9 Months!

Still amazed and floored at how old my baby girl is already!  Nine months today.  Wow!  Well we are in full summer mode and it is really nice to be out of school!  I was taken aback a little when Miss Kiley didn't enjoy our first full week together.  I should've expected it though.  You'd think I'd know as a teacher, anytime you change routine and schedule for a child, their behavior changes.  DUH!!! I think she actually had daycare withdrawal.  Mommy is not as fun as my 10 baby friends!  Oh no!  She refused to sit in her high chair several times.  Naps...what are naps? Certainly not the hour or two hour ones (and even longer) she took at daycare!!  Oh no, twenty minutes at best in the morning, AND afternoon.  OMG!!! Although, the last few days have been better.  I kick myself for thinking I'd get tons of housework and projects done! ha!!! But, then I realized...does it really matter?  I try now to think positive and ask myself, what DID you get accomplished today?  When I do that, it forces me to realize I got a lot more done than I thought and should be thankful. When she fell asleep in my arms last night, I just gazed at her sweet face and said, "Thank you God for this precious gift!"

What is the little monkey up to lately?  Well... here are some fun facts and happenings...

- Kiley can sit up on her own for long periods of time,  Occasionally, she forgets and leans back.  I try to put her Boppy pillow behind her, just in case.  (you can see in the pictures)

- She has 7 teeth!  Yes, 7!!! That's not a typo!  3 on top, 4 on bottom, 2 are still pushing their way through, but you can definitely see them.

- She says "dada" now.  Although, Scott isn't completely convinced she knows what she's saying.  She actually jibber jabbers more now than ever!  It's really cute!

- Kiley is not crawling yet, but still rolling EVERYWHERE!  She is still doing the "Superman" pose, extending her arms and legs straight out, trying to "will" things to come to her.  The one and only time she kinda, sort of did an "army" crawl, was when I put my cell phone on the floor in front of her.  Boy, did that motivate her!

-Her 9 month appointment is next Tuesday, the 26th.  We can't wait to see what her new stats are.  We are guessing she's going to jump from the 40% percentile from her 6 mo. appt. to the 90% percentile for weight! She's a lil' "chump-a-lump", especially her legs!  But, it's cute on her!  Hopefully once she gets moving, crawling or walking, she'll slim down.

- She is eating more solids(baby food), less bottles.  This is good, since her fornula is $27 a can and it lasts 2 days.  It's like filling up your gas tank every other day!

- Kiley still smiles 90% of the time and is generally a very happy baby.  Recently, she starts to cry, if I get up to drop something off in the kitchen or use the bathroom.  Not all the time, but that separation anxiety is supposed to peak about now.

- Scott is the best at getting her to go to sleep.  I stink at it!  He has a way to hold her and "shushes" her in a manner that just makes her fall fast asleep.  I've been trying to perfect that during the day for naps, but I still have some work to do.

- She loves the Baby Einstein videos.  Kinda corny, but she seems to like them.

Here are recent pictures to show how much she has grown!  Unbelievable!

See all my "toofers"?

I'm a big girl, I can sit all by myself!

That was hilarious!!

Oh how I love bath time!

Chewing on my bath toys!

Uuuuugggggg, sitting up is exhausting!  I think I will take a break.

Outside Photo Shoot with Mommy 6/22/2012

Oooo, what's that?  Is that the Fed Ex truck?

Yep! It was, there he goes!

And here comes those jogger ladies mommy always seems to say a\lot  about!

There THEY go!

I can still see them!

Now. where did my monkey go?

Outdoor Photo Shoot - afternoon 6/22/2012

Ooooooo, pretty!

The lady bug hair clip was a gift from a parent of one of my students.  LOVE it!  

We went indoors, mommy saw a bee and freaked out!

I LOVE that my mommy is home with me all day now!

More Pictures!

We decided to get an official family photo once Kiley's Finalization took place.  We also got some of just her.  How can we not???!!!  Here are the pics of Kiley.  The first two were taken at Portrait Innovations.  The last one was actually taken at Goddard School, her daycare back in April.  We love them all because they capture her personality of almost always smiling and laughing.  The middle picture in the bottom corner shows her second favorite thing to do... "raspberries"!

8 Months

Kiley is 8 months old today and just as happy as can be!  And so are we!  She brings more smiles and joy than we could ever imagine!  Last month was our Finalization Day and last Friday we received the "official" Adoption Decree and paperwork.  We still do not have her birth certificate.  That might take a couple months, but the attorney has filed the necessary paperwork, now that the decree has been issued.

What is Miss Kiley up to these days?  Well, rolling even more and SO close to crawling!  Scott tries to help her along and "show" her the movements so she can try on her own.  She tries, but she does this "Superman" like move and stretches her arms and legs out as she reaches and tries to "will" her toy to come to her.  It's cute!

She is getting her top two teeth.  She has 5 in all once those poke all the way through.  She is still a drooling queen!

Kiley is eating all kinds of baby food.  The girl could live on fruit alone, but we give her veggies and proteins too.  Her favorites are Turkey and Sweet Potatoes and Chicken and Apples.  She loves carrots and squash is o.k.

She chews on every strap she can find in her car seat, her bouncy seat, her high chair, her swing.  She also is drawn to tags.  She will chew on the tags from washcloths, burp cloths, bibs, blankets, towels, clothes.  ANY tag she can grab!

Kiley can sit up on her own for a minute or two before she gets wobbly and tips usually to the side.  She's working on developing her muscles though.

Now that the weather is nice, we go on lots of walks.  She enjoys the fresh air and taking in all her surroundings.  She notices everything, trees, birds, cars, planes.

Scott and I are having a competition to get her to say "Mommy" and "Daddy", but I know it's likely she'll say "dada" first.  It's o.k.  She speaks all kinds of jibberish and sweet Kiley babble that we love hearing.

Last month she weighed 17 lbs. 10 oz. but I am certain she weighs more now!  At eight months, she is wearing 9 and 12 month clothes depending on the brand.  Every time we get a 30% off coupon from Kohl's, we buy her a ton of stuff.  The price is right for as short a time as she wears it.

Okay, okay, pictures, I know... ya want photos!  Here ya go!

I love how she can raise her one eyebrow with that adorable smile!  

We think it's the cutest thing how she sleep with her lil' bum in the air.  That  is almost always her preferred way to sleep.

She starts out vertical and ends up horizontal a lot of times.

Exploring the outdoors... "mmm, grass, is interesting!"

I'm sitting people, look!  I'm sitting up all by myself!

I love my new outfit!

I am sitting again!

This strawberry outfit is perfect forthe warmer temps we"ve been having.

Kiley's Baptism

Family and Friends,

Click the Smilebox creation to see pictures from Kiley's blessed day.  Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the blog page and press stop on the music I normally have playing ,so you can listen to the music that accompanies the slideshow.  Enjoy!

It's Official!

" This is the day the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad."  - Psalm 118:24

The day we waited for finally came and we are filled with great joy, Kiley's Finalization Day !   We are elated and ecstatic really!  Although she has been ours for the last 7 months almost, the state now recognizes that WE are her parents.  I didn't think I'd be nervous, but more anxious.  Well, as the time drew closer, I became
even more nervous and anxious!  Everything went smoothly and took less than 20 minutes roughly.  A few surprisingly hard questions from the judge, but we must have done well, because she is OURS!!! Yay!  Scott's mom spent the day and last night with us.  She, my Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim came to the court house to support us and take video and pictures to always remember this special day.  Thank you so much!!! You guys rock!  My friend and neighbor, who works in the court building, was also supposed to be there to join in the celebration, but she was sick today.  : - (  God Bless her though, she got this beautiful bouquet of flowers that was absolutely gorgeous!! Many texts and calls came that let us know we were being remembered this special day.  Here are some pictures from the last few days and today,capturing our little blessing from above.  Thanks be to God!!!

I LOVE my giraffe!

I love to smile!

Ooooooooooohhhhh!

Mom loves that back side of my pants!!! 

Tummy Time Fun!

FINALIZATION DAY - Going to see the Judge!!

waiting for the elevator to go up to the court room

The McBride Family with Judge Dixie Park

posing with our social worker Missy

Scott's Mom

Yay!  It's official! 

I'm so happy I could drool!

6 Months!

I'm a "roly poly bug".

Today marks the day that Kiley was officially placed with us 6 months ago. Scott said to me, it's been half a year that we've had Kiley.  That really hit me!!! Amazing!  6 incredible months!

We just had our last post placement visit with our social worker from our agency last Friday.  We signed a few papers for the finalization and chatted a bit and we were done in about a half hour.  These visits really haven't been bad at all.  She just comes and asks what new things Kiley is doing and we talk about her non-stop really.


What is new?  Well... Miss "Drooly Monster" rolls over like crazy!! She rolls from back to belly like there is no tomorrow and then back again.  Belly to back, not as much, but she can do it!  She prefers to sleep now on her side or belly.  That freaked me out a bit because of hearing and reading how important it is to have baby sleep on her back.  Needless to say, after a night of almost no sleep and going in and turning her on her back when I heard her roll on the monitor, I learned the hard way.  Researched and read a million mommy blogs all saying the same thing... if she can now roll easily both ways, and lift and turn her head with no problems, she can sleep however she is comfortable.  SIDS decreases significantly once that happens.  So, I feel much better now.

Kiley is eating rice cereal once or twice a day.  Not much, maybe a tablespoon or more.  She sometimes does real well, but other times, it's on the spoon and next thing it's being sprayed in my face with a lovely raspberries sound!  She does love sitting in her high chair though!  She's a big girl now.

She can sit in her Bumbo seat.  It's cute to see her sit up and play with toys on her tray.  Especially this one merry go round like toy.  She really pulls and turns it, so much that it comes off both the high chair tray and Bumbo tray.

Kiley goes to the doctor for her 6 month checkup and shots this Thursday.  Anxious to find out her new stats.

She can pull her feet and toes to her mouth.  We just watch in awe of how flexible she is, my goodness!!

We are SO looking forward to the month of April.  The 16th is the BIG Finalization Day in court and the 22nd will be her Baptism.  Very special days coming up indeed!

"My "official" 6 month picture my mom makes me take every month."

You know I have to chew on my fingers at least once during photo shoots.  It's in my contract!

Okay, I'll "ham it up" a bit.  Daddy is making me laugh off to the side.

Our favorite "Smiley Kiley" picture this month.

Uncle Jeff came over and I loved touching his beard.  

This is my Bumbo seat. I'm learning how to sit up.

Doesn't she look guilty here?  It's like she's saying, "What?!!! You talkin' to me?"

Mom has been waiting for me to grow into this outfit!

I'm a cuddle bug.