Kaya rolled over for the first time yesterday, and I caught it on video! She did it about 4 or 5 times in a row. My baby is growing up too fast! (And yeah, because I am a waaay over-excited new mom, you might want to turn your volume down and excuse my obnoxiousness…)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQloWEAJmTg
Look out world, this crazy girl is a little more mobile!
We had one of the most fun weekends we’ve had in a while! There wasn’t really one single super-amazing event that made it great, but we had a lot of quality time with friends and family, and that’s what always makes me the happiest! (I hardly took out my big camera at all this weekend, so most of these are phone/instagram photos. Enjoy!)
Friday started off with snow in the forecast. I dropped Michael off at work and went to the new institute class at church that’s geared toward moms with young kids (I think this class is really going to be a fun and uplifting experience)! Before it was over, there was already a good amount of snow on the ground. It was my first experience driving in it, but thankfully we made it home safely. I must not have driven too crazily, because Kaya fell asleep and kept on napping for a couple of hours after we were home.
While she slept, I ate all the rest of the Nutella discovered there was none left and sent a photo of my sad, deprived little self to Michael so he’d know just how hard my life is. (And no, of course that isn’t Nutella on my chin!)
It wasn’t long after my Nutella crisis that the university closed down because of the snowstorm, and Michael got to come home early! We always love extra time with our buddy/daddy! (Of course, the snow stopped shortly after he arrived, but I’m not complaining…)
We also ate about a thousand cookies this weekend. Is there anything that goes better with cold winter weather than warm cookies straight out of the oven? We actually tried to make them a little “healthier” by using oat flour, and I was really impressed with the result.
We also enjoyed some homemade baked chicken nuggets and mac ‘n cheese (I’m kind of putting this in here just to make my dad-in-law jealous… again…)
Somebody is starting to give us some really toothy grins! Michael showed this photo off to about a million people at church.
After Church, we had a potluck! We haven’t had one in a verrrrry long time, and although we were at the back of the line and worried there wouldn’t be any food left once we got up there, we still had some yummy things! (By the way, I have a handsome husband and cute baby, hmmm?)
Post-potluck, we went over to Jeff and Lelia’s to gorge ourselves on more cookies play some games. Our friend Raleigh came too- she was so excited to finally squeeze our baby! (You can tell it was past Kaya’s bedtime by the time we took this picture… just look at those sleepy eyes!)
I keep reading blog posts that challenge moms to actually be IN photos with their children and not always stay behind the camera. I’m a photography nerd, so sometimes it’s just hard to get on the other side of the lens. Last year, I made a goal to take more pictures of Michael and I together, and I think we ended up with quite a few decent photos that I truly cherish.
When Kaya grows up, I want her to have some photos of us together, so hopefully I’ll periodically have one to share here on the blog! Here we are in our usual play spot on the floor (lucky, my camera blinks a yellow light when it’s on timer, so she had no problem looking in the right direction!)
When the “feels like” temperature (according to the Weather Channel) is in the single digits, I think it’s fair to say that it’s COLD! I can’t believe that in the past two weeks, we’ve gone from playing outside in shorts and t-shirts, to stomping through the snow, to just plain avoiding the outdoors at all costs.
I went running last night instead of this morning, because I preferred a “feels like” temperature of 8 degrees to one of 6 degrees this morning. I had a tear roll out of my eye, and for a second, I worried that it would freeze to my face. (Is it possible for your eyeballs to turn into ice cubes?)
So for now, we’re stuck inside. At least I have this little sweetie to keep me company!
Height: 25.5 inches (89.6th percentile)
Weight: 13 pounds 6 ounces (43.6th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 inches (40th percentile)
Clothing size: 0-3 and 3-6 month stuff now. She tends to outgrow things in height before she ever could in width!
Eyecolor: Usually, her eyes still look blue, but if you look closely, she has some brown specks in the center now! The pediatrician said that they can keep changing up until her first birthday, so we’ll still just keep guessing what color her eyes will be.
Favorite things: Her rattle is her most favorite toy right now. She also loves her blue octopus, singing dinosaur, and looking at herself in the mirror. Grabbing books is pretty fun, too! She gets really excited about all the colorful pages in “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. She also loves any song that I sing to her, no matter how ridiculously made-up the words are. Michael does a crazy version of Donald Duck, and she can’t get enough of that, either!
Dislikes: It has become VERY obvious that she hates the bathtub (I’m hoping that this doesn’t mean she’ll dislike going swimming in the summer… I was really looking forward to taking her to the pool)! Getting buckled into the carseat is the second worst event ever. She also doesn’t like being approached too quickly by visitors- she gives them a pouty lip and then starts bawling! It’s sad but oh-so-cute at the same time.
Sleep: She goes to bed around 7 pm now. For the past week, she’s waking up anywhere between 2 and 3:30 am or so to eat, and then again anytime between 5 and 6 am. She gets up for good around 7-7:30 am. Naps are still really inconsistent/usually nonexistent. She didn’t usually need a middle-of-the-night feeding, but getting teeth seemed to throw things off a bit. The past two nights she’s slept straight through again, so hopefully we’re back to the regular routine.
Milestones, etc.:
– Kaya met Uncle Kevin (finally)!
– Her two lower front teeth are here! They broke the gum on December 29th, but they still aren’t in all the way yet.
– She’s been reaching out for her toys for a while now, but this month she really started examining them. She’s so much more curious about things and is much better able to grab what she wants.
– She discovered that she can shake her rattle and make a TON of noise doing it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVxJjn1nccY&feature=youtu.be[\embed]
– She learned to use an exersaucer! She didn’t notice the toys on it for a couple weeks, but now she loves grabbing and spinning them. We used to have to prop her up in there with a couple of blankets, but now she’s big enough to stand and balance on her own.
– She found her feet!
– She’s still so close to rolling over (back to front), but just can’t get her arm in the right place to do it.
– If she’s on her tummy on the floor, she’ll reach out her arms and kick her feet. She’s getting ready to crawl!
Dear Kaya,
You are growing up way too fast! Where have the past four months gone? I’m a little sad that time passes so quickly, but I love watching you learn new skills and get stronger every day. You show us more and more of your personality each day- you sure are a happy, loud, excitable and smart little girl!
In the morning, your daddy and I race into your room to see who can say good morning first! We are always so excited for your first smile of the day.
You are our everything, Baby Bird. You are so incredibly beautiful to us.
Happy Four Months little sweetie! We love you!
We took someone little outside to play in the snow first thing this morning! (Well, it wasn’t technically “first thing”, because Michael insisted on eating breakfast first… so, “second thing”, I guess)!
I’m also using the word “play” loosely here, since, let’s face it, Baby Bird can’t even move around on her own.
We paraded around…
… and put her in the snow for a couple minutes. She was pretty sleepy, but we still managed to get a few smiles!
Michael had to get ready for work, so our fun was short-lived. If he gets home and there’s still daylight, I think we’ll be going out again- I just can’t skip making a snowman!
We probably have about 7 inches of snow out there right now.
So fresh. So bright. So pure.
Just like a baby.
Can’t wait to take her out to see it in the morning when she wakes up.
The weather this weekend was SO ridiculous- it was over 70 degrees! This morning I even went running in shorts and a T-shirt. Is it still January?
We had to take advantage of the sunshine, of course, so we met up with Jeff and Lelia to throw the baseball around. (I was a little rusty at catching… it’s been awhile since we played! I seriously think this was the last time)!
I was also super excited for Kaya to get a little fresh air, and even stick her feet in the grass.
Sidenote- she loves this little doll my aunt gave her for Christmas. It pretty much goes everywhere now! My dad tried to name it “Noel”, since it was a Christmas gift, and Lelia’s dad dubbed it “Puddintain”. Not sure where that name came from, but we just keep calling it “her doll”.
I gave the camera to Lelia and she snapped a few great shots! Here’s Kaya checking out the grass!
Love this one.
Don’t be fooled by these photos! Kaya can only sit up for all of two seconds on her own. Lelia snapped the pictures, and I was right there to keep her from falling over.
I am the happiest girl on earth now that Lelia, Jeff, and Karl are in town and available for a little fun! Because the newlyweds have been busy cleaning and setting up their new apartment, I figured I’d have them over for dinner one night. I invited Karl too, since he can’t cook I love him so much.
I made my own version of vegetarian chili! (recipe to come soon)! It was a big hit with cheese, tortilla chips, and cornbread.
After dinner, Baby Bird got a whole lot of cuddles.
Uncle Karl wanted to read Kaya a story (I think he just wanted an excuse to read the Pooh Bear book, because apparently you can’t open it if there’s not a baby on your lap)!
Jeff and Lelia made some delicious chocolate-chip cookies!
We played cards (the name of the game is “BANG”! We’ve loved it for years and finally got our own cards for Christmas).
And well… there was a whole lot of CRAZY. I love my family so much!
I have a few bits and pieces of happenings and photos from the past few days, so here they are, all jumbled up for your enjoyment!
On Saturday, our friends Chris and Cerina were in town! We had them and Mike and Amanda over for some pizza and games. There’s never a dull moment when these guys are together!
Kaya wore this beautiful dress to church on Sunday. It’s a good thing she looks so cute in it, because the glitter just kept falling off those adorable little polka dots and all over her face, my face, my dress, and Michael’s suit!
Someone thinks it’s fun to blow “raspberries” on her pacifier. Goofy kid. I do the same thing all over her cheeks and tummy though, so it was only a matter of time until she started imitating me. (You might want to turn your volume up for this one!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP1gDNBCqmo&feature=youtu.be[\embed]
And look who’s back from her honeymoon! So excited to have Lelia back in town 🙂