Kennedy Grace: 11 Months

Since next week is Kennedy's 1st birthday, I guess it is time for me to post her 11 month blog! :-)

Height: 28 Inches
Weight: 19.2 Pounds
Diaper: Size 3
Clothes: 6-12 months and she is wearing 12-18 months now since the weather is colder.  They are big of course, but she will grow into them fast enough.
Feedings:  She is taking 4 bottles a day.  A bottle and oatmeal in the morning, then a bottle and yogurt at lunch.  She takes another bottle in the late afternoon, and food and a bottle before bed.  She has been eating more table food this month and last week I started mixing organic whole milk with her night time bottle. I have also been offering her a small amount of whole milk in her sippy cup and she loves it! 
Sleep:  She typically goes to bed around 8:30 and sleeps until 7:30 - 9:30 am
Teeth: She has 7 teeth!!  We have been trying out the amber teething necklace these last few months and I am not sure if it is working or not.  :-) It is worth a try!  
Kennedy is still loving the army crawl and can move pretty quickly!  She enjoys walking and takes steps without us prompting her.  She walks while we hold both of her hands.  She is going to be walking and talking before we know it.  I am not ready for that yet! :-)
She is so much fun and gets more of a personality every day!  We just bought the bigger car seat last weekend but she will continue to rear face.
This month has really flown by!  Mostly because I have been busy planning and crafting for her big first birthday!  I am really excited to see her eat some cake and open some presents! 

Side note:  We sold our house and moved to a rental house at the beginning of this month.  Kennedy did pretty well with the move, but did not appreciate being ignored while loading and unloading the truck.  Thank goodness for reinforcements from grams to keep her happy!  We are continually looking for houses, but will for sure be in this rental house for the winter! 

 

These pictures were taken in her first home for the last time! :-( 

10 Months + Swim Lesson

10 Months:

Diaper: Size 3
Clothes: Size 6-12, 9 months
Feedings:  4-5 bottles a day, with Oatmeal for breakfast, Yo Baby yogurt for lunch, and a fruit/veggie combo that I make for her at dinner time.  We tried some pureed chicken with carrots and sweet potato, but she was not a fan, so I froze it and will try it again in a week or two. :) Favorite snacks include items purchased from Tiny Harvest at the farmers market, and happy yogis. 
Likes:  Kennedy's new favorite thing to do is shake her head no.  I guess I must do that a lot. :-)  She thinks it is too funny!  Silly baby!  She also loves to scream.  She screams when she is happy, when she is mad, or just because.  Any advice anyone has on how to break this bad habit would be appreciated. :-)
Kennedy loves rolling.  She is avoiding crawling but rolling back and forth until she can get to where she wants to go.  It is pretty entertaining to watch actually.  She will do anything for my iphone.  This is a bad thing that I have started, but oh well....whatever works.  :)
Teeth:  We now have 5 total.  2 on bottom and 3 on top with one more breaking through any day.  We have used the Hyland's teething gel, and are trying a product called Camilia that I ordered online.  Both are homeopathic and seem to help.  I am also considering trying the amber teething necklace because I have heard good things from several friends.  She does pretty well, but typically has one "bad" night right before the teeth cut through.  When I say "bad" I mean that she wakes up once in the middle of the night for some extra snuggles.  So all in all, I would say she is a trooper. 

Sweetest Ladybug I know!  Oh and don't worry, she is going to be a lady bug for Halloween too! 

 

First Swim Lesson:

 

We knew we wanted to sign Kennedy up for swim lessons so we did some research and found DiVentures in Springfield that has a great Baby and Me swim program.  They offer multiple time slots and worked well with our schedules.  Tonight was our first night of lessons and she loved it!  She was a rock star!  Her teacher said she was one of the top two babies she has worked with that was so calm in the water. :-)  She had so much fun she smiled most of the time.  With a few frowns when she would splash herself in the face.  Well worth the time and money! 

 

 

 

Post Swim Lesson hair!     

 



 

Swimming makes a baby sleepy.

 

 

Just rolling around:-)

 

St Louis Cardinals/Cubs game. St Louis Zoo.

This last weekend we took Kennedy to her first St Louis Cardinals game.  We had to do it up right and start her with a Cardinals/Cubs game.  We went with our friends Chris and Heather Mullis and Same and Melanie Blair with their twins Jackson and Avery.  What a group we were!  :-) We left on a Saturday morning for an evening game on Saturday night.  We completed the quick weekend trip on Sunday with her first trip to the Zoo!  This is the weekend in pictures for our family and friends: 

 

Somehow we scored one of the best views from our balcony.

 

Love this!

 

Family photo.  Kennedy is not a fan of the sun in her eyes.

 

Another family photo inside the stadium

 

Quick selfie before we headed to the game.

 

Kennedy's cute outfit I Found on Etsy! 

 

She loves it!

 

She got so excited and was all smiles when we got inside the stadium.

 

Check out the lady photobombing us! So funny!

 

At the game.

 

Kennedy met Fred Bird! 

 

View from our seats.

 

7th inning stretch means time for Kennedy's dinner.

 

She is a Louisville Slugger. :-)

 

Night view from our balcony!  Amazing! 

 

Zoo time on Sunday.

 

You have to have Animal Crackers at the Zoo!

 

The token gorilla shot that is famous in our family.

 

Kennedy trying to touch the Sting Rays.

 

She is trying so hard!

 

The friendly Sting Ray came all the way to the top so she could touch it!  This was by far the best exhibit at the Zoo! 

 

All in all it was a great quick trip!  It was a great way to end the summer.  That seems so crazy to say, but it is true.  Summer 2013 will be over very soon. :-(  Bring on the fall weather, hoodies, and football!

9 months!!!

Height: 2 feet 4 inches
Weight:17 lb 13 oz
Diaper: Size 3

Clothes:  6-12 months, 9 months, some 3-6 months still work.

Feedings: Earth's Best Organic Sensitivity formula.  She usually takes between 24-29 ounces a day plus she has oatmeal at breakfast, yogurt at lunch, and then a fruit or veggie at night.  Our list of foods that Kennedy has had so far:  1. Sweet Potatoes/yams 2. Carrots 3. Butternut Squash 4. Avocado 5. Peas 6. Green beans 7. Apples 8. Bananas 9. Blueberries 10. Peaches 11. Pears 12. plums 13. Mangos.  I have still made all of her baby foods and have used all organic produce. 

Sleeping: Kennedy goes to bed usually between 8:30 and 9:30pm and usually sleeps until 8:00 -10:00am.  Before we go to bed we like to sneak into her room and look at how she is sleeping. :-)

Teeth:  Two on bottom, and two on top.  They are very visible when she smiles now. :-)

Crawling: She still fights me on this....stubborn.....

Standing:  She will stand and hold on to both of our hands, and when she is feeling brave she will let go of a hand.  :-) 

We had our 9 month check up with Dr Meyer today and all is well!  Kennedy is doing great and is right on track!  We were hoping today would be a vaccine free day, but unfortunately since we started her vaccines with one pediatrian and then had to change we had to get caught up on one vaccine.  So she got one shot and she did soooo much better this time.  She frowned and started to cry but I scooped her up and started bouncing her around and she forgot all about it and even smiled.  :-)  Dad pointed out that she is more easily distracted now!

 

So HAPPY to be 9 months!

 

Happy 9 Month Birthday!

 

This is her usual sleep position

 

The one and only Cheerios!  She loves them of course! All babies do.

 

First boat time.

 

Today's 9 month Well baby visit.  She isn't completely naked...she has a diaper on. 

 

We had our weekly family visit to the park for a run and then some swinging time.  It has been raining here for days now and we only get a few hours a day of no rain.  :-)  This was her first time in this kind of swing.  She was a little concerned at first, but she liked it after a few minutes. 

8 months

Opps.....so I forgot to post Kennedy's 8 month update. Shame on me! 

So here it is!

Weight: Didn't do
Height: Didn't do
Diaper: Size 2 towards the beginning, and then we needed a little more room so we ordered the size 3's.
Feedings: this month I transitioned Kennedy to formula.  I started mixing 1:1 with breast milk and formula and gradually worked the formula higher until I ran out of breast milk.  Luckily Kennedy handled it well.  She did get a little bit of a diaper rash at first, but that is to be expected when you transition.  I was pretty sad at first, but I also feel a little bit of relief.  Kennedy's nutrition is no longer entirely up to me.  It is kind of nice to have help with feedings.  I do miss that bonding time, but I am pretty proud of making it to 8 months! 
Talents:  This month Kennedy started waving hi and goodbye.  It is sooooooo cute!  She gets really excited when she waves! Kennedy can now sit fully without support.  She also likes to lean up to look around when you play peek-a-boo with her.  That is also another one of my favorite things!  :-)  She also has discovered the bouncy seat!  She is a fan!
Teeth:  This month the 2 top teeth have FINALLY come in!  She has been working on those for months! 
Crawling:  she is not a fan. :-(  Every time I put her on her tummy she almost immediately turns over.  :-)  When I get her to stay on her tummy she scoots backwards.  If that doesn't work she will roll over and move back and forth on her back until she gets to what she wants.  I am sure she will crawl when she is ready.  However, I don't think I am ready just yet! 

This is Giggles.  We made her at Build A Bear.  She picked her out believe it or not.  We showed her all the bears and when she looked at Giggles she started waving her arms around and smiling. 

7 months

Another month has gone by and once again I can't believe it!  How can I have a 7 month old already?

Stats:

Weight:15.5 pounds (approx due to the inaccuracy of my weighing method :-))
Height: Forgot to measure
Diapers: Size 2

Feedings:  We do 5 feedings a day.  She gets Oatmeal in the morning and then a bottle of 4-5 ounces of breast milk.  Throughout the rest of the day she gets 3 more bottles of 4-5 ounces of breast milk and then has a veggie at night and an 8 ounce bottle before bed. Yes, we are doing all bottles now.  It has now been 2 weeks since I have nursed her.:(  This is due to what I will call "the incident."  After "the incident" I decided it would be best if I just keep pumping as long as I can and give her bottles.  I must say I was pretty heart broken at first.  It happened right before we left for vacation and that threw off all of my plans on feeding her, but it ended up working so much better because my husband and family were able to help feed her instead of it being completely up to me.  We also started using a sippy cup and offering her a little bit of water in between her feedings.  Her face is still funny sometimes when she takes her first sip, but she doesn't seem to mind it.  She drinks a little and then plays with the rest.

Clothes: Still depends on the brand but mostly 3-6 months.  Some bottoms are still 3 months.

Sleep:  She is still a great sleeper.  She sleeps for 11-12 hours over night and then takes 2-3 naps during the day.  I now put her in her crib for naps which most of the time she seems to love.   

Teeth:  Still just the 2 on the bottom, but I imagine the top 2 will be coming sometime this month.

Activity: She sits up with a little bit of support.  She loves standing up now, with us holding on to her of course.  She also rolls from her stomach to back and I finally caught it on video! 

Talking: She says ma-ma a lot, but I am still not sure if she knows what that means, and she also likes to say ba-ba, and every now and again will throw in a few da-da's.  She is a very high pitched squealer as well.  :-)

Solid foods: So far she has loved sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash.  She tried avocado on vacation and HATED it!  Next up on the list is going to be green beans or peas, and then we will try some fruits.

 

Bring on the first birthday party planning!  It's never too early! :-)

6 month photos

Here they are!  I have been waiting ever so patiently to see the results of our 6 month photo shoot.  I stressed out for weeks about these for some reason.  I wanted Kennedy to have the right outfits and of course I wanted myself and my husband to match too, but not too matchy.  :-)  All the stressing was for nothing because they turned out great!  A big thanks to J Design Studios for always capturing the good pics!  These are a few of our favorites!

 

Little Justin...

 

So girly! I love it!

 

She has no idea what is going on behind her! :)

 

She was not thrilled about this picture, and seconds later she was screaming! :-)

 

Love this!

 

Moments after this picture was taken she toppled over and hit her little head on the wood.  Opps!! 

 

I love her smile here!

 

She was also not loving this basket, but at least we got one cute one! :-)