Kaitlyn's First Year Video Montage

Kaitlyn turned one yesterday. It's hard to believe my baby is already a year old. Here's snippets of her first year of life.

Summer Snapshots #3

Independence Day

Matt came off a 24 hour call at 8 a.m. on July 4th, so while he caught up on sleep I took the kiddos to the YMCA and worked out then played at the pool with our friends, the Haynie's.

At last minute Matt and I hosted a BBQ that evening and a few families from the ward joined us for the festivities. It was hot, HOT, HOT, and due to the drought no residential fireworks were permitted. Below is proof that we rebelled and used up a few sparklers from last year.

I didn't take any pictures all day, but my friend kindly took a couple of Sky with her rockin' iPhone. Poor Kaitlyn. I feel like I don't take as many pictures of her as I should. I feel a little better knowing that at this point in the evening she was snuggled tight in her crib.

 Bath Time

If there's one thing my crazies have been lacking this summer, it's baths. Between regular trips to the pool and playing in the sandbox, I sometimes wonder what's the point of bathing them. We've been averaging two baths a week for the kids. At least I shower daily (usually). That counts for something, right?!

Parties

Sky's got some great buddies in the ward and neighborhood. "Peach" (pictured below with Skylie) is one of her best buds. Okay, I'll be completely honest. Skylie absolutely adores Peach and talks about her more than anything else combined! I am regularly begging Peach's mom to let Peach come play so I can get some work done around the house while the toddlers play.

Peach's mom describes the buddies best: "Whenever they see each other they will scream out each other's name and then run to each other for a big hug.  Peach will often try to pick Sky up and then they fall into a pile of kid."

 

These pictures were taken at Peaches birthday party. It was quite the event, and Skylie's expectations for her birthday went up about ten notches. (Thanks a lot, Crystal!) Just yesterday Skylie told me, "Let's have water, and swimming, and treats, and kids, and food, and cake, and presents at my birthday party!" My plans had been to have a low-key family day.

Below are a couple more pictures at the birthday bash. The girls were playing doctor. Kitty (in polka dots) is another favorite buddy.

Chick-Fil-A

A couple of my Iowa girlfriends came up with a fun idea to give their children's friends for birthdays. Instead of buying a toy for the birthday girl/boy, they take the birthday girl on a special lunch play date to McDonald's to get a Kid's Meal and play in the play place. I decided to give it a try this summer, and I honestly think it's been the highlight of the season for Skylie. She is still talking about it and asks daily when she can take her other friend, Kate, there. Matt had a weekday off so I got to leave Kaitlyn with him while I took Peach and Skylie to Chick-fil-A. The two buddies spent almost three hours eating and entertaining themselves in the play place.

I remember when I left Iowa a little over a year ago I didn't have too many concerns. Moving hasn't ever been too hard on me, but everyone in our family--Matt, Skylie, and I--were leaving behind a lot of great friendships. I remember thinking and praying, "Skylie and I don't need 20 best friends like we have here. But if she could just find one or two buddies and if I could find a friend, I'd be really happy." I am grateful to know she--and I--both have certainly found more than a friend or two in Indiana.

Swimming

Taking the kids to the pool is my go-to activity in the summer. We've spent many a day at the pool in our community or at one of the YMCAs nearby.

Marion County Fair

In June our friends from church invited us to go to the Marion County Fair with them for Family Night. I had committed to watch two of Skylie's two-year-old friends that evening, but we decided to brave it and take four girls two and under to the event. By some stroke of magic all the children behaved well, and we had a great time checking out the animals and going on a couple rides.

I love a good summer. And this has been a great one.

Good thing it's not over yet.

Summer Snapshops #2: Turkey Run

Turkey Run State Park

One hour south of Indy is a great state park with miles and miles of hiking, camping, and swimming.  We checked it out Saturday, June 23, and took the kids on a real hike. Ironically, we remembered everything except the carrier to strap Kaitlyn onto me, but she's a light weight so we didn't mind holding her in our arms.

We unintentionally ended up going on the "most rugged" three mile hike at the park. It wasn't difficult at all--even with our kids--except for the steep, long ladders we had to come down at one point. I can only imagine the snide remarks people thought about us as they watched me and Matt each carry a babe on our hip down those rungs. One wrong step would have sent us toppling onto stone. Needless to say, next time we'll choose our trail more carefully!

After hiking and picnicking we checked out the nature center and played on the playground. This was my favorite outing we've been to all year, and I've already got plans to go back for my birthday in September! Sometime in the near future I'd like to take  advantage of the great camping sites and swimming facilities.

I love the Midwest, I really do. Sometimes I think people here in Indiana don't give their state enough credit. As my Texas born and bred friend says, "Indiana has no state pride!" But if there's one aspect  these Midwest plains lack, it's having mountains and more hiking opportunities. Turkey Run met and exceeded my expectations on that account. It seemed like I was hiking in parts of Utah.

Turkey Run, you earned an A+ in my book. See you again, soon.

Home Improvements: Year One

My friend Amy posts almost weekly about improvements they're making to their home. I love it! It's great to get ideas and see what she's up to. She correlates it to the William Morris Project, which is essentially to "have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful".

I won't attempt to post weekly, or even monthly about my projects around the house. But I can handle once a year. :) This post is mostly for me and my family. I think it'll be interesting to see what we've done over the years. It's not my intent to come off as boastful or braggy in any way, so I hope I don't come off that way.

Here's a quick rundown of the work we've done on our place during our first year of ownership.

Back in November I painted the downstairs. For details about that project click here. At that time we also got a kitchen light and light and fan for the living room. Wiring was already installed, but we'd been living in the dark far too long. Matt has become quite the electrician around here, and I am impressed.

January

 Painted laundry room Meadowlark by Glidden with leftover paint

February

 Painted upstairs bathroom Meadowlark by Glidden. A few months later I found the shower curtain at Dollar General for ten bucks! Our previous hand-me-down curtain had seen better days, and after six plus years of marriage I didn't think it was the craziest thing in the world to buy a shower curtain. I am totally a fan of delayed gratification--even if it's over a ten dollar shower curtain! 

March

I had fun painting Kaitlyn's room and adding a few wall decorations. Details about that project can be found here. Matt also installed a light/fan in our bedroom. Wiring had been completed previously, but no light had been put in place.

 

April

Painted hallway upstairs Tawny Birch by Glidden

May

In May Matt busted out his mad skills. He built this fence--picket by picket--after work and on Saturday in essentially less than a week. He took Step Three of boards on Monday, and that night we began placing the posts. Our neighbor lent us some rock star tools, which made the job much easier. Matt amazed me with his determination to get that fence up quickly. He is my hero, and I considered this project a great Mother Day gift to me! Of course I can't let him have all the credit. I hauled all the lumber to it's appointed spot and got my groove on with the power tools.

 Don't judge our lawn, please. It's dry here.

 June

Sewed curtains downstairs all by myself. (Gushing with awe is totally acceptable right now!) ;) Despite the fact that my mom is a sewing fanatic and she taught me to sew, I hadn't really taken on any projects as an adult. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed sewing these. The material is from Joann's; Waverly Pom Pom Play Spa, and I ordered it from the warehouse when Waverly products were 50% off. I based my tab top curtains off this and this tutorial, and for the Roman shade I followed this tutorial. Thank you Pinterest!

And one last project I did this summer...

We have a Simon Dewey picture, and I love the painting but the gold frame didn't look too hot with what we've got going on in the living room. I used cheap acrylic paint (Raw Umber) and a hard bristled stencil brush to give the frame new life. I also nabbed the ugly flower sconces on clearance at Joann's. After spray painting them black, adding a bit of Raw Umber craft paint over the top, and replacing the flowers, that wall looks a little better.  I'm not over the top in love with the sconces, but it's an improvement.

Those are our home improvements from year one. I'm now trying to be really good and use our resources in other ways. So there's no projects in the near future for me. But in year two (or three) I hope (perhaps "dream" is a more appropriate word) to:

• Paint the dresser in Kaitlyn's room a fun green color
• Paint and decorate Sky's room 
• Add a few decorations to the kitchen and living room
• Paint the loft 
• Put in a door to create a closet and utilize the space under our stairs 
• Add a few plants, trees, flowers, and a small vegetable garden to our yard
• Maybe extend the patio and build a wood patio covering (A girl can dream right?!)

What projects have you been working on? Any advice for me?

Kaitlyn's Eleven Month Letter

Dear Kaitlyn,

You're a sweet, sweet baby--and a baby you certainly seem to be. A few weeks ago at a doctor's appointment you weighted in at a whopping fourteen pounds, two ounces. That's far below the first percentile, but you're consistently staying small and are not dropping off your growth curve.

You've made some more of your developmental milestones but are still a bit behind. You're rotating between army crawling and an all out bear crawl. You're able to pull yourself to standing while holding onto furniture, but haven't attempted taking any steps. You'll clap and wave, but you're not saying too many consonants yet. You also don't attempt to hold your own bottle, which would really help me out sometimes.



Your pediatrician recommended First Steps--an early intervention system for infants and toddlers--to come to our house to help out with you a couple times a month. A physical therapist and a speech therapist came last week to evaluate you. They observed that you're lacking most in your gross motor skills and your speech is a bit behind as well. One of their most significant concerns is that your core is lacking the strength to pull yourself up from crawling to sitting position. They instructed me on a few techniques I can help you strengthen your abs.


You're happy, calm, and quite a delight. You love your sister. A few weeks ago Daddy was holding you while he picked Skylie up from nursery at church. When you saw your big sis, you kicked and bounded with delight.

You love food and will shovel anything edible (or inedible for that matter) into your mouth to your hearts content. I gave you a bit of an otter pop the other day. When you realized the treat was gone, you protested!

You also like going swimming and kicking your legs in the water.

Lately you've taken to waking up later in the evening (when you should be sleeping). A few times Dad and I have gotten you out of your crib to hang out with us. On such occasions you give us a cute, sneaky grin as if to say, "I'm a trouble-maker! I'm getting away with something fun."

We love you, Kaitlyn.

Love,
Mom

Kaitlyn's Nine Month Pictures

 

Kaitlyn at 9 1/2 months

Courtesy JCPenney Portrait Studio 

May 18, 2012

Summer Snapshots

This post is long overdue. Details are missing, but pictures are worth a thousand words, right? We're happy and well in Indy spending our weekdays at the gym, the pool, the library, and having play dates with friends. On free weekends we try to check out the best sites and activities Indianapolis has to offer.

Grandparents Visit

My parents came out to visit over Memorial Day weekend, and we had a blast at the Children's Museum, dining out, shopping, spending a day downtown, and taking walks at nearby parks. We all felt sad to see them go. The day they left Sky kept saying, "I wanna pway with Grandma and Grandpa at my house."

Grandma, Skylie, and Matt at the Children's Museum

Erin, Kaitlyn, Grandma, Skylie, and Grandpa at Children's Museum

Matt, Kate, Grandma, and Sky at museum

Kaitlyn and Erin at museum

Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park

After hearing many rave reviews about a nearby state park, we took a Saturday morning to hike, picnic, and play at Fort Ben. Loved it! Matt heard me exclaim at least 10 times, "I love this place! We should come here more often!"

          

PBS Kids in the Parks Day

Sky was wild with anticipation to see Elmo up close in person at the PBS Kids in the Park Day. Some parents (ahem, me) weren't great about planning out the timing of when Elmo (a person dressed in a big Elmo costume) would be at the gig. Lucky for us Sky was appeased by looking at a cardboard picture of the icon while I  talked to her in my best--but still terrible--Elmo impression. We ran into some friends at the park, and with the help of her buddies Sky found the courage to get through the bounce house.

Lillian and Skylie

Jon, Viola, Kaitlyn, and Matt

Neighbors Playing

Kaitlyn

Gracie, Skylie, and Sydney

Non-Camping

The best laid out plans for an overnight camping trip with friends took a downturn when the temperatures plummeted. Our house became a campsite for the evening. Kids played in the tent, we ate hot dogs, and My Master Chief Matt perfected oven baked s'mores which were to die for.

Rachel, Owen, Skylie, Lisa, Allison, Olivia, and Jake