Big Sky Bound

1%er

tkatecenis — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:50:18 +0000

We should have guessed that Josie would be part of the 1%, what with her expensive tastes and life of leisure. In this case, Josie is in the 1% of height and the 32% in weight – meaning, she is growing out and not up. I guess she missed Matt’s giant genes on that one! She may have gotten our chunky cheek genes though.

CHEEKS!

Josie has been working on her transition from being a newborn to being a straight-up baby. That has included sleeping 2-4 hours at a time, wearing 0-3 month old clothing, laughing, and loving tree staring.

tree staring at the crack of 10am (hence the PJ’s)

I have one more week until I go back to work – WAH! I guess Josie and I both will have to get over our addiction to People magazine and the Ellen show.

OMG mom, Beyonce looks fab!

Josie met her cousins Emmett and Henry a couple weeks ago. It was a pile of cuteness.

Emmett, “give me that baby!” Henry, “oh Emmett” Josie, “Eeeeek”

Smile of the week:

We have been seeing lots of smiles, even when we have trouble smiling back due to painful lack of sleep.

I pooped, ahhhhh

Black pack shot of the week:

I am going to sneak the rest of the family in with this one because it is our most recent family portrait. It took many tries and is as perfect as we are going to get:

Getting Out

tkatecenis — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:49:03 +0000

It is HARD to get out of the house with a newborn hanging around. There are several hurdles that have prohibited Matt and I from getting out of the door before 11am.

1. Getting up to feed and change the milk monster at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8….etc. Sometimes we are both so tired in the morning it hurts. A question I often ask myself is, to shower or not to shower??? Also, what day is it?

2. Getting baby dressed. This mish-mash clash is what happens when I don’t oversee the process:

3. Becco carrier, car seat, Moby sling (AKA man uterus), BOB stroller? How should we tote this baby around? We took our first hike yesterday and tried out the Becco carrier. Josie fell out the side of it when she was around 5lbs, but now at 8lbs it works great!

Moments before the snow storm hit

I get to carry all the gear

4. Peeling Matt away from his construction projects. I don’t have many after shots yet, just works in progress. It takes him an extra long time to get anything done when he can’t use the nail gun because baby is sleeping. He did manage to put in a laundry shoot which is AWESOME! Now if there were only laundry elves living in the basement to do the laundry once it goes down the shoot…a girl can dream.

Hole to the basement

Hole in the wall

Pipe is in and I do the honors

Matt has also been busy on the stairs – he started and finished the banister 5 days before Josie popped out. The cabinet doors are 3/4 done (where the red curtains are in the pics) but he won’t let me share a picture until they are 100%…he promised before the next post, right Matt?:

Before

Why winter projects suck

Ghost railing

3 doors down, one to go

5. Losing everything. Baby brain does not go away when the baby is born, much to my dismay, it actually gets worse. I have missed several appointments because I lost track of what day it was, lost car keys (Matt is tearing the house apart as I write this because I blamed losing them on him this time), forgot my wallet…etc. I hope I get my brain back someday.

Cute Black Pack Pic of the week

So neglected and pathetic. At least they still have each other…..

Smile of the week

I can’t get over how intoxicating Josie’s smiles are. She is probably dreaming about milk or making a poop – her two favorite pastimes:

zzz...boobs...zzzz

I couldn’t help myself and had to post this pic for no good reason because it’s just plain adorable:

Twins

One Month with Josie

tkatecenis — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:08:48 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been a month! All the days blend together when they consist of feeding Josie, soothing Josie to sleep, sleeping for an hour, feeding Josie, trying to shower, getting out of my sweats (sometimes), feeding Josie, feeding myself, watching Ellen, texting cute pictures of Josie to Matt, feeding Josie, sleeping for 45 minutes……and on and on. It is amazing that 2 straight hours of sleep is a luxury these days.

How do we make this baby go to sleep!?

Josie has had nothing but firsts in her first month. A couple of the notable ones were…

Her first tip to our neighborhood bar, the Kettlehouse, at 3 weeks.

Cut me off!!

Our first walk to the park at 1 week.

BOB on the move

Josie’s first adventure in the dog park with Wade, Blue and 50 of their closest dog friends. Josie’s favorite place in the world is Matt’s man uterus (AKA the brown Moby wrap).

Wade

Blue

Gardening out back – she is a lazy gardener, always asleep on the job.

With all these firsts, I was thinking of all the great benefits to not being pregnant anymore – here are my top 5:

5. No more indigestion – they say that if you have a hairy baby you will have terrible indigestion. It’s true! Josie is one hairy girl (takes after dad).

Fuzzy chicken hair-do

4. Fat pants…Oh wait, I am still wearing those.
3. Bu bye waddle – my waddle was exceptionally bad because of my back injury and included a walker for the last few weeks. Nothing like a geriatric looking pregnant lady. I can’t stress how amazing it has been to walk again.
2. FOOD – Hello sushi, lunch meat and soft cheese!!!
1. BOOZE – Not having a glass of wine or a beer for 9 months was torture. I will admit that I have only had a few drinks in the last 4 weeks because our milk monster requires a meal every hour, but those drinks were magical.

It’s been a great month and we are starting to see a little of ourselves in Josie – She is always covered in dog hair, cries when she is hungry (Matt), is grumpy when she wakes up (me). The one thing that is baffling is her olive skin, hmmm. Our favorite part of the last month has been catching the ever elusive spontaneous toothless smiles. We know that the smiles are not at anything in particular, but they are a nice preview of what is to come.

Funny milk dreams

First Week With Josie

tkatecenis — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:27:28 +0000

Last Thursday Josephine Luella came into the world at 6:22am weighing 5lbs 10oz. She is tiny and perfect and it has been an amazing week (feels like a year!). We stayed in the hospital Wed – Monday because our girl needed some extra help and so did I. She came out with a little jaundice which made her look like a well bronzed Miami beach bunny. Here are some shots of the last week. Due to sleep deprivation and the fear that my grammar and spelling is lacking I will keep this to pictures and a couple of words.

Smile Matt!

The hospital made sure to keep close track of us:

Hospital arrest bracelet

4 ID's = overkill?

Matt was a rock star dad in the hospital because I could not really leave the bed due to my dumb back. Also, the doctor and nursing staff at Community were amazing! Here is a nurse helping Matt figure out how to put a 5lb baby into a massive car seat:

Does someone have my baby?

I know that most of you are wondering how Blue and Wade felt about this addition to our family. We met up with them at a park before going home so they could sniff and say hello. They could have cared less.

Blue says hello Josie! Now back to playing ball

Welcome home!

The first few nights at home were brutal. Josie doesn’t know her days from nights yet so she snoozes all day and parties all night – it’s like she is in college already!

Fake 4am smile. The magic finger calms the night terrorist

We also have to feed her double time so she can put some lb’s on her little frame. Here I am as Kate, the mad baby feeding scientist:

finger lickin' good

Cute black pack pic of the week:

zombie family portrait

My birthday is tomorrow – what a perfect gift!

Dooty calls!

Wild Night is Calling

tkatecenis — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:32:04 +0000

Here is my idea of a wild Friday night:

Items that make a wild Friday night

* Pre-registration hospital packet that is STILL not filled out

* Rogue baby socks that we bought a week ago and I found under the couch – I anticipate losing millions of these little things

* Computer for online shopping – hello new robe!

* Wallet to buy my new robe – Matt tries to hide this when he feels my online urge coming on, not this time buddy!

* Matt’s industrial measuring tape to measure my massive waist and bust to decide what size robe to buy – those numbers can’t be right, right?

* Baby gift thank you notes – thanks for all the sweet baby gear!! Now all we are missing is a baby. Here is Matt trying to install a “Bundle Me” car seat blanket from my mom, Wade is helping.

Wade lending a helping tongue

* The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer – Trying to figure out how all of this baby stuff works.

* Last, and most important to VBJ, Matt’s amazing dinner – Bacon mini-slider with ketchup, mayonnaise and pickles and avocado and couscous..I am a lucky girl, and so is VBJ.

In other baby news, we have met with our OB and specialist and they have decided because of my busted back to induce labor in 2 weeks (15 days, 6 hours, 19 minutes and 24 seconds..not that I’m counting). The date is set, pending VBJ’s lung development, for Feb. 27th. We have our fingers crossed that we will not have a leap year baby, mostly because that would mean being in labor for 48 hours – eeek! Our doctor said leap year babies are special, but aren’t they all?

Until the 27th, you can find me laying on the couch/bed reading up a storm (any recommendations?), burning up the internet and dreaming of a pain free motherhood.

A special shout-out to our little nephew Emmett who turned 1 this past Thursday. This picture was taken over Christmas with my mom – can you tell that she is ready for grandmotherhood?

SO CUTE

Bump Watch – 35.5 weeks

You should feel grateful that this picture came to be. It takes an act of God for me to shower and get dressed these days. Notice the beginnings of a new banister that Matt is building.

Kate + 30lbs

The Big Dump & Prep Work

tkatecenis — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:42:33 +0000

Last week we had a huge dump in Missoula – the 7th largest snow storm in history. While it was hard getting our cars stuck and unstuck every 5 minutes, we did have some fun with it.

Matt had to shovel in his suit on the way to a practice trial (that may not have been so fun):

This was about half the snow we ended up getting

Here goes with my first attempt at video! The dogs had a blast skiing with Matt through the neighborhood and playing snow frisbee:

In other news…..
This whole having a baby thing is getting real! We have spent the last couple of weeks trying to knock things off of our to-do list. They have included:

1. Getting our car seat installed – We went to the fire station and had some qualified professionals help us out. They informed us that they take a 2 day class on car seat safety and that 85% of people install their car seats wrong the first time. All I have to say is that firemen + baby talk = HOT. I will be bringing my single girlfriends back for the post-baby car seat check once VBJ joins us!

2. Breastfeeding basics class – Without going into details, we learned a lot but it looks kind of hard. We especially liked the first bullet on the “do not” list – DO NOT chase your baby around with your breast..uhh, ok.

3. Pre-registering for hospital – How the heck do ladies who get to the hospital about to drop a baby fill out a 30 minute registration form!?

4. Baby room construction – As I am typing Matt is hammering away trying to finish the trim in the nursery. There sure is a lot of cursing going on, I hope VBJ doesn’t have a potty mouth when he/she comes out.

Wade trying to bite the nail gun

5. Stockpiling – For being tiny little critters, babies sure need a lot of stuff. Between hand-me-downs and generous parents and friends we have been doing great. The baby has a place to sleep, some clothing to wear, diapers to poop in, and a couple of ways to get around.

I can't wait until our new B.O.B stroller can carry this baby around instead of me! Thanks co-workers!

We made a baby registry, but I would call it more of a guess list of things that a baby may need – I mean, what do we really know about babies at this point? Nada.

Baby Bump Watch:

VBJ is now 33 weeks and 6 days old (not that I am counting the seconds or anything…). For you non-baby peeps, a baby is full term between 38 and 42 weeks but can pop out whenever they feel like it.

Note to self - stripes are not flattering

Single Digits

tkatecenis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:48:26 +0000

We are down to single digits of weeks until VBJ joins us, 8.5 to be exact. Ahhh!

We are attempting to nest, but with Matt having about half an hour of free time a day and my back getting worse and worse as I get bigger and bigger, that has been challenging. We decided this week to start putting together things in boxes… Lets start with the changing table from hell.

Little did Matt know, as he was smiling away in this picture, that inside the box this P.O.S. was broken into pieces. Instead of sending it back like normal people, Matt assured me a trip to ACE Hardware, new dowels, a bunch of drilling, a glue-up and an extra 2 hours of construction could get us back to where it should have been out of the box.

There was a lot of swearing and grumping so I did what I do best – laid on the couch and ate cake.

We tackled the crib last night – or the baby cage, as Matt likes to call it. That was a monster box that has been sitting around for months, so I was a little worried after the changing table debacle. It turned out to be easy breezy! We realized once we put it together that it would not fit through the door to the baby room, F*#k! So we took it apart and put it back together in the baby room. I’m sure we are not the only expecting parents who have done this, right?

First try

Wade helped by licking all the parts and our hands the whole time.

I have also been nesting by online shopping at 4am when I have insomnia – Ohh, we need a ___ (fill in the blank). I think we have a rocking chair, clothing, and an extra base for the car seat on the way (among other things). For our budgets sake, I hope this insomnia passes!

Cute black pack pic of the week:

Pack support

Baby bump watch – 31.5 weeks:

side view was too scary

P.S. I have so many adorable pics and videos of Christmas with the red-headed nephews that I don’t know where to start – maybe I will have a Christmas throw-back post in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Happy Anniversary, Wade!

tkatecenis — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:58:29 +0000

We have had Wade for one year today, and what a year it was! Some of you may remember the lengths to which I went to get this little goof to Montana, for a refresher click here. Since then, Wade has had adventures hiking in the Montana wilderness, gone on a couple of river trips, made an indent in the couch where he sleeps every night, learned how to play fetch, and even dragged my friend Addy down the aisle at my wedding.

Here are some things that we have come to know about Wade over the last 12 months…

Things Wade loves:
1. Food – he is a pig in dog’s clothing
2. His orange ball – he would literally jump off a cliff to follow that thing and he spends hours every night chewing on it

my precious, my only

3. Water – he has a drinking problem
4. Licking everything – he has the LONGEST tongue on the planet, like anteater long

5. Using his head as a battering ram – this is how he tries to get into our room every morning
6. Eating spatulas – mmmmmm, plastic. I think we only lost about 6 this year
7. Eating veggies from the garden and rotten compost – and we wonder why he farts all the time?
8. Farting and burping – he’s a disgusting boy, need I say more…
9. Having his ears rubbed
10. Snow – It is amazing that he is from AZ because he loves eating, cooling his undercarriage, and rolling in snow

Trouble, where?

10. Getting stuck crawling under the bed
11. Snuggling (at inopportune times) -

11. Blue – she is his best friend, part time lover and partner in crime

c'mon Blue!

Things Wade hates:
1. Vacuums – Kill, KILL!
2. Skateboards – I can’t blame him, who really does like those damn loud wheels anyway?
3. Water – remember this

4. German Shepherds – they must all have their butts bitten according to Wade
5. Mechanical tools – Wade is a Luddite, he wants to bite saws, lawn mowers, weed eaters, power drills, etc.
6. Being kicked off the couch
7. Blue – She is his evil big sister, frienamy and wrestling nemesis

Because of his goofy/disgusting/bubbly personality we have come up with some nicknames that have stuck – here are the top 5:

1. Fart monster
2. Sir licks-a-lot
3. Wadester
4. Lil’ Wade
5. Mr. Pee Bucket (his bladder is the size of a pea and he needs to go every 2 seconds)

Wade is a very important member of our pack and we love him very much. Our lives would be so boring without his daily antics!

night night!

zzzzzzzzzz....

P.S. We entered the home stretch, trimester 3, yesterday. See you soon VBJ!

Good Tree Hunting

tkatecenis — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:16:01 +0000

Matt and I bought a $5 permit from the Forest Service this past weekend and headed out into the wilderness (100′s of feet off the road) to find the perfect Christmas tree.

I found it!

Matt cut it (Blue was busy hunting)

I pretended to carry it

Matt actually carried it back to the car

Ta-da! Charlie Brown has never looked so good

Pregnancy Update – I bundled up for a long, cold, 1 block trek to the gas station last night for some pregnancy must-haves:

When I got home Matt dug into my ice cream and informed me that Pepto is not optimal to use during pregnancy according to his research, good thing I got back-up Tumms! See ya acid reflux!

There will be no cute Black Pack pic this week because they are driving us crazy!! Apparently they did not get the memo about the time change a month ago and have been waking us up at 5:45AM every day. We are taking dramatic measures because baby, baby mama and stressed out law student need their sleep!

Stay tuned for my 1 year anniversary tribute to Wade joining our pack on Dec. 16th. By the way he has been acting recently, I don’t think he knows that there is a 1 year return policy we can still use in the next 2 weeks… For example:

Mmmmmm, compost

I'm caught in the act!

House Project Progress for T-Day

tkatecenis — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:34:18 +0000

Happy post-Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is recovered from binge eating, drinking and family time. I was looking forward to stuffing my face for two this year, but it turns out that VBJ is taking up the extra belly room I was reserving for food. We offered to host dinner, which meant that Matt went crazy trying to make progress on some house project loose ends. Here are some shots of the progress in action.

Hallway to the bathroom (right door) and baby room (left door):

Before

During

After (almost, just need trim)

Under the stairs:

Before

During

Almost after

Matt would be upset if I didn’t mention that most of the trim is not done and there will be doors on the bottom cabinets when he gets a break from law school in January. The baby room has a ways to go, so sit tight for that big reveal – I promise it will be before mid-March.

This is what Blue and I did while Matt was busting his butt…..

With the projects mostly done, we had 15 people over for turkey day including, 3 rambunctious boys, 3 pregnant ladies, and 3 dogs. It was a blast!

Banquet-style

Eating for 6!

Cute Black Pack pics of the week:

I decided to weasel my way into one of the dog pics – I am part of the pack too!

Winter - Yay! Can you tell who is who?

Mom (25 weeks preggers) and her bad babies