Kendall is 11 months

In one short month, Kendall will have her First Birthday Party, and I am sooo excited! I have been browsing through Pinterest, looking at decorations at craft stores, and getting ideas at toy stores.
At the same time, I know she won't be my little baby anymore. She is growing up fast, too fast, and that makes me a little bit sad at times.

This month, Kendall:
- is even more mobile (she rolls over a bunch, army-crawls a tiny bit, and scootches back some)
- eats anything we feed her
- got 2 more teeth (her top ones)
- started riding her brothers' ride-on cars
- plays basketball in the mini-basketball-toy that used to be her brothers'
- loves playing with water
- slaps daddy in the face and kisses mommy on the cheeks
- feeds herself successfully
- says Dada (for daddy), Ma (for mommy), Baba (for ball), and Pop (to slap)
- screams at the top of her lungs when her brothers take stuff from her
- hangs on tight when she tries to take stuff from her brothers
- slaps her brothers or scratches their face when they bother her
- sleeps on her back when she's exhausted
- sleeps on her tummy when it takes her a little while to get tired
- loves to watch her brothers play, dance, and sing
- doesn't cuddle much anymore, except during her bedtime routine

Kendall is a mommy's girl through and through. Even when daddy picks her up, she looks for me, leans toward me, and says Ma. Billy should feel special because when anyone else picks her up, she screams, and I mean scrrreeeaaams. I guess she must be going through a stranger anxiety phase.
The other day, after Kendall threw a fit over Logan taking a few Cheerios from her, I told Billy, "Isn't fun to see her personality starting to come out" to which he responded, "You mean, 'her attitude'?" What do you expect? She has two brothers. She can't let them step all over her. You go, girl!
In many ways, Kendall is a lot like me when I was a baby. She is very mellow and laidback. She is generally happy and smiles a bunch. Her laugh is kind of unique and very contagious. She just goes with the flow and doesn't ever complain. One thing she does get from Billy, though, is her appetite. The girl can eat! She eats just about anything we give her. And if anyone takes food from her, she throws a tantrum that makes that person give the food right back, whether it was in their mouth or not.
Kendall knows what she wants. She is determined and persistent. I hope these qualities will stay with her. She will be successful in whatever she does and whatever she gets her mind on. I know she won't quit until she accomplished her goals and her dreams. I admire that so much about her. Ohhh, my baby!

Fun day with the kiddos

 We had a fun day today! This morning, we went to the playground. And this afternoon, we played with the sprinklers. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Vacation week

Billy took last week off and, even though Kendall and I were both sick, we decided to make the most of this vacation time. I have no pictures to show for it, but we had a blast all week.

We went to the zoo. Our favorite animals were the penguins.
We went to the Polaris mall playground. And Kendall enjoyed some slides.
We got our car checked out, got stuck home, hid under the table, played with Play-Dough, and had a picnic outside.
We went to Whole Foods. We ate some sushi, bread, and French dessert.
We went to the playground. And Kendall loved the swing.
We went to the Easton Mall, an outdoor mall, and we walked around, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and didn't spend any money.
And then a friend of ours offered to watch the kiddos for a few hours so that Billy and I could go to the temple. That was probably the highlight of this week. We hadn't been there in soooo long. I admire him for taking on 3 kiddos, especially since he doesn't have kids of his own. He even changed their diapers and put them down for the night. What a brave guy!

It was nice to have Billy around 24/7. I could have got used to it. In a few weeks, he'll have another week off, so.... we're going to Disney World!!!

27 before 27 (confessions)

1. For Christmas, I bought Billy the first 2 seasons of the Big Bang Theory. But I think I enjoy watching the show more than he does.

2. I’m scared of turning 27. I’m even more scared of turning 30. I still feel young, but I wish I could look as young as I feel. I sometimes feel a little offended when people ask me if I have kids. Do I really look like a mom?

3. I kissed a lot of boys back in the day. I’m not proud of it. If I knew then what I know now, I would cut that number in half. Maybe even more.

4. I only straighten my hair on Sundays. The rest of the week, my hair is wavy and up in a ponytail, a really messy ponytail. I only put makeup on when I leave the house. If I'm home all day, I don't bother making myself look cute.

5. I don’t like to exercise. I know I should do it, not just for my appearance, but also for my health. Maybe if I paid a membership fee at a gym, I’d get motivated. Maybe.

6. I wish I had never quit gymnastics and dance. Now I’m unflexible and out-of-shape. I lost everything I worked so hard to accomplish.

7. I’m not happy with the way I look. If I could get plastic surgery, I’d get liposuction in the tummy area and thighs, new boobs, a new nose, new lips, and whiter teeth.

8. I am the most insecure about my skin. I still get pimples and I have acne scars. I would love to have flawless skin.

9. Occasionally, I yell at my kids. At the time, it seems like the only way to get their attention. I know it’s not. Afterwards, I hate myself for doing it. I know I should handle myself better. Be the person I want them to become. Easier said than done.

10. Some days I am tired, bored, and/or frustrated. On those days, we watch a lot of TV. I would love to be a spontaneous, creative, and fun mom. But I would rather avoid situations that could possibly, not even certainly, turn into a disaster.

11. I’m going to miss breastfeeding Kendall. I didn’t miss it with Logan and Taylor because it felt like work. I had to breastfeed, supplement with the bottle, and pump with them. But with Kendall, it’s relaxing and it’s bonding.

12. I lose my temper faster with Logan and Taylor than I do with Kendall. I feel like Logan and Taylor sometimes cry about silly things, like someone taking their toy away. I feel like Kendall cries because she needs something, like she’s hungry or tired. I know things that seem irrelevant to me are a big deal to them… I know.

13. Since having kids, I have become a worse person. I used to be patient. I’m not anymore. I used to be very calm. Now I’m constantly stressed out. I know I should learn from my mistakes. I should be a better person each day. I should strive to get closer to my Heavenly Father. I have all the knowledge I need to be the person that I want to become. But knowing and applying are two difference things. I make mistakes and I repeat them over and over again.

14. Sometimes I get so frustrated – from repeating the same thing 50 times, from potty training accidents, from my kids’ not eating well, and the list goes on – that I have meltdowns. Once I’ve had one, I find it hard to recover from it. The end of the day can never come soon enough.

15. Sometimes I feel like my kids are behind in everything that they do. I know they’re not, but it appears so at times. They’ve been slower at crawling, walking, talking, potty training, and just about everything that I can think of. It’s sometimes very frustrating.

16. Some days, I wish I could go to work instead of staying at home with the kiddos. I know I wouldn’t last a day. I’d miss them too much. But at the same time, it’d be nice to have a little break from them once in a while. Maybe they’d actually miss me. Maybe.

17. Some days I look back to the times before I was married and had kids. Before I had responsibilities. And I miss those times. I could go wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted. It was a lot less stressful. But I always knew I wanted to be a wife and a mom. So I feel blessed to have everything I always wanted.

18. Some days, I look forward to sending the kids to school. But then, what would I do with myself? Of course, I’d miss them and wish they’d still be little and home with me.

19. Some days I wish my kids were 8 years old. Some days I wish they were 12 years old. And some days I wish they were 18 years old. But deep inside I know I will look back and wish I had appreciated these times more. I will miss my kids being 1 and 3.

20. Sometimes I find it hard to understand what Billy goes through. Sometimes it frustrates him. But how could I know? How could I understand? I wish I could follow him around for a day. Then I’d know and understand how hard he works for our family. I think it’d help me be a more supportive wife.

21. I don’t have much sympathy for pain. Sometimes I’m upset with Billy for calling in sick from work. Maybe there’s a little jealousy in that, because I can never call in sick, no matter how terrible I feel.

22. I want to learn Chinese. Not only because it’s cool but because I want to be better than Billy. I think it’d be awesome to go to China and be the one to speak, listen, and understand, while Billy has no clue what’s going on.

23. My husband and my mom are my best friends. When I am having a tough time, I talk to Billy or call my mom. They understand me and support me no matter what. They don’t judge me.

24. I know money doesn’t buy happiness. But the lack of money can definitely bring unhappiness. I try to be creative and do fun stuff for free. But I wish we could go on trips and create memories for our family. Go to Hawaii. Go to Venice. I want to create memories that will last forever.

25. I played the piano for 10 years, and no one at church knows it. I used to be pretty good, but I haven’t practiced in years, so I’m not very good anymore.

26. I hate it when the bishopric asks certain people to share their testimony on the spot. If they ever called my name, I might pinch one of my kids to get the heck out of there.

27. I hope they don’t call me to work in the nursery or primary while I have young kids. I haven’t participated in church for 2-1/2 years. I need some spirituality, some time to get closer to my Heavenly Father. I need it.

Kendall is 10 months

I know this sounds very cliché, but I feel like I just gave birth to Kendall yesterday. Was that really 10 months ago? Maybe I should start planning her first birthday party, because I know she’ll be 1 as soon as I blink my eyes This month, Kendall: - recognizes her name - drinks from a sippy cup - squeals extremely loud when she’s excited - cut 2 more teeth, her top ones - loves to ride her brothers' push-cars and play with toy-cars - has started fussing when I put her down into her crib - is going through a phase of not wanting to eat baby food, just grown-up food - has no interest, whatsoever, in crawling, but she does move around by rolling over - does not have any stranger anxiety (but would much rather hang out with mommy than anyone else, including daddy) - cracks up when Logan or Taylor attempts to feed her - eats just about anything that we put in her mouth - got her iron levels checked and gave the nurse a nasty look at the prick of her finger (but she did not cry at all) - hung out with Bonne-Maman for 2 whole weeks while she visited Kendall is one tough chick. When I see the way her brothers sometimes treat her (with the best intentions but rather roughly), I think to myself that Kendall is going to know how to take and throw punches better than anyone I know. Having older brothers has also helped her become very tolerate. They love touching her hair, rolling her over and over again, kissing her cheeks, and stealing her food and toys. She occasionally lets them know who’s the boss, but for the most part she just doesn’t mind. The other day, she was blowing raspberries while I was feeding her baby food. It was really cute, but after a while, I just needed her to stop playing and eat her food. So in a firm voice I told her to quit playing and eat. She was so shocked that I had raised my voice at her that her eyes started watering and she started crying. Her cry said, “Mommy, I can’t believe you just did that. My feelings are very hurt right now.” It totally melted my heart. I put the spoon down and kissed her messy face. I love having a girl. She is so sweet, emotional, innocent, and cuddly. She’s my baby angel and I thank my Heavenly Father for her every day.