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?

Happy Fathers Day to me!

So this weekend I felt like I reaped the benefits of Father's Day! My husband, being the man he is, wanted things for the house as his Father's Day gift. So he got up bright and early, went to a home improvement store and bought new hardware for the cabinets! They make a huge difference!

Then, if I wasn't spoiled enough for one weekend, he wanted to go to Lowe's and get light fixtures. We now have 3 new lights in our house! They look great, but make the old ones that are still up look even worse! All in time we will get everything looking stunning!

Before shot of the dining room/entry
Then the after! (Yes it isn't spotless clean, but I figured it is nap time right now, and I won't get any more free time to show off my hubs handy work!)

Jon changed this one so quick I didn't get a before on the ceiling, so I made him hold it up. It is the hall light.

Then here is a shot of our living room. And again, it is covered in toys, but what do you expect, I have a crawling(basically) 6 month old and babysitting a 2.5 year old!) Notice, we were given a new sofa and chair! Thanks Susan! Then the Kitchen. This isn't the best light, but it's what I'm stuck with right now. But all new black appliances, counters and sink.

And one side of Kate's room. She's in there asleep, so I didn't dare take more shots! Also, my room is being slept in currently and I won't risk waking her up, so no pics of there! So that is the conclusion of the house tour for now!

Back to my amazing husband: so not only did he do lots around the house this weekend, he is an amazing employee! I found out at a company dinner this weekend that Jon built a house in 20 days! Can you believe that?! I had no clue! I mean I knew he was amazing, but seriously?! He is doing such a great job at his job. (hehe that sounded cool.) Not only is he great at his job, he is humble! He didn't brag to me about his accomplishments, and all he talks about is how he should change to get better. Yea, I'm one lucky lady!

We also had a great time with Kate this weekend. She has officially decided she loves to eat paper products. The other night I had to run an errand, and Jon said the only time she stopped crying was when he gave her the newspaper! And as you can see above, she loves cardboard.

Kate also had her first sippy cup experience. She loves it! I'm not sure she cares about drinking out of it as much as she loves to chew and hold it. It is fun to watch!

Then I have to post this picture cause it shows just how chunky this little girl is!

This is my new favorite dress on her! She looks like a yummy cupcake! And just FYI-- I tried to brush her hair, and that is what it turned out looking like!

Then this is Kate at the grocery store sitting in the cart for the first time. She SQUEALED and laughed the whole time. She was too cute. I'm not sure if everyone else I walked past thought the loud noise was all the great, but she was funny!

Lately...

We moved into this wonderful house! (yeah i know its kinda old news now, but it still feels great to me!)

We enjoy this beautiful backyard, when it isnt 90+ outside!

We eat lots of baby food and make a big mess!

We get up on all fours and rock, and we travel backwards and in circles.

We hang out in the kitchen while mom works...and we like to hear our voice, it echos in this spacious house!
We are too cute for words!

We like to help daddy with his home improvement projects.

We like to chew on anything....no matter how akward it looks.

And we like to smile while we do it!

Pictures of the inside of the house are coming....I decided to start a painting project Sunday, and now the house is in shambles again! When I get it presentable I will do the big blog reveal!

6 months came and went!

So yesterday was Kate's 6 month birthday! And I missed blogging on that day...it was a crazy-but-in-a-fun-kinda-way day. We were supposed to go to the doctor's office for our 6 month wellness appointment, but the doctor called in sick. So we will get the cool stats next week. I can however tell you without the doctor's official ruling that Kate is mighty large! her feet are starting to hang off the end of her car seat...I fear the doc will confirm my suspicion that I will be needing a new car seat very soon. Kate is getting into everything already. She rolls all over the living room, reaches up to grab things around her, 'talks' to everyone who will listen, get up on all fours and rocks, crawls/scoots backwards. She is so fun to be around, but is starting to be lots of work to clean up after!

Also, I realize that I still havent gotten pictures up of the house, but I cant find my camera cord....one of the hazards of moving! We (and by we I really mean I since Jon is always at work) are still slowly unpacking the 'non-essentials'. It is harder than I thought to find time to clean the house,take care of Kate and try to organize all our stuff! But anyway, I promise, pictures will soon come of the house, and Kate.

Yep, That's one reason I love him!

So we are moving this weekend into our house!!! (YAY FINALLY!) I am so excited, but also feeling super stressed! I not only have to pack, I have to clean our house and apartment for the move. It is proving to be quite a challenge with Kate. So I was talking to Jon today while he was at work, and told him I was feeling stressed, and his reply to that was "Why don't you just go to the house. I think that will make you feel better." I was a little concerned by this.....does he not know me by now? Seeing all that we still need to do at the house would only add to my stress! Alas, I decided to see what he was up to. I arrive at my house to see 2 beautiful men painting my house. Not only are they painting, they are almost done! I was resigned to thinking our house would be a giant work in progress! We still needed to paint the kitchen, living/dining room, and both bathrooms, not counting ALL the trim in the entire house! My blessed husband had them paint everything to suprise me! My to-do list just shrank! AHHH I FEEL SO GOOD!

Now, if only the packing elves would return my phone calls.....

A dip in the pool

My little girl got her little swimmers on and her cute suit for our ward's Young Women/Young Men pool party last night! It was so fun to get her all ready for the pool! She was a little model while we took pictures. Oh and spraying the sunscreen must tickle, cause every time I did she squealed laughing! Most fun I've ever had with sun screen!

Baby Sports Illistruated issue. I would make put this cutie on the cover!

She officially got in! When we got there she fell asleep, so I was worried she would miss her first pool experience, but she woke up in time! She was so funny. She smiled and had a blast! Maybe she has a future in the pool!

just FYI, this is post 100! Thanks to everyone who actually cares about our little family! we are so blessed to have 100 things to post about!

Who needs prunes?

My sweet daughter (pictured above) has been eating solid foods for a few weeks now. We gave her some peaches, and for some reason they stopped her up! On the third day of no pooping I decided I should go get her some prune juice. Inorder to get ready I put her in her bumbo.....it had been a few days since she used it. Alas, not even 5 min later she started pooping! Above is one of her classic pooping faces, accompinied by little grunting noises.

In other news she can sit up mostly on her own now....she still randomly falls over so it makes me nervous to let her sit up unsupervised!

5 months!!

Can you belive how fast this little girl is growing up? I sure can't!! Today my beautiful baby is 5 months old!

Kate is the sweetest little girl. She is talking/yelling up a storm now. Her favorite thing to do is talk to anyone who will look her way. She is constantly making sweet noise, especially during sacrament meeting at church! She can ALMOST sit all the way up on her own. She rolls over all the time, and is starting to move around by worming (as I have so scientifically dubbed it). I fear crawling is in our very near future. I think crawling will soon be followed by teeth, she chews on EVERYTHING. She's getting better at eating solids and will dive for the toys she wants to play with. It is so fun to watch her learn...you can just see her thinking now. My sweet little girl is the biggest blessing in my life!