Gobble Gobble!

I can recall the joy of last Thanksgiving, 2009 - stretchy, oh-so-comfy maternity pants, the fun of "eating for two" and second helpings of...well, everything...and the fun time we had last year, after having just found out that we were expecting a little girl in the coming year. My mom and I went Black Friday shopping the day after, found tons a great deals, and came home to a beautifully-painted pink and gray nursery, one fit for a princess. Everything about our pregnancy had started to really kick-in.

Who would have known that we could top all of that this year?

But we did...

Kinsley's First Thanksgiving, 2010...complete with the Marietta Square "Turkey Trot" race that morning (mommy's first time jogging in a L-O-N-G time) and then her being showered with so many hugs and kisses from family the rest of the day. Philip's family was out of town last Thanksgiving at a wedding, so it was great having everyone back together this year, including Kinsley's three cousins and all of her aunts and uncles, from both sides, all at one house, all enjoying the same good food. Our blessings this 2010 are abundant, and we continue thank God for everything he has given to us. I am personally so thankful that He has blessed me with being Philip's wife and Kinsley's (and Hunter's) mama...what an amazing journey so far.

So, what's the even better thing about Thanskgiving? It kicks off our family's FAVORITE time of year leading up to our baby's first Christmas! Kins and I sing Christmas carols in the car ALL the time on our way to and from work. I think that she recognizes them from last year, when I would sing them to her while she was cookin' in my belly....especially our Charlie Brown Christmas CD...we could just play that on repeat all day long.

And speaking of Christmas, I already put in a good word with Santa...I told him that she has been very, very, VERY good! :)

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Kinsley, all ready for her first road race...cozy blanket? Check. Lots of toys? Check. Totally having fun taking in all of the sights and sounds around her at a 10k+ person event? Check and check.

Can you believe that we ALL got up on a cold, HOLIDAY morning to go run? But it was a blast!

Finished!

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Happy First Thanksgiving baby girl!

Love those big blue eyes...

Kinsley was already trying to borrow her fashionable cousin's new red shoes.

The Stanford "Aunts" and the "Kiddo's"!

Kinsley with two beautiful ladies: her Beebe and her May-May.

Kinsley with two of her favorite guys: her Pop and her Papa!

With her Uncle D and Aunt Ang!

And Hunter took his usual place at Thanksgiving: near the food...just waiting for a little treat.

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Kelly, me, and Jenn at Kelly's last birthday in her 20's!

A great sibling photo.

Me and Phil on a nice little dinner out with everyone while mom and dad babysat Kins for us.

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Love this photo...the final group shot of the weekend of all the "kids" and grandkids from the Stanford side. One of my all-time favorites (and everyone is looking at the camera)!

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Now, bring on Christmas!!!!!

Puffs

We have a new favorite around here...we recently introduced Kinsley to "Puffs." This sticky, fruit/vegetable-flavored, Lucky-Charms-like, "puffed grain" snack that our little girl LOVES! When she hears me shake the canister, she gets this huge smile on her face! And when she sees a couple of pieces in my hand, she literally opens her mouth and leans towards me like a little baby bird. It's so dang cute. We are trying to get the hang of "feeding ourselves" food...so far, her little toothless (yes, I said toothless...still toothless) mouth has got the chewing thing down pat. Although sometimes, more Puffs end up on the floor (enter Hunter), stuck to her clothes, or a desolved sticky mess on the highchair tray. Sounds yummy, right? Right...

And it appears that Hunter has a new best friend...and her name is Kinsley. Or "high-chair Kinsley" as he refers to her. I think that anyone with a baby and a dog can appreciate this moment caught on camera.

Kinsley trying puffs for the first time! And in typical first-time, cautious-mom fashion, I broke the already-small Puffs into even tinier pieces. She was like: Mom, seriously, what is this?

Why are these things sooo sticky?

Yes, there's Hunter. Just waiting from something to drop.

And there's Hunter again...right beside her highchair. Might I also mention that there is also a substantial amount of drool on the floor near her highchair as well...

I wonder if there are any leftover Puffs stuck to my hands?

Nah, just this rattle. I wonder if it tastes like Puffs?

And I wonder if my foot tastes like Puffs. Hmmmm...

Another new favorite? Paper. Keeps her occupied for...well, minutes. Seriously, we went through 4 childrens menu's at a restaurant the other night. The hostess always asks if we want crayons too, and I say, no, just the paper menu's please. What can I say, the girl loves paper...and the upside of that, you ask?

Christmas morning is going to be SO much fun!

Flashing lights...

...for our little supermodel. Yep, that was her nickname today. After two hours of photos, in the comfort and convenience of our own home, all courtesy of my Aunt Debra's portable photo studio. [And while her photography has been admired by all of us for years, I believe that D. Webb Gable Photography is now officially "open for baby business."] What a beautiful day. And what an incredible point in our lives - celebrating 8 months of our baby girl - forever captured on film.

You see, we haven't had any professional photos take of Kinsley since March 25th...her last day in NICU...when the Northside Hospital portrait service came by our little room on the 7th floor to take her newborn photos just before we were discharged. It was incredible...our first photos of her, looking how a baby "should"...no breathing tubes or IV's or monitors...just Kinsley.

And now, just look at her...sitting up and laughing and smiling. I feel like time is going by so quickly these days. I love this particular phase of her life, but I know that I will also love the next, and the next, and the next.

In the meantime, here are just a handful of the 300+ photos taken today...8 months and 1 day from the day Kinsley was born 5 weeks early. Now, a healthy & happy baby girl!

Do babies "whistle"?

Well, it would appear that our baby...does.

Every day, we seem to discover a new aspect of Kinsley's adorable little personality coming out. And luckily, on this particular day, I was able to catch her latest "talent" on film.

Note: you may need to scroll down the left side of my blog page to turn off my blogsite background music in the pink box...and then, enjoy!

This time last year...

I was watching Kinsley sleep last night on the video monitor, and the black & white image reminded me so much of her old ultrasound photo. It got me thinking...about her, about our journey so far, and about this time last year...how last November, we were well on our way to the halfway-point in our pregnancy and only a few weeks away from finding out if our little bundle of joy would be a boy or a girl. It's amazing to see how much she looked liked the Kinsley we know today, even back then, in my belly. So neat to compare sweet sleeping images of her...then and now.

Kinsley's 1st Halloween!

It was an absolutely beautiful Fall weekend for our little lady bug's first Halloween! And, by the way, our "little" lady bug is now a whopping 17lbs, 4.4oz! She had so much fun! Er, should I say, the lady bug's mom and dad had so much fun. I am not sure that babies actually have "fun" on Halloween until they are 1 or 2 yrs old. I mean, up until that time, it's just crazy mommy dressing up baby in a silly - yet adorable - costume over and over again and snapping lots and lots of photos. And the babies aren't even being rewarded with candy yet...just rice cereal, a bottle, or puree'd veggies or fruit. But none of that seemed to bother our baby girl...just another "first" to check off on her list...I mean, mommy's list.

So, happy 1st Halloween Kinsley! There will surely be many more candy-filled Halloween's to come, complete with lots of Kit-Kat's, Twix bars, BabyRuth's, and Reece's Pieces to share with your mom and dad. :)

Until then, a few photos from the weekend...

Starting off the weekend on Friday: Kinsley got to come to work with me for Newell's "family day"...all of the fun was too much for her as she took a nap beside my desk.

Friday night dinner and playdate over at Heather and Jason's so the girls could play!

Kinsley and Leighton all dressed-up in their costumes!

Kinsley and her best bud, Hunter...ready for all of the trick-or-treaters!

Her look is priceless!

Lovin' the cool Fall grass.

Side profile shot.

Our happy baby girl!

All smiles!

Philip carving his first pumpkin!

And I ended up making my first batch of oven-roasted pumpkin seeds. Umm, new favorite snack? Yes, please.

Daddy and Kinsley showing off their work!

Happy Halloween!