Kenzie is 1 month!

Kenzie hit the one month mark today ... she decided to roll over today!?!? She rolled from front to back 3 times! I have to go back and check the exact date but I know this is quicker than Ryland ... oh boy ... we could definitely be in trouble with this one. Ha!

Her one month "stats" are 10 pounds and 22 inches. Her weight was following the nice little growth chart curve but her length shot up in more of a straight line.

Big Sis and Little Sis in their cheetah shirts (Ryland was napping, and doesn't have a cheetah shrt anyway.)

Enjoying Some New Toys

The kids got A LOT of great things for Christmas this year. Here are a couple of pics of them enjoying some of them.

They spend a lot of time at their new art desk and it has been great for them to each have their own side!

Ryland has become quite the artist and loves to sit and draw, especially when that is what his big sister is doing!

Kylee loves her new doll, Emma. She changes her clothes all the time and always asks to bring her with us whenever we go somewhere. Nana was able to find some matching outfits for Kylee and Emma and even made these matching pajama pants for them!

Kylee Hitting off the Tee

There really isn't much of a description needed for this post ... enjoy! : )

Glen Echo Park

Early in January we decided to try somewhere new. Between Kenzie coming home, Christmas, and visiting family we had all been cooped up in the house for a while. It was in the 60s (on January 7th!?!?!) so we were ready for some outdoor fun and a new adventure. We packed up (and quickly were reminded how much longer it takes to go somewhere with a newborn) and headed to Glen Echo, Maryland. It turned out to be a great little adventure and a place we will definitely go again. A lot of the attractions that are there were closed until spring but there was still plenty to amuse us.

There is a Living Classroom that has an anthill and tree house inside for the kids to climb in. We spent a lot of time in there letting Kylee and Ryland climb around. They really liked the suspension bridge that took them to the tree house.

There was also an playground outside. There were a lot of new climbing things that we hadn't seen before. Kenzie spent the afternoon in the front carrier. It was the first time we used it but she seemed to be a big fan. She was all snuggled up and must have been pretty comfortable because she stayed content and asleep the whole time.

There were also swings at the park, which is always a big plus for our kids. Emma, Kylee's new obsession (I mean doll!) came with us for the day so of course she got to ride in the swing too. After a few pushes, we were able to convince Kylee that it was time to take Emma out in case a real kid wanted to swing!?!

Since it was so nice outside, we were even able to go play in the big sandbox. We had the whole thing to ourselves and there were a lot of tools to use. Pete was put in charge or watching Emma while Kylee played. : )

One of the kids' favorite things at the park though was the huge stage that was set up outside. It wasn't being used for anything so they were able to go up and put on their own little show. They had a lot of fun dancing and jumping around.

Part of one of the shows that Kylee and Ryland put on for us. : )

Baking Brownies

Kylee has really been into cooking and baking with me lately so it was only fitting that she get her own baking set. Thanks to Aunt Amy, Uncle Randy, and Jack, Kylee has her own set of kitchen utensils and a cookbook! (Aunt Laura made her the apron a few years ago.) She went through her cookbook and picked out a brownie recipe. This was a first for me as I have always made brownies right from the box. She did a lot of the work herself - she measured, poured, mixed, and of course licked the bowl! The brownies turned out great and I had a great time doing something special with just Kylee! (the other two were napping) : )

Meeting Kenzie

After Christmas, we were lucky enough to have lots of family visit to celebrate the holidays and to meet Kenzie. Here are a few pics (sorry Nana, the pictures from the hospital of you two meeting are on your camera.)

Here a just a few pictures of Kenzie during the first month. : )

Finally some pictures from our family of 5! Kylee and Ryland have been really great with Kenzie. Ryland likes to ask to hold her and if she is crying goes up to her and says, "no crying no crying." Kylee has been such a great big sister and loves to "play" with Kenzie. She likes to show her all of the different baby toys and tell her what each one is. : )

I realize that this post is about adding Kenzie to the family but I couldn't help but add this picture too. It is a picture that Kylee took of her and Bubba by stretching her arm out in front of them ... love it! : )

Christmas 2011

Christmas for us was a bit different than it has been in the past. It was the FIRST year that Pete or I have not traveled (as in first year EVER ... even before we knew each other!?)

On Christmas Eve we decided to try and bake some cookies so we would have them to leave for Santa. (The whole having a baby thing kind of put a kink in the schedule of us getting the cookies baked earlier ... ha!) So we got ready for bed and waited for the dough to be chilled and then we got started. I was very excited for the kids to have their matching pajamas this year. Since we got the pajamas (thanks Nana!) before we were even pregnant, Kenzie didn't have a set to match but no worries because next year we will have 3 sets of matching PJs for sure! Kylee and Ryland looked too cute in their plaid pajamas and they were getting very excited about Santa coming later.

After making the cookies, Kylee, Ryland, and Pete sat down for a snack and Frosty the Snowman! Frosty quickly turned into the kids' favorite holiday movie this year. They preferred the classic Frosty but did enjoy watching the new (although somewhat strange) version too!

Then it was time for bed. Here is where Kylee's excitement for Santa changed. Notice the picture of her hanging her stocking? Yep, she is in the hallway because she realized that if she put the stocking in her room for Santa to fill that that would mean this strange man would be coming into her room at night when she was sleeping. She was NOT okay with this!? Of course it sounded pretty amusing to us but when we thought about it, I guess it could be a freaky thought for a toddler. SO, we let her "hang" her stocking in the hallway. (Notice that Ryland had no problem taking his stocking into his room!) Well before going to bed, Kylee decided that even the hallway was a little too close to her room so I convinced her that I would put the stockings in our bedroom and Santa would fill them in there and leave them there for her to find in the morning. This worked out well for two reasons. Reason 1, Kylee was okay with this and was able to sleep at night. Reason 2, we didn't have to try and sneak in her room to get her stocking and then sneak back in to put it there without her waking up. I think I will actually be okay with this new little "tradition" as it will make things much easier for Santa and Mrs. Claus each year. Ha! : )

Christmas morning came and it turned out that Ryland and I had to go into Kylee's room to wake her up. Pete had gone in to lay down with Kylee in the middle of the night (maybe she was still nervous about Santa being in the house) and he ended up falling asleep. Well when Ryland woke up I got him to sit in our bed with me and watch Sid ... for a little bit! Yep there was no keeping him in our bedroom ... he was way to awake to want to just sit and watch tv on our bed. So, we went and woke up Kylee and Pete so we could go downstairs and see if Santa had in fact visited out house. Lucky for the kids ... he did!

Kenzie's first Christmas proved to be pretty low key. She enjoyed sleeping most of the day and woke up for an occasional meal. : )
Ryland was obsessed with the new train table! He would literally tune everything else out when he was walking the trains on the track. It was awesome to watch how much he was loving it ... and he had such determination to make sure he was doing everything right. : )