kaelyn: 9 months

Posted on March 31, 2015 by tara

Height: 28.75 inches (86%)
Weight: 15 pounds 14 ounces (6%)
Head Circumference: 17 inches (25%)
Clothing size: 6-9 month things are fitting perfectly right now.
Eyecolor: Blue! I think they match Michael’s pretty well, and her pediatrician said that since they are still so light at this age, they’ll probably stay blue. I’m curious to see if she’s right!
Eating: Consistently nursing every 3 hours during the day. We also started solids this month! She’s only had three solid meals so far, but she seems to at least give everything a fair chance. I actually bought some Gerber purees, and so far, we’ve tried strawberry yogurt, peaches, and “bananas with apple and pear”. I’d say the last one was her favorite!
Favorite things: Being held by mommy/being worn in the Ergo, going to the park and swinging or just watching big sister and mommy run around like crazy (we always get big smiles for that), dancing, and bath time. She still loves the exersaucer, any wooden toys, and her Little People giraffe. Any of my plastic/silicone baking utensils will keep her entertained for a long time, too. Dislikes: Kaya yelling or taking her toy, getting dressed, and getting buckled into the car seat.
Sleep: We start bedtime around 7 pm, nurse her to sleep, and put her down around 7:45 most nights. For the majority of the month, she was waking up only once to eat around 2 or 3 am… but lately, she’s been waking up 2-3 times a night… sometimes twice between 11 and 2 am. Crazy!
She is up for the day around 6:30 am most of the time, and refuses a morning nap, but has a hard time lasting until afternoon without being cranky. Sometimes, I’ll let her sleep on me for about 20 minutes sometime around 10 am so that she has a little power nap. Naptime is around 1 pm, and she sleeps for 2.5-3 hours now.
Nicknames: Baba, Baba Grace (Kaya started that one! Apparently you need to use your middle name along with your nickname), KaeCake, and Monkey. Milestones, etc.: -Waving! She started this just after she turned 8 months!
-Clapping! She loooves to clap when we’re singing 🙂
-Grabbing things with her fingers.
-She’s really good at changing positions now. She can reach far for a toy and still get back into a sitting position, and she can roll around like it’s her job (I guess it kind of is)!
-She hasn’t given me any indication that she’ll crawl soon… but she has mastered scooting on her BACK! Crazy, but true. She arches her back and pushes her head forward and can actually move pretty well that way. She usually does this the most on the changing pad!
-I wouldn’t say she necessarily has separation anxiety, but when she wants mommy, she definitely lets everyone know it. Lately, she grabs onto me so very tightly when I hold her, and I love it. I’m the only person she holds like that.

Dear Kaelyn,

You are just so wonderful, and I say that with all sincerity. You’re easygoing, calm, mostly quiet, and just plain sweet. Sometimes, I really can’t believe you are mine. You are perfect.You bring light and joy everywhere you go, and I know you brighten so many peoples’ days, whether it’s at home, church, or even just passing by strangers at the grocery store. I hope you’ll continue to share your light with others throughout your life. Love you so much, Monkey. I’m so grateful I get to be your mama.

spaghetti and crepes

Posted on March 30, 2015 by tara

Usually, our weekends consist of a whole lot of nothing… but this weekend, we actually had PLANS! It really felt great to get out as a family and enjoy some time together.

We kicked off our Friday with our church institute class, a little dollar store shopping, and then a spaghetti dinner with Daddy! It was a fundraiser for Relay for Life, and a good excuse to get out of the house. Kaya probably ate her weight in pasta!

Nobody slept in on Saturday morning, but we had a lot to get done, so I was glad to be up early. We had one of our amazing young women, Alayna, over in the early afternoon for Michael to start teaching her a little bit of computer programming. Kaya sat on her lap the entire time and loved showing off all her little tricks to “Eena!”

Michael had to go practice singing/playing piano for the church Easter program, so we girls were left to our own devices for a few hours. We bundled up to take a walk, but we came home after maybe five minutes- it was waaaay too windy! Kaelyn had her sock off within a few seconds of walking through the door.

Michael came home, babies went to bed, and a couple of my friends came over for crepes and to watch the General Women’s Broadcast! I actually made a double batch of these crepes so that we could have some with Alayna while she was over for programming, and then share the rest with my friends during the broadcast. There were so many leftover that we ended up finishing them for dinner on Sunday night!

Sunday looked a lot like this. It’s so hard having church at 1 pm this year, since naptime on a normal day is at 1 pm. Is it 2016 yet so we can go back to 9 am church?

five on friday: little BFFs, fruit, and church stuff

Posted on March 27, 2015 by tara

Happy Friday! As usual, I can’t believe we’re here again. We do have some pretty fun things planned for this weekend though, so I’m excited!

ONE. My hands-down favorite moment of the week? Watching these two little buddies play together! Kaya and Mia just love each other, and I am so thankful for the days we get to spend with our friends. I think Mia asked Kaya “Want to come here with me?” and Kaya climbed right in the car with her. I’m kind of surprised they can both fit, but it was the cutest! TWO. As a teenage girl in our church, you get to complete a program known as “Personal Progress”. I didn’t join the church until later, so I never had the opportunity to do it. As the Young Women secretary for our congregation, I’m trying to do it now! One of our girls has this doodle journal, and I really liked the way it breaks down the program and gives you space to take notes, so I started using it, too. I’ve definitely felt more enlightened and more peace each day that I dedicate some time to real, meaningful scripture study. THREE. “More gwapes!” is what I keep hearing every day at every meal all week long. Kaya is obsessed, and I’m not complaining. We are loving the warmer weather and fresher-tasting fruit that spring has brought. FOUR. This may be the least important note, but I’m pretty excited about it- remember how my phone stopped working three weeks ago? We mailed it in for repair, and it’s finally coming back tomorrow! I’ve mostly just missed having a camera everywhere I go and being able to make a call if I need to. Not having updated technology for a little while definitely helps you appreciate it more!

FIVE. We’ll be watching the General Women’s Broadcast on Saturday night (8 pm EST)! There are always so many amazing, uplifting moments. Watch it if you’re curious to see what it’s all about! It’s free to stream here.(source)

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

holding on tight

Posted on March 25, 2015 by tara

Tomorrow, my baby turns 9 months old. NINE months. She’s been living in the outside world just as long as she lived inside my belly, which is so crazy to think about.

Before long, I know she’ll be crawling, then walking, then going off to college. I might be exaggerating a little, but time is certainly flying by.

So I’m holding on to these days with my baby.

And more often than not, her little arm is wrapped around me, and she’s holding on, too.
I cherish the moments we have together, just the two of us. Sometimes, we have our quiet time together in the dark of night. I have to admit, I really don’t mind waking up with this girl at 3 am, because that’s when we seem to have the best snuggles and the happiest sleepy-faced grins.

Sometimes, I’ll fall asleep while feeding her, and I wake up when I feel her tiny fingers stroking (or sometimes grabbing!) my face. As soon as we lock eyes, we always share a smile.
When she’s upset, all I have to do it hold her close to me, and her whole body relaxes and rests on mine. I am still her safe place.

Love you to the moon and back, Kaelyn Grace.

how to be the worst online shopper ever

Posted on March 24, 2015 by tara

1. Find something cute that you really want to buy.
2. Spend copious amounts of time making price comparisons with other websites.
3. Decide that the deal isn’t going to get any better than it already is, and add the item to your cart.
4. Spend more time to thoroughly make sure that there aren’t any coupon codes you could use.
5. If you’re paying for shipping (AKA you didn’t find a code for free shipping in step #4), spend even more time contemplating if there’s anything else you need to buy from the same website. If you’re already paying to send something to your house, you might as well make it worth it, right?
6. Remember how much you really hate to spend money.
7. Stare at your shopping cart for a while before deciding to just go ahead with the purchase.
8. Click “checkout”, only to find that your super-cute item is now sold out. WHOOPS!

I apparently take waaaay too long to make decisions, because the above scenario keeps. on. happening! I was hoping to get my girls some sunhats and flip-flops for their Easter baskets… but so far, I haven’t had any luck. It also seems like Kaya’s size is always sold out!

Anyway, we had a great, relaxing weekend (yeah, I’m totally blogging about the weekend on a Tuesday. That’s what all the cool kids are doing. (and by cool kids, I actually just mean me…)

I’ve been wanting a big breakfast for a couple weeks now, so I finally just went ahead and made one. Bacon, eggs, and this recipe for pancake squares. They tasted just the same and were SO much easier!

I also had a pretty great run. Maybe I’m not the fastest, but I’m so happy with a sub 9-minute average pace! It was a gorgeous, sunny day (with some wind), and I definitely enjoyed some time to myself (well, you know, with a crazy dog). All of us girls have either had seasonal allergies or a slight cold… so this little sweetie wasn’t quite as peppy as usual. You’d never know it from this picture though! That scrunchy-nosed grin is my favorite thing about my baby.
Happy Tuesday! We’re off to a great week so far! 🙂

five on friday: dishes, cupcakes, and a bus ride

Posted on March 20, 2015 by tara

Happy first day of SPRING! (although we’re totally having a gross, rainy, chilly day here!)

ONE. Kaya has had a lot of fun “washing dishes” this week! Our dishwasher broke and maintenance had to order a part for it, so it took until today to get it back in working order. Kaya definitely didn’t mind playing with the soap bubbles and pouring water into a couple of bowls I gave her to use. TWO. We had a couple of warm days this week, so naturally, we made the most of our time outside. I ran around the playground like a wild woman with my girls on Tuesday… and then they took the longest naps. Four hours for Kaya and three for Kaelyn. I even had a nap. It was magical. Seriously. THREE. Last night was our church Relief Society birthday dinner. I brought some cupcakes (bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?)! What better theme to decorate them around than SPRING! I used a different buttercream recipe that didn’t hold its shape quite as well as my usual one, so I really don’t think these are my best work… but hey, at least they were colorful (and quite delicious)!FOUR. Kaya had her first-ever ride on the BUS this week! Michael has been talking about taking her on one for ages now, so he finally just did it! The highlight of their ride? Finding leaves on the sidewalk when they got off. I love my crazy girl.FIVE. I forgot to include this photo in Tuesday’s post, and it’s just too cute to leave out! Daddy, daughter, and cookies. There aren’t many things better than that!Happy weekend!

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

kaelyn’s first food

Posted on March 18, 2015 by tara

Kaelyn finally had her first taste of solid food! I waited until 8.5 months to even make an attempt- partly because that was the age when Kaya’s gag reflex stopped being so strong, and partly just because I love exclusively nursing (and it’s so easy)!

Someone was pretty excited to be sitting in the big-girl chair!
I gave her a little strawberry yogurt. She figured out the process of opening her mouth for me to put the spoon in pretty quickly… but I think she still ended up spitting almost all of it out. She also made some adorably hilarious faces (and a big mess, despite the bib)! _MG_6731 I gave her some Cheerios afterward, but as soon as one was barely in her mouth, her gag reflex kicked in. I guess it just takes my babies a while to get past it!

cookies with grandma

Posted on March 17, 2015 by tara

My mom came up to visit us this past weekend! She originally wanted to come see us just after my birthday, but then a massive snowstorm squashed that plan. Kaya was more excited than ever for “gwam-ma” to arrive!For every precious pose, there are at least 3 more goofy ones behind the scenes.
My mom is always up for baking something, so I thought it’d be fun to make sugar cookies for Kaya could decorate with her! I originally wanted to go crazy with shamrocks and green frosting for St. Patrick’s Day… but then I realized that I don’t have a shamrock cookie cutter! And this is coming from the girl who has well over 100 different cookie cutter shapes to choose from… go figure! We made springtime cookies instead. 🙂 _MG_6771 As usual, we also made a pretty big mess……and Michael made a “doggy doo” cookie. I have no idea why, but he insisted I take a picture, so here it is.My mom also brought me some belated birthday presents- earrings and new converses! YAY! My littlest was in such a good mood all weekend long. This is her insanely-happy smiley face before church on Sunday! As usual, there isn’t much napping that goes on when we have visitors (and there’s never any napping on Sundays with afternoon church now), so by Sunday night, everyone was exhausted. My little bug just couldn’t stay awake!My mom left yesterday morning, and Kaya has already been asking for her to come back. Soon, we hope! 🙂

five on friday: currently…

Posted on March 13, 2015 by tara

Currently, I’m…

ONE. Baking… Donuts for seminary breakfast this morning! I spent yesterday afternoon making these, and as Michael put it, they were “spectacular!” Seriously, try these cinnamon-sugar ones. They’re amazing! The chocolate recipe is from here.

I make such a big mess when I’m glazing them that I have to put a towel underneath the cooling racks to catch the drips… it does save a lot of clean-up time, though!TWO. Daydreaming… about taking some sort of family trip! Being cooped up indoors all winter seems to give me the itch to travel somewhere new. Lately, I’ve been thinking about us maybe heading to Pigeon Forge, TN for a few days early this summer… but then I might miss going to the beach, so we might just end up waiting until fall to take a beach trip. Maybe everyone else already knows about this, but I discovered Roadtrippers.com, and it seems like a fun and handy tool for planning a trip! The map alone is pretty cool.THREE. Planning… Kaelyn’s 1st birthday party! It’s still 3.5 months out, so I’m not making any serious decisions over here, but I am putting together some ideas. A baby giraffe theme is what I’m leaning toward!FOUR. Dancing… with this little muffin! We had a mini dance party on Wednesday night, and this girl loved having some one-on-one time with her mama. She also LOVES to spin in circles!

FIVE. Feeling… grateful for some green(er) grass and that the snow is all melted! We enjoyed so much time outside this week, and I’m hoping we don’t see any more snow this season!

HAPPY FRIDAY! 🙂

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

“more walk?”

Posted on March 11, 2015 by tara

We can feel spring in the air here. We’re right on the brink of warm weather, sunshine, and long evening light, and after a seemingly eternal winter of being cooped up indoors, I could not be more excited!

Playing outside is one of my very favorite ways to spend the day, and it’s quickly becoming true for my little ladies, too. I love watching Kaelyn discover the entire outdoor world. She smiles and coos while we walk in the stroller, and squeals when she gets to ride in the swing.

Never would I have imagined having two babies of my own swinging next to each other. We’ve taken four walks in two days, and Kaya just keeps asking for “more walk”? almost as soon as we return home each time. While I was pushing Kaya on the swing, I’d look over and see my littlest peanut just beaming at me.For now, she’s so content to just watch everything going on around her. I love this little grin.

You know you’ve had a fun day when everyone (including mom) takes an extra-long, much-needed nap. I’ll wear myself out any day to have fun with my babies.

Michael and Tara

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Monthly Archives: March 2015

kaelyn: 9 months

spaghetti and crepes

five on friday: little BFFs, fruit, and church stuff

holding on tight

how to be the worst online shopper ever

five on friday: dishes, cupcakes, and a bus ride

kaelyn’s first food

cookies with grandma

five on friday: currently…

“more walk?”