16 Months Old

Hellooo? (hellooo, hellooo...) Is there anybody out there? 

I blink and two weeks have passed since my last post. Jeepers! We've got much to share about a jam-packed, fun-filled December, but today's post is all about Kendall Jean...

She's now 16 months old. Unbelievable, really. She's getting busier by the day and is our quietly curious one. Here are some of her favorites at 16 months old:

Person: "Tate" (Kate) 

Pastime: Pointing to various things around the house and naming to whom it belongs (points to Michael's coat and says "dada!" or Katelyn's shoes and says "Tate!" or my coffee mug and says "mama!" - at least it's not a wine glass :)

Toy: Baby dolls - any and all! "Bay-bee!"

Food: Oranges and cooked carrots - she devours both. If she starts to look a little orange-y, we know why. Although we'll see how long this favorite lasts because she's recently been introduced to the "coo-kee!"

Character: "Bop"- Baby Bop from Barney

Time of day: Bedtime. She's always ready for it and does not make a peep when I put her down in her crib. 

Calling card: Markers with the lids off. Lots of them. Trails of them. Thankfully, we've only had a few dried out casualties so far. But I don't think she's done yet. Muah-ha-ha-ha she says...

Weekly activity: Katelyn's dance class. Yep, that's right. Her sister's dance class. Because Kendall gets to run up and down a ramp near the studio a hundred million times and I chase her a hundred million times ;) She always giggles with glee and has a twinkle in her rebellious little eye!

Social skill: Walking up to people, getting pretty close to their face, and saying "hiiii!"

Clothing item: Tutu. Here we go again, folks ;)

Way to scare the living daylights out of me and Michael: Cries so hard she holds her breath and her lips turn purple. Oh. My. Word. I cannot tell you how many times she has nearly sent me into a panic. Breathe, girl, BREATHE!!! If she gets really mad about something (most recently, I would not allow her to bring her new plush baby doll with hair into the bathtub) she will inhale a big breath as she's crying and hold it and hold it and hold it and hold it until she finally exhales again. Evidently, it's fairly common among the toddler community - those rascals. But it still terrifies us.

Accessory: Any and all bracelets, watches, sunglasses, and necklaces are welcome on this one.

Ticklish spot: Collarbones

Way to show affection: Hugs (traditional or the leg variety)

Place to be at 5 pm when I'm trying to make dinner: My hip.

Rebellious move(s): Sneak up the stairs, dig in the garbage, claim any old toothbrush as her own, or unroll the toilet paper.

Thing to do during our monthly photo shoots: Bolt. See Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

Kendall, you're such a sweet, loving, unassuming, cuddly, and curious girl. We love the adventure you're taking us on and feel so fortunate we get to be your parents. 16 months ago we were just getting to know you and now you're such an integral part of the fabric of our family. What a gift you are!

Thankful and So Much More

I don't think it's a coincidence that Thanksgiving falls approximately a month before Christmas. The season marked for giving thanks for what we already have hopefully helps to temper our need-to-haves and want-to-haves as the gifting Christmas season approaches. 

It's a time of year ripe for making an impression on young minds - for helping to establish lifelong values. In an effort to make our hearts grateful this month and to reinforce its importance as an ongoing, everyday reality, we made a simple Thanksgiving tree...

We collected sticks from our front yard, came up with all sorts of things for which we are thankful, and wrote one thing on each ornament. 

Naturally, it included "our family," "our friends," and "the wonderful world"...

...and it also included "popsicles and treats" balanced out nicely with "healthy food" :)

It served as a great physical reminder for all we have been blessed with and an acknowledgement of our gratitude.

I often found myself asking Katelyn, "Is that showing a grateful heart?" as a reminder to stay focused on our blessings (for example, if she complained about what was being served for lunch). And after awhile, a funny thing happened. That very question kept popping up in my head as my mind would start to grumble about this or that. I can't even tell you how many times Michael and I try to teach our kids something and we're learning right alongside them. Humbled.

Before our dinners in November, we went around the table and each person named one thing they're thankful for from that day. Almost every single night, this is what the correspondence between Katelyn and Kendall sounded like: 

Kate: "What are you thankful for, Kendall?"

Kendall: "Dah."

Kate: "Me? You're thankful for me? Your sister?"

Kendall: "Dah."

Kate: "Awww. Thanks, Kendall. And I'm thankful for you." :)

~~~

Katelyn's preschool class had been preparing for their special Thanksgiving Chapel morning for several weeks and the performance took place last week. They sang songs and listened to the pastor share scripture and a short story about giving thanks.

Katelyn was so excited about her "formance" and the excitement was amplified knowing Daddy would be there to watch too! She did a great job and was so focused on the songs and actions she didn't even notice the headband dropping down her forehead - ha!

~~~~

We traveled to Ames for a few days over Thanksgiving to spend time with family and eat pumpkin pie (along with a whole lot of other yummies!) For weeks, Katelyn had been talking about eating "this much pumpkin pie" with outstretched arms. And finally, that day arrived!

In addition to my immediate family, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family which included Grandma Verla (Gigi, as we affectionately call her), Aunt Ronda, Uncle Joel, and cousins Justin and Mason.

Uncle Ryan and Kendall waited patiently for the bird to cook!

We did lots of playing, and dancing, and picture-taking, and hugging while we waited for the feast.

We enjoyed seeing Gigi and catching up. The girls think she's just great. And they're right!

Look at these lovelies! Verla Jean and Kendall Jean...

Gramma Kathy was busy in the kitchen as the hostess, but never too busy to pass up an opportunity to color with Kendie :)

Uncle Ryan and Kendall made quite the duo, as usual. These two get along like best friends picking up right where they left off once reunited :)

We spent the next couple days relaxing, playing, shopping, and (gasp!) eating. Katelyn and Kendall enjoyed the plethora of always-available laps, as you can see!

I'm so thankful for this tag-team!!

Uncle Mitch and Katelyn had a great time being goofy together, as usual!

I think Katelyn said it best when we were heading back to Minnesota, "Thank you for a terrific time!!" Yes, indeed. We have so much to be thankful for and are blessed beyond measure with wonderful family, healthy children, and a life that's worthy of thanksgiving each and every day.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday too!

Insta-blog

I'll confess. This one is sort of a cheater post. We'll call it an Insta-blog. I'm re-sharing some pictures from the last couple months that I've posted to Instagram with their captions. A repeat for those of you who follow me on IG, but hopefully some new smiles for those of you who don't. I love Instagram for its unique filters and the way they can add some awesome punch, drama, and color to traditional photographs. Hope you enjoy!

Wide-eyed wonder at MOA Nickelodeon Universe. 

Joyful. Thankful. Giggly! Love my girls.

"Life is short, stay awake for it." - Kendall, up at 5 am. 

Selfies. Oh dear.

If I could be like Mike.

Walkin and rollin on this blustery fall day!

Say it ain't SnOw!

Sister hugs set my heart ablaze!

Love these crazies! But duck face and fish lips on the littles... Michael, we're in trouble.

Lunch date giggles with my favorite 3 1/2 year old! 

15 Months Old

These ten kissable toes have been seeing the light of day for 15 months now. Holy moly! 

At her 15-month doctor visit (10 days ago), Kendall checked out great. She only cried during the vaccines and even then it was for just a minute or two. Here's how our peanut is growing:

Weight: 21 lbs. 8 oz. (29%)

Height: 31.5" (82%)

Head circumference: 18" (45%)

Kendie is as busy as ever these days, making new discoveries almost every waking hour.

She's looking very much little girlish and not so much babyish anymore. And her actions reflect that shift, too. She's walking everywhere. Climbing everything. Saying a handful of words (new ones since last month are "hi," "gur-go" for turtle, and "date" for Kate.) Making different animal sounds for different animals ("kack" for  quack, "mow" for meow, "ooo-ooo, eee-eee" for monkey, and "moo" for you know who. I specify different because for the longest time all animals made a "huh-huh" sound according to Kendall). Her receptive language development has been huge over the last couple months - she understands so much of what we say and can complete simple requests like "can you go get your shoes?" 

This fashionista loves to wear accessories like necklaces, crowns, bracelets, and barrettes - and along with the accessories comes a "look how fancy I am" strut and swagger :) 

Kendall is now completely on table foods and whole milk. Even though she still just has four teeth (two top and two bottom), she manages just about any food we give her! Her favorite foods are mac and cheese, corn, cooked carrots, pears, raspberries, blueberries, anything dipped in ketchup, toasted turkey and cheese sandwiches, beef and cheese quesadillas, and even tortilla crusted tilapia. Oh and pretty much anything on anyone else's plate -- girl's a mooch!

Until a few weeks ago, she was down to just one nursing session right before bed and we replaced that with extra books and cuddles in the rocking chair. So our nursing time has come to an end, which is bittersweet for this mama. Thanks to a breastfeeding app I used on my phone to log every single session since the day she was born (I know, I'm a huge OCD nerd), it calculated I spent 34,598 minutes or 576 hours or 24 straight days and nights nursing Kendall during her first 14 months. Wowzers. It was such a huge part of our lives for so long that it's weird to be moving on now. Regardless of whether you breastfeed or formula-feed (or both), feeding babies during their first year is such a life-giving gift. Literally life-giving. So. Many. Hours. Spent nourishing those little bodies. It's a beautiful thing. Which is why I treasure those 34,598 minutes -- even those in the wee hours of the morning and the stillness of the night. 

On the upside, Kendall is now sleeping through the nights again. Ahhh, refreshing for both of us to sleep all night! For a stretch there, she was waking to eat once. And while I may have broken the "cardinal rule" as some sources see it by nursing her to sleep every night since she was a newborn, it didn't seem to inhibit her at all. Kendall is a dream to put down for naps and bedtime. After books, a brief song, and snuggle, she's placed in her crib awake and does not make a peep as she falls asleep on her own. That is a blessing :) She goes down at 7:30 and usually sleeps until 6/6:30 am. She's still taking two naps a day - one around 9 am and one around 1:45 pm.

Kendall's favorite toys these days are dolls (she loves dolls and real babies), books with any kind of animals in them, and any toy Katelyn is playing with. No really. She wants anything her big sister has and I can now add "referee" to my resume :) The girls, for the most part, get along well. And oh, are there times where I see them playing nicely and I think my heart will explode on the spot!!! Other times, they squabble over the same toy or Kendall strong-arms Katelyn (with all her 15-month-old strength) and it creates some (usually) short-lived drama. They'll recover when Katelyn asks, "Do you want to snuggle?" and they hug it out. {Spontaneous (heart) combustion!}

Kendie is oh-so-generous with snuggles and hugs. Her classic move is the leg hug which she graciously shares with her most trusted people. She also loves to give smooches between the slats in her crib when she wakes up. This girl is a lover, let me tell you that!

See the face below?

That's what we get whenever we say the word "cheese." Literally, anytime we say it. Whether we say "Say cheese, Kendall!" or "We're having cheese with our lunch today." She busts out this, ahem, cheesy grin. Ha!

Kendall really likes ECFE class on Wednesdays and is still doing great in the nursery at Bible Study and church (I think it helps that it's the same room for both activities, so it's familiar). Whenever we ask if she had fun playing with friends she says, "yah." Or if we say, "How was your day?" She replies with "doot" which we think means "good." She's catching on to this whole communication thing.

Oh, Kendall Jean, what a sweet little thing you are!! We love your independence, peaceful demeanor, and the way you engage in life. You're a gift and it is an absolute privilege and honor that God chose us to be your mommy and daddy. Thank you for all the laughter, sweet moments, and joy you bring to our family!