10 Months Old!

If this tells you anything, I wrote this on my to-do list for the week: "KJ blog post - 7 months." Umm, hmm... well, I guess that either means time is flying or I'm losing it (or a little of both - weee!) because Kendall is actually 10 months old now. That's double digits, people. And here I am thinking she's got 3 months to spare. It makes me feel equal parts excited for what's ahead, stunned by how fast it's gone, and sentimental that her days as a baby will soon be a memory as we enter toddlerhood. 

Holy cow, has this girl had a developmental explosion since last month...

Disposition: Easy-going, curious, content, happy, cuddly, and sweet are words that we use to describe Kendall. She goes with the flow but does get somewhat concerned and clingy when we enter new environments. She's often wide-eyed and quiet as she takes in new sights and scenes. She also has lots of laughs to share and Katelyn is most likely on the receiving end :)

Sleeping: Kendall sleeps like a baby (naturally) from about 7 pm to 7 am. During the day, she takes two teeny naps for about 30-40 minutes each. Guess she doesn't want to miss out on anything! She's always especially snuggly for the first 5 or 10 minutes after her naps, which I will never tire of.

Eating: Let's talk about one of the most dramatic changes since last month... While she's still nursing several times a day, Kendall has basically refused baby food since the day we introduced gum-friendly finger foods. Miss Independent now dodges purees and instead prefers puffs, cheese, yogurt melts, bread, peas, bananas, chicken, and avocados. I was concerned about her lack of interest in baby foods, but it turns out she was just waiting for the good stuff - can ya blame her?! She pinches and then places food in her mouth quicker than I can get it on her tray sometimes. She sits in her highchair and eats all meals with us, which is so nice. With two bottom teeth that have finally broken through, she's well on her way to enjoying all kinds of delicious flavors.

Mobility: Another huge leap has taken place for Kendall on the mobility front. She's officially crawling and has ditched her barrel-rolling technique for making forward movement on all fours. She'll take a few "crawling steps" before dropping down to her belly and pushing forward with her toes while reaching with her arms. Kendall has also started pulling herself up to a standing position from seated. She has been known to stand completely on her own without holding anything for up to 5 seconds. She glows with pride when she's upright on her own!

Vocalics: Kendall's vocal sounds have been developing too and it's so fun to hear her sweet voice. She points to things with her index finger all day long and says, "dis" or "dah" (which we love to assume she's asking with this or that is and we proceed to explain it.) We also love to converse with her by taking turns talking and then letting her respond and back and forth. Her top sounds/words are "dah," "huh-dah," and "bah-bah." She also squeals with delight using all kinds of interesting vocalics mixed in.

Expressions: Kendall has moved away from her wide-open mouth smile to indicate intense happiness and is now making the most adorable scrunchy-nose-squinty-eyes-gummy-smile expression! She also quickly breathes in and out while doing that and simultaneously kicks her legs with excitement. If you've ever wondered what it physically looks like to be filled with joy, I think this is it. See? (Sorry for the blur...)

Tricks: Kendall will wave hello and bye-by (not always, but sometimes - and sometimes a minute or two delayed ;) She also claps with her two hands. For a bit there, she would just bounce one hand up and down and expect someone (usually me) to place their hand under it to create a two-person clap, but now she's onto it on her own. When we ask, "Kendall, how big are you?" she will occasionally raise both or one arm in the air to indicate "sooo big." Indeed. She's getting sooo big.

Likes: 

- Books. Specifically turning the pages of books.

- Balls. Her favorite place in our playroom is right near the ball basket which is almost always tipped over with balls rolling everywhere.

- "Throwing" things. Just about anything that ends up in her hands gets tossed out pretty quickly. Then she will pick something else up and do the same. Dropping toys from the high chair to watch Mommy or Katelyn pick it back up for her is her favorite pastime these days.

- Free reign. She loves to just be in the playroom or anywhere that she has the freedom to move and explore.

- Chewing on anything and everything. It's funny how she has her favorite things to chew on - one is a wooden spoon from the play kitchen (she will search high and low until she finds that thing!) and another is wooden puzzle piece of a sunshine (none of the other wooden puzzle pieces will do - only the sunshine ;)

- Bath time. Cannot get enough of bath time, which is fine because she's getting lots of them lately with her newfound love of finger food (it ends up in her hair everyday.)

Dislikes:

- Being contained to the car seat or stroller when she wants to be "free." 

- Teething :(

- Toys being taken away by her big sis. Go figure.

- Being hungry, tired, or needing her diaper changed.

Kendall Jean, you may only be 10 months old, but you've already shared a lifetime's worth of love with us. We are so blessed by you and all the fun, laughs, and sweet, sweet snuggles you bring to our family!

Memorial Day Weekend in Pictures

Outdoor fun + time with family = a fabulous 3-day weekend! We'll let the pictures do the talking this time around. Enjoy!

Gramma Kathy and Papa came to play!

Minnesota Children's Museum on Monday...

It was a great weekend and a timely reminder of the rich freedoms we're afforded in this wonderful country thanks to our brave military. 

We. Are. Blessed.

Gettin' Her Groove On

Last week was Katelyn's end-of-the-year dance performance. Her class has been working so hard each week on their dances and it was a ball to watch it all come together. Katelyn was beyond excited to get her groove on!

Since her class doesn't participate in the studio's big recital, this show is considered their "recital." They performed in the "big girl dance studio" where the older dancers practice and there were chairs set up for all the audience members. Michael took the morning off work to attend and that made Katelyn extra excited to put on the "formance," as she calls it.

Can I just say, this girl loves to perform?! The unfamiliar faces in the crowd did not faze her and she was in her element the whole time focusing on each action. She kept looking at us with a huge, proud grin. We each reciprocated with an equally huge, proud grin.

The class got to wear special tutus so they all matched. They also wore these for dance pictures a couple weeks ago. The girls looked like official ballerinas with the proper attire!

These girls all did great! The teachers only offered minimal direction to the dancers during the show - they did the vast majority of dances on their own.

There's only one thing cuter than a little girl in a tutu... and that's 8 little girls in tutus! Adorable. One dance was a parade and each dancer got an instrument to play. The first in line gets the drum and leads the group around the room. They rotate leaders each week and this time it was Katelyn's turn - what a fun surprise!

The class got quite the ovation at the end of the show and each child got a certificate and a rose from the teachers. (Later in the day, Katelyn kept showing Kendall the certificate saying, "This is my tickle-it from dance class, Kendall. Do you like my tickle-it? It says Kate-a-lyn Mlakar." Seriously. Love it!

Our little dancing star!

The teachers are fabulous! Katelyn loves Ms. Kristi and Ms. Jodi - they are awesome with the kids.

The celebration continued at Starbucks with a treat for our special ballerina. Not surprisingly, she chose the pink cake pop with white sprinkles since it matched her ballet outfit! She also got lots of ooo's and ahh's from the other patrons since she was still dressed up :)

What a fun way to wrap up this year of dance class! Our little ballerina worked hard, learned a lot, and had a blast. Way to go, lady!

A Little of This, A Little of That

With many of our scheduled events coming to a close for the summer (Bible study ended last month, while ECFE and dance wrap up this week), we've been enjoying a more open schedule which sometimes means staying in our PJ's until mid-morning while catching up with friends on the phone...

Kendall has been busy with lots of "floor time" and as a result, she's getting into the crawling position...

and also doing lots of these kind of moves...

Yikes! Not sure I'm quite ready for that mobility yet, but the girl is on a mission to grow up!

The girls are always excited to spend time with daddy. Katelyn was working on an art project for him to take to work. (Speaking of art, how do you think DaVinci would have felt if he saw his Mona Lisa in a dumpster? That's pretty much how Katelyn felt about seeing one of her masterpieces in the garbage. Oops. Oh, the tears!! It practically made me cry too - out of guilt and the sheer passion she showed for her work. Two words: lesson learned.)

Last week, Michael got in on the baby-wearing action! Doesn't a baby look good on him?! :)

This sweet thing has sprouted a tooth! At about 9 1/2 months, her first one finally broke through the bottom gums. It explains all the drool!

Kendall is loving being outside, too. Katelyn and I like to kick a big red ball back and forth to each other and Kendall just watches and smiles and watches and smiles. Like this...

Yesterday was rainy. Michael was traveling. We needed an activity for after naps. Group bubble bath! It was a winner. Katelyn loved that all three of us were in the big tub. But when Kendall and I made our exit, I happened to hear a "woo hoo, now I can stretch out and really swim." ... in a bathtub.

Mr. Malone has a birthday coming up! He'll be 7 years old on May 26. How can our buddy be middle-aged in dog years already - he's pushing 50, people! He's still a trooper though and a gentleman (check out the crossed legs). Kendall has recently discovered is soft floppy ears. And she pulls them. But he's a good sport. Aww...

This morning, our brood was out the door and en route to an appointment by 7:45. We are never out of the house that early (which is how I forgot about rush hour traffic!) After my dermatologist appointment, we went to Panera for breakfast (again, a rarity considering our average morning). If smiles mean anything, I'd say it was a good call...

And that's the quick update on the last couple weeks. Hope you're enjoying the spring and all the good things that come along with it - warmer air, sunshine, flowers, baseball, and the absolute favorite for me and Katelyn: flip-flops!!