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!!

18 Months Old!

Luckily I wrote this post before Laiken was born but still needed to add pictures and I've finally got that done!  We took Kinley to get her pictures taken the week before Laiken came, thank goodness!  She totally didn't want to be there so we almost left without buying anything but I figured that these show Kinley's personality at this point in her life so we bought a few. :)

Oh, and I should mention that Kinley turned 18 months on March 19...I'm a little behind.

Kinley -

You are officially a year and a half old, my how time flies!  Here's what you've been up to lately:

Words that you use the most:  up, down, yogurt, strawberry, paci, make animal sounds, garbage, walk, and we're still working on grandma (sometimes it sounds like Buga or muga)

You can say the names of your favorite shows - Doc, Jake, Mickey

You point to most of your body parts when asked.

You love being held and carried around but I still do it because I know you won't be the "baby" much longer.

You're getting better at feeding yourself with a spoon and fork.  You love to cook with me and always want to dump ingedients in the bowl and stir which usually results in a mess.

I've always thought you were going to be left handed but lately you've been using your right hand more often.

You've discovered a love for drawing and coloring.  I can give you a notebook/coloring book and a crayon and you will go to town, coloring a little bit on every page.  You also love to use the magna-doodle at g-ma & g-pa's house.  You always want everyone else involved in coloring so we all take turns doodling with you.  My favorite is when you lay on your tummy and cock your head to the side while you color.  I think you look so big!

You're still definitely a mommy's girl which melts my heart but I'm sure it breaks daddy's heart, too.  You two have lots of fun together but when you have a choice, you always want me to hold you.  We're hoping this changes when little sister comes along so you and daddy can be buddies while I'm tending to baby.

You weigh around 22 pounds, wear size 4 diapers, & mostly 18 month clothes.  You have 12 teeth (front 8 & 4 molars) but 2 more bottom teeth look like they'll be here soon!

We can't wait to see what the next few months bring!  We love you!

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!

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!

15 Months Old

You are a walking machine!
 

In November you saw someone mowing the grass and said "mow, mow" - "da da."  It's official, you're a genius!  (haha).

You babble non-stop and are still cracking us up by disciplining the dogs.

I think you have the softest, sweetest voice and love to hear you talk.  You've learned to say "Dowa" for Aunt Cora and "bubbles" when you take a bath.  You also love telling us things that are "hot" and you blow on them.
 

You are constantly on the move and into everything, especially things that you know you aren't supposed to touch.  You're pretty good at listening and will usually stop when we ask.

You love playing in the dogs' water bowl so most nights I have to put it on the counter, poor puppies!  Sometimes you will crawl over to it and I'll say "Kinley..." and you shake your head and say "no-no" as you splash your hand into it - stinker!
 

Everything else is holding steady.  You weigh 20 pounds 10 ounces, wear size 18 month clothes, size 4 shoes, and are __ inches tall.  You have 8 teeth in front and all 4 of your molars popped through this month!
 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & Chuggington are your favorite tv shows.  You aren't into watching tv much except right after you wake up in the mornings and sometimes right before bed.

You certainly keep us on our toes!  When I'm getting ready in the bathroom, you want to open all the cabinets and throw everything out.  When I'm eating dinner, you want to hold my utensil and push the food around on my plate.  If I'm turning off the lights at night, you want to turn them on and off yourself.  Let's not even talk about loading the dishwasher, YOU must always be involved somehow.  It may sound like I'm complaining but I absolutely love that you are so interested in trying to do everything that we're doing.  You're exploring and sometimes pushing our limits but that just means you're growing and learning new things everyday and for that, I'm so thankful.

We love you, big sis!

14 Months Old

Since these monthly posts are hard to keep up on, I'm going to combine this with my leftover November pictures that never made the blog.  Two birds with one stone - but it might get confusing with picture captions and lots of rambling, I apologize in advance.

 

So what have you been up to lately, Kinley?

Thought it was pretty funny that your carseat was in the house.

You're finally walking!  After your 13 month "birthday" you took your first series of steps and you've been practicing ever since.  You run around the coffee table with one hand and bravely walk from the table to your car or toys.  Usually it's only 5 steps and then you'll fall to your knees to crawl but you're getting more daring every day! 

Making a silly face eating a whole sandwich

I held off on calling you a "walker" but I think it's safe to say that you're basically there.  You've walked across the room a few times and you hold onto any wall or object that's around so you can stay upright.  I'm sure in the next week or two it will totally click and you'll be a full time walker - yikes!

Daddy found a frog in the garage & you said Ooooohhh

You are also quite the daredevil and I swear you get that from your daddy!  You love crawling up on your rocking chair, standing backwards, and rocking as hard as you can.  Needless to say, you've been hearing 'no no' a lot lately.  You also like trying to go down the stairs by holding the rail or the wall instead of going "safe way."

Who doesn't mow the carpet on their knees?

You have 4 teeth on the top & 4 on the bottom and we even found that a molar started popping through a few weeks ago!  You love to act like you're brushing your teeth.

Pulled the ads off the table & fell asleep in your nest.

You've taken a bigger interest in the dogs and like to tell them no-no when they bark.  I even caught you hitting their head and saying it...oops!  (Maybe I need to quick swatting at them when they're annoying).

This happened at 9pm one night when daddy was gone.  Your bedtime is at 8pm.  Fun times.

You're really enjoying music class and have finally started to warm up.  You even got off my lap when we were using instruments and crawled over to the mom & baby sitting next to us.  This is huge, people!  You're teacher still likes to say that you're the super serious one but we got a smile and giggle out of you a few times!

Bed.head. Hilarious.

 Your vocabulary is still kind of the same as last month, no new major words lately.  You love saying mamamama when you're playing or when you're crying and I swear you say the word "more" 123,082,342 times a day!  We've even heard you say it in your sleep so it's pretty hilarious!  Sometimes I catch you trying to repeat what we say by practicing your "s" and "t" sounds.

Helping grandpa open his birthday presents

 I'm starting to wish that I had kept you in 12 month clothes longer because all the 18 month outfits are still too big.  You're still in size 4 diapers so no major change in your height or weight.

Riding my bouncy horse from the 80's (you aren't a fan yet).

 You're such a little lovey and love to snuggle.  Sometimes when you're really tired you'll pat me or daddy's back and sing aaahhhaahh...  It's too sweet.

Daddy told you this was ok, not my fault.  ;)

 I've heard people say that every stage was their favorite and I totally agree.  Just as soon as I think you're doing the cutest, most awesome thing, you do something totally new the next week and you've impressed me even more!  I know I'll regret saying this but I can't wait until you use your words to communicate more so we know exactly what you want.  But for now, pointing and head shakes/nods are working just fine.

We love you, big sister!

12 Month's Old!

Kinley -

Your first year was filled with so many firsts and we had so much fun experiencing them with you.  Your personality has grown leaps and bounds over the last few months and you are SO fun to play and interact with!

So excited to be 1!!  What a cheeseball!
 

Here's the rundown of what you've learned during your first year:

You love fruit & carbs - you would live on these if we let you.  Sometimes you will eat vegetables if we hide them so we're working on that.  Some of your favorite foods include:  spaghetti, grapes, cheerios, eggs, cheese, bananas, waffles, hamburger, watermelon, chicken tacos, raspberries, and ham.

You've mastered some tricks like:  waving, clapping, pointing at everything, showing us that you're "so big" (arms in the air), cruising like crazy, giving hugs & sometimes kisses, rocking/dancing, stacking rings, and pushing buttons.
 

You know where your belly, ears, hair, and nose are.

You know that your shoes go on your feet, shirt goes over your head, and bows go in your hair.  You aren't tolerating the bows like you used to though. :(

You love to babble but on command you can say:  mama, dada, bubba (buffett), mowa (more), kyky (Kylie), Lala (Laney), uh-oh, bye, & boo-ah (balloon).  You know 2 animal noises when we ask you what they say:  cow (moo) and lion/monster (you growl).

Your main mode of transportation is crawling.  You still don't have much desire to walk and that's fine.  We've already learned that things are always on your schedule, not ours, and that's perfectly fine with us!

Recently, your sleep has improved tremendously!  (I know I'm going to jinx myself for saying that).  You still like going to sleep between 7:30 and 8:00 and wake up around 5:15am for your paci and will sleep for another hour.  You always seem to wake up fussy though so we can tell that you still need more sleep.

Right after your first birthday, you actually slept until 7:00am a few days!  We're crossing our fingers that this continues!

"Where are your teeth?"

You wear size 4 diapers and have moved into 18 month clothes.  The length is usually too long for your arms & legs so you have room to grow.  We also had you sized for your first pair of big kid shoes!  You measured a size 3.5/4 with room to grow and you look so grown up in your new tennis shoes!
 

You weigh 20 lbs 12 oz (65%) and are 28 1/4 inches long (17%).  Looks like we still have a shorty on our hands but you have plenty of time to grow!

As much as your daddy and I would love to keep you a baby forever, we are so excited to transition to the next toddler stage and see how life changes again! 
 

You've taught us so much this year, I don't even know where to start...patience, lots of patience, trust in our families to be there for you when we can't be, how to put someone else's needs 110% before our own, how to change a diaper after a baby learns how to roll over (and climb), how to eat a cold dinner with one hand, how to function on no sleep, but most of all, how to love another being unconditionally no matter what.
 

You have also taught us what being a mommy and daddy is all about - fun, rewarding, exhausting, but SO worth it!

We love you more than you will ever know, sweet Kinley!
 

xo -

mommy & daddy

11 Months Old!

Kinley -

 

I know time flies with kids but I never would have guessed that it would have gone this fast!  It just doesn't seem possible that you're almost 1 year old.

I can't get you to sit and look at me for your pictures...

 

You were a crawling machine this month and into everything!  You love pulling up on tables, tv stands, couches, just about anything that's low enough for you to reach.  You're so interested in pushing buttons and turning knobs, a very detail oriented little monkey. 

 

You seem to be closer to walking but you just don't act that interested.  You'll hold our hands and walk but after a while you lunge forward and crawl away because you're much faster that way.  You walk around the coffee table and hold onto things with one hand and think you're big stuff.

 

You're obviously too big to just sit and smile:

Your sleep keeps improving and you sleep through the night from 8pm-6am for the most part.  You still have your occasional 5am wake up but we can usually get you to go back down for a while.

 

Your naps are all over the board.  Sometimes a morning nap, sometimes an afternoon, and other times just some snoozes in the car.  You definitely take the best naps if we're holding you...spoiled...but it melts my heart!

You babble all the time and still do your fake laugh and cough, it's hilarious!  We also get some major belly laughs out of you when we play peekaboo and sometimes you just crack yourself up!

 

You're still pretty shy around new people and take some time to warm up.  I'm not sure if this picture is your shy pose or if you're doing your newest trick - holding the phone up to your ear (b/c I was taking pictures with my phone).  You love "talking" on the phone!

You're new favorite song is the itsy-bitsy spider.  You are really good at mimicking our hand motions and love when we sing it over and over!

 

You're also such a little lover.  You give your babies lovies and have started giving them big drooly kisses, too!  Mommy & daddy just can't seem to get kisses yet, only hugs.

Here's lil mama, lovin' on her babydoll.  You have such a tender heart (but there's also a little temper in there, too). :)

Smooches for babydoll!

 

You're still an awesome eater and haven't refused to eat much of what we offer.  You love cheerios and a few new favorites include spaghetti, mandarin oranges, and waffles.  You would definitely eat fruit for every meal if you could - maybe that's mommy's sweet tooth?

 

Luckily, we haven't been to the doctor since your 9 month appointment so I don't have height or weight but I'm imagining just over 20 pounds and short, ha!  You still wear 9-12 and 12 month clothes and we've added in a few 18 month outfits with room to grow.  You wear size 3 diapers but have worn 4's, too, so we're almost ready to transition.

And I almost forgot to add that you have 6 teeth!  You have 2 on the bottom & all 4 on top are poking through.  We think you will look so different once your teeth actually come in all the way & I'm excited to see!

Your little personality gets cuter by the day with all of your squeals, grunts, giggles, and babbles!  You are such a blessing in our life and we can't wait to celebrate your 1st birthday with you in a few short weeks!

 

We love you SO much!!

10 Months Old!

Kinley -

A few weeks ago you turned 10 months old!  We've been quite busy during the last month so I'll try to do the best I can for a recap.

You still only have 2 teeth but those top ones have been ready to pop through all month!  Your little grin cracks me up, the way you crinkle your nose and open your mouth.

Your monthly pictures have become nearly impossible because you're on the move...all the time!  That also explains the awful quality pictures from my phone...oh well.

Here you are playing peekaboo in your crib - you love that game!  You also still love clapping, waving, & dancing but have added a new trick - giving lovies.  Lovies are basically just hugs but you are so good at giving them to us and your stuffed animals.  Talk about melt my heart!

<No I will not pose for a picture, mom...ok fine I'll look>

You're still a pretty good eater and try most of the things we offer.  You LOVE eating cheerios for breakfast while daddy makes your bottles and pasta at dinner time while I cook.  You still love hummus, guacamole, and peaches and act like you might die if we don't give you some!

You are pulling up on everything and could care less about toys most of the time.  You would much rather be exploring the ground or throwing things off the coffee table or tv stand...stinker!  Did I mention electrical outlets??  Aunt Sue & I can hardly keep you away, but luckily they're covered. You've really started to jabber a lot!  Sometimes you sound like you're trying to say words and other times you just yell, but in an excited way.  You are loud! :) Lately you have been saying mama, dada, bubu (Buffett or bottle), & muuh muuh (more?). You added a new state to your list this month when we went to Texas for Jake & Kaylen's wedding.  You were such a good girl during the drive and surprised us all! I can't forget to mention that you're now a crawling machine!!  It seems like after we got home from Texas you took off.  No more sitting around playing with toys for you! You're in 12 month clothes and a few 18 month outfits.  You wear size 3 diapers and I'm guessing you weigh around 20 pounds.   I can't believe we're so close to your 1st birthday, it seems unreal!  It's funny because most of your other "birthdays" have made me sad but lately I've been so happy and excited to watch you grow and learn new things everyday!   We love you, monkey, KK, Kinleybear, peanut! :)