11 months!

I can't believe we are less than one month away from our little girl's first birthday! holy moly! This year has been so FULL I can't believe all of the milestones that happen!

This month:

*about 21lbs

*size 3 diapers

*finally has her 1st tooth and another one on its way in!

*crawling, scaling, occasionally walks with her walker or car

*says ma-ma, da-da, buh (everything is a buh) and now she says na-na (both grandmas are sad they weren't called nana)

*favorite toys include balls of all sizes, water, blocks and anything she's not allowed to have.

*She is starting to shake her head no, tries to comb her own hair, and put her bows back in.

*fav shows: Bubble Guppies and her baby einstein video

*nurses 4 times a day... trying to go down to 3 but she's a little more resistant 

*we accomplished our first 5k as a family

*She eats a lot of food- i'm thankful for pintrest when I have run out of ideas for healthy stuff.

*won't sleep without her bun bun (bunny lovey)

* knows what you are saying especially when you say: no, ball, juice, banana, balloon, foxy, dada, mama, book, etc)

* we say "give it loves" and she snuggles/hugs whatever she's holding

* she gives big open mouth kisses

* she loves to feed foxy and sneak to her food and water bowl

* She LOVES to dance
*she likes to play with my lips and my eyelashes

I love the things that she does out of pure nature (ie things we didn't teach her).
-She is a giver. She will share anything with anyone..even foxy
-She dances/bounces to music and to singing. She will also do it if you ask
-shakes her head
- hugging

We went out of town to Lumberton for a wedding Gray was in and Kins and I had a lot of down time in this deserted city. After driving 30miles away to get a starbucks, I saw a billboard for a fair and saw it was just another 20miles away. On a whim, Kins and I went to her first fair in Fort Bragg, NC. We rode the ferris wheel, dumbo, duck ride, carousel, and one other ride. She seemed to love it, but for some reason these spinning, up and down rides make me sick now.

Daddy and mommy celebrated their first birthdays with Kinsley out of the womb. We went on a date to cowfish for daddy's and took the whole fam to Toast for Mommy's. I'm excited about mothers day this year too.

We have been on lots of playdates this month.. mostly when the mommies need to shop. She hangs out with Bryleigh and Ansley the most.

Aunt Kenan got to see Kinsley for the first time in months. Aunt Bethany got to come visit too! We had fun at the Porter cookout!

I just finished up school for the year and I'm excited for new things and places and playdates! 

10 months..better late than never

Kinsley is actually almost 11 months at the time I am writing this, but oh well! She has changed SO much and I'm loving every minute! I can't believe that she is almost a year old! Everyday she becomes less like a baby and more like a toddler. It's sad and exciting at the same time.

She loves animals.
She's fearless.. except now she cries when you say her full name.
She is a super fast crawler. She can be sitting beside you one minute and off to the guest bath to mess with foxy's water bowl in the blink of an eye.
She loves to cruise around the room grabbing anything she can hold onto.
Her favorite word is "buh" and da-da. Mama was her first word, but she only says it occasionally now.
She is such a sharer... I love that about her and her da-da.
She is the best unpacker there is.
She eats veggies, organic baby food and snacks, veggie burgers, wheat bread, grapes, baby yogurt, apple juice and deli turkey. She eats almost anything organic and sticks to a fairly natural diet (or anything not processed) and I make pretty much all of her food.
She goes to bed at 7 and wakes up between 7 and 8 and sometimes sleeps til 9!
She takes two naps a day- 1 at about 9:30 and 1 at about 2:30pm
She loves to wave and give kissed and dance
She is still nursing 100% of her feedings but I think she'll be weaned after her 1st bday.
she loves the camera and the camera loves her.


I'm almost done teaching for the year and I can't wait to spend the summer with her!

9 months!

Wow we've had SO much going on!

She had her 9month Dr. appt the other day... 19lbs and perfect! She didn't have to get any shots, but she did have to get her finger pricked :( I hate that! We'll be back at 12 months.

New things she's doing:

Army crawling... she can't get her tummy up quite yet but she loves army crawling EVERYWHERE--especially under my desk, under chairs and under tables. She needs a tunnel! ha

She does a little bounce/dance when she hears music or when I ask, "Kinsley, where's your bounce?"
It is super cute!

She's been cleared to eat most table foods now (although I am very particular at what she eats). She's had organic baby meat, puffs, carrots/cheese puff, organic yogurt for babies, and cheese, plus some fruit and veggies I blend or cut up (blueberries, strawberries, bananas, carrots, and greenbeans).

She tried cut up carrots and greenbeans. Last night she ate a few, I gave her a bath, and put her in pajamas and a fresh diaper and I still see a greenbean in her mouth haha. She was "chewing" on it like gum ha.

Last night I put her down, and she was not asleep, but I left the room anyway. She was crying so we watched her on the monitor. All of the sudden, she had pulled herself to standing and I started yelling to Gray, "go get her!" He ran as fast as he could and I followed behind just to make sure she didn't topple over the edge. Needless to say we Gray spent a while putting the mattress down a level before I put her back in it.

She can also say ma-mama-ma ma and there is NOTHING better than hearing that! It's a nice change to ba and boo too ha.

She may be moving to room 2 soon in the nursery. I think it will be good to make some friends who can do more than stare ha.

1 year is coming oh so soon and I'm already planning! It will be May 20 (on a Sunday) probably around 2... some sort of backyard bash and LOTS of cute decor! It's going so fast!

January updates

Toys spilled out all over the room, puffs sitting in a pile on her walker, diaper bag in the seat next to me... little things that remind me, long after she's gone to bed, that an adorable little girl lives here and she is mine.

I can't even begin to describe how much I love her! She learned to clap yesterday. She also loves to eat... wood, construction paper, and plastic... these are the things I have had to pry out of her mouth. I did not even realize how many things were on the floor until I see her crawling (almost) over to a speck and start grabbing at it with her hand. Sweeping and Vacuuming are becoming daily tasks.

I love watching her scoop up a whole hand of puffs, shoving them to her mouth, and managing to at least get one in.. sometimes two.

This week mommy started teaching two additional classes (Christian Growth 1 and Christian growth 2). I am so excited about these classes, but it is an adjustment being away from Kins 4 days now instead of 2. It is still just 2 hours, though. I KNOW this is God's heart for me. I have been praying for YEARS for a job in the ministry and FINALLY it has been answered. I know it is all HIS doing, because I am SO not qualified to be a teacher. I am so thankful for my students and I am so excited to see what God is going to do! He has made a way and I know He is going to do great things!

I met two women at the playground a week or two ago who had 2 year old girls. One put a note in my mailbox asking about getting together for a playdate... it was so thoughtful and kind! I'm excited about this "making-new-friends-because-we-both-have-kids" kinda thing :)

8 Months!

I cannot believe Kinsley is 8 months! Time is flying! I think I say that every month haha. But really,
everyday is something new. I love how aware she is and everything is so thrilling to her. Something as simple as a leaf at the back door gets her oooooing and ahhhing trying to get to it and pick it up. She loves playing with ALL her toys and things that are not meant to be toys (makeup, jewelry, magazines, etc).

She is probably about 20 lbs or so. She still fits in size 3 diapers. She can fit in some 6 month clothes but I just go ahead and buy 6-12 months or 9 months even though we have to roll up the sleeves. I'm pretty excited that clothes are starting to last longer. Tot Trade is coming up soon and I'm excited to see what good deals I can get, though I love buying the "new" stuff on sale better because it fits better and has less ware.

She goes to town in her car. She can even manage to get through a door way occasionally.

She LOVES puffs. Right now she has only had the organic banana flavor. Foxy still can't distinguish the difference between her and the baby. Now that food is involved, Foxy thinks anything Kinsley gets she should get, too.

She now sits in her highchair to eat and loves it!

She is much better at her sippy cup... She has learned to tip it all the way up to get the watered down apple juice. Though, she mainly chews on the rubber spout. I think she is teething even though i don't see anything.

Dear Kinsley,
Mommy loves you more than I could ever imagine! Your new nickname is "Beauty." I love those big blue eyes and pudgy hands. I miss you when I put you down for bed at night. We have been having so much fun playing and I'm already thinking of ideas for your first birthday. You scout around like and inch worm and roll around.You say ba-ba-bababa, and I'm hoping to hear mama and dada soon! Daddy and I go back and forth with "No, I love her the most." I love you the most but shhhh don't tell daddy :)

Love,
Mommy