She's a big girl now

Goodness, our girl is going to be 2 in two weeks! *gulp*. Where the heck did the time go? Man oh man, she is one little sassafras! I call her a hellion on two feet! LOL. She is really pushing her limits with us, and is constantly purposely disobeying us to see how far she can take things with us. Ahhh, the life with a toddler in the "terrible 2's". But I tell you, I wouldn't give her up for anything; my love for this spunky girl grows and grows each and every day. It is amazing how much love you can have in your heart for one little soul.

Where oh where do I begin with all the stories I have to share with you all?

* K's new sayings or phrases: she has MANY new things she is saying on a daily basis, some good, and some NOT so good. She calls sunglasses "sunny glasses" (I think because of Sunny Days the Sesame Street theme song. She also will tell us now, "just a minute" or "two minutes" and hold up a finger. Gee, I wonder where she gets that? *(blush)*. On our drive home, she'll say "go for walk?", because now that the weather is clearing up, we go immediately on a walk with the fur kids when we get home. "What doin', mama", or "what doin', ___" to whom ever is in her focus at the moment. Our girl is a curious girl; you can always see the wheels turning.
Unfortunately, she has also starting telling us "get out of here", "get out", and "go away". Ugg. We don't say things like this at home, so I know she's picking up some of the things that children say to each other. I try to immediately correct her in saying "excuse me" or "please stop", to try and make those nasty sounding words a little more "soft", if you will.

*We got our girl a pair of new rain boots at Target a few weeks ago. She *hearts* LOVES THEM. They really are adorable on her (they are the pink/yellow flowered ones with ducky on the outside), and she is able to put them on all by herself, which makes her even more excited every day to put them on.

*Keifer is constantly asking us to "draw pumpkin' or "K -I"- which means, spell my name for me. When we draw pumpkins,on her magna doodle or on paper, she lights up, and starts to drawl swirls herself. I've found a new smaller marker, the Pip Squeaks, that fit her hands a bit better than the big markers. She refuses to use crayons. Nice, huh? As for the spelling of her name- I think the exposure to all the bigger kids at Elaine's house working on spelling and writing has really influenced Keifer's interest in her own name.

Of course, when I say, "your name is K-E-I" - CJ laughs and says that normally, "I is before E", and yes,I know that when we spelled our girl's name, it was backwards to that rule, but then her name wouldn't have meant "cherished", so there!

A great book that our girl loves to read every night, which includes the letters of her name, is called My Very Own Name Book. Keifer calls this her "owl book" because there is an owl in it. We received this as a gift from Mooshie's parents, Liz and George, who are always SO generous with our girl. We are so lucky to have such loving people in her life! They have also sent her My Very Own ABC's, which is along the lines of My Very Own Name. Keifer LOVES the pictures and seeing the letters in these books.

*A few weeks back, Keifer started a mini-riot of sorts at Elaine's house during lunch time. Yes, our girl is a loudmouth, once she gets to know you and is comfortable. I have no idea where she gets it. She apparently started pounding on the table when Elaine went upstairs to retrieve something, and pounding her spoon and screaming. She got the other kids started on screeching as well, and made poor Amanda cry!

*We are always telling our girl, "be careful", so of course, she is always telling us to "be careful" now as well. Last week, CJ was watering the plants above the cupboards in the kitchen, so he was standing on the counter top. Keifer kept saying "be careful, daddy' and seemed so worried about her daddy! She continuously told him this even after he was off the counter and near her in a chair. She also tells us both to be careful when we are eating and the food is hot. "Be careful, mama, hot!".

*Temper tantrums. Ahh, yes. The posts I don't write about. The temper tantrums. Some days , I feel like all I do is constantly negotiate with this small child about doing everything or anything within our day. She certainly has a mind of her own, and is one strong-willed child. She will throw temper tantrums about the littlest things, at the drop of a pin. And the tears! Ahhh, the tears. She is able to whip out REAL crocodile tears at a moment's notice. I'm always trying to give her choices and keep my words/sentences short and simple, but even so, our girl wants to do things HER way.

She wants her own make up bag, because I won't let her dig in mine. I have a make up brush that I don't use, that I give her to "powder" her face with while I get ready in the AM. She is a hoot, but...her own brush isn't cutting it anymore. She wants her own "lips" (chap stick or lipstick), she wants her own eye brush, and she wants to be able to do her own hair, which we all know is impossible. AHhh, Keifer. She is a joy and a terror, all in one body. LOL.

28 weeks - we're in the final trimester! *gulp*

How did this happen? How did 2/3 of my PG go by this fast and I barely even knew it? Well, my body has known it, but seriously, I'm starting to get REALLY sad that pretty soon, Kyla will be outside of my body and I 'll have to share her with everyone!

I am 28 weeks and counting. Unbelievable. I finally got a prescription for the nasty heartburn that has been killing me. It's for ulcers, actually, and has taken a few days to actually kick in. I tell you, I was miserable. I pity anyone who suffers from acid reflux/indigestion on a daily basis. Oye.

Keifer has taken to wanting to do "something" with my belly when she sees it. I have no idea if she's imitating the doctor listening with the doppler and measuring my belly growth, but her new thing is to use her pretend spices or a plastic half of green pepper and put it/them on my belly for a second. Then, she'll rush back to her play kitchen, "rub" the green pepper in the fry pan on her stove, and come back and push the pepper on my belly again. Today, she took out her oven mitt and used that a few times as well. I'm not exactly sure what her objective is. LOL. When I try to put my shirt down and move, she says "no no, mama, sit down" and pulls my shirt back up. Hmm.

Kyla continues to practice her swimming and flipping skills, and last night, as my mom and I sat down together to watch some DVR'ed shows, I had her feel Kyla. Kyla was really low, on my right side, right above my pubic bone. I am not sure if it was a foot or a knee or an elbow, but whatever body part it was, it was hard and moving a LOT. It almost grossed me out- to feel it move so much whenever one of us touched her! And.....she will respond to my voice *ahhhh!*. When she is quiet, and I want to feel her, I touch my belly and say "Kyla, it's Mommy", and she'll do a little flip for me!

Babycenter.com tells me: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.See what your baby looks like this week.

Here are the standard belly shots. As you can see, I'm as big as a house again. I'm not sure how I expanded so FAST, but I did. I think Kyla will be a big girl like her big sissy!

I know, I know. It doesnt' get any hotter than this. Pat Benatar called and wondered if I'd be in her Love is a Battlefield video. But, these splints are HOT! LOL. I wear them at night for my carpal tunnel (that isn't as bad as it was with Keifer). Keifer calls them my "owies". She'll get them from my nightstand, hand one to me and say, "here, mama, owies".

Flooding = not good

I haven't posted much about the flooding in my CJ's home state, but many /most of you may have heard about the flooding in the state of North Dakota. There has been much drama about this in our household.

Well, CJ's parents are in Grand Forks, and he and his brother left yesterday for an indefinite amount of time to assist in the precautions for the flooding that will most likely occur there (again). They had major flooding in 1997, and CJ's home was ruined.

At this point, Fargo is getting hit the hardest by the Red River. It's awful. CJ has family in Fargo, and we're not sure how they are doing at this point. CJ said his father broke down in tears this AM, predicting that half the city will be lost.
At this point, CJ and his brother are assisting his parents in taking the necessary precautions for their own home. He sent some pictures last night of their back yard:

Here is the line up to the side of their house, of college student volunteers sandbagging. Apparently, they are running low (as of last night) on sand bags.....

Here is CJ's parent's back yard - the dirt they had hauled in, to put on TOP of the dike/levy they have under their grass
You can see all is frozen. See the shed in the bottom left corner? That is halfway underwater, but the water is frozen. I guess it's pretty surreal.

There are no predictions for CJ's home town yet, only that they think the river will crest there sometime next week. His parents have a moving truck coming Monday AM to come take away all their basement things (which is a lot).

Please send any prayers you can spare to the people of North Dakota. Thank you.

Who IS this big girl?

More to come soon.......................

Shakin' her bon bon

Because we've been doing our Baby Ballroom class (for almost a year now, wow) K has expanded her knowledge of music/songs and dancing. As you know, she LOVES to dance. Loves it. She hears music = she dances. We've never attempted to try and watch the couples dancing on Dancing with the Stars, but I started DVRing it this season, and so far, our girl loves it. It is quite comical to watch her put her hands on her hips and "shake them" (and I honestly! did not teach her that!), or after watching the ladies roll their heads out and about very dramatically, in turn try to roll HER own head quite dramatically. So dramatically after this video clip, that she spun around and crashed into the gate. Ouch. That ended our dancing for this particular night. However, I have no doubt that next week's dancing show will be a hit in this household.


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"Look in Mirror"

The girl loves her cousin Abby, as well as Abby's hat. She put it on (and it fit, LOL, our girl has the hugest melon) and had to run upstairs to "look in mirror" at herself. She is shirtless because I have found that it saves me in stains on her clothes! HA!

Wordless Wednesday: She's a JUMPY girl!

I have to add, that annoying "Jump jump jump" in the background is Bert & Ernie on video at Sesame's website, hence, our girl is just following directions!



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My cousins & Me

Last weekend, we went over to K's cousin's for breakfast and to spend time with Nana Marge, who was unexpectedly in town after her flight home from Florida was delayed, hence she missed her connecting flight to Grand Forks. She stayed over at Corey & Jill's, and was so happy to see her 3 grandchildren for even just a few hours, before she boarded another plane home (finally).

K was in hog heaven. She was thrilled to get in the car to visit Abby & Mason, and once there, she followed them around like a puppy chasing a toy. She had just seen Abby and Auntie the previous night, as they babysat her while Daddy and Mommy went out on a double date (*gasp* a date!) with the Finns. We did dinner out and a comedy show- it was so fun. K had no qualms about us leaving her that night, as Abby is one of the lights in her life.

K's infamous words these days are, "what doin'?", and all you could hear was, "what doin', Abby?" over and over and over again. She also likes to know where everyone is, so if anyone left the room, she'd ask where they went, "where Nana go?". She does this at home as well, "what doin', mama", and it's so cute to see her little brain wheels turning in there, figuring out all the things we do in life.

K thinks she's hot stuff being on the top bunk of Abby's bunk beds, as she isn't allowed *yet* into the loft (bunk) at Elaine's house.

And, that would be water all over her shirt. She's learning how to drink smoothly out of an open cup still *smile*

The "silly" pic

Movie day & more

This weekend, Daddy was gone from Friday AM to Sunday around noon. It was the WCHA -college hockey play offs and his beloved Sioux were playing. A ton of his buddies from his hometown were in St Paul, so he had a lot of fun catching up, carousing and watching hockey. If you asked Keifer where daddy was, she'd tell you, "hockey game".

We had a great weekend, just me and my girl- she helped me with laundry (she loves to give out hangers), playing "row your boat" in the laundry baskets, watching clips of DVRed "Dancing with the Stars", and shopping (oh yes, her "whoo hoo, shopping!") at Target and Cub Foods. Auntie Jill brought pizza and K's cousins Abby & Mason over on Saturday night, and it was heartwarming to watch Keifer beam in the shadow of her beloved cousins.

We even showered together yesterday AM and I braved church alone with her -she did excellent and stayed in the nursery for almost 45 minutes with NO TEARS *yay*.
We got home and K screeched with excitement as her main man was home! Daddy raced pretty darn fast to get his precious angel girl out of my backseat!

Therefore, mama ran (not walked, ran! LOL) to the movie theater, my home away from home. I wanted to see something 'lighter', not so heavy (after Oscar season), and chose He's Just Not That Into You. I loved it! So funny and well, true, in the dating sense in many ways. I even teared up a little at different parts, sentimental geek that I am.

Then, I hit the nearby mall and found some more maternity short sleeve shirts. I have 2 or so months left, and barely any short sleeve/ springy/summer clothes that fit my RAPIDLY expanding belly. It killed me to even pay the $40 for 3 shirts that I did find at JCPenney- I refuse to pay $20 for a shirt that I'll only wear for 2 more months. *sigh*.

Anyhoo, after my last movie being Revolutionary Road - a major heavy drama at that- this movie was a great change of pace, and a relaxing and fun way to unwind after an action-packed weekend as single mommy.

What happened to my house & car?

Where, oh where, did my neat, clean car and house go?

Last week, I realized that my car is "mama's car" and it really ISN'T my car anymore. It has become the traveling fun-mobile, designed to have everything possible to entertain Keifer on our daily drives. I used to obsess about having a neat, clean, fresh-smelling car. Now I'm content to have all the crap piled up in the back seat (aka K's stuff) just piled up looking somewhat neat to make me happy. Let's see, we have blankets, extra hats, a pair of mittons, books galore, her Nursery Rhyme player, a play telephone, and on the floor an extra pair of shoes. In the front console, I have her packages of Teddy Grahams, some of them half-eaten, as her new favorite indulgence are the CHOCOLATE bears, mama, "Chocolate!". We also have a stack of CD's (we really need an ITouch, don't we?), for her listening pleasure (or dismay!). Oh yes, and I have a package of these really big wipes (for adults) that I was given when my Papa passed away last summer. They are wonderful for wiping off chocolate hands and mouths when we arrive at our destination.

However, with all the whining about losing my car to a 23 month old, it really isn't a big deal. I just have to vacuum it out and clean it up after our gross, dirty winter, and it'll make me feel better. To have my girl happy and with me means much more than how clean my car is, right?

My house, on the other hand, well, I'm slowly learning to "let go" and realize that no matter how many times I clean up toys, dust,and vacuum: with 2 dogs, a 23 month old and the realization that we'll soon have a baby in there as well, it'll no longer be the spic & span house I once owned. Again, not that it matters, but it is hard to "let go" of that image of a neat and clean house that I possess in my mind. I just wish we had more room for all the "stuff' we have piled everywhere. It's easy to just pile stuff up these days and let it sit, only to come back to in about, ohhh, maybe 4-5 months!

27 weeks- blink -it's almost gone

Twenty seven weeks (and a half right now)- which means that in about 12 weeks I'll be having our baby girl! Yikes! Where did this PG go?

I had to break out the splints to wear on my wrists at night last week. *sigh*. My carpal tunnel isn't as bad as it was with Keifer's PG, but I've been really sore in my wrists, and fingers, making it difficult to bend my fingers. My fingers are swollen, so the fake wedding band is in place. My legs aren't as swollen as they were during K's PG, but....I'm not at the end of the road yet! I only have 2 pairs of shoes that still fit me, making it difficult to match my outfits for the day! My legs, knees and feet are also very, very achy by mid-afternoon -what I wouldn't do for a massage every other day! HA!

Keifer will now say "hi, Kyla" to my belly when I ask her to. *smile*. Kyla is a dancing fool, rolling around inside me like an acrobat. I love to feel it. Last night, CJ and I were catching up on shows on DVR, and she was flipping around, making the surface of my tummy look like a rippling pond. I love to watch it, it makes me so happy.

I work within an Elementary school building, and it's fun to watch the kids' reactions to me when they do their double takes when they see my PG belly. I had the most adorable first grade boy this AM ask me if I was having a baby. He had the biggest smile on his face. So sweet.

Babycenter.com tells me: This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.See what your baby looks like this week.

Static: not a girl's best friend

K doesn't seem to mind, though. Here she is, in her beloved ball pool. This was the best spent $16 ever! Her new thing is to "hide" under her animals inside it, especially when her and daddy are playing. Then, I have to sing "where is Keifer?" to the tune of "Where in Thumbkin". Fun times in the Soup house!

All she wants to do is dance, dance, dance

Keifer has LOVED playing with the Fisher Price Pop Onz table at Elaine's house. Elaine found it at a garage sale, so it is tough to find (in stores), since they don't make them anymore (that I can find). The only ones I could find to buy our girl were $65 (gasp)online at a few different places. What the heck? That is a bit steep! So, we've been searching our local Craigslist and we found one practically brand new for only $15 yesterday! CJ emailed, and it was available, so he picked it up after work! K was overjoyed when he came up the stairs with it in his hands! She spent the night dance, dance, dancing to the music it plays, and directing the animals (kitty cat) around on the table. I love in this video how she shakes her shoulders side to side (she's getting some new moves! LOL), and you can hear how she is talking up a storm ("ready, set, go!").
Enjoy!


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Wordless Wednesday: Baby, You can drive my car

"Hello, baby!", Owies, and stories to tell

Keifer's top 3 songs of the past few weeks are:

3) "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel. "Celia" is her name for it - and we all know what she means as she screeches it from the backseat. "Mama, Celia!".

2) "Baby, song, Mama, Baby song" aka "Tell Me Baby" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. She bobs her head up and down, and side to side to this one, as I've modeled for her, and she'll say "lookit, mama" and then demonstrate her rocking out moves. I love it. She also says "what's the 'tory" - aka "what's the story".

1)"Hello, baby" - aka "Chantilly Lace" by the Big Bopper. Is there anything as cute as listening to your 23 month old sing along to the Big Bopper? I don't know.

There are other songs that make up this young child's daily request sheet, but I won't get into them all. It is almost exhausting trying to decipher her names for the songs that we play together in the car on a regular basis. I think it took me about 3 weeks now to decipher that "Hello, baby" was "Chantilly Lace!". She got sooooo frustrated with poor mama when I could NOT figure this song out. Although looking back, I should've caught on when she started going around the house saying, "hello, mama, hello, Treble, hello, Sager" in that long, drawn out Big Bopper way!

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Owies are now the hot new topic in the Soup household. Last week, I fell down while walking the dogs - nasty ice. I thought it was just a wet sidewalk I was stepping on to, but alas, it was ice. I have no grace when it comes to walking apparently. I skinned my knee pretty badly, it was bloody and sore, and when I came home in tears, Keifer was immediately concerned. Well, one week and a few days later, our girl is STILL asking me on a daily basis about my knee.
"Mama, owie? Knee? All better?". I must reassure my girl that all is well. She is now convinced that daddy and her must have their knees checked out regularly, to check for owies, as well.

She seems to stub her toes quite a lot, and when I pushed the bathroom door open with my foot this AM, she was certain I had "stubbed toe". No, honey, I just used my foot.

She also seems to get a lot of owies just driving into work/Elaine's or playing in our house. Owies on her fingers, arms, lips, etc.. When the dogs lick her, it's initially an owie until I tease her saying it's a kiss. Oh, boy. Did someone say "drama queen?".

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Story telling has also become a huge part of our days and nights together.
Last weekend, it was "Daddy, watch window, Treble poop". Translation: "Daddy, I watched out the window as you took Treble out to poop".

"Mama, ___ bump head. Owie". Translation: "Mama, ___ at Elaine's house bumped her head and got an owie". I asked Elaine for confirmation of this story and indeed, it was true!

There are other ones, but my PG brain is blanking out on them. They are really quite fun to listen to and makes CJ and I smile some more. Between our growing 23 month old drama queen and our 26 week old Kyla in utero, I don't have much to complain about! Life is good.

PG update:26 weeks

Twenty six weeks has arrived with little fanfare. Baby girl Kyla continues to kick and squirm inside me, causing so many smiles. Last weekend, CJ got to feel her flip and move, and made it made both of us smile.

I've had a few more comments at work about how "cute" my belly is, and one of the two chiropractors I see told me on Tuesday that I looked like I had a basketball shoved up my shirt. LOL.

I had my 26 week check up with Addie, and all seemed fine. Kyla's heartbeat was around 156, and I'm measuring "right on" bellywise. I've gained 23 lbs total so far; I"m not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing?

I've noticed that my taste buds seem to really want and NEED things that have spice to them. Last night, we had tacos for dinner, and we used the same spice brand that we did a few weeks back. I commented to CJ that the meat didn't seem to have a lot of spice, and he was surprised. He seemed to think there was PLENTY of spice- so apparently, my craving for all things flavorful makes sense. I need the "burst" of flavor when I eat!

Babycenter.com tells me: The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

Let's Get Together

Two weeks ago, CJ, Keifer and I trekked to a hotel nearby and had a wonderful time overnighting it with my ECSE pals and their families. Luckily, all our guys get along famously (just talk sports and you're in) and between us, we have 9 kids (10 if you count Kyla on the way!). We try to get together a few times every few months, and usually manage 1-2 get together per year with the whole family.

We had a great time, Keifer LOVED swimming, and she also enjoyed running around the hotel hallways. She was able to separate from mommy and daddy for a little over a half hour, playing with all her new pals, before she realized mommy and daddy were down at the cocktail hour (where daddy was enjoying the free brews and mommy was enjoying some ice water! LOL). We enjoyed pizza and snacks, and good times, and then the yummy breakfast buffet on Sunday AM. All the kids were pretty cranky on Sunday AM, so damned if we didn't miss out on an opportunity to get ALL our kids together in one shot. Oh well, soon enough; maybe when Kyla gets here in a few months! :)

Keifer giving Avery a smooch goodbye on Sunday AM - Avery is about 5 months older than K- they seem to be good pals already!

Louise & I with our girls (she has two older ones, as well), and Michelle's Jerry, the lone boy of the group (Jerry will love it in a few years, I bet, with all the girls! LOL)
Some of the "bigger" girls - Madeline, Anna, Natalie & Haley

Kris with Emma, Louise with Avery, me and my monster girl, Keifer

Keifer was very preoccupied with the free popcorn (or"cockcorn" as she says! LOL)

The even "older" kids: Jerry, Allison, and Allison's friend, and Michelle

Miss Keifer, deciding if she wanted to plunge into the pool or just dip her toes- this was before daddy came down and she turned into a crazy girl!

Ahh, how I love my ECSE girls. We have so much fun together. I can't wait: our new "goal" is to go on a cruise together in about 7 years or so! LOL

Go check out "Sticky Feet"

My bloggie buddy, Jamie, who is mama to Bo, thanks to IVF, and newly PG with TWINS - is having a playmobil giveaway! There are some COOL products!
Go check her out!

She's a Swimmer Girl

Last weekend, we stayed overnight at a hotel with my fellow ECSE pals and their families. K was a nut ball about the water. She went insane (with joy) when we packed her swim suit (*in fact, she walked around the house before we left with her suit hanging around her neck*),and was so excited to put it on to swim at the hotel. Daddy had to take her in the pool, because mama's swim suits - initially tank style tops, are now closer to a modified bikini with the belly bump in the way. NOT a pretty sight!

Keif went NUTSO in the pool. She was a crazy girl, always trying to flip onto her back, and showing no fear as she kept plunging her face right into the water. She does this at home as well in the bath tub. Just sticks her face right into and under the water and isn't scared at all.
There was one instance where she kept trying to push daddy away, repeatedly saying "I do it!". So, daddy let her go and PLUNK, under the water she went. She learned that she needed daddy to help her. Mama just about keeled over with a heart attack at that little life lesson.
She'll be taking swim lessons again this summer at Elaine's, as Elaine has a swimming pool (YAY). Our little fishie seems to be a natural in the water!

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25 weeks PG!

For comparison sake: here is my 26 week belly from Keifer's PG. I think I look like I have more of "just a belly" this time, vs. the first go-round. :)

Twenty five weeks are here and gone already. I'm feeling more lumber some, and experiencing some twingy cramping in the lower abdomen area where I'm stretching. Kyla is as active as ever inside me, especially after I eat! :) A girl after my own heart. I've been craving grapefruit and citrus (oranges) this time around, as well as my raspberry sherbet.
K is insistent when I ask her to show me mama's baby in my belly that SHE has a baby in HER belly. Every time I show her my belly, she lifts her shirt, and pats her belly: "my baby". Ahh, she's in for a rude awakening in a few months!

Babycenter.com tells me: How your baby's growing: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.See what's going on in your uterus this week.

Mama hugs

*sigh* My heart falls deeper into love with this toddler every single day. How could it not? *sigh*

I, I am a dancer.....

While mommy was putting away laundry the other day, K found a pair of her socks. She insisted on wearing them, as well as taking her shirt off. The girl likes to run around nekkid (well, partially in this case). The poses are all natural- I have no idea what she was doing- all I did was ask her to say Cheese!! LOL

Cheese? I'll show you cheese- I'm a cheese ball! Here's my TUMMY!

See my big muscles, mama?
And...that's all, folks!

Wordless Wednesday: My future's so bright (part 2)

Keifer tales

Lots going on, as usual, in our little gal's head- always learning and always observing.....

**Let's see, last week, it was finally warm enough to take the puppies for a nice, long walk around the neighborhood. Of course, with the melting snow, it made for a very muddy walk, and consequently, they were both filthy, especially Sager, as she is more low to the ground. After our walks, I prepped Keifer, and we gave each dog a bath: first Sager, then Treble. Our girl K did great "helping" mama! I warned her that the bath was only for the puppies, and then she sat on the towel near the edge of the tub, or else took turns splashing the dogs with water as I rinsed them off. She was so excited to "help" me with this task.

That night, I took out 3 books that I 'd been saving on our overflowing book shelf, about Big Dog and Little Dog. Keifer particularly liked the Big Dog and Little Dog Going For a Walk- as we had JUST taken OUR OWN big dog and little dog for a walk. And low and behold, we also gave them a bath, just like in the book. For the past few nights, Keifer now wants to hold the Big/Little Dog books in HER hands and read them to ME, instead of the other way around. She's a hoot. It's cute to watch, as K tries to hold all her books in one hand, similar to how a teacher might hold the book when trying to read and display it to the kids. Her reading "babble" is quite hilarious, and oh-so dramatic!

**Last week was our daycare provider Elaine's birthday. The night before, we listened as Keifer was singing "Happy Birthday" song, supposedly randomly out of the blue. The next day, as I dropped her off, I realized that it was Elaine's birthday, and the kids must have been talking about it. Elaine later reported that Keifer sang her the birthday song ALL.DAY.LONG, and the next morning (the day after) she was still singing it to her when we arrived at Elaine's house!

**A few weeks back, we were at baby ballroom class. Some of the 3 and 4 year old little guys that were there were running really fast before class started. Keifer observed them from the side of the dance floor, and then very sternly, held her finger out to them and said "Slow Down!".

** One of K's favorite new things to do at home, is "ashes, ashes" with mama (ring around the rosy). She also has a renewed interest in her Little People, especially the animals, and loves to put the kangaroo on the school bus! She also loves to stack pegs on a pegboard, and make towers. "Lookit, mama!!!" she'll exclaim with pride.

**Last Tuesday, CJ and I took our girl to Perkins, as kids eat free on Tuesday nights (and mama had a craving for a pot pie, and Boston Market wasn't close enough! LOL). Being a pancake lover, I thought K would gobble them up. Not so. Instead, she refused her entire meal, and wanted to eat all of daddy's fruit all gone. Oh, wait a minute. She decided the cookie she got as part of her meal was good enough to eat as well. As we were driving out of the parking lot after dinner, from the back seat, she said "bye eat, bye cookie, see you later!", and repeated these phrases over and over. She also says this to wherever we are leaving - for example, leaving Target, we hear "bye shopping, see you later" (or "see you next time!").

**K and I stopped at Target on Saturday for a few items after my hair cut. Seeing Target's sign from her car seat, as we pull off the freeway, she goes nuts, screeching, "yay, shopping", as I've reported before. That night, we stayed at a hotel with my college pals and their families (post to come soon), and as I relaying the story of my girl and I's day of shopping to my friends, Keifer piped up and told them, "I love Target!", all spontaneously! Thatta girl! Mommy loves Target, too.

I love you, puppies

Oh, how our girl loves her fur siblings. She loves to climb onto the window-view loveseat (much to their dismay) and watch out the window. Treble is so tolerant of her, we are so lucky. Sage just loves to kiss her repeatedly, and is still nervous around Keif's quick moves. Here are a few candid shots from Saturday and playing with our pup pups.

Static head
She was trying so hard to hug Treble; he didn't really seem to care one way or another

And here is a short clip of Sage kissing her, and K displaying some of her wonderful belly laughs! Enjoy!





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