What Katya Remembers

"Of Such is the Kingdom of God"
By Simon Dewey

I was hanging pictures tonight and went to go hang up a picture in Katya's room. It is a picture by Simon Dewey of a little girl in a garden with Christ. We got it before Katya was born and I thought it would be really cute if Katya grew up to look like the little girl. I was walking by the couch carrying the picture and stopped to show it to Katya as she sat on Jethro's lap. I told her that I hope she grows up to look like the little girl. I then pointed to Christ and said, "Do you know who this is?". She immediately yelled with excitement and then babbled a few more things. There was no prodding from us for any reaction. It was so cute. It's like she remembers who Christ is. She is just so smart and I know that she is just going to keep amazing us, especially when she learns how to talk.

Katya and Prayers

So tonight we were putting Katya to bed and were saying prayers with her. Jethro said, "We are thankful for Katya and the joy she brings into our lives". Right after he said that, Katya did this really cute laugh. It was like she was saying, "yeah they love me" or " ha ha, you're stuck with me". we both busted up laughing which made Katya smile even more. Can I just say that I have the cutest baby ever!

We're Moving!

We found the perfect apartment and we are moving into it. Katya is very excited.

We absolutely love this apartment and I'm so glad we found it. It is exactly what we are looking for. It is a basement apartment of a man in our ward. It is perfect for us. We have a problem in our apartment right now with the people right below us smoking all the time and it is just gross and makes our apartment constantly smell. We are so glad to be getting out. Our new apartment has access to a washer and dryer, a patio just for us, lots of windows so we get plenty of light, and a yard for Katya to play in when she gets bigger. I will post a video of our new apartment when we get all unpacked.

We are moving this Saturday, the 24th. Yeah!

Valentines Day

I finally have the opportunity to write about Valentines Day and am a little slower than others in doing so. Jethro is so sweet and sometimes I find out what his surprises are. This year was a total surprise. He ordered be flower from FTD and it came a day early so it was a total surprise. It is a bulb that comes in a bag and it has everything that you need to plant it. It was so sweet. This way I can enjoy my Valentines Flower for a long time. I always get so sad when my flowers die too quickly. I absolutely love it. I made dinner for Jethro that night and I made him some steak and shrimp. The shrimp was delicious and I love cooking for Jethro.

I also made Jethro a cute container with little pieces of paper with reasons why I loved him. It was so fun to make and helped me to remember what made me fall in love with Jethro in the first place and why I love him. Sometimes I need to remind myself of that and not get caught up in his very few imperfections. I sure do love Jethro.

Katya has this really cute Valentines outfit that we got last year at Target. When we bought it, I was afraid that it would be too small for her. Well, because she is so small, it was way to big on her, but I just had to have her wear it. It was so cute!

Jethro and Katya

This is just a really cute picture of Jethro and Katya. He sure is a good dad.

A Post Not About Katya... Wait, It Still Is

I just realized that every post I do is about Katya, not that I mind. My whole life centers around Katya and she pretty much consumes everyday. I was just thinking that there must be something to write about that was about my life or Jethro' right now. Well, Jethro has his education blog that's all about him, so I guess I just have to write about myself.

I absolutely love to do crafts and Jethro makes fun of me for it sometimes. He'll come home from work and I'll tell him of a cool craft idea that I saw on Studio 5, a local morning show. I love watching it because they not only have good recipes, but they do a ton of scrapbooking and craft stuff. Jethro very patiently listens as I tell him about all that I learned that day and what my next craft project is going to be. Poor guy. He does let me try out tons of the projects that I see and even the ones that I come up with. I love scrapbooking and always tells me what a cute page I made even if I show him a new one every day and if he could care less about them. That's what I love about him. I have decided to post a few pics of what I have been working on or completed recently:

I made this scrapbook for Jethro for Christmas. It has pictures of us from our time together. I also wrote journal type entries on my feelings towards him and about our time together. I got the scrapbooks from Costco and love the good deals and things they have- 2 for $15. I couldn't believe it! I absolutely loved making it and love that it is something we can keep and look back on. Even though Jethro's not a huge scrapbook person, he still really loved it.

This is a little bank that I made for Katya, so this post is about Katya. She got money for Christmas and I just didn't know where to put it. I made it using a plastic container that was hanging around and scrapbook stuff. I love it. I also like how it was cheap to make. That's what I love about using things from around the house.

I made the letters for Katya's room last year before she was born. I was disappointed that all the ones I saw were a little on the pricey side so I decided to make my own. I am impressed with the way they turned out and glad that I didn't have to spend a ton of money on them.

I made this wall hanging for my parents for Christmas. It was so much fun to make. I just bought a white canvas and then painted it. I then stuck the ribbon on with double stick tape and then glued clothespins on to hold pictures. I also found some really cute quotes at the craft store about families. I also made one for my apartment. I love being able to change the pictures out easily.

Katya's 9 Month Checkup

Katya had her 9 month checkup today and she is doing great. She now weighs 12 pounds 10 ounces and is 25 inches long. She has just about grown as many inches as she has put on pounds. Her little feet just about hang over the bottom of her car seat now. I just can't believe that she is getting so big. The Early Intervention Specialist who visits Katya every month says she is already that she is doing great and is pretty much right on track for her development. She is trying to crawl now and is almost there. She is able to push her little but in the air, but hasn't quite figured out how to bend her knees and push herself forward. It is really cute to see her try.
It is hard to believe that she is already 9 months old. It feels like she was just born yesterday. Looking back on pictures, it's crazy to see how much she has gown. Some days it feels like she hasn't grown very much, but then I think back to when she was born and am amazed how much she has actually grown. I'm excited to see her continue to grow and develop, but sad that my little baby is growing up way too fast. She sure is wonderful to have and such a joy.

Katya on her first day




Katya at 9 months

What's Next, Katya?

Katya is really funny sometimes. She always has the funniest faces. When she was first learning how to hold her head up, we would call her "Turtle, Turtle" because she looked like a little turtle poking her head out of it's shell. It reminds us of the turtle from "Over the Hedge".

As she plays and gets all excited, she sometimes looks like a cute little monkey. On Sunday Jethro was watching Animal Planet and saw this cute orangutan. Katya then made a face and she looked like the orangutan. This is a pick from November. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a pick of her with the face on Sunday.

What funny face will she make next?

Katya Loves Surprises

Katya got a box from my mom yesterday with some bibs, a toy, and a few other things. After I got it from the UPS man, I told Katya that it was for her and she got really excited. I helped her open it, and this is what she did:


It's so cute how she just gets so excited for things.