Birthday!

Kayleigh's birthday was such a fun day/weekend. 

On her actual birthday we spent the day at the zoo and getting garlic chips at our favorite pizza place in Folsom, and of course getting Kayleigh her first ice cream cone!
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It was a great day spent celebrating the sweetest little One year old!

One Year!

In honor of Kayleigh turning 13 months (a few days ago) I decided to finally finish her 1 year old blog! 

Here are Kayleigh's One Year pictures. There aren't very many because it is very hard to get this girl to sit still! Most of the pictures were blurry streaks of Kayleigh attempting to escape from the chair. 

 I love this one of her pushing a wagon full of children's books that was outside of a store in Folsom to be sold. Kayleigh thought it looked pretty great and that she should take it for herself. Sweet girl.

Kayleigh's official 1 year old stats:

Weight: 23 pounds (70th percentile)

Height: 90th percentile

The Doctor told us: "You have a BIG one year old."

Kayleigh is wearing 18-24 month clothes and some 2T clothes. 

At One year Kayleigh...

-Gives smooches. To everything. I saw her kissing the floor the other day.

-Is walking! Loves holding onto fingers, but is definitely independent and loves to walk on her own. 

-Is talking a lot more. Although we cant understand most of what she says, its very sweet. She is starting to have a more mature speech pattern.

-"Woofs" at most doggies (either pictures or real life)

-Loves going to the zoo and waving and blowing kisses at all of the animals. 

-Loves reading and turning the pages in her books.

-Still loves the park. She loves the swing and sliding down the slide.

-Is understanding more of what we are saying. She is able to point to her nose, eyes, and ears.

-Has her Papa here to entertain every day. 

-Is constantly moving. 

-Had her first haircut (at 13 months).

-Hides anything she can find. Whenever we lose things around the house we now look in her hiding spots (Under the couch and the chair, or in the couch cushions) first and usually find what we need.

-Thinks so many different things are hilarious. Hearing her belly laugh is one of the best sounds in the entire world.

-Still loves dancing.

-Loves carrying heavy things around the house. Current favorite: the gallon bottle of vinegar.

-Is still a good eater (when all of her food isnt thrown on the ground).

-Loves her yogurt popsicles.

-Loves peanut butter!

We are so thankful to be parents to this wonderful, sweet, loving little girl!

The First Year- Parenting

In just a few days, Kayleigh will be 1 year old! I cannot believe that it a year ago that I became a Mom,

There are many different roles that we take on as we go through life. So far, my roles have included: baby, toddler, kid, teenager, college student, graduate student, adult, wife, and mom. 

I am happy to say that becoming a Mom is one of the very best things that has ever happened to me. Watching Joey so easily fall into the role of being a Dad has made me fall even more in love with him.

I am so thankful for the support that we have received from our family and friends through this year. I do not know what we would have done without Joey by my side every step of the way. I have a whole new level of respect for single parents and those who are doing this whole thing without a daily partner through it all. 

I thought I should write a quick little blog of some of the things that I have learned throughout this year. I cannot even begin to imagine the things that Kayleigh will teach me for the rest of my life, but learning to be a Mom to this sweet girl has been so wonderful that I can't wait! 

-No matter how many parenting books you read, blogs you follow, or movies you watch, it is always the best decision to follow your heart. I personally did not ever make it through one single parenting book. How in the world do you have time for that?!?

-Although there are some people in my life who choose to parent differently than I do, I know that the choices I am making now are best for our family at the time and that is what matters. In the words of Ginny (who provided daycare for Kayleigh when we lived in Pasadena), "No kid ever goes to college with a pacifier, or sucking their thumb, or nursing to sleep at night. She will be fine!" 

-Ask advice from those you trust! I am so thankful for my close friends, sister, Mom, and Mother-In-Law who had become Moms before me. I am sure that they must have laughed at some of the things I called about, but I don't know what I would have done without them! 

-On that subject...Call the doctor about anything! I once called our pediatrician because I thought Kayleigh was breathing weird when she was just a few days old. I sat on the phone with the Doctor and copied Kayleigh's breathing pattern so that he could tell me it was normal. Hahaha. 

Now we have a wonderful friend, Julie, who is a pediatric nurse and gets many texts from me. We love our personal nurse (thanks Julie)!
-Accept help. Its okay to need a break to go shopping alone. To take a 45 minute (or longer) nap. To mindlessly sit at the computer. To read a magazine. To stand in the shower for 30 minutes to get some alone time. And most importantly, to go on a date with my husband. I love my baby girl and want to spend as much time with her as possible, but in order to be the best Mom that I can, I need time to recharge. Thanks to Joey, friends, and family who make this possible! 

-It's perfectly fine to eat a late dinner, or not have everything you had planned. You will only have a little one pulling on your leg wanting to be held or to play for so long. I am thankful for an understanding husband who knows that playing with our sweet girl is more important than making an elaborate meal. Breakfast for dinner became a staple in our house for a few months! 

-Cuddle as much as possible. It won't last forever.
-Who cares how silly I look or sound. I will do anything in the world to hear my baby girl's belly laugh.
-Hand-me-down clothes, toys, cribs, and baby gear are the best (thanks friends)! If someone used it enough to save it and pass it along to others, it must be worth it!
-Its okay to allow my baby to wear outfits that don't match. Its especially cute when her Daddy picks out an outfit for her (my favorite so far has been an orange star patterned shirt, green and white polka dot pants, and multicolor striped socks). 

-Everyone says "it goes so fast." I thought it was one of the cheesiest sayings but the time really does escape you. Enjoy each day and moment.

Most of all, I am thankful for year and all that I have learned from this sweet face.

Walker!

As of today we officially have a little walking girl in our house! 

Although Kayleigh has taken a few steps in a row before, tonight she really made progress and became more and more steady each time she went! 

Here is a video of her second attempt. We were able to move further apart after this and she continued to do it! 

Go Kayleigh Go! We are so proud of you! 

'Tis the season

We are absolutely loving Kayleigh's first Christmas season. 

It is so much fun to watch her take in everything around her and reminds us of the wonder of Christmas through our sweet little girl's eyes.

Kayleigh's first look at the Christmas tree. 

Santa's Little Helper

Kayleigh wasn't so sure about Santa so we took a family picture instead. 

Kayleigh loving her "Nammy" at the Folsom Zoo Christmas Lights event.

Looking forward to even more of these experiences over the next few weeks! 

11 MONTHS!!!!!

Our little girl is already 11 months?!?!

This is crazy....it seems like yesterday that we were taking her 1st month pictures and talking about how the time had flown by so quickly already. 

Here are her monthly pictures...cant believe we have only one more month before her 1st year picture!

Kayleigh's Unofficial stats:

Weight: Still squishly! And wonderful! 

Height: Tall girl...in 18 month clothes, but also able to fit in some 24 month pants. 

At 11 months Kayleigh...

-Is climbing on EVERYTHING (stairs, fireplace hearth, stools, ladders, anything she can get her little body onto!)

-Loves to walk holding onto fingers.

-Took 2 steps on her own tonight!

-Stands on her own without holding onto anything for extended periods of time. 

-Is a VERY speedy crawler.

-Loves being outside; in the backyard, at the park, on a walk, anything to be out in the fresh air (which we actually have in Rocklin- WOOOO no smog!)

-Loves other kids and most dogs.

-Eats a ton of different foods...as long as they aren't smashed up. Favorites include: any kind of lunch meat, yogurt, carrots, pickles, olives, cheese, pears, any kind of barbecued meat, and pasta.

-Loves reading!

-Really likes getting into cupboards and drawers...especially the ones with glass in them. 

-Has a wonderful little personality. 

-Loves to laugh...sometimes snorts if she is laughing hard enough.

-Will stop in the middle of playing or crawling to watch a little basketball with Daddy. 

-Is babbling a ton! Still saying "Mamamama" and "Dadadadadada". We love it. 

-Still has her scrunched nose smiley face. 

-Still loves the nursery at church.

-Loves bath time and has discovered that she can turn on the cold water while in the tub and loves it!...this means shorter bath times because it gets so cold in there! 

-Continues to be the center of our lives. We are so proud! 

Cousin Craziness

Kayleigh has had some quality time with her cousins over the past few weeks!

I apologize for the picture heavy blog, but here we go...

A few weeks ago we headed over to Dublin for an early Thanksgiving dinner with some of Joey's extended family. Kayleigh spent the day playing with her second cousin, Makea.

These two loved playing piano with Grandpa!

And then the Lewis family came into town for the entire week before Thanksgiving. The kids had a great time playing together and we were busy all week long with a trip to Apple Hill, lunch and a train ride at the Fountains, a trip to the zoo, and a lot of playing.

The "Babies" hanging out with Nammy at the coffee shop

Trouble...

Cuties having lunch at Apple Hill!

Apple Pie!

Family picture!

The Babies

Having fun running down the hill at Larsen's

The Babies held hands on the way home from Apple Hill. So cute!

Making apple crisp with all of our yummy apples.

And extension of the cousins...the Linthicum kids joined us for a night of fun! Love these guys.

The Babies at the Fountains while Myles got to ride the train with Uncle.

 

Hmmm....can I have some of those Cheerios Cooper?

Thanksgiving Babies

The three Bears at the zoo.

 Kayleigh absolutely adores her big cousin Myles. Her little face lights up every time she sees him, and he can get a smile out of her just by looking her direction. Its very sweet.

 He had a great time pulling her around in the wagon, and Kayleigh was happy to sit with her feet up to read a magazine and enjoy the ride!

 Love these two looking out the window together.

 LOVE!!! Kayleigh, Myles, and Cooper all together and somewhat looking in the same direction...its a miracle!

We had a great week enjoying our family!