Saturday Morning

The toy-fest that is a regular Saturday morning at the Hoybooks.

Fooled

Oh, you thought I was sleeping? Silly, silly mommy.

Vitamin D

Parenthood

There are three very distinct changes that have crept into my life as a new mom. Allow me to elaborate.

Laundry. What the heck is up with the laundry? How can such a tiny girl create so many things to wash? Onesies, bibs, towels, bibs, pants, burp cloths, bibs, blankets, socks, bibs, washcloths, sweaters and more bibs. She has recently turned into a little nugget of drool so everything she touches gets wet which means it then gets grubby. She is officially always grubby. And we, are officially always doing laundry.

Time. I have never been more acutely aware of time in my whole life. What time did she go to bed? How long did she sleep? When did she eat last? Do you think I have time to take a shower before she wakes up? How long did she nurse? When do you need to pump? What time to you have to go to work? What time will you be home? When should we wake her up? When is she going to bed? How long did she sleep last night? Etc. etc. etc. I am constantly aware of what time it is at all times of the day. It seriously makes me anxious when I forget to wear a watch. I am that person now.

Plans. I think my job has prepared me well for parenthood. At work, I plan for a living. Well, apparently, I do that at home now too. For me, as a parent, in order to not let my day fall into complete chaos, I have to have a plan. For example: we're going to go for a walk, and if Kate falls asleep in the stroller, I'll just go over to the grocery store really quick and then when we get home, she'll eat, and then play while I'll make dinner. A good, solid plan. Yeah, yeah, sometimes the plan doesn't work out--like yesterday when my plans for two waterfall hikes were thwarted by snow and an incredibly cute sleeping baby--but having one works. For me.

Being a Mom is the most challenging, stressful, worrisome, all-consuming job ever. It's funny, I knew it would be that way, but I didn't really know until I got into the thick of it. But that darn cute little girl, with her "I'm-a-Leo-and-therefore-a-lion-and-the-boss" personality, makes all the challenge, stress and worry disappear into the background. All I see it what an amazing girl she is going to become and I'm so excited.

Home Improvements

Three reasons why we installed a baby gate this week.

Kate Movie Sunday

This little video snippet is titled, "Mommy, I do it. I sit."

From the phone

Some of my fav photos of B.K. are held hostage on my phone...

This post is sponsored by the letter G.

G, as in Granny. And G, as in good god, it was great to have her here for a week.

Flora flew in last Saturday and spent the week with us, spoiling us to no end and showering Kate with attention. I didn't think we would be "those people" (you know, the ones who don't leave their baby until she is 13 years old and not a baby), but it's true. B and I hadn't been alone, together, without Kate, since she was born. It was time. Well, Granny to the rescue!

Not only did we get date night in on Friday with Ryan and Dacia, but we also got a gorgeous day of skiing at Mt. Bachelor in Bend for my birthday on Wednesday. 32 never felt so good.

It was WONDERFUL to have Granny around. This morning, as I walked with Kate downstairs after she woke up, she looked for her and I think, is pretty disappointed it has just been me at home today.

Kate Movie Wednesday

Let's call this, "Happy baby because the sun is streaming in the window".

Sunny Skies

(Is it bad for me to say that one of my favorite times of the day is when little K is napping and the house is quiet and I can sit down and post some photos to this blog? Well, I'm going to say it. It's my fav.)

Today, the skies have turned on the faucets again, but for the past 5 days, we have enjoyed sunshine around this gloomy state. Blue skies, crisp winds and sun. Lots of sun. Kate and I enjoyed lots of walks over the past weekend and we got in some family time last Wednesday. It continues to amaze me how just the tiniest bit of sunshine can brighten our whole week and rejuvenate our souls.

Family Resemblance

Kate is starting to look like B more and more each day.

Kate Movie Wednesday

This is a series of two films we like to call, "Gimme the stuff."

Chillin' in the Vallis

What I think I like the least about our Kate schedule is that we rarely get time together as a family. B works most weekends, so Kate and I get a lot of one-on-one time. Lately though, I feel like I have been getting the hang of this mommy thing and I've been scheduling our social calendar full with activities.

On Sunday, we had a date with Uncle Craig and Aunt Bridget in Corvallis. It was absolutely puking rain so we just hung out at their place and played with the kiddo. She adores them!

Her first cooking lesson with Aunt Bridget. Kate, the food goes in the pot, not you.

Sitting like a big girl with Uncle Craig.

Oh, geeze, what else are they going to put me in?

Daddy and Daughter

What I think I like best about our Kate schedule is that we each get our own time with the little honey. While I know that Kate is her happiest self when we are both around, the time that we spend with her one-on-one is so important.

Want to know who she likes the best? Her daddy, of-course. He can make her giggle like no one's business and when he walks in the door from work, want to know what her face looks like? Glee. Absolute glee.

Saturday Shout-out

Rockin' my pink JD t-shirt in honor of my Opa.

I love you Opa!

xoxo Kate

P.S. Opa, right after this photo, I pooped on this shirt. Sorry.

Kate goes for a swim

We took Kate to the rec center last weekend for her first swim. She LOVES the bathtub so we figured she would love the pool--a HUGE bathtub! I think she was a wee bit skeptical about her first dip, but we totally understand. It is a big world out there and it's definitely hard to be so small.

Kate Movie Monday

Another Monday. Another work week. Another Kate movie!

This one is titled, "Kate throws the toys". Let the fun begin!

Yowza

Your white knuckle experience for today. Yikes.

Rice cereal...yummy.

Yeah, yeah, I realize that this blog is definitely turning into Kate's personal photo album, but when she does things like this, how can you not post it?

Kate rang in the New Year with a new food: solids! Here is her first experience with rice cereal. Yum.

An epidemic

Through my job at REI, I've become a little bit more aware of a certain epidemic spreading across our great nation: nature deficit disorder. Sounds a bit overdramatic for something that doesn't seem that important, but as I've come to learn, this is serious business and something we should all take note of.

Nature deficit disorder refers the increasing amount of time that our children spend indoors and the decline in their participation in nature-based outdoor activities. If you read about the numbers here, you'll find that it's shocking. Exposure to nature and the outdoors not only positively supports a child's quality of life, but it leads to a smarter, more imaginative, cooperative child.

Both B and I had the great fortune to grow up with unlimited access to the outdoors--in our neighborhoods, at the farm, on vacation. So, naturally, we want the same for Kate. To that end, I have been taking her for walks in Tryon Creek State Park, a natural area about a mile from our house. She listens to birds, looks at trees, babbles at the trail as we stroll along. We're hoping we can raise a child who will ask us if she can go play outside. No, we want her to ask us when she gets to play outside again.

To read more about the benefits of time spent out with Mother Nature, visit this blog: The New Nature Movement.

And then there were presents.

Kate is one sharp little cookie--she knew exactly what to do when presented with something in wrapping paper on Christmas morning. She put her game face on and dug right in.

Baby on the loose!

Kate figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy this past week. And then she figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy to her back to her tummy, etc. Look out folks, nothing is safe now.

Yesterday, I set her down on the floor, left the room for about 10 seconds, came back and saw this:

She was completely content with her predicament. Oh, and she wants to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Family Photo Shoot

Kate's First Christmas

Somehow, I'm not sure what ninja-like stealth force is responsible, but somehow, having a baby makes time go faster. I'm serious. I have never been more aware of time in my entire life. It was October like two seconds ago.

Which means when Thanksgiving rolled around I was all, "What?" Which also means that I was caught completely off-guard when December hit just two short weeks ago. Christmas was coming. Very, very soon. It's not that we have lots of shopping to take care of--I shipped our last packages out yesterday--or that we have lots of parties and events to attend. It's just that this is Kate's first Christmas and I did not want to disappoint.

Last Monday, we introduced her to what is fast becoming a Hoybook family tradition--cutting down our Christmas tree at a little tree farm. We headed south toward West Linn on a sunny and chilly morning and got Kate's first Christmas tree. Tuesday night, with her guidance from the comfort of her bouncy chair, it was decorated.

Merry Christmas!

Finding her voice

Oregon the Beautiful

Check out this amazing time-lapse video shot in some of the most beautiful places in Oregon.

Life as we know it

Our new weekly schedule:

Sunday: B works. I stay home with Kate.

Monday: B works. I work from home and take care of Kate.

Tuesday: I work from 9am to 5pm. B stays home with Kate.

Wednesday: B works from 7am to 1pm, comes home. I hand Kate off to him and head to work, 2 to 9pm.

Thursday: B works from 7am to 1pm, comes home. I hand Kate off to him and head to work, 2 to 9pm.

Friday: I work from 8am to 1pm, come home. B hands Kate off to me and heads to work, 2 to 8:30pm.

Saturday: B works. I stay home with Kate.

Whew.