November: part 2

On Nov. 10, Katy turned 2 months old! Hurrah!

Getting bigger!

Goofy parents = goofy kid.

 

Katy enjoyed her first Thanksgiving with all of her family. It was a rousing success. It was so busy, though, mommy forgot to take a lot of pictures! We will have to take lots more at Christmas, just to make up for it.

As for Katy's development, she's starting to grab things and gain more control over her limbs. We can't wait to see her grow more!

Oh yeah, the dogs can lick her now.

 

Love from Augusta,

John, Liz, Katy, Xander, Zoe and Duke

November: pt 1

So it's been a while since I last updated, for which I am truly sorry. It's been busy in the Shapiro household, what with taking care of the adorably sweet Katy and getting ready for the holidays. I've decided to divide the last few weeks into two posts, to hopefully compartmentalize all the new things Katy's experienced.

Katy had her first Halloween! She was a pirate, just like daddy! We went trick-or-treating with some friends of ours in medical school who also have young children. We had a blast.

See how much fun she's having? Loads!

In the first week of November, we had election day! Katy went with me to our local polling place and helped me vote!

Then, that weekend, the humans in the family went down to Savannah, GA. John met a potential lone eagle from the deerfoot lodge, and we had lunch, hung around and then John, Katy and I wandered around Savannah for a little bit. Since we were so close to the ocean, we decided to take the 30 minute trip to Tybee so Katy could see the ocean for the first time. It was chilly!

Daddy's idea.

It was a cold day!

More to come once I upload the pictures!

Love from Augusta,
John, Liz, Katy, Duke, Zoe and Xander

Growing as big as a pumpkin!

As october is winding down, we've noticed Katy getting bigger and stronger every day. We want to make sure she reaches all her milestones, so we got one of the smaller play mats online. Nothing fancy, we just wanted a designated tummy time area where we could hang up toys for her to interact with. She definitely enjoys it! We got one toy from Auntie Em that we like to call "monster". Katy adores monster. She will stare at him for a long time and also, she will try to reach out and punch him repeatedly.

The dogs seem to be slightly confused/jealous of the play mat. Here is a large collection of toys that they're not allowed to touch that's reserved exclusively for the tiny bald puppy.

Zoe tries to do a toy trade with Katy every so often.

Today, we realized that halloween is just around the corner, so we went to a local church and picked out a pumpkin.

 Our pumpkin is bigger than she is! Not for long though...

A week ago, we went to visit Grampa Bob and Gramma Patty. Mommy had an interview in Atlanta, so it was our first trip out of Augusta. It was a bit of a big trip for such a small baby. Mommy wasn't sure what she should or shouldn't bring with her, so we ended up packing enough stuff to last us a week, even though it was only a one-night trip. Katy did really well, though. She enjoyed spending time with Grandma :) She definitely enjoyed skyping with Daddy at night and getting to meet Auntie Sam (a really close friend of Mommy's).

As of October 17th, Katy is no longer the youngest person in her family! Claire Sylvia Hart was born on Friday, the 17th! She is absolutely beautiful and her mommy and daddy couldn't be happier. We can't wait to meet Baby Claire in person!

Love from Augusta,
John, Liz, Katy, Xander, Zoe and Duke

Uncle Nate's White Coat Ceremony!

Last weekend, Uncle Nate had his white coat ceremony, so some of Katy's family were in town. Grandma Patty and Grandpa Bob came in with Great-Grandma Irene. It was the first time G.G. Irene had met miss Katy, so it was a very special day indeed!

Uncle Nate looks great in his new white coat!

It was cold in that restaurant!

The Napolitanos were there, too!

The heat has broken in Augusta, so we've been spending some time outside, running errands and walking. We've also been doing a lot more tummy time, because Katy is starting to hold her head up more and more every day!

The dogs are not allowed on the blankets we use for tummy time. This is the result.

No matter how much we try to keep them off the blanket, they have to have a paw touching it!

Hello there!

Zoe isn't so sure about this newcomer getting so much attention...

Recently, I've been learning to sew more complicated things like dresses and clothes for Katy. Hopefully my skills will grow as she does...

One Month!

Today marks Katy's first full month of life! Hurrah! She's doing very well. We had our four week visit with Dr. S on Wednesday, and he says she's right on target for growth in all sectors.

Katy's had an exciting few days. We went to the medical illustration department a few days ago (no pictures from that visit, unfortunately) and we got to spend some time with Daddy on campus!

Daddy and mommy have been doing well. They are starting to settle into the groove of taking care of a newborn. She's definitely loved by all the puppies here.

Not only is she a month old, but Katy has been holding her head up more and more!

3 Weeks!

Yesterday marked Katy's third week of life. We celebrated by sleeping. She's starting to keep her eyes open more and more every day, so Daddy has been reading to her. We think she likes it. We were very fortunate to have an amazing friend of ours buy every single book we listed on our baby registry for Katherine, so she already has an extensive library. John wants to try to read to her as much as he can.

A few days ago, mom broke out the nice camera and took some photos of Katy while she lay on a quilt that Ms. Diana, a good friend of ours, had made for her. It's got frogs and turtles and dragonflies all over it. It's definitely a work of art!

Detail of the quilt.

The quilt in whole. It's too beautiful for pictures! Also, there may be a Duke in the way...

Yesterday, Katy went with me to Women's Bible Study. All the ladies there were so excited to meet her. She got a lot of cuddles.

Right now, little Katy-did is 9 lbs! Of course, we are using our bathroom scale, so it probably doesn't have the accuracy of the one at the doctor's office, but she's definitely getting bigger and chubbier :) Right now she's got a bit of baby acne, which hopefully will clear up in the next few weeks. Mom and Dad can't wait to see what new surprises those weeks will bring!


Love from Augusta,
John, Liz, Katy, Zoe, Duke and Xander

2 weeks!

Hello everyone! Katy is two weeks old today! We had our two week checkup and she is back at birthweight (or at least, close enough to it, especially after you pack her full of milk). The doctor said she looks great and everything is right on track.

On Sunday, Katy attended her first church service at first pres! We were worried she would cry during the service, but she slept through the whole thing! Also on Sunday, Grandma Shirley came for a visit. She stayed for a few days and helped Liz make dinner and clean the house. Katy got a lot of cuddle time with her.

 ready for church!

Grandma Shirley taught Katy about static electricity.

 

She knocked the phone out of my hands!

Love from Augusta,
John, Liz, Katy, Xander, Duke, and Zoe

Katy's new experiences

Katy's life is filled with "firsts" right now. Watching her experience these new things and attempt to process the new sensations around her is quite fascinating. There are times when she will watch the world around her with a perplexed look on her face. Most of the time she ends up sleeping through it. Sometimes she just cries. It's interesting to watch her develop.

Here are some cute videos of things she's done this week.

Sneezing!

hiccups!

Katy is here!

Hello all! Katy was born to us on September 10th and we are starting this blog for our friends and family to keep up with the goings-on of the Shapiro pack. She was born at 7:03 AM and weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces. So far, Katy has adjusted well to her new life and mom and dad have adjusted to taking care of our little Katydid. Grandma Patty has been here for the past few days helping out mom while John is at school. He has a huge exam coming up on Tuesday, so he's been a little stressed studying for that and helping out with diaper duty and cuddle time.

Our little girl really likes to be swaddled! We had to order a few extra swaddlers because that's what she really enjoys sleeping in at night and during nap times. It's the only thing we currently know of that's guaranteed to calm her down.

The dogs have been adjusting as well. Duke fell in love with her instantly, and will leap up and run to anyone who's holding her. He also tries his best to sneak in and give her kisses whenever he can. Our pediatrician has advised us against letting the dogs lick her too much in the first two months of life so her immune system can get up to speed. Zoe was very unsure of this new tiny intruder on her life and her status as queen of the house. She's not getting nearly as much attention as she used to, but she is still getting spoiled. Xander was also unsure at first, but he's much more interested in her now and tries to lick her like Duke does.

It's been an exciting first week of life for our little girl. Both sets of grandparents are over the moon and excited to have little Katy as the newest edition of their family.

Mom and Dad are ecstatic to welcome her to the pack.

Love from Augusta,
John, Liz, Katy, Duke, Xander and Zoe.