Kendree - 21 months

At 21 months Kendree...

• loves all things baby (even before her sister made an arrival).
• is forming two and three word sentences.
• takes one nap a day usually 2.5-3.5 hours.
• is a bit of a bully around younger kids.  She is used to fighting for what she wants!
• wants to sit at the big table all of the time, but unfortunately has to settle for the high chair 95% of the time still.
• tries to do exactly what her brother is doing.
• is starting to figure out how to make Easton mad.  Like really mad.  Her current favorite is to scribble over whatever he has just written/drawn on the big pad of paper on the floor.
• didn't get any new teeth this month.
• always sticks her bottom teeth in front of her top teeth when asked to smile.  It is her cheese-er face.
• throws herself on the floor when she is having a tantrum.
• seems to be getting over the biting.  Hopefully.  Oh, please, oh, please.
• loves to play with the ipod or Nintendo DS.
• will sit and read books in her room for about 30 minutes a day.
• really loves when Easton is occupied and she can play in his room all by herself.
• likes to play with play-doh.
• wants to be helping mama, and as such follows me around the house pretty much all day.

Now on to a few pictures!

The closest to a 21 month picture as I was able to get.

 These were taken at the hospital, but this expression was pretty much her thoughts about the baby at that time.

 And our smiley Kenny-girl!

Kendree - 20 months

Man, it feels like I was just writing the 19 month post (Oh wait.  I was).

Kendree is such a fun little girl.  She has developed a few habits recently that make me laugh.  For one, she is always asking me Why? after I tell her something.  It's humorous that this has taken place before her brother has ever started asking the same question.  She also loves to grab your hand and say "MON!" (c'mon) as she takes you wherever in the house she needs help.

And now a few other Kendree updates:

• She is wonderful at following directions such as "Get your shoes" or "Go get another puzzle" and toddles off without any backtalk (a nice break for mama).
• She has had three more teeth break through this month.  Her top left canine tooth broke through on September 30th, her lower right molar broke through on October 10th and her lower left molar broke through on October 11th.
• Kendree continues to love nursery and her leaders continue to tell us what a sweet, good little girl she is.  I like to believe that she saves up all of her sweetness for them. :)
• Kendree is starting to show some major mama jealousy (just in time for a new baby to REALLY give her a complex).  If Easton is near me, she must be near me.  If Daddy is giving me a hug, she must be in the middle.
• I actually jotted down words as I thought of them for the last few weeks--I know, a miracle! and have come up with the following list: ah-gin (again), fuu-sack (fruit snack), tash (trash-she LOVES throwing her diapers away), toot-el (turtle), ba (bath), oot ear (rootbeer), ow-er (flower), foo (shoe), go, me (almost always with her hand raised as HIGH as it will go), sowee (sorry), sip-pose (scriptures), dah (door), mon (c'mon), couch, cheese, petty petty (pretty-pretty), ow, bug, bye (bite-yes, she is still doing this, but not as often), cur-cle (circle), bue (blue-which she can identify), ellow (yellow), purple, ah-ways (always), nigh (nice), ruck (stuck) and why.  She can also now say Elmo perfectly.
• She continues to sleep for naps and at night beautifully.
• Kendree is starting to show some preference for dry, clean diapers.  I am NOT attempting potty training at this point, so she has a while to wait. :)
• She continues to love babies and would love to smother them with love if she could get away with it.  Again, this new baby will have to be under my CLOSE watch.
• Kendree is in love with girly things.  Pretty dresses, bracelets, necklaces and makeup to name a few. 
• She loves reading books, and while she would prefer to have you read them, is almost as content to plunk down on her floor and spend some time looking through her favorites.
• After months of "faking" that she can't go down the stairs, she can't hide if from me any more.  I've witnessed expert stomach sliding on more than one occasion when the option is don't come with mama downstairs or get down on your own.  She still MUCH prefers to hold your hand and step down like a big girl and if she even thinks that you have her hand will step off with total trust (this has led to a few scares on mama's part).
• Kendree continues to ADORE her brother.  She calls him brother (bra-tha) 99% of the time.  My favorite is when he is at swimming lessons and she and I are coloring or playing on the i-pod while we watch him.  She will yell "BRA-THA" and then jabber about what we are doing so that he won't feel left out (he can't hear a word she says).  It sure is cute though.

And now a few pictures:
The official 20 month picture:

 Leading mama over to the couch to read a book:

 Giving up and starting to read the book herself:

 A favorite past time: sneaking toys in Easton's room on a rare occasion when he has not shut the door.

 Halfway dressed and trying to get to the makeup.

 Emjoying some crackers and Curious George.

 Wrestling with brother.

 Gotta love that look.

Kendree - 19 months

Nothing like being a few weeks late.

Kendree has become a little girl in my eyes.  I don't know how that happened exactly, but darn her for growing up!  She has quite the personality and lets you know right away when something is not the way she wants it to be.

At 19 months:

• Kendree continues to sleep through the night like a champ.  She gives kisses to the entire family and then toddles into her room to find her blanky (which sounds like baby when she says it).
• She takes one nap a day for 2+ hours.  The length is getting more consistent, although she rarely pulls an "Easton" and naps for over 3.
• Kendree got one new tooth this month.  On September 6th, the bottom right tooth next to the middle two broke through.
• We had Kendree's developmental screening this month and despite my worries that her speech was slow, she didn't have any noticeable delays.  In fact, her fine motor and gross motor skills are off the charts for her age.  The tester lady couldn't believe what she could copy with a crayon on paper and that she holds her writing utensils correctly. She is also a mean "thrower" and "kicker" but having an older brother helps with those skills.
• Kendree is fairly certainly right handed.  All pencils, pens and crayons go directly to that hand.
• Kendree's speech really exploded this month.  She can say many, many new words including: fi (fish), mow (meow), moo, quack, baa, ruff, seep (sleep), ny-ny (night night), mine, ba-tha (brother), potty, Meem-o (elmo), Ma-ro (mario), may-da (Mater) [can we say her older brother influences her?].  I know I'm forgetting a million more, so I'll add to this as I think of them.
• Kendree loves all food and will really try anything.  A new favorite is dill pickles (a girl after her mother's heart). She loves to dip things in ketchup or ranch dressing and will eat even more things if dipping is an option.
• She continues to love nursery at church but has been labeled as one of the "escapees."  Apparently someone has to have their eyes on Kendree anytime the door is opened, as she has bolted a few times.  This was surprising to me as she doesn't really act that way around the house, but then I thought about how she has no natural "boundary" of how far she will run from me in stores, etc. and understood a little better.
• Kendree continues to bite.  For no reason. And leaves significant marks.  So far she has never bitten another kid (aside from Easton) that I know of, but I know it is inevitable.  I really don't know how to stop it.  Most times she bites for the attention (ie. biting Easton while he is watching a cartoon because she wants to play with him) and sometimes out of anger.  Either way she gets her mouth slapped and sits in time out, neither of which she seems to mind.  Do I need to start biting her? (kidding, kind of). :)
• Kendree loves to be running and doesn't care if it is outside or inside, she just likes to move. 
• She is starting to be more attached to her blanky and must take it out of the crib with her after naps and in the morning.  I can usually sneak it back in her crib (if she doesn't see me) after about 30 minutes and then she doesn't ask about it for the rest of the day. 

We sure love her!

Now on to the pictures:

Messy face, but genuine, crooked smile.

 One day Kendree wanted to be Buzz....she wore the costume for HOURS and loved every minute.

And now for the official 19 month pictures.  These were taken after church and a walk around the block (hence the pants under her dress).

 Serious mint sucking going on.

Cousins

I'm [not so] patiently waiting for more pictures that I know my sister has, but the kids really enjoyed having their cousin Alayna around to play with the last two weeks. These are some pictures of the time they spent figuring out grandma's remote control school bus.

And then some pictures of the morning before Erc and Alayna got on the plane.  Getting all three of them too look and smile was impossible, but I got a few good ones.

Kendree - 18 months

At 18 months Kendree:

• First official stats:  Kendree is 22 lbs. 9 oz (25th %tile) 32.5 inches tall (75th %tile) and looking very healthy!
• Tries to run everywhere.  I love this stage of movement as she usually can only get one hand pumping along with her legs and then gets busy watching her feet and totally runs into something (don't worry, I only laugh if she isn't actually hurt).
• Really wants to be a big girl on stairs.  She just wants to walk up and down them, thankyouverymuch.  She will crawl up them, but if she feels like she has a sturdy enough handhold (like on the door frame coming up the three steps into our house from the garage) she'll attempt to walk up by herself.
• Recently decided that Ronnie and I are Mommy and Daddy instead of Mama and Dada.  This can either be the cutest thing ever, or the most annoying depending on her mood and tone of voice.
• Is not afraid to stand up for herself, but as a result can be a little bit of a bully.  We are especially working on hitting and biting (Easton only bit a handful of times in his entire life, so this one is a new one for me).
• Went to nursery for the first time on Sunday and LOVED it.  Was completely entertained even when the other kids were leaving and seemed surprised to see me standing there to pick her up.  Ronnie and I LOVED having our hands a bit free-er (we have to take advantage of our next 3 months as we'll be right back at it after that).  I found myself looking around for her during the 3rd hour of Primary (the time I am usually on Kendree duty).
• Takes one nap a day and now that I can stretch out her awake morning to after 12:30 p.m. she's becoming a much better napper (better meaning longer in my world).  She usually sleeps at least 2 hours and leans closer to 3 hours several times a week.
• Loves her big brother with all of her heart and wants to be JUST like him.  This usually drives him insane.
• Likes to give my belly hugs and kisses although she has no idea what that belly will do to her little world in 3 short months.
• Loves to read books but MUST be sitting on your lap to do so.  Not next to your lap, or standing near you, ON your lap. period.
• Got three new teeth this month (her top right tooth-next to the front teeth on July 22nd; her top left molar on July 24th; her top left molar on July 25th).  Those were a rough couple of days. In case anyone is keeping track (I know you aren't) that brings her tooth total to 6 on top and a very lonely 2 on the bottom.
• Loves babies.  We visited a good friend and her 2 month old and Kendree fully believed that she should be holding that baby all by herself.  The baby also needed her pacifier at all times and the baby wanted her own baby doll to play with as well.  I have a feeling that setting this new baby on the floor while Kendree is awake will not be an option.  Easton was completely oblivious to Kendree when she was little, but I don't think that will apply.
• Has started throwing herself down when having a fit.  Most times this only serves to hurt her.  Like the other day when she did it on the tile kitchen floor and discovered how good that feels.
• Really likes to color with crayons.  She finds the container of crayons at least once a day and brings it to me so I will pull out the giant pad of paper from under the couch and she colors to her hearts content.
• Is a "picker."  One of her favorite activities is to cover a paper in stickers and then spend the next 30 minutes (no joke) picking every single sticker back off of the paper.  She also loves to pick at her many mosquito bites while we ride in the car.  No band aid or tape can keep her away.
• Lights up our lives.  We love that girl!

Modeling the outfit from China that Grandpa Cali bought her:

 And now the outfit from India:


Swimming (picture stolen from our friend's blog):

On Kendree's official 18 month "birthday" I neglected to take pictures until after dark when we were waiting for Daddy to lock up the church.  With the need for flash, I got some pretty fantastic photos:

And this one from our trip to see Rockies is pretty great too!

So, we're going to go with this one as the "official" 18 month picture.

 Now for some videos: Kendree showing off her India outfit:

And Kendree dances.  Please ignore that saggy bum diaper she is about to shake off.

And more pictures

All of the pictures of the Splash Pad can be found here and Swimming can be found here.

I know, you love me for not posting all 500 on the blog.

Those kiddos of mine

You probably saw the pictures that my fabulous father in law took while we were in Cali of the kids.  Want to see more?
The entire web album is up here.

Kendree Walking - July 2011

So I didn't get Kendree walking until she had been doing it for a month and a half. Can you say second child?

Here she is!

Kendree - 17 months

At 17 months, Kendree is really turning on the chatter.  She says the following words consistently and will attempt to copy almost anything you want her to say (except her name and Easton's names--those you have to catch her in the perfect mood):

all aboard - (aw bob)
outside (ow sye)
Kendree (kaw ee)
Easton (ceee)
more (mo)
please (sssssss)
Mama (pawpaw)
Daddy (dada)
out (ow)
uh-oh
Night-Night (nye-nye)
apple (aw-pull)
up
tag (ta)
purple (purr-pah)
banana (dada)
five (fye)
thank you (tay-to)
hot (ha)
hat (ha) (the signing is the only way to tell the difference between these two)
catch (ta)
what's this (wah dis)
what's that (wah da)

She continues to sign constantly and it is such a help when she wants things she can't say (like "drink").  She also is very good at going over to the fridge and attempting to open it whenever she is hungry/thirsty.

As I mentioned last month, she has been quite the screamer.  She would scream really high-pitched if she didn't get her way/you didn't understand, etc.  With the addition of more words and signs, the screaming has diminished SIGNIFICANTLY!  I don't know if I could have handled it much longer, so it has been fantastic.

I find myself beginning to think of her as a toddler instead of a baby (gasp!).  She never stops moving and attempts to do anything that Easton does. (I think the words tag, catch and all aboard illustrate that quite nicely). The one thing that slows her down is the stairs.  She goes up with no problem, but HATES to turn around to go down.  I think that stems from Easton not turning around.  So, she will stand at the top for a minute or two and then, well, I'm not sure what she will do as so far I have always been there to help her down.  As soon as she has a grip on even one of my fingers she steps off with complete faith.  The girl is going to really hurt herself someday. :)

She got two new teeth this month (total teeth =5).  Her top left came in on July 2nd and the one next to that came in July 16th.

Kendree continues to nap one time a day and sleep through the night.  She loves the outside and cries when I won't let her out in the hottest parts of the day.  We love our Kenny girl!

Dressing up as Elmo!

 The closest to an "official" 17 month picture that I got.

 Silly Glasses:

 Wants the camera:

 Wearing goggles while watching everyone else swim (not that I wouldn't let her, the water was just a bit cold for her)

Videos of her walking are currently uploading, so I'll get those up in a separate post very soon!

Kendree - 16 months

Whew!  Another month (and two weeks, but who's counting) have gone by already!

At 16 months, Kendree:

• Is walking!  No more crawling for this big girl.  She made the decision to just go for it around 2 weeks after she turned 15 months and there has been no turning back!  Sadly, I don't have a video of it yet (bad mama!) but will soon, I promise!
• Got her third tooth (top right) on June 13th.
• Takes one nap a day.  I've had to get used to a "normal" child when it comes to naps.  My sister always warned me that Easton's 3-hour naps daily were not the norm, but I held out hope.  I'm lucky to get 2 hours from Kendree regardless of when I put her down.
• Answers "yeah" when she wants something and when she shakes her head yes, it is really a shake of her entire upper body, which is hilarious.
• Signs please and thank you like a champ.  She will say thank you (tain-to) but please is just the sign and an occasional hissing sound along with it.  She will copy any sign you say to her, but sticks to her favorites when she is trying to communicate.  New favorites include cheese and drink.
• Is so easy to put to bed.  PJ's on, tell the family "night-night" and then a quick verse of Teach Me to Walk in the Light as you lay her down and walk out of the room and you won't hear from her again.
•  Loves to wrestle and can occasionally be found taking her brother down so he will wrestle with her.  This does not always result in happiness.
• Screams like no one you have ever heard.  I HATE IT!  She lets out the most high pitched scream you have ever heard if she doesn't get her way, or wants something a little differently, or if you are not understanding what she wants.  It is not fun.  She is that one kid in church that the whole congregation has to roll their eyes at.  Oh well!  At least I know she will grow out of it as she can express herself better (I hope!).

On to the pictures.

The only shot I got on her actual 16 month "birthday." She is sporting Easton's cowboy boots.

 Playing dress up with big brother.

 She loved pushing the fake buttons on his outfit.

 Wearing Grandpa's glasses.

 Kendree has an obsession with carrying around random pieces of clothing.  Her favorites are garments, but since I didn't want to take a picture of that, I waiting for the day when it was her swimsuit.

 Hanging out with daddy (photo by Easton).

 Wearing her new hat (well, new to her).  Easton and daddy wear hats, so she always wants one too.  I dug out Easton's old Cowboys hat so he wouldn't get upset about her borrowing his current hats.

 It was a Sunday right before church.  Kendree was eating lunch as Ronnie and I were finishing getting ready and starting to load up the car.  I only had to put a bow in her hair (or so I thought) and she would be ready to go. Enter the banana.

 Needless to say, we were skimming into church that day.  I didn't get everything out of her hair, but she at least looked presentable.