Top of the 16th... Month!

Well, this may be a first... a "monthly" post on her actual "monthly" birthday! A-mazing! I am not going to do the WHOLE she-band this post, but I thought I would do a little Happy 16th Month Shout-Out for Kaki by showcasing her t-ball skills for her grandparents (and other adoring fans). She has been picking up lots of tips watching her brother twice a week... it's all we can do to keep her from charging the field... we're thankful she LOVES collecting rocks! But, when we're at home she's decided to give it go and try her hand and her bat at the game! 

PS: I bought her FANCY Baylor Cheerleader outfit at HEB today... yes, that's right, HEB... I couldn't help myself... I bought the smallest size, and it's a little big... and she happens to have a Christmas PJ shirt from her nap today on under it... BUT I think it makes her look all the more rough and tough and baseball worthy! :)

PPS: Please excuse the MESS of an apartment! We are moving in TWO weeks... or 12 days if you ask Justin! So... we are in survival mode until then... your grace is appreciated! :)

Happy 16th Months Sweet Kaki-Pants! We love you to pieces!! 

Two Punkins, Lots of Pumpkins

Well, procrastination paid off BIG for our pumpkin patch photo-op this year... and I am so thankful. Not one drop of sweat was spent during our time in the pumpkins and I must say that might be a first for us! This glorious FALL cold front is just what we needed to ensure our spirits were high on the seasonal festivities awaiting us. A visit to the pumpkin patch is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season, especially when it is seasonably cool, breezy and a bit overcast! Let's go...

My two little punkins were ready for their great pumpkin adventure which meant that we didn't get home with many pictures (none actually) of the two of them together, looking at the camera! We are the kings of candid in our house and I suppose those will just have to do! :)

Look at Mommy... Caden! Kaki! (Obedience at its finest!)

We're close...  Caden turns into Evel Knievel as his patience begins to wane and he starts to look a bit frightening... hehe! :)

My boy... 

He was actually cooperating pretty nicely and I was appreciative... nice to have one who will pose for ya! :)

Meanwhile, Kaki-pants was trying become the world's strongest toddler, attempting to lift each and every pumpkin! That girl!

And she's wearing a bow... a bow band, actually... I could hardly believe it! Bless you, Kaki-girl... you look so cute! No one could dare call you a boy today... 

Caden liked this tall, lanky pumpkin...

Kaki and Caden like to hold hands so I thought it might be my opportunity to get a good one together... but they are nothing if they aren't always distracted! :) 

Aerial shot...

Look who found a pumpkin she could pick up... FINALLY! :-) She was thrilled!

Up here, Caden!!

My favorite of Caden... love.

Brother/sister pic take 20... Caden is baring his gritted teeth through his smile... it was getting a bit intense! "Why won't she just sit still," he asked? 

"Maybe if you hold her she will, " I replied.

Steamroll... and their down...

Kaki's up...

But Caden's still down... he had a bit of a head bonk on one of the pumpkins on the way down... He was a little slower getting up! :)

It was a fun morning for the punkins and I... enjoying the cold, crisp weather amongst one of Fall's greatest treats... PUMPKINS!!!

Driver's Permit for Kaki-Lou

15 Months! And we're really more like 15.5 months... alas, I'm late again! But I'm here nonetheless with another update on my Kaki-pants at the month mark! This month has brought about A TON of changes... by the day she is coming up with a new word or new skill. She is constantly finding a new way to make us laugh or a new way to get into trouble. She is sweet and sassy all in one bigger than average bundle of love! She is exactly what our family needed...timely comic relief, supreme amounts of sweet and just a bit of spice! Okay, at times, she's a whole lot of spice... but we love her for it and in spite of it!

Kaki and I have had a BLAST with Caden in school! Tuesdays and Thursday are 100% girl days and we do our very best to live 'em up! Of course, we are always excited to see brother at 2 o'clock on those days, but up until then we do our best to have fun... after all, girls DO just want to have fun!

Kaki is a GREAT shopping buddy! Anytime the car comes to a stop in front of a store she starts kicking her legs. She knows we are about to get out and about and be social... at least with our retail friends! 

She is an honest voice in the mirror and helps me decide on which things to buy... and when neither of us can make a decision we do what any millennium girl would do... text KK! And let her decide!

I have taught Kaki all about "drinks" and where to get them and when we "need" them, and how to drink them! I have put a lot of trust in her when I let her loose with a straw cup... it's a privilege that all girls need to experience! Although you can see in the picture below by her watery eyes that she is not much of a carbonated beverage girl (where did she come from?) at least for now. She is a water and milk girl through and through. The Sprite didn't last long this particular trip... if she could say it's too spicy I am sure she would have!

Sweet Kaki is all about joining in her brother's fun which includes being the Golden Wave Marching Band's second biggest fan! I think she might have a bright future in flag twirling or cymbal playing... she is really good at cymbals... she'll just have to work on blinking every time the cymbals clash together. It surprises her every time! :)

When she's not running around humming the Baylor Fight song (and yes... she literally did hum a song the other day while running with the flag... oh my!) she is content being a good mommy to her doll babies. She has learned that every mommy needs a good pair of shades and some walkin' shoes before they dare get behind the wheels of a stroller! Watch out world... here comes Kaki Lou, Mommy in charge!

One of Kaki and I's favorite things to do is play dress up at home. We try on clothes and try to decide what we are going to wear when! One day we got a sweet bag of clothes from our sweet friend, Kimber who has MAJORLY hooked us up with clothes and we decided to try on this SWEET red coat! Every girl needs a red coat, amen?! Too bad it's 90 degrees outside! In October!

When Daddy and brother go to football games, Kaki and I get even more girl time which we spend doing various things around town, around the house or in Waco! We certainly know how to make the most of a girl's night!

And speaking of girls... Kaki had a play date with two other girly friends a few weeks ago! Her first! And her first time to play in an indoor playscape... she was excited! And had so much fun for her new friends!

Kaki comes up with the greatest ideas... like "let's put this cape on and run around the house with my stroller... then I'll be SUPER MOMMY!!!" Yes, great idea!

Kaki is a girl on the go and love to be in the action! When brother opts to stay home and cook dinner with Mommy, Kaki is ALL ABOUT dudett runs with her Daddy! Cool, cool chick...

This girl's hair is a mess... of curl... of wave... of golden sunshine! It's gorgeous!

For her 15 month well-check we did her curls all up... and she even wore a bow... I suppose she was trying to put on a good face for her Doctor! Speaking of... she got an A-OK report... 

She is still over 90% in weight, 89% in height and in the 90s for head! She's a big, growing girl! I'll have to come back and update with specific numbers because I would have to dig through my files to find the sheets where her doctor recorded it for me... and yes, I may be too lazy to go do that right now! :)

She was so brave for her shots... only cried a bit and then she was good! Impressive!

My buddy... my love... my laughter... oh this girl is too much!! We can't get enough of her giggles, her DEEP voice... her new words... 

Her love of milkshakes... :)

She is a helper and SO good at cleaning up. She actually LOVES to make a mess just so she can clean it back up. She is the queen of dumping and picking up. She loves to be wherever I am, which means I have to get creative with her activities. She is a great "cook" and is always eager to help me with dinner... which normally is okay... unless she decides to go dumpster diving like she did tonight and pull out the Styrofoam meat package that our flank steak came in... GROSS!! She LOVES the trash! Goes through it ALL the time... :/

But I figure it's because she's curious... or maybe just HUNGRY! :) 

But if she's hungry it's only because she plays SO hard... 

She loves the PARK! LOVES.IT. And we've had the great weather and opportunity to go lots lately... and even some times without Caden... even MORE FUN! :) Just the girls at the park...

But all of this Tuesday Thursday fun can be hard on a girl... she is ALWAYS falling asleep on me... it's those last 30 minutes before we pick up Caden at 2 that get her... the car... the rumble... Elmo playing in the CD player... puts her right to sleep! Of course, this is the child that has been known to scream an entire car trip to Houston... unless of course we were feeding her snacks... apparently the trick is to let her think we are on our way to pick up Caden from school... ASLEEP EVERY TIME!

And sometimes those Tuesday/Thursday naps just aren't good enough... late start... misses her good window and she wakes up on the wrong side of the crib sometimes... and it is not pretty...

Okay, but it's kind of cute right? Aren't cry faces so adorable? They're so sad they're cute!

Speaking of cute...

I just love dresses and leggings... LOVE THEM! And it's pretty much what Kaki wears 99% of the time!

Daddy... and Kaki... 

They are a pair... Kaki has more recently become a mama's girl but she still LOVES her Daddy! She and her Daddy make so much fun together at night... they love to wrestle...

And he LOVES to tell her how pretty she is when she gets dresses each day...

And Caden loves it too... he often says, "Now Kaki you are just adorable!" And he sounds just like his Daddy! Kaki is one lucky girl to have two boys ooing and gooing over her all the time!

Kaki has even been getting in on the fun "Cox Fam" projects around the house... last weekend they baked cookies with Daddy and since then Caden has been telling EVERYONE that Daddy makes better cookies than Mommy... ahem, Nestle Tollhouse...

Kaki is a GREAT sleeper and has recently started sleeping with a blanket which she insists you tuck around her before you leave the room. She will lay down, grab her lovie and then hold up her blanket and grunt... then she'll say "Tan Too" Thank you... that's my favorite word right now!

But she also says... "soos" or shoes, "yah", "sssss" or please, "by-by" "da-da" "ma-ma" "dssss" which we think is doggies, not really sure. And maybe "di-di" for diaper... but again that is questionable. 

The words are coming and we are so excited to hear that DEEP, THROATY voice. Her voice is at least two octaves lower than Caden's! Hilar!

She's a funny, girl...

Active, athletic...

Brave...

AND HILARIOUS!!!

And being that great is tough!

And requires LOTS of ice cream...

And extra lovin'

And some down time...

And some personal hygiene...

To keep this pearl-wearin', tailgatin' girl goin...

LOVE. BUG.

Busy!

Love by all who know her!

Before we get to the FUN videos... a few more things I don't want to forget about Kaki at this age! Her hugs! The best ever! She gives them freely and takes full advantage of every inch of her wing span... she wraps long and tight and I can't ever get enough. She loves to read books on her own but not if you're reading them to her. She is always playing in her books...always! She loves Barney and Elmo more than any other TV character but we have yet to get her to sit through any show longer than about 3 minutes... she loves to play. She is great with blocks and loves to build and take apart and start all over again. She loves it when I build a tower for her to knock down... it thrills her to pieces. She loves to run and try to keep up with Caden. She can sic 'em bears and knows how and when to clap to the Baylor Fight Song and the other fun songs on our Baylor CD! :) She is happiest when we are listening to music in the car and that can usually help her maintain her sane. :) She is doing great at church and MOPS, she crys at first sometimes but is always happy until we come to get her, then she lets us have it for leaving her :) But she recovers quickly and is happy when we talk to her about her time in the nursery... saying, "Yah" or all of our questions! Her favorite foods are: Pizza, mac n cheese, black beans, goldfish, crackers of any kind, BABY FOOD pouches (LOVE THEM), yogurt melts, waffles, cookies, ice cream, MUMS, MILK! My new t-ball and other time I need her to be content trick is the good 'ol sucker... she loves 'em! I have stopped giving Kaki snacks so she'll eat better at meal times. She and Caden are both huge snackers and then eat nothing else... so we've cut those out and we are doing much better, although, I am sure she'd rather have a cracker than anything else! Kaki LOVES the dogs and is not afraid at all. I think they love her too... it's hard to say! :) I have finally found a way to do Kaki's hair that is cute and untouchable... she was getting called a boy all too often... .even in her girliest clothes... and I think her new hairdo is pretty darn cute! :) She loves her brother and they are enjoying playing together more and more! It's pretty fun to watch. Caden thinks Kaki is funnier than any other person... he laughs at her ALL the time and gets genuinely tickled by her antics! So fun to watch and listen to. He is a great big brother and she is a pretty good little sister... he puts up with a lot... :) She's a bit of a pest! As any good lil sister should be, right?! Oh and she loves her Cousin Graham!! LOVES him! She thinks babies are great... a lil mama in training! :) OH, we love that girl! Praise God for Kaki-pants!! We are blessed!

Okay... enough already, right?

Video time...

First up... Kaki's reaction to being at the park... of course the one time I video it she is WAY more laid back than normal... no teenage girl screaming today... but it's still kind of cute! :)

Fun game of COVER the Kaki tonight... hehe...



Kaki was trying to be like Caden and do a somersault... HILARIOUS!!!



And now for the GRAND FINALE... our little one SHAKIN' IT to some Baylor Band drum line!! Go Kaki, Go Kaki!! I love her shoulder action!!