UPDATE: Kaki at 2 Months!

Kaki has had two doctor's appointments since we last 'spoke.' And I am pleased to report that both went well...

Yesterday, Kaki had an ultrasound to check her hips for dysplasia which is common in breech babies... and girls especially... BUT Miss Kaki looked normal... yay!!

Today, she had her two month well-check and turns out our girl is one big girl... shocker!!

Her stats:

Weight: 13lbs, 14 ounces...98%

Height: 23.5 inches...80%

Head: 15.8 inches...80%

Just like her bro...only shorter... for some reason his two month blog post says he weighed 17 pounds...that has got to be a typo, right?! I need to see if i can find his paper records because good golly that would have been huge... although I also had him recorded as being 25.5 inches long... so maybe that was right!!

All I know is that God gives us some big kids... and we're thankful for it!!!

Here is sweet Kaki after we got home...all tuckered out from her shots...

And a little flash back from when Caden had his 2 month shots!!

My how he's changed...

We were ready this morning a bit early so I snapped a few pics!! I love this dress... thank you Jaime!!!

A picture of those sweet, chubber bubber legs!! And tummy... :)

Trying to capture her cute smile... almost got it!

WOAH... deer in the headlights... :)

Sweet girl...

Here's to TWO! Love my Kaki-pants!!

This TWO Isn't So Terrible At All!

Kaki-pants turned TWO months old yesterday! Can y'all believe it?! I mean time flies with your first one, but time is going at freaking light speed now that I've got two on my hands! She is growing up so fast! :) BUT she is still and always will be my BABY! :)

Yesterday, Kaki had several visitors for her two month birthday! Poppa and Gran came to visit, we had lunch with Aunt Rachel and her boyfriend Justin AND Cousin Chatty came to stay the night with us... what could be a better way to celebrate TWO than with friends and family?! Well, Kaki could have thought of a few other things... like maybe a nap?! Sweet girl didn't get much more than 45 minutes of sleep at a time yesterday with all of the coming and going so last night she was READY for bed!

And how IS she sleeping you ask? Well, I hate to brag (REALLY I do, because as soon as I say it she'll make a liar out of me!) BUT she slept from 9:30 to 7:30 and she has been doing this for almost a week now... each morning going later and later! God BLESS her sweet little heart! Those hours of uninterrupted sleep are A-mazing!! And it has been a fun new schedule to get into... allowing us to get a morning walk in before it gets too hot and will be a good segue to the start of a new school year. I am afraid my days of waking up just 30 minutes before we have to be out the door for school are over! Especially since I've got a super cute little girl who MUST be accessorized before she sees all of her friends when we drop big brother off at school... that is going to take time people!

Kaki has really started showing a goofier side of her personality this week. She has been pretty serious up to this point... serious about her facial expressions and SERIOUS about her playtime on her mat... kicking and boxing with some tenacity! BUT I am almost able to make her smile on command EVERY time I try (ALMOST) and we are starting to hear her REALLY make some noise when she is playing... jabbering and laughing. She is finding that voice and is quickly learning that she is going to have to be a bit LOUDER if she ever has a prayer of competing with her brother for attention.

And oddly enough she does her best tricks after big bro is in bed for the evening! The other night when Justin and I were putting together a new organizational piece for the playroom (THANK YOU TARGET!!) Kaki was doing some serious tummy time! She has not been one to excel in this particular area BUT she is starting to get better and better at it... push ups aren't my thing either!! :)

Look at that big girl...

And of course Daddy was so proud that a picture just wouldn't do... he had to go for the video... what do you think? I had no idea he was taking a video or else I would have tried to tone down my mommy enthusiasm... geez!

What else is Kaki up to? A whole lot of eating... lots of pooping accompanied by the most GROWN MAN sounding toots EVER! She is a good burper and doesn't spit up hardly ever... nothing like her brother the milk-spewing KING! We aren't really on any kind of daytime schedule... she eats when she wants and sleeps when she wants to. I am sure I need to get some kind of structured nap routine going, but I just haven't made myself do it yet... I kind of like having her right there with me all the time... especially when Caden is napping... I am not ready to put her in her bed for afternoon naps too! BUT ... the time will come... just like it did with Caden, when naps will be IMPORTANT for this Mommy!

She has been sleeping in her crib at night for nearly a month... and we have already started her nightly routine... read, sing, pray... just like with Caden and I must say that I have enjoyed hearing Daddy ready some of her sweet girl books to her and of course you know that me and Fancy Nancy are just the best of friends by now! Justin used to think that Kaki didn't like him and wouldn't want to put her to bed because she didn't seem to do as well as when I did it... BUT this week when she's gotten her best stretches of sleep... it's been ALL Daddy! I am excited that they are starting a bedtime routine just like he has with Caden... these are special times for Daddy... sometimes the only ones he gets during the week so they are pretty important!

Kaki eats 6 to 7 times a day. She eats one meal of formula a day, usually the last one of the day right before bed and the rest she eats breast milk... which means me and my pump are on excellent terms these days and we've been able to get into a pretty steady routine. I've got my bottle cleaning times down to twice a day and the pumping to six times a day... and we are going to do this as long as we can... I think I can, I think I can!

And sweet Caden is a champ with the whole schedule... he knows when it is time for Mommy to pump and even recognized the aisle at Target today saying, "Oooo, Mommy needs new pumpin' stuff." Haha... he is very well-versed the art of pumping! Kaki depends on it and he knows that! And thanks to my battery pack, I am learning to be pretty mobile these days!

Kaki is my escape from the darkness that sometimes is the terrible twos! Although at times I feel a bit bipolar switching from, "If you do that again... time out... spanking spoon... NO!" to "Awww, sweet little, little... you are the cutest!!" It has been a bit of an adjustment to hear myself go back and forth so quickly! Sweet, sweet Kaki... whatever would we do without you?!

I love you to the moon and back! You are the sweetest little nugget ever! We praise God for you each and EVERY day! What a gift He has given us in you!

And now... for the photo shoot...

I am TWO MONTHS OLD today!! And my picky sticky says so!!!

I love my girl in red... one of my favorites!! Now that she is not YELLOW she is SO pale and so pretty in those dark, bright colors!! :)

Always got those hands UP in her face!! :)

And of course we had to switch outfits...

And of course BROTHER had to match...

While we let Kaki have a paci break we snapped a few solo shots of the Cade-man... he is looking SO old these days!!

Now for the attempted TOGETHER pics...

Kaki was having a hard time staying awake...

Not too bad...
Are we done YET?! I am TIRED...
We're not done yet, huh?! Well, I'll just curl up right here and take a quick snooze!

Okay... we're done!!
We've got a few doctor's appointments for Kaki-pants this week... we'll have a full report of stats and other findings later in the week! So for now...

HAPPY TWO MONTHS KAKI!!! We love you!!

29... and holding!

My Aunt Terry texted to wish me a happy birthday with the following message... "Happy Birthday! 29 and holding..."

And holding... some days I am holding stronger than others but still holding! I am convinced that Caden may sprout my first few grey hairs this year if things in the terrible twos department don't change! Oh man, has he ever got my number these days... and I am fighting like a wild woman... sometimes calmly and other times not so calmly to catch up! Phew! I am not his friend... I am not his friend... I am not his friend...

Oh wait... this isn't supposed to be a post about my mental sanity (or lack there of) but a post celebrating ME! And my 29ness! What a great birthday it was!

I started celebrating WAY back on our trip to Abilene when my Grandmother took me and the rest of our crew out for a fun birthday dinner! We went to the Outback... because that is where you go in Abilene... especially if you are with my Gram! Funny story: one time Justin and I were visiting my Gram and she fixed us a YUMMY dinner and with dinner she served a salad with the best croutons EVER... so we asked her where she got them or if she made them herself and she got the cutest, sheepish little grin on her face and spilled the beans. She said, "Well, when I get my take-out from Outback when I order my steak, I ask for extra croutons, then I bag them up and stick them in the freezer for occasions such as these!" She has always been the but of our jokes about her freezer creatures but this took it to an entirely new level! And we LOVE her for it!! She and her croutons are the BEST! :)

Once we got home we took a few days off from celebrating only to pick back up on Saturday when KK and Albi rolled into town. KK didn't know what to get me for my birthday this year and to be perfectly honest when has she had the time to think about it with her taking care of me and the kiddos all summer?? So she decided to take me on a little shopping spree on Saturday while the boys watched Kaki and Caden!

It was SO much fun to browse at my leisure and have a fun girly day with my Momma! First we did have the most yummy lunch at my favorite Greek place that I do not get to eat at much anymore! It used to be a staple for me when I worked downtown but not so much these days so it was a YUMMY treat! KK treated me to lots of fun new things that we determined will stylishly help me bridge the gap between maternity-wear and pre-preggo gear. So until I get my body back in shape I'll have a few things to keep me from wearing the mumu I often feel like wearing! AND I'll also have a fun new handbag to carry... a Buddha Bag... LOVE IT!! No correlation with the religion... no worries there! I am still as Christ-follower as they come! :)

On Saturday evening, after a fun morning of shopping, Justin and I treated ourselves to a little date night. KK and Albi fed and kept Caden and Kaki while we hit the town. We went to one of our favorite spots in Austin and had a nice, relaxed dinner... and ate and ate and ate until we couldn't any longer! I had saved up my points all week to splurge for my birthday and boy was it worth it! I didn't think I'd ever have to eat again after all we ate that night, but alas I woke up the next morning ready for more...

And it was a good thing I did since we went to eat breakfast out at our favorite local diner! Yum!! After a yummy breakfast KK and I went to see The Help... the first showing of the day... and it was FABULOUS! After having heard that it was going to become a movie I was a little skeptical... I am usually not a fan of the movie after the book, but I think they definitely did the book justice. I will definitely see it again... and again! Poor KK blubbered through nearly the entire thing and oddly enough I just got a bit teary-eyed a few times... we seemed to have switched bodies temporarily! But despite the switch we were both equally entertained and in love with the movie!

It was a GREAT pre-birthday weekend celebration! From beginning to end it was so much fun! Thank you KK and Albi for making my day super extraordinary and like always making me feel extra special! I had a BLAST shopping, dining and movie watching with my Momma! And a great night with my hubs out on the town... that needs to happen more!!

A few pics... Justin and I before our hott date... pardon the weird cropping... had to crop half of my arm off... you'll be glad I did! It's just too bad I can't figure out how to crop my double chin without getting my face!! I need some fancy program for that I am sure! :)

Sweet Albi with my girl... doing a little magic in the rocker chair while we were gone!!

On Saturday while KK and I were shopping the boys went to Mighty Fine for a little lunch... and a milkshake too apparently!!

Poor Kaki had to suffer through the day with the boys... looks like she didn't mind too much though! :)
And of course the boys had to go to the wine store... duh! Which means so did the kids! :)

Yesterday was my actual birthday which seemed unfair to get to celebrate all over again after the FUN I had ALL weekend long, but what is a girl to do?!!

We had a great day... we got up early (My girl has slept from 10-6 the past four nights!!! Go Kaki go!) and went on a walk before it got too hot. It was the first time I have used our double jogger! I was super excited to hit the pavement but I am afraid my body was not as thrilled... it will be a slow process back but I am ready for the challenge... just gotta convince my pelvis that it too can do it!! :)

Please notice that Mr. Turtle came along for the ride too... this was one of the toys that Albi bought Caden at the toy store during their outing on Saturday. Albi can't come to the Rock without a trip to some toy store, somewhere! :) And now Kaki is getting to reap the benefits of Albi too! :)

After our walk I treated myself to a Starbuck's latte and then came home to get ready for our first playdate in several months! It was fun to spend time with some sweet friends and get to catch up on the latest with each other. It was good for Caden too... I am afraid he might be in for a rude awakening in a few weeks when he starts back to school... not having played with anyone for the majority of the summer. He did not want to leave, which I think is a GREAT sign of things to come! :)

Both of my kids took GREAT naps yesterday and then my sweet hubs surprised us all by coming home a little early last night to celebrate. I cooked a yummy (if I do say so myself) dinner and then we headed to McDonald's for a Rolo McFlurry (have you tried one yet?? If not DO IT!) A great birthday I'd say!!

And with facebook you now get more birthday wishes than you ever thought possible which makes for a super exciting and extra-celebratory day!

Here's to 29 and holding... may God bless me with many more exciting years of life!! :)

Happy Birthday KK (a LOT belated!)

I am ashamed!! ASHAMED, I tell you! KK casually mentioned to me this weekend that I was behind on my blogging... reminding me that we actually took a few pictures when we were all together for her birthday a few weeks ago and I haven't posted them yet! EEEEK! She's right! That was a CRAZY weekend in the Kaki and Katie department with the whole hot pink milk debacle and poor, sweet little KK got left out of the blog! My apologies, KK... it is certainly not because we don't love you... and I know you know that! (Seeing as I CRIED... no BAWLED when you left yesterday after spending the weekend with you... you are my very best friend and I would certainly never intend to overlook your big day!!)

So... Josh and Emily and our circus all met up in San Antonio for the weekend to celebrate KK's birthday... it was her double nickle birthday so we had to be sure and not miss a thing! It was so much fun having all of us there for the weekend. Actually, the kids and I (I LOVE saying that! The kids!!) went up a little early and spent some time with KK and Albi on Thursday and Friday before the rest of the crew arrived late Friday evening. KK's actual birthday is on the 28th, so on Thursday morning we sent her an email detailing a little surprise that we all cooked up for her!! We wanted her to feel extra special so we arranged for her to have a personal shopper at Nordstrom's for the morning and gave her a little spending money to help her on her journey to find some new clothes for her new, HOT double nickle-aged body!

KK has lost over 35 pounds since January and has been selected to appear in a feature article in her Pilates Studio's newsletter next month as someone who has received multiple benefits from pilates! So with her new body and her exciting photo shoot for the newsletter we wanted her to have a few new things to make her feel like the rock star she is! Oh and by the way... did I mention she is also training to run/walk her first half-marathon?! Amazing! And just to be sure we don't leave Albi in the dust... he is also sporting a half-sized body of his former self too! And they both owe it all to Weight Watchers and a little will power! :) I am so proud of both of them... they look fantastic!! I am hoping to follow suit soon... I've been on Weight Watchers for Breastfeeding Moms for the past two weeks and so far so good... still LOTS more to go, but I'm encouraged! :)

Anyway... back to the birthday girl! So KK went to Nordstroms and came home DONE UP RIGHT! She got some of the cutest clothes that make her sparkle and shine! Most of the weekend we laid low... BUT one night we did go out to a nice dinner for KK's official birthday celebration... Because we had enough people we were able to reserve a secluded little cove off of the main dining room to ensure that no toddler or baby would be an interruption! :) And it was perfect!! And we had the most fabulous dinner!! And no one was worrying about their points that night!!

Not even Miss Kaki-Pants... looking fabulous in her little outfit!! The bow had already come off by the time we got around to taking pics! :(

Daddy doing a little trade-off magic...

From around the table... our East Texas crew...
The birthday girl and her deer in the headlights hubs! Sorry Albi! Best pic I had! :)

Me and my girl! Or My girl and I...

Attempt at a family picture... eek!

Caden was a TROOPER during dinner. He had his little portable DVD player to entertain him for much of the time but when not watching his DVDs he was entertaining us with his broad pallet and tastes for new foods! He tried fried oysters and lamb all before he dined on his very own plate of chicken fingers and french fries! :) Then he was treated to the most fabulous ice cream sundae ever... complete with SPRINKLES! :) A first for the little man...

The birthday girl chose coconut pie... one of her favorites!! And I may or may not have had a piece too!! :) Check out her new sequin top... CUTE, is it not?!!

It was a fabulous night out on the town with the fam! I hope KK enjoyed her birthday weekend as much as the rest of us! There is always a party to be had when we all get together! I know she could not have wanted anything more than to have her two (four) kids and her two grandkids by her side!! Happy Double Nickle KK!! We love you!!!

Head 'em up... Move 'em Out... Off to Abilene We Go... Went...

I apologize to those of you who are going into Caden and Kaki withdraw... Nana, Bop, Albi... we have had a BUSY week of traveling... but now we're back... and ready to get caught up on our friendly little family blog! Thank goodness for this thing or I wouldn't remember anything! I cannot tell you how MANY times I've already referred to it as some sort of baby-parenting manual... did I do that with Caden? When did Caden start to smile? Pork up? When did his hair start to fade to red? You get the idea... phew!

So if you couldn't tell from the title we headed to Abilene this week to visit all of our family there for a few days. KK was kind enough to accompany Caden, Kaki and I on our trip out West. Funnily enough I told her that I thought I could do it by myself and that she could just drive straight to Abilene from San Antonio and we'd meet her there... BOY am I glad that she had better sense than I did. Of course I am sure I COULD have done it, BUT it would have been a little touch 'n go in a few spots... like lunchtime for both kids... potty breaks for Mommy... etc! Two kids really is an entirely new ball game... kudos to you people with 2+... it's non-stop!

We had the BEST time in Abilene. It was kind of like a vacation for us. My Gram has a great pool right in her back yard which as you can imagine is any toddler's dream! And mine too! I hadn't been swimming since before Kaki-pants was born... so it was super nice to take a dip with my little man!

Caden was spoiled beyond spoiled this week with all sorts of attention from his KK, his Gram and his Great-Aunt Martha... and even his second cousin Michelle! :) He had the best time ordering everyone around! :) He started his day with the roosters and went nonstop until it was bedtime! Of course there was a nap or two in between... and everyone was grateful for that! Ha!

C spent the night in the BIG BED in the back of the house. It is a king sized bed that he got ALL to himself. I lined him in with big pillows and let him have at it. He did great, BUT since he could open the door to the bedroom by himself he was apt to waking up VERY early... like before 7 early and usually I do not get him out of his bedroom at home until 8! Kaki and I were on the other side of the house in our own little apartment... so he would rush into KK's room and say GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!! And he was ready to go.

One morning KK was sweet enough to take Caden to a neighborhood park to let him play before it got too hot! He hasn't been able to play at the park ALL summer and I know he LOVED it!

I don't know if I have blogged about "THE HAT" yet, but this hat was a gift from Josh... it is a company hat and Caden has NOT TAKEN IT OFF since he got it. And if you ask him where he got his hat he'll say, "from Josh, my uncle!!" He is so proud of it and I think he looks pretty darn cute in his trucker hat... he's so stylish! :)

Sweet boy so happy to be out and about enjoying the great outdoors... this summer has been rough on all of us. We love to be outside more than anything but this weather has been tough!

The first morning we were there the humidity was zero and the weather was coolish in the morning so even Kaki got to get outside and sit by the pool with the rest of us. It was wonderful... and she loved it! It is really the first time she has been outside for an extended period of time and she just sat there and played and laughed and smiled... I was so happy to see that my girl is following suit and is an outdoor-lover too! She's gonna fit right in! :)

Even in your swimsuit you need to wear a bow... :)

After all of her playtime she settled in and took a little morning nap while we swam... but before we got her outside we decided to see if we could capture a few pics of her in her swimsuit. My Aunt Martha snapped most of these with her iPhone... as you might imagine I wasn't quite "Johnny on the Spot" with my camera this week... so the pictures are a bit sparse and mostly from the various phones in attendance! :)

How about a sun hat for the sweet girl?!!! No?!! Maybe not...

The bow is MUCH better... a girl and her accessories... oh my!

Kaki and Caden had the best time with their Great-Gram... and were thankful that she let us come in and WRECK her house for a few days... :) When the Cox Circus comes to town we REALLY come to town! :)

While we were in Abilene we also got to spend a few hours with my Aunt Kay and Uncle Roger! It is always so fun to see them... they absolutely LOVE their nieces and nephews and were of course super excited to meet Kaki for the first time! And of course no one can ever believe how much Caden has changed... he seriously grown FEET this summer... I can't believe it! He is a totally different kid than he was in May! It's that big bro thing I suppose... :)

We tried to get a good pic of Kay with the two kiddos but this is the best we could do... it is hard to get everyone looking in the same direction... oddly enough Caden is the one who got it right this time! :) Sweet boy!

It was a super fun week to be in Abilene spending time with our family. I was so thankful to get to see my cousin Michelle and her sweet baby Kendall (still in her belly) and her nursery! The next time I see her we'll have another sweet baby to snuggle with! And speaking of babies... Baby Ryan is doing GREAT! He is literally a miracle from the Lord and as my cousin Amanda said the other day, "He is a visual reminder that God is alive and active!" I could NOT have said it better myself... Amen sister! God is ALIVE!!

This weekend I am pre-celebrating my birthday with a shopping trip, a movie with KK and a date night with my hubby! A perk to bottle-feeding I must say... :) So we'll hopefully have lots more exciting things to report and pictures to share after our weekend!

THANK YOU to ALL of our Abilene family who spoiled us this week! We can't wait to come back soon!! We love y'all!!

I Might Have Temporarily Lost My Marbles...

Yes, in fact I do believe at one point last week... after the hot pink milk, the two hour lactation consultant visit, the ENT's diagnosis of a short tongue and my fate of ending up strapped to an electric pump similar to Elsie the cow for the next many months... I DID in fact lose my marbles...

Exhibit A: Last Thursday... when my marbles were M-I-A I decided to take both Caden and Kaki to the movie to see none other than Winnie the Pooh. It was Caden's FIRST time to the movie so I really had NO clue how he would do, BUT I had promised him earlier in the week that I would take him to see Pooh on Saturday... I felt like he and I needed a little one on one time after the previous few weeks of him being somewhat ignored while we figured out what was going on with Kaki and I. Poor thing... I even put him back in diapers after a week of potty training because I just. couldn't. do. it. I had to tackle one thing at a time... remember... my marbles were MISSING! GONE! NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!

SO luckily, on Thursday morning I decided to check movie times for the weekend so we could get all geared up and excited for our big date... ONLY to realize that Thursday was the LAST day for Pooh to be at the movies. BUMMER! I couldn't break a promise! Kaki was taking a bottle... OBVIOUSLY... so I thought to myself... we could do this! We can! We will! We must!

And so we did...

I strapped Kaki on the front of me... left the boot at home (shame on me... but really?!) and we headed out to the movies! I bought Caden the special kids pack, we found a nice young man to help us carry the booster seat to our chair and we got settled in...

Caden was EXCITED! He kept saying, "Whoooo, cool! Whoooo, that cool!" And of course popcorn and Sprite can make any day brighter!!

There was only one other family in the theatre which meant that we could be more relaxed about noise levels and such! Caden picked the row right behind the railing so we had the perfect place to prop up our feet, sit back and enjoy the show!!

The pics are obviously a little dark... the iPhone 3 is a little dated... :)

And sweet Kaki... her first movie at only 5 weeks old... she is already becoming a woman of the world... oh dear! She slept through most of it and then decided to suck down a bottle about half way through and then fall back asleep... sweet girl!

When I texted Justin earlier in the morning to tell him what we were doing he laughed and mockingly said, "good luck!" I had tried to convince him a few weeks earlier to take Caden to the movie but he said no way... he didn't think he'd do very well... so when the thought of me taking both of them by myself crossed his mind all he could do was see impending disaster and chuckle!

Well... we proved him wrong! And he stands corrected now and is excited to go with us to our next movie... SO many good ones for kids coming out this Fall!!

So there you have it... I say "so" A LOT don't I? I need to work on that... A movie date with my kiddos!! Too bad they wouldn't really be up for seeing something like The Help...

And the plus side of going to the movie that day was that I do believe that is where I found my marbles... in the dark, quiet solace of the theatre snuggled next to my two favorite people in the whole entire world! There they were... my marbles... and boy was I grateful to see them!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!