The M Files...

Noodles...

2012-02-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

Flashback post. These are from two months ago, Kendall had just turned 19 months. This is completely how I remember Kendall during this time. She loves sitting on the counter, watching me do everything and helping me too, whether it be cooking, cleaning dishes, whatever.

On this particular day I was making us lunch. (And yes, some days my kid is in her jammies till noon). :) Kendall has always loved noodles but I usually cut them up so it's easier for her to eat them. But today she dove into my bowl before I had a chance to get her into her highchair! So I decided to just go with it (This is where my parenting differs from Rob's, Ha!). Noodles are yummy. And they are fun. :) The last pic is her famous "Cheese" face.... Heart Melt! (On a side note I realize this looks a little unsafe but I was about 2 feet from her the whole time and she knows to stay away from the edge ("sit back"). We also usually put her back against the wall.)

Camera...

2012-02-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

I pulled my old point and shoot out the other day. Its kind of broken and I really need to buy a new one since I can't use it but just haven't yet. Kendall loved it. She kept wanting to hold it herself and push all the buttons. "Kendall hold it." (She speaks about herself in the third person All. The. Time.) She loved looking through the old images..."Baby Kendall... Mama... Mimi...". When she started pretending to take a pic I just about died! She looks like a natural. :)

Diaper...

2012-02-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Kendall comes up with some really weird combos sometimes. Like this diaper, boots, snow hat, bracelet combo before bed. She often strips her jammies off and marches around the house in her diaper. "Too Hot." "Jammie Off..." These pictures are Soooo her... She's always entranced by what's going on in front of her, doing her own thing. It's nice to be a kid without a care in the world... :)

2012-02-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Nothing cool, just a few moments I don't want to to forget. Around the house, Kendall 20-ish months...

Checking out her first sunset...

A rare daytime snooze...

She almost always wakes up with a smile. I love that about her.

A messy face/shaggy haired pic I like...
She looks funny here but I just love that sweet little face. I'm sure you other moms agree you sometimes love pics no one else gets... Yup, this is one of them. :)

Shopping Cart...

2012-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

Grandma Candy and Grandpa Bob gave Kendall a shopping cart for Christmas. She loves pushing it around collecting things or giving Baby Ashley a ride. Sometimes she goes for a ride herself but we'll save that for another day. Today she is pushing some teacups around. "Mimi. Tea."

Sometimes Kendall covers her cart with her favorite blanket to keep her goods safe. She looks a bit like a homeless person. She's still awfully cute though. :)

Thanks for the fun toy Grandma Candy & Grandpa Bob!

Snowstorm 2012

2012-01-31T11:38:00.000-08:00

We had a huge snow storm about a week and a half ago. It stopped life in Seattle as we know it and Rob even got to stay home from work for a few days. Kendall loved the snow. She constantly wanted to go outside. She called it "Know-wing." She would bring me her boots and say, "Boots On!" and "Walk?" OK, Kendall, I guess we can go outside...
I took about a million pics. These were from her first real time in the snow (that she knows anyway). The snow had just started to fall. I was upstairs working in my office when I heard voices. I looked out the window and saw the sunniest little face. How could I miss her first time in the snow? So I grabbed my camera real quick and shot down through the window.

Me: Hi Kendall! What do you think of the snow?

Kendall: "Know-wing"

Snow Watching...

2012-01-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

The first day it snowed Kendall spent a lot of time looking out the window. It was so sweet.

Then Yogi and Parker wanted to join the fun... (well, kind of)

More window watching...

Herman and Snow...

2012-01-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

We honestly didn't go out a ton, usually only once or twice the whole day (bad parents, we know) but Kendall was just getting over a cold, I had work to do and it was a pain bundling her up for only 5 minutes before we'd come inside again. But I still managed to grab ~~a few~~ (um, ok, LOTS) of pics. Rob and Kendall made a cute snowman and named him Herman/Buddy.

Herman's beginnings...

Tada! Herman.

Snow Bunnies...

2012-01-31T11:33:00.000-08:00

Kendall needs to be able to remember me actually participating in things when she gets older (and not just taking pics of them!) so mommy had to get in on the pics too... :)

Love my sweet girl.

Playing in the snow...

2012-01-31T11:29:00.000-08:00

Snow Walks...

2012-01-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

Early every evening around dusk we bundled Kendall up and plopped her in our all-terrain, fake BOB stroller (that we bought for 40 bucks off our neighbor, score!) and took a walk in the snow. And I'll tell you, those all terrain strollers are great! It worked better on the packed down road snow but really, until we hit about 7 inches this thing rolled like a charm. The first pic is mis-leading because it looks like Yogi and Parker got to come too... but alas they did not. (Poor Yogi and Parker.) :( So here you are, snow walks...

Snow, a natural refrigerator... :)

A new day, a new walk...

Yep, top of the boots deep...

I Like to Help Out...

2012-01-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

Someone gave us a children's book called "I Like to Help Out." And it's the perfect book for us right now because Kendall likes to help with everything (and please, let's hope it stays that way!). On this particular morning Kendall is helping me get Yogi and Parker's food. After it's ready I let her carefully carry the bowls one by one and set them down where they belong (but there's no pics of that as I am usually walking behind her to make sure we don't end up with kibble all over the floor). But she does a good job and I love that she wants to be part of everything we do. As usual she has pulled her ponytail out so she has shag-a-muffin hair going on. :)

First I gently lift the lid...

It's fun!

One of these days I will do a blog post of all the weird stuff I find courtesy of Kendall...

Like these dice in the dog food. :)

Ooooh, dog food. :)

Yes, I like to help out :)

Around the House...

2012-01-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

I take lots of random pictures of Kendall around the house. Here's a few of our little monkey last week.

Playing in her crib...

Kendall's eyes ended up being green, just like mommy's.

Kendall loves going through cupboards and cabinets. (Getting into things is so much fun).

Ready for bed.

Kendall moves chairs to help her get what she wants. Like the back door lock. She wants to let the dogs in :)

Ahhh, got it. I am so smart :)

Kendall and Mimi...

2012-01-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

Mimi used to be called Grammy untill Kendall began talking and could only pronounce the "Me" part of Grammy. So we started calling her Mi-Mi so Kendall could say her name too. Grammy has been "Mi-mi" ever since. Kendall loves her Mimi and vice versa. And like all good Grandmas my mom likes to help out with Kendall when I have a lot going on. Like a week or so ago when I was trying to finish this wedding. Mimi came over a few times so I could get some editing done during the day (because we all know how many naps Kendall takes, a big fat Zero!!). They both had a lot of fun and gave me a much needed break from my sweet (yet very active) toddler. Thanks Mimi, for all that you do...

I'm ready, Mimi!

Kendall was getting over her (very first ever!) nasty cold this week. So her face was a bit red from all the nose blowing. Of course Baby Ashley had to come too.

Baby Ashley, you need more sleep! Look at those eye bags!

Yes, walking is fun no matter how cold it is.

Enjoying a little sunshine...

Awwwww, my two favorite girls...

Missing...

2012-01-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

The "M" in "The M Files" used to stand for our last name, although now I feel like it stands for "Missing." The Missing Files of our family! Oops! LOL

Sorry I've been away for so long. Life just got really busy for a while! But I'm happy to report that for the first time in months I actually have time to blog our family life and should have more time from now on, Yayyy! :). So much has happened with our family over the last 6 months. Although I haven't posted anything I've been taking pics the entire time so at least I'm thankful for that. And while I know there's some adorable pics I would love to share here there's too much to blog about at this point so we'll just have to leave it at that (and maybe do some flashback posts?...(not sure though!))

Kendall has grown and changed so much since I last posted. She is completely not a baby anymore (which makes this mama sad!) but her baby-ness has been replaced with a very fun, sweet, loving, smart little toddler who we literally fall more in love with every day. So here is Kendall, 20 months, right before last weeks snowstorm. We had some beautiful winter sun for a few days and made the most of it. Kendall loves bringing her baby everywhere with her and putting her in things. She also loves walking up and down our fence line when we get outdoors. Such a little cutie pie... XOXO

World's Worst Blogger...

2011-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm officially the worlds worst blogger these days. But maybe you'll forgive me when you see these cute pics of Kendall. She's 16 months here. And Oh how we love her, she's So much fun! I promise I'll start blogging again soon, I've missed my blogs!! The last few months were just super busy for me. The photos were taken by my friend Dana. I've shot several weddings with her and I'm so thankful for these pics of Kendall and I together. Precious memories for sure... See you soon! Xo -Lanette

Just One...

2011-08-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

Cause she's so dang cute....
Kendall, 15 months...

Playing Catch-up...

2011-07-29T13:15:00.001-07:00

I have about three months of family photos to edit and upload :) So we are playing some catch-up. I'm just going to start doing a few favorites at a time. These are from the end of May...

Cause everyone loves a cute ruffle butt :)

Our happy girl...

Kendall was obsessed with plastic eggs for a good month...
And yes, she wears boots in the house sometimes :)

Miss K isn't so pudgey in real life, I think it's cause she's laying down here.
But I just love this pic. Mama's sweet girl!

Mama, can we go outside?

I love it when daddy gets home :)

Mommy's parenting skills at their finest :)

Trying on a hat...

Say cheese!

Mommy and KK...

Ooh, I wonder what's going on outside...

Growing Like a Weed...

2011-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

I'm really not sure how we went from a teeny tiny baby to a 15 month old Giant toddler who's talking up a storm, RUNNING, getting into everything, sitting in big girl chairs, enjoying her summer and badly in need of a haircut... But we did. And it sure is a whole lot of fun. (But keeping us busy too!) Here's a pic of Kendall from the weekend after she just woke up. And yes, hair cut AND more pics are coming very, very soon. Hope you're enjoying your summer!

Busy, Busy...

2011-07-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

We're still here! Things have just been really busy lately but we're having a good summer and Kendall is as fun and cute as ever! I'll be posting pics later this week, stay tuned. :)

Lucky No. 10...

2011-06-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot! Kendall cut a new tooth on Tuesday, lucky number ten! This one is on the top left side, two from center. Next time she gets a clear runny nose for three weeks straight I'll know new teeth will be following very soon after! That's two new teeth in less than a week! She's also got a molar coming in on the bottom left. Hopefully it will come in quick! :)

Crazy Hair and Dog Feeding...

2011-06-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

These pics are about a month old. Kendall writhes around in her sleep quite a bit so she ends up with some crazy hair in the morning. Like this day in particular :)

Well Hello :) Nice hair...

Crazy hair AND a silly face...

You're pretty funny, aren't you?

There, much better... :)

Yogi and Parker have quickly learned that Kendall drops food while she's eating. And they're sure to hang around during any meal time. Lately Kendall's decided it's more fun to feed the dogs than feed herself. We don't encourage it but it's pretty cute!

Hmm, having a sister isn't so bad! (But Kendall, make sure Parker gets some too :) (And yes, we know he's a furry beast right now)

Sometimes I'm amazed at the tiny things she's able to pick up, like Cheerios :) Kendall loves Cheerios.

Yogi loves Cheerios too :)

Yogi, don't even think about it!

What? We didn't do anything.

The Zoo...

2011-06-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

So what do you do the day after your numero uno birthday (not to mention it's the nicest day Seattle has seen since January)? You head the Zoo, that's what you do! :) We had a nice post birthday outing at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle although the animals were feeling a bit shy, maybe because it was so crowded? Kendall loved being outside though. And she liked the animals. She kept calling everything "Dog." It was pretty cute. :)

Zoo sign... And yes, this was taken while waiting in line to buy tickets :)

Kendall smiling at Grandma Candy from her car seat...

Someone fell asleep. Must be from her partying the night before :) Kendall has long eyelashes like her daddy...

Did I mention the zoo was crowded?

Kendall trying to see Mr. Giraffe... Nice Belly :)

Someone spent a lot of time like this...

Yep, the view is better up here :)

One of the few animals we saw...
Don't know what he's called but he was very sweet :)

Someone just started walking about 6 days before our outing. We put some practice in at the zoo...

Grandma Candy, Kendall and Daddy enjoying the day...

Whoa, watch your fingers..!

"Kendall, what do you think about the animals...?"

"Dog..."

Mama and her little monkey...

Thanks for visiting Grandma Candy, we'll miss you!

I told you so :)

2011-06-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

I hate to say "I told you so" but I thought Kendall's teeth were bugging her again. Her nose has been running like crazy the last 2 weeks (clear only) and she's been positively awful about going to bed. She was also very fussy this weekend which isn't like her. So guess who cut another tooth yesterday? Yep. Miss Kendall. (Told you so!) That makes nine pearly whites in this little mouth--this one is upper left, two from center (I'd take a pic but someone likes to bite our fingers VERY HARD these days).

Oh, one more thing. Whoever says to start brushing baby's teeth as soon as they come in obviously never had a baby! :) Kendall likes to eat her toothbrush only. She pushes us away when we try to brush or clamps her lips down so it's hard to see her teeth! We are just no good at teeth brushing. Anyone have any tricks?

13 Month Love Letter...

2011-06-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Kendall,

You're 13 months old and I swear you're changing almost daily! I wish I could stop time before you get any bigger but know that you'll only continue to grow, get more fun and add more joy to our lives than you already do.

I look at you and you don't really look or feel like a baby anymore. You barely fit into my arms now and you're a walking, talking toddler! :) Here are some things I want to remember about you right now.

You have such a sunny little personality. You're always smiling from the moment you wake up till the moment you go to sleep. And you have the cutest laugh. Grammy calls you "Miss Cackles" because you're always laughing. You think everything is funny--when someone sneezes, when Yogi and Parker wrestle, when we drop things on the floor. Everyone who meets you comments on what a good baby you are, how easy and good natured you are. We're so thankful you're such a cheerful little girl.

You weigh 21 pounds and wear mostly size 18 month clothes (although they're still a little long). You're 30 inches tall. You've been walking for 6 weeks and rarely crawl these days except to maybe run away from the vacuum. Sometimes you look like Frankenstein when you walk. Other times we call you Drunk Baby cause you kinda bobble around. But you're solid on your feet and good about noticing and stepping over things that might make you trip. It's pretty amazing how observant you are, really.

Your hair is growing crazy fast. It's completely filled out in the back and it's shiny, soft and 3-4 inches long. It's light brown with blond/light red/orange highlights. You need a hair cut. :)

Your eyes are a dark blue/green color. They can't seem to make up their mind. Some days they look blue, some days they look green.

You're sleeping better these days, usually 11 hours at night. You take just one, 1-hour nap during the day. Mommy wishes you napped more but if you get more than 12 hours of sleep total you're a wild hooligan at night and won't sleep till one or two in the morning.

You're a good eater and eat almost anything but you don't like regular milk. You love your Juicey-Juice and water and you can drink out of a sippy cup by yourself now. Sometimes you make a big "Ahhh" sound on purpose (like you're oh-so-refreshed) and smile after taking a drink. It's pretty darn cute. You love any sauce over rice or noodles and you LOVE canned green beans, black olives and your yogurt melts. Your favorite meal is still Spaghetti which is why we made it for your first birthday. We don't really let you have sugar but you LOVE licks of ice cream. And don't get me started on how much you like garlic bread. You're a bread girl like your Daddy that's for sure :)

A little about you these days:

You can suddenly entertain yourself for 15-20 minutes at a time if you take fancy to something. It's SO great!!! :)

You love putting objects in any container. You take them in and out and hand them to people. You love your Eggs (the plastic ones from Easter, you constantly bring me eggs!) You love climbing on anything--the bathroom scale, a footstool, a chair, me at midnight... I caught you trying to climb our pantry shelves via the dog food bag the other day... We're going to have to keep our eye on you, Little One!:)

We call you our little "Collector". Because you wander around the house picking up random items and take them with you. Socks, keys, combs, pens, toothbrushes, cards, packaging, cell phones--basically anything you can carry. You've come up with some really funny combos.

You love wearing your plastic play rings. You've been obsessed with wearing them as bracelets for almost two weeks now. Sometimes you wear four at a time, two on each wrist. They're you're favorite thing for sure right now. You also love cell phones. You put them to your ear and say "Lo?" then walk around like you're cool stuff. You're good at unlocking our phones. You called Daddy's boss once, Uncle Chad once... and probably a bunch of people we never knew about... :)

You LOVE music. As soon as something good catches your ear you start to boogie. You dance, bob your head or body or both. It's so cute. Mommy swears you try singing along sometimes...

You can point, clap, wave bye-bye, blow kisses, gesture "Up" and you do the signs "All Done" and "More" if we say them. You give good hugs, pat us on the back and are generally much cuddlier now than you were a couple months ago. Auntie Sarah said "The very best hugs come from small arms."--I completely agree. I love hugging you more than anything. And holding you close to me. You are so very special...

Your two favorite words right now are "Da-Da" and "Nigh-nigh" but we think YOU think "nigh-nigh" actually means "milk-time!" You also say "Yeah-Yeah!", "Ball", "Lo" (hello), "Whoa", "Hi", "Dog", "Ma-ma" and the occasional "cool!", "thank you" and "baby."

You love Yogi and Parker but they've both been a little jealous of you lately. They growl and try to eat you sometimes. But other times they're happy to see you. You love petting them and do an Amazingly good job of gently patting and rubbing them on your own. You love watching them play and love splashing in their water bowl if we let you. But your favorite thing about Yogi & Parker is Feeding them your food! You think it's pretty cool! And I'd imagine they do too! :)

Your nicknames haven't really changed in the last several weeks. Mommy still calls you Miss Moo, Lovey-Loo, Moo-Moo and Monkey. Yes, you are definitely Mama's little monkey. :)

You love Baths and having us chase you up our stairs. Except now you want to walk instead of crawl. You love fresh air and going for walks (well, we walk, you ride). If you're having a rough spot all we need to do is offer you a walk and you're grabbing our hand, leading us to the door. You love going ANYWHERE really, especially out to eat. So far you do excellent in restaurants as long as you have food to keep you occupied. But once you're full you're on the move. Check, please! :)

You adore Mommy & Daddy, your Grammy Marlex and your Grandma Candy. You love spending time with Auntie Ana, Uncle Chad and your "Auntie" Sarah (your nanny).

You are so, so, SO very friendly to most people. You even go up to strangers and give them hugs sometimes. You smile, laugh and flirt with Everyone, Everywhere. People are always commenting on you and how sweet and friendly you are. You're just a little ray of sunshine and everyone can tell. :)

You have a lot of energy and rarely sit still but that's OK. We wouldn't change it for the world. We love how smart you are, how bold you are, how adult-like you are. You just seem to "get it". And you have a sense of humor and impeccable timing with both your words and actions sometimes. You're quite the character. You impress us almost daily!

We're SO very lucky to be your parents. Every day with you is more fun and even better than the day before. We're excited to see what changes this year will bring for you, to see you change from a baby into a little girl. You're so sweet, so good natured, so loving. We are so very happy you're ours and fall more in love with you every day.

We love you very, very much!!

Kisses,
Mommy
XoXo

Happy Birthday Kendall!

2011-05-27T07:51:00.002-07:00

Kendall turned one on April 30th, a Saturday. We had a small, family party at our house. It was perfect, low key and just what we wanted. Grandma Candy flew up from Arizona for the celebration and to spend some much wanted time with her sweet granddaughter. Kendall had a great time at her party and was SUPER spoiled. I hardly took any pics because I just wanted to enjoy this big milestone. It was a little bittersweet though. :( It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since we brought Kendall home from the hospital. Our tiny baby isn't a baby anymore! But she's well on her way to becoming a sweet little girl :)

Birthday Cake for Smashing!

Our Birthday Girl!

Kendall opening gifts...

Presents!
Thanks for the play table set Grammy Marlex & Grandpa Joe!

Pretty cute :)

Mommy had a great idea to take Kendall outside for a few pics in her adorable birthday outfit.

It didn't go over so well. :)

Kendall didn't like the feel of the grass and just wanted mommy to come hold her. :)

OK, I guess I can pose for a pic but that sun sure is bright!

Cake!

2011-05-27T07:51:00.001-07:00

It wouldn't be a birthday without birthday cake! Up until this point Kendall had had virtually NO sugar so I wondered how it would go. Would she love it and dive in or not want anything to do with it? It cracks me up that she's sitting in JUST her pants with her little belly hanging out. I remember thinking I didn't want her top and headband to get messy and that she'd be warmer with pants on (those skimpy things, really? What was I thinking?) but these pics remind me of a chubby little pirate in pearls :)

OK Kendall, let's try some cake...

Hmmm, what is that? I've never tasted this before...

It's squishy...

OK, let's really get your hands in there...

Wahhh, I'm not sure I like this!

But it IS kinda fun to play with :)

Hey. Where did all this frosting come from?

My feet want to try too... :)

Save me, Mommy!

Bye-Bye cake :)

Someone's getting SO big...

2011-05-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

And walking. And saying words. And having first birthdays. And meeting long lost relatives. And drinking out of sippy cups. But as usual I'm way behind on posting! LOL So these two pics are just for Grandma Candy. Cause I'm sure she's missing this little ray of sunshine. And If the world doesn't end this weekend :) hopefully I'll get some more pics up. These were taken yesterday, Kendall is 12 & 1/2 months here. We love her more and more every day, she is so sweet and fun!

Kendall's First Easter...

2011-05-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

I did a little photoshoot for Kendall on Easter, just cause she was all dressed up and looked SO adorable :) It made me realize I need to dress her up more! LOL Kendall is 11 months and 3 weeks old here, just shy of her first birthday... Oh how we love this little girl!

Happy Easter...

2011-04-25T13:42:00.001-07:00

Kendall had a great first Easter. She got all dressed up in her pretty Easter dress and had her own little basket of eggs. She loved holding the eggs and inspecting them. It was a very sweet Easter indeed.

I did a mini Easter photoshoot for her, I'll post a few pics of it once I'm done editing THIS tot's session. Hope you all had a Happy Easter too! XOXO

Someone took her first steps yesterday!

2011-04-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

About 10 of them, all in a row! I was lucky enough to get it on video, hopefully I'll upload it here sometime this week. So now the real fun begins! Yay for Kendall!!

Table Walking...

2011-04-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

The play by play of Kendall's table walks.. These are about 2 weeks old I think...

Looking for an object to pick up... Mommy's makeup bag scattered about (another thing Kendall loves getting into right now...)

Cruisin...

I'll just rest here a moment...

Silly Mommy, poking my belly with your toes!

That was fun but I'm bored now...

Hmm, what's happening outside...?

Sammy...

2011-04-13T18:41:00.001-07:00

We've had a visitor at our house the last couple weeks. He's a house-trained bunny named Sam Rabbit. I was taking care of him while my parents were on vacation. Sammy is sick and required medication while they were away. I kinda liked having him around. He's a good bunny. I hope he's feeling better soon. I think Yogi and Parker enjoyed the company too. :)

Fever...

2011-04-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Kendall woke up today with her first real fever. 101.5, Boo. But being her first one at almost a year I guess we're not doing too bad. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with her ears. I was hoping the ear pulling was just from teething but now I think she might have an ear infection. We gave her baby Ibuprofen and it seemed to bring the fever down although she's feeling a bit warm again. Hopefully we can get her into the doctor first thing tomorrow to look at her ears. Note to self: Need the forehead scanning thermometer. Getting Kendall to lay still using the underarm thermometer is no easy task!

11 Months Old!

2011-04-06T17:55:00.001-07:00

Here's a few pics of Kendall from yesterday. I can't believe she's already 11 months old! Where did the time go? Our baby is so big now! I haven't even finalized the details for her first birthday yet, I'm so not ready for a one year old!

I feel like Kendall has changed so much in the last week. She learned to clap this last week and now LOVES clapping. She actually stopped, sat up and clapped at me in the middle of nursing the other night. It was hilarious! (I guess she liked the milk... Thanks Girl) :) She also started giving us kisses this last week which is the sweetest thing ever. She even tries kissing Yogi and Parker and the bunny we're pet-sitting . I think it's so cool she's starting to express herself. She also started waving "Hi" and can "Give me Five." Things in her little brain are definitely starting to click!

Kendall loves eating real food now which makes us so happy. Just give this girl some food and it keeps her occupied! She's been eating all kinds of proteins the last couple weeks including beef, chicken, pork and lamb. Now all we need to do is tackle seafood and milk products once we get the OK and she's pretty much eaten everything.

Kendall loves music and dancing with mommy and daddy. Mommy says the Bruno Mars song "Just the way you are" is Kendall's song and whirls around the kitchen with her each time it comes on. Kendall also loves splashing in water and walking in circles around our coffee table. She loves picking items up off the table, carrying them a small distance then grabbing something else. She also loves inspecting and taking everything out of mommy's makeup bag. Her other favorite thing to do right now is stand in front of her cubby in the playroom and pull down ALL of the books one by one. Over and over again... It's great fun!

Kendall's finally been napping every afternoon in her crib (yay!). We've tried putting her in there at night without much success though. She wakes up about an hour later and gets really mad (this girl is definitely a stubborn Taurus). And although we've tried letting her "cry it out" a few times, I really cannot bear to let her go more than about 15 minutes total before I get her (I mean, is she Really going to go to bed when she's standing there holding onto the edge of the crib crying? I don't think so.) When I finally get her she reprimands me with 20 minutes of crabby babble then stays up till the wee hours of the morning. Not good when you have to work at 8am the next day. So! We've decided to NOT tackle that sleep issue just yet. Personally I don't mind. I love sleeping next to her :)

Kendall's started saying a few words this last week! Her main one is "Uh-oh", "Nigh-Nigh" and "Yeah!" (which can mean either Yes or Yay). We think she also says "Dog" and "Hello" sometimes. It's so cute :)

She finally outgrew her last 9 month outfit (Mama's sad!) and is wearing all 12-18 month clothes now but even some of the 12 month clothes seem a little small. She still is right around 20 pounds, but feels heavier than that! And she's tall!. I don't know where my little newborn went!

Kendall's really afraid of loud noises, mainly the vaccuum, hairdryer and hand-held mixer. But it's really funny how fast she moves to get away... :) She's also really close to walking. She actually took her first steps the other night but we're not counting them since she was walking back and forth between us. But any day now she'll be walking on her own...

My nickname for Kendall for the last several weeks has been Doodlebug, Moo and Miss Moo. Not because she's chubby (because she really isn't THAT chubby anymore except her cheeks) but they're just names that stuck and I love it. This Little Miss has stolen my heart that's for sure though, and her Daddy's too. What a blessing she is. :)

Weekend Pics...

2011-03-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

I know everyone is curious to see how big Kendall is getting since I've been SO terrible about putting pics on this blog lately. So here's a few pics from the last 3-4 days. This is about as recent as you can get! :)

Grammy's trying to feed Kendall peas here. I don't know why we're still trying the mushy stuff with her, she likes textured food so much better. I think Grammy's just trying to use up the baby food so they don't go to waste LOL

Kendall and Uncle Chad. They have fun together!

Kendall loves it when we swing her in the air...

Kendall and Daddy before we left for Auntie and Uncle's on Satuday...

Kendall checking out Auntie and Uncles TV...
Hmmm, anything good on tonight?

Mommy and her little squirming cutie at Auntie and Uncles...

There, that's better :)

We had so much fun Saturday everyone needed a nap the next day :)

And she sleeps...
We call these her "Rainbow Bright" jammies :)

Love her :)

More Teeth!

2011-03-17T17:04:00.001-07:00

Kendall now has EIGHT teeth. Holy cow, that's a Lotta teeth!

This newest one is on the bottom to the right of her center teeth. It just broke the surface yesterday. This means she now has Four teeth on top and Four teeth on bottom. And she's not even 11 months old yet, Crazy!

Da-Da and 10 & 1/2 months...

2011-03-15T08:10:00.001-07:00

Someone started saying this an awful lot this weekend. :) Da-Da just loves it :) Mommy does too.

She's also standing unsupported for 10+ seconds at a time, pulling herself up onto everything from sitting (including us :)) and picking up the tiniest things with precision and popping them into her mouth. I'm a floor Nazi lately and feel like I'm constantly vaccuming, both from all the crumbs and to prevent her from eating things that aren't meant to be eaten!

Her favorite things right now are playing Patty-Cake, putting her hands in running water, music (ballads only though), watching us blow kisses, reading books and watching the dogs play together. She's completely afraid of the vaccum and doesn't like loud noises. She laughs when Rob and I hug or kiss and constantly kicks her legs when you hold her (kind of like she's running on air, it's hilarious). She has a new, livelier version of the "Tappity-Tap" dance.

She's no longer the sweet baby who patiently hold her legs in the air during a diaper change. This mama has to be fast with a capitol F and use items of distraction. If I don't I've got a super twisty baby on my hands and end up trying to diaper her while she's standing up, crawling or some combo of both. Payback's a b**** because my mom said I was exactly the same way :)

Kendall's started imitating things we do like sticking out our tongues and making pop noises by smacking her lips together. She loves it when we clap and wave bye-bye but can't do it yet herself. She stops when she hears the words "No-no" and "Don't Touch" but then usually goes about her business. She's a girl who knows what she wants. She's getting new teeth in and can be pretty fussy in the evening, usually only wanting mommy the last hour or two of the night.

Her sleep schedule is still kinda funky. Kendall naturally wants to go to bed at 9pm. She takes one (1-2 hour) nap 3 hours after she wakes up and maybe one quick afternoon nap (30-40 mins). She's usually rubbing her eyes for bed exactly 12 hours after her morning wake up. But lately even if she's overtired or skips her day time naps she's fighting sleep at night and it's been a challenge. We think it's related to teething and hope things will change once her new teeth come in. Once she's asleep she's great and sleeps 10-12 hours (with 1 or 2 quick wakeups between 3-8am). She's so funny when she wakes up in the morning. She smiles, squints at the light, her hair sticking out everywhere and bobbles around like a rolly polly little drunk. :) I need to videotape this. Because even the thought of it makes me smile.

Kendall's eyeing everything we eat. We've literally gone from two, open begging mouths at every meal to three (But they're all so dang cute we oblige!). She sometimes likes to feed herself now and will push your hand away if you try to help her. She likes mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Ritz crackers, apples, rice, any kind of noodles and garlic bread (mostly carb-y things). I bet she'll love Italian food when she's older... Her favorite snacks right now are Gerber Graduate Puffs and Rice Chex. I can't belive how fast she gobbles them down compared to even 2 weeks ago. They literally disappear. She still hates bananas like her dad and she's getting better at using a sippy cup (but still ends up with a lot of liquid down her front).

Kendall's also crawling faster than I can even believe, like lightning fast. I don't know how we went from a rolly polly brick of a baby that couldn't move to this busy little bee in such a short time but if this kid isn't walking by her first birthday we'll be really surprised. Like REALLY.

Have I mentioned that I just LOVE her?? Cause I do! She's so fun and I just want to cover her in kisses and be home to play with her and hug her all day long!

I'll try to post some pics soon, I'm just really behind on personal pics right now. Same story as always--Lots taken, little edited, very behind. Wish I didn't have a day job... LOL

See you soon!

XOXO,
Lanette

More teeth!

2011-03-06T22:24:00.001-08:00

Someone has another tooth! Lucky # 7. That explains why Kendall's been fussier than normal the last few days. She's been teething like crazy the last several weeks so I'm happy to know they're finally on their way out. I just noticed her new tooth tonight as we were getting ready for bed, it's next to her bottom left center tooth. It's funny, just this morning I told Rob it looked like her top teeth grew longer overnight (like literally, compared to the day before). So I guess they're all getting longer, LOL. Yay for new teeth! :)

Mexico pics...

2011-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

Here's some pics from our trip to Loreto, Mexico at the beginning of Februray with our great friends the S. Family (Ryan, Tierra, Grace and Matt). Loreto is a really small city about 200 miles North of Cabo on the Baja Peninsula/Sea of Cortez. It's not a tourist destination, just a chill place with a real laid back pace of life. We had a great time hanging with our friends and their sweet kids, relaxing in the sun, splashing in the pool and eating real Mexican food. Kendall absolutely loved the warm swimming pool, playing with Mattie and Grace and toddling all over the sun deck in her walker. Thanks for such a fun week you guys, we had a blast! :)

Quick Note...

2011-02-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I finally bought a real website for my growing photography business. It's still a work in progress but there are recent pics of Kendall from her first time in the ocean (Mexico) and her 9 month photo shoot there. I'll try to upload pics here soon as well :) New site address is:

www.lanettemariephotography.com

Busy, Busy...

2011-02-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I've been neglecting this blog again. We've just had lots of stuff going on. :) But things are settling back down now. We hope everyone's doing great! :)

Kendall will be 10 months old on the 30th (or make that the 2nd since there are only 28 (27?) days in February. I just can't believe it, time has gone by so quickly these last few months. Kendall is so sweet and looking less and less like a little baby every day. It makes me sad, because I'm not sure I've really taken the time to smell the roses... I feel like I've been so busy since she arrived LOL But there have been lots of nice moments and I love this little girl to Pieces, that's for sure. :)

We've seen a lot of changes in Kendall especially these last 3 weeks. At her 9 month check up she weighed 19 pounds and 8 ounces (60th percentile for weight). 50th percentile for head circumference. And a whopping 28 & 3/4 inches tall--90th percentile for height! Apparently we make giant babies... Maybe she'll be a supermodel some day... Or play volleyball. LOL

She's been doing so much fun stuff lately. Like crawling really fast. Laughing at her doggies. Tipping over their water bowls (yes, they're out of reach now). Trying lots of people foods. Sleeping on her stomach. Crawling through our coffee table (Over. And Over. And Over Again...) Pulling herself from sitting to standing, many times a day. And conquering our stairs on only her 2nd day of trying. She can now go up our first landing in about 2 minutes. We think this kid is preee-tty smart...

She celebrated her first Valentine's Day, loves rolling around in her walker and she's been babbling up a storm. She's started saying Ma-ma again (she's said "Ma!" for the last 2 months) sometimes Da-Da, and we swear she says "Hiiiii!" sometimes but the jury is still out on that one. She's started trying to imitate noises and we think she'll probably be an early walker.

Kendall also has several new teeth coming in. And she's been sure to let us know, especially in the evenings, how uncomfortable she is. We have not enjoyed this part of our little one so much... But that's life! :) Other than that she's still Miss Smiley and a ray of sunshine most the time, really so fun to be around every day. Makes me tear up a little just thinking of what joy she brings me with her chubby little smile.

Oh, and before I forget, Kendall is offically an international traveler at the young age of 9 months. All three of us went to sunny Mexico with our great friends the Smalls in February and had a ton of fun. We're so thankful they invited us along. :)

I will post some pictures soon, really I will. Don't hate me but I've actually been posting pics on Facebook instead because it's so much easier (and because people actually COMMENT there (hint, hint) :). But I Promise I'll post some here by the end of the week. Hope everyone is doing well!

XoXo, Lanette

Grammy Days...

2011-01-31T23:28:00.000-08:00

My mom watches Kendall twice a week while Rob and I are working. It's safe to say she keeps Kendall pretty busy during her watch. She's the one that started Kendall on the walking kick. Kendall loves walking now. And she lets Kendall do all kinds of "fun" chores with her, like folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher. Thank you Mom, for all that you do. All five of us really appreciate it and love you very much :)

My mom was so proud, Kendall had just walked 75 steps inside...

(with Grammy's help of course) :)

Sitting down on the job, checking out her doggies...

Hi Mama, this is where all of my spoons end up :)

Surprise Visitor...

2011-01-31T23:03:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had a visit from Dave (Rob's brother) who was in town for business. It was also the same day the Seahawks lost their final playoff game (Sorry Hawks, maybe next year). Anyway, Dave and his family are moving back to Seattle this spring after living out of state for forever. We're super excited they'll be back in town and that Kendall will grow up knowing her cousins. Yay. :)

Someone pouting after the game...
PS Nice (dirty) socks :)

Kendall loves her Uncle Dave.
She always has big smiles for him.

Kendall, in a Seahawk M Brother Sandwich...

Making Friends...

2011-01-31T22:42:00.001-08:00

My brother took these pics on my camera and they were so sweet I wanted to post them. We had extended family over a few weeks ago including my sister in law (Ana's) family visiting from Colorado and Maine. Ana's neice is about 6 months older than Kendall and the two girls really took to eachother, it was so cute. I love that Kendall is getting to the age where she can make friends and even more fun that Peri is technically related :)

Ana's sister in law (Margie), Kendall, Peri & Ana

Peri & Kendall dancing :)

Auntie Ana reading a story.
She'll make a great mommy someday :)

Hugs for Kendall. So sweet :)

Sleeping, Cribs and Playpen...

2011-01-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

Kendall has never been a good napper. Yes, it's true, even when she was a newborn she would sometimes go ALL day with just one 40 minute nap or a single 2 hour zonk in her swing. Drove me crazy. Especially since all of my friends babies slept like peaceful angels 3-4 hours at a time twice a day!

So I've been really happy that in addition to sleeping 10-12 hours every night Kendall's also started taking two naps every day, one around noon for about 2 hours and then a late afternoon nap for about 45 minutes. Yay! And she's finally sleeping in her crib during the day too. She's still in our bed at night (hey, what can I say? All of my favorite people are in my bed :) but we're working on changing that very soon now that she's crawling.

This was the first day she slept in her crib...
Mommy was SO excited :)

I see you mommy, come back and play with me :(

There you are! :)

Another day, another nap.
Mommy's loving this :)

Oops, someone is sleeping on mommy and daddy's bed again.
I guess old habits are hard to break. :)

Just a few...

2011-01-19T22:47:00.000-08:00

Just a few pics. Kendall, 8-ish months.

I haven't been taking that many pics of Kendall lately. The holidays were so busy and it's been horribly dark inside (our next house MUST have good natural light for this dismal Seattle weather!). I'm ready for some good weather so I can do a shoot for Kendall, she'll be 9 months old next Sunday... Mommy wonders where the time went! :(

Snug as a bug...

Pretty Baby...

Having fun with Da-da...

Hangin' with Ma-ma...

Good morning...

Kendall & Grammy...

Trying a new 'Do...

Happy.

And Yes, my hair is always this crazy (in case you were wondering) :)

8 & 1/2 month letter...

2011-01-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Kendall,

You are 8 and a 1/2 months old. And you're seriously one of the happiest babies we've ever met. You're happy when you wake up, you're happy all day (unless you're teething) and you're happy when anyone holds you. You're so squishy and fun and you laugh a lot too. You truly are a little social butterfly. You love people so much and love watching them.

You love your Grammy. And your puppies. (You LOVE Yogi. You squeal with delight whenever he comes around) Sometimes you try to pet the puppies. Yogi is OK with this, Parker, not so much. We're working on that. Your favorite thing to do right now is hit two objects together to make noise. And you love opening and closing things like your wipes containers. You could do this for 20 minutes straight and be happy. You constantly say "Ma!" over and over again. It is definitely your favorite sound.

You just figured out how to start crawling this last week. You looked like a little baby turtle on sand for the first time. It was pretty cool. Untill you reached the coffee table and started eating my Bon Appetite magazine. Then we realized we need to put everything out of reach. Right now. :)

You're teething like crazy again and you always bite my shoulder to make it feel better. But you don't actually bite down, I think you know it will hurt mama. You just shudder/shake real big and pretend to bite me. Then you do it again a few minutes later. You have big teeth. Really big teeth. They make us smile :) And you love to show them off. Your hair is getting lighter these days but it's still kind of brown. Your eyes are a dark grey/blue color. We think they might be turning green though.

You squirm when we change your diapers now, you always want to flip over. So we have to distract you with toys. Speaking of toys you love kitchen utensils. You have lots of real toys but you're happiest with our kitchen items--spoons, spatulas, measuring cups, ziploc bags. So much for all the BPA free toys we got you. For some reason plastic makes you happy so we're just going with it.

You've finally started eating real foods. This was the only area you were behind in but these last 2 weeks you suddenly "get it." You've been trying all kinds of things lately. You love Cheerios (thanks Grandpa Bob), Rice Krispies, real Sweet Potatoes and drinking water from a cup or a spoon. Most of it ends up on your outfit though, it's pretty cute :) You still won't drink from a bottle but you're learing to use a sippy cup. Hopefully in another few weeks you'll have this figured out :) Because mommy would love to finally have a couple glasses of wine in a row. Yes, that would be very nice. :)

You get so happy and excited when you first see us at then end of a work day. You squeal with delight and almost leap up with happiness. It's honestly the cutest thing ever and melts our hearts. You make us smile so much. I keep thinking your middle name should have been "Joy" because you really bring us so much Joy every day. You're so special and we love you very much.

Kisses,
Mama and Dada XoXo

Mark it on the calendar...

2011-01-14T00:33:00.001-08:00

We've officially got a crawler. After two weeks of scooting backwards and doing 360's she finally figured out how to move forward. :) Time for some major baby proofing :)

Merry Christmas Kendall...

2011-01-07T17:32:00.001-08:00

Kendall had a great first Christmas. It's not about the gifts but she was spoiled, everyone loved her up. And she was intrigued. By the gifts and the paper and lets be honest she liked putting everything in her mouth. I can't wait till next year when she's old enough to rip the paper. And make a gingerbread house with me. Or maybe some cookies. She loved our tree. The twinkling lights and touching the ornaments and the holiday music. I loved every minute I spent with her this Christmas. It truly was special and magical. Baby's first.

There's a lot of pics below. I realize you don't need to see 20 pics of my kid opening gifts on Christmas but remember, this blog is mainly for me to keep a record of our life :) And there just happened to be about 20 pics from Christmas that I loved. So there you go :)

I'm happy I got these on the blog right away. One of my New Year's resolutions is to get family pics posted faster and not waste time editing them to perfection. I figure family would rather see something, anything, than nothing for weeks. And I'm my own worst critic anyway, most people probably think they look fine regardless. And because I'm a mommy working full time so my blogging time is pretty limited these days. But mainly because one of the things I'm learing about being a mother is that life doesn't need to be perfect to be good. Because that's what makes it Real :)

So enjoy. Here is Kendall's first Christmas. We love her to pieces!

First gift, it's as tall as her :)

Looking at her daddy...

Open, Open, Open...

She looks so happy and small here....

Peepers and paper...

Hi Mama, I see you looking at me :)

Ohmygosh. Very excited...

Sweet smiles for Daddy and Grandma Candy...

Where did Kendall go?

Best Present Ever :)

She truly is so sweet :)

And happy...

Yes, very, very happy...

With her loot...

Miss twinkle toes...

Playing...

A good end to her first Christmas.

Missing an Organ...

2011-01-07T11:39:00.001-08:00

I'm sure mom will love that I'm posting these, heh heh.

So as you know my mom ended up with appendicitis and had to go in for emergency surgery last night. She's now missing a vital organ :) And I now know all kinds of appendicitis tidbits including classic symptoms and stats. Did you know that 1 in 15 people will have their appendix removed? I didn't. But if you ever need an apendectomy Evergreen is The place to be. They've never lost a patient during this surgery yet which made everyone feel better about mom going under the knife.

Glad you're doing better mom. Hopefully that's the last time you'll need surgery for a while! :) Kisses.

Our little ER patient (yes, I really did bring my camera...)

Feeling nervous? "Just a little" she says...

And off she goes!

Thanks for your concern, friends, Mom is doing great and recovering nicely.

Oops, change of plans...

2011-01-06T17:24:00.001-08:00

Today was a bit of a mess being that our nanny called in sick this entire week and then my poor mother (who's been covering for her) called in sick today with nothing other than appendicitis. Yep. Appendicitis. Poor Grammy! :( So after waiting all day for a confirmation of what we already was wrong with her she's scheduled to have her appendix out this evening. So I won't be uploading any more pics today to say the least. LOL Please send prayers and best wishes for Grammy Marlex and we'll see ya soon.

Someone almost missed Christmas...

2011-01-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Just as we were getting ready to open presents Kendall fell asleep. She must have been tired from her Christmas Eve so we let her sleep a bit :) Wanted her to be in a good mood for the fun that was about to happen.

First Santa Visit...

2011-01-06T07:25:00.001-08:00

Being the procrastinator that I am Kendall didn't meet Santa untill two days before Christmas. Kendall, myself and Grandma Candy went early so we only had to wait about 45 minutes, lucky us. I kept little miss in her pj's till the very last minute, I was afraid she'd have a blowout in line (she always seems to know when she's wearing cute clothes). Anyway, mission accomplished. She didn't look happy but at least she didn't cry. :) I'd say this Santa visit was a success. See you next year Santa!

Coming soon to a blog near you...

2011-01-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow. Picture overload from Kendall's first Christmas.

This pic just makes me happy. Because Kendall had a great first Christmas. And I just want to cuddle this little love muffin!

Happy New Year...

2011-01-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

It was a busy holiday month for us here in the M household. We've had family staying with us since Dec 15th and had loads of fun but our last houseguests left last night. We're all feeling a bit tuckered out from all of the excitement. We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with our families and Kendall was the star of the show (and might I mention the BEST present we could have asked for this year!). My New Years resolutions include doing yoga every day and keeping better updated with this blog. Rob wants to work out 3 times a week and be healthier in general. Yogi wants to lose a couple pounds, Parker wants to work on his barking and Kendall would like to learn how to talk and walk :)

Hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season as well. Here's to 2011! May it be your best year yet :) I'll have some pics up within the next few days. Cheers!

Look Who's Talking...

2010-12-21T00:55:00.000-08:00

Kendall started talking yesterday. Well, not that we had a conversation or anything but she said "Ma-ma" about 100 times over the course of the evening. And about 100 more times today. It's the cutest thing ever! And I have to say I'm proud I was the inspiration for her first words :) Now, all we need to do is get her to say "shop-ping" and this baby girl will have truly stolen my heart.

Night Owl...

2010-12-14T17:38:00.001-08:00

So here's to the end of Kendall's night owl streak. If you're family you know that our little party animal doesn't go to bed untill midnight most nights. She just doesn't want to miss anything! But I'm hoping we've seen the last of it. She's been out like a light at 9pm the last two nights and this mama is really loving it. I've heard it only takes 3 days to establish a new routine so here's to day three. Wish us luck!! :)

New position...

2010-12-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

Well the hospital recommended "babies must sleep on their back" rule no longer applies at our house. Kendall started rolling over in her sleep this weekend. And it appears that someone likes sleeping on their tummy :)

Hi World...

2010-12-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

Hi World. I'm 7 months old here. As you can see my hair is getting lighter all the time and my eyes seem to be doing the opposite. Mommy and daddy are pretty sure I'll end up with green or brown eyes just like them. I'm close to crawling any day now. So far I can scoot backwards, it sure is fun! And I like getting up on all fours to rock back and forth. I'm super fast at rolling over too. Sometimes I roll over twice in a row now so my parents have to be careful about where they leave me. But I haven't rolled off of anything. Yet :) I've also gotten really fast at twisting around to look at something when someone is holding me. And I'm starting to get separation anxiety when that mommy of mine gets out of sight. She's my favorite person right now. And I'll let the whole world know how upset I am if she won't come play with me!

I'm still mostly nursing (what can I say? Mama has good milk!) but I'll tolerate avacado, sweet potatoes and water in sippy cup now too. I have six teeth already and I've been teething a lot lately so more are on their way out. I'm a good sleeper at night (usually 12 hours) but still don't nap much during the day. I haven't said any words yet but say "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" over and over. Mommy thinks I've actually said "Ma-ma" a few times but it was probably accidental. Oh well, I'll figure it out soon enough. :)

I love people and music and my puppies. And anything I can hit together to make noise. Especially plastic kitchen utensils and shaking an ice cube in a sealed sippy cup. But my favorite thing by far is interacting with people. I love it when they smile and make funny sounds at me, it's the best! I had so much fun meeting my cousins, Aunties, Uncles, Great Grandma and Grandpa in Arizona over Thanksgiving. I'm kind of a social butterfly. And I hear that runs in the family :) See you soon!

Update...

2010-12-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

Hi... I know I've been neglecting this blog lately, sorry about that. Kendall and work have been keeping me occupied plus I've been busy snapping pics of other people's cuties (click HERE for those). But I just wanted to drop in, say hi and give a quick update on Kendall. Our little miss is officially 7 months old! How did that happen? I don't know... But it sure went by quick!

Kendall is doing really well and is such a good, happy baby most days. We truly feel so thankful to have a baby as smiley, friendly and as good natured as she is. We've really been enjoying the age she's at right now, it seems like her personality is really starting to shine and she's also paying so much more attention to everything around her. It's fun watching her discover new things as well as be easily entertained by almost anything these days. Kendall weighs close to 19 pounds, fits only in 9 month old outfits (mainly because of her height), is close to crawling and got TWO new teeth in over the Thanksgiving holiday (so that make SIX already, wow!). She's also sporting a ton of hair which we refer to as "The Donald" because it resembles Donald Trump's infamous combover. Yes, someone will be getting a trim in the very near future... :) At any rate this little girl is growing and changing all the time!

I have lots of pics from the last two months. Don't know if I'll ever get around to posting them or if I'll just have to move on and forward. But in the meantime here are a few I sent Rob's mom recently. I have some time off over the holidays and I'm hoping to make a dent in my photo files then. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is doing well. I'll try to make an update before the two week mark has passed. Maybe... :) Here's a couple pics.

Someone was feeling a little somber here...
Teething again.

Cute hats keep my head warm...

Happy cause my daddy is making faces at me...

Mommy loves my round little moon face.
She says I have good cheekies for kissing... :)

And then there were Four...

2010-11-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, four teeth! Can you believe it? Top center right made it's debut yesterday. Mommy is so not ready to say goodbye to KK's sweet gummy smiles, I will miss them so much! :( How does our little baby have four teeth already??

Oh and BTW...

2010-11-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

Someone has another tooth! :) Top center left, can you believe it? It cut through last night right before we went to bed. That makes THREE in less than 6 and 1/2 months! We knew she was teething this week but didnt know which tooth was coming in. I can't believe its been right under our nose this whole time!

Blue-Jean, Baby Queen...

2010-11-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

Prettiest girl I've ever seen...
(Seen her picture on the movie screen... Jimmy Dean!)

22 weeks, this was Kendall's first time wearing jeans...

Our pretty girl :)

They were a bit long so we had to roll them :)

This was the week she started inspecting things with both hands at the same time... These rings were Very interesting :)

Momma's happy monkey :)

21 weeks...

2010-11-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Kendall's 21st week included...

Going to an electric car show with Auntie, Uncle and Grammy.
Blowing Tons of raspberry/fart noises with her mouth.
Learning how to screech. Loudly... Very, very loudly :)
Making lots of hilarious noises in general.
Going to her second farmer's market.
Grabbing Mommy's hair and pinching her upper arms while nursing.
Sleeping 12 hours straight, twice.
Loving raspberries blown on her tummy. (This used to scare her)
Figuring out she can hit us with her arm. (Whack!)
Resisting when we give her baby Ibuprofen or teething gel.
Finally liking stroller rides. A lot. BIG YAY :)
Mommy's new nickname for Kendall: Chubby Checker

My eyes are still blue, hopefully they'll stay that way...

Me and my two favorite people :)

At the farmer's market...

Saw lots of onions...

Hanging with dad while we look around... It's Seahawk Sunday.

Uncle and Auntie by some electric cars...

And over for the Seahawks game...

I like to sit with Mommy...

And outside, weather permitting :)

I think it's funny when mommy tries to change my diaper...

Uh-oh, she got me!

These bunny feet keep my peepers warm...

Uncle Chad and I like hanging out...

But sometimes I just want my mommy...

Goochie, Goochie Goo :)

On a walk, my favorite!

Happy Halloween...

2010-10-31T08:30:00.001-07:00

Hope you have a safe and fun Halloween! To see some pics of Kendall dressed up for Halloween CLICK HERE... She's awfully cute if I do say so myself. :)

20 Weeks...

2010-10-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Some things I wrote down during week 20...

Kendall notices Rob and I from across the room and smiles at us.
She's teething really bad.
She met her Uncle Chad and Auntie Ana for the very first time.
She's suddenly distracted by everything and anything while she's eating.
She likes reaching for my lips when I'm talking to her.
She's been pinching and pulling Daddy's arm and arm hair. Fun for her, not so fun for daddy! :)
Her hair is a light strawberry brown color and coming in lighter at the roots.
New nickname from Mommy: Chubba-Chubba-Choo-Choo.

This was also the week I cut all dairy from my diet to see if it would help Kendall's tummy. No more milk and cheese for mommy! :( But it helped Kendall stop being so gassy and fussy at night (and she also also didn't poop for a whole week too! (I know, TMI, sorry) Here's some pics from week 20...

Sitting here makes me happy :)

Minutes after meeting Auntie and Uncle...
It's not every day you get to meet a new family member :)
I love them Already :)

I need to wear hats when it's sunny so I don't get a tan...

Sometimes I look a lot like my daddy...

I see you, Mr. Parker!

Just hanging out....
Sometimes Yogi checks on me.
He Loves me :)

Mommy and Daddy have gotten used to my stuff all over the house...
I try not be be too messy though :)

I just love going for rides in my stroller!

Especially if Grammy Marlex is driving.
She's a good chauffeur :)

Yep! Here's my family. I sure love my Mom and Dad!

19 Weeks...

2010-10-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

Some things I wrote down from week 19...

Kendall squeals with delight any time mommy picks her up...
Loves going for walks in the Bjorn...
Wakes up SO happy, giggling and smiling every morning...
Is beginning to notice details like rings on our hands and words/items on our clothes...
Is getting distracted by sounds around her when she's nursing...
Is kicking on purpose (for fun!) to splash in the bath and on her changing mat...
Here's a few pics...

Love this sweet face...

Daddy & KK
Just an average night at home...

Someone fell asleep waiting for our walk...
So cute. :)

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, Happy, Happy...

So good at tummy time...

Check out those leggies! :)

19 weeks, Little Camera...

2010-10-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

So I think this was the week I suddenly realized I have tons of pics with Rob and Kendall together but hardly any of Kendall and I. So, there's a few below. (Apparently we were making up for lost time) :)

Going for a walk in the Bjorn...

Happy Girl :)

KK and Mommy...

KK, Daddy and Parkie...
They sit like this a lot it's so cute.

Yayyyy, Kendall!

Um, Mom?

It's getting a little hot in here, can we go now?

Kendy Cakes and Mommy...

Oops, Missed These...

2010-10-15T02:14:00.001-07:00

Missed these from the little camera, week 18.
Thought they were cute...

Our Little Miss Sunshine...

Kendall & Daddy...

Snug as a Bug, ready for a walk...

Our rolling, laughing baby...
Wish being an adult was this much fun... :)

On the changing mat, "Hi Daddy!"

Is it just me or is she SO happy??

And then there were two...

2010-10-13T20:02:00.001-07:00

Yep, Two teeth! The second one cut through this morning. Front left, just 5 days after the first. My baby is growing too fast! :( I love Kendall's big gummy smiles, I'm not sure I'm ready for teeth yet! LOL

Newsflash!

2010-10-11T17:07:00.001-07:00

On Saturday at just 23 weeks and one day old Miss Kendall's first tooth popped through the surface of her red little gums. I knew it was getting close! It's teeny tiny but you can definitely feel it. :) It's sharp!

The Ballard Locks...

2010-10-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

When Kendall was 19 weeks old we went to the Ballard Locks. Not that she will remember it or anything. But we've been trying to take a field trip once a week just to get out of the house and do something together as a family.

The Locks are really Not That Exciting (and we know this, we've been there before!) but it was a nice day out and just something to do. Afterwards we ate at a new Greek place in Ballard that had terrible service and the food was not that great either. But it was still a good day.

Daddy and KK at the Locks...

The Ballard Locks...

I've always liked the art there...

Watching the salmon swim up the fish ladders...

You can do it buddy!

Where the water comes out...

Waiting for mommy to take a pic...
(I've learned to be really fast though)

Where the boats go in and out of the locks...

A Few More From Week 18...

2010-10-08T06:14:00.001-07:00

This is what Kendall does when mommy empties the dishwasher :)

Grammy watches Kendall 2 days a week.
Kendall loves her Grammy!

Miss Moo has TONS of hair so I've been trying headbands and clips.
She looks cute in a "Pebbles" pigtail, don'tcha think?

Someone is Soooo happy when daddy gets home :)

18 Weeks...

2010-10-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

Kendall started having major teething issues this week, poor thing. We found that letting her gum on a cold washcloth or a cold organic baby carrot works best. Around 21 weeks we started using all natural dissolvable teething tablets and those seem to help too. This was the week Kendall slept for 12 hours 3 nights in a row (but she'd still snack too), she began smiling at Yogi and Parker and would startle if they'd bark. She also started playing the laughing game (you laugh, then she laughs, then you laugh, and back and forth. It is SO cute.) A few pics... Someone looks pretty cute in headbands :)

And a few from the little camera...

Kendall with Grandpa Joe...

As usual, asleep everywhere but the crib :)

Ready for a walk...

17 Weeks...

2010-10-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics and some things I wrote down from week 17:

Kendall weighs 13 pounds...
She's now (comfortably) in size 2 diapers...
Many of her 3 month outfits are already getting tight...
She rests against you when holding/carrying her instead of squirming or bobbing around...
She's started grabbing things with both hands...
And is suddenly reaching for everything near her--my hair, a kleenex box, her doggies, the lcd screen on my camera... :)

Kendall wearing daddy's hat...

Ready for a ride...

This happy butterfly goes with us everywhere :)

Batting at a toy...

Our sweet girl...
I just want to kiss those cheeks!

Crashed out.
Must've been hot that day :)

Sleeping Chubs...

Happy to be going for a walk...

16 Weeks...

2010-09-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

I don't remember much from the 16th week (it's a good thing I take pictures huh?). BUT, I Do know this was the week Kendall started rolling over from back to front (yay) and once she figured it out she kept it up like a champ. She also started reaching for things in front of her although she couldn't grab them just yet.

Just another day in the life...

Eating her hands with a glum face.
A common sight from this week forward...

Rob and I took Kendall to Greenlake on the last (very!) hot day of summer...

I love Greenlake...

And yes, that's my hubby pushing the stroller.
(And probably hoping I'll catch up)

Kendall's face peeking out of the stroller.
She likes Greenlake too. :)

Rob.
He makes his own path in life... :)

Mommy at Greenlake... Ahhh, life is good.

A tired girl.
You can see her hair getting lighter here...

The emergence of The Double Chin... :)

15 Weeks...

2010-09-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics of Kendall from week 15. I don't remember much from this week cause we were still adjusting to going back to work (so everything is a bit of a blur!). But this is the week we thought Kendall had an ear infection (luckily she didn't) and she also started trying to have conversations with us when we'd speak to her. She would try SO hard to say something back with a gurgle or a coo while looking at us happily with those big blue eyes. It's one of my favorite memories of her so far.

Our pretty little princess...

Zonked...

Checking out a sunset with dad...

Cozy little beach-goer...

Another day,

Another bath,

Another bun shot...

(Cause they're so dang cute!)

Kendall loves the bath :)

Splish-splashing feet...

Drying off...

Little baby sleeping...

BIG yawn...

Um, how cute are these?

Pudge Magoo...

News Flash!

2010-09-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm still 6 weeks and 1 family vacation behind on this blog but just wanted to share the good news from Kendall's check-up this morning.

Today is her 5 month birthday (Whoa...) and she measured 25 & 1/4 inches long (80th percentile for height!) and 14 pounds and 12 ounces (A whopping 77th percentile for weight--up from the 13th percentile at her check up just 2 months ago!) So Kendall the Skinny Minny is no more! LOL The doctor said she is just thriving and as healthy as can be. Which of course makes us so happy our baby is doing so well, hooray! :) That's it for now, I'll try to put a few more pics up this weekend.

14 weeks continued...

2010-09-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

I know I already did a post on week 14 but I just found these and wanted to share. This is the week Kendall really started looking a little chunky :)

Chunky Chunkerton :)

Look at those baby legs!

Our happy girl :)

Feeling quiet...

A silly face...

Hanging in the lambie while we're getting dinner ready...

Two more..

2010-09-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

Cute ones that I missed from week 12. These were from Kendall's 12 week birthday so she was wearing a special outfit (although her headband was a Wee too big so she was sporting it Richard Simmons style LOL).

Bathtime!

2010-09-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

These are going back to week 12. I somehow missed them earlier but thought they were cute and wanted to post them anyway. Kendall loves bathtime although she looks quite grumpy in these! :)

Rub-a-dub-dub...
For our chubba-chub-chub... :)

Little fingers tightly clasped...

Who doesn't love baby cheekies? :)

All wrapped up and clean!

Feeling a bit pouty...

Cause mommy's taking pictures instead of putting my clothes on!

Just a few at a time...

2010-09-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Cause I think that's about all I can handle right now. And maybe it will be easier for me to get caught up this way instead of posting a bunch of pics a once (since I'm five weeks and one family vacation behind... Kendall is already 18 weeks old, wow!) So here's a couple pics from week 14. I don't remember much from this week, all I know is that this is the week I went back to work, Kendall was trying to find/suck her thumb and rolled over from back to front for the first time. She also had a major throw-up session but apparently it was from us playing the buh-dump-da-dump game too soon after eating. Oops, lesson learned. :)

Our precious sleeper...

The only time she's ever fallen asleep in the Boppy :)

Little hands...

And little lips...

And cute jammy feet...

13 Weeks...

2010-08-30T23:46:00.001-07:00

Week 13 was the last week of mommy's maternity leave... :(

I started calling Kendall "Missy Moo" and have ever since...

Kendall started noticing Yogi and Parker...

We knew FOR SURE that she's teething... (lots of drool and hand chewing)

She started laughing and giggling a lot...

We went to Greenlake with friends our last day of maternity leave... (Oh summer days that we barely got to enjoy together, where have you gone??) LOL

As you can see Kendall is really starting to gain weight. We love kissing those fat little cheekies of hers!

Chub-a-lub...

Ready...

Our little "Cherub"...

Around the house and yard...
(and no, she's not crawling yet, I just liked the flower on her bum)

With good friends at Greenlake...

12 weeks...

2010-08-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Near the 12 week mark Kendall and I started getting out a little more, Finally. I was going crazy (not literally... but almost!) being stuck in the house day after day with our sweet baby. But she finally started being a little easier to take places (just a BIT mind you.) Plus, I had to take take advantage of those last precious days before heading back to work. Here's a quick recap. Kendall....

Did great in her stroller for the very first time for a long period of time
(Bellevue Art Fair)...

Had lunch in a restaurant, twice, with Mommy and Grammy Marlex...

Slept for 8+ straight hours 3 times in one week... Awesome!

Began noticing music...

Began noticing Yogi and Parker...

Started being Much more vocal with her coos and "gluhs"...

Started smiling SO BIG every time she'd see her mama (SUCH a great feeling!)

Gave us lots of big gummy smiles and giggles....

Started chewing her hands A LOT...

Still blowing lots of bubbles...

Went to the beach for the first time...

Got a new nickname.... Miss Piggy :) So here are some pics.

LEFT click the collage Once to make it bigger, then LEFT click again to fully enlarge. it the back button on your browser to return to the post.

Lazy shots with the little camera..
Bath time, out and about and where else?--At home...
First one, Three cheers for Kendall, yayyyy....

Playing on the special blanket our neighbor Pam made...

Life is so much fun!

Pics with daddy and mommy...

Random...

At the beach.
Kendy was stuck under an umbrella the whole time but she likes the fresh air...

Our Pretty Girl!

We just love our little bean!

Oh how the time flies...

2010-08-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

Wow, I didn't realize its almost been 2 weeks since my last post. A lot has happened since then including me going back to work and Kendall getting to know her nanny. So while I get crackin' on editing some pics, here's a cute one of her at 12 weeks old that i LOVE. And yes, if you've been on my photography blog or you're my Facebook friend this pic is old news, Sorry! :)

11 Weeks Old...

2010-07-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm officially crazy. Or at least you'll think I am when you see how many pics there are from Week 11 :) But there were so many cute ones! Good thing I took the easy way out and put them into collages so I wouldn't have to upload each pic :) You can make the collage bigger by LEFT clicking it ONCE, then LEFT clicking it AGAIN to enlarge it (this especially helps if the collage has 4+ pics). Then hit the back arrow on your web browser to return to the post. Week 11 saw Kendall:

Laughing and giggling often...

Doing plenty of "Tummy time..."

Doing great in the Bjorn...

Taking lots of walks with the fam...

Weighing 11 pounds...

Being able to sit for longer periods of time with Daddy without fussing...
(PS We swear she's watching tv!)

Tracking moving objects better...

Blowing lots of bubbles... (Does anyone know why they do this?, I haven't Googled it yet...)

Kendall, having fun...

Just a Hodge Podge...
Our little Bean is SO cute.

Chillin' with Daddy and Parker...

Hanging in the Boppy...
And a few pics with Mommy/Daddy/Gramma/Grandpa

Just a few cute ones...

"Tummy Time..."

10 weeks...

2010-07-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics from week 10. I guess I was still being lazy cause I was using the point and shoot a lot again. Rob's family was still in town visiting (I'll post those pics soon) and this was the week Seattle had it's big heat wave. Everyone was super hot including the baby. She spent a lot of time in just her diaper to keep cooler. Here's a few things I jotted down during week 10. Kendall....

Weighs almost 10 pounds...

Had her first weekend away from home
(we went to Birch Bay for the Fourth)...

Celebrated her first 4th of July...

Is finally wearing size 1 diapers...

I call her my "little Chunk-a-doo", my "Chunky Monkey" and my little "Chub-a-Lub..."

Rob calls her "Ken-delicious..."

She's starting to laugh...

We figured out that dairy makes her really fussy and gassy...

She rolled from her stomache to her back several times but not the other way around...

Mommy and Daddy had their first babyless night out
(Thanks Gramma & Grandpa M!)...

So... Here's some pics...

Getting a dishpan bath at Birch Bay...

Chillin' in the swing...

In her sun hat...

At Grammy's with Yogi & Parker...
(Is this even safe Grammy?? LOL)

Kendall & Katie... BFF's

With Auntie Heather...

Well hello again!

So cute, she smiled for our Self Portrait :)

Kendall makes this face when she's hungry...

Hanging out...

With her daddy.

They're like two peas in a pod here.

Perfectly content watching golf.

Little fingers...

Ahhhh, much better....

With Grammy Candy...

Giving big smiles...

Daddy and diaper baby... It's hot out!

Changed.

And wondering why mommy's hovering with that shiny thing again...

With Mommy...

9 weeks

2010-07-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

OK get ready for some major Kendall catch-up. I'm on my last week of maternity leave and on a mission to get caught up with all of her pics to date. So here's a quick recap of week 9.

Kendall had her 2 month checkup. She weighed 9 lb 3.8 oz and was only in the 13th percentile for weight. So she's small. BUT she measured in the 76th percentile for height (where did that come from?) at 23.5 inches. We call her our little string bean :) Her pediatrician said her heart beats perfectly, her heart and lungs sounded great and that she's really alert for her age. He also said "She's Perfect!" Well, we already knew that Dr. S! :) Week 9 was when Rob's family came to town (pics will be in a separate post) but we noticed some changes with Kendall in week 9. She was:

Just starting to track with her eyes

Doing slightly better with car rides

Being a hearty eater

Smiling a lot in response to people making faces at her

Starting to find her voice by making little cooing noises

Blowing small bubbles often while in her car seat

We also officially started going for walks this week since she doesn't seem to mind being in the Baby Bjorn (baby carrier/pack) now. So here's some pics from week 9. Apparently I was being lazy because a lot of them are with the point and shoot. Anyhoo. I'll probably be making a lot of posts throughout this week to get back on track before I start work again so check back soon.

Tiny toes we like to kiss...

After a nice bath...

Keeping Daddy company on the couch...

Contemplating life... So far it's not so bad!

Our little Chub-a-lub...

Feeling bright-eyed...

Ready for a walk with Gramma Candy and Mommy....

Crashed out after a good meal...

Hanging out with mom...

Sleeping next Parker Bear...

Bundled up for a morning walk...

Meeting cousin Brooke for the first time...

Crashed out at the beach house in Birch Bay...

Happy daddy is home from work...

Just plain happy...

Newsflash!

2010-07-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Someone slept for 10 hours straight last night without waking up once. :) We think she was just really tired but we hope it happens again soon!

Pink Hats & Headbands...

2010-07-17T22:52:00.001-07:00

Someone looks pretty cute in hair accessories... :)

(8 & 1/2 weeks old )

Just a cute one...

2010-07-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

Of her and her daddy.
Love them together...