Posts Tagged ‘Mikayla’

Hijacked and "The Girls"

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Ben beat me to it.  This post, was one I was going to write as soon as I had time to sit down and write it.  However, he beat me too it.  That’s okay though, because what he said was so important I feel like I can repeat it in my own words.

I think it is awesome when we can get together with those we love, who might I add we don’t get to see that often, and the moment we get together we are able to pick up right where we left off as if months hadn’t gone by since our last visit.  It is amazing.  Dave and Catherine are dear friends to us and their friendship is one like I described above.  Again, amazing!  They are the type of friends that no matter what the scenario, whatever the combination of the four of us are around (or six if you count Mikayla and Molly) we can have fun and there be no awkward pauses in conversation.  It might be me, Ben and Cat or Dave, Cat and me or maybe just Ben and Cat and there is no awkwardness.  Does this make sense?   Ben may have said it more eloquently than I, but I treasure the friendship we have with the Altmaiers.   In Ben’s word, a "Pretty mundane and typical" weekend, spent with great friends was just what this girl needed!

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Dave goofing off at Cat’s birthday lunch.

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Ben hanging with Molly.

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Ben has this thing with picking people’s noses, just ask our friends from high school.

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Cat and Mikayla

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Birthday girl with her kiddo at a yummy French restaurant.

 

One of the greatest parts of this weekend was introducing Mikayla to Molly.  Catherine and I were driving around Tallahassee and she made a comment about "the girls".  How cool is it that we can refer to our kiddos as "the girls"?  Catherine has been a friend of mine since elementary school.  We were in girls scouts together, attended the same youth group in middle and high school, were college roommates, she was a bridesmaid in my wedding…the list could go on and on.  To say the least we have been friends for a really long time.  She is one of the few people in life that I can be 100% real with.  I would argue that she knows me as well as Ben.  I can call her for a laugh, cry, rant and more.  Good friends are hard to come by and so that is why I think it is so cool we can refer to our daughters as "the girls".  I just hope that "the girls" have a friendship like their moms and that Mikayla finds her Catherine one day!

2010-03-16 Tally 058 "The girls"

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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.

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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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I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

For those of you that know my husband well, you know that he wears black and khaki a lot.  By a lot I would ay 80-90% of the time, seriously not joking here.  Well, the other day he emerged from the room with a red shirt and jeans on.  I almost didn’t recognize him.  He looks good in red, but I just wasn’t used to this color combination.  He even likes to dress our daughter in black and khaki when given the chance.  Look at my little Twinkies, aren’t they cute?

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Speaking of my cuties, sometimes they just like to sit and play together.  Here they are having a staring contest (please note the red shirt on Ben and not black).

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Goofy grins.2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 103

 

Cute smiles. 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 104

Acting silly with daddy, doesn’t get much cuter than this! 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 105

 

"Look Mom, I can scrunch Daddy’s face!" 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 107

 

Mikayla exploring the fact that they both have mouths.2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 108

 

"What’s in there daddy?" 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 110

 

Sweet kisses from daddy. 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 111

 

I am pretty sure she is held in the air and upside down more than any other baby in the world! 2010-02-26 Olympics, February random 114

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Here is a quick shot of me and Mikayla after her play time with daddy.

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I’m In Love…

Monday, February 15th, 2010

…with this man…

Ben Kickert just finishing a round of Disk Golf at Presten Miller Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

(Photo courtesy of Dallas Gilliam)

…with this Baby girl…

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…and with everything involved with this symbol…

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That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I am in love with the Olympics, both winter and summer.  I love everything about it.  The competition.  The history.  The stories.  The excitement.  The events.  The opening ceremonies.  The athletes.  The crowds.  I love it all.  I have been asked before which are my favorite, Winter or Summer Olympics.  It is a hard choice for me.  I love events from both equally.  The Summer Olympic events are familiar, but the Winter Olympic events are dangerous, fast paced and excitingly unknown (to me at least)!  It is just too hard to choose.  Which is your favorite?

I love the Olympics so much that I am going to be spending the next two weeks teaching my students about the Olympics.  We will learn about the different sports, the history, chart medal winnings, watch short clips of events, and culminate with an Olympic day next Friday complete with our very own Kindergarten Olympics.  It is going to be crazy fun!

So, if you go looking for me in the next two weeks and you can’t find me, you might try looking in my living room on the couch.  You will more than likely find me glued to the TV screen at night watching the athletes in what some would say as their ultimate lifelong goal…striving to achieve an Olympic gold.  Yay for Olympics!

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Sugar Mamma’s Shop

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

One of my students at school always has the cutest bows and hair clips.  She is not overly girly, so her clips are pretty down to earth.  Right up my alley!  She even made MLK a few of her own (which Ben decided to put in her hair all at one time)!

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  After careful inspection (and a few conversations) with the mom, and some encouragement from a fellow teacher (who also braved the world of clip making) I decided to give clip making a try.  It might look intimidating, but it is actually quite simple.  After making my first clip I vowed to never again by a clip I could make.  Here are what my first few looked like.  Nothing too hard, simple ribbon glued on a clip with a button or two for some added glam!

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This was fun for awhile, but then I decided I wanted to elaborate some.  I got some flower petals and put them together with brads to make some bows.  I don’t have pictures, but they look similar to the clips the parent made for MLK (pictured above).  After making these clips for awhile, scouring multiple Etsy sites for ideas, and a quick sewing session with my dear friend Dacia I decided to venture into the world of felt.  All you ladies (or gentlemen) out there toying with the idea of making felt creations I encourage you to do so.  Once you get the blanket stitch down it is a piece of cake!  Here are some of my favorite creations thus far.

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My team teacher and I have decided to team up and host a table at a Spring Craft Bazaar hosted by our school (if anyone is interested tables are $25 and you get to keep all the money you make).  Hopefully these little clippies will make us some money!  Oh, and just for fun, I have coined my clip "shop", Sugar Mamma’s Shop.  It is not a real shop anywhere, but I would love to sell some clips if you know anyone that might be interested!

I have made some other crafts lately, but I will save that for a later post.  I have also been busy playing in all our fun snow with this little bundle of joy (and her daddy and Shiloh too)!

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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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MLK Update

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day, Mikayla’s namesake.  Check back later for pictures and comments about this and how we celebrated.  But for tonight, here are some recent pictures of our little MLK.

If you recall this post, you will be able to see how much MLK has really grown in 8.5 months.

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Mom got MLK this little zebra at a consignment sale, and while she isn’t quite ready to ride on her own, she is enjoying it.  Even Shiloh wanted in on the action! 2010-January 066   2010-January 068 2010-January 070

 

MLK was very eager to help me fold and put away the laundry yesterday.  She was a great helper!

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Fun Mikayla Pictures

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

Mikayla is now 8+ months old, crawling, pulling up and one tooth in her mouth.  Here are some recent pictures of my little lady.

Here she is sporting a new outfit from her Great Aunt Dawn while lounging in her bean bag from Aunt Christa, Uncle Kris, and Cousins Tyson and Tanner.  She loves it!

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Ben took this photo the other day.  Napping has become somewhat non-existent in the last week.  She has never been a great napper (unlike her mommy, I can nap with the best of them), but in the past week she has refused to lay down for a morning nap.  If we can manage to get her down, she just sits in the crib and plays or cries.  We are lucky if she sleeps for 15-20 minutes.  The other morning she fell asleep while drinking her bottle, so Ben laid her in the floor.  This is what she looked like.

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Bath Time Fun!  Mikayla has gotten to where she really enjoys playing in the tub.  She likes to crawl around a lot, so this presents some problems, but we are managing.  She really likes to chew on her Rubber Ducky that determines the proper temperature of the water.

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Mikayla’s hair is at a funny stage right now.  She basically has two layers.  A long dark layer that she was born with and has grown for 8 months and then a bottom light layer that is just starting to come in.  It almost looks like she has a comb over because of the differences.  Ben thinks we should cut it, I am voting no.  I mean if we cut it, we can no longer give her funny hair dos like the one below during bath time!

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