1st Boat Ride

On Sunday morning we took the boat out with Rob, Kylie, Delaney, & Brayden.  I failed to gets pictures of my sweet nieces & nephew...

Mama & Kinley waiting to load up

She didn't particularly care for her life jacket so I was a nice mommy and unzipped it after a while.  I'm sure it was hot & strangling her so it made things easier on all of us.  Then Kinley decided that she liked the boat!

All that fresh air will exhaust anyone!K took some good naps so Scott & I enjoyed cruising around the lake looking at our dream houses - something we used to do all the time back in the day. This showcases just how Kinley felt about her 1st boating experience...indifferent:

Hopefully little missy can grow into the life jacket so the boat becomes more enjoyable because it's a way of life around here!

June Photo Recap (Part 1)

I happened to glance through my photo album on my phone a few days ago and realized that I haven't posted pics from it since May, oops!  This weekend I'm determined to get caught up from that so I'm all ready for the 4th of July weekend pics!  I'm pretty excited to celebrate with our little firecracker in my arms instead of my belly this year!

I believe this is Memorial Day weekend at Island Bay.

Had to throw in a pic of my first babies.

One very early Saturday morning, Kinley decided to sing along with Luke Bryan on CMT.  She rolled across the floor and found our old microphone for 'Rock Band.'

Pool baby

Just hangin' out - hi guys!

We went over to Jack & Marsha's house on June 1st for a get together since Megan was in town.  We've had gorgeous weather since March so a cool down was perfect cook out weather.  I still can't believe we were in long sleeves in June, ha!

I'm pretty sure that weather only lasted 1 day though.

So happy that we got to visit with our soon to be Dr. cousin!

Another day at the Jeffers' pool.  Since Scott works most weekends, our Saturdays & Sundays usually consist of swimmin' & swingin'.

I have a feeling that Kinley is going to give Tiki a run for her money!

Such a big girl in the cart on one of our many quick trips to Wal-mart.

We went to watch some of our guy friends play in a softball league at the lake.

Scott finally had a weekend off on June 9 & 10 so he was pumped to get the boat running!  He also installed a new stereo so it was like Christmas for him on that Friday night.

It's so fun to watch her learn new things!

She gets so excited!

Sorry for the lame post but I can't skip these pictures or videos!  Stay tuned for more, haha!

9 Months Old!

Kinley -

Just as soon as I get one "birthday" posted, it seems like it's time for the next!  Now that you're getting closer to one, I feel like you're doing something new almost every week, sometimes it seems like every day!

Summer's in full swing around here and we've been enjoying the pool a lot this month.  You still love kicking your feet in the pool just like you did in Sanibel.

This month you...

loved to turn the pages and lift the flaps in your books,

learned to put blocks into a toy,

got closer to crawling and pulling up by yourself,

learned to "dance, dance, dance,"

went on your first boat ride,

practiced clapping and waving all the time,

started sticking your tongue out a lot,

learned to "blow raspberries" which gets us all very wet,

got very cuddly and always laid your head on our shoulders,

 said your first words - "ga ga" and "bla bla," (6/16/12)

AND cut your first tooth!  (bottom right - 6/18/12)

We're wondering if bla bla means "bubba" which is what I call Buffett or if you mean "ba ba" for bottle.  Either way, we LOVE hearing you jabber!

I wouldn't have included this but since it's close enough to 9 months, I'll add that you started saying "ma ma" last week, too! (6/21/12)  We usually only hear it when you're fussing or crying though...

At your 9 month checkup you weighed 19 lbs 1 oz (50/60th percentile) and were 27 inches (25th percentile).  You absolutely hated getting your ears, lungs, and heart checked.  It's painless but you acted like we gave you 10 shots! hahaha.  I called you a diva and Dr. D said you were a regular 9 month old throwing a temper tantrum.  :)

What a fun month it's been!  I guess this means it's about time to start thinking about your 1st birthday party!  We love you, monkey!

Cora's High School Graduation

I can't believe I'm typing this but we celebrated Cora's High School graduation on May 27.  Didn't I just graduate?!  Ha, yeah right!  Many family members came in from out of town so it was so fun to get together and celebrate Cora's accomplishments!

Here's my "baby" sis up on the big screen.  Seriously, she was the cutest baby with big brown eyes, dark hair, and brown bear skin.  And she's grown up into the cutest young lady, too!

Another picture from one of her homecoming dances - that even seems like forever ago!

Everyone gave great speeches and then the big moment arrived...

Waiting to walk up and get her diploma.

I think the last time Cora was on this stage was when she had a frilly dance costume on many, many years ago...I'm sure she's rolling her eyes at me right now.

Yay, she did it!

The ceremonial graduation cap toss.  I know I didn't throw my cap because I wanted to make sure I kept it.  I'm pretty sure I have no idea where that very important piece of history is right now though, ha!

Family pictures after the ceremony:

Kinley & Aunt Coco (not sure why this looks blurry on the blog)

 Awww, caught a sweet moment with her auntie.

Messmore family photo

We went back to my parents house for the big party!

It was a gorgeous day so we hung out outside a lot.

Ian, Dad, Uncle Jack; Michael & Kinley; Craig & Matthew; Abe & Louie

Ashley, Hadley, Nick, Cade, Cole, & Alexa's hair

 Uncle Mark, Aunt Audrey, Grandma Evelyn, & Ann

There were plenty of people inside, too!

 Aunt Laura & Presley

The Rock Island/Moline crew that drove down for the day!

 Grandma, Dan, Lisa, Ian, Grandpa, Char, Stan

Since we had so many kiddos together, we decided to try to get a group picture.  It's always a good idea but then this...

We had a wonderful day catching up with family & friends and celebrating that my parents successfully got 4 kids through high school!  What a feat, I'm not sure how they have any patience left.  ; )

Congrats & good luck at Edwardsville, Cora! We love you!

My 1st Mother's Day

My only request for Mother's Day was for Scott to get up early with Kinley and entertain her while I slept in a little. It's sad when 8:30am is considered sleeping in but it felt great!

I woke up to Scott & Kinley standing over me with what looked like a box of wheat thins, ha! (I am seriously blind without my glasses!) Finally I realized that they had a little mommy's day present for me - a woozie (wine coozie) and a new "mom" tervis tumbler. They really know the way to my heart! :)

 

We got ready and had brunch at Scott's parents house and had a few more hours to visit with family from out of town. We had great food and great company, what more could I ask for!

We swung by my parents house a little later to wish my mom a happy mother's day, too. After that, I did a little cleaning and planted my butt on the couch for the evening!

It's crazy how much more thankful I've become for our moms.  This new job of being a mommy is demanding, exhausting, overwhelming, exciting, scary, but most of all, so incredibly rewarding.  It's hard to imagine loving anything else as much as you love your child/children.

My mom has helped me SO much in the past 8 months that I can't even begin to thank her enough.  The first few months were a rough transition and she was there every step of the way. 

She would be over in 8 minutes the second she heard me in tears on the phone because I was exhausted and Kinley wouldn't stop crying. 

She was there to reassure me that I was doing it right even when I felt like I was doing it all wrong. 

She was at my side through every awful, painful nursing issue that I had - if that doesn't bring you close, I don't know what will! ; )

She always had the right words, even if I didn't want to hear them at the time.

She set the best example of how to be a kind, loving, generous, selfless, hard working mom.  I still don't think I'll ever ben able to live up to her.

I feel so lucky to have such wonderful moms to look up to in my family (including my aunts, cousins, & in-laws!)

I hope everyone had an amazing mothers day, I know I did!