A Letter to Kiley

Dear Kiley Addyson,

I wanted to write this letter to you to let you know how much Mommy and Daddy love you.  You are a little ray of sunshine that shines upon us each and every day.  It's hard for us to believe that you are 9 months old.  Yesterday, I started packing up most of your winter clothes that you can't fit into anymore or are too warm for you to wear (it's been 70 degrees or more which is really really warm for February).  Mommy had clothes everywhere trying to fold up the ones that were going to go in storage and hanging your new spring/summer clothes.  You had a blast helping (more like making a mess) Mommy! Everytime you would unfold something or throw the clothes everywhere I could hear you secretly giggling to yourself. I love your laugh. It is one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. Good thing Mommy has also learned to just go along with you because if Kiley's happy then everyone is happy! We also got a seat for Kiley on Daddy's bike yesterday and a helmet.  Daddy took the time to attach your seat to the bike and we were so excited to put you in there and see how you liked it! The result? You cried!! You didn't really care for the helmet, but we have to protect that sweet head of yours. So, Daddy didn't ride with you long, but we will try again another day and I know you will grow to love it!

Every Friday I take you to daycare.  You love it there, really you do! Lately, it's been hard for Mommy to let you go though.  You are just so much fun to be around! This past Friday I took you to daycare and you gave me a BIG kiss bye and I in turn felt like crying.  You love playing with your baby friends and Mommy is glad about that, but you also love to be around Mommy and Daddy so I just didn't want to let you go that day..

Last week on Thursday, we went to go pick up Mommy's friend, December.  I was so excited to go get her and happy that you had taken a nap on the drive up there to Austin.  We left a little earlier because you like to take naps around 10:00 a.m. and you always fall right asleep once you have had your juice and been riding in the car a little bit.  I think you knew December was someone special to Mommy because you were on your best behavior the whole time she was there.  Seeing you crawling around and giggling made Mommy fall in love with you all over again!  Every day your personality shines through more and more.  You love to be tickled and chased by Daddy and you love the mornings because that's when you get to eat some of Mommy's cheerios or if December is here you insist that she share too! Now, December likes to sleep later in the morning than you do so, I had to make sure that I had your bottle ready for you when you woke up at 7 a.m.  Mommy knew what you would wear and since you hate clothes right now Mommy would let you drink your bottle while she got you dressed...I know it's sneaky of me to do that, but it kept you from screaming! When it was time for December to leave Mommy wasn't ready for her to go and was pretty upset, but you stayed the loving, sweet baby girl you always have been and brightened Mommy's day!

Pictures with December!

Kiley's first Valentine's Day! We couldn't get you to keep your bow in your hair!

Kiley, every morning I look forward to seeing your beautiful face as you play in your crib waiting on Mommy to get you ready for the day.  And eventhough, you haven't said MaMa yet I know that when you are babbling you are telling me in your own words that you love me and baby I love you SO much! You and Daddy are my life! 

Love,

Mommy

Here's to another fantastic day and week! Gig'em and God Bless!

Fly As High As the Sky!

Wow is it really Sunday already? This week flew by! Kiley celebrated her 9 month birthday Tuesday during which she successfully grabbed her peach finger food off the table and put in her mouth! Mama was so proud of her! We had been practicing for the past week and now she can do it all by herself...YEA!

Wednesday we went to the doctor for a well check appointment for Miss Kiley.  He said she looked great and was right on track.  How much did she weigh? 18.1 pounds! and 27" long! The other great news? No more formula once Kiley turns 1!! Mama is definitely relieved about this one.

Thank goodness the weather turned around for us! Today was beautiful and we decided that we were going to get Kiley outside once Dada got off from work.  Earlier this week we bought a swing for her now that she is 9 months old.  We were pretty sure our little dare devil would love it and sure enough she couldn't stop from laughing and smiling when she tried it out for the first time today! And here's a tip - Kiley loves to fly as high as the sky! It seemed that the higher and faster the swing would go the more she would giggle and shreak with excitement.  It was a great ending to a great day!

We took a ton of pictures and I'm calling it her:  First time on a swing/ 9 month pictures!

Kisses for Dada!

Priceless...

All we want to do now is stand like the big kids.

My sweet baby after 9 months! It's hard to believe that just 9 months ago all she did was eat, sleep, and well you know the other one.  Now, she is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up using anything or anybody to help her.  I do know this though, I wouldn't change a thing! To us she is beautiful, inside and out.  She brings joy to our lives each and every day and well who couldn't ask for more?

Kiley's first Valentine's is tomorrow and wait till you see her dress! More pictures tomorrow for Kiley, but you will have to wait until next Sunday to see them! Until then, Gig em' and God Bless!!

Always Happy!

This past week brought many firsts for Kiley.  She had her first snow day, we can pull ourselves up now to stand, and we are eating finger snacks!

Snow day was pretty uneventful for us.  I bundled Kiley up in millions of layers and kept her out of the weather for the most part.  We have had the sniffles and I didn't want to make it worse than it had to be!

We have added some new foods to our diet and Kiley loves them! - Goldfish, Cheerios, and these baby peach dissolve things (not sure what they are called, but I tried them and they are pretty tasty!).  I decided that I need to stop being so protective with her and let her try some finger snacks.  I was scared that she was going to choke on one of them, but it turns out Kiley already had it all figured out and knew to chew (with her front two bottom teeth - funny to watch by the way)!  Our favorite is the Goldfish - it could also be her favorite because I pigged out on these while I was pregnant with her.  Instead of saltine crackers, I had Goldfish handy! Concidence? I don't think so!  After our quick walk today (had to cut it short due to the crazy wind) we sat outside out of the wind and had some snacks and played! Kiley quickly decided that one goldfish at a time, just wasn't enough!

3 at a time! Don't worry we pulled them out of her mouth!

Going back for more...

That one is mine too Dada! We haven't learned to share yet!!

On February 3, in the morning I gave Kiley a bath and that's when she decides to stand up in the tub with some help of the side of course! Exciting, but kind of scary, because she is soooo slippery when she is wet.  We decided once that happened to cut the bath short that day.  Later that night she did it again, but this time for Dada, Nanna, Pops, and the video camera (YEA)! So, this is our new accomplishment.  Now, we only have one problem.  Getting down.  We are very cautious when we try to sit back down so, if Kiley can't get down without hurting herself she justs stands there holding onto the table and cries until someone comes and sits her back down on the floor. You got to love her!

I didn't get a picture of her standing, but here are some pictures from that day:

Her puppy dog toy was tickling her!

HI!

A new game...crawl to Mama and Dada will pull you back where you started! She thought this was sooo funny!

Next week brings a doctor appointment for Kiley and more picture time for Kiley.  She's going to be 9 months this week! But unitl then, Gig em' and God Bless!

Dance Baby Dance!

This past week with Kiley went awesome! She is such a blast to be with.  Most of the time we are happy (we all have our bad days and sometimes it's just bad hours).  Everything that is said or done is so funny to Kiley and we love to babble...Mama is trying to get Kiley to say Mama now, but our litte one is stubborn.  So, her new game is when Mama says, "mama" Kiley says, "dada".  She thinks it's funny and I think it is just predictable! It is amazing though to hear our babies voice.  This may sound odd, but I think it fits her...

On Saturday, we went to Conroe to go pick up the new boat for the lake.  Before we took the new addition home, we were able to test it out on Lake Conroe.  We were pretty excited because this was going to be Kiley's first ride on a boat! I was pretty anxious to see how she would do.  Turns out that we all loved it! Kiley slept for most of the ride and well we were happy because she did sleep! It was a win-win situation!

Earlier this week, Nanna was keeping Kiley and ended up teaching her how to "Dancy."  She looks so cute doing it and it is our new favorite thing! Her's a video of her dancing at the restaurant Saturday night. Dance Baby Dance!

Today, Sunday, we went to my Nana and Papa's (my mom's parents).  We spent the day there and Kiley played for hours and hours.  We had such fun and she loved that she got to crawl wherever she wanted too! We are becoming so independent.  It's sad, but we knew it would happen soon!

Picture time before we left for church!

Ready to explore...Thanks for visiting and until next week Gig em' & God Bless!

And She's Off...

You may not be able to view the video due to your settings/capabilities on your computer.  The video is of Kiley crawling around our living room and then waving.

This is the B-I-G story for this week! We are now waving HI and crawling around like it's nobody's business! Just when Mama and Dada thought we were getting this baby thing down our little one decides to become mobile...I never thought it would make things SO challenging.  Just a simple task of taking a bath requires 4 hands! She tries to stand on her knees, or crawl out of her bath, or suck on the wash cloth that we are trying to clean her with! Then when you think you have things under control, because she is finally done with her bath she starts trying to crawl when I'm trying to put her PJ's on!! Oh goodness...what a little diva we have. 

We are also beginning to talk a lot more now.  Kiley calls everyone and everything Dada.  Mama is not so happy about this accomplishment.  Kiley isn't it Mama that gets you up in the mornings and spends ALL day with you? Yes, I know Dada is working and it's easier to say Dada, but couldn't you have just given me a little satisfaction by saying Mama first? Oh well, at least Dada wasn't your very first word...uh oh was! Don't worry I still love you with all my heart and Daddy too!

For weeks we practiced with Kiley on waving Bye-Bye or Hi.  Everytime we leave the room we would wave hoping she would get a hang of it.  Thursday just happened to be the day when our little one decided that she was going to shock us all and wave back! Nanna and I were waving at her and Daddy while I was trying to take a picture (which didn't turn out) when our little baby girl waved! I looked at Nanna and said "Did you see that?" She replies, "Yes, sure did! She's waving!" We couldn't believe our eyes...now we are doing this all the time! It's Kiley's new accomplishment that she loves to do.  For example, today I was showing her pictures of herself...what does she do in response? Shreak with delight and wave! She did the same thing when I showed her the video you just watched.  She heard us saying Hi on the video and saw herself waving so naturally, she starts waving back! Such a cutie...

Kiley helping her Mama with the clothes..hangers make great teething toys too! 

This past week went great, looking forward to what Kiley will have in store for us this week, but until then, God Bless & Gig' Em!!



Splish Splash Kiley was taking a bath!

On Saturday our little girl turned 8 months old, as you all probably already know from the pictures I posted earlier this week.  It is so hard for me to believe that it has been 8 months.  Yes, she's getting older and that makes me sad, but at the same time I feel like she has always been a part of our lives.  She makes us a complete family.  Everyday is an adventure with Kiley and she brings such joy to our lives. 

Saturday morning, Kiley woke up around 6:30 a.m., early for our Kiley.  I got myself up, more like dragged myself out of bed, and got ready for the morning.  When I went into the room, Kiley was smiling like always and giggling at something (she laughs at the littlest things, it is so cute).  We had our bottle and then Mommy had to come up with something to do to kill some morning time.  So, I decided that it was time for Kiley to take her first "Splish Splash Bath." What's that you ask? Well, before Saturday we didn't sit in water in our baby tub to take a bath.  Instead we sat on top where there is a sling for newborns.  It is a lot easier for Mommy and Daddy to give a bath this way, but the splish splash way is a lot more fun for Kiley.

At first we weren't sure what to do!

Mommy showed Kiley how to splash in the water and how to play with her fun bath toys! Now we are getting a hang of it!!

...And the fun has began! Water is everywhere, but we are having a blast!

So, 40 minutes later Kiley is still wanting to play in her tub...at least now Mommy knows that Kiley REALLY enjoys the water! Mommy loved the idea afterall, because once Kiley was done splashing in the water, dressed, and had her juice she decided to take a nap.  Not just any nap - 1 1/2 hours! These splish splash baths might just be a daily thing!  If only I had time...Gig em' & God Bless!

2-4-6...8 Months!

I really wanted to do something different for Kiley's 8 month birthday.  Yesterday, I called up Nanna and asked her if she wanted to go to Austin with us.  We were going to do professional pictures at a place called Picture People.  We picked out some outfits and off we went.  Kiley slept on the way which was great because I knew she would be in a good mood for her pictures. 

Kiley did great! She smiled the whole time and I am in love with the pictures!! Kiley loves them too! She kept shreaking in excitement everytime she saw herself on the screen...

We have been practicing crawling all week.  We finally did it last night! It was in slow motion, but she went forward instead of backward.  Mommy and Daddy were so proud of her...looks like we are going to have our hands full now with her moving around now!

Mommy and Daddy's favorite shot.

Last night I was putting some of the pictures in frames around the house.  It is hard to believe how much are baby girl has changed.  She doesn't hardly look the same...still beautiful, but a lot chubbier and full of expressions.  Now with crawling started all I can say is...Watch out world here she comes! More stories to come on Sunday, but for now Gig em' & God Bless!