8 Months!!

 Ok, Ok, I'm 8 Months already!!

 

 Really, Mama?  Do I have to hold this sign?

 

On the 17th Miss Kinley turned 8 months old!!  She is one BUSY bee!!  She crawls up the stairs like a pro, and is really fast!  She pulls herself up to everything and walks herself along the couch.  She has graduated to crawling on her hands and knees, when she's not trying to stand! She alternates between trying to maneuver a way around the blockade in front of the stairs and around the blockade in front of the t.v./electronics.  Whenever I start to come after her to get her to move, she just laughs.  She waves and does "so big".  She says "dada", "mama", and "bow bow" (...dog).  She's getting her top 2 teeth and has started liking "big girl" food.  This week she is loving grilled cheese, macaroni, graham crackers, and veggie cream cheese!  Kinley loves music and bounces up and down or bounces her head whenever she hears music.  She is really developing her personality and it's fun to watch her learn new things every day!  Josh is quickly becoming her favorite person.  Whenever he is home she sticks like glue to him!! Another Daddy's girl, just like Kaia!! I can't complain...I'm so blessed to have such a great husband who is also such a great daddy!  I'm glad when he's home too!! We're looking forward to what the next month brings!!

Visit to Santa!!

 Kinley was NOT a fan of her first visit to Santa!! Kaia was a little nervous at first, but then Santa won her over with a coloring book and candy cane!  Maybe next year will go better for Miss Kinley!!

Christmas Party!

Kaia had a great time at her preschool Christmas Party! Here she is having some snacks with two of her best friends...Paige and Layla!

Christmas Eve

Here is a picture of the girls all dressed up for Christmas Eve!!

Christmas!

Believe it or not, I didn't take a ton of pictures this Christmas!  Somehow I don't have ANY from our Christmas at Josh's parents.  I guess I was too busy chasing Miss Kinley around, and this year Jessica was being the photographer! I'll have to get some from her! We had a wonderful Christmas.  Unfortunately we didn't get to make it to Nana and Papa's due to the girls being sick, but they were able to make it up to visit us after all!!  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house and enjoyed some time as a family playing with the girls' new toys!!  As you can see from the picture above, they got matching jammies and I just can't get enough of their cuteness!!  We went to Josh's parents over New Year's weekend and were so glad everyone was able to make it!! Kaia and Kinley had a blast with their cousins and we had a great time getting away for a few days.  We enjoyed a fun night ringing in the New Year with some friends and Kaia even stayed up long enough to watch the ball drop!!  We had a relaxing New Year's Day and are looking forward to all the adventures 2013 will bring!!

7 Months!!

Well, I haven't gotten an official "7 Months" picture yet because 7 months came in with a bang! It started out with Kaia getting the stomach flu. 4 days later, on Wednesday, Josh and Kinley got it. Meanwhile, I had a terrible cold. That night and the next day we got our 1st blizzard, which kept us snowed in. During this time Kinley ended up with the stomach flu, the cold, and a high fever. Then we lost power for 3 1/2 hours, just as it was getting dark. Being snowed in, with no power and a sick baby, was no fun!! She finally got over the flu and fever, but the cold has taken a turn for the worse. And I have it too, so the last few days have not been fun! We did have a great Christmas, however, and Miss Kinley loved the bows, paper, and her toys. I think Kaia loves them even more because I have to keep reminding her to let Kinley play with them!! Despite being sick, Kinley is on the move. Right now she is not quite 7 1/2 months. She army crawls everywhere, and pretty quickly. She follows me into the kitchen saying "Mama Mama". She can go on her knees and also sometimes does the bear crawl on her toes. She is pulling up on everything and always wants to be on her feet. If I try to sit her down she locks her legs so she can stand. She is also crawling up stairs...a feat she has mastered the last couple days. We have 3 stairs to the landing and she can race up those no problem. Yesterday she did the rest...that's 11 stairs...by herself! As you can see from the picture, she also loves to pull herself up on the dishwasher. She's so proud of herself! She also gives high-fives, "loves", and sticks her hand out like a wave. She babbles a lot but her only real word is mama/mom mom. She understands the few signs we've done so far...her favorite is "all done"...she gets a big smile at that one! Kaia is still her favorite person, second only to Mama. Kinley will go to other people and be fine, but if she sees Mama then the waterworks begin! She has a constant smile on her face and it's a joy to see her changing every day!!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we made the trip to Wichita to see Mandy and Drew and the kids. Kurt and Julie came too, as did Justin and Colbi.  Miss Kinley was not the greatest traveler, but it was worth the drive to be able to be together! The weather was gorgeous-in the 70's on Thanksgiving.  It was so nice out that we were able to sit outside and eat our dinner! The kids loved being able to play outside without their coats!  They had a blast together like they always do, and it was hard to leave! We're looking forward to seeing them again at Christmas!!

 

 Ella, Addy, and Kaia

 

 Cousins!!

 

 Grandma Julie and Grandpa Kurt with all the grandkids!

 

Kinley and Grandpa!!