Monday, May 16, 2011

2 months until ONE!

We have a really fun 10 month old. We laugh a lot; at the silly things she is doing these days, and together at the cats, or books, or just about anything! Kendall is such a delight.
Here are some of the new tricks she has...
*Waves "bye bye" and occasionally says "b-b-b" at or around the same time (usually right after the person is completely out of sight)
*Throws food off her high chair and says the "oh" of "uh-oh"
*Occasionally signs "more"
*CRAWLS FAST (in constant pursuit of the cats)
*Takes every single book off every single shelf
*Pulls herself up to a standing position (the rubbermaid bin is no longer a great play pen!)
*Wrestles Aslan
*"Swims" in the bathtub
*Tries to mimic all sounds (including dogs barking and dad burping)
*Makes an adorable scrunched up nose
*Discovered grass (enjoys eating it)
*Grew a second tooth
*Makes her Mommy and Daddy smile








Saturday, May 14, 2011

Master Keith

Daddy graduated today! 
We are super proud of you Keith :)
He is now a MASTER.


Waiting for Daddy to graduate!
She was loudly calling out "DA DA DA" in the auditorium... So we spent some time outside, keeping her distracted and happy was a chore since we skipped the morning nap (notice she was not willing to smile in any picture).
 This was the best picture I got of him. I think I need a faster camera.



 The Covell's were there celebrating Stephanie.

 Krista also graduated today! It was a big day for so many of our friends.
YAY! To all our favorite graduates---we love you and are proud of your big accomplishments!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day


It is such a gift to be a Mother!
The girl who made me one,



 and made my Mom a Grandmother!
I hope I can be the kind of Mother to Kendall as my Mom has been to me.

Mother's Day 2011

Monday, May 2, 2011

Poor baby!


"Poor baby" is a phrase we've uttered a million times to, or about, Kendall this past week. She was the sickest we've ever seen her and it was miserable for everyone, but particularly her. It all started on Monday night when she threw up in the middle of the night, it seemed so random! The next day she was fine (or so we thought). I had been fighting off a cold so perhaps she caught it and the extra phlegm caused her to gag or something? Well, as it turns out, she did seem to catch that cold, along with a nasty stomach bug! Poor baby! Her little body was fighting off TWO bugs :( 

This was on Wednesday when she started off the day with two big throw ups --- on me, of course! Then she started to get stuffy and super whiny. And turns out it's exhausting trying to entertain and distract her all day (otherwise she was fussing). I couldn't go too far from her before she was sobbing "mama, mama." Little did we know what was around the corner.
If you look close you can see that this picture is of a cool snot bubble she made!


Going with the bubble theme, I pulled out these as one of my entertaining techniques.

Aslan helped out with the entertaining. Kendall sorta lost it though when he decided he was done. Hard to explain to a sick 9 month old that cats just like to do their own thing!

 I could only keep her happy for so long before she just wanted to snuggle or sleep. I have to admit, I did enjoy this part at first. Who doesn't love a snuggle bug and some down time to catch up on Oprah and Ellen?

Still so cute even as a sicky!

By Wednesday night she had thrown up again and had a high enough fever that we were concerned and took her to urgent care. They couldn't identify exactly what she was fighting off, but recommended we just do our best to keep her fever down and little body hydrated. Only problem is the she hates pedialyte and threw up formula each time we tried. It felt a little defeating.

poor baby.

When Keith got home each day I was happy to pass her off and try to accomplish something, ANYTHING! Or just get out of the house.

By Thursday diarrhea joined the party---fun for all (especially Keith the first time she went on his lap)! She was a lump all day, wouldn't play or even SMILE, and if you know Kendall, you know that is unheard of.

We learned that it's so stressful not knowing what is wrong, what to do to help, how long it will last, and when she might explode on you in some form! We felt terrible for Kendall and so badly wanted to take it away for her. On Friday Keith took a sick day to stay home with her so I could go to work. She seemed to be feeling a little better in the afternoon after spending some time with her Mimi and cousins, but later that night her fever was back and she was refusing all liquids again. 

By Saturday a cloud lifted (literally---we had sun (the warmish kind) for the first time in ages)! But Kendall's sick cloud seemed to lift a little, too. I took her out for a walk, hopeful that some fresh air would help us both. 

I think it did help! She wasn't 100% yet, but I was starting to see glimpses of the real Kendall again. Plus she no longer had a fever and hadn't thrown up since Thursday night.

On Sunday she was still sleepy most of the day, but I was no longer worried about her fluid intake, and she was starting to eat a little food, too.  That night she was incredibly fussy again and I wasn't sure what was wrong because nothing seemed to help her. I thought "OH DEAR, when will it end? "

Today (no picture evidence) she is totally herself again! PLUS a new tooth seems to be emerging! WOO HOO! She was playing, crawling, cruising, dancing, eating, drinking, smiling and laughing! 

Poor baby! 
She had a cold, a flu, and was teething. 

I'm looking forward to another normal day tomorrow. With some neurotic disinfecting of every inch of our home!