Three Years

Oh Kinley Binley, where has the time gone?

Three years ago, you stole the hearts of many. You were loved more than you could imagine before you were born. Yet you are loved even more today.

you have to look closely but that third finger is up!
we practiced!

You have such a fun, sassy and determined personality. You are smart. {at 16 months, your Pa always told me that you were smart but I thought he was just being a doting great grandpa. Turns out that he knew what he was talking about. He would be proud as a peacock to see you now.} You recognize all 26 letters and can tell the sound they make too. You can count to 20 without skipping a beat. You like coloring, cutting, gluing and crafting. You love puzzles and figure them out quickly. You are a pro at 24 piece puzzles.

You are a kind and caring big sister, most of the time. You love to take of your brother. If he is crying you will run over, pat his back and tell him, "It's okay, Bubba." In the car, you will sing Jesus Loves Wyatt or the song Miss Rachie sings at school, "Wyyyatt, Wyyyatt, Wyatt in the morning, Wyatt in the noon time..." If you are out of bed before him, you run over, push his door open and switch on the light saying, "Good morning, Sushine!!" Then you will sing him one of our morning songs. You will bring him milk, share your snack and try to hold (a little too tight most of the time) him in your lap. At Sam's, you will try to tell the door person that you want two smiley faces on the back of the receipt... one for you and one for Wyatt. You also like to boss your brother around. If he is crying, you have been known to say, "Shhhh! Too loud! I donwanna hear it, Brother." or push him out of your way. At the end of the day though, you are a little lover with him.

You love your Daddy the most. You love to wait for him to come home. You like to make a "bench seat" with him at the dinner table. You love to have him rock you at bed time. When I wake you in the summer, the first words out of your mouth are, "Where's Daddy?". Shortly after that you ask to call him at work. You like to go outside and wave bye to him from the porch but then dart to the backyard windows as soon as he drives away so you can watch for him to drive by. Your love for him is so sweet but not as sweet as the love he has for you.

You are always on the go. You love swinging and going higher and faster. You love jumping--- off the stairs, off the porch, off the coffee table, off the couch. You name it, you'd probably jump off of it. You will push a kitchen table chair anywhere to help you reach something. You love to "be your good helper". You know where things go and will tell someone if it isn't right. You like to be in the pantry. You will drag your brother in there and play with the packages of fruit snacks while trying to open the chips, Cheez-Its, etc.

we rescued this baby bird from the jaws of Tobie and safely put it in the flowerbed

You prefer riding in Gussy (Dad's truck) over Fancy (Mom's car) but if we let you choose... you would probably pick Sherbie (Dad's 55 Chevy). You like cruising the driveway in your pink and purple jeep. You like to ride your Minnie Mouse bike "down Gerald's street" but haven't quite figured out the brakes. You love to explore, pick up bugs and frogs, and help with anything. You love seeing big equipment... cement mixers, buses, semi trucks, dump trucks and helicopters just to name a few.

Some funny stuff that you say--
*Chicken-Flavit for Chick-Fil-A
*O Kahuna's House for Hideaway Pizza
*Buffalo Wil' Mingo for Buffalo Wild Wings
   (those of you close by can probably tell that we frequent Tulsa Hills.... a lot)

*MissCalisters for McAlisters

*granolin or just olin bars for granola bars
*Will you roll my window out? - when you want your window in the car rolled down
*pony doggy taily- is a regular pony tail
*doggy- in regards to your hair, is when the pony is on the top side of your head
*diaper tail- the diaper pail
*thlee- is the number three
*smoke-atector- the smoke detector which you have paid a lot of attention to lately so we talk about what it does and what we do if it goes off. We even made it go off so you could hear what it sounds like.
*I ahmost waited too yong!- this is said when you think that you almost waited too long to go potty. If I try to correct you, you enunciate the Y even more. In all other cases, you pronounce your Ls.
*For thine is the kingdom, the power and the girly forever. Amen -at night when you say your Lord's Prayer

Your three year well child check up was on July 10th. You weighed in at 32.6 pounds and are 37.4 inches tall. You are pretty well potty trained during your waking hours. Occasionally, you will have an accident right at the potty. Your size five diapers suit you well for over night and napping. You wear mostly 2t clothes. 3t also fits you and gives room to grow. You have started wanting to pick out some of your own clothes or at least say if you want to wear a dress or not. You wear a size 7 in shoes but still love to wear some that are bigger since you can get them off and on easier. Your favorite food is macaroni and cheese. Currently, your favorite color is purple and your favorite animal is a cow.

On July 11th, we had a Kinley and the Purple Crayon party. Friends and family came over to play in the water, eat snacks, bust a pinata and open presents. Your cupcakes were homemade and you got to do the purple scribble icing on top.

My Sweet Little Snowflake,
It is hard to believe three years have gone by. You make being a mommy so fun, even when you test the limits. As parents, I hope we can teach you to be honest, compassionate and strong (strong willed, strong with your family and friends, strong in your faith).  As you grow, I hope you know and remember that you are a beautiful and smart girl that can do anything you put your mind to.

I'll love you forever,
Mommy

Chalk It Up

In 1993, my Pa started a tradition in me. Chalking. It truly started with painting a banner for my Mom's 40th birthday...

excuse all the blank space and that mop in the background. Oh, wait! That's my hair!!
Sheeesh! I should have listened to my Mama and got that hair out of my face!
And those bangs!

Then for years and years and years after that I did chalking for various occasions. Birthday? Chalk it. Anniversary? Chalk it. Good luck? Chalk it. Homecoming in college? Chalk it. Coming home after a heart surgery? Chalk it. The more chalk on the driveway, the better it was. The less the person suspected it, also, the better.

Have I been busted by Pa chalking his driveway? Yes. Were there times that I totally surprised him. Absolutely. {he couldn't believe I snuck onto the back patio late at night and chalked it up without waking the dog.} There were times I had my brother along as an accomplice. It was family thing. You could also normally bet on it raining that day too. 

Today is a day I would normally have the chalk out. I miss him more everyday but know that he is always with me. Happy birthday, PaL!

Roller Coaster- part 2

This post was started months and months and months ago. It is a post about a day I don't want to relive, yet I don't want to forget it.

The original plan was pick them up Christmas morning and take them out to our house for a few hours so they could see Kinley open presents and spend time with family. Since Pa had been feeling under the weather that obviously wasn't going to be the plan anymore. After church on Christmas Eve, we took Miss Kinley by to see Nandy and Pa. She looked too cute all dolled up not to make a visit and we usually spend Christmas Eve celebrating with them. Pa was excited to see her. He did his typical doting over her and quizzing me about "Junior" as he calls Brother Bear. He seemed tired but was also taking pain meds to help with his pain. The nurses and staff did not seem concerned about how he was doing especially since he had recently had 7 liters of fluid drained from his belly.

We visited a bit and then headed home. Since we are moved into the new place, we had my dad and the in-laws over to our house for Christmas. It was nice not having to travel... I could get used to that! There is just something you know about getting a phone call early in the morning. When I rolled over at 6 a.m. and saw it was the nursing home, I knew something wasn't right. The nurse said they went in to do their regular morning routine and Pa just wasn't very responsive. When I asked about Nandy, they told me that she just reached out from her bed to grab a hold of one of their hands as if she knew something wasn't right. 

I got out of bed and put some clothes on then went upstairs to wake my dad and tell my in-laws we would be venturing out so they could listen for Kinley to wake. Hubby went but insisted on coming home sooner so he would be home when Kinley woke up. I spoke with the hospice nurse, who did not know if he would make it through the day. I spent some time calling my aunt, who then called my cousins. I'm not sure what time they got on the road but they were visiting by one-ish. I also tried to get a hold of my Brother, who come to find out had left the country.

My Dad and I stayed for a while then came home to shower and do Christmas. I felt bad leaving but also knew that Pa would want Kinley to have her Christmas time. After presents and showers, Dad and I went back to visit. When we walked in, Aunt Violet (Pa's sister) and her daughter were there along with my cousin and her daughter. We all stayed and chatted for a while but then it became time to eat again. My in-laws had brought over a lasagna so I invited my cousins out to eat it. I felt compelled to see if Nandy wanted to go with us but also didn't want it to seem like I was abandoning my Pa. The girls at the nursing home thought it would be nice for Nandy to get out. We all talked to Pa before we left. I told him that we were going to take Nandy out to eat so he could rest.

We weren't gone 30 minutes when the nurse called to say he had passed. He has always been one to want to do things on his own and this was no different. He didn't want his girlfriend or family there so he waited. Secretly, I think he was probably thinking, "I wish you guys would get the hell out of here! I've got things to do and people to catch up with!"

And now, I have the job of returning to the kitchen table and telling Nandy. How the heck do you tell your grandma that?! How will she respond? What about the other family siting there? This is a terrible gig. Who signed me up for this? 

Bless dementia's heart. I see it as a blessing and a curse. It is far enough progressed for Nandy that when I told her that Pa had passed away, she just looked at me, surprised and a little concerned, and said, "What? What happened?" I told her that his body was tired and now he was no longer sick or in pain and that when she was ready we would go back to the nursing home. And that was her response so a few minutes later, we all (me, my dad, and cousins) loaded back into our cars and went back.

I love my Pa dearly but I am not a fan of seeing people that have passed away, yet, I would have sat with my Nandy if she had wanted me to. Instead, we sat in the lobby. Shortly after, my aunt, uncle and other cousin arrived. It's such a crap feeling knowing that the funniest, wittiest and most loving guy that tied your whole family together is no longer with you on Earth. We chatted and waited for the funeral home's transport to come pick up Pa.

6 short weeks earlier, I sat in the same parking lot crying that I was leaving both of my grandparents in a nursing home. Now I sit crying that I am leaving my Nandy there without Pa. I am very thankful that my dad is so caring and was willing to stay with Nandy for several days and nights. I just didn't want Nandy to be alone. I was going to stay with them but he insisted I take my pregnant self home. {I must say that he felt very comfortable there. He would meet me the front door in his socks. I asked one of the nurses if he could move in and be a live in visitor to all the sweet old people.}

As I said before, a day I don't want to relive but one I don't want to forget.

12 Months for Brother Bear

YIKES! It's already been a year! How can that happen?

Your one year check up was on March 20th. {Even when I called to schedule the appointment, the gal said, "How can it already be a year? It seems like you just brought him in yesterday as a baby." Believe me, Lisa, I know. It has gone so fast!} You weighed 19.4 pounds and are in the 10th%ile and were 28.5 inches tall putting you in the 5-10%ile. Your head was18 cm. On March 5th, I sat you on the scale at home and it said 20 pounds!
*percentiles were done on a child growth calculator at home so they may not be totally accurate but you are in the 100th%ile for cuteness!

You are wearing size three diapers, size two shoes and your clothes ranges from 6-12 months. We recently bought you some 12 month jammies that you just look too big in! Most of your

You are still a great sleeper! Some nights you wake yourself and most times put yourself back to sleep. There are times that you wake up mad because you have thrown your animals out of your bed. You seem to like having those little guys to snuggle.

This last month of your 'baby year' you worked hard at getting two teeth at once, one on either side of your top front teeth. Though those last two aren't fully in yet, it puts your tooth count up to six. While working on those bad boys, you kind of regressed on eating big people food. You are finicky on when you eat it but sure enjoy that baby food that you don't have to work at mashing up on your gums. We recently discovered how much you like broccoli. You will eat quite a few pieces in one setting.

You aren't much of a snuggler unless you are sleepy but even then you still fight the snuggles. You love to be all in your sister's business and she is not a fan of that. You have been clapping when someone says 'yay' or when you see other people clapping, like at church. When you really want something, you stare it down saying, "uh, uh, uh.". Sometimes you will sign milk when you see your cup, other times we get the "uh" and stare. This month you have also started waving at people or when you hear us say bye bye.

On your actual birthday, Kinley, Mommy and Daddy woke you up with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. Daddy took off to spend the day with you so you didn't have to get dressed right away. He didn't tell me much about your "Boys Day" but I'm sure it consisted of lots of manly things as well as coming to have lunch with Mom at school and picking your sister up. Grandpa O came over to hang with you as well. We all did our regular Friday night at Chick-Fil-A and then took a trip to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies for your party.

We celebrated your birthday on March 14th. Family and friends came over to celebrate you at 10:30 on a lovely Saturday morning. We went with a transportation theme to match your bedroom. 

homemade cupcakes to serve our guests
the little construction scene, complete with chocolate rocks, just tied the cupcake display together!

grape and apple cars and blueberry and orange cars
we also served sweet and unsweet "motor oil" and green "anti-freeze" to drink
thanks to pinterest for giving everyday drinks suck a catchy transportation name!

You were ready to do cake until you stuck your cute little hand in the flame of the candle. I think you did, Dad thinks you just got scared when people were shouting about your finger. 

Either way, you were not really having any it after that so we moved on to presents. It looks like there is a boy in the house now.... trucks, robot stacking blocks, a push mower,books and books about trucks, a wheel barrow, cars, gears, did I mention cars and trucks? Your favorite present was a giant bottle of bubbles and we didn't even have to blow the bubbles. You loved watching the bubble juice swish around and knocking it over.

Since you didn't do cake at your party, we tried again before bed time. Knowing how you like to play in your food at the dinner table I thought you would destroy it but you surprised me. You played a little in it and then were finished. Kinley loved "helping" you by tasting the frosting and trying to feed it to you.

I still can't believe that you are one! You will always be my sweet baby, Brother Bear!!!

Here's to 9 Years

Before we found out if two Snowflakes were alike....

Before there was a little Snowflake in July....

Before there was a sweet, little, white pup to love....

There were two teenagers that met briefly in junior high and then crossed paths again in high school. Unknowing at the time, December 4th was a date that changed my life.

winter formal 1998

lunch date on a school day in the park

high school graduation

What babies we were, right?! 

What started with a basket of stolen suckers from Grandy's and a first date to our High School basketball game has turned into a life full of happiness, love and laughter. You can tell he is a true romantic at heart... stolen basket of suckers and a basketball game. It's a good thing I was so young and naive to fall for such a romantic, trouble maker. :)

Even today, I say, "Would you have believed you would have ___ (married/traveled to cool places/had 2 babies with/made a great life with)" you high school sweet heart?"

 This time, when I said yes, I knew I was in for something good. I had no idea how good March 18, 2006 would change my life. It's hard to believe it has been 9 years of wedded bliss! It seems like yesterday that I married my friend; the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, Love. 

You make every day better! You make my world a better place!

Thanks for loving me a little more each day! There is no one I would rather do life with!

I love you!

One Year for Brother Bear

I can't believe my little Brother Bear is already one!

Sweet Wyatt,
It seems like yesterday you were just a sweet little baby in my arms. Now you are an always on the go little boy!

I remember being a little nervous for you joining our family just because I didn't know how we would all react. But you just made yourself at home and it feels like you have always been part of our family! There was definitely plenty of love for you all around.

Your sister took a few days to warm up to you but has not stopped loving you since then. She may even love you a little too much for your likings some time. I pray that you two have a caring relationship. Where you have each other's backs no matter what. Where you are each others best friend. This is one of the greatest things I wish for you. You are off to a great start because she loves you pretty hard. She loves to take care of you and always checks on you, whether you are at school together or in different rooms at church.

You are a lucky fella to have your Daddy to show you the way. He loves to hang with you and have "boy time". As you grow up, he will be a great example of what kind of guy you should grow up to be. Some qualities I hope you learn from him are his work ethic, how to treat other people, his laid back personality, his love to be outside, and his passion to be with his babies. If you only learn a little bit of each of those, you will turn into a fine young man. (but don't go doing that too fast, you hear me?) Your Great Grandma O once told me that he was handier than a pocket on a shirt and I believe it.

I hope that you find a passion in life and go for it. Don't settle for anything less than the best. Stand up for what you think is the right thing. Be assertive without being aggressive. Try to learn something new every day. Follow through with your words. Be kind with your words. Be thoughtful in all you do.

You are my wild little boy. By wild, I mean that you seem to already have your way of doing things. I can't wait to see what the world has in store for you!

You are all because two people fell in love.

I'll always be here,

Love,

Mom

11 months

Well Brother, another month has flown by! It is still hard to believe that you are going to be one in just a short month!

Your favorite game is to see just how fast you can take a shoe and sock off after it is put on. You play this game at home, in the car and at school. You also like to see how fast you can alligator roll on the changing pad {which you're pretty fast!}. Another favorite is swatting at the spoon while eating. When you are successful, it knocks food right out of the spoon.

You love food! You start and end your days with a big ol' bottle of Mommy Milk. At school, you have another bottle in the middle of the day but on the weekends, you tend to just have food. On Sundays after church, we have been frequenting McAlister's. We have started getting you the kids macaroni and applesauce. Some days you have been known to eat more than your sister does! When eating baby food, if a drop falls onto the tray, you love to slap your hand into it and smear it around.

You are still wearing size 3 diapers, much to my disliking, we are venturing in to 12 month clothing (where is my baby going?!?) and you are finally wearing your cute little size 2 Converse shoes since your foot is a little bigger making it harder to take it right off.

You are always busy and on the move! Whether you grab the walker, are trying to 'help' your sister play or trying to get a handful of dog food or Tobie's hair, you are always going. And you are fast!

You are a good little nighttime sleeper. Some days your nap cycle is questionable but 95% of the time you are good napper too. You are still having a morning and afternoon nap. Guess all that playing just wears you out.

Wyatt Bear, you are so precious! Your eyes light up when you see Kinley, Mommy, or Daddy walk into the room. Tobie even gets a little sparkle from you! Shortly after that sparkle comes the adorable smile that just melts my heart. I can't believe you are almost one!

You are all because two people fell in love,
Love,
Mommy

Friendship Company

When I was little, I was a member of the Sandi Patti Friendship Company. I'm sure we paid a small fee to join but the main part of it was receiving a pen pal. My pen pal was from Newfoundland, Canada. I don't remember how many years we wrote back and forth or how many letters were involved. Tabitha and I sent packages. There was the occasional phone call (since back then it was a big deal to call long distance let alone to another country). She was there when my mom was sick and even passed away. As we got older, we lost touch but she would always cross my mind.

Fast forward to 2007, when a gal from church sent me a facebook message asking if I knew a Tabitha. She said she had randomly been messaged asking if Liz knew me. I told her yes and then we were back in touch... only in a whole new light. Our messages were sent (and could be received) right away. We spent a few days catching up on life and now can use facebook to stay in touch. Sharing details of your life probably couldn't get any easier. Technology is so amazing!

All of that background story to get to a picture Tabitha shared with me the other day...

A couple things that I thought about when I saw this picture...

**we used to use a typewriter to type letters. if you were one of the lucky, your typewriter had whiteout, otherwise you crossed it out or started over.

**"vcr tape"? we used to have to share things via recorded messages. no skype. no facetime. no facebook. also, i didn't know too many families with a video recorder. i think that goes in to the "lucky" category.

Most importantly what set with me was a reminder of how much faith my Mom had. This letter was written six months before she passed away so she knew her time on Earth was not forever but she still felt inclined to tell my pen pal, who none of us had ever actually met, how thankful she was for the thoughts and prayers. 

I love the sweet reminder, I just wish I could have a little bit of that unquestionable faith.

{enter metal note to work on...}

Friday Night Tradition

What started out as convenience before doing Christmas shopping or running errands has turned into our Friday night thing to do.

On Friday nights, you can find us going to Chick-fil-A for dinner and then running errands if necessary. A sweet lady that works there had taken a strong liking to Wyatt and Kinley. Gelyn is from Nicaragua and loves to talk in Spanish to the kids.  She has taught Kinley adios and says she wants to teach them a new word each time. She also always makes sure the kids get a balloon, even if there aren't any blown up she will go get some especially for them. On one occasion, she got them balloons and then had other kids wanted one too so there she found herself blowing up more.

Anyways, on with the tradition. We have started sending our balloons to heaven to our Pa (instead of letting them float around the house tormenting Tobie). I decided to do it one evening and since doing it, Kinley has asked about sending our balloons to Pa.

it's not the greatest picture but it captures a sweet moment

Tonight’s conversation was about sending them to him and asking other questions, like “Can I play with Pa?”

“Is Pa on the roof?” to which Hubby answered, “He’s higher than the roof and in a better place than the roof.”

Or “Is Pa napping?” and the answer to that was, “No, he’s watching over you. He’ll probably wait until you go to sleep before he naps. He won’t want to miss any of the fun stuff you do.”

And then that sweet little thing says, “Is Pa in heaven? Can we see him?” {insert dagger to the heart.} Hubby was so sweet in answering her as I sat with tears in my eyes on the ride home, “Someday we’ll all see him.” As I've said before, I wish heaven had visiting hours.

10 months

Crazy what a little natural light will do for a picture!

Oh my goodness, Buddy! It's hard to believe you are 10 months old! Where is the time going?!

You are on the move everywhere you go. If you can grab it, you pull up on it. You've started taking the walker for little cruises on your own. Your sister will get her stroller and try to coax you to follow her but gets impatient waiting for your little legs to try and catch up. You are such a mover that it is hard to snap a picture of you on anything other than the camera. You are too fast for the phone camera! You like to crawl as fast as you can to Tobie's dog dish and act so sad and pitiful when we tell you that you cannot play in the water or eat the dog food. You love to open drawers but tend to squish your fingers in it.

You love to play with blocks... mainly knocking them over. We can hardly get a tower built before you knock it down. You like jumping in the exer-saucer and will do it for a good while before slowing down.

You are still in size 3 diapers, 9 month clothing (with the occasional 12 month slipped in there), and size 2 shoes. One of your favorite games is to take your socks off before we can even get your shoes on. Out of curiosity and in hopes of staying away from the flu bug going around, I have given the essential oil, Thieves, a try. You give me a big grin when I put it on your feet in the morning and at night. I don't know if that means you like it or you just like the little foot massage. Either way, I'll take that adorable little smile! Speaking of that smile, you have started twisting your tongue sometimes when you smile at us. You also have a tendency to grind your four little teeth together.

You are still a great sleeper, usually going to bed around 8:30 after having a good 9 oz. bottle of Mommy milk. Occasionally, you will wake up at night but usually put yourself back to sleep after finding one of your animals. You seem a more attached to having an animal with you at all times than your sister was.

We have had several nice weather days in January. When outside, you love to swing and ride in your blue truck. You like to be on the ground too but you like to put grass, rocks, leaves, wood chips, anything really, into your mouth so I try to give you something else to do.

Your sister loves you to pieces. You don't stand a chance when it comes to doing things on your own. She is always up in your business trying to tell you how to do it or don't do it (No sir, Wyatt! Nooo sir!). She makes you laugh and smile more than anyone. I pray that you two always have a loving relationship and can always count on each other for anything. I pray that you guys will always have each others back in whatever you face in life. Always be her best friend, buddy. Always.

Your sweet smile, dimples and blue eyes get me every time, Brother Bear.
I love you to pieces!

You are all because two people fell in love, 
Love, 
Mommy

7, 8 and 9 months

This started as a 7 month post but as the days just fell off of the calendar... it is ending up a post about 3 different months. Mom fail.

On Monday, October 6th, my sweet little guy turned 7 months old. As Brother gets older, the time time seems to go by faster.

On the first, you bumped up to wearing a size three diaper. This also means we are getting to the last of the diaper shower diapers. Thanks to my school friends, we didn't have to buy too many diapers since you were born. 7 months is a long time! In other clothes, you are wearing six month shirts and pants that range from 3-6 months. Pants have always seemed so big for the size the tag says, like when you are comfortably wearing newborn pants at three months old.

In the food department, you have tried all of your vegetables. You prefer the green ones but after lots of coaxing, you will eat the orange ones. You love to gobble up your cereal! You will even grab the spoon and help put it in your mouth. 

Sleep wise you do pretty good. You sleep best after a bowl of cereal and bottle of milk. If we skip on the cereal, you tend to wake up around 3 am.

During Fall Break, you had your first dose of your flu shot. You and Kinley did pretty well. {we returned over Thanksgiving break for the second half.. you took it like a champ! Nurse Kelly started to say "really?!" like "really? he isn't going to cry?" but then you let out a little peep and that was all. Kinley stood to the side telling you "It's okay Wyatt Boy."} At this appointment, I stuck you on the scale on the way out. 7.6 kg= 16.75 pounds!

On November 1st, just shy of 8 months old, I spent my first night away from you. I ventured off to Austin with Tiffany, Courtney and Flat Erin to attend Missy's wedding. The girls and I had a lovely time and you and Kinley seemed to survive the night with Dad. :) After I returned, I learned that you had fallen out of the glider and Kinley toppled over with a bar stool. See if I leave you guys again!

Look at those two teeth!

Dad has started putting you in 9 month clothes, mainly jammies, and I am none too happy about it. It just means that my little guy is growing up and I just would like to keep you small forever! You are still in size three diapers.

You eat any baby food that we give you. Rice cereal seems to be your favorite though. You also ventured in to a few soft big people foods. Like the time I found out Dad was sneaking you macaroni while I was out for bunco or girl's night. :) You also tried some Thanksgiving food with me.

When you left your teachers before Thanksgiving break you were a sitter. When you returned after a week at home, you were a mover! Your crawl isn't typical. You move all hands and feet but instead of crawling on both of your knees, you crawl on one and then use your other foot to push off with.

December was a busy month! We had places to go and people to meet... mainly Santa. To say you were not a fan is an understatement.

December 6th you were 9 months old... where is the time going?!?!

Your 9 month check up was on the 22nd of December. You weighed in at 17 pounds and were 27 inches tall (according to the doctor's office but Dad thinks you are taller than that). Dr. M. said that based on the typical kid your age, you are small but she still thinks you look good and are growing nicely. Your sister was small too so she isn't worried about you. You lucked out and didn't have to get any shots either!

You are still wearing size three diapers and your clothes range from 6 months to 12 months (which I really don't like the sound of). Over the Christmas break, you have been eating food more often (and by food I mean baby food) and having a bottle in the morning and a big 9 oz bottle at night. You are a super sleeper, only waking occasionally when you miss me at night. You nap twice a day and some days need a quick early evening power nap.

Your ongoing trick is your alligator roll. You tend to just toss your whole self into a roll and that is why we call it the alligator roll. We can be holding you, you can be laying on the floor or on your changing pad (which is the second most dangerous to being held).

For your first Christmas, Santa brought you a car hauler but you loved the puffs in your stocking the best. You spent the day at home with us, Nandy, Grandpa O and Grandma and Grandpa Snow. Opening presents did not prove to be very exciting to you until we opened up the puffs to eat. We had lunch with our family and then young and old took naps all over the house.

You worked hard and your two front teeth poked through for Christmas.... only 3 and 4 days late. They seem to make you a little fussy but nothing we can't handle with a little Tylenol and an animal. You experienced your first snow on the 27th. It was also late for Christmas.

When you return back to your teachers after Christmas break, you will be a puller-upper! I was getting ready on the 29th, I literally turned around for a second and then back to see you had pulled yourself up on the tub and turned the water on!

these were a gift from our friend Heidi
(thanks, Robin!)

My sweet Brother Bear time is going too fast! You light up a room with your blue eyes and then charm the pants off of it with your smile. I can't wait to see what you do in the world. 

Always remember that you are all because two people fell in love,
Love,
Mommy


{whew. just in time to start the 10 month update!}

Another Day, Another Memory

In preparation for a new phone, I spent some time trying to make sure a few of the videos on my phone were saved elsewhere. I'm not one to commemorate 'deathaversaries' but after 373 days, there still isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of my Pa. It is heart breaking when Kinley says, "I want to see Pa." but I want to make sure there is always a place that she can hear his sweet voice singing silly songs to her.

I've said it before but I could say it a million times (and I just might, it's my blog) but Pa thought Kinley was so smart. At 17 months old, he could see it. If he could see her in person now, she would blow his mind! And little Wyatt, he would absolutely love your sweet smile and blue eyes.

Today would also be my Grandma's 94th birthday. She was a sassy gal that would have enjoyed Kinley's spunk and Wyatt's smile and blue eyes. She was known to comment on how handsome men were, mainly her crush Bill Clinton (back in his Presidential days) and Elvis. 

There is such irony to getting old. Obviously, you want to see your kids grow up and do stuff but then there is the ineveitable. What makes little old people with their great grandkids seem so precious? Why can't we be like the Bible times people and live until we are 150? When you think about it, is any amount ever enough time with your family? 

To end on a high note.....
May this sweet thing, in all her high pitch singing glory, bring a smile to your heart, especially when Jesus loves Mommy, Daddy, Wyatt and Tobie too!

And this cutie reminds us to laugh at the silly things, especially our sister!