Kate at 9 Months

This month has been crazy so this post is a little over due...
Kate is a little over 9 and a half months and growing like a weed! Here are her stats from her 9 month appointment:
28 inches tall
19 lbs 7 oz
Her weight had me a little concerned because she hasn't gained a whole lot in the last couple of months. The doctor said that her height to weight ratio is good, and she is healthy.
She doesn't crawl, I don't know if she will. She moves around, but hates to be on her stomach. She gets in the postion like she is going to crawl, than she moves her butt where she wants it and plops back down. Kate is very active, and loves to play.
Kate is also to the stage that if she finds something to play with that mom takes away it makes her mad.
The doctor gave the ok for her to have table food at her appointment. Kate is not really a big fan yet. However she did like her pancake this morning for breakfast. It seems that she likes anything that she can pick up and eat on her own. She is going to be very indepentant, she wants to do a lot of things on her own, and if she can't figure it out, it makes her mad.
Right now, I am her favorite person. There are times when she won't even let Kraig hold her. Which is sometimes really hard on me, and other times it is kind of fun.
We have been horrible at taking pictures, but here are a few that have been taken recently.


Kate in her Christmas dress


Kate eating her pancakes

Question

How do you grocery shop? Do you shop once a week? Once a month? Everyday? Do you create a menu of what you are going to have first, or you just randomly get things that sound good?

I am asking because I need to change the way I grocery shop, so I would like to know.
I am not judging the way people shop, and I ask that nobody else does too. I am asking what works best for everyone else.

A New Year, and a new day

Just a warning this post is not about Kate, and will not have any picture. This post is actually going to be about and for me.
This year for me has been a little difficult. We had Kate, which turned everything upside down for us, and we are still making some adjustments. She is very demanding, and has to have things her way. It makes it very hard to get things done. So my house is a complete disaster, and probably will be for a while.
Also my Grandpa Kilpatrick has mild dementia and since we are the ones that live the closest we are the ones that get random phone calls from people like the police, adult protective services, and his neighbors. This gets to be a little difficult because so many of these people just want him to magically be better. There is no cure, there is no getting better. Half the time he can't remember what year it is, or who anybody is. He always seems to think that my little brother is my dad. He can't remember that my dad passed away. It is just difficult, and some days are worse than others.
Kraig and I have also been teaching primary in church. We have been teaching the 5,6, and 7 year olds. There are only five of them usually, once in a while seven. It has been hard. Everyone that I talk to that has been in primary say they loved it. I hate it. Trying to take care of Kate and teaching a hand full of hyper kids doesn't work. There have been so many times I have thought about quiting that I am surprised I haven't. I am hoping that this year will be a little better because they separated the classes a little, and now we will only have four kids, and all four will be turning 5 years old this year. Honestly though, I am not sure I can't make it through the year. I should have to sacrifice my family for anything, ever. I am not going to do it.
Every year people make resolutions that often get pushed to the wayside. It becomes such a tradition for people to make resolutions or goals for the new year, and than simply let them die. I am guilty of this as well.
Stacy, has been doing a "Phrase to Live By" since 2009. I love the idea. I find it much easier to find a phrase, put it up somewhere that you will always see it, and remember it. It is the one thing that almost make me wish I had a Cricut (that is an idea for another day).
Right now my life is one stress after another. My days run together, and I feel like certain things will be never ending. I hate that I have so little time for the fun things. Things will eventually work out, but for right now my life it to hectic for me to try and say I am going to get my house cleaned, I am going to dejunk my house, I am going to fix the world. All I can promise to anyone, is that I am going to take care of my family. So my phrase will be "My Family Comes First".

Thanksgiving

Well I am a horrible parent, I didn't take any pictures of Kate on Thanksgiving. We forgot the camera. So instead you get a picture we took of her last weekend in Vernal.


The last month has been a little hectic. Kate is "talking" all the time. It is so funny, and I love to listen to her. Her personality is coming out more and more each day. She is usually a happy baby. When is is being super fussy it is usually because she is teething. No teeth yet but she is close.
Kate loves paper because it makes noises. She just hasn't figured out why mom and dad takes it way from her though.

Thanksgiving was nice, I am grateful to my MIL for cooking dinner. I love getting together with family.

Last weekend we had to go to Vernal. We had to go to Grandma's Oaks' funeral. I have a hard time with funerals. It doesn't matter if the person was close to me or not. I understand that for almost everyone that when a life is lost, there is a void created. Some one has just lost a mother/father, daughter/son, sister/brother, friend. Everyone means something to somebody.

Kate has also figured out that her reach is much longer then it use to be. See this is her "helping" Kraig.


I also got about a third of my Christmas shopping done, and everyone that is done is a little kid...I have no idea what to do for adults for Christmas this year. Kids are so much easier!!

So we are still here, and things are still crazy.

6 months

Well since Kate turned 6 months old on Friday, you all get to see pictures of her in Halloween costume!!






I couldn't resist putting her stick her bottom lip out!

She is 17 lbs 3 oz, she is also 26.75 inches. So she is very tall.
She also now loves baths, she figured out that she can play in the water. Plus now she has toys in her bath with her.
She can't quite sit on her own yet. She can roll over.
She is so funny to watch her try and figure things out. Like her hands, she will stare at them and watch them, and make them move. It is so cute.
She also loves her rice cereal now, and she like green beans, and sweet potatoes. She does not like peaches, bananas, or peas. She will not eat them!
She is to the stage where she tries grab everything, and stick it in her mouth. Including other peoples fingers!

The happenings of the last few weeks

The second Friday in September, I had been trying so hard to leave work on time, and get home to pick up Kate. While I was trying to get home, I got hit on the freeway. All things considered it could have been much worse. Here are a couple of pictures of my car.


The green van is the car that hit me, and as you will notice, we are not on the freeway. The lady tried to run, I followed her.

Kate had her first stomach bug a couple of weeks ago, and I ended up taking her to see her doctor. She was having a hard time eating, and I didn't know if it was because we switched her formula (due to the Similac recall), or because she was sick. In the last month she gained 2 pounds!!! She has almost grown out of her 6 month close already. I keep hoping that she will make it until her 6 month birthday until I have to put her into her 9 month clothes, that is only in three weeks!! Kraig and I both ended up getting whatever stomach bug Kate got. Schools back in!

We also took Kate on her first trip to Vernal to visit two of her Great Grandma's. One isn't doing very well, and has never seen Kate before. Here are a few pictures from that trip. The pictures were taken by Kraig.






Kate's new thing is to grab her own feet, it is kind of funny.

Thoughts

This is probably going to be one of those blogs that nobody responds to. In all honesty, I am fine with that. I just want to throw it out there for the black void of the internet.
Lately I have wanted to write. I just don't know what. I use to write poetry, but I haven't had to for a long time. By the way, very few people have read most of my poetry, and there are even fewer that have access to it.
Writing on here helps, but I don't think it is what I want to write. My problem, I don't know what I do want to write. Some days it feels like there is so much that I want to get out, but I can't ever seem to be able to put it in to words. There use to be times when the words were simply there. They seemed to flow like water down a river.