Sleeping Beauty

Hangin' With Dad

Uncle Will's Star Wars Party

Our friend Will is probably one of Harper's best friends in the whole world. Whether it's because he kind of looks like her dad, or because somehow she knows that she's the only baby he's ever liked, they are best buds. And since Will is one of our best friends, too, we threw him a birthday party this weekend. He loves Star Wars, so with the help of Pinterest here's how the party turned out...

Carbonite Jello

One Month

I can't believe a month has already come and gone! My little Kinley is not so little anymore...for a preemie, she sure does have some chunky thighs, and I love it! Life with her is so much fun. We all just love her so much, including Harper, who is such a great big sister. Every time she's around, Kinley is really quiet and happy. They don't really look alike at all apart from the red hair and the nose. But Harper was a really good baby, and her little sister is no different in that department. I love our family of four!!

Look at that chin and those cheeks!!! Love!

Bath Time

Bye Bye Pacifier

Harper has used a pacifier since she was about 4 months old. But for as long as I can remember, at least for the last year, the rule has been that it is only for sleeping. It stays in her bed, with the exception of road trips and airplanes. But over the past week, Chris and Harper have been talking about getting rid of "paci." So four nights ago, we were all in Harper's room getting her ready for bed when her daddy asked her if she wanted to throw her paci away. She nodded, got up, took it out of her mouth and said "trash!" Then she walked out to the kitchen and threw it away. She waved at the trash can and said, "bye paci." Chris and I just looked at each other thinking there's no way it's going to be this easy.

It hasn't been, but it also hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought. She did cry that night when we actually put her in bed and she asked for her paci. And every naptime and bedtime since then she tries to find ways to stall or cries until her daddy comes in and talks with her. But she doesn't get up in the middle of the night asking for it or anything like that. It's just the initial falling asleep. After her first night without it, Chris went to the store to get her a present...a doughnut with pink sprinkles and a pink balloon that he decorated. (She loves pink!) We are super proud of her. She is growing up so fast, and I love watching her make her own decisions. I don't think she realized the consequences of that decision until it was too late, but that's just part of the learning process. She's such a great kid, and I am simply crazy about her!

Due Date!

It's hard to believe that Kinley is almost 4 weeks old and today is our due date. She's grown so much in the last 26 days...no more newborn onesies, no more newborn diapers, and she's getting some mighty nice thighs and cheeks! Her receding hair line is already starting to fill in a little better. She knows the difference between day and night. And when I hold her hands and pull her up to a sitting position, she keeps her head in line with her body. When she was born she weighed 6 lbs 12 oz. Today we weighed her on our food scale (in a salad bowl!) and she weighed 8.9 lbs. She is almost 9 lbs today!! I know that's not necessarily what she would have weighed had she been born today, but let me just say how glad I am that she was early! She was 19 inches long at birth, and today she is 21 inches long. She will be one month old on Monday. I wish I had thought to do this with Harper since she was early, too. I'm so glad Kinley came when she did, because the last 4 weeks have been wonderful. I love holding her, getting to know her, watching Harper step up as THE big sister, and driving to church with a full car...filled with our family.

Beautiful Girl!

F is for Fall Fun!

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy, but they've been so much fun! Harper is at such a great age, and it's the first fall where she is able to really enjoy the season and what it brings. For example, with the cooler weather, my wonderful husband has been making me Nutella hot chocolate in the mornings. So we let Harper in on the secret goodness of hot chocolate. Here she is enjoying her first cup ever in her own little Harper-sized mug...

Harper has discovered pumpkins now, too. Her Grandpa Holohan sent her "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", which started her love for the festive icon. So I found some sugar cookies with pumpkins on them for us to bake together. This was our first time making cookies together. She was such a great helper!

Then it was time to put them in the oven. Who knew that would be so tragic? Harper did not understand why she couldn't have a cookie after being such a great helper! The concept of "waiting for them to bake" was not one she cared to understand. We were able to distract her eventually, and after a very long 8 minutes, she was able to partake in the "puckin tookies."

Costume Crisis

Let's just say I wasn't expecting to get to do Halloween at all this year, but then little Kinley decided to come early. Then, not only could we do Halloween, but I had two costumes to come up with! I was going to make Harper a Minnie Mouse costume, and a pumpkin costume for Kinley. Who would have thought how difficult that would be with a 2 week old and a 22 month old? Well, I accomplished one of them, but Harper's costume just wasn't going to happen in time. So Sunday night I ran to Target to buy a last minute costume...she was to be...an ice cream cone. Cute, right? Except the next morning when I showed it to her, she was very much afraid of it. So I found an outfit that my mom sent as dress up clothes from Saudi Arabia, and our little Harper went dressed as a gypsy.

Crisis averted, Trick or Treating commenced. It was Harper's second Halloween, but her first one where she could actually Trick or Treat. (or Teet Teet as she would say) I explained it to her while we started getting ready, and she got so excited she headed straight for the door yelling "Teet Teet!" But I told her we had to wait for daddy. An hour later, he walked through the door, and Harper yelled, "Daddy! Teet Teet!!" And then we were off. We took a lot of pictures with the help of our friends, and Harper hit up a few houses for some yummy candy.

Ready to Go!

Special thanks to Jess Medlin for the hat!

Teet Teet!

Sisters

Our little fall baby