Life.Is.Good.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Kinsley Turns TWO!

Well, after months of talking about it, it finally happened...we have officially left behind the first years of Kinsley's life and have entered the TWO's! Hard to believe that 24 months have come and gone, with lots of great memories, photos, stories, laughter, tears, hugs, kisses, sleepless nights, good nights of sleep, "first" after "first," friends, family, holidays, parties, playdates, you name it...we have made the most of these first two years, and we plan to continue that trend for the next several years!

As Kinsley turns 2, I can only smile when I think about some of the fun things I have to take note of her doing these days: clasping her hands before each meal to say her blessing and shouting "Aaaa-maaan!" at the end with her hands in the air, just like a Baptist preacher would say it; helping mommy & daddy unload the dishwasher or helping put clothes from the washer into the dryer (seriously, it's so cute); playing along to her favorite songs "Ring-Around-The-Rosie," "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes," and "If You're Happy and You Know It"; mimicking everything that we say - on vacation last week, I said "OMG" and the next thing I know, she is saying "Oohh-Geee"; crawling out of her pack 'n play - twice - but so far not attempting the same thing in her crib; dancing - sort of a combination of stomping her feet and shaking her arms back and forth; saying "Guys!" to get attention and "Ohhh gosh!" for no reason...we have no idea where she got this from, but it sure is funny.

We headed to Amelia Island for a few days with my parents last week during school's Winter Break and had a great time! Kinsley found a renewed love of the beach from last summer. Still not crazy about the sand on her hands or feet, but loved the ocean, feeding the seagulls, building - er, I mean destroying - sandcastles, collecting shells, running up and down the beach, and digging in the sand with her shovels. (Photo's to follow in a separate blog post). Definitely can't wait for the rest of Spring and the Summer!

Today we headed to the pediatrician for Kinsley's 2 year check-up. I knew that she was getting tall and heavy and her stats backed that up! She checked-out great, and over the next couple of months, we will begin the potty training and dreaded paci-elimination process. Goodness, help us all. Anyway, here are her stats, trending about the same as we were the past couple of check-ups!

Weight: 28.15 lbs = 75th percentile
Height: 35" = 75th percentile
Head: 51 cm = 95th percentile

For now, though, here is a look at the fun we had this past Saturday for Kinsley's 2nd birthday party! It was a perfect day!

Welcome to Kinsley's 2nd birthday party!

The party favors!

The back deck was all ready for a half-dozen 1 to 2 year olds!

The birthday girl ready to have fun in her party outfit!

Mommy-Kinsley photo pre-party!

Getting final decorations ready. Party hats? Check!

Playing in her new Pottery Barn playhouse...that papa, beebe, mommy, and daddy all put together the night before with no directions. It was comical, to say the least, but we did it!

Kinsley and her buddy Brooks cooking in the kitchen.

Eloise, Lindsey, and Kim.

Kelly, Mom, and Angela.

The proud parents of a TWO year old!

Mom, Danny, and Grandma all sporting their pastel pink.

Somehow the guys always congregate down in the basement around the beer, I mean, the fridge.

There was lots of static electricity in the ball pit!

"2" versions of my favorite homemade sugar cookies!

Kelly's delicious made-from-scratch cupcakes!

Getting ready to blow out her candle!

She did it all by herself - I didn't help at all!

Happy birthday to you Kinsley!

Yummm...licking the icing off the candle.

Aunt Eileen and Grandma sneaking a kiss from Danny.

The whole gang ended up outside for most of the birthday party...can you believe that we had beautiful, sunny weather in the upper 60's in early March?

Toddler table!

The "peanut gallery." :)

Kinsley and daddy playing outside!

Lauren and Ashley.

Newell Rubbermaid (or former Newell Rubbermaid) "pregnant ladies" group shot!

Kiddo group photo - it took about 10 shots to get this one!

Kinsley giving Abney a sweet hug when she had to leave.

Kelly, Pop, and Kins (looking at the airplane overhead in this photo).

Mom, Mary, and Ang.

Opening presents - bubbles!!!

Play-doh!!!

Her new Barbie vanity set - adorable.

Fixing papa's hair.

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Kinsley!

...and many more...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

2011 - Off to Print!

After finally finishing our Christmas blog post and adding the missing photos, the 2011 Stanford Family "Yearbook" is heading to the printer! These books have become some of our most treasured items that we own - capturing each year's worth of our family's most special moments, fun memories, baby's firsts & milestones, and of course - lots of photos! I vow to keep up with this blog as long as I can - and I already have a feeling that 2012 will be just as FULL of memories as 2009, 2010, and 2011!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

23 Months - Already???

We are now one month away from Kinsley's big 2nd birthday! It has been a C-R-A-Z-Y past month! Kinsley ended up with her first (and only, I hope) set of stitches a few Sunday's ago after falling and hitting the rounded-corner of the coffee table. It was our first "blood" injury with Kinsley - blood running down my little girls face is NOT something that I want to see again any time soon! But she is doing better now and was such a brave little thing at CHOA when they put the stitches in (which have now fallen out, leaving behind just a light pink scar that we hope will go away someday soon)!

Over the past month, Kinsley has really ramped up her speech and vocabulary - starting to string together a few words here and there, and when she can't do something, she'll run to whoever she can find and say "mama heewp" (help) or "dada oh-pan" (open). And she's saying MAMA all the time now, might I add. It's like it's her new favorite word. No complaints here! The best thing? When she says "mama! mama! " for no reason...I say "what baby?" and she proceeds to cup my face in her hands and begins pointing to and describing all of my facial features: "mama's eyes, nose, cheeks, hair, ears, teeth, mouth." I have no idea how I could ever capture it on video, but it's definitely ingrained in my memory. :)

She still says the names of all of her friends, family members, classmates, teacher, and now her own name with ease. She loves finding Hunter's toys laying around and saying "Huuun-teeer" going to find him to make sure that he gets it back (and doesn't take any of hers). She loves swinging, going down slides, blowing bubbles, coloring, painting and drawing with sidewalk chalk on anything - our back porch, front steps, patio furniture, and sidewalk are all a colored-graffiti collage of Kinsley's best work! She loves cooking in her new kitchen and particularly likes to make "pretend soup" and feed it to us. And loves it when we say Mmmm! She also makes a mean batch of peas, chicken and toast on the pretend grill! In addition to her usual favorite foods, her new favorite snacks are applesauce, pretzels, peanut butter and oranges. And at almost 2 years, she is still in love with her favorite food from the start: avocado's. She is also transitioned from going up and down the stairs by crawling / climbing on her tummy to walking step by step like a big girl while holding the rail AND someone's hand! And finally, she has found a new love for baby dolls. FINALLY! Up until now, we used to laugh because she would toss her baby dolls out of their strollers and replace them with her softball glove or play-food from her kitchen. But in the past few weeks, she loves holding them, rocking them, pushing them in strollers, giving them their bottles, and sharing her paci's with them.

Speaking of paci's - yes, still using them, but only at naptime and bedtime. Kinsley still has no less than 3 in her crib. Not sure how we are going break this habit. And potty training? Hmmm, not sure about that one either. She will say "pooh-pooh" and within 10 minutes when will have done the very act of pooh-poohing. She's getting a little more interested in the potty, but doesn't like to sit on it, so I am guessing she's getting ready - but not yet ready - for potty-training at this time??? I know I need to think more about this. But the experts always say "don't rush it," right? Well then, we will think about it next month, after she's officially 2...

For now, we are busy planning for her second birthday with some of her friends! Hopefully, we have a nice, sunny, warm March day to celebrate. In the meantime, here's a look at lil' miss Kinsley over the past month!

Daddy-Daughter date night at Chick-Fil-A!

Even mommy gets in on the sidewalk-chalk fun with a little love note to Kinsley.

Still such a healthy eater - loves her veggies and fruit (and chicken nuggets)!

But she's definitely developing a little sweet tooth!

She got her hands on two BIG chocolate chip cookies one night = happy girl!

And such a good sharer!

Playing outside on a cold January day!

At Children's Healthcare wth daddy, awaiting stitches.

The "after"...pitiful.

Our brave little girl.

Mommy got to steal a kiss and a hug from her girl!

Daddy and Kinsley on their "rah-rah's!"

Look mom, no hands!

Somebody got her hands on the keys!

Pretty girl!

Look at me - I'm almost 2!!!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Testing...

Just taking the new camera for its first "test drive" tonight with some cute, quick shots of both our babies...

Sunday, January 15, 2012

22 Months at the Beginning of 2012!

Twenty-two months! And now, we're just shy of 2 months until our baby girl turns TWO! How is that even possible? Crazy to think how fast it all goes, and how many fun memories we have made in these nearly two years! I was reading back over some past blog posts from this time last year (which is why I LOVE this blog), and then looking at Kinsley now and how much she has changed! Still the same funny girl, with the same determined spirit, the same contagious laugh, and the same sweet disposition. We are so lucky. At 22 months, she is really showing signs that she is truly not a baby anymore, but a big girl. I think that there are only three things keeping her as our "baby" for a little bit longer: diapers, paci's, and her crib. Other than that, she is just amazing us with how big she is getting. And not to mention, how daring and adventurous she continues to be. In the past month, (and on top of the normal pieces of furniture that she climbs with ease), we have found her climbing bar stools in our kitchen, attempting to get to the top of our bar top table. Awesome. But she has also nearly mastered the art of going backwards down the stairs. Whew. However, all of this climbing caught up with her this past week, when she went to "jump" from the fireplace ledge to Hunter's large dog pillow, and tweaked her ankle - he first major injury (of many, I am afraid). It was a pain cry I haven't heard before, and we definitely knew something wasn't right when she ceased to put any pressure at all on her left foot. A trip to the doctor and Northside Radiology confirmed that she has a "sprained ankle." Booo. It hasn't been easy to keep her off of it, and she is still not walking (nor running, as she normally does, all the time) like normal. But once again proving that she is definitely our child - I don't think that I ever played a soccer game growing up where I didn't have a brace on one or both of my ankles.

She's doing great at school - there was absolutely no issue with going back after the long and restful two week break. She is now eating "hot lunch" on Friday's with all of the other kids, still doing great eating at the toddler table, still sleeping soundly on her mat, and bringing home lots of adorable artwork on a daily basis! She still loves all the same foods (and add to those the newly-discovered love of marshmallows and Cheese-Its, and will ask for both by name, granted it comes out as "mah-mohs" and "chew-itz") and is loving playing in her playroom after a very generous Christmas! But the thing I am probably most proud of: Kinsley can get along with anyone, boy or girl, new friend or old friend. She is proving, even as we approach the "two's" that she loves to share and loves to play with others. Makes me smile every time.

And last but certainly not least, another major milestone occurred over the past month. I almost hesitated to put this in the blog because it has been such a strange phenomenon around this house, and something that none of us understood, particularly me, but were told to not to worry one bit by our pediatrician. See, up until this past month, I have been a "mama-less mommy." I had never heard the word "mama" from my daughter's lips. She knows exactly who I am, and if you asked her where mama was or who her mama was, she would just grin and point or run to me. But if you asked her to say "mama?" Nothing. I had stressed about it and there have been tears once or twice. I learned never take anything for granted. Some babies say mama at 6 months old. I think Kinsley first said "dadda" that early. I had to wait 21 1/2 months to hear those sweet words. Some mom's get so tired of hearing "mama this" or "mama-that," but not me. I cherish it! I will say, I have no idea what happened. One random day when I picked her up from school right after the New Year, she proclaimed "MAMA!" three times as she ran to me. Her teacher probably had no idea why I started tearing up. And now, it is her favorite word. "MAMA-this" and "MAMA-that" all the time at our house. I am soaking it up! I am not sure what clicked, but something did. She is now repeating and saying nearly everything that we say, including all of her grandparents names. Like I said, major milestone. MAJOR. Made this past month exceptionally great!

So, here are some photos of our adventurous, happy little girl at the start of 2012! Getting closer to becoming a big 2-year-old. Now, mommy needs to get to work on some birthday-party-planning...