Update

Okay, time for a Stewart Family update.

On Tuesday, some of Kristen's friends came over and started packing. It was great that the started so early, because later that evening some guys from the church came over and started loading the boxes into the truck. We had planned on loading most of the boxes, but leaving the bed and bathroom stuff for me on Wednesday. Well, we got all into it, and loaded up everything and spent the night at a hotel.

On Wednesday, Kristen and Kate flew out at 6am to RDU, where she was greeted by her parents and siblings, and Kate was passed around. I went back to the apartment, cleaned up the remainder, and left Austin. I was a bit delayed by a faulty "leg" in the car carrier, and I had to wait until the manager's office opened to turn in my keys. I started driving at 11am and finished for the night at around 2am somewhere between Jackson and Meridian, MS. There was a fun hour-long delay near Jackson when I locked my keys into the Penske truck at 12am. Lesson learned: Penske will not help you with a lock-out, neither will AAA if you are in a Penske truck. I called a nice locksmith who got me back on my way.

On Thursday, I slept for a few hours and left at 6:30am, contining on I-20. Around Atlanta I turned onto I-85 and managed to survive, despite the efforts of crazy drivers in Atlanta. I finally made it into Wake Forest, NC at 9pm that night and saw my wife and baby. Kristen was still being greeted by family and friends, and Kate was still being passed around.

On Friday, I left around 10am and drove to Richmond, VA. I dropped off the car carrier with Penske, dropped off the truck at a friend's house, and drove the Volvo all around Richmond. I was able to visit Veritas -- prep for my class on Monday -- and look at several apartments. Lesson learned: never, never seriously consider an apartment that you have only seen online. I quickly discovered what were the shadier areas of Richmond and had to look elsewhere for an apartment. At the recommandation of a friend, I visited Hugeunots Apartments -- great name, no joke -- and loved it. I took a lot of pictures and drove back to Wake Forest. Kristen was greeted by more friends and Kate was still being passed around.

Today, I left at 6:30am and drove to Richmond to put our application in at Hugeunots Apartments. I'm now at the library, checking nearly 200 new messages, and preparing to drive back to Wake Forest. Kristen is having a baby shower where she is greeted by friends and family, and Kate is being passed around ... is there a pattern? :o)

Our apartment will not be ready for at least another week, which is the frustrating part. I have to unload the truck (ick!) at a friend's house and repack and remove it all in a couple weeks. C'est la vie. We don't have internet connections and neither does the in-law's new house (yet), so this is it for awhile.

Oh, in case you were wondering, I will be driving back to Wake Forest tonight and returning to Richmond Sunday evening and will start teaching "Latin Camp" on Monday.

Stewart Family Portrait Post Baptism

Ch-Ch-Changes

In two days, Mike's mom and sister come for a quick visit.
In three days, Kate will be baptized.
In six days, Kate and I will jet off to North Carolina.
In seven days, Mike will meet us there with our stuff in a truck.
In eleven days, Mike starts teaching Latin Camp for new students in Richmond.

Wow.

More on the Ninja Child

I took a series of pictures within a minute or two where you can see Kate's ninja tendencies. All photographs were unprovoked and can be found here (scroll to bottom).

Sewing Machine

I'm really interested in buying a sewing machine. My birthday is coming up pretty soon (a month and a half...) so I'm considering asking for one then. I'm a novice, so I don't know much about the specs and capabilities I should be looking for. I want something I can sew simple projects on, including ones with multiple layers of heavier fabrics (bottomweights, etc.) Do y'all have any recommendations?

Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting

I'm not sure if it's just all this hype or what, but sometimes I'm convinced my daughter is a ninja in training. If she hadn't slept through our entire dinner with Wayne, I'd think it was his samurai genes rubbing off on her.

Sweet Movie

Go out and see Napoleon Dynamite if you are into quirky little movies. Written, directed, produced and starred in by BYU film graduates, its good, clean fun. But don't worry, it's not like ghetto evangelical subculture, it's award-winning and being distributed by FOX Searchlight. And Mike and I liked it. They've got free screenings in some cities, and it is showing generally in select cities. We caught a free screening and even got free t-shirts...

Kate 101

Things I have learned since Kate came along:
1. If you wash and dry an entire load of cute baby girl clothes, the lint is very pink.
2. It is possible to hiccup, sneeze and poop at the same time.
3. Babies smile -- and not just gas smiles.
4. Diapers are really, really expensive.

From Josh: Real Lutheran Power

Yes, our fearsome pirate has uploaded "The Official Lutheran Webpage", though it is not nearly as funny as the presbyterian version.

Kate better not get any ideas...

Teen no longer called to do chores.

Tour de Lance

Here in Austin, people are cheering on our hometown hero as he races towards a record sixth Tour de France win. As a billboard we saw today proclaimed, "Go, Lance, go!"

Megachurch Madness

I was reading this article [reg. req.] about the 30,000 member Lakewood Church moving into the old Compaq Center in Houston, and this sentence struck me -- "A swath of stadium seating has been torn out to make room for the waterfalls that will bookend the 200-person choir.' Does anyone else find this bizarre?

Kate's First Trip to the Doctor

We all went to see Dr. Griggs today [photo], who is an excellent pediatrician and a Deacon at Redeemer. He said that Kate looks excellent; she is especially beautiful -- which all doctors and nurses have been saying, is it required? She has NO hint of jaundice at all, perfect skin. She is back to her birth weight (6lb, 8oz), has a healthy heart, lungs, etc... As for her feeding, they say, she is a tiny baby, but seems to be getting enough. She is doing great in the poopy diapers dept.

Keeping Kate Awake

Overall, Kate's doing really well. We're enjoying her so much! So, here's my first new parent question: how do you keep a sleepy baby awake long enough to feed? I have been changing her diaper, keeping her unswaddled, occasionally wiping her down with a cool washcloth and blowing on her (or aiming a fan at her) and she still barely makes it ten minutes. She's usually fighting the sleep off after the first two. Any other ideas?

Home Again

We're home! It's a great feeling. We actually begged to be released early, as we were slotted to be set free tomorrow morning. All the doctors agreed, so here we are. I haven't slept for more than two hours since Tuesday evening, so the prospect of another night of being bothered all the time by people other than the baby was more than I could bear. Kate enjoyed her first car ride and is sleeping soundly in her own bed. I'm doing really well, thanks to those who asked. Mike's official birth-announcing email did express that, but the blog post was more centered on the fact that she arrived just when he predicted. The birth was great and my doctor was on call, which was a neat blessing. More pictures have been added, where you can see her awake and see her sweet little head of hair. If you are into that sort of thing, there's sure to be more where they came from, so just check in frequently.

Kathryn Lilia

In case you missed it below. Kathryn Lilia was born early Friday morning (12:50am), exhibiting a fine balance between obeying her father (who predicted the 2nd) and wanting to see her father (and mom too, I guess). She's a beautiful little girl.

Some early pictures are uploaded. Enjoy.