Major Milestones!

Well, here we are again...posting much later than I wanted to, but I just can't seem to find the time to update everyone.  And when I do have a little free time, honestly, I just want to lay down and do nothing! :)

A lot has happened since we last talked.  The biggest thing, is that Kayden is now saying, "mama," and "dada."  It is absolutely precious.  She's been saying, "dadadada" for quite a while now, but just started saying "mamama" a couple of days ago. She said it when I was trying to feed her and she didn't want to eat. She reached her arms out and firmly said "MAMAMAMA!" Like quit trying to feed me! I don't want to eat! :) It was precious and she'll get anything she wants when she says it! :)

She is also reaching for people when she wants them.  This, along with "Mamama," melts my heart every time! :) She can pretty much get everything she wants!

She has also started sleeping a little better through the night.  Now when I say better, I mean waking up less than 8-10 times a night! Last night, she only woke up twice and slept for a 5 1/2 hour stretch.  I felt great today! :) Kayden is almost on straight formula now. She has about 3/4 formula mixed with 1/4 breast milk in each bottle, but we'll probably run out of the breast milk within a week. I am anxious to see if the formula helps her sleep better.  She is on Nutramigen formula, which is made for babies with sensitive tummies due to milk allergies and colic.  It is VERY expensive, but I truly think it is helping.  We'll keep you updated on that!

Kayden also reached another milestone this past week.  She learned how to pull up!  It is so exciting and she is so proud of herself! I got a video of her pulling up onto her toy piano.  She now spends most of the day pulling up and standing...up, down, up down...all day long! :)

Every time I go in to get her out of her crib after a nap, or in the mornings, she is standing up just staring at the door waiting for me to come in.  She also is now patting my back when I hold her to get her to sleep. I've always patted her and she is now patting me as well.  She has actually been doing it for quite sometime now, but just recently has started doing it every time I hold her to get her ready for bed.  It's very sweet!

I got her a ride on car that also has a handle on the back that she can pull up on and walk with to encourage her walking. I got it out for her today, but it may take a little while for her to realize all that she can do with it!

So far, I think this is the best stage!  I love the fact that Kayden can interact with me and can express more of what she wants and needs.  It's not as much of a guessing game.  She loves to play roll the ball with her Daddy, which I also got a video of.  He will roll the ball to her and she just laughs and actually does very well with catching it.  Of course she is not rolling it back yet, but I'm sure that won't be too far off!

I took Kayden to the doctor last week, because her eye was draining.  Her pediatrician said that she still has the clogged tear duct, and is having me massage it several times a day, as well as rub an antibiotic ointment in it.  I am really hoping that this clears up on it's own.  Her doctor said that some babies don't outgrow the clogged tear duct and have to have surgery to open it up. We're praying that it goes away on it's own.  She is also cutting her 5th and 6th teeth, although I can't be sure of which ones exactly, because she just won't let me get my finger in there! :) Stubborn little thing!

Overall, everything is going great and Kayden is just a happy and healthy little girl.  She will be  7 1/2 months on Saturday...can you believe it?! 

Until next time....

(new videos posted to youtube. go to youtube.com and type "mommy2kayden" in the search box).

Birthdays and Holidays and Everything in Between

Seems like we just get busier and busier around here! 

I'm not even sure where to start, it's been so long since I last posted!

Since I last posted, we celebrated Nick's 27th birthday, the Fourth of July, my birthday and our anniversary!  

For the fourth of July, we were gearing up to go to Lake Buchanan for the day.  The night before, I got everything ready that I thought we might need at the lake.  What I didn't prepare for was Kayden waking up at 12:45am and staying up until 4 in the morning!!! We were all very tired the next morning, but packed ourselves up nontheless!  We ended up having a great time.  We had a delicious bbq lunch and got to show off Kayden to tons of family and friends that hadn't even met her yet!  She had a great day, but we were exhausted when we finally got home that evening.    

We could see a few fireworks from the sidewalk in front of our house, but they were just too far away for Kayden to see.  It was just so stinkin hot outside!  We sat a blanket out in the front yard and played and watched Daddy trim the trees.  Kayden sat on her bike a little bit, but mostly we just hung out and tried to keep cool.

Our birthdays were pretty uneventful, just hung out here at the house with the family.  After all, Nick and I already have the best birthday present we could ever ask for! :)

Kayden and I have been keeping busy around here and trying to get out and do things to change up the day a little bit.  We have been going to story time at the library.  It is a lot of fun.  It is specifically for "lap" babies, so all the kids in there are around the same age. They have puppets, songs, stories and play time.  It is really neat to see Kayden crawl around and play with all of the other babies.  I think she really enjoys it. We are trying to go at least once a week.

We have been on the hunt for Kayden some type of swing set for the past month or so.  We didn't know swing sets were so expensive! :)  She has been loving going out in the back yard with me in the morning and swinging in the hammock.  We finally found a little tikes plastic playscape yesterday on Craigslist and went and picked it up in Round Rock.  It is a castle climber with a slide and a infant/toddler swing.  It is just perfect for Kayden. It will grow with her for a couple years and then we can get something bigger and more permanent.  I'm excited to get some pictures of her in it.  I just have to get the straps on the swings washed.

We also found a play kitchen and play house on Craigslist and went and picked those up this past weekend.  Our living room is turning into Kayden's playroom, but it's more fun that way! :) 

Kayden's top teeth finally came through...actually the last time I posted, they came through that same evening.  But alas....she is already cutting another one! :)

She is sleeping better than before, where she was waking up up to 10 times a night.  She is waking up on average 3-4 times a night now.  She is still drinking 1/2 soy and 1/2 breast milk mixed bottles, but I think getting those top teeth through really helped.  For about a month or so, Kayden decided that she didn't want to have anything to do with solid foods.  I completely stooped them for about a week and a half, and a couple weeks ago, started them back.  She does not like to be strapped into her high chair.  I can now give her the little Gerber puffs, so they work as an incentive to stay in the high chair so she gets them.  However, the past 2 days, she just will not eat! I don't know what is wrong with the child! She is most definitely not like her Daddy and Mommy who love to eat at any time! :)  So we're still working on it.  

I'm trying to think of what else is worthy of mentioning.  My friend Laci, who I grew up with is coming to stay with us tomorrow through Friday, so that will be fun.

Oh oh oh!!! I almost forgot! Kayden is now crawling!!! How could I forget! :)  She crawled for the first time on July 4th when we got home from the lake. She crawled across the living room to get the TV remote.  She is now crawling everywhere!!!  It has been hard, because I've definitely had to watch her a lot closer so she doesn't hurt herself or get into something that she shouldn't, but at the same time, it's been helpful too.  This morning I was in the kitchen washing her bottles, and she was sitting in her "pen" playing.  She couldn't see me and started to get upset.  I said, "Kayden, Kayden, come here...," and she crawled all the way into the kitchen to find me.  She is getting so independent now....growing up too fast!

She is also pulling up onto her feet now.  She started that this past Saturday the 11th.  She'll pull up onto her feet from the sitting position and stand up and then let go, like "look at me...here I go."  But be ready to catch her, because down she goes! :)

Kayden will be 7 months this Thursday.  She's getting to be such a big girl!  

Check youtube for the latest videos (www.youtube.com) and type "mommy2kayden" in the search box.

Have a great week!