Nursing School Graduation

My brother and Alicia graduated from nursing school in May.  We packed up and drove down and I had 2 sleepy girls in the car.



 

Kinley was very excited that her uncle & aunt are going to be nurses, woohoo!

There were 2 ceremonys to attend and it ended up being a super cold, rainy day.  That made carrying 2 kids and an umbrella an impossible task, especially when running through a huge parking lot.

The first ceremony was pretty quick and the girls did great.  Laiken slept and Kinley just hung out on our laps.  The second one got pretty long and Kinley wanted to run the bleachers...lots of fun for mom, not! 

Family pictures with the new grads!

We went out to dinner to celebrate & have a few drinks.



We stayed in a hotel over night and it was less than pleasant.  Laiken did fine but Kinley woke up screaming like a night terror (probably because she didn't know where she was).  I decided that it would be a while before we stayed over night anywhere...   Even considering the circumstances, we had a fun day celebrating our new nurses in the family!

19-22 Months Old!

Kinley -
I thought I would recap a few months at a time now that things aren't changing as quickly as they used to.  Your vocabulary is the thing that changes the most these days and it's SO fun when you remember different words.

So what have you been up to for the past few months!?
You've become a much better sleeper & I'm so thankful for that. You still end up in our bed some nights but ever since we've moved to the new house you sleep in your bed more often than not. 

You also sleep past 7:00 on most mornings!! I thought you would be a 5am riser forever! Unfortunately, now Laiken has taken your spot. You nap once a day, usually 1-2 hours in the morning. Sometime you get an afternoon nap, especially at Grandma Weezies.

You wear size 4 diapers & your clothing sizes are all over the place.  You're still in a lot of 18 month bottoms and dresses and 18-24 mo/2T shirts.

You blow bubbles in the bath & swim like a fish. You say splash, bubbles, washy, boat, and fishy (wishy).

Your other favorite words are: dirty, mess, colors (yellow, blue, purple, pink, black), swing, outside, ok, I know, no way, come on (c'mon), watch, and Ka (Laiken).  AND you're finally calling me mommy instead of mom-mom and know how to say Sue!

You are super observant.  You associate objects with different people: neon shirts (Lala), my nike's (Coco).  You also know which side of the bed is mine & daddy's and you recognize our cars.

You love being quizzed on names and can now say your own name and grandma, grandpa, GG, and your aunts, uncles & cousins.

Favorite songs are Wagon Wheel, ABC's, Gangnam Style (ha!), itsy bitsy spider.

You try putting your shoes on & are somewhat successful. You also love brushing your teeth!

Just a few weeks ago you started showing an interest in the potty. One day you just started taking off your diaper saying potty, potty! After 30 minutes of sitting on the potty, you went! From there, you've wanted to go at least once per day but we haven't started seriously training.

There is just no stopping you anymore! From the minute you wake up to the minute you finally give in and fall asleep, you are busy busy busy! It's so fun watching you learn and explore even the simplest things.

I still can't believe you'll be 2 in 8 short weeks! I can't even think about it :*(

We love you more than life!!

Laiken: 1 month old!

Laiken -

You turned 1 month old on May 9, just a few days shy of my 29th birthday!  I really enjoyed spending my days with you.  Life was so busy when it was just me & Kinley but since Kinley is going to Aunt Sue's during the day, we get lots of time to bond & I'm eating it up!  It's nice to have some time to relax with you.

We've already made a few trips to Walmart, Lowe's & Target so you're a little pro by now.  It definitely helps that you sleep most of the day away!  You're a great napper during the day & I've had to wake you up to eat most of the time.  Nights are hit & miss but you're doing ok.  You slept through the night (6 hours) for the first time during week 3.  Now you do that every so often & we love it!

You're starting to smile at us and it just melts our hearts!  We've spent this month getting to know your sweet personality.  You are so laid back and chill, not much bothers you, thank goodness!  You're content in your swing, on your play mat, or being held.  You just don't like your car seat much yet but I'm pretty sure that's normal.

We also moved to a new house when you were 3 weeks old, talk about a major change!  You've done great and we've settled in really well.  You were a trooper when we would go to the old house & get everything packed up.  We have been super busy but I've made sure to make time for you!

At your 1 month appointment you weighed just over 9 pounds & were 22 inches long.  You were so well behaved for your doctor and just watched everything around you.  Life isn't quite as crazy as I thought it would be with 2 babies but it definitely has it's moments!  Luckily, you are so laid back that you help me relax, too.

We love you SO SO SO much, Laiken!

April 2013

I can hardly remember our first month home.  We were living at our old house and just buying our current one, life was a little crazy.  Besides packing boxes throughout the day, I was loving on this new little bundle of joy!

Sleepy birdy...

Fun comparison of the 2 girls - can you guess which is which?!

Kinley                        Laiken

I kept Kinley home a few times throughout the week so we could bond and have fun welcoming her new sister.

She was pretty infatuated with her and then didn't care much at all other times.

Laiken saying her prayers.

Fresh from the tub:

On the way to Laiken's first doctor's appointment!  She was SO well behaved.

She loved hanging on her changing table just like big sis did when she was a baby.

We introduced Laiken to our favorite store when she was 1 week old!  I thank God for the women in my life that help me out so I stay sane!  :)

Kinley obviously still loves Target, too!

Another fresh out of the bath photo - before her newborn pictures.

Kinley wanted to play toys instead of pose for pictures with her little sis...welcome to toddler life.

My little milk-drunk birdy and her first smile caught on camera!

We spent a lot of time hanging in her boppy pillow between naps and feedings. Laiken was such a chill baby!  I think she looks like a little teddy bear here...

She's also a thinker..

We hung out in bed a lot when Scott was leaving for work and I got some great shots of Kinley loving on Laiken.

We watched a lot of Doc and Mickey Mouse and shared lots of smiles and lovies.

I SO miss these precious moments that I had with my babies now that Laiken is already getting bigger.

My baby feeding my baby. Melt.My.Heart.  
And don't even get me started on that Pebbles ponytail!  Kinley has already grown so much since then!!

These were obviously her first days wearing a ponytail in her hair. :)
She became a pro at taking care of her babydoll.

Another cuddly teddy bear picture...

Laiken loves sleeping in the Rock N Play just like Kinley did.

One day I looked in my back seat and thought, "is this for real?!"  My, how life has changed in less than 2 years...

Jess & Rowan came to visit one night and we had to get these future lake kids' first picture together!  Wait until you see this little man now!

We had a really busy first month but I made sure to slow down and take time to take in the little moments with my new baby just like I did with Kinley.  Before I had Laiken I wondered how on earth would I make time for both babies.  They were going to be so young that they both would still need a ton of attention!  They do both require a lot of my attention but surprisingly, I feel like I'm balancing it pretty well.
Life.is.good.

Welcome home Laiken Grace!

Here are a few more from my phone from the first & second day in the hospital.

Like an old pro... Swirly dark hair! Another grandpa's girl.

Unfortunately, we had to stay 2 nights in the hospital since my water had been leaking and they wanted to watch for infection.  We had a few visitors the night before and got one last night of rest before we were on our own.

 After what seemed like a week, we were finally released! Getting Laiken dressed & ready to go.

We had to remind a nurse or 2 that Laiken (dressed in pink) was a girl, lol.  She had a turquoise ribbon which might have thrown people off??? 

 Get me outta here!

I took a few random pictures like I did with Kinley to remember the day.  From what I remember, my tunic & leggings was definitely not warm enough on that brisk April morning.

We should probably buy stock in Starbucks with 2 kids under 2 years old...

 When we got home we introduced the dogs & they welcomed Laiken just like Kinley.  Very interested...

 My parents brought Kinley over and she was so excited to see her baby!  Looking back, I think it's so crazy that everyone is wearing fleece coats in April.  It was unseasonably cold until June this year.

 I wish this picture would have come out better but I love the way I'm looking at my first baby girl.

 Big sis reminding Laiken who she is.

 Some family came to hang out and visit that night, too.  Here's Delaney meeting her newest cousin.

 Kinley loved the balloons that we got at the hospital!

 Cousin Kylie & Laiken!

 This picture cracks me up...you can tell Brayden is telling Kinley, "be careful, watch out for Laiken!"  What a good protective cousin.

 The boy cousins are now outnumbered 5 to 3, sorry B!

I'm just realizing that I don't have pictures with half of the family so I'll have to steal those from them!  Anyway...

It was so nice to get home and sleep in our own bed.  From what I remember, the first night was pretty uneventful, thank goodness.  Just up every few hours to feed Laiken.