Look out world! Here I come!

Here at the Walter house we officially have a 7 month old who pulls herself up on anything and everything she can!

What the F?!

**This post contains LARGE amounts of TMI, so readers beware!**

So as you all know, I'm still breastfeeding. Mostly I think I like it. Not only is it good for Kate, it's FREE (which is HUGE motivation for me!). But there are a few things about it I am NOT a fan of.

#1: BIG BOOBS
I have always been on the larger side of things....so I should be used to this feeling. But yesterday I went to the store to get a new nursing bra, and I wasn't prepared for the outcome. Sadly, my girls have decided to grow! I guess they didn't like the sound of E....they wanted to be labeled F. (Hence the post title....I wanted an excuse to use that phrase and not get in trouble! I know, I'm such a rebel!) I mean come on!! How much longer can they possibly get bigger! Is this normal????!!! I mean Kate is almost 8 months now! Geesh. I can't wait for the day I get to be a C or even a D again. And I used to think that was big....

#2: Being bitten
Thankfully Kate still hasn't had any teeth cut yet.....because she likes to attack me! She will be nursing along, and with NO warning she will chomp down and PULL away as hard as she can. It makes me teary....it KILLS! So I need advice. I've heard that you should take the nipple away when they bite, then give it back....but she does it so fast and naturally pulls away....making that technique pointless. I have also heard you should flick them in the nose and tell them no. I tried this once, and she cried....I don't have the heart to do that one anymore. Anyone with ANY ideas PLEASE HELP! Nursing will be kinda hard to do if Kate breaks the equipment!

#3: Kate pulling on my shirt when she thinks she's hungry
Are there ways to teach your kid not to pull on your shirt and try to get at your boobs when it isn't quite time to feed yet?! I feel so weird sitting in church when Kate is feeling me up!

#4: Nursing in public
I've complained about this before, but next week Kate and I are going to Girls Camp for 3 days with our 30 Young Women from church....and I'm stressing about how awkward it is going to be feeding here there!

Well I'll quit complaining....but any tips/pointers/help are GREATLY appreciated!

Productivity!

Ya know that proud, happy feeling you get when you have a day FULL of productivity? Well, here at the Walter house, that has been happening lots lately! Jon has enlisted the help of his brother Kevin, and we are on a roll! So far in the past few days we have bought tile to do our bathrooms, tiled/grouted the hall bathroom, painted most of the baseboards, painted the fireplace, and Jon's electrician changed out ALL of the electric sockets and light switches in the house. This place is looking great! Hopefully by the end of the week ALL the painting will be done, and curtains will be put up! I'm going curtain shopping today! Have I mentioned it is GREAT to be a homeowner?! I just love making this space my own.
And now because I feel I can't post without including a picture or two, here is a shot of Kate's first time seeing Sharks at the aquarium talked about in the last post. She refused to wake up to see them! but aren't those cheeks too fun!?

And my little girl is going to be one smart cookie! She really does like books! I want to get her some of those feely-books....ya know what I mean right? I've seen other kids with them...some say things like pet the puppy and part of the picture has fake fur. I think she would LOVE them. Anyway, random ramble over.
Back to being productive around my house!! You should all come and see it in person!

7 months plus some fun

While here in Ohio Kate had her 7 month birthday, so since my family won't be in Texas to celebrate her real birthday, we had a 7 month party! Kate has almost figured out this crawling thing...

Here is the party girl with her fun party favors. She thought everything was so cool it needed to be tasted! My grandma even had some fun baby games and a cake. This little girl is spoiled!

This is Kate's favorite position on the floor right now. She is pretty good at baby yoga! Usually when she is in this position she squeals really loud. At 7 months Kate eats anything she can, and has officially had a peach and banana (that wasn't mashed and in a baby food jar). She is super friendly and will let anyone hold her. She also learned how to dance at her birthday party! My mom and dad were playing with her, and taught her to dance....and she will still do it today, so I guess it really stuck!

Another shot of the party girl.Smiling with grandma.

Kate at the party with her great grandma. She wanted back on the ground to eat some toys!

A few days before Kate's party we went to the Newport Aquarium. It was great! Kate had a blast looking at everything. She especially loved the turtles....so naturally, my grandma bought her one!

And a sideways shot of cousin Arielle with Kate looking at tropical birds and otters.
Arielle and I doing our best jellyfish impressions.....kinda scary....

After the day at the Aquarium, we let the girls play in a blow up pool. Before you see the cute kids having fun, you need to appreciate the hard work that goes into a pool like this. Amy and I had an interesting time blowing this up!

Now the cuties. This is obviously Kate with her second cousin Bailey. Kate just wanted to eat all of the pool toys.

There will be more pictures later, but these are pictures I stole from my grandma's camera. Our Ohio time is coming to an end, so soon we will be back to TX and I will have more to share of our fun times!

It's only just begun...

We made it safely to OHIO!!! Oh the 'heart of it all'....I'm a little biased, but I think it's the best state there is! Kate was AMAZING on the plane! (and fyi if you were interested in the last post, I chickend out and nursed Kate 2 times in the bathroom. it worked out perfectly that she was hungry when we were on the ground, so I stood in a stall! She kicks and moves around so much now I didnt want to flash the world! But hey--it worked! And still no formula)

So, we are here and having fun already. I am sitting here in a house full of sleeping parents and kid....unable to sleep myself, so I decided I would blog about our first 2 days here! First, I will share a picture of one of the reasons I am unable to sleep....I created a double, double, double, double, double, double stuffed oreo today. I usually take the double stuffed oreos apart and make them 2x stuffed, but today....somehow the stuffing kept coming apart and I ended up with a tower of oreo stuff! I was proud. lol--yes I'm easily amused. I told my mom I was having a 'fat kid' experience!

Yes....that me is licking the oreo stuff....wearing my BYU I wellness t-shirt that says " you are what you eat" on the back! lol....oh the irony! Anyway....to help you cleanse your eyes from seeing that....here is little miss Kate in her cuteness!

Spending time with Great Grandpa. She is such a little flirt! She wants all the men looking at her ALL the time!

Grandpa is so funny! Kate really loves my dad! She gets really happy when he laughs, and pays attention to him no matter what he is doing. Grandpa's girl! Won't be long and she will realize she can mold him like putty in her hand...

Did I mention that she is teething....she is a cute ball of drool! Did anyone else's kids nose RUN when teething? Kate is a ball of drool AND snot! She also will chew anything she can get her mouth on!

And she is just too cute in her little church outfit. I'm in love.

I'm sure there will be plenty more from Ohio soon, but for now, I should get some sleep!

To nurse or not to nurse...

I've been worrying about this for awhile now:
I am still nursing Kate. I am very happy about that (I didn't think I'd last this long!). However, being a stay at home mom, I don't have to worry about the uncomfortable feeling you get when you nurse in public, until now. I am flying home to Ohio Saturday (YAY!!). But, the trip will cover 2-3 feeding times for Kate. I must admit, the closer the travel day comes, the more scared I am! I feel that I shouldn't have to be anxious about nursing my baby, I use a cover up! But people STARE at you like you are doing something dirty. I HATE the feeling I get when people watch me like that. Since I am feeling this uncomfortable with the situation, I am debating bringing formula and just giving her that instead (I can't carry on that much breast milk, the security won't allow it.) But that worries me too! I've never given her formula. What if she gets sick with it or something?! Would that make everything worse? So one part of me wants to just do my nursing thing and tell everyone who gives me weird looks to get over it, and the other wants to avoid all the stares and just use bottles (lol....I'm so clueless with those things since I haven't had to use them!).

What is a mom to do?! Im not only worried about her eating, I'm afraid to be the mom with a screaming baby on the plane! Anyone have any tips for flying with a 6 almost 7 month old?