New Park, New Adventures

Just up the street from Grandma and Grandpa L.'s house is a huge park with sports fields, a pavilion, a dog park, and a playground. K. tried out the infant swings with Grandma on Friday, then the three of us went together on Saturday. K. likes to swing, but as Grandma was pushing her I decided to climb on the playground equipment, and K. thought it was hilarious! She started laughing when I started climbing up the side (a kind laugh, not a mean laugh) and laughed every time I was on a new part of the playground. It was so cute, and Grandma and I couldn't stop laughing either!

K. and Mom at the park

Sippy No More

K. hasn't really taken to drinking from sippy cups--she will, but not a lot. Grandma J. decided to set up a bottle with a straw and see if that enticed her to drink (note: Aunt J. drank from a straw from a very young age, so this is not new territory for Grandma J.). Anyway, K. really liked it, and significantly increased her water consumption--a great thing for staying hydrated in the summer. Here she is enjoying her new "straw jar."

Eleven Excellent Months

K. is eleven months old (actually yesterday, but who's counting. Okay, I'm counting). We're visiting Grandma and Grandpa L. as Mom attends a conference. K. had so much fun playing with everyone today, and they're all worn out.

Yesterday, a friend that J. grew up with came over and visited. She has a little one who is exactly 10 months younger than K., and he's adorable. As soon as I get those photos I'll post them.

As a real treat, Aunt J. was able to come and spend the day with K. also, which was so much fun. She also gave K. a couple of really cool books--thanks, Aunt J.! This photo was taken at the end of a long day, so we're all tired (though only one of us is sucking her thumb).

Wanna Share?

"Oh, did you want a toy too? Here you go."

Safety First

I think that K. is pretty safety conscious. If she ever finds that the gate at the top of the stairs is open, she will be sure to close it*

*note: we do not leave K. unattended at the top of the stairs, nor do we actually allow her to be unsecured with the gate open. Safety personnel were on hand during the filming of this video. Kids, don't try this at home.

Mama Babble

Here is some video of K's miscellaneous babbling. In this one, she shows off her "mama" sounds:

Time With Friends

K. had some friends over today for her midday play time, and she had a great time!

K. hanging out with the D. boys. B. (photo below) is exactly a week older than K., and S. (above) is his older brother.

All three playing together with the little kitchen:

Hanging out with their moms:

Pork Chop for Our Pork Chop

Our little pork chop has become quite the carnivore. We're continually giving her new foods to try (though waiting the requisite three days between, just in case of a reaction) and K. has surprised and delighted us with her openness to new foods. (This means, of course, that if we have another child, he or she will be the pickiest eater known to man.) We gave K. a pork chop (cut into small bits) the other day and she absolutely devoured it! She would pick it out from among the other bits of food on her tray, and complained when she ran out. Another food that she ate (which surprised me, since it's quite flavorful), is bratwurst! No, we didn't give her very much because I can't imagine that it's good for you (though it does have fewer calories than I thought it might), but she ate every last morsel of it on her plate.

In Action

Here is K. pulling up to standing. Ironically, this ottoman that she is using is the same one that I learned to pull up on, though it had a different covering on it at the time:

Stormy Night

K. has been through thunderstorms before, but Friday night was her first really big storm. Things looked (and sounded) bad enough that I had to get her at about 10:30 p.m. and she, the dogs, and I spent some time in the half bath downstairs (B. was just outside the door watching and listening).

We have a hand-crank radio that we used, though kept wishing we could check the TV or internet to see if more storms were coming or see what the dopplar radar looked like. I realized that I know where all of our emergency items are located (flashlights, lighter for oil lamp, radio, bottled water etc.) but that they're scattered about the house. I'm going to make an emergency kit with some necessities. Yes, I know I'm pretty obsessive about things, so it might surprise you that I don't have one already, but that is exactly why I don't have one already--I've been tempted to make kits for any possible combination of disasters, though are we really going to get a hurricane? Here?

But I learned of one other important item that I'll need in my kit--when I grabbed K. from her room I didn't bring her diaper bag, and so I spent a rather unpleasant amount of time in a small space with her, the dogs, and a gift in her diaper. Icky!

Not Much

I don't have much to say, but wanted to post this picture. She is getting harder and harder to take a picture of--she is just so mobile (and she's not even walking/running yet!). K. used to sit politely and smile for photos. Now I mostly take pictures of the top of her head as she crawls away from me. Eventually she'll understand to sit still and things like that, but not yet. Actually, I'm not sure how much language she understands--I know there will come a point when she comprehends more than she can say, but I don't know what to expect of her at this age. Any ideas? Feel free to leave a comment!

Future Cruiser

As K. was standing up today, she did her first mini-cruising--I think it was the first time she realized that she could move while standing, rather than just sitting back down and crawling to a new location, then standing up again.

She started at the window sill, then grabbed on to the bench next to the window. She actually took a couple of steps sideways,
and turned herself the rest of the way. It's neat to watch her realize things and figure things out!

Misc Updates

Besides babbling her favorite "da-da," K. has started to say "ma-ma" and will sometimes make "n" sounds. She pulls up on everything now--this is the window sill in our game room. The window was open and she was very interested in looking outside and feeling the nice breeze. We'll go outside more and more as the weather is nice.

It's Only a Game

K. has learned a couple of games that she likes to play. Her favorite, as is to be expected, is peek-a-boo. She'll actually initiate playing now, not just get excited when someone else does. When she's on the changing table, she'll put her fists over her eyes so I ask, "where's K.?" With glee, she removes her hands from her eyes, smiles, then does it again.

Tonight, we played a game with a soft ball. It was a little like the game hot potato, though with no elimination. She would pass the ball to her dad, he would pass it to me, I would pass it to her, and we continued for a while.

She also played a game that was a mix of hide-and-go-seek and tag with her dad, where she would chase him a little, he would hide, she'd go find him, and he'd jump out and chase her.

Glorious Grandparents

K. managed to see (and sit on the lap of) each of her grandparents this weekend!

First, Grandma and Grandpa L. came down to visit on Saturday. They came just for the day, which is a lot of driving, but K. had so much fun I like to imagine it was worth it.Then Sunday and Monday we went up to Grandma and Grandpa A.'s house. Sunday afternoon K. stayed with Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle M. while the girls went shopping (and we found some amazing deals on K. clothes). Monday we spent time as a family and enjoyed each other's company. K. napped in the car on the way up and napped some of the way back (and played with Mom for the rest of the trip),

We are so blessed that K. has the wonderful and amazing grandparents that she does!

Where's K.?

Where's K.?

Where did she go?

Where could she be?

I don't see her...

There she is!

Behind Door Number One

One of K.'s favorite toys is the door to her bedroom, and yesterday we played with it for quite a while. (Don't worry--I have a guard on it so she doesn't pinch her fingers in it.) She would peek out from behind it, then let me chase her behind it. She also likes to open and close the door.
Recently, as is to be expected, she's really gotten into the whole "peek-a-boo" thing. Not only is she excited when someone plays with her, but she'll use a blanket or burp cloth to conceal her own face, then pull it down quickly to let the person playing with know that she disappeared, but came back. This morning, I was changing her diaper before her nap. She was rubbing her eyes, as she often does when tired. She rubbed both eyes with both hands, so I asked, "Where's K." She moved her hands away and smiled, then covered her eyes with her hands again--several times. I was impressed that she caught on quickly. She was impressed that I caught on quickly.

Jammie Jammin'

K. in her PJs (from friend S.), excited about playing (but not excited to go to bed).

Weekend Wrap Up

This past weekend I went on a women's retreat and left K. at home with her dad and grandparents. She did super (though her mom missed her like crazy!).

B. had a birthday this Sunday, so we celebrated. It also started me thinking about K.'s first birthday coming up this July.

Another first for K. is that she learned how to open and close the window on her playhouse.

Sweet Cheeks

Assorted Fun

K. was having some fun this afternoon playing with her storage bins. She would take a small object, select a bin, and put it in. There didn't seem to be particular rhyme or reason to her sorting, but I'm just pleased that she is sorting--and that this phase of her learning involves putting toys into the bins, rather than taking them out. Oh, and an added bonus? She pulls herself up on the bins and stands in front of them. "Let's see...what shall I sort next?"
"What are you looking at?"
K. sorting, then some random playing:

The Day of the Mom

Here is K. all dressed up for Mother's Day (her dress was a gift from our friend S.). Excuse the bare feet--she was wearing pink tights and shoes to church, but chucked those once she got home for the sake of comfort. I can't say I blame her.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day, and happy Mother's Day to those of you, dear readers, who are mothers (or are in the process of becoming mothers)!

Future Lacrosse Star?

K. attended her first outdoor sporting event today--a Lacrosse game--to watch a friend of ours play. She had a good time despite being a bit sleepy. I am really hoping that she will inheret even some of her dad's athletic talent, even if just to spare her from humiliation in gym class. Who knows? Maybe she'll be a Lacrosse star!

K. with our friend J., taking in some sporting.

K. chilling with Mom between the Varsity and JV games. Can you tell she's contemplating a nap?

Ten Months and a New Skill

Today is K.'s 10-month birthday, and wouldn't you know that she woke up and had a new skill! She used to just enjoy pulling up on her dinosaur, but today she learned how to put the Roll-a-Rounds through the holes--all by herself!

Mother-Daughter Knit

My mom has saved many of my childhood clothes and toys (okay, perhaps all of them), and this is an adorable set of pajamas that were knit for me as a baby. Here's me (J.) in them:

And here's K. in them:

(Notice the button-flap on the back side!)And here's an entire outfit (including a matching blanket):

New Pal

K. played with her new pal for a little while today. She dragged him--uh, took him on a walk --around the game room. She's a pretty fearless crawler.

It's amazing how quickly babies master things once they've figured them out. With sitting, K. sat for a few seconds, then the next day she could sit nearly indefinitely. She seems to be pulling up on everything now and climbs all over the place--I was laying on the floor while we were playing and she climbed all the way over me (which is no small feat, getting over my post-partum belly). There's always something new for her!

No Proof of Babble

I've been attempting (in vain) to capture video of K. (1) waving, (2) clapping, (3) pulling up to standing, and (4) saying "dada" ("da-da-da"). This video has a little babbling, but mostly is just of K. being cute. Something extra-cute, though, is that when I was watching this video on my computer for the first time, I had K. on my lap and she was captivated by it (of course, it's a video and kids that age are) and then she waved at it. I wonder if she waved at the baby in the video or just the video itself (does she start to recognize herself yet?). When I hold her in front of a mirror and she sees herself, the first thing she does is wave.

Something you need to know about this video is that the entire time I did my best "stage mom" impression behind the camera and smiled and mouthed "da-da" in hopes that she would mimic me. I don't think we have a future in Hollywood.

May Fifth

We went to K.'s friend B.'s house for a celebration of Cinco de Mayo. She had a really great time despite being awake past her bedtime. K. got to crawl around and play with new (to her) toys, and she even got to sit in the grass! The food was so good and the weather was nice (despite the eight raindrops that fell--seriously, it rained just long enough for everyone to scurry inside, then stopped--twice). In the photo to the left, K.'s dad is making her smile. I believe he is dancing.

K. and B. will use this photo for their band's first album:

The Thinker

K. spends more time investigating things. An example is that, if she drops something or if I hide a toy, she will look for it (just like the books said she will!). In the past, of course, anything that fell out of her line of sight was dead to her.

So this little ball has another ball inside it that jingles and rolls around. She spent a lot of time looking into the hole in the end trying to figure it out. I, thusly, have several photos of her staring at the ball. This one, though, I find cute so I will subject you, dear reader, to looking at it.

All in the Family

K. met her new cousin, W., today--we went up and visited the family. We had a great time and K. played with her cousin M., who is a few years older than her (actually, exactly three years minus three days older). M. was really nice while playing with K., and they seemed to have a good time (which I can only imagine will get even easier as they get older).

K. and M., playing together:

K., wondering why the male and female zebras look pretty similar but the peacocks are significantly different.

K., deciding that they all taste the same regardless:

New cousin W. (2 weeks old). His dad likes to turn W's bib around and make it a superhero cape.