Kearington - Month 7

*Yes I am playing catch up again!

The holidays came and went so fast!  I wish the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was a little longer.  We enjoyed getting to see and spend some time with family, but we are definitely glad to be back into our normal routine.  

For Kearington's 7th Month pictures, I want to share our Christmas pictures done by the fabulous Kaelee Denise Photography.  Kaelee did Kearington's newborn pictures, so I was so excited to see her again.  She is WONDERFUL with children!  Here are a few of my favorites from our session:

*15+ lbs

*Wearing 6 month clothes (FINALLY!)

*Chatty Cathy - talks all of the time - I wish I knew what you were trying to tell me

*First word: Da Da (of course!) but not long after started Ma Ma

*Two teeth

*Loves all interactive toys

*Sleeping 10-12 hours at night

*Loves eating "real" food and trying new things

*Had your first weekend away from us and did wonderful (thank you KayKay and Poppi)

Kearington, you continue to make us smile every day.  You make every day a little bit better just with your presence.  You have definitely made our family complete, and we are enjoying watching you grow and learn new things.  Thank you for choosing us to be your parents.

Kearington - Month 6

Time is flying by WAY TOO quickly!  I know I am going to blink one day, and Kearington will be graduating from high school.  I am definitely enjoying every single moment with her and will not take for granted the time I have with her each day.  This month I did find the stickers, but our photo shoot was in our pajamas - hey, don't hate!  My little peanut didn't want to sit still, so it is what it is.  We are looking forward to seeing and spending some time with our family over the Thanksgiving holiday!  I was told very clearly by my father that most people only wanted to see Kearington - yes, I got it Dad!  I have moved down the rankings, but at least it's to a very cute baby girl!

Look familiar?  HAHA!

She loves her pup-pup

Kearington,

You continue to bring so much love and joy to our family.  You make us laugh every day, and we are so thankful God chose us to be your parents.  We love you to the moon and back!

Mommy and Daddy

November, where did you come from?

Hello November!  Where in the world did you come from?!  And hello from the world's slackest blogger!  I feel like the worst monthly picture mom, but it just didn't happen this month.  We had a very busy month with a lot going on, so the "5 month" sticker just didn't make its way out - oops!  Here is what we have been up to lately:

We moved!  And I LOVE my new house!  I had mixed feelings about moving into a neighborhood.  I grew up on a Christmas tree farm out in the country, so the neighborhood thing is very foreign to me.  The hubs on the other hand grew up in a neighborhood where all of the moms were pregnant at the same time, so he has several friends he grew up with that still keep in touch.  I was very anti-neighborhood but I am so glad that we are in one.  Everyone is super nice and it is safe for me and the baby when he isn't here.  (Shhh...don't tell him that I am saying all of this!)  Plus we are literally 1.5 minutes from some of our best friends. 

But let me just tell ya that packing and moving with a 5 month old wasn't easy.  Kearington is seriously the best baby, but man was it hard to pack everything before moving day.  We are so thankful for my parents and our friends for helping us!  We are still in debt to them for all of their help! 

We also celebrated my birthday this month.  I feel like 30 is approaching way too quickly.  This year was the best birthday yet because I got to spend it with my two favorite people.  Birthdays as a mother are so much better and more fun!  

Kearington is growing WAY too quickly, and I'm not sure I like it.  She is more fun in some ways because she is more interactive now.  I do miss her newborn stages of sleeping all day though.  Sometimes I feel like I get nothing accomplished during the day because she keeps me running around.  Some days it's 3 o'clock and I realize I haven't brushed my teeth yet (maybe I shouldn't have admitted that to the world, but what can ya do!).  I love staying at home with her and I feel so lucky that my husband works so hard for me to be able to do this.  

K's favorite toy

We had our BFFs come over to play a lot this month.  We are so glad we are close to our friends and can hang out a lot.  The girls have a good time checking each other out, playing and chatting with each other.  It has been fun watching them grow up together and figure each other out.

Deep conversations before their morning coffee

A dentist in the making?

I'm surprised our friends trust me with their child :)

We also tried "real" food for the first time this month.  This has been a messy but fun adventure with Kearington.  Trying to figure out what she likes and doesn't like has been fun.  I did figure out that my child is picky about the temperature of her food - 8 seconds not 10 seconds in the microwave and she will eat anything!  I mean, do you eat squash cold?

And because she is cute, here are a few more pictures from this month:

Nerd in the making

You can never have enough toys

Lil Gangsta

Who wouldn't buy from this cute face?!

We love when Auntie Nesha comes to visit

Happy Halloween from our little strawberry

Kearington, you have truly made our family complete.  The look on your daddy's face when he gets home from work and sees you is priceless.  Even on difficult days, you still make us the happiest people in the world.  We love you more than any words can say and are so thankful we were chosen to be your parents.  We continue to look forward to watching you grow and the months to come!  We love you to the moon and back!

Kearington - Month 4

I'm so bad about taking K's monthly pictures.  I take pictures of her non-stop but forget to get her monthly sticker out to take those.  Oops!!  Oh well - I can't be good at everything I suppose.  

Kearington is the easiest baby on the planet!  She is almost always content and happy.  She makes our days brighter, and we are enjoying watching her grow and change every day.  Though I wish I could keep her a baby forever, we are having more fun with her as she grows into her little personality and becomes more interactive.  We really can't imagine our family without her!  We love you so much peanut!!

That lip gets me every time! 

I thought she was finally digging the chair...

And....not so much!  HA!

The Hardest Part

When I was pregnant with Kearington, I had in my head what I thought motherhood would be like.  I never quite understood when people would say that being a mom is the hardest yet most rewarding job on the planet until I had her.  I think as parents, your life starts to revolve around your children the second they take their first breathe.  There is no longer "let's decide to go to the movies last minute" or "let's go to Ruth Chris for dinner" once you have a baby.  There is really nothing that happens last minute except the unwanted spit-up on your shirt while walking out that door.  Every moment of the day is consumed with your child and their needs.  

I am struggling to find a balance between taking care of Kearington, having time with the hubs as well as a little time for myself.  My husband is great in that it might be 11 o'clock at night when I take a shower, but he gives me the 5 minutes of solitude if I want it when I want it.  I think as a mother, you feel guilty if your daily life doesn't revolve around your child.  I feel guilty if she is crying while I am trying to workout, eat lunch, or clean the house (my husband is laughing at this one I'm sure).  I feel guilty at the end of the night when I am exhausted and my husband wants to spend some time with me.  I feel guilty that I don't have as much time to spend with our furry babies as I would like.  All of these things are part of being a mother.

Things have gotten easier over the last couple of months as I have started to ease into our routine and learning Kearington's needs and wants.  I am so lucky and fortunate that my husband works so hard for me to be able to stay at home with our daughter.  I still have a lot to learn especially in the wife/mother balancing act though.  I think this will be a learning process that will continue to happen and will improve over time.

A few weeks ago, one of Brandon's closest friends got married.  It was a night wedding, so we asked my parents to watch Kearington.  It would be the first time I would be without her overnight since having her.  I had only been away from her for a few hours at a time...not overnight!  As I drove away from their house, ever part of me said to turn around and get her but I knew that the hubs and I needed this time together.  I am so glad that I had a night to be the wife and give the mom part of me a little break.  I think everyone deserves a little break and shouldn't feel guilty about it.  I had such an awesome time at the wedding and spending time with the love of my life.  I think it was what we both needed.  Sometimes you need a little time away from your children...and that is OK!

Baby K's Last Couple of Months (in Pictures)

Those lips!

That can't be comfortable

The girls were very into the football games

I got this Mom!

Three of my favorite people on the planet