Walking

Keila is pretty much just walking now. She still crawls a tiny bit, usually if she is sitting down and wants to get somewhere. She doesn't do that very often though. I got her some shoes for Christmas and she loves them! She has been really fascinated with socks lately...tries to put them on all the time even if she already has something on her foot. So, I think that shoes must be even better to her. She has actually cried a few times the past couple days when I take them off for nap time. She laughed while Jared was home with her today though, it must have tickled. She got some really cool presents for Christmas and loves playing with them. I went and bought her a cabbage patch doll and doll stroller set (comes with crib and swing/car seat and a couple other things) with the money that Jareds parents sent, and she loves it! She was trying to get the doll out of the box as soon as I got home, so I opened it up. Then I got the stroller out of the box for her and she was pushing it around for a long time. Of course, I had to keep putting the doll in the stroller because she kept throwing it out, but she will get the hang of it, haha. She was getting a little nicer when I told her to love her baby, but then she would just kiss and hug the doll and then put it in the stroller and then take it out and throw it. I think she didn't like the doll being in there because she kept wanting to sit in the stroller herself. She seems so much older now that she is walking. It's as if crawling longer kept her a baby, even though it didn't.

She is also picking up on a lot more words. Last night she added Cheese to her vocab. She had said it before but in the food way...now she says cheese when smiling...for a picture or something. If we say it to her, she will say it a million times. It's cute.

Baby Detergent...

So we got a new washer and dryer...front loaders...and you can only use the HE detergent with them. Well, I have a brand new container of target brand baby detergent that I can't use! I bought it before we got our new 'equipment' (haha) and we weren't even thinking about getting new ones yet, and I don't have the receipt to take it back. I was thinking of just selling it for $5 or free if the budget is tight. It does 65 loads I believe. Let me know if you would like it! I will be in Eugene tomorrow and Lebanon on Christmas if you live in any of those places!

Pictures

Here are the pictures of Keila that I promised. They were taken over the last few weeks with my new camera. I was able to catch some awesome shots :)

Walking to a box


Eating Blueberries:
She loves to stick her tongue out like this right now...and she licks her lips too


Smile!


Laughing and covering her mouth...freakin cute!


Another tongue shot...it looks as if she is professing something, haha.


My favorite picture right now...peeking around the chair


Petting Paislie...see how Paislie is flinching! haha


These were taken while trying to get cute christmas card shots:

Playing with my shoes and chewing on the laces...


Confused at what I was saying or something. I got a few shots of this face. I love it.


Singing! She loves to sing right now! It is so cute. I will sing something first and then tell her it's her turn, and away she goes!



Have a wonderful Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus! (ok, so it's not his real birthday, but that's okay!)

Where has the time gone?

It feels like I just posted something last week! It is Christmas in a few days, and Keila is getting closer to walking on her own. I took some awesome pictures with my new camera I bought a few weeks ago. I got the Canon SLR XSi camera and I love it. I took our Christmas pics with it and have already captured some shots I wouldn't have been able to get with a slower camera. I still use my other smaller camera...I carry it around in my purse. I will try to put some pics on here later tonight or at least this week.

Our Christmas plans consist of staying with Jared's brothers on Christmas Eve and then going to my Grandparents (with my Dad and brother) on Christmas Day. I can't wait to see everyone and eat some yummy food!

Walking and Talking

This past week has been filled with taking steps and saying new words. Of course she doesn't say the new words around me, but she is still saying them! My friend who watches Keila during basketball practice said that she was saying Kiss/Kisses the other day and then giving her a kiss. Very cute! She also tried to say Lucy, which is her dogs name. Keila is getting a lot better at standing by herself, and is doing it constantly...she jsut tries to walk and move too fast, so when she takes a step she is leaning too far forward. Yesterday she was walking towards the sliding glass door, and banged her head against it. I thought it would leave a huge bruise, but it didn't.

Keila is definitely a basketball lover...she squeals and gets so excited when she sees a ball. Hopefully she will love it when she gets older too!

Walking

Keila is starting to take a couple of steps by herself! She started a couple days ago or so, and she would just take 1 step. Now she is taking aroun 4-5 steps, but I don't really think she knows exactly what she is doing, haha. She doesn't really do it at home though, just at other places. Maybe she knows that at home she can just crawl around and find something to hang on to. I just want to get it on video at some point!

Another Tooth

So her 4th Molar is coming in today...so much fun! It hasn't been that bad except for her nap. I thought it was coming in a couple weeks ago, but it didn't. I hope she takes her nap this afternoon.

She is also taking more interest in her toy thing that helps her to walk. I also think she tried to take a step on her own the other day. Yay! She is getting more daring!

Also, I would like to say congrats to Casey and Jess. Welcome to baby Finn! He is freaking adorable. I also can't wait until Annette has her baby...any day now...hopefully!

Basketball and attitude

Basketball started last week. Jared and I are both coaching again, but this year I am the JV2 coach...this means I will actually get paid this year! Well, there is still a chance that my team might get cut...if we have 2 girls in the program not pass a class after finals this week, then we will only be able to have 2 teams...the magic number for 3 teams has to be 27. We only have 28 girls out right now. It will be a very challenging year for me because 4 out of 8 girls have never played basketball before. I mean, it is great that they came out, but I would just never go out for a sport that I have never played before by the time high school came around. Our first game is December 1st...I think we will have to set a goal of no more than 50 travel calls, and everyone can only foul 3 times (the newbies will probably foul out on accident). The good thing is that the girls are good kids and they will make it interesting. It is a faaaarrr cry from being the varsity assistant last year. Hopefully the season will just fly by though!

Keila has had such an attitude this week. But, it is only when she is with me I think. If she doesn't want me to put her down, she will arch her back so she is laying down, but I just leave her there. She sits up right away, and pretty much stops crying after 15 seconds, but it is still pretty funny/annoying. She doesn't really act like that when my frined is watching her, or when Jared has her...she saves it just for me. She also is really wanting Jared right now. It is actually really cute. The other night we were at the football banquet and she was really tired and needed a new diaper (but I didn't bring any with us, oops!), and Jared came over to say he would just get a ride home. She leaned over to him and was sooo happy to be with him. She started crying when he gave her back to me...I love you too Keila. But, it was cute!

She also is always trying to pull her earrings out! I had to go buy screw back earrings, which she still works very hard at pulling out and succeeds. It is very very annoying!

Busy busy busy

Last week, I spent all my time trying to sew baby items for the bazaar I was doing. I wish I would've sold more items, but I am thinking I will go ahead and try to seel the stuff on Etsy as well as give the items as baby gifts when my friends start having babies. I also might do another bazaar, so maybe more will sell there.

The location where the bazaar was had a broken furnace during the first day, so it was FREEZING! The fixed it on the second day, but also my friend brought her space heater, so we stayed nice and warm. I am getting a cold though because it was so cold there. I don't want to be sick!

Keila is getting such a big personality...she cracks me up everyday multiple times. She is showing more and more signs of getting closer to walking. Maybe by Christmas she will be cruising everywhere.

Being Sick and Pictures!

So I was sick this past Sunday, so Jared took care of Keila all day while I stayed in bed. I knew it was only a matter of time before Keila got sick too. So, when she went to bed Sunday night, and then kept waking up every 2 hours, I knew it was because she wasn't feeling well. I woke up Monday morning feeling okay, but Keila spent the whole day with a fever and wanted nothing but me and sleep. It was kind of fun to get to sit and cuddle with her again! She is fine now, but we are still adjusting to the time change. The whole day has been pushed up that hour so it feels weird.

Here is a pic of her when she was sick.


And here's the family pictures I was telling you about. Sorry they aren't very good quality. I took pictures of them with my camera real fast so I could show them to everyone!









Keila being cute


Caught in the doghouse...now I always keep the door closed because she loves going in there, yuck!


Us being silly



At the pumpkin patch



Halloween

Keila and I went to visit our friend Liz and her dog Lucy

Another Mommy-daughter shot

Family Pictures

I just got our first official family pictures back today! We haven't ever gotten them taken in a studio, so we did that while Keila got her 1 year pictures done. I will try to put the pictures on here within the next couple days. I hate that I have been so busy and don't post as much!

Keila is getting a little more confident with at least standing by herself. She Has been squatting on her feet for the past week, which of course is cute! And, the past couple days she has been standing by herself for longer periods...my friend who watches her during the day said she stood for around 30 second yesterday, and then sat herself on the floor. She is being so funny with not wanting to walk. She practically runs along furniture, and will walk just while holding a finger in each hand. I did read an article about babies who crawl for longer periods of time being more explorative than babies who are kept in the exersaucers or walk early. Another good article talked about the temperments of babies and why they might crawl longer or walk early...I will just paste it on here. Haha.

"There are early walkers and late walkers. Around fifty percent of babies usually walk by one year, but there is a wide normal range of walking, from nine to sixteen months. Walking is a matter of coordinating three factors: muscle strength, balance, and temperament, and the latter seems to influence the age of walking the most. Babies with easier temperaments often approach major developmental milestones more cautiously. Since crawling is speedier than walking anyway, confirmed crawlers are content to zip around on the floor like miniature racecars and show no interest in joining the tall and busy world.

Late walkers are more likely to be content to entertain themselves with seeing and fingering fun than with motor accomplishments. A late walker goes through the crawl-cruise-stand-walk sequence slowly and cautiously, calculating each step and progressing at his own comfortable rate. When he does finally walk, he walks well.

The early walker, on the contrary, may be the impulsive, motor-driven baby who has raced through each motor milestone before parents could get their camera ready. While there is no definite profile of early walkers, they tend to be high-need babies who early on left the lap stage and squirmed out of infant seats. Body type may also affect the age of walking. Lean babies tend to walk earlier. Early and impulsive walkers are often more accident-prone than their more cautious walking mates.
Parents who carry their babies a lot often ask, "Will I delay her walking by carrying her around so much?" The answer is no. In fact in our experience, and in the studies of others, babies who are the product of the attachment style of parenting (for example, worn in a baby sling for many hours a day) often show more advanced motor skills. No matter which baby in the neighborhood walks first or wins the speed race, the age of walking has nothing to do with eventual intelligence or motor skills. When and how your baby walks is as unique as his personality."

I think it's funny when people are so into their babies crawling or walking early because every baby is different and will do it at different times! I loved that Keila just wanted to sit and play contently and then when she finally crawled, I loved that too! I can't wait for her to walk though! It will be so cute to see! And, her clothes wont get as dirty...hopefully!

The Holiday season is coming!

Oh how I love the holidays! They are so much fun and filled with family. I also enjoy the weather...the crisp cool air of the fall is very enjoyable. I just have to keep bundled up and it is my favorite time of the year! I love the leaves turning colors and falling. The winter is the season I could probably live without...the even colder weather, rain and snow.

Jared just had a 3 day weekend, which was so fun! We sat around and vegged for most of the weekend! Last Friday we did have our family pictures taken. I can't wait to get them back. Some of them were good and some not, but I tried to pick the best ones. I guess we will see when they come back!

Keila has had a runny nose the last few days...I think in association with her teeth coming in. Anyway, I have used the aspirator to help get the boogies out, and Keila thinks it is so funny! It must tickle her nose because she laughs after I use it.

2 More Teeth!

So Keila has gotten 2 more teeth! I felt around today again, and sure even there were some pokin' through! She has been chewing on her fingers and salivating so much the past couple days, that I knew it was coming. The only thing is, it's not the 2 that I thought would come in for the past 2 months! lol. It is 2 top molars coming in. There are still about 5 white areas on her gums of other teeth coming in, so the next couple months are going to be awesome, I'm sure. I am impressed by how well she is dealing with these teeth though. It is very good so far!

Keila Turned 1!!

Wow, I have been really busy lately! Keila had her party last weekend on the 27th...it was a lot of fun! There were a lot of family and friends and babies! Keila's actual birthday was on the 29th...She had a fun day that day as well! We went over to a friends house and had a play date, and then played at home all day!

Keila had cake and ice cream for the first time at her party...I tried to give her some left over cake on her actual birthday, but she didn't want any.

She didn't start walking on her own by her birthday, but that's okay! She is talking sooo much! She is technically saying sentences, so I have a little genius on my hands. Haha. She has started saying (in a baby way) "what's that" "who's that"...those are on a regular basis. She says "that's nice" once in a while and has said other things because she repeats what we say all the time. I asked if she could say Happy Birthday today (it is Jared's birthday) and she said Hap Ba...that's pretty close! Haha. She also said "thank you" twice the other day. She can also sign a couple things. So, even though she's not walking on her own, she is still crusing along in other things!

As for me, I started taking a couple of science classes at the local community college to go towards my science endorsement for when I start teaching. YUCK! One of the classes is Physics...not my favorite class! That is why I have put it off for a long time. I guess it's good that I have Jared for a husband! I can always ask him for help(it is very trigonometry involved!).

Here's her birthday pics! (if you haven't seen them on facebook already)

Here's the cake I made her

Here's the one everyone else ate

Here she is! Getting ready for her cake...while we were singing to her :)

Hmm...what is this?

I think I like icing...

Yep! I do!

Good Cake, Mom!

Long time, No blog

Wow, it's been a long time since I have written on here. What has been going on? I don't know! A whole lot, I guess...

Keila is still not walking yet, but she is getting closer to standing on her own. She has stood by herself for about 5 seconds, twice, but then plops down and doesn't want to stand up again. Haha. She is doing great walking along furniture and with hands, so I know walking is in the near future. I am not trying to hurry her along, or worried that she hasn't started walking yet though because walking doesn't normally start until 1 year so she still has a couple weeks! Can you believe it?! 2 more weeks and Keila is 1 year old! Crazy crazy. I am not sad though. A lot of women get anxious or sad that their baby turns 1. I am freakin excited! I love a good excuse to get family together! I also can't wait to see her dive into the cake I am making for her!

Keila is also trying to say words a lot more in the past week or so. She can already sad versions of words, but now she is trying to mimic me and other people after we say something. It is so cute, and sometimes it sounds so clear that it makes me double think if she really said what she just said. Make sense? Her vocabulary of regular words consist of: Mama, Dada, Dog (or Dah..doesn't have the G down yet), Hi, Bye (sometimes)...I think that is it. If I ask her where my teeth are, she points right to them and then lets me find her teeth. It's adorable. We are working on pointing to the nose more consistently...right now she is more interested in teeth.

She points at everything and also tries to share everything she has. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. Like, when she tries to share her toys and food with the dog...Paislie, of course, will gladly accept anything from Keila.

Jared has been sick the last couple of days and stayed home from school and football today. He stayed in bed all day, and I only saw him a hadnful of times. He slept most of the day away, which is good because he normally doesn't get enough sleep...probably why he got sick. That and he is around dirty, germy kids all day! Oh the joys of being a teacher!

Photo Shoot

Here's a couple of my favorite pictures that my cousins wife, Ashley, took a month ago. She's a photographer, so it was a nice perk to be able to hang out with her and then have her do Keila's pictures. There were a lot more, but I will have to post them later...if I have the chance!





Pictures of me and Keila

The summer has come to an end

Schools officially starts on Tuesday here. It is so sad! I was very lucky to have Jared home all summer...something I LOVE about teaching! It will be interesting to see how this year will be different than last year with Jared being at the High School.

On a different note, Keila has been taking better naps the last couple of days! It has been much better than last week, and even earlier this week. She has been sleeping about an hour or more during her naps, with the exception of this morning...in which she cried, slept for 20 minutes, and cried again. She is starting to point to different things, but hasn't pointed to specific things (dad, mom, dog...I asked her to but nothing happened haha). She started nodding her head yes and can understand me when I ask her not do something...sometimes she listens and sometimes she gets a sly look in her eye while she tries again. It's hilarious. SHe also LOVES computers...she will crawl over, stand up and hold on my knees, peak around my screen, see that the keyboard is 'available' to touch, and try to push the keys. She gets a huge smile whne she sees it, and then gets very cranky when she's not allowed to touch it. When I see her crawling around and standing up on things, I want to know what she is thinking. Why does she like to chew on the dog bone? What does she find fascinating about the things on the couch? Why are computer cords, or any type of cords fun to play with and chew on? She is so funny and I love being able to be home with her. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Napping

...or lack there of. Keila has never really been a great napper. Well, at least since about the age of 5 months. It has gotten worse since I took away her pacifier. Before I took it away she would take 2 hourish naps, and now she maybe takes 2 30 minute naps...and that's on a good day. I have tried just puting her down to let her cry herself to sleep, and that doesn't work at all. At night, she will cry a little sometimes before she goes to bed. But during the day, she wont go to sleep on her own. She is also getting 2 teeth...they aren't breaking through yet, but I can see them and have seen them for a while now. So maybe they are bothering her. I can just picture that she will be one of those kids who don't ever take naps. Wonderful.

No More Pacifier

So now that Keila is weaned from breast milk, I am taking her pacifier away. I never wanted to use one in the first place...and then when I started using one I wasn't planning on using it this long. So in my mind it is overdue to be taken away. Plus, I have Jared home for a little while longer to help. She also only ever got her pacifier when it was nap or bedtime. She is doing perfectly fine during the day with no pacifier, but bedtime is a little harder. She has been going to sleep the past couple nights, but then is waking up a handful of times....once every hour or so for the first few hours. Last night was way worse. She woke up once an hour until 3:30, and then was wide awake so by 4:30ish I left her in her crib, turned down the monitor a little, and then went to sleep. She wasn't really crying that much, but then I woke up at around 5:30 and she was crying and really sad. I felt so bad and tired. She was almost hysterical crying and nothing was going to console her :(. So what was a tired mom to do with a baby who wouldn't stop crying?? Give in and give her a pacifier of course! Ooops. I think she was also very cold last night...I tried to cover her with her blanket, but she kicks it off. Anyway, she passed out in may arms and out came the pacifier once she was asleep (she spit it out, which is what usually happens). I was just so tired and wanted to have some consistent sleep!

So she is her normal happy self this morning. I even got a comment from the church nursery person that she is the happiest baby he has ever seen...

I really feel bad that she cried for so long last night. But what am I supposed to do? I would love it if she would just fall asleep when she got tired of crying, but now that she cna sit up, she wont lay herself back down in her crib. Annoying, huh?

So that is what is going on right now. I am so tired that I might even take a nap today.

Busy Busy Busy

I have been so busy lately! And, we have been out of town a lot. Last weekend we went to the Oregon Jamboree. It was hot, but really fun! My dad came up and watched Keila on Saturday and my grandparents came home right before we left on Sunday and offered to watch Keila. So that worked out really well, and I didn't have to worry aboiut taking care of a baby in the hot weather! All of the performers did really well...of who we watched anyway!

Our friends Liz and Kenny just got married last night, so I was busy all last week getting the programs finished and working on her scrap/guest book. I would've had everything finished a lot sooner, but when I wanted to work on everything, it was over 100 degrees outside and in our house! No fun!

Keila is doing well. She is starting to pull herself up on more things and also starting to bear crawl a little bit. She is also getting such a little personality/attitude. Whatever you want to call it! Still a very very happy and easy baby though, so I know I am blessed...for the time being! SHe loves to play with the dog dishes and spill out all the water before we can get to her...Little Rascal!

HOT!!!!!!

It's hot.

Oh, Keila is foinf great. Crawling more and definitely talking more. She slept in just a diaper for the first time last night...at first I don't think she really knew what was going on and was wondering where her clothes were! Haha

My first night away from Keila

So this past weekend I had a Bachelorette party to go to. It was downtown Portland so we went ahead and go a hotel room to hang out at before and after dinner and stay the night. Since we live about 45 minutes away from downtown, I decided it would be better for me to stay the night and not drive home so late. Jared did a great job while watching her and she did pretty well going to sleep and staying asleep. She only woke up once during the night...usually she doesn't wake up at all...and Jared just went ahead and brought her back to bed with him. It was so fun walking in the house and seeing her...she got so excited and didn't want me to put her down after I picked her up.

This Friday we are leaving her again to have a mini anniversary vacation. My Dad is actually going to watch her for us! I know they will be fine because he has watched her for shorter periods of time before, and she loves him!

Keila is also crawling all over the place! She throws little tantrums and even starts to follow me if I walk across the room. It is really funny and cute!

Finally! Pictures!! From End of June to July 6th...?

Our new title picture is us on Father's Day.

Keila sitting on the floor, getting on her knees, rolling over, and smiling at me after she rolled to me!!





In the middle of a clap


Her battle wound...she lost to the bed


At the Rodeo on July 2nd. My Aunt Cay bought her Cowgirl boots...aren't they awesome!?...I actually had to cut part of the elastic that keeps them on her feets cuz her calves are so chunky!




July 3rd...a friend made her this, but since she already had a 4th of July outfit, she was festive a day early!


Ready to see fireworks Mom!...Eating Cheerios


I'm Patriotic already


The banner I made for Jared's Dads retirement party...they are moving to Arizona next week :(


Jared and his Dad


Mlynczyk's and White's at the Retirement/4th of July party


Paislie playing in the water


Keila rolling some more


Playing with Jared's computer...or showing him how to use it. Kids these days know everything about technology! Haha




Keila has started crawling a couple days ago. I have taken pictures and videos! She isn't very good yet, but seems to be getting better every day. She is finding it fast to sort of army crawl/regular crawl inbetween...and then when she's about a foot away from her destination she sprawl out and reaches as far and she can. If she is still too far away, she rolls to it. She's a funny girl!