One thing I miss...

.... the silly comments from my Pa. Blogging almost isn't the same knowing there won't be some wise ass comment from him posted at any time. There are times that I try to think of what kind of silliness would come out of his mouth or just his praise and excitement for all things Kinley and Brother Bear.

While it's been a month, it seems like longer. I don't want to be a person that commemorates the day, month or year, I just can't help but think how different things were only a few weeks ago or the various things I have now experienced and learned at 31 years old.

Pa loved to explore the facebook, even though he also hated it. I found this little guide I made him several, several months (maybe even a year) ago. After he got this in his email, there was no stopping his commenting. You are welcome facebook world.

Even though there won't be any more installments of "Crazy stuff my Pa says" I will probably still label things as such, like this post, just to keep it all under one umbrella.

Brother Bear

Here you are at 20 weeks!

My Sweet Little Brother Bear,

I was a second child so I know how it feels to feel like things weren't the same as with the first child. Trust me, I've seen my baby book. While I may not have documented things the same way I did for your sister, do I dare say I have been more excited about you coming along? I think so. I was pressuring your Daddy to look for your bedding, give you a name, even find out if you were a boy or girl sooner than I did with your sister. I feel like I talk to you more and you definitely talk to me more! I am excited to see your sweet little face when you are ready to come into this big old world.

I pray every night about how thankful I am that you are part of our family. That you will grow up to be as sweet and caring as your Dad. He has a lot to teach you to be a gentleman. That you have a caring personality and a love for your family.

I feel like you took over my body sooner than your sister but maybe that is because my body knew what to expect this time. People always say that the second one fits right in quicker so I guess you did what you were supposed to. As of now, I am not so sure you will have any hair. If the heartburn tales are true, we are looking at a sweet little baldy. You have not caused me to have crazy, random, Charlie horse episodes. I think I can count on one hand the number of them that I have had. I'm sure since I talked about it, it will probably all change. (yes, since starting this post the Charlie horses have increased)

Alas, here I sit, 33 weeks pregnant and just now posting pictures of you growing inside of me. I will apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. Your Dad and I were naughty about making sure to take one. BUT, rest assured little guy, you are already so loved. We all still have to excuse the scary-ness of evening pictures too!

Since we were building a new home, as the pictures progress, you will notice your room coming together a little more each week. I will put some of the lack of picture taking on the building a house. :)

17 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

29 weeks

At 30 weeks, we ordered your crib and dresser. We also bought your bedding! In between 30 and 31 weeks is when I told my class that I was having a baby. Silly little kids didn't notice that I was growing at a rapid pace! One student said he thought I had just eaten a lot.The next day, they asked if I still had a baby in there.

31 weeks

32 weeks

33 weeks

And there you have it. Kind of like the house... you see pictures late and we are almost ready for the finished product! It is hard to believe that in seven short weeks Brother Bear will be here!

18 months

How is that a year and a half has gone by since you came into this world?!

You went for your well child check up on Monday, January 20th. You weighed 24.4 pounds, which put you in the 49th percentile, and they measured you at 30.5 inches tall but we measured again as we left and saw that you are closer to 31.25 inches tall. As soon as go behind the door, you seem to remember that is where the shots come from so you break down and they settle for a measurement. Their 30.5 inch measurement puts you in the 18th percentile. You are wearing size 4 diapers, size 4 shoes and a variety of 12 and 18 month clothing.

You are such a busy little girl. You go to 'school' five days a week while Mom and Dad work. Sometimes you are sad in the morning when I leave you and others you just run off to see your little baby friends. You love talking to the babies at school. When I get there to pick you up in the afternoon, you acknowledge me but just keep on playing. Some days I have to drag you out of there mad but are fine once we get out the door. On January 16th, I got a text from Jade saying that you counted to 10! She said you wouldn't do it on command but when they were having group time and counting, they heard a little voice one ahead of their count and watched to see that it was you! I guess reading your 10 Little Monkeys Poke A Dot book has paid off. You are an expert at the little slide inside and have even mastered one of the bigger slides outside.

Handprint Rudolph

Finger print snowmen

Some of the words in your vocabulary include: baby, sis, trash, sock, shoe, no, yes, animoo (animal, which his your wubba nubs), mama, and dada. You like to ask, "where's Dada at?" when you are with Mom and "where's Mama at?" when you are with dad. Another phrase you have mastered is "There's a baby!" or "It'sa baby!"You say this whenever you see babies or when you see your belly or mine. When you say it, it sounds like you have a French accent.

This is Kinley's friend Cameron. I also work with his mom.

You are good about nap and bedtime. Most nights, you talk for a few minutes and then are off to dreamland for the night. Weekend naps are the same way and you nap well at school too. Our typical routine is up at 7 and bed at 8:15-8:30. We can definitely tell when it is getting close to bedtime without even looking at clock. The mornings that you wake yourself up, you will chat with your animals and give us a big grin when we open the door.

You adjusted nicely to our new home. It was almost like you never moved. You like to climb the stairs and have been busted a time or two venturing off on your own. The game room has nothing in it but a chair and some of your toys. You love to run from wall to wall up there. You are a music lover and stop to dance when you hear it. One of your favorites songs is the Alligator Song by Dr. Jean. You picked it up at school and get so excited when you hear it starting. Here is a little alligator chomping at dinner.

Alligator Part 1

Alligator Part 2- CHOMP!

In November, you got your first Power Wheels that your Grandpa O and Pa bought you at a garage sale. You love sitting in and are getting better at putting your foot down to make it go. For Christmas, you got a wagon from Grandma and Grandpa Snow. You love to go for rides it too. You sit in it like you are on a carriage ride. Being that those two things are outside, you love being there no matter what the temperature. Summer better brace itself for Kinley!

Check out my sweet ride!

Kinny Binny,

You never cease to amaze me. Just watching you brings a sparkle to anyone's eyes, no wonder your Pa loved you so much. There are days that you flash that stubborn attitude (that I know you got from me... but I will never admit that to your Dad) and other days that you just love to run by for a hug. I am so very, truly blessed to be your Mommy and love watching you grow into your own little person but you can slow down a bit. 

Mountain Goat

**orignally posted on 12/8/13 but it didn't post**

Here is little Kinley and her latest feat... Climbing onto the end table.

I mean, we didn't stop her because we wanted to see if she would figure it out and she did! Getting down?! That was a different story.

Since this, we have not let her climb onto the table.

PaL

This post was originally started weeks ago but just now being finished.

I’m not naïve. I knew this day would come but hoped it never would. I’ve always known he was a funny, sweet guy but it was further confirmed when people that have known him for 2 days are ready to snag him up and take him home.

He’s my PaL. #1 blog reader and best grandpa a girl could ask for. He always had such funny, silly, crazy things to say. When I tell friends of his shenanigans, they say, “”Oh Pa!”

He loves my Nandy to no end. At 85, he would still move mountains for her. It really is precious. He calls his girlfriend and wants nothing for himself but all for her.

Lately, he loves talking about Kinley, the new house and baby boy. He loves to comment on how sweet Kinley is, how big she getting or how smart he thinks she is. Mainly, he just loves doting on her. It is sweet to see how his eyes light up at new pictures of her or seeing her on Skype. He is definitely “proud as a peacock” as he would say. Even though he never met Brother Bear, he loved asking about him. After asking how we were, and after hearing me say we felt good, he would always ask, “Are you lying to me?”

If he had the chance, he would chat to you about where you were from and where you were going. Don’t tell him something about yourself if you don’t want it repeated to at least 2 family members. I can’t tell you the entire scoop he gave me on his nurses in the last 6 weeks because every time I talked to him he knew something new about them. His silly sense of humor and quick wit had the nursing home staff like putty in his hands.

Today, Christmas day has a new feel to it. While it is a day to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus, I now can’t help but to be sad about losing my PaL. He definitely wouldn’t want us to be sad but it is a natural thing in life. Though I lost him here with me, I know he is still with me. He is so busy catching up with his kids and happy to be with them. He is happy to have a healthy heart, good working kidneys and no breathing treatments. Heck, he is probably running laps just because he can without getting tired or short of breath.

Though it has been trying, I feel so blessed to have been able to spend the last 6 weeks with him. Since moving him and Nandy closer, I have gotten to see them and take Kinley to see them almost every day. If Kinley were older, she would have a fat head because of all the sweet things he said to her. I hope I can convey to her how much he loved her. 

one of my favorite pictures
funny guy, even at 8 pounds, he was so timid to hold her but once he got her hands on her,
the humming and songs never stopped!

Before our house was actually complete, we had brought my grandparents to visit. Pa really wanted to check out the upstairs but decided he may not be able to make the stairs. Later, he said, "Next time, I am dragging my fat ass up those stairs to see the view off the balcony. I don't care if I have to roll back down." Needless to say because of weather, he was never able to visit again but now he has the ultimate view off of our balcony. 

My dear PaL,

You are loved by so many.... Family that is privileged to call you Pa,  friends that you met along the your 85 year journey of life, friends of family that heard great stories about you, and even the various people that cared for you and Nandy the last 6 weeks. You loved your girlfriend with all your heart and more. She knows you did everything for her. The love you showed Nandy was absolutely unconditional. I pray that everyone sees that kind of love in their relationship. You had a way with words.... sometimes so witty and funny, others so blunt and honest but always humorous.  Though your life wasn't the simplest walk, you enjoyed it. Your love to learn new things was endearing. After school, you would always ask, "Did you learn something new today?" If the answer was no, you'd ask, "Well, what the hell did you go for then?!?" I hope to learn, and teach, something new everyday to make it worth while, just like you. 

Take joy in being with your kids again! You will be greatly missed! Enjoy the view!

Love,

Your Pal

Snowflake Part 2

Once we knew we were pregnant (and sharing the news with others), we wanted to give this little baby a nickname.

Do we call it Snowflake? I mean, this was used for Kinley so it may not seem as special to the second baby.

A Snowbunny? This would be cute because newborn pictures could have a little bunny hat since Kinley had a hat with snowflakes on it but it sounds kind of girly, what if it's a boy?

A Snowball? This could also be cute but only fitting if it is a boy because, well you know, girls don't have balls.

Wednesday, October 9^th, we found out if this baby would be a boy or a girl. As our ultra dry sonogram lady is looking around and snapping her pictures she tells us that Baby’s legs are closed up, which isn’t too surprising because Kinley played hard to get too. She continues to take her measurements that the doctor needs when she stops, makes and circle and says, “Those would be testicles and that’s a penis. You’re having a boy.”

Woohoo! We're breaking the mold with our group of friends that tend to have two of the same baby. My only concern is that Hubby is used to saying things about his "girls" so that phrase I will have to change. He also commented about all the 'cool' things the new house has that will be a temptation to a little boy, such as stairs, a laundry chute, a deck. He asked if it was too late to cancel those. However, Miss Kinley can be quite the spit fire and may enjoy those things as much... If not more than.. A little boy.

I will say, as I took a peek at bedding options, I became discouraged. I don't want monkeys, jungle or sports and those are the main selection choices. :( Maybe I should quit my day job and design some more exciting baby boy nursery decor. There isn't anything really wrong with those designs but they aren't very colorful and I feel like I see that anytime there is a boy.

Next to come... growing baby pictures!

Party time!

Now that I am able to post pictures (cross your fingers that it keeps working) I can post some from Kinley's first birthday. It was a lovely day with family and friends celebrating our little Snowflake. We truly are blessed to have so many people that love our little girl.

Of course she had the driveway chalked for her birthday!

Mmmm! Cake!
She wasn't totally sure about it but by the time it was cake time, she was hungry, overly tired and nervous about all the people that were there to celebrate her.

Aunt Priscilla, Uncle Ryan, and Grandma and Grandpa Snow with the birthday girl

Aunt Suzan and Grandpa O with the birthday girl

Pa and Nandy even made the trip to celebrate!

This was just a little snippet of the busy day that was had by all. Presents were opened. Hotdogs, chips, and cupcakes were eaten by all. Other than the hundred degree weather, we couldn't have asked for a better day to celebrate.

It's hard to believe that our little girl is already one!