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.

1 Month Old

Kinley -

I can't believe it's been a whole month already!!  Boy, have we come a long way from that first week!  I feel like this month has been a lot of "getting to know you."  Getting to know your personality, how you like to be held, what things you like to sit in, how often you like to eat, how long you sleep, when you nap, etc.

Since you've slept a lot this month we haven't got to see much of your personality yet.  When you're belly is full, you're content and sweet as a button but when you're hungry or wet, you're pretty feisty!  At the end of the month you started smiling at us and we are so excited to see more smiles and how your personality develops!

You are definitely a snuggler - you don't like when we put you down very much.  I'm pretty sure you would be held all day if we could.  You love when we hold you out in front of us and bounce you up and down - that's quite a bicep workout for whover is holding you!  You also love to be walked and bounced around, I guess that's one way to get mommy back in shape!

We bought you this super-awesome cadillac of swings that we knew you would love!  Not so much - you're definitely not a fan.  We hope that you'll learn to love it as you grow since most kids love swings...right?!  haha. 

One place that you do love to hang out is your changing table.  We think it helps you work the air out of your little buddha belly since you're a pretty gassy girl! : )  You'll lay there forever just looking around your room at the lights and shadows.  Actually, all of the lights in our house keep you entertained no matter what room we're hanging out in.  You've really been focusing on objects a lot better during the last week.

Looking at the lights

You are a very good eater and your belly is evidence of that.  I think you would eat every hour if I let you!  I would catch myself saying "you can't be hungry already!" all the time - I'm such a mean mommy ; )  By the end of the month we had established a pretty good eating routine every 2-3.5 hours and more often in the evenings.  You'll go longer at night in between feedings so that we can all get some sleep, thank goodness!  

You slept through the night (6 hours straight) for the first time during week 3 and have been sleeping 5-6 hours straight most nights.  We usually put you down around 10pm and you'll sleep until 3 or 4am and then we're up again between 6 & 7am for the day - we aren't complaining!  After our morning "play time" you go down for a nap around 10am and sleep really well until noon.  Then you snooze for a few more hours and wake up for the remainder of the day between 2 and 3.  You're usually up for the rest of the afternoon and evening with small cat naps.  You get pretty fussy from 6-10pm so mommy and daddy spend the evenings rocking you, walking you, bouncing you, etc - anything to keep you happy.

We love listening to you squeak and grunt especially while you sleep and stretch.  You haven't started cooing much yet so we cherish every little squeak you make!

Stretching in Aunt Maureen's arms

You got really good use out of your newborn clothes as you were in that size all month.  Some of your sleepers are starting to get tight so I have a feeling we'll be moving onto 0-3 months pretty soon.  I put on the outfit that you wore home from the hospital and it looked like highwaters on you.  Grandma told me to get out a tub and start putting away the clothes you're outgrowing - we thought that was pretty sad!  We want you to keep growing but not too fast!  You've also been in newborn diapers all month, but we'll be moving onto size 1 when we're done with this box.

You have your 1 month doctor appointment Monday so I'll update your stats then.  Update: You weighed 10 lbs 8 oz & were 20.5 inches long - you're definitely growing!  I didn't get the "percentile" info but you were in the middle of the curve on everything.

We love you so so so much already and can't wait to see how you grow and change in the next few months!  (but not too fast, haha).

Has it been 4 weeks already?!?

Hi blog readers!

Our busy weekend continued with a trip to Southwind Park on Monday morning (Columbus day).  It was a gorgeous morning for a walk so the park was pretty busy.  We played on the playground for a while, walked around the park on the trail, and ate Head West for lunch, yum!  It was nice to finally get some exercise!

Maille's backflip

Laney before her backflip 

How Brayden felt about being the only boy...

Just kidding! He didn't care : ) 

Kinley snoozin at the park

Kinley & me under the arches

The cousins minus Rian & Aidan

B pushed Kinley for me

Maille, me, Kinley & Kim before they hit the road

Monday (10/10/11) was also our 1 year wedding anniversary!  This year has flown by, probably because we were a little pre-occupied for 9 of the months.  We reflected on what we were doing 1 year ago in Sanibel - I was getting ready at the spa, Scott sat at the pool bar until he had to get ready, saying "I do," watching a beautiful sunset, dancing up a storm, and partying the night away.  

This year, we left Kinley with my parents so we could have a date night.  This was the first time we left her and even though I totally trust my parents, I was still a little anxious.  I felt so guilty for leaving her but I knew I needed to get over that.  We hadn't had sushi in forever so we indulged at Osaka!  We also had key lime pie martinis in honor of our key lime wedding cake.

The restaurant was dead so we were back home in an hour and a half.  My parents figured we scarfed down our food & hurried back home to Kinley but we actually took our time, haha.  My mom even popped some champagne & made us key lime cupcakes to celebrate!  We couldn't have asked for a better 1 year anniversary gift than our little peanut!

Aunt Beth & her roomie Gayle came up from STL to see Kinley on Wednesday and brought Laura to visit.  We did a lot of sitting around, catching up, and relaxing.  We tried to snap a quick pic before they left but Kinley was hungry and wasn't having it.

Laura pinched her! haha

Kinley had her first long road trip this week!  We traveled to Rock Island on Saturday for my cousin Amanda's baby shower.  She and Eric are due in December and we can't wait to meet their little boy!  I was a little nervous to drive 2.5 hours with a newborn in the car so we allowed some extra time in case we needed to stop.  I'm guessing that Kinley wanted to show off so that she could road trip again because she was perfect.  She slept the whole way up, I fed her at my grandparents house, she slept for most of the shower, I fed her again before we left, and she slept almost the whole way home.  She was pretty content when she was awake so I was sooo relieved.  (I know it won't always be that way)!  It was great to see my aunts and cousins since we don't get up there nearly enough!  

Kinley had one final "first" this week - the huge blowout...and mommy got to change it.

Scott's caption:  "Who smuggled the mustard?!"

(And yes, I know these get worse) haha!