Kaelyn and Remington took full advantage of the gorgeous day and played with the water table in their birthday suits!
Here's cutie Kate!
Kaelyn and Remington had some fun on the steps!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
AXO reunion
Last week we visited some of mommy's sorority sisters who are all moms now! Unfortunately, this is the best pick I could get of the kids. Remington in the background, Molly, Kate on Deb's lap, Colin, and of course, Kaelyn.
Kaelyn and Remington took full advantage of the gorgeous day and played with the water table in their birthday suits!
Here's cutie Kate!
Kaelyn and Remington had some fun on the steps!
Kaelyn and Remington took full advantage of the gorgeous day and played with the water table in their birthday suits!
Here's cutie Kate!
Kaelyn and Remington had some fun on the steps!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Enjoying the Beach
While those back east are experiencing nothing less than arctic cold, we have been blessed with wonderfully warm weather! A week ago, we spent a weekend at the beach. First we went to doggie beach - and you can tell, we all had a blast! Too bad we didn't realize how warm it was going to be or we would have put on our beach wear! The tides were out so far you could have walked 50 miles up and down the beach. So much space and so much sand, it was unbelievable!
We went back the next day to our own beach and had a great time there too. She just loved running around all over the place and dipping her feet into the cold water!
We went back the next day to our own beach and had a great time there too. She just loved running around all over the place and dipping her feet into the cold water!
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Learning Curve
I've wanted to post about all the things Kaelyn can do now so I don't forget! This week we had some leaps in learning so I thought it would be the perfect time to post!
Of course, you all know she started walking more than crawling during the last week of November with Grandma and Grandpa in town. She's even starting to kind of run as you'll see in my next post! But in the meantime, she's discovered she likes to feed herself more than she likes it when we feed her. This means we have to be choosy about what goes in her bowl - b/c she's not very clean about it. And she's starting to get a little angry when we don't allow her to use the utensil herself. Here she is with some yogurt - I know, it's not that bad...it's not even in her hair. But it was still more messy than we prefer. I have now officially gone to a meeting not knowing I had yogurt on my pants ;-)
Kaelyn is also learning sign language. The first one was "all done" and she's known that since just after her birthday. Then came "more" which she started using extensively once she figured it out around Thanksgiving time (she now uses it for anything she wants as if to say "can I have that? Can I do it again? Can I get some help with this?). A couple weeks ago she finally startded doing a sign for "drink" so we knew that was specifically what she wanted, and about a week ago she picked up "eat" so now we will know when she is hungry. She even goes to her high chair, tries to get up, and does the sign for eat! But the big news is that when we were at the beach this weekend (you'll see in a later post), I told her to say "hi daddy" and she said, plain as day, "hi dada". Yup. Two words at the same time! We came home that night and Mike said "do you want more eat" and she signed "more" and then "eat" - yup, two signs at once! We've even heard her say "thank you" a couple times. Brilliant, I know. She'll be in the special school in no time ;-) Here she is signing "more."
Other things she can do, just for the record:
stack things
push bottons on and off
open our doors
blow kisses and give hugs
blow and shush
pour fake tea from the teapot
stir things
stab pieces of food with a fork
just starting to dip foods into sauces
play ball with the dog
I'm sure there are others but my mind is blank now.
This final picture shows her finally discovering that she could get into her little kitchen. This took much longer than we thought it would!
Of course, you all know she started walking more than crawling during the last week of November with Grandma and Grandpa in town. She's even starting to kind of run as you'll see in my next post! But in the meantime, she's discovered she likes to feed herself more than she likes it when we feed her. This means we have to be choosy about what goes in her bowl - b/c she's not very clean about it. And she's starting to get a little angry when we don't allow her to use the utensil herself. Here she is with some yogurt - I know, it's not that bad...it's not even in her hair. But it was still more messy than we prefer. I have now officially gone to a meeting not knowing I had yogurt on my pants ;-)
Kaelyn is also learning sign language. The first one was "all done" and she's known that since just after her birthday. Then came "more" which she started using extensively once she figured it out around Thanksgiving time (she now uses it for anything she wants as if to say "can I have that? Can I do it again? Can I get some help with this?). A couple weeks ago she finally startded doing a sign for "drink" so we knew that was specifically what she wanted, and about a week ago she picked up "eat" so now we will know when she is hungry. She even goes to her high chair, tries to get up, and does the sign for eat! But the big news is that when we were at the beach this weekend (you'll see in a later post), I told her to say "hi daddy" and she said, plain as day, "hi dada". Yup. Two words at the same time! We came home that night and Mike said "do you want more eat" and she signed "more" and then "eat" - yup, two signs at once! We've even heard her say "thank you" a couple times. Brilliant, I know. She'll be in the special school in no time ;-) Here she is signing "more."
Other things she can do, just for the record:
stack things
push bottons on and off
open our doors
blow kisses and give hugs
blow and shush
pour fake tea from the teapot
stir things
stab pieces of food with a fork
just starting to dip foods into sauces
play ball with the dog
I'm sure there are others but my mind is blank now.
This final picture shows her finally discovering that she could get into her little kitchen. This took much longer than we thought it would!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Happy New Year!
Kaelyn was burnt out on photos by the time we were celebrating New Year's...but she wishes you a happy, healthy, financially sound (prosperous seems like a far reach for some at this moment in time) year.
We have a lot to be thankful for as we embark on 2009. Health has been something we've taken for granted and are so glad to have not only our own health, but the good health of all of our family and friends. Our family and friends are another thing we are extremely appreciative of. So many of you who read this blog have played a major role in the first year of Kaelyn's life and we want to thank you for lending a hand, showering her with gifts, loving our little girl, and always being there for us when we needed you. It really does take a village, and with all of you spread throughout the country, we don't always feel like we have one - but we know we do and we can count on you. We cannot believe the love we see showered upon Kaelyn - it is truly wonderful and will fill her up for her lifetime. Thank you thank you!
Traveling Tot comes with Paparazzi
Everywhere she goes, photographers are sure to follow. I'm sure Kaelyn feels much like Suri Cruise, or Shilo Jolie-Pitt. And she's just as cute. Now if only we could get the millions for getting her into the Enquirer! Especially for the poor photogs who had to stand in the snow to get these shots!
The day after Christmas it warmed up to a nice 20 degrees, so we decided to make a break for it and visit the snow. It was just like in the movie the Christmas Story. We bundled her all up to the point she could barely move her arms. Luckily Auntie Marlene built the snowman in advance, so all we had to do was plop her down and get the shot of Kaelyn's first visit to the snow! Much to our surprise, she actually got quite a kick out of the freezing cold, blustery wind blowing her face numb. Of course, maybe the smile was actually frozen onto her face? She never did move - she just stood there smiling, politely pleasing the photographers!
Then we were on to the rest of the annual (25th, I might add) sister cookie bake. She did real well and even did a little mixing of her own. She never even pulled a plate of cookies down!
The rest of the week we visited several other friends and family. We visited mommy's friends Tracia and Ryan and their three boys (who are all grown up now) - Reed, Riley, and Dakota. Riley was born the year we got married - I can't believe how big he is!! It was so great to see them again, it's been too long.
We got to see our birth month cousin - Camden - who was born just a week before Kaelyn - with Kathy's cousin Cheryl (among several other family members who we didn't get in photos...bummer.
And the yearly visit with mommy's friends that she met while traveling to Europe in high school. Shelley's three kids didn't make it into the photo, and Erica's hubby Brad was pulling double duty at another party, but we did get Bill, Aimee, Shelley, Pat, and Erica all together for a great shot! It was so nice to catch up - although too distracting with Kaelyn to really get a solid story out of anyone. Ah, welcome to parenthood!
Overall, our traveling went really well. Kaelyn was a "lapchild" on our flights since we did not buy her a seat. To date, we had been lucky on every flight to get a third seat at no cost, but not this time. The flight out went fine - we had a great tailwind which decreased our airtime by 1 whole hour. This was fine by us as she had skipped a nap and was nowhere near ready for bed. We kept her busy with toys and eating. She had trouble the first night of each house we stayed at (3 total in two weeks) - she would wake up at 2am (home time) exactly and be up for about 2 hours. We ended up having her sleep in our bed on those nights which we've never done and took a bit for her to get used to! Otherwise, she slept well, ate well, and traveled well on the plane back. Daddy's magic got her to sleep for 2 hours on our return flight. She's been sleeping like a baby since we got back - 13 hour nights and two 2 hour naps during the day. We are so lucky ;-)
The day after Christmas it warmed up to a nice 20 degrees, so we decided to make a break for it and visit the snow. It was just like in the movie the Christmas Story. We bundled her all up to the point she could barely move her arms. Luckily Auntie Marlene built the snowman in advance, so all we had to do was plop her down and get the shot of Kaelyn's first visit to the snow! Much to our surprise, she actually got quite a kick out of the freezing cold, blustery wind blowing her face numb. Of course, maybe the smile was actually frozen onto her face? She never did move - she just stood there smiling, politely pleasing the photographers!
Then we were on to the rest of the annual (25th, I might add) sister cookie bake. She did real well and even did a little mixing of her own. She never even pulled a plate of cookies down!
The rest of the week we visited several other friends and family. We visited mommy's friends Tracia and Ryan and their three boys (who are all grown up now) - Reed, Riley, and Dakota. Riley was born the year we got married - I can't believe how big he is!! It was so great to see them again, it's been too long.
We got to see our birth month cousin - Camden - who was born just a week before Kaelyn - with Kathy's cousin Cheryl (among several other family members who we didn't get in photos...bummer.
And the yearly visit with mommy's friends that she met while traveling to Europe in high school. Shelley's three kids didn't make it into the photo, and Erica's hubby Brad was pulling double duty at another party, but we did get Bill, Aimee, Shelley, Pat, and Erica all together for a great shot! It was so nice to catch up - although too distracting with Kaelyn to really get a solid story out of anyone. Ah, welcome to parenthood!
Overall, our traveling went really well. Kaelyn was a "lapchild" on our flights since we did not buy her a seat. To date, we had been lucky on every flight to get a third seat at no cost, but not this time. The flight out went fine - we had a great tailwind which decreased our airtime by 1 whole hour. This was fine by us as she had skipped a nap and was nowhere near ready for bed. We kept her busy with toys and eating. She had trouble the first night of each house we stayed at (3 total in two weeks) - she would wake up at 2am (home time) exactly and be up for about 2 hours. We ended up having her sleep in our bed on those nights which we've never done and took a bit for her to get used to! Otherwise, she slept well, ate well, and traveled well on the plane back. Daddy's magic got her to sleep for 2 hours on our return flight. She's been sleeping like a baby since we got back - 13 hour nights and two 2 hour naps during the day. We are so lucky ;-)
Christmas Number 2
Christmas Number 2 was a true White Christmas - with over a foot of the white stuff on the ground. But we decided to stay inside since it was all of 5 degrees out. First things first - Santa delivered just what Kaelyn needed for Christmas - a whole new wardrobe! Good thing since we packed real light for her! Thank you Aunty Nancy, for providing the chimney for Santa to find us with - and for very comfy accomodations!!
Here is our annual "cousins" photo - last year Kaelyn didn't make it, but this year we are missing Bradley (cousin #2) and Delilah (cousin #3) who are both living out of state and couldn't make it back. Eric, Kelly, Kerry, Jeffrey, Samantha, Aaron, and Kaelyn are all in the photo. They are all growing up so fast - including the little missy in the front row!
And the annual "sister" photo - I'm usually the one missing from this one but here we have everyone. Oh - how did that little "cousin" get in the photo? Let's just say - the "sisters" won't put her down - and neither will Grandma and Grandpa - so they joined in too!
Kaelyn had more fun opening Christmas gifts...
And a favorite that even made it home in our suitcase was the alligator zylaphone (sp?). Kaelyn has come a long way since her first encounter with an alligator (remember when she was only 5 weeks old and yelled at her stuffed ally?)!
Here is our annual "cousins" photo - last year Kaelyn didn't make it, but this year we are missing Bradley (cousin #2) and Delilah (cousin #3) who are both living out of state and couldn't make it back. Eric, Kelly, Kerry, Jeffrey, Samantha, Aaron, and Kaelyn are all in the photo. They are all growing up so fast - including the little missy in the front row!
And the annual "sister" photo - I'm usually the one missing from this one but here we have everyone. Oh - how did that little "cousin" get in the photo? Let's just say - the "sisters" won't put her down - and neither will Grandma and Grandpa - so they joined in too!
Kaelyn had more fun opening Christmas gifts...
And a favorite that even made it home in our suitcase was the alligator zylaphone (sp?). Kaelyn has come a long way since her first encounter with an alligator (remember when she was only 5 weeks old and yelled at her stuffed ally?)!
First Christmas of 2008
Our First Christmas celebration was at Grandma and Grandpa's the weekend before Christmas when we dropped off Kingston for his 10 day long visit (they dog-sat him while we went back East). Oh was he excited to be there - he gets to go on the couch, sleep in their bed, chase birds, and eat all the treats he wants. It's his favorite place to be (as you can tell!).
We got to open our presents early for Christmas and boy did both Kaelyn and Kingston enjoy their present opening. Kaelyn can grab on and pull one side while Kingston grabs the other side with his teeth. It's really funny - almost like a competition.
One of Kaelyn's favorite presents from this first Christmas was her Spiderman Sit and Spin! Oh boy - she was even excited before getting it out of the box. Just like old times for daddy, he is trying to teach her how to spin. We know she'll have years of giggles with this toy as she masters her ability to spin. I personally think it will be good practice for the tilt-a-whirl - my favorite carnival ride!
We got to open our presents early for Christmas and boy did both Kaelyn and Kingston enjoy their present opening. Kaelyn can grab on and pull one side while Kingston grabs the other side with his teeth. It's really funny - almost like a competition.
One of Kaelyn's favorite presents from this first Christmas was her Spiderman Sit and Spin! Oh boy - she was even excited before getting it out of the box. Just like old times for daddy, he is trying to teach her how to spin. We know she'll have years of giggles with this toy as she masters her ability to spin. I personally think it will be good practice for the tilt-a-whirl - my favorite carnival ride!
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