Sick Baby

Is there anything worse than a sick baby or anything as cute as a daddy taking care of her? Kendall was a little under the weather for the first time in her short little life. She started getting sick when we were in L.A., then on the Friday we came back, she had her second round of shots. She had a temperature of 102 for about 24 hours and then continued to be congested for the next week. Thank goodness for zucchini...she was so congested she couldn't nurse or drink from a bottle.

Shane would walk around the house with a cold washcloth on her head and held ice cubes for her to suck on. He would also sit her on his lap by the window and watch the rain. It was cute! He went out and bought a humidifier and 'Little Noses' (saline drops to loosen the junk). For the next few days, I was the suction queen. We developed a love-hate relationship with "the aspirator". I LOVED it and Kendall HATED it! You should see all the crap that came out of her little nose. It was amazing! I'm twisted, I know! I spent most of the time trying to convince her that it was a good thing and that she would be able to breathe so much better. She wasn't having it. One thing she did like was watching the steam come out of the humidifier. It was a great tool to take her mind off her ailments.

She is doing MUCH better and I don't want to go through that ever again!

New Artwork

After 4 months, we finally got around to putting up pictures of Kendall in the house. This is the first one up, of many I'm sure. I loved how it turned out. I have a hard time putting up pictures because the whole selection process of pictures and frames is overwhelming...getting the right picture in the right frame. I know, I'm weird! Hence a picture without a frame!

4 month checkup

WEIGHT: 19.8 lbs (no joke!)
HEIGHT: 27 inches (still not joking!)
HEAD CIR.: 44 cm (why are you laughing?)

Yes, she's our baby giant! The pediatrician assured us that she looks very proportioned...not to worry. We're not too concerned...Shane was 18 lbs when he was 3 1/2 months.

She had her shots and cried just as hard as the first time. Below is a video of her telling her daddy all about it...

At FOUR months:

• she likes to blow bubbles with her saliva
• she drools a lot (possibly due to teething)
• she rolls over both ways
• she laughs and smiles alot
• she babbles and coos
• she will babble back at you when you start talking to her
• she sits momentarily with minimal support
• she turns her head when she hears noises/voices
• she gets sad when you stop playing with her
• she reaches for objects
• she eats zucchini, pears, bananas (not favored), breast milk, and formula
• she opens her mouth for the spoon with food
• she gets very upset if your not feeding her fast enough
• she will turn her head away when she is done eating
• she is very aware of her surroundings
• she is wearing 6 to 12 mo. clothes
• she starts out the night in her crib but often ends up back in our bed

Returning from L.A.

(Picture taken just before boarding the plane with my camera phone)
Note: Kendall's new spiky hair do...just experimenting with some gel.

Gratitude for loving parents
It is always so refreshing to visit my parents. They are always so thoughtful and caring. I am glad we had the chance to go.

The night prior to leaving L.A., Kendall decided not to sleep. She woke up at 4am. I took her downstairs to keep her from waking my parents. I should have known that my mom heard us. Even as a little girl, I can remember my mom always seemed to be awake when we needed her. My mom came downstairs, took Kendall from my arms so that I could go back to sleep and then rocked her to sleep. My mom loves to rock the grandbabies! At about 5am Kendall fell asleep and my mom took her back upstairs~ but she woke up again at 6am. That is when my dad took over. He grabbed Kendall from me and took her downstairs and tried to feed her a bottle. When that failed, he went for the zucchini. He had a great time feeding her. He said she loved every bite and was quite content. It's always fun to watch my parents love and care for their grandchildren. It's a love like no other!

Flying back to Sac
Due to crazy and unpredictable L.A. traffic, we were running a little late. The flight was scheduled to leave at 1:45pm and we arrived at the curb at 1:20pm. Cutting it close...it's the only way to fly. My dad gave the skycab a generious t.i.p. to insure prompt arrival of my bags to the plane. After saying our goodbyes, I ran like crazy to the gate. Of course...the security check lines were so long, so I opted for the "wheelchair/airline employees line". After one of the airport employees questioned me, I assured them that the stroller was Kendall's "chair on wheels". It's all in the way you look at it...babies really are handicapped. Needless to say, they let me through and we made it on our flight.

Shane was very happy to have us home. He got lots of his homework done while we were gone. It was nice to have this time off from work. Life will resume to normal on Monday!

Mom's New Do

After an indepth hairstyle analysis, we decided she needed to cut it. She called her "hair lady" and she was unavailable. My mom is going back east to take care of her mom for a week and wanted it done. I volunteered and off to the bathroom we went. I think I've cut hair once in my life and I might add, I think it turned out pretty good. If you're going to get your haircut make sure you get it done by someone who has gone to school for it OR someone with OCD, like me!

Huge Laugh

I love this picture! It captures her great big laugh. When she gets excited, she smiles and laughs with her whole body. She a very happy baby! She is playing with her Nana in this picture.

New Enthralling Toy

Nana pulled out a new toy from "the closet". It plays music and lights up all over the place. She can't get enough of it. We are leaving today and somehow it will find its way in her suitcase. Do you think Nana will know it's missing??? We'll return it...promise!

Merry-Go-Round

Still home in L.A...Papa had to take Kendall on the merry-go-round. I'm not quite sure she knew what was going on, but it was very cute to see them together. (see video below)

Anytime any of the grandkids come home to visit, it is tradition to go to the mall with Papa to go on the merry-go-round. They LOVE it!

A "Wicked" Friendship

While home in L.A., my friend Holly and I wanted to meet up with each other at some point to spend some time together. We planned on meeting in the middle for dinner until Holly mentioned that "Wicked" was playing in Hollywood. So, I immediately went on craigslist.org and found 2 tickets for a really great price. (Considering the show has been sold-out for a while). The show started at 8pm. It was absolutely fantastic! If you ever get a chance to see it, DO IT! It was very well written and the acting was brillant. We loved it!

If you know either one of us, you know that we can't do anything without getting into some kind of mischief. Well, as most theater goers know, you are not allowed to use a flash to take pictures. I changed the setting on the camera, then took this shot...

Then, for some odd reason, the setting changed on my (Dad's) camera back to the automatic flash. I snapped this shot...

then noticed that the theater was illuminated by MY camera. In the middle of taking the picture, I quickly put the camera down and hid it in my sweater. The picture didn't even turn out! I thought for sure they were going to kick us out. It would not have surprised either one of us! After that episode, we were laughing hysterically and missed a good 10 mins of the show.

After the show, we walked on the stars on Hollywood Blvd. and sat in the car chatting for a bit, then called it a night!

Great friends are difficult to come by. I have been blessed with some of the best.

I love these lyrics from one of the songs in Wicked:

I'VE HEARD IT SAID

THAT PEOPLE COME INTO OUR LIVES FOR A REASON

BRINGING SOMETHING WE MUST LEARN

AND WE ARE LED

TO THOSE WHO HELP US MOST TO GROW

IF WE LET THEM

AND WE HELP THEM IN RETURN

Miss Little Tripod

Kendall and I went home to L.A. for a few days to visit Nana and Papa. We sat her on the counter in the kitchen and she sat there babbling at her Papa. It was so cute...as long as her hands were down she was able to sit for a bit by herself. (Note: the drool dripping from her chin)

Bath time with Nana

Nana has the best baby-size bathtub (a pedestal sink). Kendall loved the running water and we loved looking at all her rolls.

Computer time with Papa

Papa plays Disney videos online and Kendall just sits and stares. Great bonding moments!

WARNING: Psycho Baby When Hungry

When Kendall get hungry, there is no messing around. This video clip shows exactly what she does when she's past her limits. She will open her eyes super wide, then try to shove both her fist in her mouth. It's classic! Her Aunt Toni had fun messing with her.

Jolly Green Giant

YUMMY ZUCCHINI!!!

It's gotta be the Italian in this little girl...she's LOVES this stuff! (10x better that bananas)

My newest hobby

My friend took me up on my offer to design a card/announcement of sorts for her. She wanted to capture her daughter's 1st birthday and Valentine's day on the same card. I made it 8x4 (envelopes to fit are easy to find), but any size will do . I really love the challenge of creating these. It's fun! Your possibilities are endless!

LOTSA BABIES

Our ward had 9 babies born within 9 months. I thought it would be cute to photograph all 9 of them together. Unfortunately, one of the babies was sick, so there are only 8 in the pictures. Kendall is the second youngest. Can you spot her in the pictures? Instead of WHERE'S WALDO, let's play WHERE'S KENDALL!!!

Some of the babies were totally unimpressed with the whole thing. It was fun for the moms, but torture for some of the little ones.

Kendall was so cute the whole time. She would either try to eat the baby next to her or hold their hand. Below is a picture of her holding someone's hand.

And she even found herself a cute boy to rest her head on...

MORE BABIES

After most babies left two of my friends stayed behind and we were able to snap a few extra shots. These are some of my favorite...

BLUE EYES

JUST THE THREE OF US

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?"

SECRETS

JUST CHILLIN'

Hangin' out while mom gets ready

I was getting ready for work, so I plopped her in Shane's sink (surrounded by towels) and she hang out there until I was done. She would laugh at herself in the mirror, gnaw on the sink head, and often check to see if I was still in the room. She loved it!

Time to biggie size the diapers

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED!!!

Alrighty...we have had one too many of these blowouts. She was wearing the 2-3 size, but as you can see those aren't working. It's time to upgrade to SIZE 3 diapers, AKA cruisers...even though she's not cruisin' yet.

Super Bowl Sunday

She couldn't be torn away from the game even after we faced her swing the complete opposite way. She cried when the Patriots lost it! ;-(

Life's Little Expressions

Loving Parents

In her Sunday best...