{week 18}

Week 18, which feels like a long time ago, kept us busy. We enjoyed the Kentucky Derby with mint juleps & fancy hats, had final soccer games & practices for the season, went to Cade's 18 month well child check (24.6#, 33" tall & just perfect!), the kids exercised with me - Cade sat on my stomach during crunches, Kalea passed out on the couch but Cassidy managed to do many of the moves! 

Cassidy & I attended her Kindergarten orientation mid-week where she got to see her new school, meet some of the teachers, check out a kindergarten classroom and get a little more comfortable with a new place. We tried a couple new recipes, including a seared tuna with avocado salsa that was in the latest Cooking Light. It.was.delicious! And then May snuck up on us and started during all that! 

{walky walky walky}

Cade has his 15 month well check today. He's 32" tall (79%), weighs 22.5 lbs (50%), his head circumference is 19" (87%) & is totally cute! And, did we mention that he's walking! Within the week he's started walking as equally as crawling &a does so without us bribing or helping. I'm not sure I'm ready for this!!!

{1st tooth}

Over the weekend Cade's first tooth popped through on the bottom front of his mouth. I can see it's match under the gum, so I predict it won't be long until a few more come in as well. I tried to get a picture of this momentous milestone, but, really, what baby will actually let you take a picture of the inside of his mouth? I did get a few extreme closeups & cute pictures of the little guy though. 

He'll be 11 months on Friday (Kalea's birthday!). He's standing & cruising from one place to the next holding on to whatever is available - mommy or daddy's fingers, his sister's little stools, the Dora house, a cat, whatever! He weighs about 20 lbs & is well into 12 month clothing. That said, he is a great eater - still nursing a number of time during the day on top of three meals of baby food + whatever we're having to eat. Last night he chowed down on curried mushrooms, quinoa & Gran's peas. I honestly think he ate as much as Kalea! 

{four months}

Four months already!?! It seems like just a couple weeks ago the girls, the belly & I had just arrived in Georgia. Apparently though the sleep deprivation is in full effect because I clearly can't keep track of the passing of time.

Yesterday we went to Cade's 4 month well child check. According to Dr. Sarah & the scale he is seriously growing. He grew 2.5" in the past two month! His current stats are: height - 26" (87th percentile), weight - 15 lbs, 12 oz ( 60th percentile), head circumference - 16.5" (62nd percentile). He was all smiles & coos for the nurses & pediatrician, even showing off by rolling over while we chatted. Up until those nasty immunizations. He's had different reactions than my other babies with immunizations. The girls never seemed to mind them, aside from the initial screaming they'd just sleep the rest of the day away & be a little lazy the next. Poor guy has been miserable - fever, whining, interrupted sleep and just wanting to be held all.the.time. :(

Besides rolling over, the little guy has recently discovered his tongue & fingers. There's a pretty constant state of drool down his chin & on my shoulder lately. And as he begins to reach for toys they've begun ending up in his mouth. Unfortunately the motor skills are quite developed yet & we've had multiple instances of toy or finger ending up in his eye. I hate to giggle about my poor little baby's sadness, but man he's cute when he makes the "I'm-incredibly-sad" face. One day I'll get a picture of it. For posterity, right? 

He's napping pretty regularly - a short snooze in the morning after preschool drop off, a short snooze around lunchtime, a longer nap in the afternoon, a doze during dinner then to bed in his crib around 8:30. Up until a week or so ago he was waking up around 4 am to nurse & then sleeping again in the co-sleeper in our room until about 7:30 am. In the past few weeks though, he's made it a few nights until 5:15 am or 6 am. While I'd love for that to continue, I'll be happy that he generally falls back to sleep quickly whatever time he wakes so we're not up at all hours of the night, like his sister Cassidy used to be! 

The months have flown by & we're looking forward to summertime, being outside & all the milestones to come. Here's the little guy telling you what he thinks about being 4 months old!

project 365 photo: 05.28.2011 {20 months + playground fun}

Can you believe that our baby is 20 months old?!?

While the experts have a lot to say about where a 20 month old should be developmentally, physically, etc. I have a lot to say about what this little one is doing these days. She's getting more & more independent - eating with utensils by herself, taking her shoes & socks off (especially in the car!), "brushing her teeth" alone, getting out her plate or bowl from cabinet at mealtime, insisting on walking up & down the steps, and climbing, playing & making friends wherever we go with a shy grin & silly laugh.

Her best friend is still her sister, who she follows around from morning until bedtime imitating each thing she does. Their play is kind of hit-or-miss still (sometimes literally - Kalea has started hitting in defense or frustration!) & either they play really, really well together or they're at each others' throats. Mostly things work out when Cassidy is in charge. Typical first child Type A much? Having grown up with sisters, I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to remain like this for many years to come! 

This age is so fun as I get to watch her explore & figure out all the things she can do. Two of my favorite things in the world to watch right now are a Kalea running - all knees & elbows - & Kalea "jumping" - all body parts actually stay on the ground but there is some haphazard lifting of limbs while grunting & laughing hysterically!

 She's talking more & more - putting words into phrases & phrases into "sentences" of a couple words. I'm not sure that she could be understood by most people but Cassidy & I seem to understand her most of the time. She's finally getting some more teeth after surviving with just her four top teeth, four bottom teeth & molars since about Christmas!

We're still hanging out here in Utah waiting for things to get settled for our new house in Georgia. It isn't ideal, but we're keeping busy here while Michael works. Hopefully we'll know some more information and tentative closing/moving dates in the next week or so!

project 365 photo: 01.27.2011

mommy's favorite hat. she's been wearing it since she was 6 months old!

I may have a little bias to this assessment, but I think this girl is the most beautiful 1-day-shy-of-16-month-old in the world. Even if she does have peanut better all over her face. And hands. And shirt. And she insisted on wearing her hat while she ate lunch. Maybe she's just more fashion forward than her mother. It doesn't take much.

And, although Kalea is 1-day-shy-of-16-months-old, I have the time today to tell you how she's doing. I mentioned the other day that she had her 15-month well child check. Everything went well. Physically & developmentally she's on target for all the milestones.

She's talking all.the.time. There is certainly a lot of babble nonsense, but she clearly says mama, dadeeeeeee! (nearly always with an exclamation point. girl loves her daddy), up, baby, ball & kitty (generally while in chase of poor gus). She also, not as clearly but understood in context, says thank you, bless you, here you go, Cassidy & all-y all. So, we're definitely moving toward communication. I'm actually surprised she hasn't started using the all time toddler favorite, "No!" Not that I'm complaining or anything. Another fun developmental milestone has been actual pretend play with her sister. She's beginning to get the concept of using toys or objects, like a mixing bowl & spatula, for their intended purpose. My favorite is when the girls "play princess boat." Yes, they made that one up. It involves tutus, a chicken wand (I have no idea how to describe it. Perhaps it will make a guest appearance for a future project 365 photo.), a fish wand & an upside down pink princess tent. Obviously.

Physically the major milestone for this age is walking (check.) Kalea is getting more sure on her feet each day & a little overconfident for mommy's liking sometimes. Like on the steps. Besides walking we're working on catching a ball & throwing it back as well as assembling & taking apart everything possible. The current favorite is to disassemble the entire tupperware cabinet. I bet you wouldn't believe just how many lids there are to take off in there.

I know I say it every month, but is sure is hard to believe how fast my little snuggle bug is growing up.

project 365 photo: 01.24.2011

GRRRRRRR! Dinosaur art compliments of preschool.

You must think that the blogging part of this blog is extinct. Kind of like the creature featured here on the left.

Not to worry, however, the witty one-liners & exciting stories of life with the lumps will come back someday. It just seems that the cat's got my tongue lately & every single blog post I start falls flat. So there's a list of drafts just waiting for my fairy blog-mother to sprinkle with a little fairy dust to make them come to life again.

I did notice though that it's been exactly one year since my sweet husband made his debut (& only!) post on our blog. It's a good one. I betcha want to read it, don't you? (psssst. click here. then come back.) Maybe it's time for him to make good on his promise to post again to provide the lumpy daddy perspective on life.

Aside from that, we're just trucking along here in our fine city trying to ride out the winter weather & nasty inversion. Kalea turns 16 months in just a few days. We finally made it to her 15 month appointment last week after having to reschedule from when we got stuck on the East Coast in the crazy storms at Christmas. Her stats are: 21 ½ lbs (50th percentile for weight), 32 inches long (90th percentile for height). She's exactly where she's supposed to be according to her growth curve & is similar to what her sister was at that age. (Remember? No? Look, I do!) 

We're looking forward to another visit from my sister Jessie & her family in a few weeks. Can't wait to see all the kids running around together. Other than that, nothing exciting here except a little writer's block. Topics & suggestions on getting out of the funk gladly accepted!

road trip.

We're grateful to some lovely friends who invited us to their cabin recently. It was a much needed break from home, gave the kids some time to explore & play while the grown ups got to relax.

Bear Lake

sand castles

Cassidy got the camera! Artistic, no?

 

Our (13 months today!) munchkin is a climber!

Walking to dinner.

 

Heading home via Wyoming. Gorgeous wide open spaces.

Thanks again friends! We had a wonderful time!

countdown to 1.

Our little baby is on the home stretch to one year old! 

In the past month Kale has continued burning rubber crawling all over the place - I even caught her eying up the steps the other day! She's beginning to walk while holding onto your fingers & gets around the edges of the living room holding on to furniture...or a nearby, unsuspecting cat on occasion. Although her weight seems to be holding steady, right around 18 lbs, I'm convinced she's growing because the amount of food she puts down in one day is insane. For instance, today Kalea ate: 

• breakfast - nursed + ¼ c. cheerios + part of a small apple cut in tiny pieces
• lunch - 2 jars baby food + ¼ lima beans + just less than ¼ c. cheese
• snack: handful of puffs + handful cantaloupe pieces + nursed before nap
• dinner - 2 jars baby food + ¼ lima beans + ¼ c.tiny mozzarella balls + over half of an olive garden bread stick + nursed before bed

See what I mean? She's a regular vacuum cleaner! Aside from the physical milestones, Kalea is really starting to communicate. She is regularly signing more, milk, cereal, all done & pointing when she wants up. She says mama, dada, up &, my absolute favorite, hey. When she says "hey", I swear, all her Southern comes out because it's drawn out & has at least two, if not three syllables. Absolutely, positively adorable. She continues to be even tempered & giggly...just take a look at the silly girl in this video from today.

Happy 11 months baby girl - we love you!

10 months!

Today the girls & I had lunch with Michael at his office. While we were eating someone asked me, "How old is Kalea now?" To which I responded, "She's 9 & a...oh my gosh, what's today's date?"

Yes, she's 10 months old - today! I absolutely cannot believe it at all. I neglected to take cute pictures but did catch a short video on the new phone.

Since the 9 month mark Kalea has gone from mostly-scooting-but-sort-of-crawling to full-fledged-speed-of-light-crawling + pulling up on everything & cruising around any furniture or human who she can hold. She is taking after her talkative big sister & babbles non-stop & waves at any living being in sight. We've started doing baby sign language with her as well & so far she's mastered milk & I think I've caught her doing "all done" a few times. (Either that or her arm flapping had impeccable timing!) 

Happy 10 months baby girl - you're getting so big!

the most adorable thing ever.

Just try to convince me that you didn't grin while watching this.

Hard to believe that she's already 8 months old! I'm totally in denial.

...and we're back.

It's been a long few weeks, but things seem to have calmed down now.  At least for a while.

So first, a video of each of the girls & an update...since they are the important ones!

Cassidy is getting so big! She's talking & talking lately, which is nothing new, but words are getting clearer. She speaks in short sentences most of the time - although needs some reminding about it. We're so proud of her lately since "please", "thank you" & "you're welcome" are beginning to come naturally. She's still definitely two & shows it sometimes, but is starting to understand & verbalize feelings. The other night she was none to happy about going to bed & I had to take a deep breathe to remain calm.  She looked at me & said, "You frustrated Mama? I give you big hug...feel better?" Pretty good for two, right?

Kalea is growing like a weed. She had her 6 month appointment last week (yes, even though this week she turned 7 months!). Her updated stats are: 16 lbs 2 oz (50th percentile for weight), 28 inches long (90th percentile for height).  The pediatrician said she was just perfect for growth & development. We have to agree. In the last week she's found her voice & is constantly babbling. It's ridiculously adorable.

Michael & I are also doing pretty well. My work conference went pretty well & I'm glad it's over for this time around. We got some good & constructive feedback for next time around. We also got some not so constructive feedback from attendees who complained that we had the conference on a day that it snowed. If only I were so powerful to control that! But, I too was quite surprised that it snowed the last two days of April & into the first few days of May! I'm spending this week wrapping things up & then on to the next project - National Health Center Week (8/8-8/14). Michael has been keeping busy at work as well. I think, though, we're both looking forward to summer & a vacation. Maybe this will be the year we get to the beach. Can you believe that, in the almost 7 years we've know each other, we've never been to the beach? It's a little ridiculous.

Lastly, I'm trying to get back to the Blog Dare topics. Today is "Tasteful Tuesday" & I'd like to share my new favorite cookie from a box. May I present "Newman-O's Hint O'Mint" cookies. I am an Oreo fan, but these are better. Newman's regular Newman-O's are good, probably better than regular Oreos. But these are just fantastic. And they carry them at our regular grocery store too, not just the fancy-schmancy grocery store.  Try them!

6 months!

Happy 6 Month Birthday Kalea!  We love you more than the world.

5 months old!

We can hardly believe it - Kalea is 5 months old!  She is a giggling, smiley, happy baby.  Recently she started falling asleep on her own when we put her in the crib for naps & when she goes back into the co-sleeper at night.  She's still waking up two or three time each night to eat, however (most times!) she falls back asleep right away.  As do I!  A week ago she managed to roll over from her back to her belly for the first time.

On her 5 month birthday we tried out some rice cereal & pureed pears for the first time.  She did so well - no screaming at all!  She spat out most of what I put into her mouth & made some pretty funny faces, but did manage to swallow a little bit! What a cutie - she's growing up so fast!

 

And thanks to Gran & Poppy for the super-cute matching PJs - they're a hit!

4 months old!

Up until the end of last week I would tell people who asked that Kalea was 3 months old. Then, on Friday, I realized that she was nearly 4 months old. How in the world did that happen!

She's cooing, laughing, reaching & wiggling all over the place these days. Her eyes are still dark, like they were when she was born, but her eyelashes have grown in long & dark, just like her sister & Daddy. A few weeks ago Kalea found her hand & then her thumb...we may have a thumb-sucker on our hands. When she doesn't have her thumb in her mouth, she loves gnawing on her blanket. Her favorite person in the world is her big sister, Cassidy. Nobody else can keep her attention or make her laugh quite like it. She weighs about 13 pounds now. We have a check-up next Wednesday, so official stats to come.

happy 2010!

I think Michael & I are officially old this year. I say this only because our rockin' new year consisted of TV watching & couch surfing. Did you know that in Utah they air the Dick Clark NYC NYE countdown, but then cut away right before the ball drops?!? I was in bed by about 12:02 with Kalea - even declining the champagne we had bought for the occasion. Sad, I tell you, sad.

In our defense, the girls & I have been fighting a cold & thrush since a few days after Christmas. We were all tuckered out. However, we're all doing quite a bit better & are hoping for a great 2010.

We had a busy holiday visiting family & friends in Georgia. Traveling with two is just a little more hands on than traveling with one, but not unmanageable (yet!). In fact, either I have amnesia from the trip or I'm just plain crazy because I booked a flight back to PA for February 10-15 - alone! Fortunately Jenny will be there to help on the return flight, but we're on our own for leg one SLC to PHL!

While in Georgia we had pictures taken of all the Lumpkin GrandGirls. The photographer deserves a raise, just for dealing with my two little ones! But, she got some really good pictures of everyone. (Kalea turned 3 months the next day!) Next time though, I think a morning session before the nap monster arrives would be prudent!

My New Year's Resolution this year is to blog at least twice a month so expect pictures, videos & stories more regularly. We'd love to get comments on the blog or followers, so log in & let us know what you're thinking...or what your New Year's Resolution is!

3 weeks until Christmas!

Wow, the season has snuck up on me! We're really looking forward to Christmas this year. We'll be heading to Georgia on the 24th to spend a few days with family & friends. We're almost done with holiday shopping already (I say we, isn't that generous of me? 'Tis the season, right?), which is a really nice feeling.

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Utah. The whole Stein clan descended on Salt Lake City for 6 days. It was a little cozy with 11 people in our little home, but we had a great time. Cassidy & Sean played & played & played. The rest of us ate & ate & ate!

I have to say that hosting Thanksgiving went better than I thought. Thanks to fantastic Mommy Stein & sister Steinettes, we managed to serve 14 people their turkey dinner, lots of vegetarian sides & some amazing apple & pumpkin pie only about 45 minutes after the intended dinner time! It's times like these when I truly understand why my parents have a double oven & tons of counter space in their house. We did use nearly all the space in that brand new extra fridge too. Great investment!

We went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, UT while everyone was here. It's a cute little place, just the right size for toddler attention span. It was really kid friendly & we all had a good time. They had an area where you could reach into a shallow pool & touch sting rays as they swam by. This, and the sharks, were the hit of the day. Cassidy had a conversation with each of the stingrays as it went by & we only managed to lure her away from the exhibit by pointing out the big shark tank.

Over the weekend Kalea had her 2 month birthday. At her appointment this week she weighed in at 11 lbs 13 oz & is now 23" long. The pediatrician said at least twice, "Wow, she's certainly a well nourished baby!" While most of the family napped on Sunday afternoon, Aunt Jessie helped with a photo shoot on to document the big day. She's starting to interact more now. She smiles back at you, coos & laughs now & then. It's such a fun age. Thanks to Gran & Poppy for the cute outfit! We can't wait to see everyone for Christmas in just a few weeks!

Happy 2nd Birthday Cassidy!

Can you believe that our little girl is 2 already!?! We had a great time on Sunday celebrating with some friends & special guest Aunt Jenny who is visiting during one of her 6 week rotations for P.A. school. Yesterday, for her actual birthday, we had fun with a few new toys (puzzles & play food are a big hit these days!), played with Jenny outside & helped make some yummy muffins as well as homemade birthday pizza. Mmmmmm!

One month old!

Happy 1 Month Birthday Kalea! It's hard to believe it's been that long since she joined the family - the time certainly flies!

This past Sunday Kalea was baptized at our church. Erin, our pastor, said that Kalea was probably the youngest baptism she'd ever done, but we really wanted to do it while Gran & Poppy were here to visit. They were invited to come up with us & participate in the baptism. Kalea barely squeaked during the whole thing, but Cassidy was very fascinated with the water in church. One thing I really like about our church is that, during the latter part of the ceremony, the children of the congregation are invited to come forward & participate in the baptism. It really is cool to see all the kids welcoming another little person into the church family. More baptism & one month pics - click here.

"eyes that blue should be illegal!"

That's what her daddy said when he saw this picture...this is also the man who, within minutes of her birth, made the announcement that she wouldn't be dating until she was married! She's getting so big - 22 months old already! (Don't mind the messy face - we had just finished dinner.) And thanks to Sara for the totally cute new shirt!

We've been enjoying the end of summer here in Utah. It's nice that the weather is starting to cool off. We're preparing for a busy fall. Since our last update Grandma Betty & Grandpa Doug came to Utah for a visit (during which we took zero pictures - how did that happen?!?), Jackie turned 30 (thanks for all the well wishes!) & we've been slowly getting ready for our new arrival.

We had a midwife appointment today & everything looks great & on track. As of this weekend the baby will be full-term so the midwife said that, pretty much, if labor starts they won't do anything to stop it. Crazy! Jackie's been busy hiring & training someone to take over her responsibilities at work since she'll be changing to a new, part-time position at the same organization once maternity leave is over. As of next week the new person starts, so that stress will be (thankfully!) lifted. Now, we just need to name this child!