Father's Day Pictures

We took this opportunity to take photos of our family. I wanted to get Shane matching father/son ties for Father's Day and, of course, couldn't leave Kendall out!

Kaden slipped out of the stroller while we were taking pictures. He didn't even cry. When we picked him up, he had a mouth full of dirt and this is what he looked like...

^Yummy!^

Mommy-Daughter Date

Even since the Disney movie "UP" came out, I've been wanting to take Kendall to see it. We watched the trailer online a few times and she loved it. I took her on Friday. We, of course, had to get popcorn. She lasted a whole 40 minutes, then she was ready to go. We had a good time. She is a fun girl to hang out with!

^Heading out!^

^Enjoying her treats^

^Sitting on the edge of her chair^

Upgrades

At 4 1/2 months, Kaden has reached maxium weight capacity in his car seat... 22 pounds. Therefore, it was time to make some changes. We bought Kendall a new car seat and Kaden got hers. I have been very happy with all the car seats we have chosen. I love that they all have headrests (i.e. side impact protection) so when they fall asleep, their heads don't flop around. My only issue now is... what to do with a 4 month old when you need to go shopping or to the grocery store and no longer have an infant carrier. FYI... putting him in those built-in infant carriers attached to grocery carts are NOT an option for me! I'm sure we'll figure something out or just wait until he can sit-up.

^Out with the old^

^In with the new^

(He looks like such a big boy!)

^Kendall likes her new seat and cup holder^

^The backseat set-up^

I purchased these seats at a speciality baby store in Sacramento. They professionally install them so they are really in there super tight...no movement at all! When I got back from work, we put them in their seats and took them for a spin around the block. We also had to make sure the people riding in the front seats had enough leg room. We do...barely!

Kendall's Line-up

The other day, Kendall was playing quietly by herself. When I went to check on her, she was playing with her bears. She was lining them up on her bookshelf, on her pillow, and in her bed. She carried those bears around with her pretty much all day. She would put blankets on them, put them in Kaden's 'furniture', in her highchair, feed them, and give them drinks from her sippy cup. She is so funny! I love her imagination at such a young age. I am sure it's just gonna get better from her! I'm exicted to watch her grow and develop!

(Just so you know... I looked up online about what it means when children do this kind of thing and the words AUTISM and OCD popped up everywhere. We'll be having her tested next week!) {wink}

^She set up her bears, then layed down next to them^

^On a mission^

So Sick

On the third day in on our potty training, Kendall became super super sick. She would go through waves... the chills with purple lips, toes, and fingers, then a super high temperature for a few hours, then up playing. We were giving her Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours and nothing seems to bring her temp down. On Thursday, I took her in to the nearby clinic. They gave her an antibiotic shot in her leg as well as a prescription without really knowing what was wrong. About 3 days into taking her meds, she was not getting any better and nothing seemed to be helping, so on Sunday we took her to Urgent Care.

After a traumatic event of trying to get blood drawn and a urine sample, they discovered that her white blood cell count was high indicating that there was a bacterial infections "somewhere". Due to the fact that she was on antibiotics for the past 3 days, nothing really showed up in her urine. We left with another shot of an antibiotic and a prescription for a different kind of antibiotic. Nice. It is speculation that Kendall had a urinary tract infection that developed into a kidney infection.

There is nothing more sad than a little child that is sick. All Kendall wanted to do in the days that she was sick was lay on us, sleep, and drink milk. She loved having her blanket and "Cat" with her more so during these days. She looked so sick. Poor baby!

^Snuggling with Cat and her blanket^

^Watching 'Little Einsteins' with Cat^

^Waiting to be seen at Urgent Care^

After a few days on her new antibiotic, she began feeling better. By the end of the week, she was ALL better...back to her crazy 'ol self...the way we like her!

Potty Training - Round 1

While we were waiting at the doctor's office for Kaden's 4-month, I met a young woman who had 2 children. Her oldest daughter was just 1 month older than Kendall and her son was Kaden's age. After talking to her for a bit, she told me that she was so glad that she was able to potty train her daughter so that she wouldn't have 2 kids in diapers.

I thought to myself..."If she could do it, so could I and so could Kendall." I rush over to buy all the potty training essentials: kids potty, little princess underwear, pull-ups for bed times, and M&Ms for incentives and rewards. I was set to go! I came home and started immediately.

She got on to it pretty well. She had been showing all the signs of being ready for potty training for the past month. She has been very interested in the "potty", uses the sign for bathroom, wants her wet/dirty diapers changed, etc. At first she sat on the potty for a long time watching TV. I wanted her to pee in the potty so that she would get the idea.

So with that said... I tried everything:

^FIRST: Putting her feet in warm water^

>>>DIDN'T WORK!<<<

^THEN: I tried one foot in cold water, one foot in warm water^

>>>STILL NOTHING<<<

^NEXT: Fluids!^

^FINALLY: SUCCESS!^

She thought it was pretty cool. She only had 2 accidents and 3 successes. I thought we were definitely getting somewhere. We continued doing this for 2 days until she became super sick (see other post).

I think we'll try again in about 5 years!!!

No Longer a Dairy Cow!

So, Kaden is 4 1/2 months, and we are so done nursing! And let me assure you the feeling is mutual:

>He would get super frustrated due to the slowness of the flow. He wants to eat and he wants it NOW! The quickier in his tummy the better! No effort, please! Little impatient chub! He would pull and tug, then try to bury his head. It would get a bet annoying to say the least.

> Me... I think it's my turn! My body hasn't been mine since January 2007. I want it back and all to myself. Selfish...maybe, but I'm okay with that! I am not a huge advocate for breast feeding. If you can do it great, if not, no big deal! Your baby will still be healthy. We were all bottle fed (minus Nick) and we are all very healthy!

THE END!

In Production!

We have been in production for the past couple of month, but I have had a few people ask me about how I make my own baby food. It's really simple. In fact, to me, it's way easier, more nutritious, and more affordable than buying it.

Climbing Up and Falling Down

I feel as though I am constantly on the watch for either Kendall climbing up on something or Kaden falling down off of something. Kendall loves to find all sorts of things to climb up on. She has really good balance and strength, but I still worry.

And then there's Kaden... This is what I found the other day. He managed to kick his feet and push himself to the edge of the couch. His head was wedged between the cushions and he was heading downward. It just made me laugh!

Miss Little Fix It

It's crazy how observant Kendall is...

The other day, I was adding new batteries to one of Kaden's toys. Later that day, I put Kendall up on the counter, she grabbed the screwdriver and went right to work. She's such a little smarty pants.

I'd like to introduce you to...

MY STEP CHILDREN!

I kept hearing people say how 'shocking' it is that Shane's genes are SO dominant. Yes, you would think that my dark hair and dark eyes would come through in our kids, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm okay with it! Therefore, I've decided to just refer to these two beautiful babies as my step children. Aren't they cute?

4 Months {Kaden}

Kaden is STILL the greatest baby ever. I can't believe it's been 4 months! Time doesn't stand still for anyone. He is looking more and more like a little man. I love being his mommy. I'm glad he's a piece of cake... easy and sweet!

At 4 months, Kaden:

• weighs 21.8lbs, 28 in. long (above 95th %ile for both)
• wears 6-12 month clothes
• size 3 diapers and shoes
• loves to take his pacifier out, then put it back in
• plays with toys in his hand or on the floor
• rolls over both ways
• eats cinnamon apple/pears, zucchini, bananas
• drinks crazy amount of formula on top of nursing
• opens his mouth for the spoon with food
• gets very upset if your not feeding him fast enough
• will turn his head away or do raspberries when he is done eating
• smiles when you talk to him
• sleeps in his own room (in cosleeper)
• has slept up to 8 hours straight (not consistant)

Play Date

...With the 3 Musketeers!

The other day, Kendall had fun playing with some friends that came over. These 3 girls are all pretty much the same age.

^Brynnlee (20mos.), Kendall (19mos.), Ava (18mos.)^

^So cute!^

^Kisses with Ava^

^Kisses with Brynnlee^

^Dancing and laughing with Ava^

^Eating lunch with Ava^

(Brynnlee had to go)

I love that Kendall has friends to play with that are her same age...not to mention that their moms are pretty cool too! All the girls played very well together. We'll have to do it again sometime soon!

Oh, my!

This morning I was talking to my mom on the phone. I was telling her that Kaden woke up famished. I told her that he ate 3 cubes of cinnamon apple pears with a tablespoon of rice cereal, then wanted more...he started crying when I stopped... so I gave him a 1/4 banana. After taking a little break, he drank 4oz then fell fast asleep. When he woke up, I put him his back on the floor. Apparently, he rolled over on his FULL belly.

As I was talking to my mom, I look over at Kaden and this is what I saw...

Apparently, he had spit up and was rolling his face in it. NASTY...that's all I have to say!

I immediately got off the phone to clean him up (and, of course, take a picture). I love how it's dripping off his right eyebrow! It was everywhere... in his ear, up his nose, in his eyelashes, and his hair. YUCK-A!

Lesson Learned: Don't allow tummy-time until after food has settled!

Funderland Fun

For the past few weeks, Shane has been working really hard on completing his portfolio for school. It was due Friday, so we decided to take a fun family trip to SacTown. First stop... Funderland. It is a way cool place for kids. There is no entrance fee, you just buy tickets and use them for the rides. We had a blast.

Oh, the excitement on this little girl's face when she saw all the fun things at Funderland was pricless. She was so super excited!

^Approaching the park^

^Video of her checking the place out.^

^First ride: The Carousel^

^Video of Kendall selecting her horse.^

^Next ride: The Dragon Rollercoaster^

^Video of Kendall and her daddy on the ride^

(Kendall got a bit scared on this one so her daddy held on to her extra tight.)

^Next ride: Cars^

^In the car with mommy^

^The Train Ride with Daddy^

^Mommy and Kaden on the train ride^

^Daddy showing Kendall how to eat cotton candy^

(After buying the cotton candy, I gave it to Kendall and she had no idea what to do with it.)

^First time eating cotton candy^

Next stop after Funderland, we went for a pony ride, but Kendall was so tired, she wasn't interested in going for a ride. So, off to the Macaroni Grill we went. Kendall fell asleep in the car therefore, we made a short stop at a car dealership to look at our next car purchase.

^This little 1/4 Italian girl LOVES pasta^

(especially the speghetti noodles so she can slurp them up... really great restaurant manners we are teaching her, huh?)

After lunch, we went to visit our friends, Angie and Steven, who just bought a house in Rancho and then we went shopping for a new car seat. Kaden has pretty much outgrown his infant carrier and it's time for a new one.

All in all it was a fun-filled fabulous day! Let's do it again!!!