This month we've had all SORTS of milestones!

Cory's mother and step-father came for a visit. They hadn't seen her since right after Christmas. She is, of course, impressively grown up compared with then. She also got to meet her Great-Aunt Patty and Great-Uncle Charlie. AND she got to meet Jumpin' Katie Logan, who was in town for a two-week stay, including several gigs and much fun.

Her first experience with fireworks on the 4th was somewhat mixed. She was VERY tired, and Grandpa Kuzara had chosen, against my better judgement, to purchase some NOISY displays. Kit did NOT like it. But she was very interested in the bright and colorful but QUIET fountains we got. I'm quite sure she wondered why we were making her stay awake just for that.

We went to Jazz in June and to a Cool Riddum gig at South Pointe together, too. So, Kit has had her first experience with live jazz and reggae. She enjoyed both, but probably in part simply because she was outside.

On Monday the 7th it was Daddy's 27th birthday. Kit got to spend the evening with Grammy Carlene and Kristen Swisher. (Our thoughts are with Kristen's husband Chris, a close high school friend of Cory's, who is in Iraq.) She and Grammy had GREAT fun, while Mommy and Daddy got to go out for dinner and a movie for the first time in... well.. a long time. For the record, Terminator 3 is entertaining, but not as good as the others.

Kit is still VERY mobile, crawling like a pro and getting REALLY good at getting into things she shouldn't! She's pulling herself up and "cruising" around on tables, chairs, sofas, etc. She can hold herself upright for very short bursts, without aid. She's got the strength, but not the balance, but once she gets that, she'll be off toddling about and we will have our hands full.

She's really getting a great range of sounds together, and is starting to mimic us as we speak. She's VERY chatty. She's waving goodbye now, too. When she feels like it. And she's starting to learn when to shake her head "No". (I was hoping she wouldn't learn THAT one quite yet.) Her communication skills are wonderful!!

She also got her first tooth on Sunday. Finally!! Stubborn buggers, they were. She's been teething for months now, and I have the feeling they'll all come in at once. I'm expecting the second bottom tooth any day, and the top ones are right under the surface. Time to get out her Clifford the Big Red Dog toothbrush...

Wow! We've had quite a month! Where to begin...

Well, My sister, Jennifer, was in town for a conference for anthropologists, and got to see Katherine for the first time since Christmas!! Katherine has, of course, changed so much since then! She is chatty and mobile, and much bigger. Jen could hardly believe the change. Poor Jen cried when she left, because it will be the holidays before she sees Kit again, and by then she'll be walking and talking.

Jen turned 25 while she was here. It was her first birthday at home with family in several years. I got to go out for drinks a couple of nights, which was a nice bit of variety. It is hard to have Jen in Atlanta, but it sure makes for nice visits.

The day after Auntie Jen left for Atlanta, Katherine started crawling. Look out world!! She had been jungle crawling for about a week, and once she got her toes out of the way and got her knees under her, she took off! She has now multiplied her destructive force ten-fold.

Last but not least, I received word from Katie that she'd be in town the last week of June through July 4th. I've also completely revamped the Jumpin' Kate Website and you can check there for gigs in Lincoln. Also, feel free to leave feedback on the new website design!!

We've added a new feature! Visit the Thoughts page and leave us a message in our Guestbook!

Its been a while since I did a good update. We've been busy! Katherine continues to grow like a wild flower, which is like a weed, but prettier. She rolls back and forth like a pro, and will be crawling any day now. She's got the cereal and fruits & veggies figured out, and now gets jealous of us if she sees us eating and we don't feed her. We keep trying to tell her that she can't eat with us until she gets teeth, but I don't think that is any consolation to her.

And speaking of teeth, Katherine is drooling like there's no tomorrow, and the first teeth in front on the bottom will be poking through any day now! In the meantime she's being a bit of a bear about the whole ordeal, and NOTHING stays dry if it gets anywhere near her mouth, or her hands, or her chest, or, well... her.

I've added a new feature to the site! You can now download Katherine Windows Wallpaper from the Images page! I know, its cheesy, but I was fooling around with some new fonts the other day at work, and decided it was time for a new look for my computer. The "Atomic Cute" one turned out so well that I wanted to share, and it just got cheesier from there!

Also worth noting: you will all be getting an email this week about Katherine's photo contest. That's right, the Bunny picture has been accepted into this month's photo contest at www.babiesonline.com. She will be in the second week slot, beginning May 8, 2003 and everyone can vote for her picture once a day for the whole week! The prizes are a number of gift certificates to some online baby stores, and we could use every penny!! So, on May 8th, visit www.babiesonline.com/babycontest/vote.asp. If you visit before May 8th, you will not find Katherine's name. I will post what page she's on as soon as I know. And of course, if you don't think Katherine is the cutest baby there, feel free to vote for the one you like better. Just so long as you don't mind Cory standing out in front of your house yelling all night long...

Whew! What a month it has been. Katherine came through her 4 month doctor's appointment with flying colors. Her development is perfect. (I could have told the doctor that everything she does is perfect...) She has figured out how to roll over, and now gets herself onto her tummy and starts "swimming". Soon, she'll be crawling, and Cory and I will have our hands full!

She has also started on solid foods. Green beans and sweet potatoes were big hits, and of course she likes her rice cereal. This week, we'll see what she thinks of peas. Mmm. Cory is having a hard time with the baby food issue. Can't stand the smell. I told him he was going to have to get over it pretty quick.

Katherine has also, much to Cory's extreme happiness, started saying "dadadadadadaddy!" He is convinced that our little not- quite-5-month-old is calling for him. I think she's just found a good noise that gets her lots of attention. But it is really adorable, and Katherine is cute, too.

She has also started splitting her time between grandmas during the day. Grandma Kuzara gets her Mondays and Thursdays, Grammy Carlene gets her Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and they alternate Fridays. So, I get a break with driving across town, and everyone gets to have fun playtime with the cuty- babe.

We had surprise out of town guests this weekend! Cory's sister, Micki, and her fiance and daughter came into town for a funeral and stayed with us from Thursday until Sunday! Katherine met Aunt Micki and Uncle Jimmy and her cousins, Jake and Andie, back at Thanksgiving, but she was so young, it just wasn't quite as much fun for everyone.

This visit, though, Katherine was being her usual hammy self, and Aunt Micki was quite taken with her. She also got to meet Jimmy's kids, Courtney and Donovan.

We all had a lot of fun, and hope we'll get to see them all again this year, but since Micki, Jimmy and Andie live in Ohio, that may not happen. Now if we could only talk Aunt Michelle into visiting from Arizona, Katherine will have met all her aunts and uncles.

Katherine got to take her first plane trip this weekend! On Friday evening, we left Lincoln in a King Air, bound for Billings, MT. In Billings, we had to make a minimums landing, only breaking out of the clouds seconds before we touched the runway. Katherine won't remember it, but it was pretty interesting for the rest of us!

Katherine met her Great Aunt Marge and Uncle Glenn, Great Uncle Ted, and her Ur Grosse Mutter, or Ur Oma, or Great Grandmother, Ruth Katerine Kellison, after whom Katherine is named. We got a wonderful picture of four generations of women!

On the trip back to Lincoln on Sunday, we stopped off in Sheridan, WY, where Katherine also got to meet her Great Grandma Kuzara, and her Great Uncles Mike, Dennis, David and Steve! I also got to show Cory an aerial view of the old Kuzara family stead.

We had a wonderful and eventful weekend, but were so glad to be home! Cory stayed home with Katherine today, and is reported to have taken pictures of her in her first Pittsburgh Penguins outfit! This will be Cory's first whole day with Katherine all to himself!

| Welcome | Our Family | Thoughts | Images | News | Links |