What do you think Mikayla just got done enjoying in these pictures?
Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category
Field Trip #3
Saturday, June 19th, 2010For our third field trip of the summer we decided to head to a local hotel that has an indoor fountain and glass elevator. I thought Mikayla would like to watch the water and ride up the elevator and see the “sights”. I think she had a great time. Daddy got to come along for this trip which made it extra special. We watched the fountain for a bit and stuck our hands in the water. Mikayla really liked to feel the different plants and point to everything! She even got a kick out of the stone turtle and frog that were hidden in the plants. She loved going up and down in the elevator and watching everything along the way. Here are some pictures from the trip.
Laughing as she climbs off the ledge.
Pointing to the fountain (and please ignore the fact that she isn’t wearing shoes)!
She was very cautious about sticking her finger in the water.
Daddy taking his turn going up the elevator (sorry about the flash).
So high you can hardly see them!
My baby girl and me!
In case you missed our other field trips you can check them out here and here. Stay tuned for our next adventurous field trip.
Field Trip #2
Saturday, June 12th, 2010Disclaimer: I forgot my camera at home so there are limited pictures. Pictures that I post have been “borrowed” from other people.
Week two of summer vacation has come and gone and that meets it is time to update on our second field trip (in case you missed field trip #1 you can check it out here). Our second field trip was to my hometown, Somerset, to await the arrival of my niece. My sister went into labor (with her third child) on Sunday morning and Baby Taylor arrived on Sunday evening. We spent the day at my parents house playing with Mikayla and my nephews. We made bird feeders from pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. We ran up the hill and rolled back down. We shot basketball. I taught T-Bone how to set the table. Had a yummy BBQ chicken dinner courtesy of my mom.
Finally, we were able to head to the hospital to meet and greet the newest addition to the family: Taylor Nicole Absher. She weighed in at 8lb 5.5oz and was 21 inches long. And a head full of dark brown hair, more than Mikayla had! Everyone was excited to finally meet Baby Taylor, even Mikayla. She loves babies. Congrats go out to Christa, Kris, Tyson and Tanner on their newest bundle.
Little Dentist
Friday, June 11th, 2010If you have seen Mikayla smile in the last little bit you will have seen a mouth full of teeth. She currently has four top front teeth, three bottom front teeth, and one molar for a total of eight teeth. The molar actually snuck up on us. We didn’t notice it until it had already poked through her gums.
When the first tooth appeared her dear Aunt Chel, who is a dental hygienist, gave her a toothbrush and toothpaste set and encouraged us to brush her teeth each day. She has always been a fan and actually gets excited to see her toothbrush (unlike her daddy). This morning she found Ben’s travel toothbrush and was walking around brushing her teeth. It was so cute.
Aunt Chel are you proud of me?
She loves brushing her teeth.
Field Trip #1
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010As school was nearing the end, my team teacher mentioned that she was planning on going on one “field trip” a week with her daughter. I loved the idea so much that I stole it and invited myself along on some of her trips. Today we took our first field trip together to the Humane Society. I think the girls had a great time. I can’t wait for our next “field trip”.
First stop was the rabbits. I think these were Mikayla’s favorites because she kept sneaking back over to them!
Checking out the cats, she clearly is not a fan.
She kept doing this little dance around the dogs. She would hug her hands and then twist from side to side. I think that means she liked it!
These two dogs were her favorites…mine too actually. If I didn’t already have Shiloh I would have wanted to take the chocolate colored one home. He was so sweet and cute!
Both girls after their first official “field trip”.
Me and my sweet baby.
Pool and Wagon Fun
Monday, May 31st, 2010For Mikayla’s birthday she received a pool from her grandparents and a wagon from her aunts, uncles and cousins.
In the last few weeks we have began using both. Mikayla loves to play in the wagon while we are in the garden working. She climbs in and out, in and out, in and out. She is even so polite as to shut the door. Check her out in all her cuteness and please note her “concentration face” she gets from her daddy! (For some reason this video won’t upload, I will try again later!)
The pool is a different story. She LOVES playing in the water, but is not a fan of sitting in the pool. The following pictures and video will show that she enjoys playing in it, but only by poolside. Still cute in her fun bathing suit. I also recently made her a water table, but I will post more on that later.
Doesn’t she make a cute summer baby?
You Be The Judge
Monday, May 31st, 2010Mikayla has always had hair. She was born with a head full of dark hair. She always had enough we could stick a bow or clippie in it so people would know she was a girl, not a boy.
May 2009
As she got older it got lighter and longer.
February 2010
March 2010
It isn’t super long now, but long enough to do some fun things with…like pigtails! Ben thinks I am “pushing the line” with pigtails because it all doesn’t quite go up. You be the judges, can we we pull pigtails off? What do you think?
Best Friends
Sunday, May 9th, 2010When we first brought Mikayla home Shiloh sniffed her a few times then wondered the opposite direction. She never gave Mikayla much attention, but would run away if we tried to get them close to each other. They lived in the same house, but were hardly friends (or really even acquaintances).
Shiloh sniffing her down for the first time. Not overly impressed!
Don’t be fooled, Shiloh is waiting for the sandwich in Ben’s lap, not the baby!
Then, Mikayla started moving and crawling. Let’s just say that Shiloh was none too happy to have to move about constantly when Mikayla came her direction. Which she did often! She loves the dog (any dog really). They still lived in the same house, but a friendship seemed impossible. Shiloh wouldn’t let her near her for more than a few seconds. Long enough to lick her face and then run away.
Then, Mikayla started eating finger foods. Shiloh loves people food. She will sit and stare at you while you are eating, waiting for just a crumb. Mikayla figured this out quickly and when you turn your back she will sneak Shiloh bites of her food. Shiloh now not only tolerates Mikayla but seeks her out, especially if food is involved. She will even allow Mikayla to pet her and give her Eskimo kisses. It is so sweet. They now live in the same house, tolerate each other, and one might even say are best friends!
Sharing some bacon from Mommy’s breakfast in bed!
Mikayla is One!
Saturday, May 8th, 2010In case you didn’t her the news, our sweet Mikayla is now a one year old. It is hard to believe that a year has past since she entered this world, but it sure has been a fun one!
We had a blow out party last weekend with close friends and family, but more on that soon! Here are some of Mikayla’s one year stats from the doctor’s office.
Weight: 19lbs 2oz (up from 17lbs 5oz at 9 months)
Head Circumference: 45cm (up from 43.5cm at 9 months)
Length: 28 1/2 inches (up from 27 inches at 9 months)
She is still right at the 25 percentile in all areas, but Dr. F says she is healthy, so we will take it! Other important milestones she has reached at one year:
- Walking – when she reached the one year mark she decided that walking would be her primary mode of transportation!
- Table foods – while we had already been giving her table foods for awhile, we got the official go ahead from Dr. F at her one year appointment. She even likes a little dirt if she is working in the garden! Her favorite foods at this point are blueberries and bananas and (like her mom) most carbs!
- Car seat – In my car we have graduated to a Convertible Car Seat. She is still rear facing in the car, but once she reaches the 20lb mark she can be turned around to front facing.
- Pacifier – We have started the process of weaning her from the pacifier. She now only gets the pacifier if she is sleeping, in the car or at the sitters (although the sitter told me on Friday that she wasn’t that interested in it)! Soon we are going to start the process of weaning her completely!
- Milk – We haven’t moved on to whole milk just yet, but that is mostly because we have some breast milk in the freezer that needs to be used. Once that is all gone I will only nurse her in the morning and evening and she will get whole milk the remainder of the time. Once school is out we will start the official weaning process. I am most excited about not having to pump all the time anymore!
- Explorer – Mikayla loves to explore everything and is so inquisitive with new objects. She likes to sort things, put objects in baskets (and then back out of the baskets), throw things, and watch. She is just like her mommy in the sense that she loves to people watch, except that she likes to get their attention too! She loves to laugh, smile and giggle.
I am sure there are more milestones, but that is what I have at this point. She is a fun loving kid who loves to be around people. Perfect, if I do say so myself.
**Pictures were taken by Melissa Devries Photography.