growing hair

I'm not sure how much you can see it in this picture, but Kaylea's hair is growing. She was really tired when I snapped these pictures, but I just couldn't resist!

cutie pie

I just love this outfit and had to post a picture. I ordered it off of Etsy. Jordy thinks I am crazy, but Kaylea doesn't mind yet!

New Stuff

I need to add some pictures, but I wanted to jot this down while I was thinking about it. Kaylea has been standing on her own. She can't do it for long periods of time (the most we have timed is 10 seconds), but the part I want to remember is how funny she thinks it is when she falls forward and we catch her. She laughs so hard. In fact, sometimes as soon as she knows she is on her own, she falls forward and starts laughing! She is growing up way too fast, but we are enjoying every minute of our time with her.

Quack, Quack

Kaylea hasn't been feeling great - we aren't sure if she has a cold or if it is allergies. However, she pretty much stays in good spirits. Monday we went to Huber's with some friends for dinner. After dinner, Art decided he wanted to show Kaylea the ducks. He was standing up for the most part and I asked if he could get Kaylea a little closer to the ducks without having her attacked. It was hilarious as he started to squat. The ducks just came closer. I can't wait to meet Amy & Art's baby in November!

Dinner Club

Confession - I stole these pictures from my friend Erin's blog. I have not done a very good job at taking photos these last few weeks. Erin & Chris hosted dinner club on Saturday night. It kind of turned into a play date. Just about all of us have kids or are thinking about it. After Kaylea got over being a little grouchy, we had a great time. Below are a few pictures from the evening.

Melissa & Sam playing with Kaylea & Jordy

Lucas, Sam, & Kaylea

Kaylea & Lucas

Celebration!

I can't believe I forgot to share our great news - my mom got the results of her scans and she is CANCER FREE! We get to celebrate. The doctor decided that chemo was not effective and she did not need to have any other rounds. She is thrilled. God has answered our prayers. We know the cancer she had was horrible and there is always a possibility that it can return, but we have to celebrate these moments. I am so excited that we will have a family vacation in July and my mom won't have to think about cancer. Thanks for all of the prayers!

Exciting News

I am so excited to announce that my best friend (since 7th grade Home & Job class with Ed Roddy) Amy Niemeier, is pregnant! I feel like I have been keeping this secret forever and it just feels so good to blurt it out to the world!!! Amy is due in early November. Amy & Art are going to be great parents. I mean really, I've told you before about Art coming over and watching Kaylea during the week, and Amy is just as sweet! Jordy and I are so excited for them. It should be fun. For the past 9 months, we watched Kaidyn point to Kaylea and say, "baby." I wonder if Kaylea will point to Baby Niemeier and say the same thing! Either way, I know she will be happy to have a new little friend to play with. I've been trying to get Amy to start a blog, but so far no luck. Congratulations Amy & Art.

Amy & Me

Who Said I Have Trouble Solving Problems?

Kaylea has shown us! She doesn't have any trouble solving problems, she just has to be interested in finding something that is hidden under a blanket - like a Millie or a Paci!

Future Blogger

We bought Kaylea this toy computer when she was only like 4 or 5 months old because she loved banging the keys on mine. It is actually for ages 3-4, but it was the most realistic one I could find. She really didn't care for it at the time, but at 9 months it's a totally different story. She bangs the keys and clicks the mouse and thinks she is hot stuff.

Happy 60th Birthday Millie

Millie celebrated her 60th birthday on Friday and we decided to throw a party to celebrate! Below are a few pictures from the big night.

Kaidyn Saying "Cheese" For The Camera

My Favorite Mother

Kaylea With Millie

Beautiful Cake, Courtesy of Chris

Warm Weather = Water Fun

This warm weather has been making it fun to play outside and is giving us plenty to blog about! Last Thursday, my mom came over to help me make cupcakes for her birthday party. Kaylea decided she wanted to play in the dog's water bowl. Instead of letting her dump water all over the kitchen floor, we gave her a bowl of water to play with outside on the deck. It was hilarious! I think she thought she should get a drink like the doodle, because she kept putting her face directly in the bowl. She had a blast and came in soaked from head to toe!

I'm Thirsty

After A Drink (this was a happy scream)

Chillin' With Millie

9 Month Appointment

Kaylea had her 9 month check-up on Tuesday. She weighed in at 18 pounds (just under the 50th percentile) and was 28 1/4" tall (right at the 75th percentile). I was surprised that she was under the 50th percentile in weight. I feel like all we do is stuff her with food. This is her current schedule - bottle when she wakes up, breakfast (usually oatmeal & fruit) at 9:30, lunch at 12:30, bottle at 3:30, dinner at 6:30, bottle at 8:30! For lunch and dinner she has been gobbling 2 jars of baby food. Kaylea had to get a shot, but she was a trooper. She cried for about 15 seconds and then she was fine. The nurse was awesome. She did not even bleed.

I inquired about her crawling ability and the doctor said there was no need to worry. He said she may start crawling in another month or two, or she may not crawl at all. Either way, he didn't see any problems.

We filled out the developmental sheet and she passed everything. He said she was borderline on her "problem solving skills." My mom now loves to tell Kaylea that she is sorry she isn't good at math! Millie thinks she is funny. I showed my mom the questions and now she really thinks we are crazy. She has gone back and showed me that everything that we checked "no" on, Kaylea actually does. It was pretty funny. I'll post a video example later. Oddly enough, almost everything we checked "no" on in that category, Kaylea started doing this week.

We are having 9 month photos taken tomorrow, so I'll post pictures when we get them.

Borrowing Kaidyn's Ride

Kaylea was visiting with Kaidyn yesterday and seemed interested in this little car, so I put her in. She loved it! We went back today to borrow the car and took a pretty long walk with The Doodle. She had a blast. She was talking and shrieking the entire time. Looks like a little car is in Kaylea's future. Thanks for letting us borrow it, Kaidyn!

Into Everything

Kaylea doesn't crawl yet, but when she does, I know she is going to be into everything. Friday afternoon she was "walking" through the house and sat down next to the dog bowl. Before I could get her, she dumped over all of the dog food. I swept it up with the broom and went to throw it away. When I came back, Kaylea had poured out all of the dog's water and was playing in it. She was pounding her hands in the water and laughing out loud. It made me smile. I just let her play until she was done. When she was done, she was soaked! She had a blast.

Trying To Get The Bowl

Splashing In The Water

Look At Me, Mommy!

Soaked!

Too Much Fun

Brushing My...Gums!

Kaylea doesn't have any teeth to brush, but she has a tooth brush and she loves using it when she is in the bathtub! If we set it on the side of the tub, she tries to stand up to get it.

Happy 9 Months

Kaylea turned 9 months old yesterday! She is such a great baby. We are having her pictures taken on Saturday. I cannot believe she is already 9 months old. I guess it is time to start planning her birthday party. Here are some things we want to remember about our little monster at 9 months.

• She is finally showing some interest in crawling. She is really into squirming right now, but only for essential items such as a remote control, cell phone, or car keys!
• She wants to walk everywhere - we spend most of our time bent over half way helping her walk.
• She babbles endlessly saying, "ba-ba," "ma-ma," "da-da," and something that sounds like "tate." We are trying to teach her to say, "moo."
• She will wave bye-bye.
• She loves the Doodle. One of her favorite things to do is watch the Doodle chase a ball down the hall.
• She is a little piggy - she often eats 2 containers of baby food in one setting.
• She takes 2 naps a day, usually about 1 hour each.
• Her favorite book is, "Peek A Who."
• She's trying to climb out of her bed.
• She gives kisses if you ask for one (and I must say this is the sweetest thing)!

Happy Anniversary

Jordy and I will celebrate our 11 year anniversary on Thursday. We spent the weekend in Indy and had our first nights away from Kaylea. We missed her so much and couldn't wait to get home to see her, but we did have a great time. We went to see Carrie Underwood in concert on Friday night. She was amazing and it was amazing having 2nd row seats. I never want to see another concert from far away again! Saturday we spent the day shopping, had dinner at St. Elmo's and went to a Pacers - Nets game. We had awesome seats for this event as well. It was the first NBA game for both of us. We wanted to go because T-Will, a former UL player, plays for the Nets. The Nets lost, but T-Will made some great plays. I forgot to take my camera, so these pictures are from my phone. They are not the best, but will have to do. Usually when I spend a weekend away, I don't want to come back. However, I love my reality and was happy to come back to this "ordinary" life.

T-Will Stretching

The Nets Warming Up

Carrie Underwood

Opening Song

We Were So Close!

Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter! Kaylea had a great time celebrating Easter. We went to church on Friday and had family over for lunch on Sunday. The Easter Bunny did come see Kaylea today, but we kept it quite simple. I look forward to when she anticipates the bunny, but am loving every minute of her at this age. Check out her Elmo dress - I did not take a picture that does it justice, but it is the cutest thing! It has her name on it.

Elmo Dress

Holding On Tight

She Loves Doing This

Playing With Pop & Aunt Shannan

Playing with Aunt Shannan & Brenden

Play Date With Max

Kaylea had a play date with Max on Saturday. My friend, Kristi, brought her son, Max, over to play. He is just about 6 weeks younger than Kaylea. Isn't he cute? We had a great time. Kaylea shared her toys, well sometimes!

The Bed Has Been Lowered

We had to the lower the bed this weekend. On Saturday night, I wanted to show Jordy how Kaylea was pulling herself up on the side of the bed. I played peek a boo with her, and she popped her head over. She ended up rolling all the way over the side of the bed, basically flipping into my arms. Even though it was already 8:30, we decided not to take any chances. Jordy lowered the bed. Our little monster is getting so big!

Peek A Boo

Big Girl

Hot Stuff

Look At Me