5 Months Old!

Kinley -

You have grown so much this month & are really starting to act like a big girl (baby).  I started sitting you up more and you seem to enjoy it a lot!  Sometimes you end up hunched over trying to eat your toes but you've learned to sit up straight pretty well by yourself until you decide to gracefully topple/roll over.

You rolled over completely by yourself on January 28 (from belly to back).  I tried to get it on video but you didn't want to perform after you did it once.  You still don't like tummy time very much so you haven't rolled over much since then but I'm not concerned.

You're still very talkative & giggly, especially on your changing table!  I melt when you're laying on your changing table and I lean down to give you kisses and you grab my cheeks and lay a big slobbery open mouth kiss on me!

Your toes always seem to find a way in your mouth, too!  I need to post the video of that!

You are starting to favor a few people like mommy, daddy, and Aunt Sue.  You see your grandparents weekly but still take a little bit to warm up since you don't see them daily.  Both grandpa's and Uncle Andy make you cry - we're guessing you aren't used to men yet since you mainly see women.  We keep reminding them that you'll come around!

You have really taken an interest in the dogs.  You like to grab Tiki's face and always stare at that silly squishy face.  When Buffett realizes you are petting him, he gives you one quick look and jets off the couch! haha

Staying asleep continues to be an issue but you are pretty good at going to sleep.  We started putting you down a little groggy instead of fully asleep and you've been able to put yourself to sleep pretty well (at 8pm).  We still play the paci game a few times per night & you're always up to eat a little after 5 even if we try to make you wait longer.  Dr. Dolan told us to let you cry and you'd figure out how to soothe yourself but mommy & daddy haven't let you cry for too long yet.  Yep, we're already wrapped around your finger...uh oh! :)

You make new noises all the time, it's a riot!  You're squeeling up a storm & sometimes you'll even yell if we're in the other room!  You always want someone hanging out with you.

You try to hold your bottle when we're walking from the kitchen to the living room and usually end up getting it in your mouth!  You're also still holding your bottle when you eat but it's still too heavy for you to do the whole time.

We started cereal on Monday, February 6.  We heard it might help you sleep better and we were ready to try anything if it meant we got more sleep!  You loved the cereal & even tried to help us feed you.  (We didn't notice a difference in your sleep but it's still fun for something new at night).  We're still planning to start you on baby food after your 6 month appointment & we can't wait!


I still can't believe that your next post will be your 1/2 birthday!  Stop growing so fast! : )


We love you, Kinley (K, Kin, sissy, babydoll)!!

Grandma Evelyn's 80th Birthday!

My Grandma Evelyn turned 80 on January 21st and all 7 of her kids flew in to celebrate!  We met up on Friday night at D'arcy's Pint for horseshoes - a must for any out of towner!  We stuck with salads since we can have a horseshoe anytime, plus I don't think my bathing suit would appreciate all of that cheese sauce! 

**Warning** picture overload!

Laura & Craig



Jake, his fiance' Kaylen, & Garrett from Texas



Phil's parents, Phil & Pam from Texas



Sophie, Aunt Patricia, Aunt Denise, & Uncle Mike x's 2



Uncle Mark, mom, Grandma, Aunt Rindie, Uncle Mark



Uncle Mike & Uncle Scott (representing Texas)

 

Cora, Scott, & me



Ashley & her sweet tooth ordered strawberry shortcake, yum!

I'm sure Presley enjoyed it in her belly, too.

After dinner we went back to my parents house to hang, have a few cocktails, and catch up.

Craig, Laura, & Andy



Mom, Kaylen, & Pam
 

Kinley eating her hands like always



We were up bright and early Saturday morning to surprise Grandma with manicures & pedicures for a relaxing birthday morning.  Almost all of her daughters, granddaughters, & great-granddaughters were able to go, it was so nice!  I think we were just missing Tami, Cheyenne, Priscilla, Lola, & Rachele. 

Cousins: Amanda, Alexa, Sophie, & Cora

Beth & Aunt P talking 'nurse'

LJ & Ava

GG, Ava, & Laura

After our morning at the spa, Grandma & her kids went to get family pictures taken.  It sounds like they had tons of fun, especially with the props!  I think it's awesome that all of her kids made it back to celebrate her birthday.

 Grandma & her kids

 The girls

 Not sure how they got the guys to agree to this!

"Lucky 7"

These 7 kids gave her 19 grandchildren & 7 (almost 8) great-grandchildren so far!  If you count our spouses like she does, that's 30 grandkids!  (I think my math is right...)

That night we went to Chesapeake Seafood House for a nice dinner.

Me & my babydoll

Family photo & yes, I admit, that I might

have slightly coordinated outfits ; )



Uncle Mike giving a toast & sharing fun stories about G-ma

Some of the young grandkids

Sophie, Alexa, Cade, Hadley, Sam, & Cole



The kids helping her blow out her candles!

Aunt Patricia made a slide show and set up a huge screen to play pictures of grandma throughout the night.  It was so fun to see the really old pictures and even some that were only 5-10 years old - we all looked so young!  We did our fair share of making fun of each others style choices back in the day - it was too easy!  Some of my grandmas friends came by after dinner to wish her a happy birthday and hang out.  I think she really enjoyed her special day.

On Sunday morning we tried to recreate our 'cousins' picture but we were missing quite a few and the kids weren't really having it.  Makes me laugh!

My Grandma has always been an amazing and very hard working woman and I can only hope to be half as great as she is! She raised 7 kids on the farm and a the younger ones basically by herself after my grandpa passed away, something I could never even imagine! Not only is she selfless and loving but she's also tech savvy - the family got her an iPad for Christmas! Always so hip. :)

I hope you had an amazing birthday that you'll never forget, Grandma (GG) - We love you!

Wednesday Random

So I'm a little behind on the blog & this always makes me overwhelmed so I put off updating it even longer, ugh.  Does this happen to any other bloggers?

Anyway, I should really be working on the state budget since the budget address is next Wednesday and we're crazy busy right now BUT I wanted to blog a sweet snippet from today instead.

While putting together an audit packet I wrote my name at the top & it made me smile so I sent Scott this text:

Oooh young love. I know, I know, gag me! hahaha but I still love it!

My Little Valentine

We didn't have a very exciting Valentine's Day yesterday & that's fine with me.  I was stuck at work until 9pm so we wouldn't have had time to do anything anyway. 

It was still a very special valentine's day though because it was Kinley's first!  Here's a picture of our favorite little valentine rocking her onesie from Aunt Beth.

I just need to squish those cheeks!

Later that day I got the best V-day surprise delivery...nope not flowers, but my valentine!

She loves those fingers lately (actually her whole fist) so we couldn't get them out for a quick pic.  Oh well, love her anyway!

Beth's 26th Birthday

Beth turned 26 on January 6 so I roadtripped to STL to celebrate with my sister!  This was the rare occassion that I make an exception and stay out way too late and regret it in the morning.  Kinley stayed home and had daddy time.

The gang at dinner

We went to Rosalita's (a mexican place) for dinner and enjoyed margaritas and great food!  The margaritas were a little larger than we anticipated so we were feeling pretty good when we left.

Beth & Michael

Our first stop was Double D's, a kareoke bar by the Galleria.  I really wanted to go shopping but tried to stay focused on the birthday!  :)  We had a few beers, some shots, and learned the real words to a few songs.  Did anyone know that New York by Alicia Keyes said "concrete jungle" in it??  Nope, neither did we.  Oooh the things you'll learn at kareoke.  None of us were brave enough to get on stage though so we just enjoyed the performances.

The gang + 2 sweet doctors that they work with!
Super fun girls!

We went to a couple other bars and ended up at the Library which is next to SLU so there were tons of college kids there.  I'm pretty sure we went there a few years ago and got called old so I vowed to never go there again!  I think this is the 2nd time I've been there since then, ha!  It's close to Beth's apartment so it's usually our last stop on the way home.  I felt the need to show everyone that "I still got it" on the dance floor even though I'm a mom.  I'm sure the hubs would have been proud!  ; )

Sibs pic

We ended the adventure at 3am and I don't think I got to bed until 4.  This mama was up and ready to get home to my Kinley bear at 9.  I'm pretty sure that my brain just knows that I can't afford to have a hangover while taking care of a child because I felt fine all day!  Pre-mama Sarah would have laid on the couch all day eating popcycles. :)  "Mama Sarah" got home and played with my munchkin all day!

It definitely gets hard balancing being a new mom with still keeping your committment to family & friends.  I'm so glad that I took an evening off to celebrate with my sister and make lots of fun memories!  (but I was also really glad to return home to see my princess).


Happy Birthday, sissy!

Hello, Sunshine!

We have been having some awesome winter weather this year! I think we got some snow once but not a crazy amount. 

Sue took Kinley and the kids on a walk Tuesday since it was so gorgeous outside! Taking a baby for a walk in January?! Maybe in Florida but definitely not in Illinois!

Check out how nice it was today:

Supposedly we set a record of 61 degrees!   I just wanted to document Kinley's first harsh winter, ha! Here's the forecast into next week:

Punxsutawney Phil said 6 more weeks of winter this morning. If this is winter, I think we can handle it!

Hopefully I didn't just jinx us...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

4 Months Old!

Kinley -


(I wrote this on the 21st and never got pictures added so let's pretend this was posted a week & a half ago)

Everytime I sit down to write these posts I have to look at the calendar to make sure you are really this big!  These weeks and months are flying and you're already 4 months old!  

 

We went to the doctor on Friday and you weigh 14 lbs 8 oz and are 24 inches long.  You are in the 59% for weight and 29% for height - are we going to have another shorty in the family?  Dr. Dolan said you looked healthy and great head and neck strength.  Daddy didn't get to go to this appointment so I was pretty nervous about the shots.  You had to get 2 shots this time and you didn't make a peep for the first one but you got really mad about the second!  Your sweet face was bright red and you cried until we gave you a sweet juice.  You were fine after that so I really shouldn't have been worried because you're a tough girl!  We also found out that you have a few patches of eczema like we suspected but nothing a little cream can't take care of.

We transitioned you to 3-6 month clothes & 6 month sleepers at the beginning of this month but you still wear your white 3 month onesies under things.  We also used all of the size 1-2 diapers and now you're in size 2 with room to spare.

You love sitting up in your bumbo seat and playing with toys.  Pretty much everything in your hands goes directly to your mouth these days.  We thought you were teething at the beginning of this month but no teeth have popped through yet so maybe it's just how most babies are at this age.  You also drool like crazy!  I think we go through 3 bibs a day.

Tummy time still isn't your favorite but we make you do it for a little while each day (probably not as much as we should though).  You don't mind being on your back watching your mobile or playing on your mat though.  We're still waiting for you to roll over but Dr. Dolan told us not to worry about it.  She thinks you might start sitting up by yourself instead so I guess we'll see!

Your fussiness has calmed down quite a bit but you still have your moments.  If you're anything like me, I'm sure you'll have "moments" forever, haha.  Your gasiness has also decreased a lot, possibly because we bought you new fancy bottles!

You laugh and talk a lot more now and it just melts our hearts!  I remember when I couldn't wait to hear you laugh and now it's pretty easy to make you giggle.  I love it when I'm talking to your daddy and look over at you and you're smiling away just listening to me talk!

You love to stand up like a big girl and put weight on your legs.  You think you're pretty big stuff!  You are also very alert and really follow things with your eyes.  We used to be able to sneak out of the room when you were in your swing but now you follow us with your eyes and let us know if you want us back in the room!

This was the month of major sleep issues.  There's a whole blog post dedicated to that BUT I think we've turned a corner.  A few days before your 4 month birthday you started sleeping from 8p-3:30a without waking up so we're crossing our fingers that it continues!  I don't know if I ever mentioned that you're sleeping in your crib consistently now, such a good girl!

You're eating 5-5.5 ounces every 3-4 hours and that seems to be enough for you.  You also stopped waking up to eat at night so that's a relief.

I think you're hair is starting to look more golden than red these days, too.  We still wonder if we'll have a blondie like mommy & daddy were.  It really won't matter though because you're eyes seem to be staying a light gorgeous blue.

Look how much you've already grown!

You are turning into such a sweet girl and are such a joy to be with!  I count down to every weekend that I get to spend with you and pray that Sunday's drag on so I don't have to go back to work and be away from you.  Can't wait to see what next month has in store!