December is almost over

Seems like I never take the time to blog anymore like I used to.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to do better about blogging more often.  I really do enjoy it!

Here's the last month recap...

Thanksgiving was nice.  We went to my big family gathering this year since not everyone had seen Kayla yet & others hadn't seen her in quite awhile.  We spent a few hours there then came home for naptime.

We had our family pictures made at Portrait Innovations, since Sears is going out of business at the mall.  I wouldn't recommend them to anyone if my life depended upon it.  I will have to write an entire other post about our experience with them & why I'm so pissed off about our experience.  Let's just say I hope nobody else I know goes to them EVER!

I took Kayla to Bass Pro again this year to get her picture made with Santa.  Now that she's older I wasn't sure how she would react, but she loved him!  It was so cute to watch her try to talk to him all serious, but the elves kept trying to get her to look at the camera & well that ended up making her a little mad, then of course that's the exact moment they snapped the picture.  Go figure.  I would have been ok with the picture of her trying to talk to him... to me that was just to cute.  Oh well.  Picture with Santa accomplished & it's something we can look back on again later.

Kayla's birthday party Sunday, December 9th went great.  She got a lot of stuff and enjoyed playing with all the kids and seeing everyone.  My BFF Kat made an awesome Minnie Mouse cake, it was so so cute!  Of course her birthday is so close to Christmas, that she's barely gotten to play with all of her birthday toys and bam it's Christmas & time for more gifts!  We did Christmas with my family yesterday at our house.  It was very nice, we had a great time.

I have to say that one of the biggest things that I'm thankful for is to be able to have family at our house for the holidays.  To have a big enough house to have everyone over is just the best feeling ever.  We were able to finish our den/office before the holidays too.  That was the best Christmas present ever.  It's so nice & beautiful, I love it!  It actually looks like a room now instead of a converted garage... just amazing.

I know this is short, but while I had a few moments I thought I would post a little update on what's been going on in our world the past month.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & hope everyone stays warm in this chilly weather we're having.

Minnie Mouse success

I'm very proud to announce that Kayla's Minnie Mouse costume turned out great!  I will be the first to admit that during the process of sewing it together, I made several mistakes, had to take it apart a few times, lost some sleep thinking and worrying about it, but all in all... I'm so impressed with the final results.  Personally I think she's the cutest Minnie Mouse I've ever seen!

So here's how our Halloween week went.  At work we started decorating late last week and I must say I loved the way everything turned out.  It was a slight competition between upstairs and downstairs... and hands down... upstairs won (which is where I'm at).  All the girls did a great job and all the creativeness between everyone was amazing.  The night before Halloween, I got Kayla dressed up in her Minnie Mouse and took her over to my Uncle Earl's house to deliver some cookies we made for him.  He always likes it when I made him cookies or desert of any sorts.  My Aunt Oneta happened to be over there as well, so of course I had to snap some pictures.

Yesterday, on Halloween... we had a lunch pot-luck party at work along with costume contest.  Needless to say it probably wasn't the most productive work day ever, but it was definitely fun.  I left work early and headed home to get Kayla ready, everything packed and head out to Mustang to my brother's house for trick-or-treat.  I convinced my parents to come along so they could be there for Kayla's first trick-or-treat experience.  Fred was out west and was suppose to head in to meet us in Mustang, but ended up calling an hour before to say he wasn't going to make it after all.  Which was very disappointing to hear.  I really hoped he would be there for Kayla.

After a few houses she kinda started getting the hang of it.  The first house, she wasn't sure what was going on.  Second house, they had a dog and she wanted to go inside and pet it.  Third house, she was almost ran over by her cousin Katie and then wanted to give the people candy out of her bucket.  Fourth and fifth house she held her bucket up for them to put candy in... and of course never spoke a word to anyone the entire time.  After the fifth house she crawled into her stroller and was pretty much done.  I managed to push her to a few more houses right up to the front door to collect candy, but then I decided we should head back to the house.  It was an experience for her and she seemed to have more fun playing in the living room with all the kids rather than roaming the streets walking up to strangers hoping for them to drop stuff in her pumpkin.  I wish Halloween would have been on a weekend instead of a weekday, because we didn't stay long.  We had to get back on the road to get home so I could get my little Minnie Mouse to bed before it got to late.  I'm already looking forward to next year, especially since Kayla will have a better understanding of what trick-or-treat is all about.  Maybe next time Fred will actually make it too.

 

How lucky I am

I can honestly say that every single day of my life I'm reminded just how lucky I am to have the most beautiful, wonderful, and precious daughter in the world.  As crazy as it may sound, I'm completely addicted to her.  Her laugh makes me laugh, her smile makes me smile, she's just contagious for me and I don't mind it one bit.

Of all the jobs I've had in my lifetime or all the things I've ever done... being a mommy is the absolute best and highest honor I've ever had or could ever receive.

Tonight as Kayla and I were winding down from dancing to "The Hot Dog Song" and other random songs from the tv... I pretended to collapse in the floor with arms spread out.  Kayla jumps up, runs to grab a blanket and her "doggy" then comes to cover me up with the blanket then attempts to crawl under there with me along with "doggy" too.  Just warms my heart, she's so sweet.

Last Friday night for whatever reason, Kayla didn't sleep well.  At all.
She went to bed at her usual 8:30pm time but then around 1am she was crying.  I went to soothe her, lay her back down, cover her up, etc., but shortly after I had crawled back in bed there she was awake and crying again.  It's a very rare occasion that she will wake up in the night like that so I knew she wasn't feeling quite right.  After several unsuccessful attempts to get her back to sleep, I made the decision to bring her to bed with me, which was around 3am.  I tried laying her next to me thinking I could just cuddle her, but that didn't work she wanted to lay on top of me with "doggy" in hand of course.  So I propped the pillows up where I could lay slightly upright, then within minutes she was sound asleep and still laying ontop of me as well, lol.  I got as much sleep as I could for the next 3 hours and was partially still asleep when we stumbled out of bed into the living room to flip the tv on.  If I would have realized it was only 6am I would have not gotten out of bed, but well I was sleep deprived and a little out of it.  We dozed off and on while laying on the couch watching random things on tv.  I'm glad she just wanted to hang out with me on the couch and not run wild thru the house.

Even though I was seriously sleep deprived all day Saturday and was only about half way functioning most of the day... I enjoyed every minute of it.  It's a good feeling to feel wanted and to know that you are able to put your sweet baby back to sleep when nothing else works.  Apparently she was just wanting some mommy time and wanted me close.

She's growing so fast, so I'm trying to absorb all the sweetest she's willing to give while she's this age.

On another note... I had this bright idea awhile back that I would make a minnie mouse costume for Kayla to wear for Halloween this year.  What was I thinking?  There are times when I don't exactly think everything thru completely before diving off in the deep end.  Well there is no failing this project, one way or the other she will be wearing the minnie mouse costume I make when I finally finish it.  I was attempting to put the sleeves on tonight and well that proved to be a little more challenging then I thought it would be, lol.  I need all fingers and toes crossed and lots of prayers this will turn out good.

I will have to post pics when I'm done!

First ER Visit

July 7th was Kayla's first ER visit.

Friday, July 6th early evening she was running a high temp, so I gave her some tylenol in hopes it would come down.  I gave her another dose around 1am after checking her temp again & it had creeped up instead of down.  Then Saturday morning when I checked again... it was even higher & she was burning up!  I wasn't sure what was going on so I made the decision to run her down to the ER just to be on the safe side.

She was the absolute perfect ER patient.  All the nurses & doctor were impressed with her.  She was a big girl the whole time & after a full work over, including a urine test, everything came back good & the doctor said she probably just had a viral infection & just to continue tylenol & motrine every 4 hours until her temp came down.

My poor love bug.  I felt completely helpless not being able to fix her immediately.

I know some might say I overreacted by rushing her down to the ER, but hey... better safe then sorry in my opinion.  I felt much better after taking her to get her checked out.

What a weekend that was though.  It just so happened that I had to work all weekend from home & that proved to be a challenge, but I got as much finished as I could & was satisfied with that.

The worst part came that following Tuesday morning, July 10th.  Fred had gotten up earlier to leave the house to take some cattle to the stockyards & not to long after he shut the door behind him... Kayla awoke & was crying, which is not like her at all.  She usually takes a little while to completely wake up & typically she's in a pretty good mood.  But not this morning, at all.

My poor love bug's eyes were completely swollen shut with goop.  It was so sad.  She just cried & cried... I took her temp & it was high so I knew it was time for a dr visit for sure.  I called my dad to come down to the house to hold her for a few minutes so that I could at least make the phone call to the dr office to get her an appointment.  Poor thing, she just wanted her mommy & nobody else... not even her papa.  Luckily they were able to get her an appointment... except the only spot they had available wasn't until 4:30pm that day!

Kayla & I made the most of it though, we played dr & I held warm wash cloths on her little swollen eyes until I could get them un-gooped & she could see again.  They stayed swollen most of the day, but the more time passed the better she got thankfully.  By the time 4:30pm rolled around she was up & playing more & in better spirits.

They did some tests at the dr office & well... she had the flu!  Can you believe that?  What made my blood start to boil was when they said the ER should have caught this when I took her there.  If only they would have swabbed her throat & nose & ran a few other tests we would have caught this earlier & could've given her medication to make her better much faster.  Unfortunately since she had probably had the flu since Friday, there wasn't any medicine to give her for it & we would just have to ride it out for a few more days.  Ugh my poor sweet baby!

Despite having the flu, Kayla was in a good mood.  She had a few days of only wanting mommy to hold her, but besides that she was great!

I enjoyed every minute of being at home, holding her the entire day when she was sick.  I felt needed & that was truly an excellant feeling.  I just wish we could have figured everything out much sooner & helped her get better faster.

I have to say, being a mommy is the best, most rewarding job in the entire world!  Totally priceless in my opinion.

Mother's Day

Well yesterday was officially my 2nd real Mother's Day as a mother.  Life as a mother is absolutely the best, most amazing & wonderful experience in my entire life!  Here is my Mother's Day weekend recap...

Friday, we had a little birthday party at work for the boss & everyone got to leave early, which was nice.  My hubby informed me that I was to receive a delivery at work that day, but by the time I was ready to leave the office it hadn't arrived yet.  I called to let him know I hadn't received anything, we hung up so he could call but he ended up not getting an answer.  He then called me back, gave me the phone # and approximately where the place was located & said I should probably just stop by there on my way home & see if I could pick it up instead.  This probably wouldn't have been a big deal, but... I called & called, got no answer, then after driving around trying to find the place I called hubby back to ask if he had a better idea of the location because apparently I'm blind.  So I finally find the place "Edible Arrangements" & pull in.  I walk in & after waiting for a period of time along with other not so happy customers, I'm informed that the driver is out to deliver my Edible Arrangement & that I can come back after 5 to pick it up if I wish.  A little frustrated I leave the store & text hubby to let him know & I receive no response text.

Now let me back up just a tad.  Hubby informed me the Saturday before that he would be leaving this Saturday for Montana... meaning he would miss Mother's Day.  I was a little upset about this to say the least.  Despite that, Friday morning I told him that since I would be getting off work early due to the party at work, I would call & maybe we could go eat somewhere, just the two of us.  Thinking it would be nice to spend a little time together before he left for his road trip to Montana with his father.  So when I called him from work to let him know that I hadn't received any deliveries, I also asked him what time he wanted to eat.  He said he was cleaning the trailer out & would let me know.  I assumed (which I shouldn't have done), that he would finish cleaning the trailer then call to meet up somewhere.  In the meantime, after my experience at Edible Arrangements, I decide to head to Wal-Mart to get a few things & to kill some time while I wait for hubby to call.  After 2 hours go by & I still haven't received any response since the text I sent after leaving Edible Arrangements... I decide to call him.  He says he's just finished eating lunch with his mother... yes... his mother apparently went & got lunch for them.  The time at this point is a little after 4pm.  Lunch... Dinner... wife?  Apparently I got confused somewhere in the past few hours.  After chasing down my own Mother's Day present & still don't have it in hand, hanging out patiently at Wal-Mart for 2 hours ready to get the hell outta there... and in that time frame he eats lunch with his mother & doesn't bother to call his wife.  Hmmm, apparently I'm really confused.

He said that he was thinking we would have an early dinner, as in... later in the day/after 5-6pm apparently?  Basically it gets turned around on me & thats that.  This is typically how the story goes.

Moving on... I leave Wal-Mart, stop by Office Depot for a few quick things I need for the rodeo, then head home.  In the midst of me arriving home & taking care of dogs, he calls, then arrives home as well.  Kayla stayed at my parents house while Fred & I ran to eat dinner together at TGI Fridays finally around 6pm, then I dropped him off at home & went to pick Love Bug up.

I had plans Saturday morning of sleeping in a little bit & let Fred hang out with Kayla... except that didn't happen.  Fred's mother called to tell him that his brother-in-law was on his way to pick him up & head to Chickasha to pick up the truck that was in the shop.  So off they went around 8am & as soon as they left miss Kayla woke up & our day began.  Kayla & I met Fred & his family for lunch then I took Kayla home to put her down for a much needed afternoon nap.  When Fred finally arrived home for the evening it was time for Kayla to go down to sleep.  He did get to spend a few minutes with her before bedtime but that was it.

Their original plans of leaving first thing Saturday morning for Montana was obviously pushed aside due to the truck taking longer in the shop then planned.  Instead, they decided to leave 6am Sunday aka Mother's Day morning to head out.  Blah.  After seeing Fred off, I crawled back in bed & decided to catch as much sleep as I could before Love Bug calls out for me to come get her out of her bed.  She finally woke up & we began our morning snuggling on the couch & her drinking a cup of milk as usual.  I have to admit, these are some of my most favorite moments as a mother.

Approaching 11am, I got Kayla dressed & ready to leave.  My parents drove over & we left & headed to Mustang to my brothers house for lunch.  We a great family afternoon!  The kids enjoyed playing together, it was to cute.  I got to hold & feed my newest great-niece Carly & spend time with my precious Kayla, parents, brother, sister-in-law, nieces, great-nephew Marty & other great-niece Gabrielle.

Despite the fact that my husband wasn't there to share & celebrate Mother's Day with me... I had an absolutely wonderful day with my family.  God gave me the most precious little girl in the entire world & I treasure every moment I have with her.  The best thing in the world is being a mom!

Happy Mother's Day to all my dear friends & family.

Hey diddle diddle

Well here it is, the famous finished mural I painted on Kayla's bedroom wall awhile back.  I have to say that I am very proud of my work.  Even though all I did was print off images, cut my own stencil out with a knife & then simply trace & paint them on the wall... I think it turned out very cute!

Heck, I may even paint more things on the walls in our house now, who knows.  LOL

I'm so happy... we finally re-did Kayla's closet this weekend too!  I stayed up way beyond my bedtime Thursday to paint not one but FOUR coats of bright white paint in the closet.  Since there isn't any lights in there, I figured I would go with something a little bright that way it might be a little easier to see everything.  Friday after I got off work, Fred met me at Lowe's & we purchased the shelving to install, then immediately went home & started to work on it.  It didn't take long at all & bam... a new wonderful closet emerged.  After I get everything organized like I want, I will take pics & post.  I'm definitely doing the guest bedroom closet exactly the same as soon as I get everything unpacked out of it someday.

I absolutely love organization!  I'm kinda weird like that I guess, but oh well.
Things always seem to move a little smoother if everything is organized, don't ya think?

13-14-15 months

So here is a recap of the past few months... I'm so far behind.

At the beginning of January we finally had family pictures taken & they turned out really good!  January 23rd is hubby's birthday, so I made him a chocolate cake & attempted the best decorating job that I knew how, then we went over to his parent's house to celebrate.

In the time frame since I last blogged, Kayla started walking & is now successfully moving at a high rate of speed these days.  She has 7 teeth & working on more.  She's also saying more words now too.  Simply amazing isn't it?

Kayla is full of life & full of everything these days.  She eats pretty much about anything you give her, so far I haven't really found anything she doesn't like.  Apparently I was an extremely picky eater when I was little, so I've been crossing my fingers she wouldn't take after me.  She's not a morning person, AT ALL!  She likes to wake up in her own sweet time frame & definitely isn't happy if she's forced to get out of bed before she's ready to.  That's when a little attitude comes peeping out of her.

For whatever reason, I got this bright idea awhile back that I wanted to paint hey diddle diddle on the wall above her bed.  I guess I became brave after succeeding at the silhouette I painted a few months ago.  I have to admit, the idea in my head was great but once I actually started on it, I was starting to doubt myself.  I am happy to say that it turned out so cute though & I was actually impressed.  Of course, I stenciled everything on the wall & basically painted in the lines... how hard can that be.  Anyways, her room is slowly but surely coming together.  Considering she's 15 months old now, I should have had her bedroom done a long time ago, but hey... I'm working on it.  By the time I actually finish she'll be able to tell me that she wants something else I'm sure.  Next project is her closet.  I'm going to install new shelving in the next week or so & I'm very excited about that.  I have a vision for it, now I just have to make it happen!

Watching Kayla grow every day is absolutely the best thing in the entire world to me.  Her bubbly personality totally makes the sun shine bright.  I'm head over heels addicted to her laugh too.  I just can't help it.  I simply can't imagine my life before she was in it or what I would ever do without her.

I think my favorite mommy time is in the evenings before bedtime... when she's snuggled in my lap with her cup of milk, watching tv with me right before it's time to pass out, then I get to carry her off to bed & get those sweet hugs n kisses goodnight.  Those are moments I treasure every day & thank the Lord that he gave me this sweet angel.

13 months already

Little Love Bug officially turned 1 year old December 9th!  We had a birthday party for her Sunday, December 11th & it went great.  I wasn't quite sure how she would do with so many people in the house, but she handled it perfectly.  When it was time for everyone to sing happy birthday to her & time for her to dig in to her cupcake... well she wasn't to thrilled about it, but by the time we got to that point, she was exhausted & ready for a nap.  The party lasted from 1pm-3pm, which was just the right amount of time.

Kayla got lots of wonderful things, but most of all... time spent with family & friends.  She got some much needed PJ's, clothes, OSU blanket, Sesame Street Dr. Kit, School Bus, Big Bird Ring Stacking Thing, the Elephant Ball Popper & lots of wonderful cards.  I'm probably missing a few things, but let's just say... she had a very blessed birthday!  As soon as the house was clear of birthday guests, it didn't take Kayla long to pass smooth out!
Her birthday cake & cupcakes that we stayed up until 3am making the night before... turned out great!  Fred did all of the frosting on the cake & cupcakes & I wrote with the pink icing on the top of her cake & did the sprinkles for the cupcakes.  Together we made a great team.  Despite not getting near enough sleep.  We should have started the cake & cupcake making project hours before... lesson learned for next time.

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged, so I'm going to attempt to catch everything up between then & now.

Then just two short weeks after Kayla's birthday... well it's Christmas!  Since I didn't get her pictures made with Santa Claus last year, I was determined to get it done this year.  Of course last year, she was only a few weeks old & I didn't feel it was necessary to drag her out in the freezing cold weather to have a pic made.  Anyways... we went to Bass Pro & the Santa was great.  Totally believable if you ask me.  The line wasn't long at all, so we didn't have to wait a long time.  I hate waiting in long lines.  I dreaded the thought of even going because of waiting in line, but I had my fingers crossed before we got there & luckily for us, the line was short!  Kayla wasn't quite sure what to think about the whole ordeal though.  She had absolutely no expression on her face & sat there stiff the whole time.  None the less, the pic turned out cute & I was very happy.  I had this fear that she might scream & cry the moment I sat her on Santa's lap, but the exact opposite happened.

We ended up having Christmas with my family the Sunday before Christmas.  The way everyone schedules were, that was the best we could work out, which I thought went great considering it was such short notice.  We had KFC & pizza for lunch, opened presents & just spent time together.  It was such a nice day.  Kayla was worn out & ended up passing out before everyone left.  When she's tired... she's done & that's that usually.  My brother & sister-n-law bought Kayla a Mickey Mouse Pillow Pet, which are very popular right now & my cousin Sherri bought her a Minnie Mouse... she's in absolute heaven with them!  It's so cute to watch her roll & lay on Mickey Mouse.  She sometimes falls down on top of him & just lays there.  If you ask her, "Where is Mickey Mouse?"  She immediately speed crawls over & hugs & lays on him.  So precious!  That's my sweet little love bug!  Christmas Eve, Fred & I ended up opening all the presents that we had under the tree so that Christmas morning would be focused on Kayla.  Fred got me a video camera, hurray, hurray!  I was so excited I could hardly stand it.  I've been wanting one for some time now & I finally got one.  The best part was that I was able to record Christmas morning with just the three of us & Kayla opening her presents.  Now I will be able to capture all the moments that I want her to be able to look back on for years to come.  Christmas Day we went to Fred's parents house, which is our usual routine.  Kayla was a little fussy & wanted me to hold her a lot for some reason, but that's ok.  She got books & some little farm animals with wheels to play with.  Then last Saturday, New Years Eve... we drove to Sulphur for my mother-n-law's side of the family Christmas get together.  Kayla got a cute little piano.  Again she was a little fussy & wanted me to hold her a lot.  Kayla & I ended up driving home by ourselves & Fred stayed to drive his parents home because his dad wasn't feeling well.

Christmas was very busy for us this year, but all in all... we all had a wonderful Christmas.

It was hard to see the year come & go as fast as it did.  Kayla is starting to take more steps on her own each day & everything seems to be changing so fast any more.  My brother & sister-n-law got her a little mini play kitchen for Christmas & I enjoy every minute of sitting in the floor playing kitchen with her in the evenings.  She seems to learn & catch on so fast.

All three of us are going to get our pictures made (today) Saturday.  I told myself months ago that I wouldn't take any pictures until I lost weight, but then my BFF reminded me that this are moments that I can't go back & re-do later on.  And she's absolutely right about that.  So now I'm excited about getting pictures made!  My brother & sister-n-law bought us a picture frame for Christmas that I would love to hang in the living room & Fred mentioned the other day that we should fill it with our family pics that we will be taking, so that's the plan!

Whew... I think that is enough catching up for now.  Hopefully I will find more time over the weekend to blog some more.  But for now... goodnight.

4 Teeth

Kayla officially has 4 teeth now... watch out I think in the next few days she might have a whole mouth full.  Seems like over night two more appeared on the bottom.  This morning is when the 4th one finally came through on the bottom.  I could tell it was fixing to make its appearance, but ya never know exactly when that will happen, you just have to keep checking every day.

Her teeth are so cute!  They are so little & adorable.

I bought her a toothbrush & toothpaste awhile back & tried to start brushing her first top teeth but she wasn't having any part of that.  She clinched her lips tight together & wouldn't even allow the toothbrush near her.  Guess we'll have to keep working on that one.  So far, I haven't been successful at even getting the toothbrush in her mouth yet.

I've been dying to get a picture of her itty bitty teeth, but I haven't been successful at that either.  Everytime I have the camera ready & snap a shot, she somehow closes her mouth at the exact moment the picture was snapped.  Go figure, right.

In less than a week, she will be 1 year old.  Ugh, I'm so not emotionally ready for this.  She's already growing to fast... what do I do?  I haven't heard the words mama yet either, so I'm still patiently awaiting that every day.  She's babbling more & more each day, so I'm sure it won't be long now.  I'm just so anxious to hear those words though!

I bought some of her birthday party stuff a few days ago, so I'm kinda prepared for next weekend.  We are just planning a small gathering with cake & ice cream, nothing to major.

Sadly, Friday on her actual birthday we have my company Christmas party that night.  It's only for a few hours though, so that won't be so bad.  My BFF Kat & her husband are coming up to spend the night & go to the party with us.  It's been really nice since Kat & I work together now, we get to see each other more than ever before & spend our lunches & breaks together.  Now if I could somehow convince them to move closer... hmmm... I'll have to keep working on that one.

Hopefully little Love Bug sleeps all night tonight.  Last night she slept from 8-midnight then decided to wake up & wasn't in the mood to go back to sleep for awhile.  I rocked her until she was content then she finally passed back out again.  This morning she didn't take a nap, then when I was getting ready to feed her lunch, she passed smooth out in her high-chair, so I scooped her up & laid her in bed for a much needed nap.  She slept for a little while, but then was back up & ready to play again.  When she awoke from her afternoon nap, she was crying & very upset.  I'm thinking her teeth were bothering her pretty bad.  She seemed so worn out & ended up passing back out in my arms while I was holding her, so I just held her & let her sleep in my arms for over an hour.  She needed the rest & of course I didn't mind holding her while she slept either.  I enjoy every single one of these moments.

Hopefully she'll be able to sleep better tonight & wake up happy in the morning!

OSU fan in the making

Well here is our OSU fan in the making!  She is sporting an OSU hoodie that was handed down to her from her cousins.  Very cute, huh!

To go along with the awesome OSU hoodie... well there is that precious heart melting smile of hers!

We still haven't seen any teeth poke through yet.  I'm also still patiently waiting to here "mama" come out of her mouth.

Her birthday is coming up quickly & I'm not even remotely prepared.  I'm thinking she needs a zebra theme, but I haven't made up my mind just yet.  My plan is to make a cake for the adults & cupcakes for the kids.  That way Kayla can have a cupcake to distroy instead of a chunk of cake.  We don't plan on having a big shin-dig or anything.  Just immediate family & a few friends.

I am looking forward to the future when she wants to have girl sleep overs & girly birthday parties though.  I'm sure that will be fun but possibly exhausting for me, ha ha.

Everyone keeps saying we need to cut her hair because it's grown so long in the back & looks funny... well... I'm not cutting it because I don't want to & that's what I have to say about that!  Even though she has some what of a mullet going on... personally I think it's cute & when the time is right, then we will cut it.  Until then, it's perfect the way that it is!

The one thing I am dreading that is coming up... is her one year shots.  Ugh.  She's done so well the past two times, I hope this time is just as good.

Rocking Chair

I've been looking for over a month now for a nice little rocking chair for Love Bug.  I just haven't been able to find one that I wanted to buy in the stores.  So I ended up ordering one online earlier this week.  While I was ordering that, I went ahead & ordered something else along with it (Playskool Step Start Walk 'N Ride - Pink).  The way it worked, was that if you purchased over a certain amount, shipping was free... go figure I was ONE dollar under that, so I looked & found something else I wanted for Kayla & ended up coming out better/cheaper doing that in the end then I would have if I would have just ordered the rocking chair by itself.

So today right after I got home from work, I was so excited to see the UPS truck pulling on to my street.  I felt like a little kid watching out the window... except he apparently thought my address was across the street & I watched him get out of his truck & walk the package up to their door & drop it off... Ugh!  Of course I immediately walked outside but he was quick & had already jumped in his truck & was driving off by the time I made it far enough outside.  It worked out just fine though... the neighbor looked at the package as I was walking across the street & met me half way with it in hand & said "this is yours".

I was hoping to receive the rocking chair, but the Playskool Step Start Walk 'N Ride came first instead.  That's ok though.  When I un-boxed it, I learned that it required some assembly.  Does anything come fully assembled these days, geez.  After I fed Kayla her dinner, we merged to the living room to start putting together her new toy.  This took a little longer than what I was expecting it to.  Apparently Kayla was bored or extremely tired, because before I knew it she was passed smooth out on the floor.  It was cute.  She looked so peaceful & despite my attempts to awake her, she wasn't having it.  So after I finished assembling everything... I scooped her up, put her nite-nite clothes on, cuddled with her on the couch to give her a bottle, then put her to bed.

Even though I'm not sure that I'm emotionally ready for Love Bug to start walking yet... I know it won't be long before she's running thru the house & I'm tripping over myself chasing her.  I figure this new toy will help her learn to walk better.  Now I'm ready for morning to get here so I can see if she likes it!

Check out this kick-ass rocking chair that I'm so patiently awaiting now.  Totally cute, huh!  I hope it's just as cute as the picture online.  My parent's have the same little rocking chair they had when my brother & I were little & well... since my brother is 54 years old now... you can imagine it's been around for quite some time.  Anyways, little miss Kayla is able to crawl in to the rocking chair all by herself & she loves to just sit there & rock for long periods of time.  That's when I knew, I for sure had to get one for our house so she can enjoy one here as well.  I just didn't want to buy one that was pink, or had a certain character on it, I wanted something a little more plain or that fit us better, so that's when I found this one online & fell in love with it.

Just wait... when Kayla starts playing with dolls, barbies & all that fun stuff... I will get to become a child again, woohoo!  I just love spending time with her, we have so much fun now & I know as she grows it will only get better.  I think my husband thinks I'm a little looney from time to time, because I talk, sing or what ever constantly with Kayla, but she thinks I'm entertaining... so that's all that matters to me.  Ha Ha

I wanna be a fun mom for Kayla & any future children we have.  My goal is to be well rounded for my kids.  I want them to have fun with me, but yet know their boundaries as they grow & want to come to me with anything that's on their mind.

Being a mommy is so exciting, I love every minute of it.  It's just amazing how drastically your life changes when you have a child.  Life is absolutely great!

First Tooth

Well I can officially feel my little love bug's first tooth coming in finally!  Poor little thing hasn't slept a full night in almost two weeks now.  She wakes up off & on through the night & I know she must be uncomfortable.

The not sleeping is wearing on me, but so far I'm still able to function during the day without completely passing out from exhaustion.

I keep waiting for the morning when my hubby tells me to stay in bed, rest or sleep in while he gets up & tends to love bug.  Needless to say, I'm still waiting for that to happen.

Kayla & I have so much fun together, she's just a total blast right now.  Tonight she made me laugh so hard & since I was laughing... she started laughing harder & we were both laying in the floor just laughing together.  So cute.  I wish I had a video camera to record these precious moments to look back on in the future.  It would be awesome to be able to show her when she's all grown up just how damn cute she was & how much fun we had.

As soon as her first tooth is viewable, I will definitely be taking some pics to post for everyone to see.

This morning I was actually ready to leave the house earlier than usual... had everything packed & in the truck ready to roll, but as soon as I walked back in the house to scoop up Kayla to head out the door... well she had a nice surprise for me.  Potty!  She had a total blow-out literally.  Of course, she was wearing an outfit that she hadn't worn yet & even though it was second-hand, it was new to her & she looked so adorable in it.  I had plans on snapping a few pics before walking out the door, but that thought changed as soon as I realized we had a small disaster on our hands to take care of.  Poor thing.  I basically gave her a bath with wipes.

I filled the bathroom sink with warm water, soaked her outfit down with stain remover spray then thew it in the sink to soak for the day.  Quickly grabbed another outfit from the closet, dressed her, then out the door we went.  All in all, instead of being 15-20 minutes early for work this morning like I had planned... I ended up being 15 minutes late.  Go figure right?  Oh well, it happens I guess.  Seems like it's always something though.  Mornings just never go my way for some reason, but I've came to the conclusion that there isn't a whole lot I can do about it so why keep stressing over it.

I had to run by the store on my way home from work today to get a few things that we needed, so by the time I did that, un-loaded everything at the house, then picked Kayla up from my parents house... it was almost 7pm.  Not much time to spend with her since she goes to bed between 8-8:30pm.  Tomorrow I don't have errands to run, so I will be able to spend more time with her after work.

Friday I take her to get her first flu shot.  Yikes.  I'm a little nervous.  I'm not affraid of needles in the least bit, but when it comes to my love bug getting shots... ok I'm a little weenie about it I will admit.

She's quickly approaching the 11 month mark & I'm sooo not ready yet.  What happened to the past 11 months?  Why does it have to go so fast?  Before I know it, she will be asking to borrow the truck or something... UGH somebody please slap me!

I know I've said this 100 times, but oh well here it is again... I love being a mommy!  I absolutely love every minute of it.  Even the moments that are messy & might not smell so pretty... I don't mind at all.  I can't even imagine what my life was like before Kayla.

Well I guess that's a wrap for this evening.

Good night & sweet dreams to my love bug, mommy loves you & I have a feeling I will be seeing your beautiful face shortly... so I better catch a few zzz's while I have the opportunity too.

Poor baby

Yesterday Kayla started getting a little snotty... then last night, she woke up off & on throughout the entire night.  When I dropped her off at my parents house this morning I could tell my poor baby just wasn't feeling well at all.

Around 10am my mom called to tell me that little Kayla was unable to sleep because she was having a hard time breathing & thought I should try to get her into the dr today.  So I called & luckily they were able to work her in this afternoon.

When I picked her up, she was just out of it.  I loaded her in the truck & off to the dr office we went.

After waiting in the waiting room for almost an hour, they finally called us back.  The diagnosis was she has a cold.

We got some saline solution & a new large snot sucker as the remedy.

Perfect... the one area of her body she doesn't like anyone to mess with & now I have to squirt saline up in each side & vacuum the snot out.  Awesome.  And, I need to do this 3-4 times a day for the next few days to help her get cleared up.

I dreaded even thinking about attempting it, but hey, it has to be done right?

Poor Kayla.  I can't stand to see her cry & it kills me being the one whose causing her to cry in the first place.  God help me.  I managed to hold my emotions in the first attempt even though she was crying so hard she was turning red & it simply broke my heart.

Second attempt, well I almost lost it.  I managed to get through it, but I almost started crying to.

I know, everyone is probably saying... oh what a weenie.  Well you are probably right... maybe I am a weenie mom, but that's just how it is I guess.  I never thought in a million years I would be a weenie mom, but hey... I guess you never know until you're actually there huh.  So I'll admit it, I'm pretty soft when it comes to my sweet baby.

We hooked the humidifier up in her bedroom tonight, so I'm hoping that will help her breathe better.

So far, she hasn't slept an entire hour without waking up tonight.  Poor baby.  It's going to be another long night I'm affraid.

Hubby is sick, now baby is sick... = mommy has her hands full.  Everyone please pray for me.

9 month check up

Yesterday was Kayla's 9 month check up.  They gave me the option of having her blood drawn then OR waiting until she comes back for her one year check up to get shots & have it done then.

Lets think about this... get shots, then sit & wait in the waiting room for them to call us back for her blood to be drawn... um NO.  I can see that could be a disaster waiting to happen.  The option of getting part of it over with now, YES absolutely!

It was bad enough that her dr appointment was at 9:20am & we didn't physically leave there until almost 11:00am only to have to go to another building & sit in the waiting room to wait to get her blood drawn.  Ugh.

The great part about everything was that Kayla did absolutely awesome!  Everyone was giving the lab tech a hard time as we were making the long walk back to the room in which this was going to take place.  They were saying she was going to make her cry & that she was just to cute to have to cry, etc.  Poor lab tech, I know she felt bad.

Kayla sat on my lap like a big girl, we played patty-cake until the lady was ready & then my sweet baby didn't even flentch when she pricked her finger.  Not one tear was shed, no crying, nothing... can you believe that?  I was such a proud parent at that moment.  The whole time the lab tech was saying, "I wish all my patients acted like this, even the older ones".  Yeah, I kinda swelled up with pride that my precious 9 month old was acting absolutely perfect for the entire process, which seemed to take forever.

When she was finished though, she put a small dab of cotton on her finger then wrapped it with a piece of bandaid.  Kayla looked at her finger as if she was thinking, "what the heck is this for?"  It was quite cute.

As we walked back down the hallway towards the door, all the staff was saying, "oh poor thing, did she cry a lot?"  I was like, "nope, not one tear or even a whimper."  The lab tech confirmed my statement & everyone thought that was really cool that she was so good for being so little.

Of course not long afterwards I had to snap some pictures with my phone.  I wasn't quite sure how long the bandaid w/cotton would last so I didn't want to miss the opportunity.  Just look at her sweet little hand with this big ole' bandaid & cotton on it, how cute is that, seriously?  Poor little thing, even though it didn't seem to upset her in the least bit.

Some girls at my work have been saying they wanted me to drop by with Kayla so they could see her, so we made our way over there & stopped in briefly.  After we were done there, we headed for my parents house to drop her off.  I'm sure Kayla was starving by this point, it was almost 1pm & she's used to eating anywhere between 11:30-12:30.

All in all, we passed our 9 month check up.  She weighed 8lbs 7oz & 27.5 inches tall.

9 months already

Kayla was 9 months old yesterday.

My sweet baby isn't far away from being a little girl now.  I'm excited but at the same time I'm scared to death.

I'm so excited because I know she will be walking soon, then she can just follow me around the house or whatever (which I know I will probably regret after she starts) & it will be much easier to take her to the store with me when she starts walking too.

On the flip side of course, I'm scared... she's just growing up to fast.  Every day she does something different & it's at a faster pace then what I'm prepared for.  It feels like I just gave birth to her & it surely doesn't feel like it's already been NINE MONTHS AGO!

She's crawling, pulling up on everything, etc.  I look forward to hearing her say mama for the first time, I know that will completely melt my heart into mush.

Today our plan is to do a little shopping.  We have hard wood floors in the living room & need to get a rug/carpet of some sort so that Kayla can freely roam without having to worry about her wiping out on the hard floor in there.

#1 we are going to have some family time together, just the three of us today!  I'm definitely looking forward to that.  

And the weather is nice outside, so I'm hoping it stays that way!

Labor Day weekend

Just like most everyone out there, I wasn't ready for the 3 day holiday weekend to end yesterday.  In fact, I was starting to think... why don't we have a labor week instead of just one day?  I know that's a far fetched dream that will never happen, but hey it's still a nice thought right?  I'm allowed to have those from time to time.

The best part of the entire 3 days, was the fact that I was able to spend them with Kayla.  It was just her & I this weekend, because daddy was well over 1,000 miles away in the great state of Montana.  He left early last Thursday morning & didn't return until after midnight last night.  Maybe one of these days when I have a day off work, he will be able to stay home with us instead of driving across the states.

Kayla & I had a great weekend together.  It was so nice to not worry about dropping her off at my parents house in the morning so I can head to work.  Instead, when she woke up in the morning, I put her in bed with me & we had some cuddle time before we made it to the kitchen for breakfast, then morning cartoons together.  Oh what fun!  She's literally just a ball of fun these days.

Every night after Kayla went nite-nite, I headed for the laundry/den area to paint.  Ugh.  I was determined to get this completely finished this weekend.  I'm happy to announce that I got 95% of it finished!  Still have a few touch ups here & there, but I will conquer those sometime soon.  I'm just excited to have the majority of the painting finished at this point.  Hurray for me!

As everyone knows, I'm not exactly the best person to be crawling on any type of ladder, but the good report is that I only sorta stumbled off the step-ladder 3 times the entire weekend.  That's a new record for me AND the best part is that I don't have one bruise to show for it!  Woohoo.

Saturday, Kayla & I ventured out to Target for some shopping.  I tried out the new shopping cart cover thingy that I bought awhile back & wow poor little Kayla looked so tiny riding around in it.  It looked like it swallowed her right up, but she seemed to have a good time riding around in it.

My dad came over Sunday & mowed the lawn which was starting to get outta control.  Thank you dad!  I think he also did that so he could stop in & see Miss Kayla too.  If he doesn't see her everyday I swear he goes thru withdrawals or something.  That's ok, he didn't stay long & I know she loves to see her Papa too.

Yesterday, I called my mother-in-law to come over to spend some time with us last night.  She brought me dinner & hung out with us for a little while until it was time for Kayla to get a bath & go nite-nite.  It was the first time in a long time that she was able to hold Kayla the entire time she was here & she didn't even cry once!  So maybe she's growing out of this not letting anyone except a very few people hold her stage, woohoo I'm definitely excited about that.  Especially with my mother-in-law, I felt so bad every time she would try & hold her & Kayla wouldn't have it... made me feel really sad.

Here are a few things I haven't mentioned lately... Kayla is officially crawling now!  She's getting quicker by the day too, it's crazy.  Not to mention, she's also getting more onry.  Several times this weekend I went in to pick her up from her nap & she had un-done both bumpers on the back side of the crib & was playing with them.  And I mean, she had un-tied all 4 ties on both of them!  Wish it could've been the ones in the front instead of the side of the crib that's against the wall & for us short people... hard to get to.  I managed to get them tied back only to find she had done it again next naptime.  Amazing how quickly they learn & pick up new things, huh.

I have to say although hubby was unable to be with us this weekend... I enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with Kayla.  I would most definitely mark this as an all around successful weekend!

Unfortunately hubby & I haven't gotten to spend much time together since his arrival after midnight last night.  He was exhausted from the trip & well it was after midnight when he got home & way past my bedtime.  We met up for lunch today along with his mom & then he got home late this evening.

Tomorrow I have my one-on-one appointment with the counselor & I'm looking forward to that.  Each visit, is one step closer in the right direction in my opinion.

Well that's the low down on our Labor Day weekend!

Tractor ride

Well it's a given fact, that my father is the proudest papa in the world when it comes to Kayla. He lives for each day when I drop her off at their house in the mornings so he can have his little buddy all day to play with. Of course he couldn't wait to take her for a ride on the tractor, so he's been doing that from time to time when it's not to hot outside.  Whether it be the big red tractor or the lawnmower.  Of course he's not working while he's letting her ride with him... they just take a drive together.

I snapped this pic when dad was at our house helping Fred clean up the yard from our disaster wind storm that knocked out around 8 trees in our yard.  Oh what a mess it was & still is around here.

Kayla really seems to enjoy her tractor rides with her papa & I'm not sure which one of them enjoys it more.

4th of July debut

Talk about one very proud papa... my dad asked at least a month in advance if we were going to bring Kayla to the parade so she could ride beside him in the Langston's Wagon. Of course I said yes... well depending on how hot the weather was.

Lady luck was on our side though, the weather that morning was perfect! Overcast, sun wasn't beaming down & trying to melt everyone, it was absolutely perfect.

There was a photographer with the paper that stopped us half way through the parade to take pics, but unfornately she didn't make the paper. We were so proud of her... she rode beside my dad the whole time & did just fine & even seemed to enjoy it. Everyone we knew who saw the parade commented on how sweet that was & how good she was doing for how young she is.

I took pics before it was time for dad & the Langston's wagon to roll through the parade started... just in case Kayla didn't make it the whole way.

Even though it's been over a month since 4th of July, I couldn't help it, I had to post this pic & write about it again.  Isn't she just a doll?

Some catching up to do

I know I keep saying this… but wow how time flies. Every time I think about sitting down to blog, I get side tracked or something comes up & I don’t. It’s becoming more apparent to me that I just simply don’t have time to do anything extra that I would like to do these days. In many ways that’s ok with me, but in other ways I wish that I could get everything in my life more organized so that I can manage to do more.

July is one of those months that always seem like a blur by the time the last day arrives.
Let’s see, here is my July schedule:

July 3rd is my niece Burgandi’s birthday
July 4th is well July 4th
July 6th is my niece Emily’s birthday
July 9th is my great-nephew Bubba’s birthday
July 18th is my niece Rachel’s birthday
July 20th is my birthday

July 27th is my parent’s anniversary
July 27th is our anniversary
July 27th is my friend Amber’s birthday

Not to mention two weekends of rodeos mixed in there as well.
Whew, let’s take a breath. Kinda busy huh?

I am happy to announce that hubby & I will officially celebrate our one-year anniversary though! I’m excited about that. We made it one year, wow. In some ways it’s been a really long one-year, but in other ways it’s kinda crept up fast... if that makes any sense.

We’ve had our share of moments the past few months. Things have been pretty stressful in more ways than one, but the most important thing is that we’ve made it so far.

The den/laundry area project is still under way & the goal is to be finished asap. Maybe I can actually relax a little once I get everything back in order & be able to re-hook all my computer/printer stuff back up & actually be able to walk without dodging large piles of stuff everywhere. Just having everything in such disarray causes me to want to poke nails in my eyes some days.

Of course I can’t write a blog without talking about our precious mini-muffin aka Kayla. Every day she changes & starts doing something new, it’s simply amazing. I’ll admit that sometimes I just want to sit & stare at her because she’s so beautiful. I absolutely love & adore everything about her. Am I nut or what? I’m in love with my little love bug & I can’t help it. She’s currently going through the stage of not allowing anyone to hold her except for a select few… which are daddy, her grandpa, grandma & of course me. Other than that, it takes her about a second when someone picks her up before she starts crying. Nurse Shirley assured me that this stage will pass with some time, so I’ll be thankful for that. It really breaks my heart when Fred’s mom wants to hold her but Kayla just starts crying. I feel so bad even though I know there’s nothing I can do about it. I guess the only comforting thing is when other mothers tell me about them having the same issues with their children when they were around her same age.

No matter what it is, it’s always comforting to know when others have had or are having the same happenings too.

I will have to post pictures of Kayla’s first appearance in the Edmond 4th of July parade this year! Talk about adorable. She sat on the seat right next to her papa for the entire parade on the Langston’s wagon. The only time she didn’t enjoy herself was when the motorcycles roared by… she cried. Other than that, she was a perfect angel & I personally think she enjoyed it. I was truly a proud parent that day!

Nurse Shirley came today & Kayla weighed a whopping 17lbs 7oz & hasn’t grown in height yet. But that’s ok; in my eyes she’s absolutely perfect in every way.

I guess I should talk about the fact that today is my birthday. The big 34 this year & that totally doesn’t seem real to say or write. 34… wow I remember when I was like 20 knowing people that were 34 & thinking that was a long distance away, man was I wrong. It definitely snuck up on me when I wasn’t paying attention.

Honestly though, all in all, I’m ok with 34. It’s another day, another year. I’m alive, healthy & even though I have days that are rough just like everyone else does… I love my life & wouldn’t change it. Well… maybe except for wanting to win the lottery. Ha Ha

I’m not quite sure what this evening holds just yet. The original plan was to paint the ceiling in the den last night, but due to a lack of motivation on both our parts… we decided to plop ourselves on the couch & watch the newest episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels instead. I’ve already bought the paint & I’m determined to get this project finished in the very near future to save my sanity or what’s left of it at this point.

Well I think I’ve covered a little bit of everything to catch up since the last blog, which was like well over a month ago. I know, shame on me. I promise I will make an attempt to do better in the future.

4 months

Well here we are... Kayla has already passed the 4 month old mark & swifting approaching the 5 month mark now.  Oh my gosh, time is moving at lightening speed these days, no doubt.

She got her 4 month shots & she did much better this last time compared to the first round.  I held her this time & she did cry, but only briefly.  Fred was able to go with me too, thankfully.  Poor little thing though... I just feel so bad for her having to go thru all of that.  This time it seemed that it took a little longer for the sore-ness in her legs to pass.  Her temp was a little elevated, so a swift dose of tylenol & the temp subsided & she was all better.

Nurse Shirley came to visit yesterday & Kayla weighed a whoppin' 15lbs 1oz and was measured at 24 and almost 1/2 inches long.  When we got her shots a few weeks ago she weighed 14lbs 3oz... so she's growing at warp speed I swear.  Nurse Shirley said Kayla's doing great & we got an excellant review!  A few minor child proofing issues to take care of in the house but well... we have a little while before she's going to be crawling just yet.  I do know that those child proof locks for the cabinets doors are already absolutely driving me nutts.  I can't tell you how many times I've smashed my damn fingers in the doors trying to get in or out of them.  I'm not quite sure how long I can last without jumping over the edge & un-installing all of them, ugh.  Those are a total nightmere.  I can understand having them on certain cabinets but every single one... seems a little extreme to me.

I think when Kayla poops these days... its like 10 tons all at once.  Let's just say it doesn't all fit in the diaper & if you lay her down to change her... well it all comes out the back, up her back & well even all the way up to her hair in some cases.  The other night I had it everywhere & ended up just scooping her up in a towel taking her to the sink & giving her a bath.  That's about all I could do at the time.

All in all though... I could never ask for a better baby.  Not only is she the most precious thing in the entire world, but she's just a good baby all around.  I hear horror stories of other moms at this stage & their kids aren't sleeping all night, they are very fussy, etc. but not Kayla.  The only time she gets upset is if she's dirty, sleepy or hungry... otherwise she's happy go lucky all the time & full of smiles.

I've fully over come my seperation anxiety with her sleeping in her crib now.  She's doing so well in there & the monitors work great & I can hear every peep she makes, so that's comforting for me.  There are times which I wish she could still fit in the bassinet though, ha ha.

Mother's Day is coming up & I'm so excited about my first real Mother's Day!  I'm a real mom now.  After all these years & practically raising everyone else children... I can officially celebrate this holiday & I can hardly wait.  I still love all the other children whom I will always claim as my own, but there's something different about giving birth to your own child & having that connection & bond.  I look forward to what Mother's Day will bring this year!

Hopefully it won't be another 20 days before I post again this time.