we happen to have a wonderful pediatrician, who gave her a great report! we are so thankful for her health! she weighs a whopping 14 pounds, 10 ounces (75th percentile) and is in the 95th percentile in height! when i refer to kate's pediatrician, i must be sure to say "kate's pediatrician" (as opposed to "kate's doctor") because tanna says that HE is her doctor. ;o)

she got another round of shots. :o( she was a little fussier than last time, but she is doing fine.

in other news ... we got a couple of these cool new bibs in the mail yesterday. i ordered them off of a gal on one of the message boards i like to visit. what do you think? i love them!



"life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
--f. bueller

but wait! there's more!

karen here ... with a few updates ...

believe it or not, kate actually wore a few more halloween outfits during october! a lot of them i got during the off-season at bargain-basement prices (if you know me, then you know i love me a good bargain!) and others were gifts for our little pumpkin!

here she is sporting a festive hat from uncle johnny and aunt anne:

here she is modeling a pumpkin outfit from grammy and grampy:

happy 4 months, kiddo!

yes, little one is 4 months old today. what a crazy 4 months it's been. not too much news in terms of new abilities (it's not like she's driving yet). sleeping anywhere from 6-10 hours per night, on average probably 7-8, all thanks to the strict schedules we have been keeping with her and the disciplined structure we have been providing and surrounding her with. that of course is a bit of sarcasm in case the previous pictures of her sleeping on the couch didn't give it away.

she's still likes testing out her voice by squealing a lot and loudly. she also still loooves stretching, sometimes while sleeping, when sort of waking up, when awake, while eating, after eating... the stretching can be of various types--the both-hands-over-head approach (the "victory" position as karen calls it); sometimes just one arm up, especially if one is pinned while eating; other times the arms out in front or one above her head and one in front while kicking both her legs up.

i love watching her wake up process. first she stretches like crazy for a while. sometimes she'll turn from back and forth from one side to the other. then the eyes will open with a little crinkling of the forehead, chin down, like "where am i, what's going on?" then i can't resist and i pick her up and there's a kissfest all over her face and she has an even more of a "what the heck are you doing?" look.

below are some pics from halloween, the pink pig (an atlanta tradition, see link) when karen's bro and fam were in town and other various. viewer discretion is advised. repeat warning: i have nothing to do with how this kid dresses.


"what is the meaning of this life?... does god exist?... will i be able to get into an ivy league school on costco formula?..."


"hey hey hey, everybody!" (practicing for the fat albert audition, mixed-race kid edition)


how can you be so unhappy after a delicious korean buffet with grandparents???


"do not mess with me or this crazy man next to me will tear you up..."


a stretch in progress while getting cleaned after eating


this girl is ready for halloween (bright and early at 7 a.m.)


outfit #1, ensemble with matching hat


trying to pose, propping herself up...or getting ready for a breakdancing move?


yes, i believe all these outfits were on the same day


"i think i'll complement the mr. goodbar with a finger appetizer..."


at publix supermarket, hanging out with their display


"you guys have worn me out"


"cancel my morning meetings"


there's something wrong about this picture...


"watch it or i'm gonna pop a cap in your..."


"what? no, it wasn't me who spilled the formula"


not sure if this is her popeye or pirate look


life is good...


there she is, the pink pig


up close and personal


family pic


with cousins and uncle johnny


"how did i get myself into this mess?"


wearing her sticker commemorating the event


with cousin anna-claire, chillin' in the bumbo


"before you have called me kate but today, you shall call me cousin, friend..."


the happy trio, with cousin abigail and anna-claire

new tricks

again, i have no idea how many weeks old the kid is. i know she's getting close to 4 months though. i think for the first time i/we saw her grab her little toy off of her lap with one hand and then grab it with the other. previously i had to place her hands on it (see "battle of the hands") but now she's doing it on her own. she'll also grab the pacifier out of her mouth at times with one hand. she's getting independent. also, she's starting to "talk"/blow out spit. she'll like blow out some air from her mouth and spit/drool will follow along while she's goo gooing. there's a very brief example on this clip. she's also "talking" up a storm. here's a clip of her discussing some current events.


baby loves daddy!


one of my favorites. it's hard work being a mom!


never enough rest...


who is this? yes, it's amy grant at a book signing. where's baby?


no pic with amy herself but i guess the book's good enough


baby stylin' with her sleepwear

kid's been active

baby has had a busy time lately! she met jenna bush at a book signing last week and today she met ol' president jimmy carter at a book signing at the carter center (no pic since they wouldn't allow it). of note, pres carter said she was "beautiful." she was wearing her "future president" onesie. it's hard to look too serious in a onesie. not very presidential.

she also had her 100 day celebration. i know, it sounds like some celebration karen made up just to have a party but it's actually a korean celebration. back in the days, mortality rates were so high, if a kid made it to 100 then it was a good sign.

kate's starting to fatten up. her thighs are like big sausages. she's eating at times 6 ounces which is really at future buffet queen levels. i think she and the ol' man will enjoy knocking out a few buffets when she gets older. definitely need to take advantage of the "kids under 6 eat free" or whatever the age cutoff is these days. reminds me of the days when i would hit the shoney's breakfast buffet when i was 16 but still get the under 12 rate 'cause i looked like a kid.

for the first time last week i lost track of how many weeks old she was when she hit her anniversary on sunday. the count was 14. oh well, it was only a matter of time.

here's a video of kate and her kungfu grip.
another one of "battle of the hands, part 2."


sometime around her 3 month b-day. what a cutie!


back off of my formula, man!


a 100 day pic, stylin' in her lobster bib and fruity pants


rare sighting with grandpa holding her AND smiling


another 100 day pic, surrounded by her loot


hangin' with her hello kitty peeps


reliving the birthday with the stork sign


here we have her surrounded by various trinkets...
the idea is, whatever she reaches for will seal her career fate forever. you can see a sphygmomanometer (or "blood pressure thingie" as my lovely wife calls it...it symbolizes scientist), kitty (vet), comb (stylist), pen (writer), bible (pastor...or maybe music minister if she's in a pca church. ha!), thread (seamstress??), mp3 player (musician), scissors (scrapbooker?), keys (race car driver), phone (communications), money envelope (finance), spatula (chef), whiskey bottle (drunk) and pacifier (in case she's just a baby all her life). fortunately she didn't pick the whiskey bottle. i think she actually reached for the kitty.


surprisingly not scared by the asian cabbage patch kid


a backseat view. love the ring of darker hair at the bottom.


looking interested at the jenna bush book signing


the future pres

short update

just wanted to get this video up. kate's been sticking her hands in her mouth lately, sometimes even double-fisting. every once in a while she will actually discover her thumb and start sucking away as in the video. i'll upload some 3 mo. pictures later. i know the suspense is killing you.

11 weeks (almost 12) and counting...

sorry for the delay on this post. yes, the creature is almost 12 weeks old. wow. it's weird sometimes when karen calls and says something about "my daughter" and i think, "oh yeah i have a daughter!"

kate magically is sleeping many more hours at night these days. it does come at some cost because she gets quite cranky at times in the evening, especially the past 2 nights. tonight she cried for like 2 straight hours (which i know might not be much for some but it was for this kid). finally karen took her and she ate well. i think i may have mentioned this before but i am so glad my wife is my wife. she is so patient with the kid, even when she's screaming her head off for so long. as a testosterone-driven male, my patience runs much thinner. i just look at her crying and sometimes think it's not logical why you're crying because we fed you, burped you, changed you, you had a good bm, we changed you again, and maybe you're crying because of some gassy issues but then it doesn't make sense why you would cry over just a little gas... it's true what they say in pediatrics, these critters aren't just tiny adults.

last weekend we went to niece rebekah's 6 year old b-day. kate slept pretty much the whole way there, about 5 hours (we left at 9 pm). on the way back she ended up going about 12 hours without eating! we stopped in asheville to visit karen's grandmother and fed kate there (nice big bm after feeding her in the parked car). that was around 6 pm. then we drove home, kate was up part of the time and when we got home around 10:30 pm, we just left her in the car seat since she was sleeping and she stayed sleeping till around 6 am! she's sleeping anywhere from 5 to 8 hours from the evening till early morning, sometimes more, sometimes less.

here's a vid of another kate stretch session filmed by my lovely wife. funny, too.

yet another stretch session, this one with some funky dance-type moves.

i was really filming a lot this particular day. here's another with me trying to give our car seat baby a kiss on the forehead while she's sleeping. "rattle toes" makes another visit.

last one for today. another installment of "saga kate." will she wake up or will she stay asleep?

"one day i'll be big enough to eat out of this chair"

stylin' in her new outfit with the headband

with cousins (from left to right) riley, rebekah,

abigail, and anna-claire

lookin' fashionable in her new outfit with mommy