Mikayla « A Sugar-Mamma's Thoughts

Posts Tagged ‘Mikayla’

Pool and Wagon Fun

Monday, May 31st, 2010

For 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?

Tags: Mikayla, summer, swimming
Posted in Parenting |

You Be The Judge

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Mikayla 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?

Tags: Mikayla, pigtails
Posted in Parenting |

My Little Daredevil

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Mikayla recently got a plastic slide from her grandparents. She likes to climb on it more than she does slide! As you can see from the video below she inherited her father’s adventurous spirit. Another one of her favorite things to do is to pick up random objects and walk around with them. She has become quite the little thief! Here is a short video of her over the last few weeks!

Tags: daredevil, Mikayla, slide, walking
Posted in Parenting |

Looking forward to summer…

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

School is over in 6 days for the kiddos, 7 for me and I can’t wait for many reasons. Here are just a few:

Spending lots of time playing, cuddling and loving on this cutey!

Not getting up early – at least not early and having to get ready to do something. Breakfast in Bed on Mother’s Day with Mikayla, a relaxing morning.

Not having to control a classroom of five year olds (although I really dearly love my job).

Drinking a cup of coffee and not worrying about having to guzzle it down because class starts in five minutes.

Enjoying my lunch, not having to eat in less than 20 minutes.

Gardening and eating produce that we grew in our backyard. I can practically taste the homemade salsa as we speak!

Cooking more – let’s be honest, I don’t cook that often during the school year!

Crafting – what kind of crafts will I create this summer??

Going on one field trip a week with Mikayla. My good friend Lara came up with this idea and I love it!

Potentially going to the Famer’s Market two times a week.

My sister having her third child, my first niece.

A two week visit to Swaziland, Africa (*excited about the visit but not leaving Mikayla).

Playing in the pool with Mikayla.

Getting to see my husband more. Currently he works on Friday and Saturday and some weeknights, so Sundays are our only free day together.

Engagement photos – What a goofball!

Highschool flashback!

I can’t wait to see what summer offers this year!

Tags: Ben, Mikayla, summer
Posted in Life |

My “Blon-ket”

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

As a child I was given a blanket hand made from one of my grandpa’s nurses. I treasured it and couldn’t sleep at night if it wasn’t with me. I took it to sleepovers, on road trips and campouts. While not the prettiest thing (especially after years of snuggling), I loved it!

I slept with it up until the time I got married when my husband told me I needed to move on. I sadly placed my “blonket” in my Great Grandmother’s hope chest hoping that one day I could pass it on to a child of mine. When Mikayla was born I took it out of the hope chest and waited anxiously until she was old enough to snuggle with it. That day has finally come! Mikayla has started to take an interest in my “blonket” and carry it around the house. I am going to pretend that she is carrying it around because she loves it as much as I do and not that she is currently in the “carrying everything around and placing it in random places stage”!

**When I refer to this specific blanket I have always said it “blonket”…I am not sure why, but it makes it even more special!

Tags: blanket, Mikayla
Posted in Life |

Best Friends

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

When 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!

Tags: Mikayla, Shiloh
Posted in Life, Parenting |

Mikayla is One!

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

In 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.

Tags: Growing up, Mikayla
Posted in Life, Parenting |

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.

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 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.

Catching 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.

The first time I held Mikayla

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.

First Family Photo

Mikayla’s first growth shot with the giraffe

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

Tags: birthday, Mikayla
Posted in Life, Parenting |

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:

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.

Tags: crafts, Mikayla, Moby Wrap
Posted in Parenting |

Spring Break Visitation

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

I love being a teacher for many reasons, but one of my favorites is all the fun breaks we get, like spring break. Our spring break was a week ago, but I am just now finding the time to blog about it. We spent our week visiting some friends and places we rarely get to see.

First Visit: My mom, sister and nephews came to town to visit. We had planned on visiting Hopscotch’s Playplace but it was closed. They have the most random hours and this is the second time they have come to town intending to play here and it been closed. We ended up at Imagination Station, which I think Tyson enjoyed more. There wasn’t much for MLK to do, but I think she still had a good time watching her cousins play.

Second Visit: We visited our dear friends Mark and Nicole and their new little boy, Jack. These are friends from college who moved from BG several years ago. We spent time playing games, introducing kiddos, taking a nice stroll around a park and eating ice cream! Here are some shots from the visit.

Third Visit: Throughout the week I visited with some neighborhood kids. When the weather is warm the kids in our neighborhood flock to our cul-de-sac to play. Spring Break was no different. One afternoon Mikayla and I went out front and sat on a blanket to play. Within ten minutes our blanket was filled with neighborhood kids wanting to play with Mikayla and her toys. I passed out leftover hard boiled eggs and we sat around eating and playing. It was a lot of fun. I didn’t manage to snap pictures of the kids, but here are a few of Mikayla during our impromptu play date hanging with the big kids. As you can tell, she thought she was pretty cool!

Fourth Visit: MLK and I headed to Smiths Grove to visit with my team teacher. Not only are we team teachers, but we are friends. We want desperately for our daughters to be friends too. We got together, played, chatted and had a little photo shoot in a neighbors yard. It was a relaxing way to spend one of the last days of my spring break. She has some great pictures from the day on her blog. You can read about it here.

Fifth Visit: On Sunday we packed up our gear and headed to Mammoth Cave. You can read about our trip on Ben’s blog here. It was a great day to be outside and the perfect end to my Spring Break. I think MLK enjoyed being on the trail and I know Shiloh enjoyed herself! Here are some fun memories from the day.

2010-04-10 Mammoth Cave 024

2010-04-10 Mammoth Cave 037

2010-04-10 Mammoth Cave 056

I had a great Spring Break visiting all these fun people and places, but most of all I enjoyed spending time with my family. I can’t wait for Summer break and all the fun we are going to have!

Tags: Ben, friends, Mikayla, playing, visits
Posted in Life |