18 months TODAY!

Today we got to see Dr. Boysen for our 18 month visit. I must say - all the chocolate and strawberry milk we have been giving K must have done the trick! At 21 lbs 8 oz, she is just in the 10th percentile - YIPPEEEEEEEE! This means we don't have to do the silly follow up weight checks. For those of you wondering - she is 31 1/4 inches tall (that's the 40th percentile). We had such a good time at Dr. Boysen's office - while we were in the waiting room, we said "HI" to the fishies about 100 times and we also scared the older kids that came to the office. Kennedy tried to talk to a boy who was about 2 1/2 and he ran and hid under his mom's leg. Silly boy. And then after we met with Nurse Sherri, we loved to play with the little chair in the Dr. office. up and down, up and down. Then Nurse Sherri gave us our shots. We did not love them. But we did get cool Barbie band aids.

In other news...we do have a couple of 18 month updates:

Kennedy goes potty in the big girl potty every day at Lorie's - usually right after lunch or nap. Apparently M&M's make good potty treats:) She hasn't done it for us at home yet, but we aren't really potty training yet - just making sure she isn't afraid of the potty.

Kennedy walks up the stairs - just tonight actually, she doesn't crawl up them anymore, she wants to walk. We'll see if it continues, but I always wondered when this transition would happen.

Kennedy loves her little car. She likes to put her little friends in the back and drive them around. She also likes to crash into the wall. Apparently this is hilarious...

She also thinks it is appropriate to STAND on the car. Hey, we did always say she was a genius, right?

Little Drywaller.

We are finishing our lower level basement into a bar and a 4th bedroom - thanks to my dad. Until now, it has just been my dad and Jon working, but finally, there was something that I could help with - putty and tape. and sanding. and more putty and tape. and more sanding. Does it end? I am told it does, but for now I see clouds of dust(?) from sanding. My dad did bring over his shop vac that has this nifty sanding attachment, however, we were sanding late last night and it was a little too loud for Kennedy, who was sleeping, so we ended up in clouds of white dust. It was great. And now it is ready for more putty. and did I mention more sanding? Here are some pictures of Kennedy, who LOVES to go down there and mess around. She was "helping".

she loves to help!

Dress Up? Before Bedtime? You must be CRAZY!!!

So, tonight we decided to go to Kohls and get a dress for our little cousin Austen's baptism this Sunday. Weeknights are usually pretty simple in our house; we go straight home, let Maggie out, eat, possibly bathe and chill. Then it is lights out for Miss K by 7:45-8...seriously, she is ready for night night; waiting at the gate to go up to her room:) So, tonight we went right after work - first we had to go pick up a picture at Flash and since we were already at the mall, we HAD to look around. We went to Target and they have soooo much cute stuff on clearance. But K was hungry, so we got some Chick Fil A. Next, we just had to visit The Children's Place (cheap and AWESOME! Love that store:)) - then we managed to get to Kohls. Now, it was about 7pm when we got there - but we were done, with the cutest dress left on clearance EVER (!) by 7:15. We came home, did the bath thing and then, right about 7:45, we played Dress Up! Kennedy hated it. Every minute. I finally got some pix after I turned on Barney. That is why she is barely looking at the camera - but here are some shots of the cutie petutie - completely exhausted.

AND....we realized that we don't have any pictures of our beautiful Maggie; so here is Kennedy in on the dresses (that we got at Target for like $2.98!) feeding Kennedy some popcorn. It is usually Kennedy's favorite thing in the world to give Maggie her treats. However, I was trying to get some shots of Kennedy and Maggie together and I kept telling Kennedy to give Maggie some popcorn. She looked at me like "you must be crazy if you think I am going to share this good stuff!" I don't even think she gave her a piece in this picture; if she did, she took it back - poor Maggie - she was being led on! By the K man!

According to Babycenter - online "knowledge" center for all things baby...

Your 17-month-old, week 3

She can undress herself (dressing herself will come much later),

brush her teeth without your help

She can sort things by color, shape, and type

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Seriously? Seriously! That is pretty much all I have to say. So, in comparison to others her age, Miss K must be a slacker, right? Except she is a GENIUS! We know it, she knows it, pretty much everyone knows it - except the so called "geniuses" at Babycenter...(note the sarcasm...) I usually don't pay much attention to these weekly reminders that come in my email - for the most part, they are right on - but I think they skipped a few in between on the month of 17, pretty sure anyway... It did inspire me to go out and buy some crayons and bring back the flashcards.

So, to get back on the genius track, we now are able to pull off our socks, eat crayons and chew on a toothbrush. Pretty much well on our way! Here are a few pics of our "coloring" adventures. Remember, we are only getting started!

Hawks Win!

We went to our friends' Dellis and Michelle's house to watch the Hawks play at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL on New Year's Day. It was so exciting to see everyone - there are so many little kids for Kennedy to play with. Her favorite part of the house was the stairs. I lost her at least 5 times. She was all over the place and she LOVED the little doll pack & play and doll stroller that Addie has. She even talked Addie into pushing her in the stroller:) And she had a great time with the Hot Wheels City that Elias got from Santa. He had it set up on his Thomas the Train table and Kennedy thought it was the coolest! And they had this awesome Jumparoo thing - it is a blow up trampoline and Kennedy loved it! Actually, all of the kids loved it - I bet I would have loved it too, but there were too many people around for me to test that theory...I guess I will just have to try to find one for my house:)

What is New Year's Eve? And WHAT do you want me to put on my head?!

It's New Years Eve! Finally 2008 can be over. This past month seemed to DRAG on, don't you think? We went to Grandma Julie and Papa Brian's to try to "ring" in the New Year, but we only lasted until 10pm. K man was tuckered with a capital T. She could barely keep those lids up, but she sure tried.

AND - BIG EXCITING NEWS - REALLY!!! When I picked up Miss K from Lorie's today - Lorie had news - K went potty on the BIG potty! She had a dry diaper after nap and Lorie had started working on getting her used to the potty; well, wouldn't you know it? She did it. And she earned herself 2 M&M's as a "potty treat". We'll see how it goes:)

This is the hat that my Aunt Paula made for Kennedy. It is so cute, I tried it out, but it is KID SIZE and my head didn't fit. Bummer...

Well, I better get ready to watch the ball drop - I am anxiously awaiting this event. We have to get our beauty sleep so we can cheer on the Hawks at the Outback Bowl tomorrow morning - bright and early 10am... HAWKS GO!

Some thoughts on Christmas.

So, we had a GREAT Christmas this year. I really thought Kennedy would enjoy the opening of presents, but I was wrong. She loves the things she got, don't get me wrong, but had absolutely ZERO interest in the actual gift opening process. I see pictures and videos of other little kids her age just tearing away, but no, she is too "busy" to be held down to, I don't know, OPEN PRESENTS! Here are some pix of her at this Christmas, I couldn't get any of her actually opening presents b/c let's face it, she just didn't.