O Christmas Tree

Yippee! Paul took me out to get my first Christmas tree since we have been together - that is over 7 years I have waited for this tree. It smells so Christmas-y, it is so full and beautiful. And to top it all off, as soon as I was done decorating we looked outside and noticed that it was snowing. It was so beautiful...man, life is good! I so thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience I had to share!

Oh, and for all those Kiera lovers - I added a photo of Kiera at the end. I don't want to disappoint her ever growing fan club!

New Outfits

Kiera recieved two new outfits from each of the grandparents. And they are ABSOLUTELY adorable on her....actually, a paper sack would look cute on her, but anyway. Enjoy little miss cuteness!

Stocking Stuffer

Now that Kiera is on the move whether it be crawling or "walking" she needs her hands. So, being the ingenious baby that she is, she figured, "hey, I can hold a pacifier in my mouth.....why not any of my other toys?" ("toys" obviously being a subjective word, all things in this world are Kiera's toys - just ask her). Below are is a video and a couple of pictures of how she now holds her 'toys' to get from one place to another.

New Gifts

My mom & dad sent Kiera a Christmas gift a little early - a new highchair. Kiera loves the colors and likes to "pet" the side while waiting to be fed. As you can see, she has some room to grow...almost can't see her little toesies! And Amy, Kiera's Aunt, never comes to see Kiera without bringing her a gift - which I tell her is a quick way to bankruptcy but she continues. This is now Kiera's favorite book...and in the video you can tell she has a favorite page as well. Enjoy!
Hmmm.... I also just realized that in the book photos she is wearing the same outfit that she was wearing in most of the videos in my last blog entry. I think that maybe I need to retire that outfit. At least for a while so that it looks like I have more clothes for my baby than just the one outfit. Yikes!

Videos galore.

So, if you were thinking to yourself....I just don't see enough of the little k on video, you have come to right place. She is a mover and a shaker and she cannot just sit down and be content. She has hit so many milestones lately it makes me tear up....where is my little baby who used to lay on my chest and fall asleep. Oh well, guess I'll just have to have another baby! Ahh!
Below are 6 videos. *whew*
The first is of her need to walk. She has been doing this consistently for about two months now and we just can't convince her that she is too young to want to do this. (Sorry - it is sideways)
The second one is a new one and she just started on Monday - we have one strong baby.
The third video is of her crawling...we have been waiting for this one for a while, the scoot was cute but this will really help her get moving on her own. She hasn't quite mastered it but she'll get there.
The fourth is of her new favorite play spaces - the stairs, good thing we installed a gate. She loves it and will just stand there and shake the gate back and forth.
The fifth and sixth ones are of her latest and greatest trick - one of which we love and hate at the same time. She has learned to get herself up into a standing position...as you can guess this makes for a difficult nap/bed time.
So, without futher ado...

Update Photos

It has been a bit since I have posted last so...here are a few random photos of Kiera for your enjoyment!

Who's mommy's little piggy?

Kiera has evolved on her eating technique. It is an interesting one but she eats her whole bowl of food! Enjoy the update!

Rubber Ducky....You're the one...

Kiera has become more and more a fan of bath time. Before the bath is even set and she is undressed she is already trying to wiggle out of my arms to get her bath only toys..Mr & Mrs Ducky. Below are some really cute pictures of her playing in the water and a video to show how much really does love bath time.

My nemesis

I am sure that you are thinking to yourself..."how can this little sippy cup be her rival?" Oh but it is! I have read many a book on Kiera's growth and what I should do and expect. One of these books is called "Super Baby Food". It tells you how, when and what to feed your child for optimum health. So in a sense it is my go-to for Kiera's eating habits now and in the future. Kiera has hit the 6 month mark and as you can see in my last blog she has started her road down eating solids. In the book, the author tells you to slowly introduce food starting with rice cereal...check. She also says that this will not substitute breast milk/formula but rather supplement for a while...check. She also says that this might be a good opportunity to introduce the sippy cup...um...okay, check. So, after a week of trying the cereal alone, I thought heck lets give this a try and see how Kiera takes to it.
I put a couple of ounces of formula in the sippy cup and give it to Kiera to try..well, actually I put it in her mouth and let her try it out. I noticed that there was NOTHING coming out the cup. Curious...So, I investigate. I turn the cup upside down, nothin'. I open up the cup and look under the lid and there were plastic pieces. So, I remove those thinking that maybe these are "packing material". I turn the cup upside down and it POURS OUT. Okay, not a good idea and obviously the plastic pieces were NOT packing material. I put the plastic pieces back on and think to myself, "what am I doing wrong?". Then the famous last words popped into my head: "I'll just try to use the sippy cup". BAD MOVE. I knew that the formula smelt bad but how was I ever to know that it was to be the FOULEST thing to ever enter my mouth. I sipped on the cup and down flowed the formula. First thought: "okay the sippy cup works", second thought, "Why did I just do that????" Too late and no where to spit it out, so I swallow it. But it only gets half way down my pipes when I start to gag. The formula comes back up out my mouth AND nose. Now I am dry heaving, my nose stings and I think that I might permanently smell formula for the rest of my life, all the while Kiera is cooing and squealing - thanks for the sympathy... So, now I guess you could say that this simple, cute, pink, little sippy cup is now on my nemesis list - a short list, but it is there. So, take it from me - sippy cups work that way and do not put that cup in your mouth even if it is for the sake of your baby....

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Last Friday we decided that it was time to get Kiera on the solid food bandwagon. When we first started it, she was a little confused but accepting. A couple of minutes into feeding her she caught onto what we were doing and started making some interesting faces. Enjoy!

Just call me Scooter

Kiera has become the master of scooting. She uses her little upper body to pull the rest of her body along the floor to get what she wants. Lately she has been tucking her legs up under her body trying to crawl but she just ends up rocking back and forth like rainman. Definately, definately, definately crawling....
Here is a video of her scooting/crawling from last weekend when we visited her Uncle Edwin, Aunt Chrissy and cousin Tory. She gets a bit distracted during the scoot because Tory is a new and interesting character. It was fun to see them interact!

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

Well, there it is. I am officially in my thirties! It was a fantastic birthday - I got items that I have had my eye on for years and Paul and Kiera took me out to dinner.

My sister got me a Panini Press - I think that I have had a panini sandwich every day since then. (She also gave me a card with a slight reminder that I am now 30) My mom got me the cricut - a scrapbooking cutting machine, which will allow me to make a BUNCH of cut outs, letters, words, etc. Paul got me the "Brisingr" book which I have been waiting two years to read. And Paul's parents and grandparents got me money so I went out an got some more scrapbooking stuff. It was a great way to ring in my 30th birthday!

And to top it all off, Amy & Bryce told me that they were going to give us their couches! Now my living room actually looks like a living room - as you can see below. Kiera especially loves them!