Cate's new toy

Nan and Grandpa Davis arrived yesterday for Thanksgiving and brought Cate this toy. It's pretty funny watching her try to walk with it. See for yourself....

Videos of Cate "talking"

This video is for Aunt Chrissy.  Rick had Cate talking to her the other day, and she requested the video of her conversation be posted on the blog.  This is pretty much how Cate reacts to anyone on the phone, for any of you who have said, "Put Cate on the phone and let me talk to her."

We have decided that Cate's first word is dog.  Really,  it's just a firm "DA!"  At first we thought it was dada, but then we realized she was only saying it when she saw Zoe or dog pictures in books or dogs outside.  And truthfully, she said it when she saw a cat in a shop downtown the other day.  Oh well, it was furry and walked on all fours.  So this is Cate saying her version of "dog."

Cate's other new "sound that might actually mean something" is her moo-ing.  We love to look at pictures of animals, and we always make the animal noises.  The other day while I was moo-ing, I got her to moo, too.  Even better, now when she looks at pictures of dogs and says, "DA!" she sometimes follows it up with a "mooooooo."  I guess we still have some work to do.  :)  So see if you think this is a moo.

Picture time

"Wait a second," you're thinking, "That's not a picture of Cate. I've been tricked!" You're right! I snuck in this picture because I MADE this advent calendar. No, seriously. I sewed it on my Leave-it-to-Beaver era sewing machine. Aren't you impressed? I have to say it turned out about a thousand times better than I expected. Now it still might not win the blue ribbon at the Ashland County fair, but I bet it could at least place in the 12 and under category. I even learned how to make a box pleat.

Ok, back to Cate. The other day she climbed into the coffee table.

If your first thought when you looked at this picture was, "Eeek!!! She's going to fall off the counter!" that was my thought too. Rick assured me she was never in danger. :) But after you get past that, isn't she cute in her hat and drinking out of her sippy? They had just come in from outside- hence the rosy cheeks.

Since the green jacket was a bit much for the moment, we have gone with this fleece number as a temporary backup. It seems to be doing the trick.

Cate videos

This little dishwasher incident occurred while I was at school last week. Rick was unloading the dishwasher and walked into the dining room to put dishes back in the hutch. When he came back around the corner, Cate was crawling up onto the dishwasher door. So instead of grabbing her, he decided to grab the camera. I think his commentary says it all.

Just within the past week, Cate has abandoned the army crawl for "real" crawling. I love her noises- she sounds like she's trying to crawl up Mt. Everest or something. We've also gotten her to stand on her own for up to about 5-6 seconds at a time, but whenever we get out the camera, she decides she's going to sit down. We'll continue working on documentation...

Cate turns 10 months old

Yesterday was Cate's 10 month birthday, and we started off the day with a breakfast of blueberry pancakes with wild Maine blueberries. Cate had about a half a pancake, no butter or syrup, and she seemed to like it- no gagging or frowning! Maybe there is hope for her after all!

After her morning nap we headed off to church, where she got to play after the service with Oliver, an 11 month old. The two of them were having baby races across the floor in the back of the sanctuary. They were too cute checking each other out and chasing each other around.

Later that afternoon we went out to do a little shopping at Old Navy and Borders, while Daddy got a new pair of shoes at another store. All in all, not a bad day!

Yummy blueberry pancakes!

I have several good videos to post, but I'm going to try and do them at school on my laptop, which is much faster than at home. Check back soon!!!

Hey Nan & Grandpa Davis....

I'm wearing my Penn State sweatshirt- Go Nittany Lions!

The other day Cate dumped her whole basket of toys on the floor in search of her LLBean bear, also a gift from Nan and Grandpa D. When she found it, she grabbed it and gave it lots of Cate love, as you can see from the way she's stuffing it in her mouth. That seems to be her current way of loving her animals.

Starring Cate, as Randy, in "A Christmas Story"

So when Mom was up visiting, we went shopping for a winter coat for Cate, and I bought this super cute puffy green and pink jacket. Now, it's only a 12month size, but it seems to be a little too big. I put it on her and tried to get her in her car seat, but it was a no-go. Luckily, she will have a need for this jacket through probably next April, and it appears as though she has a pretty good attitude about the whole thing.

You may remember seeing Cate in this little pink outfit late last winter. It is only a 3-6 month size, but I still managed to get her in it when we went outside to rake leaves last week. I don't think it will fit her for much longer (or if she was wearing heavy clothes under it), but it seemed to do the trick for the time being. Thanks Libby and Tara- we're getting our use out of this one!

Look at those teeth! I think we're up to 8 teeth total, but only those front four are really in.

Cate loves to dance!

Last night Rick was teaching a CPR class, and Cate and I were home having dinner. I put on Jake Brother's CD for dinner music, and we were listening to it after dinner while we were playing. When the song The Way You Love Me came on, Cate started dancing!!! It was so funny! I started taking videos, and Cate just kept finding new ways to wiggle. Here are just some of the highlights!

She's a baby headbanger!! Should we tell Cate she isn't at a heavy metal concert? :)

Different song but still dancing!

Cate on the move & playing peekaboo

Now that Cate is cruising all around the furniture, one of her new favorite games is to play peekaboo over the coffee table. Rick's on the other side of the table, but the sun seems to be blocking him out.

Another of Cate's favorite games is to be chased around on the floor. She still hasn't quite mastered the crawling up on all fours, but truthfully, she doesn't really even try that often. I think she's learned that it's just quicker to army-crawl, and on the hardwoods, she can really get going!

I love how she goes from silly to serious when she gets to those peppercorns!

Cate pictures!

Cate has found the spices in the kitchen, and she loves to shake each of them and hear how they all sound different- from the rumbly peppercorns to the softer-sounding oregano. It's really cute. And when that gets old, just banging the jars on the metal bowl provides loads of entertainment.

I decided to try giving Cate Cheerios in a little bowl before dinner last night. Of course, we can only give her a couple at a time, because she stuffs them all in at once. But she did a pretty good job with the bowl.

This is what Cate looks like by the time we get home after picking her up from day care. Napping at day care is something we still aren't doing very well, so she crashes as soon as we leave.

Great Nana Davis sent this outfit up for Cate. Don't you love the hat? It's too cute!