Kennedy - 5 Months

Hey there sweet baby girl -
I know that I didn't write an official 4 month post but since your three month was posted just days before you actually turned 4 months I thought I would wait till you turned 5 months to post the next monthly update.

So here we go...

You are changing daily! It seems that every time you wake up from a nap you are bigger. Your appetite is supporting this rapid growth pattern. You eat and eat and eat and eat. We have bumped your bottles up to 6oz every 2 hours (3 if we can keep you distracted for that long) or we would be feeding you every 30 minuets.

Even though you are eating us out of house and home it has been so special to see you develop. You want to keep up with Madi so bad and are pushing yourself to do so. You are rolling all over the place and have even started lifting your little bum up while on your tummy....the first step of crawling. Even though you aren't crawling yet you are still covering major ground pushing yourself. We can't leave you unattended anywhere. We even have to strap you down in your swing because you have began arching your back and pushing up with you feet. My little mover!!

Your little explorer personality takes you into all of Madi's toys.  Depending on her mood Madi will either freak or play with  you. I am sure this pattern will continue for a few more years :-) Your vocabulary is also growing. Although no words have officially formed you talk and talk all of the time. You will sit in your crib when you wake and just have a little discussion with the butterflies on your mobile. Its like you are saying good morning and asking them how their night was. It is so sweet!

Speaking of Madison you find her so funny. Whenever she plays with you, talks to you, or is being silly you crack up laughing. It is the funniest thing. You don't laugh at Dad or I like you laugh at your sis. Sisterly bond I guess :-)

You are still my little cuddle bug. You would much rather be held than not and if your not being held you demand to be close to all of the action. We have introduced you to the bouncer-like-thing and the walker with no wheels. You love both of the these because you can sit there and play and your not lying down. Plus they make all sorts of fun noises that you find fascinating. Speaking of sitting you have started to hold yourself up (while sitting) and can play for a few moments before flopping over. If we place the Boppy around you can sit and play for a while.

Your smile is possibly the sweetest smile ever, and you love to flash it :-) You will coo and chat reeling whoever you are talking to in and then flash your smile and there is no turning back. They are hooked and in love.

You have started to grow a tab bit of hair. The little fuz that has showed up is dark, straight and looks to be chalked full of cowlicks.  I am sorry to say that it looks like you may have inherited your moms hair.

You are our little string bean, social butterfly that is always on the move and who has captured all of our hearts. We love you Kenni-bear!!!

xoxoxo
Mama and Dada

Potty Training

Today is a BIG DAY...we started potty training Madison. So far we are four hours into it and its going pretty well. We have only had one accident (it happened to be on the window sill) and two potties in her potty chair. I am counting this as a success for day 1.

We started out by giving her two big presents. One was her potty (Elmo themed of coarse) and the other was a new doll. The doll was a potty doll (it pees and comes with her own doll potty). She was super excited about both. Once we got Madi's potty placed in the bathroom we opened the doll. Madi fed her a bottle and then we went and saw how the doll peed in her doll potty. The next step was for Madi to do this routine all over again with the doll but this time all by herself. She did good. She fed her and then took the doll potty. Step one was a success. Next we asked Madi if she wanted to use the potty like her doll did. She said "YES". So we put on her big girl panties (no pull-ups, straight up cotton Minnie Mouse panties) and took her into the bathroom. After pulling down her britches she sat on her potty. She sat there for about 10 mins and nothing. So we got her dressed and went into the living room waiting for round two. As soon as we got into the living room she went behind the couch and peed all over the window sill and floor. Still in her panties and not her diaper she did not like how it felt. We immediately went and sat on the potty. Seeing how she just empties her bladder in the living room she didn't have to go anymore. So we got new, dry panties on and waited. About ten minutes later I asked her if she had to go and she said. "yes". We got on the potty and waited. 15 mins later she turned around and flushed. We were surprised by this and lifted her up. Sure enough...the potty was full! YAY MADI!!!! Making a big deal about how proud we were of her she got all excited. She was even more excited to wash her hands :-) We followed this schedule for a few more hours and have no more accidents and another successful potty trip.

We are pretty proud of our little bear. She is growing up so fast.

her Minnie Mouse soap, Elmo towel and mini m&m treats...and mama's treat as well ;-)

Kennedy - 3 months

Dear Kennedy -

I am sorry to report that I will not be receiving the Blogging Mother of Year award. It is officially WAY closer to your 4 month birthday than your 3 and I am just now posting your 3 month update. I suck! Sorry baby girl! But I do want you to know that just because I am not that timely with this post doesn't mean we haven't been spending major QT (quality time) together. Another fail on my part is that I have misplaced your 3 and 4 months stickers. Yes just those two. I have found every other month but 3 and 4 have gone missing. Add another strike against me. Because of this you will not be wearing your monthly stickers this month or next :-( they will re-appear come month 5.

Anyways...on to your sweetness. Month 3 has been a turning point for you. You have turned straight to the bottle. I swear all you do is eat. All of your bottles are at least 4 ounces and most of the time we have to add an additional 2 ounces to that at least once if not twice in a feeding. Your little appetite isn't so little anymore...and either are you. You are still very petite but you are starting to fill out. You have also grown what feels like 3 feet in length. You are in the same size clothes that Madison was in at this age but for different reasons. She was wearing larger sizes due to her width, you are in them due to your length. Any pant or outfit that has feet on it has to at least be 6-9 months in size.

Another "turning" point for you has been rolling. You have officially began to roll. You are becoming my little jock. At first you could only roll from your tummy to your back, but today you rolled back to tummy. It will only be a matter of time (a very short period I am foreseeing) before you are covering major ground.

We have transitioned you back onto Similac Sensitive from Alimentum. The slight protein allergy that we (us and the doctor) thought you might have had has disappeared with age as the doctor thought it would. This is a good thing. Your spit-up episodes now have started to resemble re-flux as opposed to projectile vomit. We have counted this as a win :-)

As you will see in one of the pictures below you have become quite the drool monster. I SWEAR you are teething. You are drooling LIKE CRAZY, chewing on everything (Sofie has started to be admired by you quiet frequently) and you cannot keep your hands out of your mouth. You will have a full set of teeth just like your sister before we know it.

One thing that has emerged in your little personality that differs from your sister is that you are a cuddle bug. You LOVE to be held and cuddled. The other night I made dinner with you in the baby bjorn-like baby carrier because that was the only thing that made you happy. You are actually in that thing more often than any other baby devise/contraption we have.I hope you don't grow out of this. I love your snuggles.

You have started to really interact with us all. You are a big flirt and have the cutest, sweetest smile. It melts my heart every time you flash it. You are incredibly responsive and have so much to say. You especially light up when Madison is around. You guys already have a sweet bond forming. It has been amazing to watch. The Bird and The Bear...my two girls :-)

We love you so much Kennedy and want you to know that you have touched our hearts and enriched our lives in ways we may never be able to express.

xoxoxo

Mama & Dada

Greenhouse Studio Blog Update - Baby Bettega

I just posted some picts on Greenhouse Studio's blog from a newborn session I shot a few weeks back. Go take a peek.

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