Rolling Over

Last night, Katarina rolled all the way over from her back to her belly for the first time. When I went to her room to answer her cries for a 1 AM feeding, I found her lying on her stomach with her upper body propped up on both elbows. She has been rolling most of the way over for a few weeks, but she hadn't yet made it all the way before last night.

Even though Michael was called in to work several times last night, I think he still managed to get more sleep than me. My silly baby was up every two hours as if she were still a newborn! Of course, those nighttime interruptions of slumber don't prevent Kätchen from being fully awake and ready to play in the morning, at which point she'll scream at me until I stop trying to rock her back to sleep and just start playing. Then I get the biggest morning smiles! Yesterday, I grabbed the camera to preserve her morning faces:

I discovered that our bed is an excellent photography studio, with the headboard as a backdrop and the windows providing natural light. However, Katarina was so wiggly that the early-morning rays were not enough light to capture a still shot without flash, aside from the one above. After a few blurry attempts, I added the external flash for the following two shots, taken five minutes later.

Katarina is also grabbing at objects and trying to hold them or bring them to her mouth. She wants to gnaw on everything.

Kätchen loves to sit in her Bumbo chair and watch her big sisters play. Her big sisters, in turn, love to put on shows for her. One day Katarina watched Gabi until she was so exhausted that she just fell asleep in her Bumbo. Oops!

Katarina is just two days shy of being 5 months old. Last Monday, one week before she'll turn 5 months, I finally took her to her 4-month check up. She measured 24 ½ inches long (50th percentile) and weighed slightly less than average at 13 lbs 4 oz (35th%). Her head circumference is also average at 16 ¼ inches around (50th%). She is a perfectly-proportioned baby! I get so many compliments on how adorable and doll-like she looks, especially with her happy smile.

Gabi Quotes

Since Michael made a post of Bella's May pictures along with her quotes from his Facebook statuses, it seems appropriate for this post to record Gabi's quotes from his Facebook statuses and share the rest of her pictures from May. Truly, his FB comments are a great way to keep up with the funny things our kids say and do.

Michael pointed at Asia on a map and asked Gabi, "What's this big one called?"
Gabi: "I don't know. Texas?"

Gabi: "Sometimes I show Mommy how much I love her by giving her hugs."
Michael: "That's very nice of you. Mommy thinks I need to give her more hugs."
Gabi: "I think she's right. Everybody needs enough hugs."

On the way home from Gabi's Spanish camp, Bella wanted to join in on the Spanish lesson. Mommy: "Bella, say fresa!"
Bella "Sa!"
Gabi: "Suh? That's not 'strawberry,' it's 'four.'"
(You have to know both Spanish and Chinese for that one.)

We asked Bella to run to the potty after dinner.
Bella: "No, it's too dark there!"
Gabi: "You ate carrots. Just use your night vision!"

Re: sugar snap peas... Gabi: "What do I do with these?"
Mommy: "Eat them."
Gabi: "All of it?"
Me: "Yes. You're thinking of edamame."
Gabi: "No I'm not. I don't know who she is!"

Michael, sniffling: "Gabi, I'm sick."
Gabi (sounding like her Mommy comforting Katarina): "Oh, I'm SORRY you don't feel well, Daddy! I'm SO SO sorry! Oh my GOODness! Poor Daddy!"

Michael: "Oh, Katarina. A dress is not for eating."
Gabi: "Yeah, a dress is what you wear so that you're not naked!"

Gabi: "I won't always be a [lastname]."
Daddy: "Oh? What will your name be?"
Gabi: "Well, I don't know what my husband's name will be yet." (at which point Daddy's heart just broke)

And for another quote along those lines: After Gabi learned about divorce, I reassured her that her Daddy and I promised each other that we would always stay together and both be here for her.   Gabi thought for a minute and said, very seriously, "Mommy, I want to promise, too."
After another pause, she continued, a bit concerned, "But I don't know if my husband will promise or not."
So I tried to explain that she has to pick a boy that does promise. Wow! That's a mature conversation with great insight from our 5-yr-old.

Mommy: "Oh, Gabi, how did you get to be so smart?"
Gabi: "Well, you and Daddy tell me things that are true, and I just remember them."

I ate some of Gabi's macaroni and cheese, and she told me "Mommy, you should have asked first! Did you know that's called 'stealing?'"

Gabi: "How old are you, Daddy?"
Michael: "30."
Gabi: "Really? I don't think so."
Michael: "How old do you think I am?"
Gabi (after ascertaining that it was okay to guess wrong): "17."

Finally, I will mention that some of Michael's statuses listed Gabi's growing repertoire of songs. In early May, Gabi memorized "Here Come the Irish," a new Notre Dame song. At Riverfest over Memorial Day weekend, Gabi was introduced to "I Missed the Bus" by Kris Kross, "Single Ladies/Put a Ring on It" by Beyoncé, and other 90's dance songs, thanks to Monster Shop Bump'n. Then in June, Uncle Brian taught the girls "Peaches." Like her Daddy, Gabi has an excellent memory for songs!

Bella! ("Catching Up with May Pictures" Edition)

Thanks to our ongoing kitchen remodel, we have been woefully negligent in keeping the blog up to date. So... here are some cute leftover pictures from May, featuring our sweet two-and-a-half-year-old. These pictures go from her role in the "Spring Olympics" at gymnastics class to her role as "Pirate Cinderella" at home. Also included in this post are some of her recent quotes, as featured on my facebook page. Note that the quotes may or may not be related to the pictures.

Gabi: "Hey Bella, what do you call somebody else's cheese?"
Bella: "My cheese!"

Bella: "We eat ice cream. We don't eat the audience."
Any of you planning to come to Bella's next show can rest easy.

Bella: "I want to see toh-nay-do! Daddy, you want to see toh-nay-do?"
Daddy: "Um... no, we don't really want to see the tornado, sweetheart."

We drove past the Children's Hospital the other day.
Bella: "Look Daddy! That's where you live!"

Bella got to go to a day camp at Gabi's school this summer.
Mommy: "Oh Bella, I think Ms. Mandy just fell in love with you this week!"
Bella: "Um... who fell?"

Gabi: "Look! That says 'Bella.'"
Bella: "Oh! It say me!"

Bella: "Daddy, I want to sing 'I Can Do It By Myself'"
Daddy: "Okay, go!"
Bella: "Um... I need some help."
Daddy: "Oh, so you can't do it by yourself?"

Daddy: "Shh! The baby is sleeping!"
Bella: "NO!!!! I DON'T WANT HER TO SLEEP!!!"
Daddy (picking up crying baby): "Well, apparently not."

Our little one is definitely still a Mommy's girl.
Bella: "No Daddy, I don't want you! You're not my favorite!"

Bella: "I'm a pirate! Arrr!"
Daddy: "Aack! I'm so scared!"
Bella: "Yeah, I bite you!"
Me: "Did you just say you'd bite me?"
Bella: "Yeah! Arrrr!"

That's My Baby!

I just love my baby! We had some exceptionally cute pictures of her from June:

She's a very happy baby, as least while I'm holding her. She's most definitely a Mama's girl. She'll only nap for 10-20 minutes if I put her down, but she'll sleep for hours in my lap or by my side. Yes, I spoil her! Fortunately, I find I can do most everything one-handed.

Ooh! Toes!

Katarina is drooling and slobbering so much these days that within 10 minutes of changing her outfit, her entire front feels as if she jumped in a swimming pool. She loves to gnaw on her fingers, too. But if teething is painful for her, she is surprisingly calm about it.

All clean!

We most often call her Katarina, but we're still playing with numerous nicknames for this little one. Kata-Kata-Katarina! While experimenting with the sounds in her name around Lolo and Lola, we learned a new Tagalog (Filipino) word: katakataka, which means surprising. It's a fun word, and we like it for our little baby. At her age, the whole world is surprising and new.

Katarina loves to sit up, to the point that she does crunches to pull herself up if we let her recline. Lolo bought her a Bumbo chair, which is perfect for her. She will sit in her Bumbo and watch me sweep or mop or do laundry or fix lunch or any other two-handed chore. Wonderful! She usually spends her time in the Bumbo examining her endlessly-fascinating hands and fingers.

Katarina is working on rolling over back-to-front. She only tries to roll left, and she doesn't quite get all the way over before she gets distracted by yummy fingers to gnaw on. Katarina is also very vocal with her coo-ing and laughing. I have a few videos that I haven't copied to the computer yet, so for now, here are a few pictures from back in May:

Sweet baby! She likes to sleep with her hands behind her head like this.

Austin, TX

I had asked my brother Scott to come to Little Rock to meet our new baby, but he pointed out that we had never seen his house, so we needed to bring our baby to him instead. Thus, the girls and I drove down to Austin, TX to visit Uncle Scott the first weekend in June. It was fun to see all the major renovation projects he is working on himself.

Scott and Amy took us to the expansive Wildflower Center to explore. It was a fantastic morning despite the heat, and we'd love to return when more flowers are in bloom.

Uncle Scott had been needlessly worried that he didn't have any toys to entertain his nieces, as they were able to improv with his pillows and Mardi Gras beads. Besides, I brought a few toys (which were also necessary for the long car ride).

At the last minute, Michael's schedule cleared up so he could fly down to join us. Uncle Brian, Grampa, and Gramma Jane also came down from Dallas for the weekend.

We went to church across the street from the UT campus. Next time we visit Austin, we'll have to make time for a campus tour, but we did get a chance to see this fountain and the main UT landmark - the tower.

To break up our drive, we spent the night at Gramma Jane and Grampa's house in Dallas both ways. On the return trip, Uncle Stephen and Aunt Alicia stopped by to see their nieces.

The girls always have fun playing at their grandparents' house! It took me awhile to tear them away from Gramma Jane (and my old toys) to head back home.