Big Girl Bed: Night 1

Kayla climbing out of her crib yesterday prompted Jeremy and I to go ahead and convert her crib into a toddler bed.  We figure that she may not be super ready right now (I know I wasn't planning on transitioning her yet) but if we wait until she climbs out again it might be too close to Sabrina's arrival for us to make the transition, and have a good amount of "practice" time. 

Kayla was very excited once the bed was finished and kept exclaiming, "Big girl bed!"  We let her explore it before bed, climbing in and out, covering up with her blanket, and so on.  We also took some things out of her room to make the transition safer and easier: toys (not including books) and the glider with ottoman.  We planned on being very strict about not getting out of bed, but just in case she did... 

As bedtime approached, my anxiety grew.  This could be a long, sleepless night for all of us.  We went through our nighttime routine and crossed our fingers as we laid her in bed and closed the door.  She actually went to sleep very quickly!!  Woohoo!  I checked on her a few times before going to bed myself and she was still in a good position, asleep. 

She ended up waking 3 times during the night, and we were very quick to go in and calm her down so she wouldn't feel the need to get up.  I think she picked up on the fact that we were coming in much quicker than usual (we usually give her a few minutes).  Plus, Daddy got up too, which was an added bonus for her.  The third time I told her we wouldn't be coming back in because we all needed to sleep.  Each time she had stayed in her bed and waited for us to come in!

When she woke up (early...) I found her on the floor--I had put a blanket down--and I think she was a little unsettled by that feeling.  I snuggled her a little, then put her back to bed so she would get the feeling of waking up in bed.  About 30 minutes later we got her up and celebrated her "big girl bed" accomplishment!  She even demonstrated how she had "fallen" out of her bed by sliding down on her belly and then "cried." 

Nap time is just around the corner, but hopefully we both do well!

25 weeks

Wednesday marked 25 weeks through this pregnancy.  I have still been feeling great and having high energy (so high it is hard to sleep well).  Sabrina is moving around a ton and also seems responsive to Daddy's voice and Kayla when she snuggles in with me.  She shows this by kicking!  I wish I could look in and see what body parts she is moving around!
Kayla definitely knows where Sabrina is and loves to kiss and hug my belly.  She talks to her a little bit and was singing to her today!  I can't wait for these sisters to meet each other.

15 weeks/ 3 1/2 months to go!!

Family Pics

I have long been wanting to take updated pictures of family for Kayla to have.  The most recent ones are from our wedding, five years ago!  She loves to look at them and have me tell her who everyone is.  Our vacation gave me the perfect opportunity to make sure I got everyone.

My parents

My brother, Sean

Jeremy's parents

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Jeremy's twin, Adam

Sam and Victoria

Ernest

James

The sweetest little girl ever

Summer Vacation

My husband loves his family and any excuse to get away, so last year he began planning a trip to include both his family and mine.  Yes, we knew ahead of time that everyone gets along!  We found Mo Ranch, where we could rent an entire house for a weekend, as well as keep everyone entertained with activities like swimming, canoeing, hiking, fishing, etc...  Schedules were cleared, plans were made, and we all arrived by Friday night. 

Kayla and Grandpa Branigan "Pa"

Hummingbirds seen from the porch.

My dad and Kayla were the two early birds Saturday morning.  On our way to the kitchen to get juice, we saw Grandpa out on the porch.  The night before, we had gone up on a hill from which you could see miles and miles of river and sky.  There was a huge lightening show far in the distance.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  The rain eventually made it's way to us and left a cool, damp morning after it--perfect for enjoying on the porch.




                                                                                                Once Grandma "Kiki" was up, coffee was the first thing on the agenda.  Kayla loves to make the coffee with my parents using a Kuerig, putting in milk and sugar, and then blowing on it.  She will probably be a full-fledged coffee drinker by the time she enters kindergarten.

Jeremy's brother Sam and Sam's wife Victoria made us yummy breakfast.  All 13 of us ate at the same table for every meal all weekend.  It was really nice to be able to do that!

After breakfast, we headed to the river for some canoeing, water sliding, swimming, snorkeling, and fishing.  The weather was perfect, being just a little overcast and breezy.

Jeremy braved the water slide.  You go down it on a wooden contraption...kinda scary.  Too bad I am pregnant...
I did, however, swim in the river and go canoeing with Jeremy and Kayla.  We have never canoed together before and he quickly discovered that I am not skilled in this area!  We couldn't go in a straight line.  Plus, I got a massive bruise on my leg just trying to get into the thing.  We still had a good time!

James was the first to try the rope swing.

Ernest got a bit more lift...

Sam got farther than this picture lets on!

My dad even tried it!

(Should have gotten a bit closer for pics, but I was just proud to have taken my camera and actually snapped pictures!)

All the uncles and aunt!

 

The grandmas relaxing while we swam.

Ernest, Adam, and Sean heading out for the canoes.

We headed to the pool after lunch and a long nap.  Kayla is in her element in the water.  She loves jumping in and also swimming to people in her little inner tube.  She's also a little ham for the camera.  This big grin gets me every time!

  Just relaxing!

I had forgotten to bring a cover-up shirt for Kayla at the pool, so I threw this one of mine on her.  When it was time to change her out of her suit at home, she flipped out about having to take off the shirt.  So, back on it went along with a dry diaper--what a monkey!

The highlight of the weekend for me was the sheer joy Kayla got from being around all of her family.  They adore her and she gives the love right back.  Her favorite thing to say all weekend was everyone's names, some better and more often than others, but constantly.  "Hi Tia (Aunt Victoria)!"  "Hi Ganny!"  "Hi Uncle James!"  "Hi Uncle Ernie"  "Hi Uncle Don (Sean)!"  She would say "Hi" over and over until the person responded, and even then!  She also would ask "Kiki go?" (Where did Kiki go?) and "Mommy, are you?"  (Mommy, where are you?)  I am so glad that she will have these family memories through the years!

21 Months

What a busy month for learning and growing!!  This month we took Kayla to get her feet measured and she needs to be in a full size and a half larger than what she has been wearing (that takes her to a size 6 1/2)!  This also means that her feet have grown into a pair of crocks that were given to her by Aunt Kristi.  She has been waiting a looong time to be able to wear these and they are now her favorites.  When I tell her that she needs to put shoes on she says, "Pink shoes!" and runs to get them.  I think part of the reason she likes them so much is that she can take them off and on by herself.  Now that she has gotten good at that, she can also put on other sandals by herself, too.
Colors she knows: blue, green, pink, brown, orange, purple, and white.
Letters she knows: E, F, H, I, M, T, O, and Y.
Numbers she knows: 1, 2, 8, and 9.
There are some things I am directly teaching her (mostly her colors as we are coloring), but most of what she has picked up is related to our experiences and Sesame Street (letters).  It just shows me how much she is paying attention to things around her.  :)
As we drive, she loves to look at all of the vehicles.  Buses used to be her favorite and she would especially want to see "two bus", but now that school is out we are looking for trucks, airplanes, helicopters, and motorcycles.  She loves to see a "white guck (truck)" of which there is no shortage of in San Antonio!
Kayla is also learning to say some family names, which is a huge treat.  She has always loved to look at pictures and can usually point everyone out--getting a bit confused with the uncles, but she has 7 so who can blame her?--but now she can say "Uncle", "Kiki" for Grandma, and "Gee-ye" for Granny.  We have a family retreat coming up so I am really trying to teach her to say her uncles names by the time we see them next!

The Young Artist

Kayla and I have been part of a fun playgroup this summer made up of some old and new teacher friends.  All of the kids are within 4-5 months of each other, the youngest being less than a month younger than Kayla and the oldest having just turned 2.  It is really nice to have them [mostly] all at the same stages...no one is offended by a child screaming "mine!" and swatting at someone (yes, that was Kayla) because the next minute it could be their sweet baby doing it.  They are all learning to share their own toys as we rotate houses and the mommies get good company! 

Anyway, back to the subject: one of the playdates was to do painting and coloring.  Kayla hadn't yet done painting, I guess I thought she was too young.  Well, I was wrong.  This girl absolutely loved it!  She has painted almost everyday since.  I give her coloring book pages and she does "scribble" but she is also coloring in certain items, like the bubbles in this picture. 

Hours of coloring together is paying off, I guess!  I love having coloring, painting, chalk, and playdoh as fun things that we can do together but that she also keeps occupied with alone.

Very intent!