Dear Library and MES Office

I can't remember if I ever officially thanked you for the fabulous baby shower you threw for Jason and I last summer. It's always incredibly exciting to welcome the first baby into a family, and we were thrilled you were happy to welcome our Little Miss with us.

I've been to a few baby showers and several bridal showers and I must say that never have I seen such an amazing spread of delicious food as what was available at our baby shower.

You were all so kind, and the "guess the name" game was so much fun! Thanks for everything; we felt really loved and enjoyed sharing our excitement with you.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I don't think we could have chosen a better village to help us parent our daughter. Thanks for your support and encouragement and advice.

Grateful,
Becky

Dear Jenn

My thank you to you is similar to my thank you to Rachel C. You both were so helpful when I was pregnant and had no idea what to expect. You were willing to share your birth story, your pregnancy woes and joys, your breastfeeding issues, your sleep deprivation, and anything else I inquired about. You weren't shy at all, and your explicitly detailed narratives were more than helpful - if there is a word that means that, insert it there!

Even after Kayla was born you were willing to answer any questions about newborn care, doctors, breastfeeding, diaper rash, baby routines, and more. You've impressed me as one of a few "Super Moms" I know, and I really appreciate your insights.

Not only did you share your experiences in hopes that they would be beneficial, but you also offered encouragement when I needed it most. Though my husband was always (and will always be) there for me, there is something different about the understanding of a fellow first-time mom. It was incredibly heartening to know that there was someone out there who understood where I was coming from, what I was feeling, and had some ideas on how to make it better...or at least bearable.

Thank you SO much for all of your sage advice and free help. You've been a godsend...even from 2,000 miles away.

Thanks, Jenn.

A Grateful Mother,
Becky

On Her Knees

So far Kayla hasn't managed to pull herself up to stand, but she's getting close. This is how she plays with her toy basket these days...

A Flower in the Sun

After being sick on Tuesday and the weather being nasty on Wednesday, Damie, MB and I finally got to go walking tonight. The sun was out so I figured I should probably cover up Kayla's fair skin, so she got to wear this little hand-me-down sunhat I found in a box in her closet. It's the first one she's worn and she actually kept it on her head! It's almost too small for her already, so I need to find a couple more and buy them before she outgrows this because we'll be using them a lot this summer!

Playtime

I go every day at lunchtime to feed Kayla at the sitter's, which adds too many miles to and takes away too much gas from our car, but it's necessary. Anyway, today after I fed her we played as usual, but she was more cheerful than ever for some reason and I couldn't help but snap a picture as she stood at this little playstation and figured out how to make it light up and play sounds. I just love how she's wrinkling her nose when she grins now. It's so adorable!

Growing Up

Today was awful. Kayla screamed and cried almost all afternoon and evening, and we could NOT figure out how to make her happy. We also had no clue what was wrong. She acted as if something hurt her, but what it was we couldn't figure out. Our best guess was that her throat was hurting, so she cried about it, but in crying and screaming it hurt worse, so that just made her mad and she continued to cry...a vicious circle. In an attempt to keep her at least somewhat happy, we gave her a bottle. I'd been told by both Jason and our babysitter that she could feed herself, but I'd never actually seen it. But it's true! Here's proof!

Surprise to Grow Into

I was home with Kayla again today, but this time it was because she was sick. She got a bad fever last night and has been miserable all day, poor girl! On the plus side she's been very cuddly! I went out to get the mail and when I opened the door there was a package from Jason's cousins. They sent us a ton of stuff when Kayla was first born, and this box was full of adorable little girl things, including this beautiful dress . Unfortunately, almost everything was size 18-24 months, so it will be a while before she can wear them. This dress is size 2T, so it will be hanging in her closet for another year and a half or so. The amazingly surprising thing about the clothes in this box? Almost every single thing still had tags on it. Brand new clothes. WOW! Thanks, Dave and Liz!

Adventures

Though this afternoon and evening Kayla started showing signs of being quite sick, this morning she was a happy girl. We were home together because our sitter and her son got sick over the weekend and our backup babysitter is out of town this week. So it was Mommy and Daddy on duty, and we tag-teamed quite well. At lunch Kayla and I went in to see Daddy, brought him lunch, and then Daddy took Kayla home while Mommy got some things done at the office and went to a meeting. She thought it was a blast to sit on the table and move the books around. Then, this evening we went for a walk and she was just starting to feel sick. She talked herself to sleep in the stroller.

Camera Phones

Today I had a conversation with my sister Rachel with pictures we took on our phones. This was one she sent me of Landon riding his big sister's bike. Morgan looks thrilled, wouldn't you say? Here's one I took of Chloe (Jake & MB's daughter) at their house this afternoon. It isn't that great of quality, but it sure made me laugh.

Hand-Me-Downs are Great!

Here's Kayla, modeling the adorable jean dress she got from MB and Chloe. Chloe never got to wear it because she outgrew it too quickly, so MB offered it to Kayla. I snatched it up since it's super cute and Kayla can always use another dress (she actually doesn't have a whole bunch that fit her right now), and she wore it for the first time to church today. Marci (who was visiting for the afternoon) actually took these pictures, while I attempted to get Kayla to stand up. Kayla was standing on her own for this picture (with a little help from the sofa behind her), but it didn't last long...

Love

This is the picture my sister Rachel texted me today. It's her daughter, Morgan, loving on her little brother, Landon. Landon is wearing the super cute froggy onesie I sent him last week. I just love how gentle and adoring Morgan is being. I'm sure it won't always be this way! I also love how Landon looks like he's posing "too cool for school," with his hand on his hip like that. Made me laugh. That kid's got a great sense of style, I say...

Photographic Messages

This is the picture Kayla and I sent to Daddy after Mommy fed Kayla at lunchtime today. We texted it to his phone and said simply, "Hi, Daddy!" His reply: "Hello!"

Kayla grinned when I showed this to her and grabbed at the phone.

Clodhoppers

This morning we tried on the adorable new sandals that were in Kayla's Easter basket from Nana St. Clair. Though they were quite cute, they were also a bit too big. By the time it's warm enough to wear them without socks they'll probably fit her just right!

Tea, Anyone?

This morning I had a couple of ladies over for a Nativity planning session. We'd been trying to schedule something for several weeks and finally decided that Easter morning was about our only chance. So, since I was making them come over on a Sunday morning when they could be doing other things at their own homes, I decided to put together a nice little brunch for them. It ended up being a mini-tea and was a lot of fun. We had applesauce puffs (pictured above), bagels with cream cheese, Blueberry Slump (blueberries and sugar cooked with sweet dumplings) and homemade applesauce, along with orange juice and a variety of teas. I even set the table nice and pretty.

This afternoon we went over to Jake and MB's house for Easter dinner with them, MB's mom, sister and brother-in-law, and MB's four nephews and niece. Kayla had the perfect Easter attire.

MB had even set up an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and included Kayla and Chloe, as well. Their "hunting" consisted of MB placing a bunch of large Easter eggs on the grass and us putting Kayla and Chloe in the middle of them. Kayla grabbed several, but Chloe just wanted to socialize.

Farm Girl

A quick shot with my phone was all I could get of her adorable little outfit that made her look like she should be picking potatoes.

Ready to Go

Tonight Damie and I went walking (we're going to do that three nights a week now, while Jason is in wind symphony) and while Kayla and I waited for Damie and Ryann to come outside, we played a little game where Kayla was cute and I took pictures with my phone. It was an easy game. I sent this one to Daddy who was in rehearsal. I walked just over two miles; Damie walked to Wal-Mart, making her walk just under 1 3/4 miles, unless she also walked back, which I don't know. In which case she walked quite a bit more. I'm excited about walking in College Place again. I've missed it.

Finger Food

Kayla has started the process of feeding herself. Last week we determined she could eat Cheerios, so we've been letting her enjoy that every evening. It's fun to watch her; she has pretty good pincer grasp technique, but often the Cheerios get pushed to the inner part of the space between her index finger and thumb and then get all slobbery and soggy and squished into the palm of her hand. Watching her try to extract the Os and put them in her mouth in that fashion is pretty entertaining. She really enjoys feeding herself. And she actually gets almost all of them in her mouth; I've never found more than one Cheerio on the floor and one in her high chair.

Payback

Chloe and Kayla are getting more and more used to each other...well, actually I guess I should say that Kayla is getting more tolerant of Chloe's presence. For some reason Kayla has a very large personal space bubble and Chloe has none, so Kayla is constantly crying when Chloe gets too close. If you recall the pictures of them in their matching winter dresses, Chloe made good on her reputation of being super friendly and unaware of personal boundaries and stuck her fingers in Kayla's eyes, nose and mouth (all at the same time). Kayla of course cried, and the resulting photos were hilarious. Tonight, Kayla attempted to return the favour.

Nom Nom!

Yes indeed...she has found her toes. If only we stayed this flexible...

Like Papa, Like Kayla

Today after work we headed to Jason's parents' house for the weekend. It's Jason's birthday on Monday and to celebrate he wanted to go see his family. So they made him his requested dessert (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting) and we enjoyed it with some soy ice cream after dinner. This afternoon, however, Kayla got a lesson from Papa Jack on how to use wrenches. I think she needed one a little more her size...