Snow Day!

Illinois has experienced a winter wonderland for the past week.  I'm not sure if we got any snow last year so I was excited for Kinley to play in the snow for the first time!

She, on the other hand, was not so excited.

My nieces & nephew had a snow day from school so I packed up her new snowsuit and other snow gear to take to Sue's for a fun play day.  She wasn't really sure what to think and didn't seem to like the cold white stuff:

Poor Delaney was just trying to play and Kinley wasn't having it:

She took a break on the front porch to watch the action...

I will always think of Randy on "A Christmas Story" when a child is dressed like a marshmallow in a snowsuit - SO funny.

She had to try again in the snow...same reaction:

 

I think I see a little smile in this picture (even if it is fake), ha!

I think Kinley had a successful first snow day even if she didn't think it was that great...

I'm sure she will learn to love it next year and try to drag her sister out in it with her.  And before I know it, we'll have her ice skating on the lake!

17 Months

Kinley -

I swear, you get more fun everyday...and a little sassier, too.  Some days I look at you and you seem like a little baby still and other days you seem like such a big girl!  I'm sure that's only going to seem more extreme when baby sister arrives!


Crazy girl!

You have become a big helper lately and you seem to love when we ask you to help with things.  Last week you figured out how to open the cabinet that holds the dog food, then open the container & scoop out some food for your puppies.  Now we let you feed them in the morning and at night but you hate hearing that we're all done and throw a big fit every.single.time.  I'm sure the pups would love your feeding schedule!

Since I'm not as mobile as usual, I ask you to grab my phone off the floor or get the remote and you look so proud when you bring me what I need.  Hopefully this will transition well with you helping take care of baby.

This is totally too much information but you even like to get toilet paper and flush the toilet for me, ha!  Daddy calls you my little shadow, everywhere I go, you go so you just decided to help me one day.  :)

You always have to "cheese" for the camera now, ha!

Lately your favorite sayings include:  I dunno (shrug your shoulders), all done, off, rocky-rock, ya ya, no no, woah, "ummm" when we're picking out clothes or deciding what to eat, and Scott got you to say "dude" last week (ha!).

You love coloring and tracing our hands.

You've mastered swiping our phones to get to the apps & actually know where to scroll to find your alphabet song & Disney apps.

Showing me your doggie shirt

This is random but your hair is getting crazy!  You're kind of growing a mullet so I've been struggling with whether or not to get your first haircut.  I probably need to trim your bangs if nothing else (see picture above).

 

We're working on counting to 3 and you can usually start by saying "one" when we hold up our finger and love to shout "free!" for three at the end but you haven't said two yet.

You're coming out of your shell little by little and wave and talk to strangers...as long as they aren't looking at you.  The second they smile at you and talk back, you look away and act shy.

All of your stats are holding pretty steady.  You weigh 21 pounds and are in 12-18 month clothes & size 4 diapers.  Your naps are all over the place but you get at least one per day.  You finally decided that going to bed early is much better so you've been going down around 8pm, sleeping until 5am, and then in our bed until 6:15ish.

I still can't believe that I'll be telling people that you're one and a half next month!  Maybe we'll have a mini celebration!  We love you SO much, princess!

Bump Watch 2013: Week 32

Another 3 weeks has flown by since my last bump watch post, whoops!  We've stayed busy working and running around after Kinley.

I've come to the realization that I'm SO ready to not be pregnant anymore but I'm also NOT ready to have a newborn yet.  Hhmm...I'm not sure it can work that way so I'll take being pregnant for a few more weeks if it gives us a healthy baby.
 

I finally started a to-do list of things we need to order and complete in the next few weeks and it's slightly overwhelming to say the least.  I'm the queen of procrastination so it's about time that I kick it into full gear!  Afterall, the baby could come early.  She won't, but we need to be ready just in case!

Pregnancy
Highlights:
 

How far along: 32 weeks

Size of baby: 16.7 inches & 3.75 pounds

Total weight gain/loss: I don't like this question so I'll say 20+ pounds.

Maternity clothes: Love.them.  But I'm very excited to buy non-maternity spring & summer clothes!

Gender: It's a GIRL!  Who will remain nameless since we absolutely cannot decide on a name.

Movement: She's a mover & shaker!

Sleep:  As good as I can hope for with some hip pain.

What I miss:  Picking up Kinley with ease.  She is such a cuddle bug so I still hoist her on my hip & cart her around like a sack of potatoes...a 21 pound sack of potatoes!

 

Cravings:  Mexican & diet coke.

 

Symptoms: I sound like such a whiner but I've had a lot more aches & pains this pregnancy.  I'm still having major pains in my low back, near my tailbone.  It feels like my back needs to pop and it will just randomly go away so I have no idea what to do to fix it.  Last night I had a tearing/burning pain at the top of my stomach like my ab muscles were ripping apart.  Pleasant.I know.  Just keepin' it real here in blogland. :) 

Memorable moment for the week:  My memory is officially gone so I'm drawing a blank on this one...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been excited for Valentine's Day this year!  Not so much for the cards, candy, and flowers but to dress Kinley in all of her pink & red!

We started wearing our Valentine's finest last week...

I really need to start getting out my big camera instead of using all Instagram pictures...

Shirt, hair clip

I bought her onesie & elephant clip on Etsy. 

Side note - I would not recommend the shop that made her onesie, it wasn't very well made BUT Geneva Diva makes the cutest/cheapest hair clips & bows and hosts fun giveaways/contests on Facebook so I totally recommend them!  And no, I was not reimbursed - free advertising if you make good stuff! :)

Anyway, I was also determined to make a front door decoration that I saw on Pinterest.  Instead of reinventing the wheel and giving another step by step tutorial, I'll link to the one I used.  It was really simple but a little time consuming.

I changed it up a little based on what I could find at Michaels & Joann Fabrics.  The only paper mache letters were really small so found a big piece of styrofoam and traced my own letters onto it to cut out.  I also used felt instead of t-shirts & straight pins instead of hot glue.

I think I cut out 100 pink circles & 100 red circles so I did one set each night and then it took me under an hour to pin it all to the Styrofoam last weekend.

I was pretty happy with how it turned out and now I have a Valentine's decoration to use every year!

We had to get pictures this morning before we left the house!  Daddy's 3 girls on Valentine's Day.

This little sweetheart decided to get up at 5:30 and didn't really go back to sleep so pictures were a little difficult.  But lets talk about this face.  Yes, Kinley, you get whatever you want with those puppy dog eyes!

Then I asked her if she wanted to send a picture to Grandma and she perked right up with a pose and everything!  And for the record, she hated her skirt this morning and kept saying, off, off!  I'm a mean mommy & made her wear it to Aunt Sue's.  :)  Then I got a text from Sue at 8:17 saying that her skirt was already off and she gave a big "aaaah."

Love my little Valentine!

 

Later in the day I decided to compare her Valentine's Day picture from last year.  What a difference 1 year makes, wow.

And I got the best surprise of all when Sue brought Kinley up to my office for a visit and they brought me a Valentine & candy!  SO lucky to have an amazing sis-in-law/auntie-sitter for K.

Favorite Pinterest Recipes: Breakfast

I caught the Pinterest bug over a year ago and have been pinning ever since.  After looking over my boards, I realized that I pin way more food than anything else, but I have also tried more of those pins than any other.  I think I've completed 1 or 2 craft projects & maybe wore one outfit that was "pinspired."

I'm always looking for new recipes so I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites that I've tried.  (I can hardly keep up with my other regular posts so this might be a work in progress).

I will warn you all that there is maybe 1 or 2 healthy recipes out of all that I plan to post.  I'm pregnant - that's reason enough, right?  So if you're looking for a splurge meal, you've come to the right place!

Crockpot breakfast casserole
This was super easy & we had a great breakfast right when we woke up!  The only downside was that I was afraid it was going to burn so I didn't sleep well that night.  Go figure!

From A Latte with Ott, A

Puffins
I think I just blogged these a few weeks ago.  Kinley has been a great helper lately so she loved making these!  We added turkey sausage, chocolate chips, & blueberries.  Beware that there is a lot of syrup in the batter so they aren't exactly healthy but they are really good!

From Lady With the Red Rocker

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
I made these last fall when I wanted to try every pumpkin recipe that I could get my hands on!  I was actually pretty impressed with myself because they came out really well - that doesn't always happen with "made from scratch."  Bonus:  there's no yeast so they don't take very long to make!

From Bakeaholic Mama

Blueberry Breakfast Grilled Cheese
This seemed like such a "duh, why didn't I think of that" recipe that we had to try it.  I don't have a sandwich maker so we just made it on the stove like a regular grilled cheese.  SO GOOD.

From Fit From Conception

Sausage Biscuit & Gravy Casserole
My dad made sausage gravy with biscuits all the time growing up so it's always been a favorite of mine.  Obviously, when I came across this recipe I had to try it and it did taste just like the real thing!

From Learning to Trust

Have you pinned any breakfast "winners" lately?

Yawn...

So it's been almost a week since I've posted anything and although I'm sure no one is on the edge of their seat waiting for my next "genius" post, I still feel guilty for letting it slide.

Normally the blog is filled with:

and

But I've been working like crazy lately and haven't got to spend much time with the munchkin!  <Sad face>
 

Therefore, no time spent with Kinley = no content for the blog...unless you want to see a picture of my desk and computer at work and a bunch of budget related numbers.  Thrilling, I tell ya!

Since I'll be spending lots of late nights at the office this week, I'm going to try to post a few non-Kinley related things.  <Gasp>  I know, crazy, huh?!

I hope everyone has a great valentine's week and I'm going to try not to be too much of a crab.  :)

End of January

We finally got to meet baby Rowen when he & Jess came to visit!  Kinley was more interested in trying to buckle his car seat so no baby jealousy yet...

She decided to show a little interest when they were about to leave.  I think she even gave him a little kiss!

"So you're telling me that I'm going to have one of these at my house in a few months??"

"I might like that!"

Last Thursday Scott helped Matt move some furniture to their newly finished basement so Clayton & Kinley got some play time.  She wasn't too sure about him at first...

They became buddies pretty quick though.

They had lots of fun jumping!  And our little lovey even gave K a kiss!

Photo shoot time!  Their faces are too funny!

Oh the usual...Kinley laying in our bed at some point during the night.

 

Kinley & I stopped by Sue's house on Saturday morning to do Laney's hair for her gymnastics meet!

Matt & Julie hosted the Super Bowl party on Sunday and Kinley warmed up fast considering we were just over there on Thursday.  She surprised me by knowing how to hold and swing a baseball bat.  Sue & I have no idea where she learned it but she did pretty well!

I may need to invest in some sports equipment this Spring for our jockette!

The girls enjoyed socializing and watching commercials/the half time show while the guys talked sports.  We all agreed that there were only a few good commercials this year...whomp whomp.

And these two provided lots of entertainment!  Even though they are only one year apart, Clayton is more than a head taller than Kinley & for some reason this picture amplifies the difference - he looks huge!  haha.  It may look like they were angels but we heard our fair share of "no, no, no's" from Kinley when sharing was an issue.  Looks like we'll be working on playing nice before the new baby comes...



16 Months Old

Kinley -

 

I'm not sure how it happened but you're now closer to being 1 1/2 than 12 months old.  That sounds SO big!  Things aren't changing as quickly as they used to but you're still keeping us on our toes!

 

At 16 months:

 

Your favorite books include "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," "I Love You Through & Through," any of the "Where is Babies..." lift the flap book, "Googlies," and your picture book.  You definitely have your favorites and will promptly shut the book if I get one out that you don't like.  You love flipping the pages and don't stay on one very long so we have to find books with few words to keep you entertained!

You love to eat Frosted Mini Wheats with fruit in the middle (and dunk them in milk), bananas, greek yogurt, blueberries, mac n cheese, oranges, spaghetti, peaches, PB&J, and scrambled eggs.  Veggies are still not your favorite.

 

You enjoy reading books, playing with/laying on the dogs, taking baths, running around nakey, playing with your dolls, and rocking on your elephant, horse, & trike.

You learned to say thank you this month which usually sounds more like Tee-too but it works! You still call everyone MOM! I think you use it instead of saying "hey" to get everyone's attention.

You weigh 21-22 pounds and you seem so long to me so you might have grown a little this month!?  You wear size 4 diapers, 18 month clothes, and size 4 shoes.

 

Grandma gave you your first ponytail this month!  You weren't sure what to think about it but we loved it!  Your hair is growing pretty well in the back so it's looking a bit like a mullet but I can't bring myself to get it trimmed yet.



Your sleep schedule is still pretty random but you usually take at least a 1-2 hour nap per day.  Sometimes you'll get 2 naps in but not usually.  Your bed time has also changed and now it's closer to 8:30 instead of 8:00.  I've learned not to fight you on this one.  I just wait until you act tired & then put you down - it makes life easier on all of us. :) We made bath paint one night and you were in the tub for 40 minutes!  You loved painting so I think more art projects might be in order.   And can we talk about your faces!?  You have become so animated and love to imitate us when we smile, frown, laugh, and gasp.  You have us smiling & laughing from the moment we wake up and we always get great daily reports from Aunt Sue.   We love you to the moon & back, big girl!

Bump Watch 2013: Week 29

We have had some crazy weather this week but that's no surprise for Illinois!  It was going to be in the 60's on Monday so I decided to dress Kinley & myself in Spring colors.  I thought we looked like Easter eggs!  Kinley & Aunt Sue even took Uncle RoRo out on a walk to enjoy the gorgeous weather.  Unfortunately, in true Illinois form, a cold front swept through and we're in the single digits today.  Bitter.Cold.  I'm so ready for Spring!

Now that I've re-read that, I'm a major weather dork.  Maybe I should become a weather girl?!  haha.  I blame my dad's weather obsession.  :)

Anyway, since we got an impromptu belly pick, I thought I'd add a weekly baby bump post (minus the chalkboard).

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: 15.3 inches & 2.5 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:  20 pounds

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all maternity
wear now since it's so comfortable!  Still loving my skinny colored denim!

Gender: It's a GIRL!!

Movement: I think we have a little gymnast in
there!

Sleep:  Kinley has been sleeping really well this week, praise the lord!  I've been sleeping pretty well, too.

What I miss:  Easily rolling over in bed.  Now it's a chore filled with moans & groans.  (Scott likes to make fun of my dramatic ways).

 

Cravings:  Nothing crazy this week but Scott is complaining about my random grocery store purchases.  This time it was corn dogs & donut holes.  We totally don't need them but they sounded good and I definitely give myself a break in the eating department when I'm pregnant.

Symptoms: Some intense low back pain at times.

Memorable moment for the week:  This isn't really a "memorable moment" but something I thought I'd share.  I've been holding out on shopping for baby #2 but I couldn't resist this deal on Zulily a week ago:

I mean, seriously, a frilly dress in one of my favorite colors?!  AND the back is cut up so you can see the ruffle butt diaper cover.  I just about bought one in every color!

This is totally not a paid advertisement but check out Zulily if you haven't already, I can always find some super cute/unique things.  Some items are still a little expensive but it's always fun to look.  And if you order something, can I send you an invite/referral?  I get a little credit whenever I add people, win-win!

So that ended up being a totally random post - weather, pregnancy, and shopping!  I hope everyone has a great weekend!