Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category

A Year Ago…

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

I had just finished my last paper for my master’s class and decided to relax for the rest of the evening.  My maternity leave had just started, but Mikayla was still in my big belly.

week 39 005 Thirty-nine weeks pregnant and still growing!

A year ago, Ben and I decided to head into town for some snacks.  Much to my dismay Taco Bell was out of refried beans.  How does a “Mexican” restaurant run out of refried beans?  Never mind, that is a different rant. 

A year ago, we were a family of two plus Shiloh that was about to become a family of three.

Christmas - New Year 037Christmas picture 2008 

A year ago, I was a breast pump virgin.  Now, after many days of making bottles for my daughter I am no longer a breast pump virgin.  For the last 10 months (I didn’t pump much the first two months), I have use my handy breast pump to supply milk for my daughter at least once a day.  It has been an up and down battle, but we made it!

A year ago, these were Tim’s thoughts on what was happening in our lives.

A year ago, this is how I looked laying in a hospital bed anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Kickert.

Mikayla 001Catching some Zzz’s after the amazing epidural 

A year ago, I first held Mikayla in my arms and experienced a bond like no other.  I nursed my daughter for the first time and cried as my husband sang her lullabies beside me. 

Mikayla 002The first time I held Mikayla

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A year ago, my life changed forever.

A year ago, I added another birthday to my calendar, the birthday of my daughter:  Mikayla Lillian Kickert.

Mikayla 085First Family Photo 

Mikayla 096Mikayla’s first growth shot with the giraffe 

Happy Birthday Little Munchkin!  I hope your first birthday is extra special!

2010-04-10 Mammoth Cave 001

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Moby Wrap Wanna Be

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

For those of you who aren’t up on your “baby wearing” terminology, a Moby Wrap is a type of wrap that allows you to wear your baby hands free.  Check out their website here.

We recently invested in a “Moby Wrap”.  I use the quotations because we didn’t pay the heavy ticket price of a traditional one, I made it myself.  See details below.  I had shown Ben pictures of how to wear a Moby wrap, he watched a video and this is what he came up with:

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I ask you, does this look safe?  And he is the one who stays home all day with our sweet baby…

As mentioned previously, I did not pay the full price of a genuine Moby Wrap, I made my own.  I got the idea from my friend Stephanie who made one for her little boy.  Basically you buy 5-6 yards of fabric (50% polyester, 50% cotton), cut in half lengthwise and then follow the instructions on the Moby Wrap website to get your baby in the proper holding position.  For 12 bucks it made two (one for me and one for my future niece)!  Can’t hardly beat that!  I just wish I hadn’t waited this long to make one for Mikayla. 

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Little Miss Independent

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

As Mikayla gets older, she wants to be more and more independent.  She enjoys playing by herself and wants to walk/crawl everywhere.  She has been feeding herself some finger food for quite some time now and has a tendency to push away the spoon when we try to feed her.  So, I decided to try a little experiment tonight.  I made a bowl of cereal (on the thick side) and let Mikayla go to town.  Besides the mess she made, I would say she did a pretty good job!  Check out Little Miss Independent herself:

Forget the spoon, she goes in with her hands.  Is this a preview to her first birthday??

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Spring Fever

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

**I meant to post this yesterday and never did…unfortunately the sun has gone away and now we have some rain.**

I don’t know about you, but here in the Kickert household we have Spring Fever!  The sun is shining, birds are chirping and the air is slowly warming up.

We tilled the garden for the first time.

We broke out our Chacos and disc golf discs.

We took Mikayla swinging, she was a fan.

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Bring on summer vacation for more outside fun!

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In Case You Haven’t Heard…

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

This child

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Is WALKING!

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Check her out on Ben’s blog here.

By far the coolest milestone she has met thus far.  I am not sure why it was so exciting, but it was!  In case you can’t tell by the video, Ben and I are more excited than Mikayla about the fact that she is walking.  She still prefers to crawl, but is gaining more confidence each day with her walking.

**FYI – Her diaper is so large because it is a night time diaper.  Daytime diapers are not this "fluffy"!

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The best toys…

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

The best toys are not ones that you buy at the store and make a lot of noise.  The best toys are not ones that cost a lot of money.  The best toys are not the ones you (as the parent) choose as your favorite. 

No, the best toys are what you would least likely expect them to be.  They are items that you already have on hand or items that cost little.  Some of Mikayla’s favorite toys have been things like pots and spoons or magazines or containers of Puff’s.  This weekend we spent time with some dear friends in Tallahassee (see this post for more information) and Mikayla found a new toy…a laundry basket.  Who knew laundry baskets could be so much fun!  She liked to put things in it and then promptly take them out.  She enjoyed being dragged around their apartment while sitting in the laundry basket. 

Then she got the bright idea to stand up behind the laundry basket and try her hand at walking up and down the hallway pushing it.  She was really moving.  Check her out:

 

How cute is she?  Let’s take a poll…will she be walking by her first birthday (April 28)?

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My Little Chef

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Mikayla apparently takes after me and loves to cook.  Take a look for yourself.  Note the level of concentration on her face.

2010-03-02 Chef, spaghetti 020  2010-03-02 Chef, spaghetti 017 

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We also had our first go at spaghetti this week.  I must say, she stayed cleaner than some of my kiddos at school when she ate it.

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Sunday marked Mikayla’s 10 month birthday.  Hard to believe 10 months have already passed.  Check out this, this and this post for past giraffe growth pictures.  Here she is at 10 months (note it is getting harder and harder to get her to lay still long enough to snap the photos).

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She is now standing for long periods and scooting along furniture.  She has even gone from sitting to standing a couple of times.  We fear walking is in our near future!  "Talking" up a storm too.  And even dancing a little, if you could call it that!  Here are a couple more videos of my Little Munchkin!

Sorry, this post got longer than I had intended.  Hope you enjoyed!

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She’s perfect…

Monday, February 1st, 2010

…even the doctor agrees! We already knew that she was perfect, but Dr. F. confirmed it this morning at her nine month check up.  Those were his words…"she’s perfect"!  Here are her nine month stats:

Height – 27 inches, up 7 inches from birth.  Pops, I think we have a ball player on our hands.  She has always been in the "above average" category for height.

Weight – 17lbs 5oz, up almost 10 pounds from birth (she was 7lbs 7oz in the hospital).  This has been an up and down battle with us, but she is right at the 25th percentile.  Dr. F. says that is great, so we will take it!

Head – 43.5cm…we are moving on up.  Her head has actually just made it on the average growth curve, she has always been below average in this category.

MLK has grown so much in these past nine months, I can’t believe she is only 3 months away from her first birthday!  She has accomplished so much.  Here are a few of her latest tricks.

  1. MLK can crawl.  If you have followed this blog at all you already knew that, but she is really moving these days.  All over the place.
  2. Pulling up.  Again, she has been doing this for some time now, but has really perfected it in the last few weeks.
  3. Standing on her own for around 20 seconds.  It won’t be long now before she is walking.
  4. Feeding herself.  She actually prefers this method much more than us feeding her.  She uses her hands (we will work on manners later) and makes a big mess, but she is doing great.
  5. One tooth and one more on the way.  This has caused quite the battle at night time, but we are managing.
  6. Mimicking.  She is at a really fun age right now because she tries to do everything we do.  If we click our tongue, she attempts to click hers.  If we wave our arms around, she will do the same.  It is so cute!

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Snow Day – In case you didn’t get the memo, BG got a ton of snow this past weekend.  A ton for us anyway.  We got between 6 and 8 inches.  It was beautiful.  MLK wasn’t a huge fan of the snow, but really all she can do at this point is sit in it.  Maybe next year.  Here are a few pictures from our snow adventures, but please excuse her "snow suit".  It is a Snoopy Halloween costume and it was the warmest thing we could find for her.  She showed a little resemblance to Randy from A Christmas Story, but at least she was warm!

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Chatty Cathy

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Sometimes we just like to talk…that’s all!

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I Have A Dream

Monday, January 18th, 2010

In case you haven’t heard today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  A day we set aside to remember the awesomeness that was MLK.  He was a powerful, yet peaceful man who left a huge impact on our world.  He had such an impact on my husband and I we decided to name our daughter after him, Mikayla Lillian Kickert.  Here she is sporting her MLK shirt and marching (by marching I mean riding very snuggled up in her stroller) with us in the annual MLK march/service in BG interspersed with some MLK’s most impressionable quotes (in my mind anyway). 

2010-January 083I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

2010-January 085 Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

2010-January 092Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

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He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.

Mikayla can’t yet grasp the prophetic significance that her name holds, but my dream is that one day she will.  With that being said, here is my "I have a dream" speech for my daughter:

I have a dream that Mikayla will not look at the color of people’s skin, but rather their true being.  Befriend who she wants and love everyone, even those she hates.

I have a dream that Mikayla will treat everyone as equals.

I have a dream that my daughter will grow up in a world that is loving and non-judgmental.  A world that embraces everyone regardless of race, class or ethnicity.

I have a dream that Mikayla will succeed in her life dreams doing and becoming whatever she chooses.

I have a dream that my daughter will find a man that makes her as happy as Ben makes me.  I dream that she will be blessed with a loving family.

I have a dream that Mikayla will always have food, clothing and shelter to meet her basic needs.

I have a dream that Mikayla will embrace her namesake and strive to make the dreams of Reverend MLK come alive in her world.

I have a dream that Mikayla will live in a world where she is free to make her own choices and not be ridiculed because of them.

I have a dream that Mikayla will always feel safe and loved.

I have a dream that Mikayla will be open minded and adventurous.

I have a dream that Mikayla will keep her innocence and inquisitiveness her entire life. 

I have a dream that Mikayla will be a nurturer, lover and helper.

I have a dream that Mikayla will not only embrace the characteristics and qualities of MLK, but also those of Jesus. 

I have a dream that Mikayla will love the poor, embrace the outcasts, and rescue the marginalized.

I have a dream today!

I have many more dreams for my daughter, but these are the ones that come to mind this evening.  My speech is not quite as powerful as MLK’s was, but there it is. 

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