Family Time

We've had a great summer so far and Kenzie has had some real quality time with her daddy. I am teaching summer school for four hours a day, so on the days when Dustin isn't working his summer job (right now he's only working Mondays and Thursdays) Kenzie gets to have her dad all to herself. I've already seen the bond between them growing. She used to reserve kisses for just Mama and Kona (okay, and any other dog), but now she shares them with Dustin too. He is enjoying his time with her and I think when the start of the school year comes it will be harder than normal for him to head back to work.


We are so lucky to have lots of time together over the summer and we try to get out ever afternoon to do something fun.

Last week we went for ice cream at the UConn dairy bar, then paid a visit to the cows that provided the milk for our tasty treat.

We went blueberry picking. We've been eating everything from blueberry pancakes, to blueberry bread and blueberry crisp. Kenzie is in her glory!

We had a blast cooking out and swimming at Bigelow Hollow with Alan, Leigh and kids. (Kona had fun, too)

And Kenzie's first (very brief) kayak ride was a success.

We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.

The Cow Says Moo

Kenzie has been talking up a storm these days and it seems that everyday she says something new. She currently says over ten words, although Dustin and I may be the only ones who understand her. She says dada, mama, hi, bye-bye, Kona, ball, moo, quack, brrrrr (that's the noise an elephant makes w/ it's trunk, btw), all done ("ah dah"), more, blueberry, grandpa, and tonight she was trying to say water. Sometimes she says thank you and okay, but not consistently enough to say she really knows those words.

I try to catch some of these things on video, but she isn't a fan of speaking on demand. Here's what I have been able to record.

hi, bye, moo, grandpa, and wet kisses for the camera

all done, quack, elephant noises

Kenzie on Summer Fun

I've had a pretty busy summer so far. If you are having trouble thinking of ways to spend your time, here are some ideas:

Catch a local ball game.

(That's my cousin Kaitlin playing the dirt behind me)

Bury your worries in the sand.

Share a snack with a friend,

Or don't.

Take time to enjoy nature,

and check out the local wildlife.

Cheer on your favorite guy at his first ever dive tournament.

Most importantly, find time to just

relax.

Happy Summer everyone!

Meeting Madison

I ignored the signs for months; walking, communicating, eating grown-up foods, throwing the occasional temper tantrum. Then an event happened that thrust McKenzie from infanthood to toddlerhood the way nothing else could: we met Madison. Sweet, eight pound, three-week-old, little, baby Madison.

As I held that preciously tiny newborn, too small to fill out her little ducky pajamas, I watched McKenzie. While Madison lounged comfortably in my arms, Kenzie wreaked havoc on a home not yet accustomed to a moving child. She was busy touching everything in sight and wandering around from room to room leaving a line of cracker crumbs in her trail. She was playing with the dog, riding the minature rocking horse, laughing at who knows what and babbling incoherently. She was a long way from being a new baby. It had been thirteen months since she was a new baby. She's more than a year old. Yup, toddlerhood is here.

Still, I have a hard time calling Kenzie my toddler. The word conjures up images of two and three-year-olds, talking and running and playing make-believe. McKenzie is years away from that. Right?

She'll always be my baby.

Just Like Daddy

A conversation I recently had with a woman behind me in line at the grocery store went something like this:

Woman: Wow, she looks just like you!
Me (knowing this to be false): Thanks.
W: You must get that all the time.
Me:Actually,people often tell me she looks just like her dad.
W: Oh no. She has your eyes. She has your chin. She has your cheeks. (etc, etc)
Me (smiling politely): Thanks.
W(after a few moments of silence while I paid for my groceries): Well, maybe you and your husband just look a lot alike!
Me (humored): haha,maybe.

You all know that Dustin and I do not, in fact, look anything like each other. McKenzie and Dustin, on the other hand, look very similar. Kenzie's hair is getting longer and when it's humid it curls in the back (so cute!). Baby pictures of Dustin look just like Kenzie. It makes me wonder what she will look like as she grows up. What does the female version of Dustin look like?

One year old!

Last Wednesday at 13:13 McKenzie was officially one year old. It's strange that the past year seems to have gone by so fast, yet at the same time I can't really remember life without her. I've been feeling a little guilty for not posting about her first birthday sooner. It is a big deal, believe me, I know that. I think I'm just so busy chasing her around all day that it hasn't really hit me yet that my little baby is now approaching toddlerhood (I'm not exactly sure when this transition is official, maybe she already is a toddler, but I'm holding onto "baby" for a little while longer). We're having a big party for her and for Dustin, who's turning 30 on Friday (don't tell him I told you...I have specific instructions "not to remind" him about it) and I think that when the celebration is over Kenzie being a year old will be real. When I see her delve into her first cupcake and when our family and friends sing her first ever rendition of the Happy Birthday Song, then maybe it will be real. Maybe this is why moms talk about their child's age in months long after the first and second birthday. One year old sounds so grown up, but twelve months, well that's only about a year.

Kenzie had her well baby check up on Friday and the pediatrician got to see her in action. McKenzie didn't stop moving the entire time we were there, and the only thing the doctor could say was, "she's busy." Your telling me! Kenzie is a sturdy walker now and crawling is a thing of the distant past. Her fine motor skills are developing as well, although it sounds like she should be able to do a little more in this department.

Ped: Does she stack things?
Me: nope, but she likes to nest things, does that count?
Ped: Can she pull a tab on a toy to make it go, turn a dial to make something pop up, push a button to make a noise, etc?
Me: We have toys like that, she just doesn't show much interest in using them
Ped: okay

I promised myself that I wouldn't be one of those parents who is always worried that her child isn't developing right and forces practice, practice, practice for skills that aren't developing faster than average, but I have to admit that I did get out the blocks this weekend and try to get Kenzie to stack them. She had much more fun knocking them over.

While understand and accept that every baby develops at a different rate, and have no interest in competing with other parents about whose baby is more advanced, every time I take her to the pediatrician I secretly hope she will wow the doctor. I want to leave the office knowing that they were impressed with my baby. I don't think that makes me competitive, just one proud momma. For example, when the doctor asked if she is saying any words, I told her that she is still saying mama and dada indiscriminately, but she will say mama if I say, "Kenzie can you say mama?" On cue, from the other side of the room, Kenzie screamed, "mama!" You go girl!

Some of Kenzie's other talents include:

• following simple commands such as "throw the ball to Kona," "put your Binky in the cup," "spit that out," "go find the rubber ducky," etc
• finding her belly button (as well as mommy's and daddy's)
• pointing to her toes when asked
• running away when I say "come here Kenzie, I want to change your diaper"
• spitting...water, milk, saliva...it's just so fun!
• dancing to the music
• listening to one or two pages of a book before taking it back (that's two pages more than previous)
• making that blub blub noise by moving her fingers across her lips
• climbing the stairs...thankfully she shows little interest in doing this
• indicating what she wants by pointing and saying "eh, eh"
• signing more, all done and eat (although this is no longer consistently done)
• clapping when excited or at the end of a song
• petting Kona (and climbing on him, hitting him, feeding him)
• hugging (one of my new favorite things she will do when asked)
• laughing... at herself, at Kona and especially when tickled
• cuddling (YAH!)...she seems to be learning that it's okay to take a break every once in a while
• making me laugh out loud at her utter silliness

She's still a peanut, weighing 17.8 pounds and standing 28 inches tall. She's my peanut, and she makes me so proud.

Puppy Patience