HALLOWEEN

As promised - a little late - here are pictures of Kenley from halloween. Kenley and matt went together to pick out her costume. She got to disply her elephant cuteness 3 different times - at my office on Friday, for trick or treating with friends on actual Halloween and at the Munchkin March @ Pearl Street on Sunday. At the Munchkin March, Kenley even had a few random people ask to take her picture. She was definitely a good sport on Halloween because it was really cold out, but she didn't fuss at all. We ended up having a potluck with the Boccis, Holmbergs, Wanges, Yeagers and Jordan Weins. Matt and I dressed up too (as you can see). Matt was Chia Obama and I was "The Room"...see if you can figure out how that related to Kenley as the elephant.

"Kenley, Mommy said no"

While feeding Kenley lunch yesterday she discovered the pleasure of blowing as soon as the spoon hit her mouth. I had always prided myself on the fact that I could keep Kenley so clean during her meals...until yesterday. The only thing that kept me sane during the feeding fiasco of 2009 was the thought of writing about it on Kenley's blog!

These are a few of her favorite things...

As Kenley becomes more active, it becomes more obvious what she loves by her body language. She can't yet tell me, aside from a few squeals, in words when she gets excited or wants something but she does let me know by bouncing, wiggling, reaching and leaning toward it. Some of Kenley's current favorites are:

Coleman - I was going to title this blog "Kenley and Coleman sitting in a tree, K I S S I NG" but I thought some people might find that distasteful...even if it is true that Kenley loves Coleman's kisses (she welcomes them with a mouth wide open - kind of gross actually).

Mommy's cell phone - Keeps her entertained for at least 15-20 min while Mommy works!

The BusyZoo - One of Kenley's favorite toys. It says it's for kids 12m+, but she's pretty advanced ;)
Single Ladies - the song (not to say that there aren't some single ladies out there that Kenley likes)...As seen in the video.
Her Bottle - Nothing makes Kenley happier when she gets it or more upset when it's taken away than her bottle.
I promise I will post something next week for Halloween with Kenley in costume, so keep an eye out for that!

Oh to be a new parent

I realized when Kenley turned 6 months, as I was dressing her, that she still fit in the same outfit we took her home from the hospital in. I knew it was a little big on her at the time...but to fit into it six months later...

Poor blogging etiquette

First, let me apologize for taking almost two months to post anything...I know that's poor blogging etiquette. To explain: as I was putting away our suitcases last weekend, I realized our family had been out of town 6 of the last 7 weekends. Phoenix (Vacation!) 7/31-8/3, Woodland Park (Kenley's shower) 8/8 - 8/9, Crooked Creek (YL Camp) 8/21-8/23, Woodland Park (a wedding) 8/29-8/30, Knoxville (to visit the Cutters) 9/3-9/7, and then Crooked Creek again 9/12-9/13.

(Here we are all gussied up for Kenley's 1st wedding.)

It made for a busy, but exciting summer. I love that Kenley is flexible enough to sleep in different cribs and pack n' plays all across the country. Along with all of our travels, things at work have been very busy which doesn't leave me much time for "extra curriculars" such as blogging. This past week I worked close to 55 hours (most at home, thankfully) without any childcare (just Matt and I). I feel so blessed, though, because in the midst of everything Kenley is just a very happy baby. I am usually greeted with a huge smile that makes me seem to forget all the craziness from the day, which is a great welcome home after a long day of work. I don't expect many more weeks like this past week, so I should be able to get back to keeping you all updated with the latest in Kenley's world.

The past 3 weeks have been fun with Kenley because she is learning and trying so many new things. She can now say "ba ba ba" and "da da da". I love watching her work so hard to form "words". I tried really hard to get this on video, but every time Kenley saw the camera she stopped talking and just stared at the camera instead. Kenley has also become a pro at sitting on her own. This makes things both easier and harder for me because while Kenley can now play with more toys, she also has the potential of face planting onto the floor.

Kenley decided a couple weeks ago she no longer likes being swaddled and really likes sleeping on her tummy. Between sitting and sleeping on her tummy, her bald spot it finally growing hair (much to her daddy's delight)! In addition to sitting really well, Kenley has begun pulling herself up on things and likes to stand as well. Standing she's no so great at yet, so I'm usually close at hand to catch Kenley when her leg finally give out or she loses her balance. When she turned 6 months, Kenley started eating vegetables. She tolerates green beans pretty well, hates peas, but loves sweet potatoes, carrots and butternut squash. I am trying to avoid giving her to many veggies with beta carotene, though, so I don't turn Kenley orange. We are avoiding giving her fruit for a while so she doesn't become a picky eater. Maybe we'll introduce fruit next month. Tonight Kenley is going to her first Rockies game (I know, I can't believe it's only her first game either) and will be sporting official Rockies gear! I'll make sure to post pictures of our family in purple and grey. I'll also add some more pictures of Kenley to this post when I get them from various family members, so keep an eye out for those as well as a rocking video of Kenley dancing to "Single Ladies" by Beyonce.

Little Miss Adventure

First, let me apologize for not posting sooner. I know that's not proper blog etiquette. As you can see, over the past month Kenley has officially earned the title of Little Miss Adventure.


Riding a horse at the Wiens Ranch for Blair's 2nd Birthday (7.18)

Rocking it out (to Mat Kearney) at the Mile High Music Festival (7.19)

River Boarding at Clear Creek Whitewater Park in Golden (7.25)

Boating at Boulder Reservoir with the Richards (7.26)

On a plane flying to Arizona (7.31)

Swimming with Daddy at Nana and Grandpa's in Phoenix (8.3)

Case # 4190587

This is Kenley's first case number with Rocky Mountain poison control (RMPC). I have been wanting to plant flowers around our house for weeks now and decided today was the day to finally get to it. While Matt ran the crossing (for YL) at our house tonight, Kenley and I planted flowers. Kenley really seemed to love it. She was very chatty and kept reaching out to touch the flowers when they were within reach...which actually turned out to be the reason for the call to poison control. At one point, Kenley pulled a leaf off of a petunia I was planting. I didn't think much of it until I realized the leaf was in her mouth. Trial by error...sorry Kenley, I'm learning all of this through you. Anyway, I googled "plants from Walmart" and of course got several hits regarding the dangers of pesticides on plants sold at Walmart, so to be on the safe side I went ahead and called up Doug at RMPC. Kenley is currently asleep and has been for about an hour and I'm sure tomorrow everything will be fine, but for now I will continue keeping an eye on my little leaf eater throughout the night just to be safe.