Episode 4: Year One

Brooks!  11 mos

As I sit here and reflect on the past year... I can't believe how incredibly fast it has gone.  In just a few weeks our little buster will turn ONE!  I feel so unbelievably blessed by the direction my life has gone. Never could I have predicted that I would have this darling child, a good marriage, and a job that I love at this time in my life.  The age of 32 has been good to me and I feel the need to count my blessings!

This entry is all about updates.  I had originally intended to be a "real" blogger but I sure fell off the wagon! Several changes have come since my last few "episode" and I forgot how wonderful and therapeutic writing can be.  I am really going to jump back on writing train and make this blog a go! 

Episode 4:  Brooks  is 11 months 1 week!!!!!!  Love.  Love.  Love him.  Stats:

• Over 25 lbs (at 9 mos he was 25lbs)
• He is taking steps every day, but not really "walking" - he actually to 7 today!  He crawls so fast though that I think he has no interest.
• His first word was "hot"! (He thinks all food in general is called "hot").
• He can say hot, up, hi, dadda, "mumum" - which is a cracker not me, hi dog, elmo, and just started pointing to pictures and calling them all "books" - he thinks every picture is him!!!
• He picks up many items, puts them to his ear like a phone and says hi.
• He LOVES to read Curious George and "touch and feel" animal books.  And he's having a Curious George birthday party!!!

  

  I just think this is hilarious.. I look weird but look at that FACE!

Here are a few pics from the past 6 months.

BATHTIME!

So Happy (:

Sleeping Angel

I didn't pee!

Mama Jan and Grandpa

Hiking in Colorado

Lakehouse

He doesn't like crawling on grass!

Big Boy Walker!

Morning bottle and cartoons.  Love this time!

More to come!!!

Don't be stupid - a realistic guide to parenting.

Here we are- 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day into parenting. The main thing I've learned so far.... don't be stupid. After a fairly successful few months (minus one ding on the head and a slight catapult out of a swing) I thought I should share my advice.

Immediately after Brooks was born- I spent HOURS pouring over the babywise book. My sister had followed this book and had an amazingly happy 6 month old who slept through the night at 9 weeks! Every time I would nurse (which in the beginning was 8-10 times a day) I would read every chapter - reading and rereading the "schedule," the nap suggestions, "waketime activities" and of course the part that read "99% of baby wise babies sleep through the night at 12 weeks." So, when 12 weeks came and went and my little angel was still sleeping only 5 -6 hours increments- I deemed myself a babywise failure and turned to another book- the happiest baby on the block. After three pages I need a tall glass of wine followed by a skinny margarita- I was doing it all wrong! Where babywise had said don't rock the baby to sleep - the happiest baby said to rock at every nap and night! Where babywise said don't use the swing or the car as a sleeping "tool"- happiest baby said to use them all! Including the dryer and a sound machine -whatever works! When babywise said let the child "cry it out" at night- happiest baby says to pick your child up every time he/she cries at night- up to 70 times some parents have done!!! The list goes on...

Thanks to a very supportive hubby and realistic sister, some wonderful friends, and my momma- I realized I wasn't a failure! I learned that every baby was different and that I had to carve out my path with my own gut. I remember one night when the little guy was crying and I was trying to "cry it out"(which I was a TOTAL failure at anyway), my husband said "why again can't we go rock him? He is a baby!" and I thought - man I am Stupid! We can!

When Brooks started sleeping, I thought "which book was it that worked!!" Bottom line- no book, sister or blog can teach you how to be a parent... I am happy to say the little guy now sleeps about 10 hours a night through a combination of rocking, holding and crying that worked for me.

Now, if I could just apply this to the rest of my life- next blog- "Don't be stupid- how to lose the last five pounds (or ten if you just had a baby)."

Episode 3: “Your life is like a pimple on an elephants ass"-A Love Story

Since I’m chronicling life here, thought I should tell the story of how the Willie and Kate show began…

After spending a year living in Manhattan, I decided the city life was not for me and made my way back to the simple life in OKC.  My sister was getting married and I was devastated when I missed anything that had to do with her wedding.  I admit, I missed my family.  It seems like so long ago considering I now spend AT LEAST every other day with 4 generations of Robinson women: Grandma Billie, Mama Jan, Sister Sarah and now Baby Ellison (it helps they all live on the same street).  Anyway, I digress.  After returning home to shack up with Bill and Jan, I longed for an interesting job that would be easy to leave if I decided to move back to Colorado.  Thanks to the Daily Oklahoman, I became a photographer at a local studio (an extremely coveted position that required a High School degree).  I had studied photography VERY briefly in college but apparently that was enough to take pictures of elementary school children.  I befriended another outgoing young girl named Patty at the studio.  She was fun, artsy, and we had a lot in common.  She turned out to be the daughter of the studio’s owner (this will matter later).  Patty and I spent a few months hanging out and one day over Coronas she suggested I go out with her friend Willie.   Sidebar: This was not the first time I had heard of Willie.  He was a photographer at the studio as well (his dental career hadn’t turned out quite as planned) and had a reputation for being sweet, funny and a little out of control.  Plus one of the other girls I worked with was stalking him (and by stalking I do mean checking his work schedule every day and trying to get sent to work with him – NUTZO).  One thing led to another and we went on a date, then two.  It’s funny looking back because I was immediately drawn to him.   I don’t exactly know what it was but after only two dates I knew something was different about the guy who had the same name as my dog (which is precisely what I told him upon meeting).  Now to the title of this blog.  During our third date our friend Patty called and asked us come meet her for a drink, she had something to ask.  Long story short, her dad was trying his luck at expanding the company to Switzerland to take pictures on the mountain and she wanted to know if we would like to come.  WHAT and WHAT?!??!  Yes, this kind of thing really does just happen sometimes.  Immediately, Willie agreed.  I immediately agreed, then disagreed, then agreed, then confessed “I have to talk to my dad.”   You see… It had been almost 7 years since I had lived in Oklahoma and my sweet, sweet father had just paid for my plane ticket home after I had declared my hatred for living so far away.  He was so looking forward to me living here and getting a “real” job and settling down.  So when at 6:00 the next morning, during his first cup of coffee, I revealed I had this opportunity and I was probably going to go he said, and I quote, “Your life is like a pimple on an elephants ass,” then promptly left the room.  As my mother and I looked at each other and laughed hysterically she reminded me that my father would better accept this kind of news at the cocktail hour after a few martinis.  Needless to say, after learning that we would travel to the “Aspen of Europe” dad wasn’t so upset and thought it would be a great adventure.  As the story goes, Willie and I went on the journey (the background pic on the blog is us in Switzerland) and so in a roundabout way my dad got his wish.  We jumped in with both feet and had the time of our lives!  We spent two months together working on the mountain and traveling around Europe.  Somewhere along the way we decided that this was the real deal and thus began the first season of the Willie and Kate Show.

Episode 2: Meet Baby Brooks!

In the delivery room!  He already loves his daddy.

Smushy face- his first car ride!

I love him!

Precious.

Daddy's mini me- I swear I'm the mom.

My first bath!

Episode 1: The Kate and Willie Show (+1)

Confession:  I am starting a blog!!!  Not to become a movie star like the Julia Child girl, not to be trendy, and not really expecting ANYONE to read it.  I am doing it for several reasons, the following being the most important.

1.     Somewhere deep inside me is a scrapbooker.  I have a box of  “scrapbooking” stuff for college vacation "books" , wedding/honeymoon "books", and now a baby "book."  Despite all my purchases (I am obsessed with the scrapbook section at Michaels), I have yet to make an actual scrapbook (shout out if this is you too!!).  I would like to document my child’s life… but considering my little guy is 6 weeks old and I actually have ZERO printed pictures of him I think this is a great idea.

2.   My only New Years resolution for the past 2 or 3 years has been to write in my journal.  Guess how many entries I have from my entire pregnancy- 3!

3.  My sister, sister in law, and several friends have started them and I don't want to be left out- plus I really enjoy reading them!

So, if you are bored on a Tuesday afternoon, tune in to read some of my stories.  And if you have a blog let me know! One of my good friends first coined the term “The Kate and Willie Show” a few years ago after going on a walk down our street and discovering a FOR SALE sign on our lawn only to drive back several hours later to find the sign removed.  Over the years our show has had some pretty funny twists and turns and the fact that we have successfully added a third person to our party should make for some grand life lessons… so stay tuned for the next episode…

Kate