Date with My Hubby Skiing

Getting ready to begin the festivities!
Relaxing at Gammy and Opa's house!


Today was Paul and my first official date that did not include Kathryn. We went skiing at Waterville Valley with a group of friends from church. It was such a great chance to hang out with each other and also get a chance to use our Christmas presents-new skiis!!!

A huge thanks goes to Gammy and Opa for watching Kathryn while we were out. It is so great to have family that is willing to help us out so we can have an occasional date night (or date day!).

California Girl Adventures One Cold Winter in Massachusetts

Ashland State Park Adventures


Even though I have lived on the East Coast for coming up on 10 years(can you believe that?!), the winters here still shock and amaze me. Now with the addition of Kathryn, I have also become more aware of the snow and ice because when you want to get outside for a walk you realize you must bundle another person up, and be extra careful of the wind chill factor, etc.

So this week I attempted to triumph over this, and did it to mixed reviews! First off, on Tuesday my friend Alisha and I decided we would forego our weekly walk in the mall and actually adventure outside with the two girls. We met up in Wellesley and were planning to walk at one of the town trails. Well right as I was getting there Alisha called me and said the trails were not passable. So I pulled into the lot and walked to her car to figure out our next plan of attack. We decided to go walking in Wellesley Square, as there would be plowed sidewalks there?! So as we pulled out of the parking lot suddenly the Nissan Maxima would not budge, it was completely stuck in the snow and ice. Mind you since I have owned a car here, I have mainly driven my Ford Ranger with 4 x 4, but you can't put a baby in a pickup truck! By the grace of God there were two women who had just pulled in to the lot to go walking(minus babies!) from Minnesota or Michigan who with the help of Alisha pushed my car up the hill until it got going. Thank God we were out of that mess and on our way to the sidewalks of the square. So we arrived at the square, popped the strollers out and began walking. Well let us just say the sidewalks were not exactly prepared for the two of us with baby strollers. But we ventured on, had a great visit and ended our stroll with a nice cup of tea and latte at the Starbucks! Ah the adventures of two California girls in New England!

My second attempt this week on the outdoors was much less involved. This afternoon after church Paul, Kathryn and I went on a lovely hike around Ashland State Park. We bundled Kathryn up in the Baby Bjorn and her snow suit(thank you Auntie Dawn for hand me downs!!) and headed out to walk around the lake. It was so great to get a chance to visit with Paul and to see Kathryn look around a bit, although we mostly kept her under a blanket to keep her warm.

New England for this California girl can be a little trying in the winter, but I look forward to figuring out new and exciting ways to make winter adventures happen!

3 Months Old

Enjoying her exercise mat
Chilling Out!
Laughing away
Kathryn is such a fun little girl. She loves hearing music and is especially fond of the book and CD "Philadelphia Chickens". Her favorite song is "Snuggle Puppy". She also loves doing tummy time on her ocean adventure mat(Thank you Uncle J and Auntie Sara!). She is highly expressive and loves smiling and has even begun to laugh at times. In fact we like to call her the "girl of a thousand faces"!

Miss Kat is also doing really well on the sleeping front. After a few days back from CA we have been able to get her into more of a sleeping routine and she is usually sleeping about 8 hours a night, going to bed around 10 and not getting up until around 6. She is amazing! We are also beginning to establish a bedtime routine. We will usually feed her, say a prayer and then put her to bed. Sometimes this requires a couple of return visits to her bedroom as it is hard to let her fuss by herself for more than a couple of minutes. She really needs to be held in order to fully fall asleep.

On the growth front, she is growing like a weed! We don't know how much she weighs or how long she is, but I know that she is really filling out her 0-3 month clothes. She is getting little rubber band wrists and is developing rolls on both her arms and legs. It is so funny to think that just 3 months ago you could feel her ribs when you held her.

She is a real gift from heaven and we are daily thanking God for the many ways she shows us unconditional love.