Kate is Eleven Months Old!

Baby Kate you are eleven months old. 

You have took longer naps this month.  But it may just be that we've had such a busy month you are just more tired than normal.  You are nursing once in the morning and once at night.  

You are a wild woman in the bathtub.  Absolutely no fear.  You throw your face into the water and just cackle!

You just went up a size in diapers and shoes.  You are wearing a size four diaper and size three shoes.  Your dresses are 18 or 24 months.  

Less than a month to go and you'll be one year old.  
 

Hello October

Hello October.

Yep, I'm still around.  Is anyone out there even still dropping by here?  September was a bad month for the blog.  Goodness gracious!  I'm hoping for better things in October.  For the record, Kate turned 11 months old on the 11th of September.  The pictures have been took and are on my SD card.  For some reason I'm getting messages that my browser and blogger are not compatible, so it's not letting me upload pictures.  Can you say annoying???  It's on my list today to get that taken care of and get an 11 month post drafted.  I'm not going to quit on her when we are so close to the finish line!


   How about just a random October 1st bulleted update for today?  The non pictorial version.   Sounds fun?  *Sidenote:  Sometimes I just have to smile at myself when I realize what a big dork I am. 

•  The past weeks/months seem to be crazy busy.  Life with two babies is no joke.  Everything takes a long time these days.  Just keeping the house picked up is a full time job!  (I might have just got fired from that job also)...(Not really, just wishful thinking).  Oh and for the record...there is no other life I'd rather be living.  Loving it. 

• Kendall is a rotten mess.  So busy.  I feel like she is getting more verbal everyday.  And she's a hoot.  She desperately wants to "sing with the kids" (kids choir) at church.  So we've took her to some practices.  The girl CANNOT sing without dancing.  It is hilarious.  I have some great videos on my phone if I can ever get this thing to corporate again.  Needless to say she may be 13 before she is allowed to sing, because let's face it, busting a move at church is frowned upon.  

         

• I don't want to give away too much about Kate and ruin the anticipation of her 11 and 12 month posts (wink wink)....

• Michael is still the amazingly best husband in the world.  During the last few months he's added on a deck to the back of the house.  Loving it! 

• October is going to be busy busy busy.  Kate will turn the big one, we have family pictures scheduled, I'm throwing a wedding brunch, along with other fun things that I'm sure we will throw in there.   Actually the rest of 2015 and beginning of 2016 are going to have us running. 

• I have been doing a ton of reading in my spare time (aka laying in bed at night when I should be sleeping).  I've discovered how to check out books electronically from the library.  Life changing.  How have I've been missing that all this time.  I may or may not be reading 10 books simultaneously.  That's crazy. I am loving the Chronicles of the Kings series by Lynn Austin.  I'm on book 4 now.  King Hezekiah had such an interesting life.  The series is making dig into my bible to see what is really true and what's been added to fluff the story.   I also recently finished Together: Growing Appetites For God by Carrie Ward.  I enjoyed it so much. I already have a devotion routine that I do with the girls (mostly Kendall) that I really like.  The only thing is that it's lacking in scripture so I'm was already praying about how I was going to remedy that.  Her book made me even more aware of how needful it is.  (Disclaimer: there are a few things I tend to disagree with her on such as versions of the bible)

• I have discovered podcasts recently.   Why hadn't anyone told me what I was missing out on?  My favorite times to listen: while showering (tmi), while walking, or while the girls are napping and I'm cleaning.  My favorite podcasts: The God Centered Mom Podcast, A Happy Home Podcast, What you missed in History class, This American Life, Criminal, Serial, and just yesterday I started Limetown (I think I may like it also, weird but fictional). 

• I'm currently loving me some Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies (from Walmart) and I'm currently needing to get back on my diet.  haha. 

   So that's life lately, Babies, books, podcasts and cookies.  Soon I'll update with some cell phone pictures and lots of other good stuff....soon.

 

Kendall is 2 1/2!

At the end of July, you officially became 2 1/2, Kendall.

 

  You are a talking machine! That's not an exaggeration. You talk from sun up to sun down. We can't always understand everything you say, but you can typically "show" us and we understand.

The other day I had asked you to get the toys out of the bathtub.  When I went back into the bathroom I found half the toys thrown in the floor.  When I hollered at you to come back you replied, "Me on me way."

You adore being a big sister.  You look for Kate first thing every morning.  You love to give her hugs and kisses.  You love to take care of her and feed her puffs.  You don't always want to share your toys with her, though. 

You love to sing.  Since your language is still developing, a lot of your "singing" is loud humming and jabbering.

You love to be read too.  You are constantly asking mom or dad to "read you". 

You still love your blankie and sucking your two fingers. 

You hair has filled in so much in the last six months.  You have little curls at the base of your neck, which Momma loves.

You are a dad's girl through and through.  Dad is in the middle of a deck building project.  You love going out to "help dad-da". 

 

I remember kissing and hugging you as a baby and wondering if you'd ever respond.  All that positive affection has paid off.  You love giving hugs and kisses now.  You are extremely loving.  And love to snuggle.

You kneel by your bed at night to pray.  If we forget to pray over a meal, you are quick to remind us.  Even though you don't understand prayer, I love seeing this devotion develop in you.

You have grown a lot since you turned two.  You were wearing mostly 3T's, now most of your 4T's are too small, and you are wearing 5T. 

 

 We tried Potty training as soon as you turned two.  We spent two looooonnnnng days and you weren't having it so we went back to diapers.  We tried again a few months later and you did much better.  After 2 weeks you pretty much had it.  Now you only wear panties (expect for sleep) and you are doing great.  You will occasionally have an accident because you don't want to take time to slow down and potty.  But the accidents are becoming less and less.  You are a potty star!

We moved you to your "big girl bed" around two months ago.  Mom and Dad were dreading it so bad because we were afraid it'd really interrupt your sleep patterns when you realized that you could get up when you wanted.  Boy were we wrong.  Not only are you a potty star, but you are a big girl bed star!  When you wake up you lay in there and holler at mom or dad to come and get you.  You don't even try to get up yourself. 

You are absolutely FULL of life.  You are ready to have a good time, all the time.  You have such a fun personality but it does occasionally get you in trouble.  

You love "church day".  Most mornings you ask me if it is "church day".  You sit with daddy and sit through most services.  Sometimes I think you really just go to "play with kids" after church. 

We love you so much.  God has made you wonderfully and you are a blessing to our family. 

 

Kate is 10 Months Old!

Baby Kate, you are 10 months old.

 "Eating" a toy lemon

                            

 At your check up a few weeks ago, you weighed 19 lbs and 13 oz (75%).  Your length was 27 3/4 inches (50%).  Your head circumference was 18 1/4 inch (95%). 

 

 

You are not as big of a sleeper as your sister is.  You will take two short naps a day.  And then go to bed at 7pm.  You are usually awake by 6:30 ready to eat.

 



You have at least 3 teeth coming through on the top, and two on the bottom.  Anyone who wants a more accurate count are more than welcome to put their fingers in there.  Its a "enter at your own risk" situation.

You are doing great at crawling now.  You seem more content now that you are able to move around and get into stuff.  You are trying to pull up but haven't been able to just yet. 

This month you've started sitting up in the big bathtub unassisted.  You love taking a bath with your sister.  You are a splashing machine, and love every moment of it.

You wear a size 3 diaper, size 2 shoe, and 18 & 24 month clothes.

You love to clap your hands and make kissing noises.  It's heart melting!

You are over all a sweet and relaxed baby.  It is rare to hear you cry.

We love you so much.  You have been the perfect addition to our family.

 

You are growing like a weed!

 

 

 

7 Years and Counting

This past Sunday, Michael and I had our 7th wedding anniversary.

To celebrate on Friday, We dropped the girls with my camping parents and spent the day in Pigeon Forge.   We've only left the girls one other time so this was a huge treat!  We had the best day.  We ate lunch at Paula Deens, did lots of shopping, and watched a show at the Comedy Barn. 

Blurry Cell Phone Picture

 

   I'm so thankful that we have a sweet marriage with lots of sweet memories.

 



 

Fourth of July 2015

     The fourth ended up being a rainy day. So all of our plans for during the day were canceled. Thankfully it cleared up and we were able to go watch fireworks that night.

 

Kate is 9 Months Old!!!

 
   Kate Alaina, You are 9 months old!!!!!  This has been an exciting month with huge growth for you!

    You have took off with baby food now.  You have tried Momma's carrots, broccoli, green beans, corn, and mashed potatoes.  You've also had some store bought baby food: pears, peaches, apples, cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, and lots and lots of prunes. 

     You are now nursing just three times a day.  You've been trying to drink a little juice out of a sippy cup but you haven't quite figured that out yet. 

We can finally see some teeth coming through.  You have two on the top. 

 Blurry picture but this is your classic Kate face with lots of crazy sniffing and snorting!

 

   You are scooting all over the house.  And you are as close to crawling as you can get without actually crawling.  You will get on all fours and rock.  You have no trouble going from your belly to sitting position.  You are a pro at sitting up now!  

     You are trying to pull up now but you haven't been able to yet. 

  
     You are sleeping through the night now.  Woohoo!  Mom finally took a stand and when you woke up midnight was going to let you cry for 15 minutes before she comforted you.  You didn't even make it through the full 15 before you were back asleep.  You were probably ready for this MONTHS ago but mom was babying you!

  Most days you take a morning and afternoon nap. You wake up around 7AM and go to bed at 7PM. 

    You are wearing size 2 shoes (although they are getting snug), you are wearing a few 12 month clothes but mostly 18 months now.  You are still in a size 3 diaper. 

    You've had some problems with constipation this month. (You will love me one day for putting that on the world wide web).  Momma has been feeding you prunes at least once a day and trying a little bit of apple juice.  I think we have it figured out to give you some relief. 

 

Happy nine months, sweet girl.  We love you!