16 Weeks

Having fun on her gym

Tummy time on the lawn in Eastern Oregon, waiting for a parade to start!

Hanging out at the zoo

BEAUTIFUL church dress from Aunt Elenore

Well, I was so good about blogging every week and then.....no excuse. I need to keep this updated. I don't think that many people read my blog, but I do want to have a record to look back on about Kalaya's life!

We have been busy during the month of August and Kalaya is growing so fast! We look at her now and cannot believe how LONG she is! She is wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothes now. I almost hated to put away all her three month clothes, she had so many outfits! She only got to wear some of them one time! She has plenty of clothes for this size and the next. It's when she gets to around a year that I may actually get to do some clothes shopping! (although grandparents and other relatives seem to be helping out with that just fine!)

Kalaya is a happy, smiling baby! She has gotten more independent in so many areas. She likes to play on her baby gym, in her swing or bouncy seat for extended periods of time. This has been especially helpful when Mommy wants to cook dinner! She has started letting others hold her, but prefers women to men. However, when she's fed and happy, she is letting most relatives hold her. She is such a talker! She babbles constantly, whether at someone else's face or at her toys, especially on her mobiles. She reaches for toys and holds them in her hands. She has started exploring toys with her mouth. She does great during tummy time and reaches out for toys on the ground in front of her. She LOVES being read to, especially if you lay down in bed with her and hold the book above her. She looks at the pictures and babbles as you read. She is sleeping really well most nights, usually only waking once or trice to nurse. Co-sleeping is so convenient and amazing, it has helped with our sleep patterns SO much. She never cries at night, so she's learned to sleep longer and longer. I asked Nelson recently when he thinks we should start trying to get her to sleep in her own bed and he answered, "I don't know, by the time she's in first grade?" This is why I am so in love with my husband.

Kalaya loves bath time and is putting herself to sleep on a daily basis. She is napping better during the day as well. She holds her head up so well and is so alert. She watches people and objects so well and tracks so well with her eyes. She especially love to lay on blankets outside and watch leaves moving on trees. She has started to self-soothe really well by either sucking on her fingers or rubbing her hand on her hair. We are pretty sure she is getting a tooth too! (my brother and I both had teeth by 4 months) We are looking forward to her 4 month appointment to find out how much she weighs and how long she is! She has laughed a few times and it is adorable! We can't get her to do it on command, but we're trying to get a video! She continues to be exclusively nursed, and we'll continue to do so until 6 months. I know other mothers can't wait to introduce solids, but I'm sad we only have about 2 more months to go with only nursing. I love it!

We've done some fun things! We took a trip to the zoo with Sarah and Elena and she really enjoyed looking at the animals and napping in her sling. We finally found a way to go to the movies; we went to a drive-in! It was perfect, we went to Harry Potter (hooray!) after bedtime and she pretty much just slept or nursed the whole time. It was great! Plus, we could control the volume, as opposed to taking her to a theater, as some had recommended. Her great-uncle came to visit from Vermont and she got to go on another trip to the beach with him. She even got to go to the Tillamook factory.

Kalaya and I took our first overnight trip away from home. We went to Eastern Oregon for Grandpa's high school reunion with Grandpa and Oma. It was a 4 hour drive each way. We left Friday and came back Sunday. We stayed in a hotel together. The drives went pretty well. She either slept or played with toys. She gets distracted by toys now in the car seat, rather than just screaming, unless she is really tired or hungry. Thank goodness for learning to nurse in the car seat, it came in VERY helpful. She got to meet a lot of Grandpa's friends from growing up and got to see her great-Aunt Patti as well. It was her first time away from Daddy, but I think he felt it was all worth it, because when she saw him when she got back she let out a HUGE squeal of happiness, so cute!

Unfortunately, Nelson was rear-ended on Sunday afternoon and we are waiting to hear what the body shop has to say about the car. We're not sure what we're going to do if the car is totaled. It's just so frustrating, because even though it was not Nelson's fault, we may have to get a new car. Either we'll buy a nice used car or put a down payment on a new car, either way we'll have a car payment, which we really aren't ready for right now. It's so irritating, because we haven't had a car payment in the past and now we will, even though it's not Nelson's fault. Grrrr...

Here are 2 (unsuccessful) attempts to catch her laughing. Still cute!!

3 Months

Yesterday Nelson casually says to my daughter, "Three months this week, almost a quarter of your first year already gone!" What?!?! Slow down, when did that happen? I know, I know, I say that all the time, but she's already growing so fast! Kalaya started wearing 3-6 month clothes this week and is now in size 2 diapers. She is a healthy girl and so alert! She is very observant of the world around her. She is so content to sit and watch things going on, as long as she's rested, clean and not hungry. : )

Kalaya had a big few weeks! (I know, I am getting less regular about posting!) She had a visit from her Uncle Colin and her Cousin Allison (15 months) all the way from Texas! It was so good to see them, we're so thankful Colin is home safe and back together with Allie. We had a nice visit with them for a week. We all went to the beach for the Kalaya's first time! It was a beautiful day at the Oregon Coast, around 75 degrees and breezy. We tried putting Kalaya's toes in the ocean, and here's her response:



Overall she enjoyed walking on the beach in the Bijiorn, putting her toes in the sand and enjoying the breezes. Allie had a great time digging in the sand and blowing bubbles. She HATED walking on sand, whether dry or wet and did not enjoy when her Daddy put her toes in the water either! Too cold! She is such a fun, happy kid, walking every where and talking, talking! It's crazy to think that a year from now, that will be Kalaya! Nelson and I reached the conclusion that we want our kids to be a little more than 15 months apart!!

We had some HOT weather for Oregon/Washington. It got in the 100s and, of course, we don't have air conditioning. That never seemed like a big deal in the past (you only need it for about 2 weeks out of the year), but with a baby, it's suddenly more of a worry. I got very creative at finding places with AC for us to spend time. We took multiple trips to Fred Meyer and walked up and down every. single. aisle. over. and. over. We sat in Starbucks while she napped and I drank a smoothie. We walked all over Target. We went to Daddy's work and hung out in the break room. (everyone loves her!) We spent time with friends who have basements. We spent money to get the AC fixed in the car. And you know what? We survived! The weather is much cooler now! Perfect summer weather for me!

We took Kalaya to a Beavers game this week. (minor league baseball team in Portland) We wouldn't have tried it, but a guy I've known since birth plays for the Vegas minor league team and we wanted to get to see him play! I won't call it a complete disaster, but I don't think Kalaya was ready. A big factor was the heat. I think I got to sit in my seat for a whole 5 minutes. It was too hot to nurse, too hot to just hold her and WAY too noisy. Every time the announcer came on, she cried. BUT, we did learn something awesome: the Portland Beavers have a luxury box reserved for infants and toddlers! You're only supposed to use it 20 minutes at a time, but it was great! I got to watch a lot of the game that way and she got to lay down and play.

I reached a big milestone this week: I am fitting in my regular clothes again!! Luckily, it's summer, so my shorts and skirts are what I am able to wear right now. I am actually able to get into my jeans and slacks too, but they're not exactly comfortable....still too tight. But, a month ago, I couldn't even get them on, so I'm thrilled! I have not been getting too much exercise, between taking care of Kalaya and the heat, we've only been able to get walks in once in a while. This WILL change, I am going to walk every day for at least 30 minutes, especially now that Kalaya likes the stroller. I am also going to try to do yoga or pilates every day and I also have an 8-minute workout with all of the problem areas, (thighs, butt, abs, etc) so I will try to do those too. I have no idea what my weight is, I'm not focusing on that. I'm focusing on how I feel and how I fit in my clothes. Healthy eating and nursing help out too! I have been trying to cut out fast food, junk food, etc and focus on fresh, fresh, fresh! I really would like to try to stop eating red meat (I haven't bought it or pork in years, but I some times eat it at burger joints and such) and try to eat less meat in general. Like most everyone I know, I was raised in a house where meat was the main course almost every night and I'm trying to change that mentality. I want to focus more on vegetables and less on meat. Maybe just poultry or fish a couple of times a week. We want to set a good example for our kids! : ) Oops, there's a baby calling me!