My 10 month old's changing life

So, it's been quite a while since my last post due to our crazy schedule lately. Kaydee is now 10 months old & in lieu of doing a 10 month post, I figured I would just do an update on how things have changed lately.

On June 13, Mike and I made a major life-changing decision. We decided I would stay home with Kaydee full time making me a STAY AT HOME MOMMA! It was a hard and thoughtful decision. First things first-budget. We had to get a budget together. It's something we really never had to do, but something that was worth the alternative (keeping K in daycare).

Not only was it going to be a finance-changing decision, but a lifestyle changing one as well--what am I going to do all day???

The first thing I needed to do was get my house clean. Not the every-day pick up that's been done for the past 3 years, but a deep clean, spotless baseboards type clean. I made it through three rooms with it...ugh! After 3 days, we noticed Kaydee's voice was getting hoarse and wasn't going away, so we took her to the doc. Turns out, all the dust I was kicking up during the cleaning process was messing with her allergies. Soooo...guess I need to lay off for a while...bummer ;).

So, what else can I do? I literally stay bored at home. We got Mike's car fixed, but it remains in the shop waiting on a wheel that had to be sent off for repair so I am still at home with no vehicle ... basically stranded with a 10 month old, lol. Once I get my car back I am going to start bringing Kaydee to the park, the pool, zoo, and hopefully get involved in a playgroup. There were lots of pros to her being in daycare and one of them was it kept her socialized. I have friends with little ones her age or close, but most of them live farther than just a few miles up the road.

(Baby cries in the background because I told her "no"...)

My last day of work was July 8 and so I have been home for only a week only to realize-this is much harder than I had imagined it would be. Everytime I get started doing something productive, Kaydee decides she has other plans for me...like screaming to get my attention, pinching her finger in a cabinet, falling face-first into our hardwood floors, pulling folded clothes onto the floor-thus making that task a much longer task than I had anticipated.

Kate is up to:

**No more baby food. She will not eat it if it is not being fed to her by her own hands. And since the coordination to hold a spoon doesn't come for another few months, she is on all solids. :) I worry about her not getting the proper nutrition I could ensure she got while eating her pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, pears, etc... But, my doctor reassures me as long as I am being conscious of it, she is fine.

**ALMOST no more formula. At the doctor's visit mentioned earlier in this post, I mentioned her whole milk intake. We just purchased a case of formula which lasts about 2 weeks, and the doctor said this could be the last bit of formula we give her. She is almost entirely on whole milk!! It was hard to introduce at first as she was constantly turning her head away from the chilled version of her prior bottles, but after a couple of weeks, she finally responds positively to it! That will play a nice part in budgeting for other things. ;)

**CRAWLS everywhere and gets into everything. Her curious nature is proving to be a constant, "No Kaydee", "Don't touch that", "Take that out of your mouth", "Don't climb on that", "What the hell is that?" (lol), but I think of it as a good sign she likes to learn and discover new things.

(Fell down from the back window and is now upset)

**Cruises furniture. She has stood on her own a few times, but it's always on her terms. I can't get her to just let go ...it's always while she is holding onto something else, so I can't get a shot of it!

**Wears 6-12 & a lot of 12-18 month clothes. She has completely outgrown her 6-9 month outfits.

**Weighs 20.6 lbs as of 7/15. She has been right around the 20 lb mark for a while now.

With this new decision having changed our lives, I believe it has changed our lives for the best. I am excited to attend all of K's school functions without the guilt of telling my employer I am unable to make it in that day.

Pics of our new adventure to come as our new chapter unfolds.

A couple of updates of what has been going on the past month 1/2:

We took a trip up to VA to attend my mom's mother's family reunion. Kaydee was the newest generation and had her own line labeled on the family tree...so cute. I meant to take a picture of it, but never did. :( We had a whirlwind trip for a weekend to the Shenandoah River State Park where there was canoeing, fishing, and picnicking. We all had a great time and it's always nice to see family we haven't seen in quite some time.

My parents bought a new house. On Joey's 17th birthday, we spent the day moving 24 years worth of stuff into their new house. It's such a beautiful home and I am so excited they get to experience what they have always dreamed of.

9 months old & growing

Kaydee Bug turned 9 months old on May 29th (a week ago...little late). We had a doctor's appointment on the 30th at which time they took her hemoglobin & gave her a hep B shot. Her iron was .5 lower than they prefer it to be, so she is now on poly-vi-sol vitamins each day. I assume it's low becuase she isn't wanting her bottle as much anymore. We try a sippy cup, but she really just prefers to finger-feed herself.

Due to the abnormally large amount of ear infections she has had in the past 7 months, the doc decided Kay-bug was a great candidate for tubes. We left on June 1 at 5am (woke up at 4am...ugh!) to make the trek to Scottish Rite where we had the procedure done. It took no time at all & the worst part of the whole thing was not being able to give her anything to eat until after her surgery. She went back at 7:25 & by 7:45, she was wheeled back into our room & given apple juice. The ENT said there was a lot of thick, yellow mucus behind her ears which is the culprit to all of those awful ear infections she got continuously.

She is doing fantastic now & hears to much more...this also poses a problem at sleep time. She can hear the slightest noise now & wakes up with just Rocky walking down the hall on the hardwood. We'll all get used to it eventually. :)

At 9 months, our little boogy is:

**Starting to get crawling. We haven't baby-proofed, but that is coming this weekend.

**Pulls up on everything. It's time for daddy to adjust her bed so that she doesn't climb up on the rail & roll right over it. There are so many mornings I walk in to get her up & she's already standing there holding her paci hostage dangling it over the bed...SOO funny! She also loves to just stand anywhere holding onto whatever she can. She giggles & has a good time doing that.

**Feeds herself everything. She doesn't know how to use a spoon, so I am still feeding her the purees, but if it can be picked up, she is feeding herself. Even when we sit down to eat dinner, she has to have pieces of bread on her tray to feed herself while I am spoon-feeding her. Otherwise, she is pitching a fit.

**Wearing 12 month clothes. Majority of the 9-month clothes no longer fit, so we are eliminating more clothes from her wardrobe... :( This is the sadest part of having a girl...outgrowing cute clothes.

**She currently weighs 18 lbs 12 oz, 27 3/4 in tall, and 17 3/4 head circumference, which comes out to 50th percentile for all!! She's our average little monkey.

**LOVES to swim! We take her to my in-laws pool on a regular basis & she spends hours upon hours in their pool. Can't wait to take her to the beach! :) Bath time is fun as well. She slips & slides around in it on her little bottom playing with all her squirty toys!

She's such a fun baby & we couldn't be happier. I know people say it all the time, so it's so cliché, but we really cannot imagine a more perfect child to call her own. And now that we have these stupid ear infections under control, she's even more perfect!

Mother's Day First

I am a Mother's Day first. We celebrated Mother's day with mine & Mike's mothers and as I mentioned to Mike yesterday, it was a strange feeling being included this year. Last year I was with child and trying to make myself a part of the day, but wasn't quite. This year, it was a different feeling. I felt as though I was really a part of something that I had looked up to for years. It was a nice morning which started off with a whiny baby who ended up snuggled between us at 2 in the morning from the painful cries of teething. She woke us up early and on my nightstand waiting for me was a beautiful note & poem from my husband and a sweet baby girl playing with my face gently (that's odd for her-it's normally a squeezing and painful grab at your face). It was a grand morning. We went to eat Cracker Barrel with Mike's parents and followed it up with a visit with my mom. She was alone since my dad was working & my brothers do their own thing on weekends.

I have pictures to post later...

Shalom!

Easter & good times

The past month has come and gone like a tornado...(speaking of which-there have been lots of tornadoes lately & I send my prayers out to those who have lost during the tragic storms). We have had little time to get much done around our messy messy house & we will be spending the next couple of weekends getting things straightened out around here.







Kaydee went to the park for her first park outing recently. She swung & slid down with daddy on the slide. She had such a good time & even met a little friend while we were there-her name was FISHY! haha...We are definitely planning more park trips & have been quite a bit since then.









I spent my first time away from Kaydee ... overnight stay that is. It was actually a 3.5 nights away trip to San Francisco. I never missed anything more than I missed my little Bug while I was away. Mike tried to keep me updated with her happenings with pictures and texts, but nothing compared to just being with her & holding her. I missed kissing that little baby head whenever I felt the urge to do so...which is ALL the time!! I give her so many kisses that she knows what kissing is & she does it to people all the time! :) She grabs your cheeks & digs her face into yours ... ahhh...bliss!



Baby celebrated her first Easter today & it was a good day. We started off the day with a church service with our Burfitt Friends and followed it up with a long nap for Bug and introducing her to her first Easter Basket. Let's just say-she was not as excited as I was for her first basket. She was actually against the whole idea of having a basket of goodies.







We then met for an Easter Egg hunt with ... our Burfitt Friends! :) Kaydee found 2 eggs and a PRIZE EGG! She had a much better time with this basket & it's always nice to hang out with our friends.





The Easter egg hunt was followed by a nice family dinner with my parents and brothers. Kaydee of course entertained us with her baby antics-she's become quite the little comic. The night has ended with a sleepy sleeping baby & Mike watching the Hawks game. We truly are blessed and recognize & appreciate all that we are given.



It was most definitely a wonderful first Easter )with the exception of her little outburst over her basket) for our little & I hope for many more holidays with great friends & loving family.

Shalom!

7 months...better late than never!!

Kaydee turned 7 months old 1 week ago today. She is now in the later part of her first year & I don't know how to feel about it. I am glad that I get to watch the most beautiful life grow & I am always anticipating what she will be like at 8 months...9 months...1 year and so on. But the fact that this past 7 months has gone by in just two tiny blinks of the eye (or so it seems) makes me realize quickly how I do not have time to blink as I want things to go into slow motion mode. I am not ready for a mobile baby even though I am constantly saying, "I can't wait til she starts -this- or -that-. I want her to remain my litte "Bug" and not my big Kathryn for a while!



At 7 months you are:
**Rolling over both ways & JUST starting to get your little legs up under you every now & then like you KNOW there is something there that you need to do, but just haven't put it all together yet. No more mommy & daddy bed...I am too worried you will roll right off. So, we put you on the floor much more often now. :)



**Eating baby food as much as you are a bottle now! You actually prefer food over the bottle, but there are times when nothing but a bottle will do. You hold your own bottle up until the end. You get lazy at the end & prefer for mommy or daddy to hold it. We think you just enjoy being taken care of. ;)

**You get bored with your own toys, so mommy has to improvise with things you really aren't supposed to have...for instance... right this moment, you are in your swing, paci in mouth & flailing a bottle of zyrtec around. Don't worry, though-I am keeping a close eye on you. Why do they not make baby toys that resemble big people things. Forget your cute little 6 mos+ cell phone-you prefer mommy or daddy's phone. I gave you my old pink Razr that you love to eat & chew on.



**FITS! You are starting to pitch them ALL the time! :/ When things are taken away that you aren't supposed to have-you pitch a fit. When we lay you down to change your diaper (this used to be your favorite time)-you pitch a fit. Getting you into your car seat to go somewhere-fit pitched. Tired?-why not pitch a fit? Hungry-fit. Messy fingers?-FIT! You are apparently just like I was as a youngin & it's driving me nuts! Though it only lasts a few seconds, and once we have distracted you, you turn back into the most beautiful & precious being I have ever laid eyes on! :)

**Favorite foods? ALL THINGS except peas. You gag on peas. Weird, because you eat green beans & garden veggies like it's noone business, but heaven forbid I try & give you peas. You eat bananas, prunes, apples, pears, berries, pineapple, plums, grapes & most of them time, they are a combination of a few of the above. We mix this with oatmeal (you hate rice) and pear juice for breakfast & then you have squash, carrots, or sweet potatoes for lunch & a green veggie for dinner. Only 3 or 4 bottles in between. :)

**Favorite toys-ones that aren't meant for babies. You want mommy & daddy toys. :/






**Your happiest moments are first thing in the morning. You are such a morning person like mommy-NOT DADDY! I am glad you got that from me! :) You go to bed early & get up early-as not to waste a minute of sunlight. You are smiley for me, but the minute you lay eyes on your daddy for the first time in the morning, you SPARKLE! He makes your world & you ARE his! :) These are MY happiest moments.



I feel as though I should be planning your first birthday already & I am just not ready! :) Slow down a bit...just a little bit so that I can catch my breath between milestones, ok? :)



Shalom!

More milestones

So, my birthday weekend went fantastic! We went to Lenox mall to shop and eat lunch and then headed back to my parents' house for a steak grill out. We had ice cream cake & had a great time just hanging out. It was 11pm before we got home & it was the first time in months that we had been out past 8pm for sake of messing up Kaydee's perfect little schedule we have her on. :)

Kaydee has done some pretty impressive things this past weekend & what better time to do them but for her mommy's birthday.
**She started playing peek-a-boo and initiating the game herself by pulling the blanket up over her face & pulling it down waiting on us to scream, "PEEK-A-BOO" and her giggle hysterically.

**She also started saying "da da" and says it all the time. It's now her favorite thing to say & Mike told me it was the best day of his life!!!! Mike is not the most emotional person alive and the fact that he said that made me cry. (I know-cheesy) At first we thought she just said it because it was something fun to say, but she really belts it at Mike. We have been pointing to him & calling him da da for the past week so she associates that word with him & it has really paid off. :) We are so proud of our little girl.

**She started eating puffs on her own. She picks them up with her itty bitty fingers & places them in her itty bitty mouth all by herself. We just put her in the high chair, shake some out on the tray & she is content for at least half an hour or more. She loves them & I was so happy to have something else to keep her occupied while I get stuff done, but I AGAIN find myself just watching her instead of doing what I had planned on doing to begin with. It's a vicious cycle.

Being a quarter-century old definitely has it's perks. Our car insurance has gone down (not by much, but it did), I can officially not sound like a child with a baby when I say I am 24...25 sounds MUCH better. :) I also met a goal of mine to be sure and have my first child by the time I hit 25. Weird goal, I know, but a goal none-the-less.

More updates to come after this weekend since K & I get to shower it up with our favorite friends, Elizabeth & Jaks for soon to be baby Henry!!! Can't wait!

Shalom

Park Adventures

So, Sunday, we met Kaydee's best friend, Isabella at White Oak park & took some pics.





They did great & Isabella is such a happy, sweet little baby.



I was hoping some of her tricks would rub off on Kaydee and I think my hopes were met! Kaydee started rolling over on our bed & can do both front to back & back to front! I was so proud of her. I think she was just thinking she didn't want any other baby to show her up.










Kaydee and Isabella are just 2 days apart & they are so close in size.




We had a very busy weekend with my cousin, Brannon's wedding shower & the park visit followed by a trip to the flea market. Mike loves to look for old sports memorabilia and can spend hours at just one booth. Kaydee went all day on Saturday without a nap due to all the excitement of visiting with family and I was sure I was going to have to pay for it that night. She wasn't too bad, but woke up a few times for a paci.





Some sad news came that day when I found out the wedding was going to be May 14...the same day as my best friend's college graduation & party. The problem is she lives in Mississippi & we would not be in town at all to even attend the reception afterwards! :( I have had plans to go to this graduation for months now & cannot cancel on her as this is the biggest day of her life.







her new favorite thing is to spit!! We finally got a picture of it!