Daddy's Little Valentine

We were able to get outside for a bit today before Teirney's parents left town.  Kaydence celebrated her *first* Valentine's Day lovin' on her daddy.  I love these!

Snow Angel

We got a ton of snow the last couple days, so I figured it was about time I take Kaydence out to play in the snow for the *first* time today.  And by "play," I mean lie there motionless.  She was literally unable to move (or even sit up) because of her puffy snowsuit -- it was hilarious!  We didn't stay out very long, but maybe we'll get another chance to go out this weekend.

11 months

Kaydence turned 11 months today (2/7)!  I can hardly believe it!  I know I say that every month, but it really is true.

It seems like she is doing something new every day now.  Yesterday she started climbing the stairs for the first time and today she started trying to climb onto her wheely bug all by herself.  She is also talking a ton!

Here are the following words she can say (and when I say "words," I mean  they are probably more like sounds because she is starting to repeat words after us):

Mama
Dada
Hi
Dog
Giraffe
All Done
Bird

Hmmm...I think there are more.  I may have to add to that list later when I think of them, just so I have this as a documentation. ;-)  We also think she tried to say Grandmom and Grandad this weekend, but who knows for sure.  She also makes the "this" (sounds like "dis") sound when she points to something, but we're not really sure where she would have picked that up. 

She has been eating so much better (knock on wood).  I think I can officially say she is done with purees.  She will still eat pureed fruit from time to time, but we've gone a week now with just giving her table food and she has really enjoyed it -- she refuses the purees for the most part.  My only concern is that I'm not sure she is getting enough veggies because she usually avoids eating them when we put them on her tray.  But I guess she did eat some carrots tonight.

Kaydence is walking really well now...she rarely crawls.  I think my life just got busier now that she is climbing things.  Yikes...that scares me a little. 

Well, it's late, so I will try and post another update later this week.

Until then, here is my 11 month old.  ::sniff, sniff::  Not the greatest photos.  I have the hardest time taking her picky sticky photo now since she does.not sit still.  These were the only ones (out of *many*) that were just okay.  Even Grandmom and Grandad couldn't keep her attention long enough for me to get a shot in focus.  ::sigh:: Oh well, what am I going to do?  Gotta love her. ;-)

  

Spaghetti Face

Kaydence *loves* spaghetti!  I made Pasta al Cavolfiore (a favorite of ours) for dinner last night and I was thrilled that she gobbled it up last night and today for leftovers.  I also gave her the Safe Sippy for the first time today using the straw attachment and she did great with it.  So I guess she can officially drink from a straw now.  What a big girl I have! 

Here are some pictures from today.

New Accomplishments

Kaydence is beginning to show her age in more ways than one.  I'm a basket of emotions when I think about all the fun new things she is doing...it is bitter sweet.  My baby is growing up! 

Confession:  I was that mom who vowed she would not allow her child to watch tv until the age of 2, as recommended by the AAP.  Well, I've officially failed.  Explaination:  I always wanted to teach Kaydence sign language to be able to communicate with us before she could talk.  When she was 6 1/2 months old, I was searching youtube for signs, but then remembered a friend telling me about the "Baby Signing Time" dvds.  I picked one up from the library and Kaydence was instantly hooked.  Not to mention, her mama had fun learning the signs and singing the songs with her.  Her favorite song on the first dvd is the "Diaper Dance" -- she gets a huge smile on her face and dances all around...it's so cute.  She has volumes 1 and 2 and she has worn.them.out...she loves them!  I failed I tell you, I failed!!!  ::sigh::  More confessions:  She watched Seasame Street for the first time today while I got ready.  Yep, no tv until 2 is officially out the window. 

All that to say, since Kaydence was 7 months old, we've been working on teaching her sign language (and using the Baby Signing Time dvds as a tool) and she is starting to catch on.  She has been signing "dog," "more," and "all done" for a couple months now.  Well, yesterday and today she did two new signs, "signing" and "milk."  Yesterday, I was singing/signing the theme song to Baby Signing Time and she did the sign for "signing" -- it was so cute!  Then today, I usually nurse her after her nap and when I got her up from her nap today, she was doing the sign for milk.  I was sooo excited!  My baby is growing up!  We're trying to work on "water," "eat," "please," and "thank you" right now.  She has done the sign for thank you already, but I don't think she knows what it means yet.  It's so exciting seeing her learning how to communicate with us.

On that note, she is also communicating in another way.  Temper tantrums.  They aren't bad yet, but they are starting.  Whenever we take something away that she shouldn't have, or if we tell her not to touch something, she gets very dramatic and starts to cry crocodile tears and stiffens her entire body and sometimes she'll just crumble to the ground.  I think we're going to have some challenges ahead of us. 

I'm sure there are some other fun things she has been doing lately that I'm missing, but it's late and I need to go to bed.  So I leave you with a video I took today.  It's not a great video, but it's something.  I was hoping she would show everyone how she signs "Baby Signing Time" but of course she didn't...mama had the camera. ;-)  I'll try to get it on video soon.  Another thing she has been doing more of is talking.  She does it a little in the video.

Oh, almost forgot, she is walking around really well now (which you'll see in the video) and she is also talking a lot more. She actually said "shoe" today. :-)

More Birthday Fun

As hard as it may be to believe, there is a certain someone's birthday quickly approaching.  It hasn't really hit me yet, but it's truly hard to believe Kaydence will be turning 1 in a little over a month.  Where does the time go? 

In preparation for her birthday party, I've started a little sewing project.  I'm not sure how it will turn out since I haven't touched a sewing machine in...uh...15 or so years???  So needless to say, I'm a little nervous about it.  I can take no credit whatsoever for the idea of this project.  My dear friend, Natalie (whom I've never met, but follow her blog religiously), constantly inspires me with all her gorgeous creations, so I give all the credit to her and thank her for the pattern.  I leave you in suspense for now, but if it turns out okay, I'll post pictures of what I made once it's completed.  Until then, here is a little glimpse of the fabric. 

Evolution of Birthday Pie

Teirney's birthday was yesterday, so I made him the apple pie that he always requests.  It was a pretty low-key evening.  He went out to dinner with a couple friends and then they all came to the house for pie.  The three of us went out to dinner tonight to celebrate.