Sweet Kate

Kate has been so blessed to receive numerous outfits from her adoring fans. I wanted to put together a post with pictures of her in these outfits so you can see and enjoy them and also to know that she's enjoying them! So if you have a favorite outfit and you don't see it here, let me know and I'll gladly add the picture to subsequent posts.

Our wonderful neighbors gave Kate a traditional outfit from Afghanistan. It's beautiful!

Thanks to the Bolines from all the way over the sea!

One of Great Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Stuart's Christmas presents for our wee one.

The shirt says it all! Thanks to Great Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Al.

P.S. To the grandparents/great grandparents: Please forgive me for not posting pictures of Kate in an outfit from you guys. There are so many I couldn't choose--thank you!!

P.P.S. Aunt Sandy, that beautiful purple dress you sent us is going to be the focus of a photo shoot, hopefully soon. I wanted Jon to try to take some good pictures of Kate in it because it's so sweet! So check back--hopefully soon.

Ultrasound Pics of Pip

We went to our 20 week ultrasound earlier this week and were so thankful to learn that everything looks great with little Pipsqueak. So far the amniotic fluid level looks good, though we hope to have it re-looked at in a few weeks, just to keep an eye on it. (That was the main issue we had with Kate in utero.) It was such a different experience going to a 20 week ultrasound that didn't have any issues--unlike last time! We were in and out of there in about an hour. Thank you, Lord! Also, thanks to our wonderful neighbors, Beth and Blair, I was able to scan the pictures and now can share them with you here. I realize they may be difficult to see...but here they are.

The pink arrows designate what I'm trying to point out....sorry they're so small.

This is Pipsqueak's face. The top pink arrow is pointing to her left eye. The second, lower arrow is pointing to her right eye (in a big, black hole). If the resolution were better, you could see the soft grey lines which are her left eye lens. Amazing.

In this picture you can see her two arms (designated by the double arrow in the middle) and her fingers to the left (second arrow). It almost looks like she's holding her own hands. Maybe she is!


And we may take some ribbing for this picture, but this is the one that made the tech say it's a girl. There are the three lines (in the middle, designated by the pink arrow) that are supposed to be the definitive sign that she's a girl. Let me know if you have any experience to add to this. I've talked to a few friends and seen some more ultrasound pictures online that also corroborate this, so that's what we're going on.

New York In January

We had a great time in upstate New York last week. Congratulations to my cousin Camille on her wedding to Michael! We were a little worried about Kate and the 7 1/2 hr car ride up to Saratoga Springs, but she was a champ! We enjoyed some good family time with the Minnerys and saw all four Minnery brothers together. Don't they look related??

The weather was just a tad chilly...as you can imagine! But thankfully everyone was decked out and ready for the cold. Jon was certainly reminded of his college days in Ithaca, and was very grateful not to have to spend the whole winter there again. Brrrrr. We had some good time with Nana and Grandpa--especially since our room was close to theirs in the hotel so we could hang out after Kate went to bed. Definitely, Kate was the hit of the weekend with her squeaky shoes (Thanks, Sally and Chad!). Random hotel guests were calling out to her saying, oh look, it's Squeaky! At breakfast each morning she lapped up the attention and really got a kick out of her big, tall uncles. Well, great uncles, I mean. Though we did enjoy the time there seeing family and being able to celebrate with my cousin, we discovered that vacation with a toddler is NOT vacation. I think both Jon and I came back more tired than when we left. Ahhhh well. My mom mentioned that when we all gather again (extended family included) for Beth's wedding this summer, it'll be a whole new ball game--TWO kids instead of one. How we pray that Pipsqueak is as mellow as his/her big sister!

Enjoy these pictures of the trip:

The new Mr. and Mrs. Michael MagguilliMy cousin, Lilly, and the cake she made. We sure missed seeing her husband Ryan, who is deployed with the Navy. Hurry home, Ryan!Kate loved dancing to the music--even when she was the only one on the dance floor.Here we are outside of my uncle's Antebellum home in Saratoga. Thanks for a great time! And thanks to Nana for taking the picture.