Halloween

Halloween was so much fun this year! Kate actually understood the concept of dressing up and we practiced saying Trick or Treat. We went to a party at our friends' house and walked around with a bunch of Kate's/our friends to get some candy! I think this might be the last year she doesn't actually care too much about getting the candy = )

Getting Settled In

Kate really adjusted to well to having Colin around. She kind of just ignored him = )
We just spent the first few weeks hanging around the house and letting people come over and admire our boy....

Colin Layne Peden

On Thursday October 7th at 12:19 pm we welcomed Colin Layne Peden to our family. He was 8 lbs and 20.5 inches.

The labor went smoothly and we just instantly fell in love with him!!!
We stayed at the hospital for just one night and were so anxious to get him home and start our life as a family of 4...

Fall Happenings

We've had such an enjoyable last few weeks trying to spend quality time with our little girl before we become a family of four. Don't really think she knows what she is in for! But in 2 days she will be a big sister! We can't wait to meet our new little one....

First Day of "School"

Did I say once a week? Maybe I meant once a month...

Since my last update Kate started Mother's Day Out. She goes twice a week (T and TH) from 8:30-2. I think she likes it although she cries when we get into the parking lot and pretty much all the way into the classroom and if I'm not the first person in the line to pick her up she usually cries too. I know it will be such a lifesaver once I have the baby though so I'm hoping she cheers up after awhile!

She is getting so big and has so many new words and phrases every day. She knows most of her colors and can count to 10 (ok not really, she says 1,2,5,9,10). The only new thing I'm not enjoying so much is that she has to be the world's worst sharer. No matter where we are everything is "Mine" and if another kid even looks at the toy she is playing with she shouts "No!". Makes it not so fun to take her to playdates and birthday parties. Hopefully she'll grow out of this soon! We just keep saying "We share with our friends" and we make her share her toys at home with us and if she wants to play with something of ours we make it clear that we are "sharing" it with her!

Baby Boy Peden (yet to be named) should be arriving on October 7th if not sooner. I keep having this feeling that I might actually go into labor this time but after today's visit I think I may be headed for induction #2.

Here are some pictures from Kate's first day of MDO and from her friend Evan's 1st Birthday Party

Up to Date

I have toyed with the idea to stop blogging. I am just never finding the time/desire to do it. My mother has told me this is unacceptable. I decided to try and recommit to doing a weekly update probably on Tuesdays. For this post I have to update the last 4 months and then next week I can start with new material.

April- Finished up working at my old school tutoring for the TAKS test, all the kids I tutored passed and I was happy to be done and back at home with Kate. Finished up my first trimester and started feeling normal again.

May- First real traumatic event in parenting, Kate sliced her finger open on a mandolin slicer in the kitchen, we spent 5 hours in the ER, she got her first xrays, stitches and antibiotics. We went to a hand surgeon who said everything looked good and Kate was very resilient through the whole ordeal (she has recovered beautifully, you can't tell anything happened!). We also took our first plane trip to go visit our friends the Slinkards at their new home in South Dakota. Kate did well and we had a great time! We finished up the month by finding out that we were expecting a BOY!

June- The beginning of the month started out pretty slow, celebrated my birthday and started to prepare for our trip to North Carolina! At the end of the month we made our bi-annual trek to the East Coast to spend 2 weeks at the beach in NC. We had such a great time. Kate LOVED the beach!

July- Still at the beach, we celebrated my parents 30th anniversary with a fabulous party and we were so sad to go! Later on in the month we had a visit with Erin and Barry and Kate's cousins Leslie and Calla. The visit was good although it was a traumatic week for Kate. She had a mosquito bite that swelled her eye to look like a red golf ball, she had her first ear infections, and threw up for the first time, all in one week!

August, so far- We made an impromptu visit to Lake Martin, Alabama to visit the Slinkards while they were down South, and celebrated Jonathan's 30th birthday. Our main events for the rest of the month mostly revolve around getting ready for Baby Boy Peden. We hope to decide on a name very soon! Kate starts Mother's Day Out 2 days a week next week. I am sad and excited at the same time. I know she will love it!

Here are some pictures from the last 4+ months...

Kate is a little messy when she eats.

Kate and her best bud Reagan. You can see her bandaged hand in this picture.

Playing at the Splash Pad with Daddy. One of her favorite activities of the summer.

This is what her smile looks like when she says "cheese".

New Addition!

We have a new family member on the way! Our next little bundle of joy should be here around October 11, 2010! We are so excited =)