kaelyn: 14 months

_MG_9146Clothing size: Still wearing 9-12 month onesies and pants. Dresses and jammies are 12-18 months now.
Eyecolor: Pale blue.
Teeth: 4! Two top and two bottom. I keep thinking that she’s teething, but nothing else has popped up yet.
Eating: She’s nursing about 4 times a day now, and her consumption of solid foods really seems to have gone up this month! She loves yogurt (Greek or regular), grapes, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, any kind of shredded chicken, graham crackers, and any kind of cheddar cracker (i.e. goldfish).

We also let her try pizza a few days ago at this community pool party… and she was ripping pieces off with her teeth and actually eating it! My baby is so grown up!

She’s starting to get bored with Cheerios for breakfast, but that’s the easiest thing I can give her while we’re all getting ready in the morning.

She also likes to taste-test sidewalk chalk…

Words: Her favorite words are hey, hi, this, and that! She loves to go up to the guinea pig cage and say “heeeeey” so excitedly to them.
Favorite things: “Piggy” (her plush guinea pig), reading books, the toy cookie set, pretending she’s talking on the phone, drawing on the magnetic board, peekaboo, and little toy cars. She loves watching the real guinea pigs, and Kaya still gets the biggest laughs out of her.
Dislikes: 
Getting her face wiped and laying down for diaper changes.
Sleep:
She sleeps from about 8 pm until 6 or 7 am, and for the most part, sleeps through the night! She’s had a few extra wake-ups lately from traveling, but other than that, she’s been very predictable in this category lately. She takes a 3 hour nap (as long as big sister doesn’t wake her up), starting around 1 pm. She still likes her little 30-minute “power nap” in the morning if she can get it. We’ve had a few days lately where it just hasn’t happened, and usually, she starts falling asleep in her high chair at lunch!
Nicknames: 
Baba, Baba Grace, Baba Gracie. Although we call her by her nicknames 90% of the time, she somehow does still know her real name!
Milestones, etc.:
-She’s still not walking independently, but she’s pulling up on things and cruising along them whenever she can! Standing opens up a whole new world of activities- like playing the piano!_MG_9138-She’s started climbing. For example, she can get into the cozy coupe car all on her own. She also likes to sit in Kaya’s baby stroller (until I catch her and take her out)!

-She tries to put shoes on all by herself! One time, I got my running shoes on, and she grabbed Kaya’s flipflops and attempted to wear them so she could come with me.

-She definitely has little temper tantrums when she doesn’t like something, but I have to say, on the whole, she is a very mild-mannered little girl. Her tantrums involve her squawking and throwing her body backward… and that’s pretty much it.

-She’s always loved her daddy, but this month, she’s really taken a lot more interest in him and will even ask him to hold her. I’m glad they’re spending a little more time together!

-We switched her over to the convertible car seat this month and she seems to like it a lot more than her infant seat. We brought it inside to clean it up (it was Kaya’s before) and adjust the straps, and she sat in it any chance she got._MG_9039-She’s started to (sometimes) fold her arms at prayer time. What is cuter than chubby little baby arms folded together? (answer: maybe nothing)

Dear Kaelyn,

Baby girl, I love everything about you. You climb into my lap to snuggle, you kiss and hug freely, and you make everyone smile. You love being close to your mama and I couldn’t be happier about that.IMG_20150805_180546You are so inquisitive these days and are always asking me “this?” (what’s this?) so that I’ll name objects for you. Your most-frequently spoken word is “hiiiiiiiii!” without a doubt. You say it any chance you get and I love hearing that little baby voice of yours.

Keep on smiling little princess. We love you more than you know.

Love, Mommy

kaya- 14 months!

This might be the latest I’ve ever posted her monthly update, partly because of how difficult it was to get a usable photo and partly just because life feels like a whirlwind lately! So here it is, finally 🙂_MG_0179

Height: 31.5 inches
Weight: 19 pounds 13 ounces
Clothing size: 9-12 month pants, 12-18 month leggings, both 9-12 and 12-18 month onesies, and 12-18 month jammies.
Eyecolor: Hazel/Gray/Green.
Teeth: No new ones this month, so still twelve! She has teeth G, F, E, D, O, P, N, Q, L, S, B and I.
Eating: This girl is an eating machine now! She eats a big bowl of cheerios (that we cover in yogurt) every morning, a peanut butter sandwich (on just one slice of bread) and a banana or apple slices for lunch, and then whatever we have for dinner. She’s hit or miss with how much she’ll eat for lunch or dinner, but breakfast is always her most successful meal of the day.

She recently had spaghetti for the first time, and loved learning how to “slurp” it! It was seriously adorable. We also figured out that sometimes she really doesn’t like sitting in the high chair to eat and will do better if we just hold her on our laps. She also tried broccoli and couldn’t get enough (just like her mama)!_MG_0198

Michael shared his morning muffin a few times… and now her sweet tooth has come in. She’ll beg for a piece of anything chocolate if she catches you eating it! Oh yeah… and she’s still a cheesit-aholic.

We’re still nursing three times a day and are definitely not ready to cut back yet. She gets very anxious for milk after her nap, and then of course still in the morning and before bed. If I ask her “Do you want milk?”, she grabs her kitty, runs over to the rocking chair, and tugs on the boppy pillow. I love my time with her and am not in any hurry to quit.

Words: (from most-used to least-used) Daddy, Hi, Kitty, Mama, piggy. Still not a lot of recognizeable words… but she babbles constantly. Her gibberish is starting to sound more like words and sentences so I guess we’ll see if her vocabulary gets bigger soon. We can ask her almost anything and it seems like she understands us.
Favorite things: Her stuffed kitty, dancing, opening and closing doors, books (especially opening up hymnbooks and “singing”), hugging Jax, tackling us with hugs, giving kisses, watching Baby Einstein, hide-and-seek, and pushing chairs or hampers around like they’re “baby strollers” (she even puts kitty inside)! She also loves to play pat-a-cake, and will start clapping your hands (or even feet) to get you to start.
Dislikes: Bath time is worse than ever (so much screaming and crying)! She also throws these mini tantrums when we take something away or tell her no.
Sleep: 
She’s down for bed around 7-7:30 pm and up for the day around 7 am, usually. I was in the habit of waking her up to nurse before I’d go running (hence her previously normal wake-up time of 6 am, but I’ve stopped doing that and so she sleeps in just a little now._MG_9790

We are down to one nap, usually 3 hours long (10:30 am-1:30 pm), but sometimes that still leaves her super cranky around 4:30 pm, so I’m not sure she’s completely adjusted to the transition.
Milestones, etc.: -She is pretty much RUNNING now and amazes onlookers with her speed! Keeping track of her at church is getting a little more difficult.
– She is more willing to play away from us. I go to an institute class geared toward moms with young kids, and they have a “nursery” of sorts while we all learn. Well… last week, Kaya followed the other kids and stayed in the nursery for 45 minutes without me. I’m so proud of her, but also a little sad that she’s becoming so independent!
– She is so expressive and can definitely tell us what she wants… whether that’s a new diaper, a snack, or to watch a show…
– I thought she was good at climbing before… but now, if I turn my back for a moment, she can get up on the table. Whoops. I feel like I’m always pulling her off of something.

Dear Kaya,

I love you so much, and I’m so proud of all the big-girl things you’re doing now. You are my little best friend, and I love sharing so many of my favorite things with you now that you’re a little older. _MG_0102You’re crazy and love to run, but sometimes you still slow down to cuddle and love your mama. The moments where your cheek is pressed up against mine, and your little body is curled up next to me are some of my favorites.IMG_20131119_165811

I can’t wait for you to try your first Thanksgiving turkey later this week! Holidays are so much more special with you.