November 15, 2010

Open Wide!

For weeks now, Kaylee has been eye-ing our food, almost begging worse than the dogs! I originally wanted to wait until 6 months to start any solid foods, but we feel almost mean NOT giving her some food. I mean gosh, the poor kiddo is trying SO HARD to get it in her mouth!
So... we gave in. Grandma Bena and Grandpa were home, so they got to join in on the fun, and Daddy stood by with the video camera.

And she loved it!

 More please!
 Oh yummy!

 Ahhhh... finally!

So the cereal was a hit! She loved it. Just one more week until Thanksgiving! Sweet Potatoes anyone?

OOooh Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Wuelo & Grandma Texas came to visit from Houston! They came to meet baby Bayla, so we went up to the cities to see them. The trip was quick, but we really loved getting to see them. It has been too long and we've really missed them. They bought Kaylee some Baby Cereal, so we will be trying that VERY soon. Kaylee seems ready.

Kaylee is starting to really interact while playing. It's so fun.

We had our first snow come through this weekend. Harmony didn't get much, but we had a LOT up in the Cities. Here is Rachel & Zac's backyard. They are saying 7in-10in easily!

Kaylee decided to get outside in her new snowsuit and have some fun!
 
She wasn't too sure about it
 Okay, scratch that... she was SURE she hated it haha. Poor thing.
 My camera was in the car most of the weekend, and I was too warm inside to go out and get it. So we will post more pictures of the weekend as soon as we have them!

November 11, 2010

4 Months Old

Kaylee Claire,
You are already 4 months old! It was a busy day because your baby cousin, Bayla Safya, was born! But I didn't forget to give you a big hug and say Happy Birthday. Over the weekend, I went to Las Vegas to celebrate Leahs wedding. I missed you SO MUCH. Everywhere I turned, there was a little baby your age, and I couldn't wait to get home and see you so I could play with you like all the other mommies were. This has been a really fun month. You are no longer a newborn! You are becoming a little mini person with your own little personality. It is so fun to watch you learn. You can just stare at your hand for minutes at a time, just looking at it from every angle. Everyday, you figure out something new and are always coming up with new ways to entertain yourself.

New This Month:
- You are loving tummy time! YAY! It doesn't last long, but we are starting to get a few smiles from you while you're down there and you can push yourself up on your tummy!
- You can roll over from tummy to back. It's only happened a few times so far, and is more like a little flip, but still... you've done it!
- You're working on rolling from back to tummy. You try so hard to reach for your toys and are rolling up on your side a lot. You'll flip all the way over in no time.
- You love smiling at yourself in the mirror.
- You had your first cold this month. It came right as the weather starting changing. You were having the hardest time sleeping through the night because of the boogies, but baby Vicks on your feet + froggie humidifier helped a lot!
- Now when we read books at bedtime, you are paying attention, and are starting to try to help turn the page.
- You are wearing size 2 diapers.
- You are still wearing size 0-3 month clothes! Some of the 3-6 month outfits fit you, but the majority are still too big.
- You LOVE your thumb! It's so funny to see your eyes light up when you first find it. You love it so much that you try to stick it in your mouth WHILE eating.... it doesn't work out so well. I have started holding your hand while you eat so you stay focused longer and the thumb doesn't sneak in!
- Speaking of eating... You are starting to get distracted easily, but it's so cute. You will roll back and just gaze up at me until I look back at you. Then you smile, and go back to eating. It's starting to turn into a cute little game.
- My favorite thing about this month, is that you are laughing and starting to squeal when excited. You get louder and louder and seem to love watching our reaction.
- Everything within reach now goes straight into your mouth. When we were at the hospital to meet baby Bayla, you were chilling in the baby bjorn while I was shopping in the gift shop. I reached up to grab a gift from the top shelf, and look down and you suddenly have a new toy in your hands headed straight for your mouth. You reached out while I wasn't looking, and pulled the toy off the shelf! It was a soft bear rattle thing and already covered in drool. So you won that one, and got to take it home! Smart girl :)
- You're still drooling like crazy, as you can tell. But a new thing, you have started spitting up! Not sure what that's about, but at least we get to really use all the cute burb clothes you have!
- Your favorite toy right now is Baby Neptune from Baby Einstein. You can be crying hysterically, hold him up to you and play his music, and you instantly stop crying, and often even crack a smile! We don't let him get very far away from us.
- Since you are loving to sit up and look around, we thought you would like to play sitting up too! So Grandpa Steve & Grandma Bena got you an exersaucer. You LOVE it! You're still a little small for it, so we have to shove blankets around to help hold you up, but you will play in that thing for a good 30-45 minutes at a time. Your favorite is the light-up lizard that sings.
- You are getting better at Skype. That is how we talk to your grandparents in Texas! Right now, you just stare at the screen with your mouth wide open, but are definitely fascinated. I am excited for when you start to respond... I know Pippy, Pa&KK, Wuelo&Grandma Texas are excited too!
- You are getting better and better at our bedtime routine. We eat, read a book or two, snuggle, then lay in bed until you fall asleep. As soon as you hear your bedtime cd and Lambie, you know it's time for bed. You've still been sleeping in the boppy pillow, but will start to transition out of it. We had our first full night without the boppy on your 4 month birthday!

Happy 4 Month Birthday my little Sweet 'ems!

Oh! And here's a sneak peek at our 4 month photo shoot. We are having a little more trouble with getting this one right. We usually wait until the sun is right about 4:30-5pm to do our shoot, but now the sun is going down sooner and we are missing the mark between naps! haha. Either way, we have at least one cute one to show for it!

November 10, 2010

Happy Birthday Bayla!

Our new little niece was born on Monday, November 8th, 2010 at 1:38pm!!
Welcome baby Bayla Safya!
She is 9 pounds 12 ounces! Healthy girl :) Good job Rachel!!

Proud Momma & Grandma Bena
Check out her chin! Such a cute little chunky monkey :)
I already love her little baby rolls
Kaylee with Uncle Jon Jon. So excited to meet her new cousin.
 All the grandbabies. Look how big Kaylee looks next to Bayla!!
They are 4 months apart by the DAY.
 Isn't this cute?! This is Ari's big sis hospital bracelet.
Such a neat idea so the entire family has one!

Bayla already has a birthday buddy. She shares her birthday with little Owen Harris in Texas! Blythe (one of my best friends & Tri Delta Big Sis) had her baby boy on the SAME DAY! So Kaylee now has two little friends exactly 4 months younger than her. Babies everywhere!

Viva Las Vegas

This past weekend, I got to go to Vegas to celebrate Leah getting MARRIED!! We had a really good time, and I can't wait to see the girls again at the wedding. We had a blast... buuuuuut you know the saying! "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"... which makes for a short blog post! ha
BUT, funny thing is that myself, Bria (my sis-in-law), Charlie (my brother-in-law), Steve (my father-in-law), Uncle Chris (my uncle-in-law), and Susan (my aunt) were ALL in Vegas at the same time for different things. Completely random!

Bria & Charlie met up with us for about an hour on our last night. So glad I got to see them!

I "shot" a deer!

HA! Not really... If you know me, you KNOW that's not true!

Ramon and I thought it would be fun and relaxing to just take a drive while Kaylee was napping in her car seat. Ramon wanted to scout out the deer, and I decided to take my camera along. I admit... It really is pretty out here.

Deer at the family farm
She was pretty close to the road
We had a big windstorm recently.

November 4, 2010

It Won't Be Like This for Long

Wow, we've had an interesting week. For about two months now, Kaylee has been easily sleeping 8hrs during the night before waking up to eat. The past week, we've been up every 1-2hrs! NOOOOOO! I've tried soothing without food, but she always wins. And chows down! I've concluded, she is just hungry. Maybe she is going through a growth spurt, but this momma is TIIIRED. I'm going to Vegas this weekend for a bachelorette party, so Daddy gets to tend to the late night feedings for a few days. Muahahaha! Is it sad that I'm looking forward to Vegas so I can GET some sleep?! haha, that seems backwards.

We have our 4 month appointment next week, so we will definitely be talking about what to do. I'm getting lots of advice to start rice cereal... I feel like it's early, but if she's ready, I guess I'll just have to deal with the fact that she is growing up already :(

Every night, I sing us a song to soothe us back to sleep. The country song "It won't be like this for long..." Awesome song. Makes me tear up.

November 1, 2010

A Year Ago at Wal-Mart

Wow... a year ago TODAY I found out I was pregnant. I remember that entire day so well. It was a sunday. A little rainy and a great day for football. In fact I broke the news to Ramon between the Cowboys game and the Vikings game. He was so excited to be able to watch BOTH that day... any conversation with me might be disrupting the game! haha.

We woke up that morning and laid there talking for a while. The "when can we have a baby" convo came up... again. I told Ramon how I didn't think I was ready yet, and how much it scared me. Then half awake I figured "what the heck", and tried a prego test, just to make sure. I left it in the bathroom, then went to watch the Cowboys game with Ramon... Forgetting ALL about it. A little after halftime, I happened to glace at the test (mostly to throw it away so Ramon wouldn't see)... and what do I see?! Two lines?? So what's the first thing I do? I call my friend Julie and ask her what to do. I was frozen! "Maybe the test sat out too long and got messed up", I thought. Julie told me to rush straight to Wal-Mart to get a digital test just to make sure. So I did! I wasn't in a state of mind to be making my own decisions, so she coached me step-by-step on what to do lol. So... I ran to Wal-Mart, shaking the entire way. I was at Wal-Mart for over TWO HOURS "buying ketchup". Julie told me to go ahead and take the test so I didn't have to wait until I was home...

So there I was... in the Wal-Mart bathroom stall.... Remember, Julie is on the phone for ALL of this coaching me "okay open it. pee on the stick. drink more water. pee on the stick" haha. Test #1 - Positive, Test #2 - Positive. I start bawling. I was so overwhelmed! Excited, scared, and surprised all at once. I didn't even think about NOT being the only person in the bathroom. You would think I would have had this moment in the privacy of my own home, but you see, I didn't think it would be a "moment". I just KNEW the tests were going to be negative! Well, I come out of the stall, and there is a women waiting for me by the sink... I try to sneak past her, and she walks up to me and says in the most comforting voice, "Sweetie, it's all going to be okay. Your mom WILL understand one day... I promise." OMG! She thought I was in high school or something!! I turned bright red and ran off... still on the phone.

As soon as I got home, I asked Ramon to look in the bag to see what I bought. I was SO NERVOUS. I always imagined this moment being something I planned out so perfectly. But I was too nervous to even think straight. He found a little "I love Daddy" bib and tiny baby socks in the bag, then looked at me sort of mad and sort of confused... "Is this a joke??" (remember, we JUST had the baby conversation!) Anyways, once he saw the look on my face, he realized I wasn't joking and was so cute after that. The Vikings game didn't even matter at that point :) We spent the rest of the day at Barnes & Noble in the baby book section.

As much as I wish this story was a sweet, little fairy tale story.... it's not haha. And it wouldn't be OUR story if there wasn't some sort of confusion or chaos involved. From that day, everything changed. I was so scared for things to change, but looking back and looking at little Kaylee everyday, I realize it was the best change that could ever happen :) It was the best day.