11 months

 Another month has past and Cate continues to change and grow. Her crawl is faster, opinions are stronger and giggles are even louder. Cate is busy! She has been helping me reorganize my kitchen, pulling things in and out of drawers and scattering them on the floor for observation. She loves the stairs! If the front door is cracked, she makes a break for the door in hopes that she can escape and climb the large staircase to our upstairs neighbors. In fact I found her there one afternoon when I noticed that the house was particularly quiet. It was quite scary and hilarious.

Cate is starting to communicate and seems to understand what we are saying. She babbles the words ball, bottle, and mom and makes sure we know what she wants even if she doesn't know how to say it. She loves to blow kisses and has mastered this new skill in the past month. She even blew one to the postwoman today.

I had to take Cate to the doctor last week for a really bad diaper rash and many other unpleasant things on her bum. Before the doctor came into the room, I put her on the scale and she weighed in at 24 pounds. This girl loves her food and I am quite positive she will know exactly what to do with her birthday cake next month. 

Cate is such a joy in our lives and she keeps us smiling every day. We are excited to celebrate her first birthday next month. We love you Cate!

 Almost done with our photo shoot.

 Officially done!