Summer Bucket List

I have this list of things I wanted to do or accomplish over the summer before school starts.  I will be honest and say, I've really only done a couple things on the list, but yesterday, I did get to do the ONE thing that I've been waiting to do for a long time.  My Aunt Pat, Kiley, and I drove out to the cemetery.  I have not been out to Ohio Western Reserve Cemetery in Rittman for quite a while.  It is a bit of drive, but so worth it.   It's like a miniature Arlington Cemetery.  Kiley napped on the way down.  Dark clouds lurked in the distance.  Just as we pulled up to my parents section, it began to rain. The giant football field sprinklers were spraying like fire hoses, too.  Thank goodness they were a few rows down and we didn't have to get drenched.  The rain stopped almost as quickly as it began.  It will be 3 years since my mom passed away in November, and 12 since my dad passed in September.  It doesn't seem like it could be that long for either.  While Kiley will never meet her heavenly grandparents, she will certainly know what they were like and what she would've meant to them.  Kiley has already listened to her Grandma's sweet voice read her stories before bedtime.  My mom recorded several children's books on tape when she knew she probably wouldn't be around to see another grandchild.  Kiley plays on a special quilt she and my Aunt Pat made, too.  These are just some the little "gifts" that will help our sweet little girl know what special people her grandparents were.  

Beautiful Angels

Beautiful angels are all that is here

Saying O'Lord please leave me here

Weren't ready to leave, but had to go

Wanted to go back, but God said no

A family, children

Grandchildren and friends

Meaningful lives that suddenly end

Angels are what they are meant to be

Now think of all that they can see

Watching over their family night and day

Saying we love you in their own special way

In the night we sleep and in the day we cry

While they watch us all from their stars in the sky  

Love and miss you so much Mom and Dad!

10 months - a little late

This post is a few days behind!  Kiley turned 10 months on Sunday.  Scott's family picnic was that day and it was a hot one indeed!  Kiley did well overall.  Her cheeks got a little rosy.  I did what Mom always used to do, put a cold washcloth in a baggie and kept that in her insulated lunch bag.  I put her bottle, Cheerios, and baby food in there with an ice pack.  When she was looking kind of warm, I pulled out that wash cloth and just wiped her face down, her neck and head a little bit.  She loved it actually.   After we got home from pigging out, we just kind of all "vegged" out and laid around the house.  It was a lazy day.  Then, the beginning of the week just kind of took off with housework, planning for school, and here we are at Wednesday already!  MY gosh!  I am going into school to begin setting up my classroom a week from today, August 1st.   Kiley will go back to daycare. : - (    It won't be the full day, just a partial day to get her (and me) back into the groove.  I think she'll love going back and seeing her little baby friends again!  She'll likely be one of the older ones now, in the infant room.  She won't transition into the "First Steps" room until 15 months.  I think it will probably be more difficult on me than her!  It will be like maternity leave, 6 weeks give or take a day.  I am SURE going to miss taking our time waking up.  Holding her and cuddling each morning before feeding her.  Playing on the floor, reading stories, trying to teach her to crawl.  Yeah, that's not quite happened yet!  She still is a little crab and just maneuvers backwards mainly.  Kiley is SO close though!  We still think she's probably just going to skip crawling and go straight to walking.

There are a few new things our little munchkin is now doing though.  She does "Patty Cake" all the time, claps her hands a lot.  She also is waving now.  We were sitting on the front porch the other night, watching for daddy to come home and as cars went up and down our street, she'd wave to them as I said, "bye-bye". It's cute!  When it's time for bed too, she'll wave to daddy when I take her upstairs.  She knows what it means.

I wish I could say I had a great photo session for her 10 months, but this one was a little more difficult.  It kind of took place over a couple days and the pictures are not the best.  But, here are a few snapshots of Miss Kiley to see how she's growing.

I LOVE my mommy's cell phone!  There are pictures of me on there and I love to look at myself!

Kiley loves bags and the chewing on the handles or straps.

Mommy wants me to wear my big girl sunglasses, but I'm more interested int chewing or licking them.

When I actually DO wear them (for all of about 2 seconds), I look like a cross between Bono and Elton John!

I love this picture because it shows her blonde hair a she's just sitting up  like a big girl.  

First 4th of July

Kiley's 9 month check up went very well.  She now weighs 19 lbs. and 4 oz.  (57th percentile), she is 27 and 1/2 in. long. (47th percentile), and her head circumference is 46.2 cm (95th percentile). She is learning so much now so quickly!  Just this week, we gave her Cheerios for the first time and her coordination is pretty good.  She can grasp the cereal pieces between her thumb and forefinger and bring them to her mouth.  The release is sometimes an issue.  Kiley will have so much slobber, the Cheerio disintegrates, then  it is either smeared on her face, or it falls down in her high chair.  She loves to hear herself crunch it, so she tries to take a bite of such a small piece of food anyways, half goes in her mouth, the other half falls.  Yesterday and today though, she tried to pick up more than one piece and put multiple Cheerios in her mouth at the same time.  Then, some gagging usually occurs.  So, mama has learned to only put one piece out at a time until she learns.  Or, I put 2 or 3 out on her tray, but space them far apart and monitor her very closely.  Nevertheless, the faces she makes are priceless and I love watching this new skill!

Another new thing she JUST learned this week is the little "hermit crab" move I like to call it.  She is laying on her belly, then she backs herself up into a sitting position.  She did this on the floor a few times, now her Pack N Play and crib.  She's still trying to master crawling.  Kiley will be on all fours and she just kind of "revs" up like a car.  It's like she's going to move, but she just rocks back and fourth on her hands and knees.  She's SOOOOOO close though.  We think it's just a matter of time.

I got to hear her laugh a true, belly laugh.  Not just a giggle, but a hardy, gut, hysterical laugh.  She did it while watching one of her Baby Einstein videos.  She busted out in this silly laugh whenever this one puppet would introduce a new instrument or pretend to play an instrument.  This was the best thing ever!  I actually was thinking and got it on video.  If I can manage to figure out how to upload it, I will share.

And Miss Kiley loves to blow "raspberries" at the most convenient times.  Typically in church and when it is completely silent!  Or, when we are out and about, in a store shopping or at Panera.  It's cute though.  Everyone laughs.  She recently this week was sitting on my lap, leaned over and did a raspberry on my arm. It not only sounded cute this time, but it felt cute too!  She just turned and looked at me like, "How'd you like that mama?" Even though she won't say my name yet.  We're working on it though!  Both verbally and with sign language.  Usually, I'll say "mama", "mama" and she answer back with a "dada", "dada".  That's o.k. though, she's talking and that's a good thing!

Here are some recent pics and a Fourth of July little scrapbook of photos on Smilebox.  Enjoy!

I LOVE Cheerios!  (and holding a spoon at the same time!)  It makes me feel like I'm a big  girl!

See, I can do it by myself!

Ha ha, I don't need to take a nap!  I can sit up and play and talk to myself instead!  BTW... I see you  mom taking a picture of me!