Update for Monday, August 15

Saturday was a very merry un-birthday for Miss Katie Grace - she's now 6 months old and just amazing! Last week at her checkup, we learned that she's now 12 pounds, 4 ounces and at the 3% line for term girl baby weight and height lines. Her doctor continues to be amazed at her good health, and we're thankful for his careful exam.

One side-effect of her extremely low birth weight is that there is a delay in the development of her muscles. This is starting to show as she's still working hard during tummy time to lift her shoulders and head off of the floor. She's definitely getting better, but she's working hard for it. Another example of this slow development is that she doesn't poop but once a week or so. Without going into any further detail, her doctor has put her on 2-ounces of diluted apple juice a day to help move things along. Saturday was go-day (in more ways than one), and when we gave her the juice she screamed that we were poisoning her and that it tasted horrific. It took a few tries that day, and now she's drinking it without screaming, although under protest. That said, the A.J. is working beautifully.

Here's a picture of Katie in her first big-girl outfit. She says after she's done with her tummy time, she's going to flip over on her back and do some crunches to get rid of that poochie tummy!

Update for Tuesday, August 2

It's been about two weeks since the last post and Miss Katherine is doing great. She's using her arms a lot more now - she likes to bat around a hanging rattle on her swing. Katie is also doing much better these days with her visual tracking; she loves looking at her toys attached to her crib, and she'll follow her picture and pattern books with her eyes and head when you "read" to her.

The weather around here has been miserably hot (I know, I know, this is nuthin' compared to St. Louis!). By the end of most days, we're all a little hungry, tired, and cranky. We joke that Katie said her first word the other day - Mama - but, in reality it was more like Mwaaahhh! Mwaaaaahhh! while she was waiting not-so-patiently for her food.

We have a number of great pictures to share with you today. Our family photographer, Brandan, took these at my Mom's house the other day. I tried to be reasonable and not post too many, so even though it seems like a lot, believe me when I say I used restraint. Enjoy!