21 Months

At 21 months, Kaitlyn is:

• taking one nap in the afternoon. 
• wearing 3t clothing with a little 4t mixed in. Wearing size 8 shoes.
• mastering her colors.  She names everything consistently except for gray.
• working on her numbers. (one, two, six, seven, ten!)
• going to bed with a few blankies and lots of stuffies.  She has 7 stuffies and 2 blankies tonight. 
• asking for favorites to eat.  Cheese is always the first thing she asks for!
• loves puzzles!  She could sit for hours. 
• is helping out around the house.  She helps sort laundry, unload the dishwasher, pickup toys, and put groceries away. 
• is very opinionated.  She'll tell you exactly what she thinks!
• is starting to make sentences.  She'll string 4-7 words together now. 
• is obsessed with the potty.  She likes to sit on the potty, but never goes.
• knows how to guilt her momma.  When tucking her in she says "need you momma' and cries.  Breaks my heart.
• miss independent.  She likes to do everything herself and will redo something if we don't let her do it the first time. If she can't do it she'll ask for help.
• learning more everyday.  Nothing gets past her!

Saturday morning Dora watching

Thanksgiving

Daddy's boots

Play-doh!!!!

18 months

At 18 months, Kaitlyn is:

• taking one nap in the afternoon.

• sleeping in a big girl bed. She was trying very hard to climb out of her crib, so we switched her over. She's been doing great!!!!

•is wearing 3t clothes.

•has been talking up a storm! It continually amazes me that she know so many words and is able to use them in the right context.

•can name all of her body parts. One of her favorites is to kiss her brain.

•would live outside if we'd let her. Her latest fascination is with sand. ......she's been putting it on her head.

•is using adult forks, spoons and cups for meals. We still use sippy cups for on the go.

•has 12 teeth and her canines are trying to pop through.

•is napping on a mat at daycare. Some days are good, others are a struggle....

• is in love with the new baby at daycare. She'll be a great big sister someday!

•loves puzzles,  books, and coloring. If we have to be inside, she's busy doing one of these.

•has no problem speaking her mind. I hear 'NO MOMMY!' at least 10 times a day.

•is growing and changing so fast!  I'm so fortunate that I'm able to be with her for everything! 

15 Months

At 15 months, Kaitlyn:

• is wearing 2-3T clothes.  2T for bottoms and 3T on top to cover her belly. :)
• is still drinking from sippy cups.....we've added water bottles to the list too!  She's not very good at drinking from a cup yet, but is super great at covering herself with water!!!
• is starting to eat with a fork and spoon.  She actually does better with regular silverware rather than the toddler. 
• Crawls/walks up stairs and walks down them!
• RUNS EVERYWHERE!!  She's either at 100% or sleeping....doesn't seem to be anything in-between. 
• Has to have a blanking to sleep and a/several stuffed animals to sleep.  She has to have her seahorse that sings her to sleep at night and will request others on occasion.  He favorites are her dolly, ballerina, bear, or blanket bear. 
• Takes 1 nap a day normally.....2 if she's crabby!
• Has started throwing tantrums when things don't work right or she doesn't get her way.....she's developing quite an attitude!
• Points at everything that she sees.
• Blows kisses when saying goodbye or when responding to I Love You.
• Knows lots of words!  'Daddy, Mommy, more, ball, dog, bird, kick, yes, yeah, no, book, neigh, cluck, shoes, Grandpa, Grandma',   Her vocabulary seems to expand on a daily basis!!!  She'll often say new words once, but then we can't get her to repeat them. 

Kaitlyn is growing and changing SO much and at such a fast rate.  It's really amazing to see how quickly!

Excited to go fishing with Daddy!

Grandpa spoiling her with ice cream.

Watching mommy plant flowers.

Loving our new porch swing!

She loved all the good food at the circus.

Painting at daycare.

Birthday party!!!

Kaitlyn's birthday party was on Saturday, the 23rd at the fire hall in Ord.  We sent out invites to our family and friends.

Set-up for food!  We had all PINK everything

Pink vanilla and strawberry cupcakes with pink icing

Pink rice krispies

Pink candied popcorn

Pink animal crackers

Pink strawberry punch

Pink lemonade

You loved the pink balloons!!!

You also loved the cake!  

We ate first and then opened presents.  There were too many things going for you to open a present completely.  You are so loved!  We brought home a car load of presents that filled our living room once again (Christmas was the same way). Your favorites are the cookie monster and block sorter.

You were such a mover!  We took 1 year pictures that morning, so you only got a short 1 hour nap before your party.  Mom had a hard time getting you to settle down to go to bed at 8!  You were wired!

1 Year Old!

At 12 months, Kaitlyn:

• is walking everywhere!  She uses a 'wide' stance, but is getting faster.  If she falls down, instead of crawling, she'll actually take the time to stand back up!
• Doesn't get a bottle anymore.....we've moved onto the coveted sippy cup!
• No longer gets formula (switched this week). 
• Has had peanut butter and eggs in the last week.  She loved both!
• Talks and babbles a lot.  She says 'dada', 'mama' when she's mad, and 'yeah'.  If you ask her a question, she'll respond with a yeah.  When she gets tired, she's started to say what sounds like 'no'. 
• Has developed a sudden interest for our dog, Buster.  Now that she's walking, she'll following him all over when he's downstairs. 
• Is attached to blankie.  She's not specific, but needs one for nap and night.  She won't go to sleep without one. 

1st time 'playing' in the snow!

Happy Valentine's Day

She decided to climb in the dryer one day since she couldn't reach

the dryer balls like normal.  She was more than willing to share when she got caught!

Happy Birthday!!

Crabby after waking up from nap

Playing at the park!

11 Months

At 11 months, Kaitlyn:

• loves to crawl everywhere!  We've been trying to get her to take more steps, but she just drops to her knees. 
• will take 5-6 steps at a time.....IF she's sure she won't fall (can reach something).
• has 3 teeth.  One tooth on the top has poked through!
• is still our little eater!
• wears 18 month and 24 month/2T clothes.  
• is finding household items more interesting than toys.  Her favorite is a paintbrush and roller. 
• is constantly moving!  If she's still, she's sleeping!

Playing with cookie cutters

Daddy is ready for warm weather so they can go fishing!!!

LOVES the trim painting stuff!

Anniversary

It's been two years since that dreadful morning when I woke up in a panic and knew I was miscarrying.  That morning is forever burned into my memory.  We were in an ugly place.......a very ugly, dark place.

I was waiting to miscarry, but not ready to let go. That morning was as much of a physical challenge as it was an emotional one.  I remember that we primed our mudroom and kitchen that morning.  I also watched our two nieces and nephew that afternoon.  At the time, it seemed like a very good idea to keep busy and not think to much.  Looking back though, I wish we would have just taken it slow that day and mourned our loss.

I know that my hubby was tired of moping around and needed to keep his hands busy so that his mind wasn't.  I shouldn't have felt like I needed to act/behave a certain way.  I wish that I would have just allowed myself to be me for a while.

I know that for the rest of my life, I'll remember these anniversaries with feelings of grief. I know that I'm blessed to have been given the opportunity to carry my angel, even if it was for a short time. Even knowing that I'm blessed, I can't help but grieve.

"The only reason I know this pain is because I first knew the incredible love and joy that stole my heart the day I found out I was pregnant. I never have gotten my heart back, and the pain isn’t going away anytime soon."