The Weatherby's World

More Fun at School

2012-01-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

Kendall's school is pretty good about taking and posting shots of the little ones during their time at school. Here are some of the latest:

Ozzie's grandpa came in and sang songs with the group before Christmas:

Here's Kendall (hot pink shirt) with her friends and her teacher, Miss Megan:

Kendall brought cinnamon bread in to share with her friends on her birthday:

Here she is (black sweatshirt) rolling balls down an incline:

A letter to my two year old

2012-01-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

Dear Kendall,

My sweet, sweet girl is now two.

Hard to believe that it's been two years since we brought you home.

Our lives have become pretty busy over the past several months, so it's not often that I get to sit back and reflect on the fact that you are becoming an amazing little girl.

Your dad and I are so thankful that we have you in our lives. You wake up happy every single day and enjoy all that every day has to offer. You love to run and play chase, and enjoy dancing and showing off your jumping skills. You're constantly learning and exploring whatever you can find, which is one reason that I'm so happy that you've been going to preschool for a few months now. You always come home singing new songs and teaching us more sign language. You're also so proud of the artwork that you create.

We love the things that you are doing now, but it's also bittersweet in some ways. As we approached the two year mark, it was becoming apparent that the days of having a baby around the house were quickly coming to an end. You no longer sleep in a crib, as now you're in a toddler bed that you can climb in and out of. You sit in a big girl booster seat at mealtimes, and like to have your chair pulled up to the dinner table with everyone else. Your room is now filled with toddler toys, including pretend play items, an art easel, duplo blocks, as well as dress up clothes and accessories. You're playing much more independently these days, and it's amazing to see your imagination at work.

In addition to playing independently, you're also being more independent. "Kendall do it" and "Kendall's turn" are two phrases heard quite frequently these days, and you seem to have quite an opinion on many things, including what you wear and what you eat. You love to set up tea parties, but these are done on your terms, and everyone has to use a certain cup that you set out for them.

This past year brought some medical challenges; first a helmet and then a surgery for your "curly toes". You were a trooper through both experiences, never complaining about what you had to go through, but always letting us know what you needed. We're so glad that we went through with both of these experiences, and know that you'll be happier in the long run because we did.

I feel so lucky for so many things related to you, but I may be most happy about the fact that you are such a sweet and loving little girl. Gram told me a story recently about sitting down to read "Are You My Mother?" with you. You were so concerned that the birdie had lost it's mommy. You're always willing to give out hugs and kisses, sometimes to Mommy and Daddy, but always to your stuffed animals and Lani. Your teachers have told us a number of times what a joy you are every day, and how much they love having you in their class. I know that this is because you are so sweet and easygoing - two traits that they probably love for their students to have.

I hope that you know how loved you are, and how many people love you to pieces.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Kiki! Can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Love,
Mom

Yoo Hoo...guess who's 2!!

2012-01-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

The perfect birthday weekend for a two year old...

A great day that includes sharing cinnamon bread at school with your friends, dinner out at Islands, cupcakes and presents.

Waking up the next day to celebrate again with friends.

Playing with new toys and dress up clothes the remainder of the weekend.

December Rewind

2012-01-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

A few nights before Christmas we headed to a movie night at the Carlsbad Village Theatre. My good friend, Sean McMahon has ties to the theatre (as in his parents own it), so every once in a while they open the joint up to family and friends when Sean, his wife, Kate, and their daughter, Sabina, are in town. This year we were lucky enough to be invited to movie night, which included Christmas classics on the big screen and every kind of snack and treat imaginable at the lobby concession stand. The kids were even lucky enough to have a visit from Santa!!

This was such a great night that I failed to mention in a previous post due to my lack of photos. This is where Brian and Rachel Beld step in! They managed to capture some great shots, and now this memory won't be forgotten!

Lily, Sabina, Campbell and Kendall

Kendall getting to meet Santa. She was so excited before we walked on the stage, but then had nothing to say to him.

One of the funnier moments of the night came as Kendall took her turn up on the big stage with Santa. He gave each child a new puppet after they were done sitting on his lap. After Kendall received her puppet, some of the other parents asked, "Wow Kendall! What did you get??" As the lights blurred her vision of the crowd, she calmly walked to the edge of the stage, smiled, and held her puppet for all to see:

You can see Dan and I getting up in the last picture - I don't think that she was going to leave the stage once she realized that people thought she was funny. Maybe a career in Hollywood is in her future.

Santa, kids and puppets

Ringing in 2012

2012-01-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's been a long standing tradition that we spend New Years Eve with our friends Jeff and Jasmin Bethel and Brian and Rachel Beld. Last year we weren't able to get together, but we were back together this year, and were joined by our friends Sean and Kate McMahon, Allie and Brian Lee and Brett Johnson at Brian and Rachel's house.

Kendall had a number of friends to play dress up and ring around the rosy with, and all of the girls enjoyed ringing in the new year (a bit early) with the adults. The horns and hats were a big hit.

For some reason, Kendall also felt the need to wear a bucket on her head once the celebrations started.

With this being only her second New Year's Eve party, I guess she's got a lot to learn about party etiquette. Hopefully this isn't the start of a long line of embarrassing party photos for her.

Here we go 2012! 2011 was a great year, so you have a lot to live up to!!

Christmas Week Fun with Dad

2012-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

With Caleb and Nick in town for the holidays, Dan cashed in a number of vacation days and enjoyed a 12 day break from work. He's been working so much lately that he was in desperate need of a little R & R. In typical fashion, he caught a nasty cold the day after Christmas and spent most of his vacation feeling like a truck had hit him. But, he managed to enjoy a number of fun days with his kids, and Kendall enjoyed the time with her big brothers:

The four spent a fun afternoon/evening at Belmont Park with Aunt Dusty and their cousins Cati, Dustin and Dylan. After Nick headed home, Caleb, Kendall and Dan spent an afternoon in La Jolla at the beach with the seals.

There was even time for dress up in the back yard:

Sadly, I spent the week at work and missed out on all of the fun. Looks like the had a great time!

SANTA!!

2012-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

What a Christmas! Between the parties, food, wine, gifts and cookie baking, I am completely stressed out and worn out. But, we had an amazing holiday with our amazing families and friends, including a cute little blond elf that made it all worth it.

Here we go, the wrap up of Christmas 2011:

This year's Christmas Eve celebration was a big one. Caleb came to town for the holidays, and the four of us joined my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, Jessica's parents, and her brother and sister-in-law for an early dinner. We had a great dessert and opened a few presents at Sean and Jessica's house after dinner.

We started off on Christmas morning with gifts that Santa left. A kitchen complete with food, pots and pans and appliances. Santa even knew that Caleb was going to be at our house this year, and left him some gifts too!

Next we moved on to gifts from the Weatherby side of the family. Kendall got loads of Minnie Mouse gear and a new table and chair set from Meme and Papa Steve, a dress up set from Uncle Tony and Aunt Nikki, and clothes from MeMa. Caleb also got clothes and new games.

Kendall and Caleb even got matching hats.

My mom and dad, Sean, and Jessica joined us for breakfast, and then we moved on to even more presents from the Corson side of the family. An assortment of toys for the little blond elf, and a Kindle Fire for Caleb.

We played and played with all of our new toys throughout the day. It was so neat to watch Kendall open her gifts with enthusiasm and excitement. She took her time with each new toy and played with everything.

We headed over to Gram and Dude's house later in the day for dinner and dessert. Our longtime family friends, Barry and Marlene Ross, joined us, and so did Jessica's mom and dad.

Finally, here are our attempts at family photos:

We hope that your Christmas was as memorable as ours was!!

Little Senorita

2011-12-08T13:53:00.001-08:00

Enjoying dress up time at school.

Sea World with Gram

2011-12-01T14:24:00.001-08:00

We took advantage of the long Thanksgiving holiday and spent a day at Sea World with Gram. I love that the three of us were able to do this. We had a great day, despite the crazed bird that attacked Gram while it attempted to steal my lunch.

Here are some photos:

Shivers the Polar Bear

Look at those reindeer!

Decorating our tree should be interesting this year...

Fancy Feet

2011-12-01T14:14:00.001-08:00

Look at those straight toes!!

Hard to believe that only 3 1/2 weeks after Kendall's surgery her feet look this good! It's so amazing! Here's a before and after:

Before (This is the left foot - it was worse than the right) :

After:

Although both feet look amazing, the toes on the left foot do have a bit more straightening to do. The doctor assured us that this will happen over time as she grows. We already see a difference in her balance and it's hard to even tell where they made the small incisions. We're all so glad that we went through with the procedure!

Maybe she'll be a foot model after all!

2011-11-11T13:42:00.001-08:00

In the first few days after Kendall was born, one of the first things that I noticed was her overlapping toes. Having had foot problems for most of my life, I was concerned about it and asked her doctor when he visited us in the hospital. I was told that they should straighten out over time, and that she'd "probably never be a foot model", but should be able to walk, run, jump and do everything that she wanted to do.

Over time, and especially as she began to walk, he toes did straighten out a bit. However, she never seemed to have the balance that she should have, and would trip and fall quite often. She would also get blisters on her toes as they rubbed against one another when she wore shoes.

My mom urged me to take her to a specialist after hearing a horror story about the surgical procedures needed for an older child with a similar problem. The specialist diagnosed her with "curly toes" and recommended a quick surgical procedure that would fix the problem.

On Monday, Kendall had the surgery to straighten her toes. Formally called a "bilateral toe tenotomy", the surgery involved cutting the tendons in the affected toes, allowing them to stretch and straighten. We should also see increased mobility and flexibility in the toes. I guess that this type of surgery is also used for children with hammer toes and club feet. The surgery was at 8:30 a.m., and we had to check in by 6:30, so our bleary eyed crew woke up about 4:30 a.m. and was out of the house a little after 5:30.

Once at Children's Hospital, we checked in, waited, met with the nurses, doctors and anesthesiologist, watched a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then the nurses scooped up our baby and took her away.

The surgery only took about 30 minutes - long enough for Dan and I to shove some food in our mouths at the cafeteria. They paged us and ushered us into a waiting room where we met with the doctor. Everything went well and they only had to cut the tendons in two toes on each foot. We thought they were going to have to cut three on each foot. We waited another hour and then were able to visit her in the recovery room.

The poor thing cried and wailed for a good 20 minutes, but calmed down after she received a second does of pain medication and about 4 cups of juice. We spent about an hour and a half in the recovery room, then we were discharged and headed home.

Recovery at home has gone amazingly well. We removed the bandages on Wednesday morning and now have her feet covered with socks. She has dissolvable stitches which should stay in for another week. By Wednesday she was up and moving around pretty normally, and by Wednesday evening, she was back to her fun-loving self.

Monday night - watching shows on the ipad and feeling pretty good on the pain medication

Monday night - looking straighter already!

Tuesday night - getting around, but crawling...

...with more of an attitude

Bandages won't make it much longer

Wednesday morning - showered, had my bandages removed and feeling back to normal!

We had a hard time with this procedure, because we really didn't want to put her through the surgery. I felt horrible about it, and found myself second guessing the decision the night before we took her in. I want Kendall to be able to do anything in life that she wants to do. She comes from two athletic families, and if she chooses to be an athlete, I didn't want to regret not helping her when we could. I know that we made the right decision, and it has been a pretty easy recovery process. Who knows, with those brand new toes, maybe she will be a foot model one of these days.

AARRRRR...Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2011 turned out to be a great holiday. Since Halloween was on a Monday this year, the holiday turned into more of a weekend-long celebration.

We decided a few months ago that Kendall would dress as a pirate for the big night. I wanted her to dress in a costume that she'd actually wear, and this turned out to be a great pick. She looked super cute, AND loved her costume and the accessories!

Our holiday weekend started on Friday night with a neighborhood party. The kids (and some adults) dressed up, we ate, and drank, and enjoyed the haunted house that our neighbor, Roger, created in his yard. Kendall loved it, and spent most of the night walking back and forth through the maze seeing what tricks or treats she could find. She found a toy rat and thought it was hilarious to scare people with it!

We spent part of Sunday afternoon carving our pumpkins.

On Monday, Kendall's class celebrated Halloween with a fall pot luck. She started the day dressed as a kitty, but had too much fun with arts and crafts and had to change before lunchtime.

By the time Halloween eve rolled around, Kendall was ready for some trick or treating. We had a great time walking around the neighborhood and getting candy. Kendall was a bit hesitant to walk up to the doors at first, but then she realized that all she had to do was knock on the door, mumble a few words, hold a bag open, and people gave her candy! Some people even let her choose what she wanted!

Kendall's friend, Gavin, as Yoda

Kendall's friend, Jack, as Darth Vader

I'm so happy that Kendall had such a great time this year. She enjoyed all of the festivities and loved trick or treating. Happy Halloween!!

I'll nap when I'm ready!

2011-10-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

Nap time has been a difficult time lately. Sometimes Kendall can't wait to rest, while other times she wants nothing to do with it. With her now in a toddler bed, it's harder and harder to keep her down. She sleeps great at night, but for some reason, she now hates to nap at home.

During those difficult days, we've tried everything that we can think of to get her to nap. A consistent routine, soothing moments before bed, negotiating, removal of favorite toys, and bribery. Lately, I've been blocking her doorway with a baby gate, so that she can open her door and look out if she needs to. But, this forces her to stay in her room for a while and at least play quietly. Even this strategy is hit or miss. Take today for example:

Trying to escape is tiring.

I guess I just leave her there, right?

The 2011 Inauguration

2011-10-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Life is busy. It seems like I never have enough time to spend with my dear friends that I met during my college days. In previous years, bachelorette parties and wedding brought us together, but with only a few single ladies left, we knew that we must find time at least once a year for each other. So, my sisters in the bond and I made the decision earlier in the year that 2011 would be the inaugural year for our annual get-together.

Someone suggested Santa Barbara for 2011, and off we went:

Wine tasting...check
Eating...check
Gabbing...check
Horrific birth stories that have probably scarred those without kids...check

We had a great time (as we always do) and I can't wait until 2012. Melody will be picking the location, and Rachel will be the "tour director", which ensures that she'll pick the 2013 location. I hear a spa weekend in Scottsdale is already being planned...

The Happiest Girl in the World

2011-10-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we took Kendall to Disneyland for the first time. Considering that we live less than an hour away, it's kind of a surprise that we haven't already visited. Then again, considering that the happiest place on earth isn't at the top (or even towards the middle) of Dan's list of favorite spots, I'd say that getting Kendall there before she graduated from high school was actually quite an accomplishment. Gram and Dude joined us for the big day, and we had so much fun!

We were up early and got to the park right as it opened so that we could meet some of Kendall's favorite characters at the Minnie and Friends Breakfast. Kendall is enamored with Minnie, so I wanted to make sure that we met her. Minnie had a number of friends there too: Captain Hook, Chip (or Dale - not sure which), Eeyore, the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, and Tigger.

When Minnie finally came to the room that we were in, she started with the opposite side of the room. Kendall was suddenly last in line to meet her, and she wasn't too happy. She'd turn and look at her, while yelling, "Minnie!! Minnie!!" and then looking back to us wondering why Minnie wasn't coming to greet her. She finally made it though, and Kendall couldn't have been happier.

This part of our day was really what we had come for, and boy was it great. It was so amazing to see how excited Kendall was to meet Minnie and her friends.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the park and riding on many of the rides. We hit Pinnochio's Daring Journey, Snow White's Scary Adventures, the Merry-go-Round, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, It's a Small World, Toon Town, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, the Haunted Mansion, and the Jungle Cruise.

We even visited Mickey's house and met Mr. Mouse himself!

We really couldn't have asked for a better day. And, believe it or not, Dan actually had a good time too...

Shoes!!

2011-09-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

Kendall's latest obsession. It doesn't matter if they belong to her or not, or if they match, or if they're even on the right feet. She just wants to wear them!

School is Cool

2011-09-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

We're 3 weeks into the school year, and Kendall is having a blast. According to her teachers, she's entertaining everyone with her silly side, and charming them with her sweet and loving side. She's also had a chance to explore the arts through painting and drawing, which is something that we really haven't done much of to date.

I love that we get notes about each day, and that the teachers send an update at the end of each week with information on the activities that took place, what was learned and what books were read. We also get photos, which is great way to allow us to see just exactly what Kendall does while she's at school. I love to see her interacting with other kids, and enjoying her time. She keeps wanting to go back, so I think that she's enjoying herself!

First Day of School

2011-09-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

We start early around here. At 19 months of age, we decided that it was time for Kendall to hit the books and enrolled her in school. OK, I'm kidding. Sort of.

Over the past few months two things had become apparent:
1. Kendall was ready for a preschool type setting where she could socialize
2. I needed to work more

So, we started visiting daycares and I have to say that we were completely underwhelmed. The daycare options near our home and offices were for the most part extremely expensive and not places that I was jumping to send our baby. They were all OK, but nothing that really had me excited.

The last place that we visited was the Aspirations School of Learning. The school uses the Italian Reggio Emilio approach to teaching. It's a brand new center, clean and organized, and offers a variety of programs in art and music that are included in the monthly tuition. And, it's right down the street from Dan's office. I was sold. We signed Kendall up that day for the Monday/Wednesday/Friday toddler program.

Fast forward a couple of months, and the school year has arrived. Monday was the first day of school. Kendall is in Room Cinque (for those of our handful of readers not named Carla Menchini, that's Italian for "five") with her teachers, Miss Megan and Miss Radha. I had been worried about how she would adjust to the new surroundings, but before we left the house, I was able to reassure myself that her heart-melting smile would carry her through:

Seriously, what kid smiles like this?!?!

Anyways, although the school has a formal approach to teaching, days in room Cinque are appropriately filled with playing, snacking, napping and making friends. I love that the teachers prepare notes for the parents at the end of each day. Our first note read, "Kendall had lots of fun in the house in the yard. She also had fun chatting with her stuffed doggie until it was time to wake up".

Obviously she's going to be just fine.

A great day for a swim

2011-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

A photo session with two friends

2011-08-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

A Week of Goodbyes

2011-08-26T14:37:00.001-07:00

Last week we said goodbye to two great individuals - Dan's grandfather, Ernie Blair, and my grandmother, Jenny Delgado. Ernie passed away on Tuesday, August 16th in Memphis, TN, followed by my grandmother on Wednesday, August 17th in Los Angeles, CA. Not totally unexpected since both were in their 90's, but it's always hard to say goodbye.

Although I only met Ernie once, Dan often told me about what a great man he was, and how much he admired him. Ernie was a mechanic for Delta for years and years, and loved fixing and building things just about as much as he loved his family. Dan even returned from the funeral with a story about Ernie fixing the roof, using his walker to help him navigate across the top of the house. We will miss his strong, tenacious attitude towards life.

Ernie and Dan's grandmother at our wedding

Similarly, Dan was only able to meet my grandmother once, just before our wedding. I have fond memories of visiting her and my grandfather in LA, in the same house that my mom grew up in. She would do anything to help a stranger, or animal, in need. Like Ernie, my grandmother loved being around her family and seeing photos of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. We will miss her loving, caring, generous ways.

An older picture - my grandmother and grandfather in 1994

Sin City with Dude

2011-08-20T14:51:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Dude's birthday. I was a bit nervous about hitting up Sin City with a toddler in tow, but I had quite a few people reassure me that they had done a similar trip (with success!) when their kids were around the same age.

It was different to visit with a little one, but we had a great time! Kendall swam in the Palazzo pool, browsed through the shops at The Venitian, ate at Tao and Otto, and thoroughly enjoyed herself in the oversized hotel room bathtub. I'm sure she has many trips to Vegas in her future, but I'm glad that we made the first one a memorable one!!

BBQ with Friends

2011-08-20T14:45:00.001-07:00

We love it when our friends Jeff and Jasmin Bethel come to town! This year we joined them for a bbq to celebrate Jeff's dad's birthday. Jeff recently took a job at Oregon State University, so we're hoping that we'll see them more often now that they'll be in the same time zone!

Kendall sampling some of the food

Check out that mini!

First of many shoot arounds

She scores!

The Davis grads, spouses, and future Aggies

Most people go with silver, but we went with Mexico...

2011-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

On July 22nd, Dan and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! Five years!! Can you believe it?!?!

For a traditional five year anniversary gift, you're supposed to give wood. More modern gift givers choose silver. Dan and I opted for a five-day, four-night trip to Cabo San Lucas. We did a similar trip for our first anniversary, and thought we'd try it again. We're glad we did, because we had the best time!

We stayed at the Barcelo Los Cabos, which is actually closer to San Jose del Cabo than Cabo San Lucas. It didn't really matter though because we were at an all inclusive, so we only went into town once to do a bit of shopping. We spent our days by the pool, and relaxed at some great restaurants and bars at night. I was shocked, but the food was AMAZING! We've been to some all inclusives with some horrible food, but this place was great. Nex time we'll take Kendall - there was a ton of stuff for kids to do, including a little water park! I forgot the camera (of course - I always forget something), so you'll have to settle for a couple of shots that I found online:

And yes, it really did look like that.

Kendall wasn't forgotten about. She spent the time with Gram and Dude. They lavished her with new toys and played with her all day long. When she woke up yesterday morning in her own bed, she actually asked for them. That tells me that she had a great time.

Finally, I have to mention that the modern gift giving guides weren't lost on Dan. My wonderful husband actually took the time to find out the rules for fifth anniversaries. Before we left on our trip, he gave me a beautiful silver Kate Spade picture frame, complete with silver wrapping paper. I can't wait to fill it with one of my favorite memories from the next five years!

Daddy's Day Care

2011-07-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

How did I manage to get such a wild child?

These days, my most used phrases are, "Kendall, don't climb that!", "Get down!", "You're going to hurt yourself" and "Be careful!!". I'm not surprised when she falls and hurts herself, but she always seems to take it to another level when dad is in charge.

This past weekend, I came home from an afternoon of shopping with my mom to find Kendall like this:

Not only did she take a nasty fall on the neighbor's front porch, but she also managed to climb up one of our kitchen barstools, fall, and hit another barstool with her head on the way down. Kendall takes it all in stride and even managed to "smile" when I was taking her picture:

Later on, I left to run to the supermarket. I was gone about 20 minutes. When I came home, Kendall had a gigantic goose egg on the other side of her head. Apparently she jumped off the couch and landed head first on our tile floors, between the couch and the side table. Can anyone say "Parents of the Year"??

The Official 18 Month Stats

2011-07-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

34 inches tall (99th percentile)

27.5 pounds (88th percentile)

18.5 inch head circumference (64th percentile)

A letter to Kendall at 18 months

2011-07-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Kendall:

You turn 18 months old today. Gosh, how time flies. I can't believe that you've been with us for a year and a half now, but then again, it feels as if you've always been in our lives. We've been so blessed to watch you grow and change. In a lot of ways, it's sad to watch you leave babyhood behind. Dad isn't sad, but mom kind of is. Then again, I'm so excited to be a part of what lies ahead.

It's so neat to watch you're imagination run wild as you start to interact more with your toys. You love to feed your animals, and you'll always make sure that they eat before you take a bite. Stuffed animals are your favorite and you've gotten in the habit of taking one or more to bed with you every night. You just starting to really get into your Little People and kitchen sets.

I can already tell that you're one smart little cookie. I hear new words come out of your mouth every day now, and you're constantly trying to mimic things that we do. Speaking of cookies, you're starting to acquire a sweet tooth - asking for cookies for breakfast and digging into whatever dessert we may have in front of us. You like to brush your hair and your teeth, but I think you really just like eating the toothpaste. You also say "thank you" quite often, and at the appropriate times.

I love that you're so loving - you kiss EVERYTHING. Sometimes actual kisses, but sometimes you'll just blow kisses. I think that every one of your animals has been kissed a million times. I particularly love when you give me hugs and kisses.

You are also the funniest kid. Always looking for ways to make us laugh. You've developed an "evil laugh" that you'll break out every now and then. Sometimes it's when you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing, but it also just comes out when you're having lots of fun. You're also a daredevil - never afraid to scale a barstool or the end of our bed. You haven't yet discovered how to climb out of your crib, although I'm sure that you could if you tried.

Happy Half Birthday, Kiki! We love you more and more every day!

Our Busy Summer...so far

2011-07-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Summertime is always a busy time around the Weatherby house. So far, this summer has proved to be no different. We're barely into the month of July, and it seems like we've been going no stop since the summer started. Here are the highlights (and lowlights) of the past few weeks:

Caleb made his annual summer trek from the midwest, and wraps up his trip at the end of the week. He participated in 2 full weeks of the Encinitas Junior Lifeguards program, which teaches participants the ins and outs of the beach, ocean and lifeguarding. He had a great time, and we're proud of him for completing it. This program has been around for years, and I know that it is TOUGH!

Caleb actually drove out to California this year with Dan's mom and dad in their RV. Cousin Cati graduated from high school, and the family was here to celebrate. They spent a week at Campland by the Bay in Mission Beach and Kendall was lucky enough to join them most days!

We also hit up the fair a couple of weekends ago and tried some deep fried Kool Aid. It was as gross as I thought it would be. There were some neat horses though:

Dan is extremely busy at work, and I'm still struggling to find a good fit. I was laid off (again!) from my job at Dragonfly Designs, but have started to work (here and there) for a couple of land use planners that I worked for years ago. I'm hoping that business picks up and that I can start working a regular schedule. In the meantime, I'm planning things for Kendall and I to do to beat the heat over the coming months. She'll outgrow this plunge pool before long:

We sure have packed a lot into the past few weeks, but I know that there is much more to come!

Celebrating Carla and Tyler

2011-06-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

I know that you're going to be shocked, but this post is NOT about Kendall!

Dan and I do get away every once in a while by ourselves, and we spent this part weekend in Carmel celebrating my good friend, Carla, and her new husband, Tyler. While Kendall spent her days blowing bubbles with Gram and Dude, Dan and I were quite busy with the wedding festivities. I was a bridesmaid, so we went up extra early to enjoy everything!

The Bride and Groom hosted a BBQ on Thursday evening at the farm where the wedding reception was held:

The future location of dinner during the Wedding Reception

Set up for the Rehearsal Dinner

We spent Friday wine tasting at some of Carmel's local wineries, and then spent the evening at the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner:

The future Bride and Groom

The Bride and Groom gifted their parents with artwork based on photos taken at their weddings

Stacey and I showing off our Bridesmaid gifts

Stacey, Carla and I

Saturday was spent celebrating Carla and Tyler. We were up bright and early to get ready for the big day. The wedding was a beautiful 1 p.m. mass at the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Carmel. We followed that with cocktails, dinner and dancing at the Holly Farm in Carmel.

The day was absolutely wonderful. Carla had thought of everything. From setting out flip flops for the women to wear while dancing, to serving pizza at 10 p.m., every little detail was taken care of. Carla looked absolutely gorgeous and Tyler cleaned up nicely as well.

My buddies

Carla and Laura - the Menchini sisters

First Dance

Carla and her Dad

Mom and daughters

I love this picture because it sums up how I spend my time when I'm with my friends. I wish I saw them more often because I love laughing like that.

Melody and I

End of the night...

Congratulations Tyler and Carla! The wedding was beautiful and the weekend was amazing. We love you and wish you the best!

A long weekend at the River

2011-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

River trips are something that Dan and I have always loved. Our friend Tim has been visiting Parker, AZ and the Colorado River for years, and we're lucky enough that he owns a boat, and invites us to join him every summer.

We decided to join him again over Memorial Day weekend, and had a great time. We stayed in a house located right on the river, which gave us the perfect opportunity for a relaxing weekend. Kendall spent most of the weekend getting into everything that she could get her hands on:

Seriously, pictures like those will never get old.

We all had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Self portrait

At the Desert Bar with mom

At the Desert Bar with dad

Take me out to the ballgame

2011-06-01T14:26:00.001-07:00

Sure the Padres stink this year, but that didn't stop us from taking Kendall to a game recently. Dan's company was nice enough to give us tickets, so we treated my mom and dad and enjoyed the afternoon. We had a great time!

The Little Mermaid

2011-05-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Kendall started swim lessons a couple of weeks ago at our local YMCA. We really wanted her to get some exposure to the water before the summer months when we're out at the pool, the beach and the river. We didn't expect her to be an olympic champion after the month of classes, but we figured that this would be a good way to start.

I have to say that Kendall's response to these classes has not been exactly what I thought it would be. As I had anticipated, she was a bit scared the first day, but warmed up as the class went along. By class #2, she was ready to hit the water as soon as we walked in the pool area. She was kicking when you told her to and enjoying the jumps into the water. Going underwater wasn't her favorite part of the class, but she took it all in stride.

Since then, things haven't been so fabulous. She doesn't seem as excited about the class, and just wants to float on her stomach when we get going. She doesn't seem scared of the water, but she doesn't seem thrilled about swimming. She gets cold before the class ends, and when I'm in the water with her, she wants to wave at dad for a good portion of the class.

One more week to go - let's hope we can finish strong!!

Happy Easter!

2011-05-04T09:38:00.003-07:00

We celebrated Easter at our house this year. The Easter Bunny visited in the morning:

and then Gram, Dude, Uncle Sean and Aunt Jessica came over for bubbles, an egg hunt and dinner:

Kendall loved the egg hunt! She was so focused on finding the eggs and putting them in her basket. It was really neat to watch!

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Happy Easter!

2011-05-04T09:38:00.001-07:00

15 months

2011-05-04T09:35:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty late on this post considering that Kendall turns 16 months old on Friday, but better late than never, right?!?!

Here were the little girl's stats at her 15 month appointment:

Weight = 25 pounds, 4 ounces (83rd percentile)

Height = 31.5 inches (82nd percentile)

Head Circ. = 18 inches (46th percentile)

Still a big girl! I know that she's taller than the measurements that they took at the doctor's office because she was laying with her head tilted a bit. We'll see where she's at again when we have our 18 month visit in a couple of months!

Roar says the lion!

2011-04-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

We're learning our animal sounds!

Splish Splash

2011-04-15T16:45:00.001-07:00

Kendall received a new water/sand table from Gram and Dude for her birthday, and today was the perfect day to enjoy it! Ok, ok, so technically it's currently only a water table. She doesn't seem to mind though! With temps in the upper 70's, we were both happy to get outside and play in the water a bit.

I'm glad that I brought the camera out with us because I was able to get some cute shots of her in an outfit that she may never wear again. What was I thinking buying white pants for a 15 month old??

Drunken Bachelorettes and the Easter Bunny

2011-04-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

What a weekend!!

I left early Friday to celebrate Carla's last days as a bachelorette in Palm Springs! The weekend was a blast and I loved the time with my Davis girls. I don't get to see them often enough, and we have such great times when we get together. The time spent together always goes too quickly as we spend our time talking about hilarious moments in college and the years since. Most of us have been friends for over 15 years! I love that we have these chances to make new memories together, and I love hearing about everyone's lives and families. I quickly realize how much I miss them when it's time to leave.

While mom was away enjoying the fun and sun, Dan was on dad duty. He and Kendall spent Saturday celebrating Reese's first birthday at her party. I'm a bit sad that I missed the event as it looked like they had a great time, and it's always fun to see how excited Kendall is to do something new.

It's hard to believe, but so apparent from the photos, that Kendall is now a full blown toddler:

What a big girl!

Although I know that the day will come, it's hard to believe that one day Kendall will be celebrating at a bachelorette party with her friends. But, it's comforting to know that I'll be able to call any of my old friends to commiserate over some cocktails. I don't know who will be getting into more trouble....

A bin full of animals...

2011-03-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

We're headed to the Sweet 16!

2011-03-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Although it looks like she's more into whatever is going on outside, Kendall enjoyed watching the games with us this weekend! She was clapping, cheering, and handing out high fives to anyone that would raise a hand. With the Aztecs in the Sweet 16, we'll be enjoying more games next weekend!

Catch it!

2011-03-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

About a month ago my mom taught Kendall to blow kisses. As with any new thing, she did it a lot at first, but then stopped spreading the love. It seems to be back in style as she's started doing it again!

Please ignore my annoying, nasally voice!

I'm Free!!

2011-03-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

Kendall's head has been officially freed!

After noticing a bright red spot on Kendall's forehead Thursday night, we spent part of Friday afternoon at the doctor's office having her helmet examined. We thought that it was rubbing her (which it was), and the orthopedist suspected it was from her head growth (which it was!). The adjusted the helmet and then decided to scan her just to see where she was at. Surprisingly, Kendall had a growth spurt over the past few months, and the growth had been in all of the right places! Check out her scan - the blue line represents her current head, while the red line represents where we started:

Not only had her head circumference increased by almost a centimeter, but the growth had occurred where we wanted it - in the right front and left rear quadrants. The 6.0 measurement that I talked about last month was down to 2.8!! The orthopedist was shocked! She told us that her measurement is only 3.3, and that this was likely as good as we were going to get. What we thought was going to be a 4 month ordeal was quickly shortened to an easy 9 weeks!

Now, we're not totally out of the woods as we still have the Torticollis to deal with. Her head tilt is still about 5% and the facial asymmetry is still a bit noticeable to those who are looking for it. This will likely be an ongoing problem and we have to work with her on a daily basis to strengthen her neck muscles.

She's been very patient with all of this, and has come such a long way. We're grateful that things weren't a lot worse and that she's a happy, healthy girl! And, it really is nice to see that baby mullet all day long!

My head is going to be rounder than yours

2011-02-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

I don't even think that I've used the word "rounder" correctly here, but it gets my point across.

Kendall's helmet is working!!

We had our first check in last week and the helmet is doing it's job. The measurement that the doctors, physical therapists and orthopedists use to gauge a baby's progress is a complicated analysis of circumference, asymmetry and length vs. width. A measurement of 0.0 would indicate the presence of a perfect head, which anything under 6.0 is considered normal. Kendall started with an overall measurement of 5.9 and is now down to 5.0! This is great news considering that she's only been wearing the helmet for a month now, and we were told that it might take a while to see results since she's nearing the period in her life where the head can't be reshaped any longer. But, we can see the differences already!

Even though she's now within the normal range, we're going to keep going and see what progress she makes over the next 1-3 months. She doesn't mind wearing it (she actually tries to put it on when we have our daily hour break), and now that she's walking, it has saved her noggin on a number of occasions. It will also help to shape the bones in her face, which will reduce or eliminate her facial asymmetry. This was my main concern all along, and how we originally discovered the problem.

We check back again at the beginning of March, so keep your fingers crossed for even more good news!!

We have a walker!!

2011-01-30T16:39:00.000-08:00

The Littlest Chiefs Fan

2011-01-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

Kendall did find time after celebrating her birthday to cheer on Dad's beloved Chiefs. Sadly, they got spanked, and were eliminated from the playoffs.

At least she looked good that day...

A Party for our Pup

2011-01-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Kendall's first birthday a few days after her actual birthday by throwing a party for our sweet girl. We chose a puppy theme because Kendall LOVES doggies, and although I could think of a million cute birthday party ideas, I wanted her birthday party to be a reflection of her at this moment in time.

Kendall had a lot of family and friends at the party...

...Papa Steve and cousins Dustin and Cati....

...and Aunt Dusty

Kendall's friend, Lily, checking things out

I tried to add special touches like this monthly photo banner that I made. It included all of the pictures that I took on her monthly "birthdays" over the past year

Kendall's friend Knox deciding which doggie to adopt

Opening presents with mom

A happy birthday girl!

A tired birthday girl

I think that the party was a huge success. I'm proud of way everything turned out, and I'm glad that I put the effort into the little personalized touches. I'm also so thankful that we have such great families and friends that were willing to travel from near and far to spend the afternoon with us. A special thanks to my friend, Stacey, who came down from San Francisco for the weekend and was a huge help with the preparation and cleanup! We have one lucky girl!

Birthday Photo Shoot

2011-01-14T15:19:00.001-08:00

A week before Kendall's actual birthday, we took her for a little birthday photo shoot. Here is the picture that we had printed for our families:

And, here are some of the cute outtakes:

I'm 1 Year Old!!

2011-01-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, our sweet baby hit the 1-year mark. It's been an amazing year filled with highs and lows, but it's been such a treat to watch her grow and change over the past year. We started the year with a myriad of medical issues (weight loss, jaundice, severe reflux, and a pesky intolerance for milk), so it feels like a huge accomplishment that we all managed to make it through this first year! I am very excited about what the next year will bring!

We had Kendall's official one year appointment at the doctor's office yesterday and he had high praise for her growth and development. Here are her official stats:

Weight: 23 pounds, 3 ounces (84th percentile)

Height: 31.5 inches (99th percentile)

Head: 18 inches (71st percentile)

I could tell that she's gone through a major growth spurt lately as I did laundry the other night and clothes that fit her a week ago look like they shrunk in the dryer. Her feet have also caught up as she's now wearing size 4 shoes. Her 6-9 month shoes fit her on Christmas Eve.

As you can see from the above picture, we are ending her first year with additional trips to the doctor for her new fancy helmet. Although her Torticollis has gotten better, her head was still a bit misshapen, and the helmet should help to round things out ver the next 3-4 months. She was just in the range that a helmet was recommended, and she would have been fine without one, but we went ahead and decided to do it. She's tolerated it very well, and spends 23 hours a day in it. I think the only downside to it is how stinky her head gets!

At one year, Kendall has also developed quite the personality. She has no problems letting you know if she's unhappy about something, but it's usually pretty easy to figure out what that is. Most of the time she's a happy little girl who is looking to do anything that will get a laugh. She LOVES her stuffed animals, and usually has one in hand at all times, but is also pretty stoked about the new toys that she received at Christmas and on her birthday. I think the baby toys were boring her.

We did get the green light to start trying milk products, so we'll be slowing starting to move her to milk. She has had dairy at times (mac and cheese is a favorite), and it hasn't seemed to bother her, so hopefully the milk intolerance is behind us. She's still a good eater, willing to try most things, and surprising us with just how much she can eat at one sitting if she's noshing on something that she really likes. Fruit usually keeps her in the high chair for quite a while.

I don't have any pictures of her on her actual birthday, but have quite a few from her birthday party that I'll include in another post. Here's a cute picture of her enjoying her new chair the morning after her birthday:

And, here's our last look back at the past month:

48 Weeks Old

49 Weeks Old

51 Weeks Old

Our 2-day Christmas

2011-01-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, Christmas of 2010 turned out to be a 2-day affair. Most times this would be a great thing, but this Christmas will be remembered for the stomach flu that knocked me out for most of the day. I can't remember the last time I was that sick, and that's probably a good thing because it was no fun at all.

Christmas day started off OK, but I started feeling a bit queasy around breakfast time, and things quickly went downhill. I managed to get through some of the present opening, but also spent a good portion of the day lying on my parent's bathroom floor, thinking that I wouldn't wish this feeling on my worst enemy. Luckily my parents and Dan were able to entertain Kendall, and I went to bed.

Wow! Look what Santa brought!

Riding in her new wagon that MeMe and Papa Steve gave her

She loves Curious George. Thanks MeMe!!

She also loves the new car that Santa brought her

More presents from Gram and Dude

One of Dan's gifts. Best wrapping job ever!

Waiting for Dude to assemble the dragon

Playing with all of her toys

We tried it all again the next day. Pulled out the food we didn't eat the day before, turned on some Christmas music, and opened some more presents.

My own baby!

Giving baby a kiss

More toys!

Kendall had a great Christmas and now has more toys than she can play with. She's into everything, and it's neat to watch her have so much fun. I wish I had felt better for the weekend, but the important this is that Kendall had so much fun. Believe it or not, we did it all again this past weekend after Sean and Jessica returned from spending Christmas Day in Arizona with Jessica's family!

Pre-Christmas Zoo Trip

2011-01-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

A couple of days before Christmas, Kendall and I spent the day at the zoo with Gram. We have passes, and my mom bought a pass for her and my dad, so I have a feeling that there are many more zoo and Wild Animal Park trips in our future.

It was great to see how much more into the animals Kendall was this time around. Every time we visit one of the parks, you can just tell that she sees more and is more and more interested in what the animals are doing.

Her favorite part was the petting zoo!! She LOVED being able to pet the goats and sheep, and we happened to arrive right at feeding time, which meant they were occupied enough to ignore little grabby hands.

We saw lots of other animals, including the orangutans. This was probably the highlight of the day as one came right up in front of us and started washing the window! Pretty amazing to see, and Kendall thought so too!! She just sat and stared...

Such a fun way to kick off the holiday week!

Waterlogged

2010-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

We've had A LOT of rain here the past few days. This bucket was empty last Friday:

I know that this may not seem like much to some of you, but for us, this is sometimes all the rain we get in an entire year!!

Santa told Kendall he was putting her on his "naughty" list...

2010-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

Our trip to see Santa went about as well as I thought it would.

Honestly though, I love this picture.

I'm 11 Months Old!!

2010-12-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

Once again I'm a couple of weeks late with this post as time seems to just fly by. The fact that I'm working two jobs, trying to get ready for Kendall's first Christmas and her birthday party all at the same time doesn't help. I really don't want to complain though because we're so lucky and I really try to remind my self of that this time of year. We're all doing well and looking forward to the upcoming weeks!!

At 11 months old, Kendall continues to grow and change every week. As you can see, we've had to resort to using props during our month photo sessions. A bear in one hand and an animal cracker in the other allowed us to get a couple of shots in without Kendall ripping up our sign or attempting to jump off the couch. She's all over the place and into everything.

She now has 7 teeth, which has been great for eating and trying new solid foods, but not so great on mom and dad's sleeping schedules. For the past month she's been up in the middle of the night at least one or two nights a week, and wants either Dan or I to hold her. She must be completely asleep when putting her back in her crib, or she'll start crying and you have to start the whole process over again. We let her cry herself to sleep some nights, but there are some nights when she just won't go back to sleep without us comforting her. I know that her teeth are bothering her - her gums are inflamed and many nights she refuses to eat anything solid. Some nights she won't even finish her bottles, which is very unlike her.

Despite the pain she must be in, she's usually a very happy and playful baby. She's getting a lot better at playing on her own, and LOVES to play with her stuffed animals. She hugs them, kisses them, and has conversations with them. One of her favorites is the pink bear seen in the above photo. The bear was a gift from my friend Carla, and Kendall has kept the bear with her as much as possible since she received it. If pink bear is on the floor in her room, and Kendall is in her crib, you'll walk in to her pointing at the bear and saying, "that".

Speaking of talking, Kendall is working on learning new words. "That" and "boom" are two of the latest. She's also SO close to walking. She cruises around furniture with ease and is standing on her own for longer periods of time. At times, she's also crawling with her butt in the air, or one leg out to the side.

Here she is over the past month:

44 Weeks Old

46 Weeks Old

47 Weeks Old

Future class clown

2010-12-17T13:30:00.001-08:00

Our Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

The Weatherbys had a great Thanksgiving. For the 6th year in a row, we hosted the big day at our house. It's always such a fun day, but I think it was even more special this time around because Dan and I have so many things to be thankful for this year:

the birth of our beautiful baby girl

having made it through a complicated pregnancy in one piece

a happy and healthy baby

our loving and supportive families

great friends

visits from Caleb and Nick

each other

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Kendall had a great time on her first Thanksgiving, despite having had a flu shot the night before (she didn't even cry) and battling a slight fever and rash that's gone on for a couple of days now. We'll be back to the doctor on Monday if she's not better, but we spent the day not thinking about it.

Her first Thanksgiving feast consisted of turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, jello, mashed potatoes and biscuits!

She loved it!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Weatherbys! We hope that you had a great day as well!

I'm 10 Months Old!

2010-11-20T10:35:00.001-08:00

I know it's no surprise that I'm late again this month with our monthly update. It's getting harder and harder (check that - nearly impossible) to get the little girl to sit still for our monthly photo session. You can see it in her eyes in the above photo. She's ready to pounce. I even had to enlist Dan's help this month, which I thought would make things easier, but Kendall found it to be even more of a game once Daddy was involved. We have many photos that look like this:

Or this:

Enough about my failed photo sessions, let's talk about Kendall! Time is still flying by and I can't believe she's 10 months old. I'll have a 1 year old in a matter of weeks. She's still growing like crazy and is now in 12 month, 12-18 month, and even some 18 month clothes.

Over the past couple of months, Kendall's personality has really started to come through. She is the goofiest, funniest baby that you can get to laugh at just about anything. She also has a very sweet side. She's started to give hugs and kisses without any prompting, and there are days when I come home from work and she crawls over to give me hugs. She says, "mom, mom, mom" as she crawls over. It melts my heart.

With that said, she's also come to know what she wants, and isn't afraid to let you know. Once you put her in her highchair to eat, she wants her food right then! She has five big teeth to eat with! If you take something from her that she has found during one of her exploring sessions, she gets very angry. She is very interested in our food, and isn't happy when she doesn't get to try what we're eating.

In addition to being interested in food, she's interested in just about everything else in the house. Sometimes this can be a good thing, although sometimes this can be a bad thing. It's neat to watch her play with the plastic bags (don't judge) and try to hold them all in one hand. It also amazes me to watch her solve problems. If she can't reach something, she'll figure out how to get to it. On the other hand, it's a bit scary to watch her pull wine bottles off the rack at my parent's house. She tries to climb everything and has started opening cabinets and drawers.

Bottom line, we love her more and more every day! Here's a look back at the last month, although I didn't take too many pictures that you haven't already seen, so it's a quick look back:

40 Weeks

42 Weeks

Daddy's Day Off

2010-11-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Dan had one more vacation day that he had to use before the end of the year, so he decided to use it this past Friday. We took advantage of Daddy's day off and headed to Sea World for the afternoon to visit Shamu and the rest of his friends. Kendall and I were at Sea World just four months ago with my friend Rachel and her family, but we figured that the little girl would be a lot more interested in the animals this time around. She wasn't totally enthralled yet, but you could tell that she was more aware this time around. Especially when we were in the Penguin Encounter! She was excited to see those penguins!

Checking out the Beluga Whales

At the tide pool with Dad

Thinking about touching the starfish

Finally! The Sesame Street play area!

It's so nice to have passes to all of these great parks in San Diego! I remember growing up here and visiting all of the attractions, and I'm so thankful that Kendall will have the same experience! What a lucky girl!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Kendall had a great Halloween weekend this year! It was a great start to what will be many wonderful Halloweens to come!

We started the weekend with a Baby Halloween Costume Party, hosted by my mom's group. There were a TON of people there! It was nice to see the babies all dressed up and to even meet some new babies that we had never met before. Kendall een won a prize for one of the cutest baby costumes! And, to top it off, I even got Dan to dress up. Here's Tiger Woods and his little lady:

To complete the couples costume, I went as Elin Woods:

On Halloween night, we had a bunch of people over at our house and even did a bit of trick or treating. Gram and Dude, Aunt Jessica and Uncle Sean, as well as my friend Elizabeth and her family all joined us! Kendall seemed to like all of the decorations and people that were out trick or treating! Sadly I have no good pictures from that night. We did take some of her with the pumpkins though!

Kendall soon realized that the pumpkins' tops came off...

...and that pumpkin didn't taste too bad...

Reaching for the stars...literally

2010-10-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

It seems as if we're still raising one of the stars of the Team USA women's basketball team. We had Kendall's nine month checkup yesterday and here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 2 oz. (74th percentile)

Height: 30 inches (99th percentile)

Head Circumference: 17 1/2 (65th percentile)

2032 summer olympics, here we come!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

We got a coupon for Picture People in the mail, so we took Kendall to get some pictures taken of her in her Halloween costume. I hadn't used Picture People before, nor was I sure about how the little bee would handle the studio setting, but she did amazingly well and the pictures turned out great. I'm just shocked by how grown up she looks!!

We also got some great pictures of her in her flower bow and zebra diaper cover:

What a cutie!!

I'm 9 Months Old!

2010-10-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

Kendall turned 9 months old on October 6th! I suppose this is more of a 9 1/2 month post since I'm late, but not too much has changed since Kendall hit the 9 month mark, so this update wouldn't have been much different if I had posted 2 weeks ago.

As you can see from the above picture, it's hard to get this girl to sit still. She's crawling everywhere and she wants to play and investigate EVERYTHING. If you open a door or cabinet, she's right there to see what new things she can get into. We've done some baby proofing in our house, but I need to do a lot more ASAP. Rolling around on Lani's dog beds has become a favorite activity. Books are also one of her favorite things. She loves to be read to and loves to flip the pages.

In addition to crawling, Kendall is now kneeling and pulling herself to stand. She does this with ease and doesn't need a whole lot of support. She still loves music and is bopping and dancing to the beat of many commercials and television shows. For some reason though, she does not dance in the car when the music is on.

Kendall now has four teeth (two on the top and two on the bottom) and has started to eat bits and pieces of food. So far puffs, mum mums, cheerios and pieces of fruit are about the only things she'll eat, but we're trying more and more everyday. She's a great eater and is inhaling what seems like a ton of food at every sitting. I'm still making some of her food, but honestly, now that I'm working and she's eating so much, it's become really hard to keep up.

I just can't believe how quickly she's turning into a little girl. She has her own distinct personality, and is so easy to read. There's no mistaking when she is upset about something, hungry or tired. She's giving kisses and starting to give hugs, which makes the challenging times a bit easier. She's a happy baby!!

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

38 Weeks

39 Weeks

We're Back

2010-10-19T08:03:00.001-07:00

It's only been a few weeks, but it really does seem like a lifetime since I've updated our blog. The past month has been a whirlwind and we've only barely had time to sit down and relax for a minute or two, let alone upload pictures and blog about it all.

Dan has been working just about every weekend, sometimes all weekend, and sometimes for only a half a day. Even when he does only work half a day on the weekend, it means he's up at 5 a.m. and out the door by 5:30 or 6. It's normally not that bad, but weekend after weekend with little time off has begun to take it's toll and has us both searching the internet for a weekend getaway. Luckily the weekend work should now be over with, and we can return to enjoying Dan's days off.

As for me, I've also returned to the workforce. I'm now officially one of the millions of "under employed", working three part time jobs. I looked for a full time job for a while, but it became painfully obvious within a matter of weeks that my previous field has been decimated and it was going to be hard to find something in the land use planning field. So, I started looking at other things, and think that I'm actually going to be very happy using some of my other skills. Job #1 - I'm working a bit for my dad taking care of his monthly billing. Job #2 - I'm an Area Manager for Dragonfly Designs, a company that teaches jewelry making classes throughout San Francisco, and now San Diego. The owner has focused on after school classes and birthday parties for kids, but we do hold a number of adult classes that I'll hopefully be teaching after the first of the year in San Diego! Job #3 - I'm working for my friend Tim at his seafood supply company, Jaemar. I'm going to be the squid person, working with international buyers and local suppliers. I'm only just starting this job, but think it will be pretty interesting based on the first meeting I had with Tim.

As for Kendall, she's as good as ever. With me working, she's now at a babysitter a couple of days a week. The babysitter happens to be a friend of mine from high school who has a 13 month old named Knox. So, she hangs out with the two of them while they play, and I feel very comfortable knowing that Kendall is with someone I trust. She seems to be enjoying herself so far!

Watch your back Snooki....

2010-09-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

Kendall's practicing her fist pump....

Beach Day

2010-09-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know what was really more strange about today, the fact that it was 100 degrees at our house at the end of September, or the fact that today was Kendall's first trip to the beach. Really, both have an explanation. We do have heat waves quite often this time of year, and the weather was so cloudy and chilly all summer long that we never made it to the beach. Well, we did go once, but forgot to check the tide charts. We lugged all our stuff (including Kendall) down three flights of stairs only to find the waves hitting the cliffs. Needless to say, there was no beach that day.

So, since Dan worked all weekend (and most of last night), he took most of today off and we made it a beach day. Kendall did pretty well and only cried a little bit when she stuck a handful of sand in her mouth to see how it tasted. We came home and played in the wading pool in the backyard to wash all the sand off. All and all a pretty good day!

I'm 8 Months Old!

2010-09-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Kendall turned 8 months old this past Monday! I think I'm going to have to find a new way to secure my sign for these last few months...

My how things have changed in the past month. Kendall is now a very active crawler and pulls up to her knees at any chance she gets. She's also now starting to pull up to a standing position, which makes me very nervous given that 50% of our house is travertine flooring. Now that she's mobile, she's into everything. We've started our babyproofing, but we still have some things to do. She loves the water, both the pool and her baths. Turn the bath water on in her bathroom and she comes crawling and grunting! I've never seen a baby move that fast!

In the past month, Kendall has also started to pick up and eat small bits of food. So far she loves the baby puffs, mum mums and cheerios, but I did give her a few tiny bits of kiwi recently and she ate them. We going to be trying new food over the coming weeks. She's getting plenty to eat though, I recently measured her at 29 inches in length and just over 20 pounds. Very unofficial stats, but she does continue to grow! So does her hair! It's finally growing back in, and it's a very light brown color. Surprisingly, much lighter than the hair she was born with.

Although she really has changed over the past month, a few things do remain the same. She is still chewing on EVERYTHING and drooling constantly, but we haven't yet seen any more teeth. We go through a bib or two a day. She's still a great sleeper, now sleeping about 11 straight hours at night, with two 1 1/2 - 2 hour naps per day. She still wants her dad to put her to bed, and she still thinks Lani is hilarious. Peek a boo is still her favorite game, but it's pretty easy to get her to smile and laugh. She's a happy girl!

Something new every day

2010-09-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, Kendall has been growing and changing just about ever time we turn around. Three weeks ago, she was only scooting and rolling. Now she's crawling, pulling up on her knees, standing on her own for a couple seconds at a time, and walking with assistance. Then today, I turned around from my post at the computer and saw this:

She pulled herself to a standing position all on her own! Another first! I snapped her picture and made a mental note to tell Dan about the day's events when he got home. About 2 minutes later i heard her making noise, and she sounded like she was a lot closer to me. I turned around again, and saw this:

I'm guessing she walked herself over along the edge of the pack and play, because this whole sequence of events didn't take that long, and I didn't hear her fall or sit down. It's a possibility though. Either way, she's now pulling herself to a standing position! I love watching her grow and do new things, but lately it's all happening so fast!

What Can I Find In Here?

2010-09-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

Now that Kendall is crawling, she's all over the place and into everything. We've captured these in the past week:

Mammoth Vacation

2010-09-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Weatherbys were in need of a vacation this summer, but with me not working (yet), the grand plans that we had for sipping Mai Tais on a beach in Maui were put on hold. Instead, we opted for 6 days in Mammoth at the end of August for some biking, hiking and relaxing. We go to Mammoth just about every winter, but had never been in the summer. We're really glad that we made the trip and had so much fun that we hope to make it a yearly event.

I have to admit, that I had second thoughts about driving all that way with Kendall strapped into her carseat, especially after flash flooding and a mudslide forced us to take a 3 hour detour on our way to Mammoth. Our 6 - 7 hour drive took 10 1/2 hours. On the plus side, I can now say that I've been to Death Valley!! Once we were there, we had a great time, and my parents even joined us for a few days. Dan got in two full days of mountain biking, we hiked to an old mine, visited Mono Lake, enjoyed the Mammoth Rocks festival, ate some great food, and relaxed. Here are some pics:

The weather was pretty cool, but we were able to swim one day

Even Dude joined in the fun

Dan's view from the top of the mountain

Enjoying some time with Dad after his ride

Hiking to the Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine

Mono Lake

Not so sure about the museum exhibits

Mom and Kendall

Kendall found these bears in her room the morning we headed home

Help me up!

2010-08-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

Kendall still hasn't mastered her crawling, but she can't be tied down to one thing and has moved on...to climbing. This new skill appeared rather quickly over the past few days, as we showed her how to get up onto her knees and how to climb the stairs. I know, we're crazy. I'm blaming her Physical Therapist. She told me on Thursday that we should be encouraging her to develop her motor skills and move around as much as possible, as sometimes babies with Toticollis can develop a little slowly in the motor skills department.

I don't think that we're going to have any problem with her motor skills, because now that she's figured out how to climb, she's climbing onto just about everything. Saturday night, it happened to be Dad.

I think it's funny (or slightly scary) that she has such a mischievous look on her face in the second and third pictures. I have a feeling that look will appear again frequently in the future. Probably a prediction that I'll regret making.

Flying Baby!

2010-08-23T09:53:00.001-07:00

This is one of Kendall's favorite new games. If you listen closely, you can hear her snort a few times. That's when you know she's REALLY excited.

Somebody is getting closer to officially crawling!

2010-08-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Pretty New Dress

2010-08-20T14:02:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the dress that I had been making for Kendall and she wore it once before I promptly ruined it in the washing machine. I will now pre-wash all red fabric before I sew with it. At least I got some cute pics first:

I'm 7 Months Old!

2010-08-09T14:33:00.001-07:00

Kendall is now 7 months old! We've really seen a lot of changes in her over the past month. Although she's still a baby, it seems as if she's becoming more and more of a little girl every day. She's now sitting completely on her own without any assistance, and has even started to go from a crawling pose to sitting. Speaking of crawling, she's trying so hard! She has the position down, rocks back and forth, and even begins to move forward. She just hasn't mastered that moving forward part. She does roll a lot, so she can get anywhere she wants to go. She's even working on her standing:

She's babbling away, but no words yet. Her hair also continues to grow and is going to be a light brown color. Very similar to what my hair looked like when I was her age. She reaches out for people and will look at you, stick her hand out (palm up) and move her fingers back and forth as if to say, "Gimme that!" She's using her left hand a lot! Finally, she's getting her third tooth; the first of her top teeth.

Here's a look back at the past month. You can really see the changes when you compare the 26 week picture to the 30 week picture:

26 weeks

27 Weeks

28 Weeks

29 Weeks

30 Weeks

Food Frenzy

2010-08-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

A week ago I started what I like to refer to as "Baby Food Fest 2010". Kendall has been doing so well on her pureed solids, that I thought I'd do one last massive food prep session. She'll likely be starting finger foods in the next month or so, so we won't be doing purees for too much longer. After a trip to Costco, I started with this:

Peaches, pears, mangos, apricots, raspberries, bananas, avocados and strawberries

After purchasing a book on baby food purees, I even decided to try a couple of beef purees

After two days of steaming, baking, slow cooking, mashing and blending, I ended up with a freezer full of purees. Single fruit purees that can be eaten alone or mixed with another type of fruit, as well as beef cooked in applesauce and a beef stew puree. Kendall also feasted on a banana/avocado mash for a few days.

I was scared to attempt the meat purees, but even that wasn't that bad. I felt a bit like I was making cat food, but it smelled pretty good. What I tasted was actually pretty good.

Making Kendall's baby food is very time consuming, but I'm glad that I've had the time to do it. We've saved a lot of money and it feels good to feed her things that I've made. With love of course.

Happy Anniversary!!

2010-07-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

On July 22nd, Dan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! This past year has been pretty eventful, so to celebrate, we took a quick trip to Las Vegas for the weekend. Kendall stayed with Gram and Dude, and we stayed at the new Aria resort in City Center. The place was amazing, and I highly recommend it! We found a great deal online and were able to upgrade to a 1 bedroom suite. We weren't up very high, but the suite was awesome!

View towards the Monte Carlo and New York New York

Dan also decided to take the opportunity to try out the new Skyjump attraction at the Stratosphere. If you haven't heard of it, they take you to the top of the hotel, hook you up to some harnesses and you jump for about a 20 second free fall. I guess it's not really a free fall since there are harnesses controlling your speed, but you get the idea.

All strapped in and ready to go!

A look up towards the top

Dan has jumped. Can you see him? If you can open this picture as full size, you'll see a little tiny figure just off the platform, between the two ropes. That's him!!

Still falling. Look for him about 1/3 of the way down. The glass tower is behind him.

Almost all the way down

The eagle has landed

Dan said it was a lot of fun. He said that the weighted ropes don't allow you the sensation of falling, but that it's more of a fun ride. He did say that it was pretty scary when he got up to the top and looked out. One guy did chicken out while we were there and tried to give the crowd a bunch of excuses about being too heavy. They don't weigh you again at the top, so that was obviously not why he came back down via the elevator.

Happy anniversary, Dan! Here's to another great year!

5 - 6 month recap

2010-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

I realized after my last post that I forgot to include a photo recap. Here are week by week photos of Kendall from 5 - 6 months:

22 Weeks

23 Weeks

24 Weeks

25 Weeks

I'm Six Months Old!

2010-07-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Kendall is six months old! I know I'm a couple weeks late with this post, but I wanted to wait for her 6 month checkup to post her stats. Truth be told, our printer was also out of ink and I couldn't print her sign. But, we're back on track now!

It's hard to believe that half a year has passed! She has grown and changed so much over that time; it's really amazing to watch. She is now eating solids twice a day, and she likes just about everything she's tried. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and apricots are probably her favorites. Green beans are the only thing that she does not like. She's doing so well that I think we're going to progress to three times a day and some Stage 2 foods starting next week. So far I've been making most of her food, but I don't think that I'm going to be attempting to puree meat.

Kendall is also becoming much more independent. She's spending more and more time playing with her toys on her own. She's now sitting up on her own (with the occasional tumble) and is so much happier now that she can sit in stroller when we out and about, or a highchair in our kitchen at home and when we go out to eat. She now has two teeth, but she's been drooling quite a bit again over the past couple of days, which makes me think that another one might be on it's way.

Kendall is also still growing like crazy. Here are her stats:

Weight: 17 pounds 14 ounces

Height: 27 inches

Head Circumference: 16.75 inches

We squeezed our well visit into another doctor's visit that we already had scheduled, so I don't have the percentages from the doctor's office. But, according to Babycenter, Kendall is between the 75th and 90th percentile for height and weight and the 50th percentile for her head circumference.

I also thought I'd post a few more shots from our photo session. The above picture wasn't her best, but she didn't want to sit still and I had to be quick. Here's how the rest of the shoot went:

At this point I pulled the paper away and there was a piece missing. I guess we can add paper to her list of solids that she's tried!

Naked Baby!

2010-07-15T08:38:00.001-07:00

There's something so sweet about bathing babies. I know these are the kinds of pictures that kids grow up to hate, but we all take them and we all use them later at strategically planned out moments. My mom waited for my senior ad in my high school yearbook. I'm only starting to think about the possibilities...

But I digress. I had wanted to take some pictures of Kendall in her transition bathtub for a few weeks now, and took my opportunity last night. About a month ago it became apparent that bathing Kendall in her bathtub made for the sink wasn't working anymore. Let's just say that mopping up post-bath was taking longer than the actual bath. After a couple of weeks of being scared, she now loves it. She loves that she can play with her toys and she loves to splash around in the water. She was more than happy to pose for a few photos.

Embarrassing for her down the road? Yes. Outrageously cute. Yes again. By the way, check out Kendall's full gut in this last one. I think she's eating more at mealtimes than I am these days.

Theme Park Fun

2010-07-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

The past 7 days have been pretty eventful for Kendall and I. It seems like we've had something planned just about every day. We've been to the Wild Animal Park with my mom's group, the SD County Fair with Dad and Caleb, and Sea World with my friend Rachel, her husband Paul and their kids, Peyton and Riley, who were visiting from the Bay Area. We've had so much fun getting out and exploring; I know that we're going to have a great summer.

Ready for the Wild Animal Park. Note that our big girl is now riding in her stroller, not in the car seat within the stroller. She's SO much happier!

Safari Tour at the Wild Animal Park

Checking out the rides at the fair

Dan and Caleb after their final ride of the day

We enjoyed the petting zoo from a far

Kendall did seem happy to see the animals though

Caleb, Kendall and I checking out the turkeys. Think Caleb is ready to go home?

Riley and Kendall braving the game area at Sea World

Peyton seemed to like Kendall, and vice versa

Showing some more love

Kendall is such a lucky girl to be living in a place where there are so many cool things to do. We are now season pass holders at Sea World AND the Zoo/Wild Animal Park, so see quite a few more trips in our future!

Happy 4th of July!!

2010-07-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

We spent time with family and friends, swam in the pool, bar-b-que'd and watched a few fireworks from a far. You'd never know that Kendall was cutting her second tooth - she was pretty happy all day long!

Check out my stars and stripes!

Aunt Dusty and Kendall

Kendall and Gram

Dude and Kendall

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

It just so happened that Dan's parents came to town this past weekend, so we were able to celebrate with all of the fathers - Dan, his dad and my dad. We spent Friday and Saturday with Dan's parents at their campsite on Mission Bay, and on Sunday we had dinner with my mom and dad. Here are some pictures:

A rare picture of Kendall and mom

Kendall and Meme

Caleb, Nick and Kendall

Papa Steve and Kendall

Caleb, Dan and Lani

That's one tired baby

I can touch the floor!

2010-06-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

Kendall reached a big milestone this week - she can now touch the floor when in her jumperoo, and we've been able to remove the pillow from underneath her feet!

In other news, Lani is over being ogled like a young woman walking down Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana.

MMMMMMM...green beans!

2010-06-18T14:32:00.001-07:00

Not so sure about the green beans.

We've been trying solids for a few weeks now, and she's liking the food more and more. Carrots are the big winner so far, but she also seems to like oatmeal with apricots mixed in and avocados. The jury is still out on sweet potatoes and green beans, but we're trying these again soon. Bananas have received a big thumbs down, which is surprising.

I'm Five Months Old!!

2010-06-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

I know I say it every month, but I really can't believe how fast time is flying by. Kendall turned five months old on Sunday, and continues to grow and change. Her hair is really starting to come back in. She babbles constantly, sometimes carrying on continuous conversations for half an hour or more. She's also reaching for just about anything, tries to put everything in her mouth, and loves being tickled. She laughs and laughs and laughs. I think we finally have the allergies and reflux figured out as she's now on a formula that she seems to like, and is barely spitting up at all. Now if we could only get the insurance company to work with us and pay for it! I'm still fighting...

Kendall also had her first weekend with Gram and Dude this past weekend while mom headed to the Bay Area for an engagement party (congrats Carla and Tyler!!) and dad worked. She did really well and I think my mom and dad loved being able to spend all of that time with her.

Here is a look back at the past month...

18 Weeks Old

19 Weeks Old

20 Weeks Old

21 Weeks Old

I don't think this swing is going to last much longer

2010-06-08T09:08:00.001-07:00

Five Days Old...

Five Months Old...

I Want to Move!!

2010-05-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Kendall doesn't seem to have much time for laying around anymore. We discovered this weekend that when placed on her stomach, she's starting to try to move. I don't think I'd call it crawling quite yet, but she's on her way. Here's a little snippet from the video I took:

We better start thinking about babyproofing the house!

Fun in the Sun

2010-05-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

We travelled to the Colorado River this weekend with some friends, for Kendall's first trip to the river. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but it actually went amazingly well. Kendall loved all of the attention, and tolerated the 100 degree heat. Don't worry, she was covered or in the shade at all times. Here are a few pics:

Hangin' with dad

It was Aunt Jessica's first time at the river too!

Yum Yum Yum

2010-05-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Now that she's past the 4 month mark, we've started trying to feed Kendall solids. We don't want to rush it, but hopefully her reflux will get better once she starts eating more solids on a regular basis, and we'd love to get her off of her daily dose of Prevacid. A couple of weeks ago, we started with rice cereal and it didn't really get the raving reviews that we were hoping for.

We tried rice cereal for a few days, as well as oatmeal and neither were well received. We then moved on to bananas, which to our surprise, were also not well received. However, avocados and sweet potatoes have fared better.

I'm also being adventurous and making most of her baby food. This way we can avoid any milk or soy reactions since we know what's in everything, and it's saving quite a bit of money. So far I've prepared and frozen sweet potatoes, squash, green beans and apricots. More to come!

That Dog is Hilarious!!

2010-05-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Kendall thinks Lani is the funniest thing around these days. When Lani comes near her, we've been getting a lot of reactions like this:

Keep in mind, Lani could really care less about Kendall. She's gentle with her and gives her kisses, but Kendall can't throw the ball for her, and that's pretty much all Lani cares about. That and Dan. Man, that dog loves Dan. He leaves on a business trip and Lani waits by the front door for DAYS waiting for him to come home again. Kind of sad, but kind of sweet at the same time. A bit off topic, I know. Anyways, Kendall doesn't seem to mind that Lani doesn't pay much attention to her. She still thinks she's hilarious:

She Looks Good In Pictures

2010-05-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

I learned early on in Kendall's life how great it is to have a neighbor that knows a thing or two about photography. My neighbor, Marissa, started photographing her kids a few years ago and has turned it into a hobby. She took the photo that we used on Kendall's birth announcements and spent a couple more hours with us last week to get some updated shots. Here are a few...

I love them!

I'm 4 Months Old!!

2010-05-07T15:42:00.001-07:00

Kendall turned 4 months old yesterday - I really can't believe how quickly time is flying by. The past month has been a busy, yet exciting one. She's started laughing every day, has learned to roll over, and has found her feet. I thought she'd be sitting up on her own by now, and although she's close, she's not quite there yet. Maybe next month. She's also a big girl. We had our 4 month checkup today and she's done a lot of growing over the past couple months. Here are her impressive stats:

Weight: 14 pounds, 4 ounces (66th percentile)

Height: 26 inches (97th percentile)

Head Circumference: 16 1/4 inches (60th percentile)

My dad and brother should be happy that it appears she's headed for the basketball team.

I also wanted to post an update regarding her health. We did see a pediatric GI specialist on Thursday and they believe that she has a milk and/or soy allergy. After determining that there are no milk or soy ingredients in her rice cereal (apparently some companies do add them), we have to suspect the formula that she was on. Although it is a hypo-allergenic formula, there is a bit of milk casein in there, which could be causing the bleeding. We've switched her to Neocate, an amino acid formula, with the hopes that the bleeding will stop. I'm also going to be making all of her food when she starts solids (the doc said we could start in about a week, or once the bleeding has stopped), and will become a label reader as she starts to eat things I can't make, to make sure she's not getting any milk or soy. We'll do this for the next year and hopefully she'll grow out of this allergy. We've also got weekly doctors visits again for the next month or so to make sure that the bleeding has stopped and that she's still continuing to gain weight. Fingers crossed!!

Finally, here are some shots from the past month:

13 Weeks

14 Weeks

15 Weeks

16 Weeks

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Our First Visit to the ER

2010-05-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

I can't say that this is a happy post filled with pictures and laughs. We had our first visit to the Children's Hospital ER on Saturday, and I have to say it was a pretty miserable experience. 8 hours of my life I'll never have back, but at least we were able to go home knowing that Kendall had been checked out and wasn't in immediate danger.

This all started when I took Kendall to see her pediatrician on Friday afternoon because I was finding blood in her diapers. This had been going on for a few days, and by Friday the amount of blood was substantial enough that I felt she needed to be seen. The pediatrician checked her out and instructed us to take samples in over the weekend thinking she might have an infection of some sort. On Friday night, she had two diapers that were completely filled with blood. I mean totally pink and red. I was scared and called the after hours nurse center who instructed us to go to the Urgent Care associated with our medical group. After we waited there for 3 1/2 hours, the doctor told us that she needed to be seen by a pediatric specialist and sent us to Children's Hospital. We drove on over, and finally at 10:30 p.m. a doctor saw Kendall and ran a few blood tests and a couple of X-rays. She told us everything looked fine, instructed us to follow up with our pediatrician and, hoped "whatever she has just clears itself up!" I don't know about you, but anytime I see blood in a baby's diaper something is wrong. I was frustrated that we didn't get a bit more attention, but hoped she was right.

Fast forward to yesterday and we were back to see the pediatrician. He's ruled out any sort of infection. One might also think it's a dairy allergy, but she's already on a hypo-allergenic formula because of her reflux and the fact that she was quite fussy when I had dairy in my diet and was giving her breast milk. I guess it could be an allergy to the formula, but the pediatrician said he's never seen an allergy to this formula. Has anyone else ever heard of an allergy to Nutramigen?

So, we're off to see a pediatric GI specialist tomorrow. We've already been warned that the doctor may want to scope her, which is something that I really dread. But, I'm also very alarmed at the fact that we're still discovering bloody diapers every time we change her. I don't mind spending days and days at the doctor's office and emergency rooms if someone can tell me what's wrong!

Post-Easter Photo Shoot

2010-04-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

I realized late on Easter Sunday that we hadn't taken any pictures of Kendall that day. We hastily tried to take a few, but she was cranky and we didn't get any good ones. So, I vowed to put together a mini photo session the next time she wore her Easter dress, and boy am I glad that I did. We managed to get the cutest picture of her!!

My First Play Date

2010-04-20T15:04:00.001-07:00

We had our good friends Brian and Rachel over this past weekend to catch up and allow their sweet little girl, Lily, to meet and play with Kendall. Actually, being 6 months old, Lily did more of the playing, and Kendall did more of the staring and crying. It's hard when you can't sit up yet!

Hi! I'm Kendall! Can we be friends?

Once Kendall had her meltdown, Lily was quite concerned and even shed a couple of tears herself.

Thank you Brian, Rachel and Lily for spending a few hours with us!

Just happy to be hangin' with dad

2010-04-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today's Big Event!

2010-04-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm 3 Months Old!

2010-04-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Kendall turned 3 months old yesterday! Over the past month she's mastered holding her head up on her own and is cooing at everything! She's also gaining weight at a steady pace - she's up to 12 pounds, 7 ounces, which puts her in the 55th percentile for her age! She's getting really close to being able to sit on her own - I bet she'll be there by the time she's 4 months old.

Here's a look back at the past month...

9 Weeks

10 Weeks

11 Weeks

12 Weeks

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a happy easter! We had a great day (minus one frightening earthquake) with our family. Here's Kendall enjoying her new favorite toy - the jumperoo!!

Please, no pictures

2010-04-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems like every time I pull out the camera, Kendall is more and more interested in the thing being pointed at her. She doesn't often smile for the camera like some babies do, but just kind of stares at it. However, she can only take so much of it before she melts down...

I don't try to photograph her crabbier moments, but last night I couldn't resist.