growing up

Greetings to u all.... sorry I haven't written in a long time... seems that every time Kelsey gets another month older I realize that I haven't written and then I finally sit down and write :)
Kelsey turned 11 months old yesterday! I can't believe it's been that long already, yet it feels like we've had her forever and I can hardly remember life without her. I'm sure every Mom says that....
So let me tell you about our life right now. She is busy busy busy!!! It's been so fun to watch her learn, I think I've been sounding a little repetitive but well my feelings haven't changed and I still love it! :)
Here is a little run down of her/our life right now
Some of Kelsey's fav's
1. Kisses - she learned how to give us kisses and now she loves giving and getting them! :) She loves to kiss herself in the mirror too... SUPER CUTE!
2. Milk - and not just the kind from me :) I have been trying to wean her from some of her feeds and have replaced it with milk.... SHE LOVES IT! :)
3. Sippy cup - Loves her water out of her sippy cup and it can occupy her for a long time.
4. BOOKS - she is a little book worm. When she found her box of books in her bedroom it was love at first sight. She hasn't stopped since. She will spend hours sitting on her bedroom floor turning page after page.
5. pulling stuff off of shelves and out of baskets. She has learned how to open cupboard doors... lets just say I do a lot of picking up :)
6. LOVES going outside to play. The last few days the weather has been a bit nicer and so we have gone outside top play. She loves just walking back and forth either on the deck or outside on the street with all the other kids.
7. Balls - she has a thing for playing with balls... not sure why but oh well
8. her bunny - she has a pink blanky/bunny that she gets for sleeping and she sure loves it
9. Her dog and cat - I'm continually amazed how much she likes our pets. (she gets it from her mommy :) )
10. Anything she's not allowed to touch - lol, doesn't matter what it is, if Mommy and Daddy say "no touch" instantly it becomes something she NEEDS to have! :)

Some things she doesn't like:
1. Car/stroller rides - As long as were moving it's not too bad but if we stop for any length of time she wants to get out and run around!!
2. Beans,peas, corn + hamburger - these are probably her least favorite foods right now. I think it's just the texture... I sure hope she learns to like them because they are some of Mommy and Daddys favorite foods :)
3. Teething - She just got 2 bottom molars and well they weren't fun coming in, can't wait till that's all over with ( I know I have a long way to go)
4. When Mommy and Daddy say NO - She is very aware of when she's done wrong and does not like it and will sometimes throw a fit, but she is learning that Mommy and Daddy don't back down very quick
5. Falling down - whenever she falls its usually a very traumatic situation, even though she hasn't hurt herself, but she feels as though Mommy and Daddy should always come to her rescue. :)

She is such a joy. I am really loving this stage. She's so interactive and so curious.
Some phrases that she's learned already
"No, don't touch"
"come here"
"give Mommy/Daddy kiss"
"Clap your hands"
"Wave bye bye"
We are working on sign language but she hasn't seemed to pick up on much yet. Doesn't help I forget to sign myself.... that's something I hope to work at more this month.


















Almost doing her "goofy" grin, where she scrunches up her nose... super cute












Playing outside


Learning to climb


Her first Large bump on her head - the asphalt outside decided to trip her... mean asphalt!!









This is what she was doing yesterday evening... taking the lids from my plastic cupboard and moving them into my pantry. Apparently she takes after Mom in wanting to rearrange and organize :)




So that's our life... sorry such a long blog... I will try and do more and then make them shorter :)

Life with a 9 month old

As most of you know our little girl is on the move! She started walking shortly after she turned 9 months old and every day she gets better and better.
Life with a 9 month old has certainly been different then with an 8 month old. I'm blown away with how much she has changed in just a few short weeks.
Here's a little run down of Life with a 9 month old
1. Busy, busy, busy... she is always on the go. Her toys are no longer interesting and most of the things that she is interested in gets a big fat "NO... don't touch" from Mommy! - She loves to put her hands in the dogs water bowl and just this morning found the cat food and I got there JUST in time, before it entered the mouth
2. My food is no longer MY food... she believes that it's OUR food! :) no matter what I'm eating or where I'm eating if I don't scarf it down before she gets a glimpse of it she is determined that she MUST have some of it... even if she has just had her own big meal.... Mommy's must be better and I must try some.
3. So much more interaction! - I love hearing her talk. She walks around the house having her own conversations. It's so fun to hear her figure out sounds and learn to use her voice. She also has become a lot more cuddly and interactive with us. It's much easier to know what she wants/needs now and she can often "tell" us what's wrong.
4. Grocery shopping and car rides are always too long. Now with a mover she feels that any time that she has to sit still is too long. She get very impatient in the shopping cart and even in the car seat. Baby "mum mums" are VERY important and the only thing that keeps her happy while she's sitting.
5. I'm never alone. Doesn't matter if I'm doing my hair, working in the kitchen, or even going to the bathroom I have a little visitor. She is on my heels continually during the day. It's better when Brian is home because then she goes back and forth between us, but during the day when its just her and I shes my little shadow!

I love my little girl and I'm having so much fun during this stage... I no longer have an infant anymore.....


















Her favorite toy right now... the animal magnets on the fridge











PEEK-A-BOO



AND SHE'S OFF!!!

9 months old!

I just can't believe that K is already 9 months old! Everyone tells u it will go fast but WOW has it gone fast. She has changed so much, learned so much! I love how interactive she is now. I love her smiles and giggles and how she gets so excited when she's figured out something new!!
Here's a video of her crawling!!

It was just before nap time.... the reason for the tears... :)

what's with baby clothing sizes???

Just thought I'd share this because it's kinda silly.
Kelsey is almost 9 months old and usually wearing clothes that are more like
12months... but today I put on this outfit and when i looked at the sizes on all the tags I was quite surprised!
White onsie - 12 months
Jeans - 12-18 months
flowered t-shirt - 3 Months

That's right 3 months!! I just had to laugh... who makes these clothes anyway???? :)

Walking

Here's a few of Kelsey's first steps!! Video from Christmas day 2010

Yes, it was only one step... but she's gotten a lot better since then! :)

It's a New Year!!!

Again... I know that's it's been a little while since the new year but.... :)

It's been a busy year already! Some things that have happened since the beginning of the year.
-Kelsey has taken her first steps (actually that happened Christmas day... but she's getting better day by day!)
-Kelsey has figured out crawling.
-My parents came to visit for a short 5 days
-I finished and shipped a huge order for hats to the states... and continue to get more orders... hoping that I can keep making and selling hats this year and looking forward to where it will take me
-have confirmed that I will give child care to a little boy close to Kelsey's age (though not as much as I was hoping, it still is a huge blessing!!)
-Kelsey had her first fever - as a result of teething
-Went to Science World and the body world exhibit for the first time - so amazing!

So that's what's happened already.... and it's only Jan.13th!! can't imagine what the rest of the year will bring!!!!

I'm not usually one to make resolution lists... but there are some things that I hope to work on this year and maybe if I write them here then u my friends and family will hold me accountable! :)

1. I know this is typical... loose some weight. I have a few more pounds of baby weight that have been stubborn and I hope to loose it before the summer!
2. Spend more time with my husband - after having K it's been hard to set time aside for just the 2 of us. I want to spend more time talking and playing games together and just continue getting to know each other.
3. Spend WAY more time in the Word. I have been putting spending time with God way to low on the priority list and i want to change this!! I want to feel closer to Him and I know the only way to do that is to spend time with Him!
4. Spend more time being productive. This past year I have often felt unproductive. I know that a lot has to with the fact that I have a baby, but I don't want that to be an excuse any more! :)

So that's a lot to work on! good thing I have a year!! :)

Here r some pics of this year so far

Christmas 2010

It's been awhile since I've written on here and I have so much to say so I'm not really sure where to start.
I'll start with Christmas - I know that Christmas is over already but I haven't said anything about it so.... here it goes
Christmas was different for me this year. I didn't go to Manitoba. I love my family and I never knew how much I loved the traditions and the events of Christmas that I enjoyed for so many years till I couldn't partake of them. While growing up Christmas was a very special time of year, and we celebrated it whole heartily. Some of my favorite things about Christmas are.....
1.Going to church more than usual - especially Christmas morning and singing the Hallelujah chorus!!
2.Christmas carols
3.playing games and spending lots of time with family
4.hearing my Dad read the Christmas story
5.Going to our barn at home and sitting on hay bales, reading the Christmas story and sharing with each other about what God has done in our lives and what we are thankful for.
6.my Mom's egg nog :) and all the other wonderful goodies she makes
7.Sharing and praying with my Mom's side of the family (a tradition that we have is after sharing what God has done in our life we join hands and pray together... it brings tears to my eyes many times)
8.good food
9.Giving gifts (although in the past few years our families have decided that instead of giving gifts to each other we would give to a charity)
10.and above all remembering why we celebrate this season... To remember the Greatest Gift ever given.... Jesus Christ!!!! Thank you Lord for giving your Son to us...

So Christmas out here this year was a bit different. We didn't have 3 Christmas gatherings to go to, there were very few gifts under the tree (and what was there was for Kelsey :) ) and I didn't have my immediate family to laugh and joke with. Even without all of this it was still a very good Christmas and I had a good time. But I will say, my heart was sad that I wasn't with my family. I know that our family will make new traditions but the process of getting there may be a bit painful at times.

Here are just a few pics of our Christmas this year - it sure is different with a baby! :)


In her Christmas Dress


In Christmas pj's


Our Tree


Kelsey opening her first Christmas gift