Why does a baby need skinny jeans?

In anticipation of my journey to babyGap I am making this Saturday, I have been scouting out clothes and Robeez I like on babyGap.com. That is how I found these. WHY in the world does a baby need a skinny jean? It just makes me feel weird.

The real problem here is that I really want to buy her these... which are skinny jeans. But really I like them for the purple cuff. Ugh. what to do.

Kenley loves to sing!

Kenley is "talking" more and more now.  Here is her bath time at my parents house this weekend.  She was having a great time.

 

just having some fun.

Kenley decided this afternoon we would have a babble conversation... back and forth we ooooh and ahhh.  She was so funny.  

Yesterday, I was taking some pictures of her standing up but she had drooled allllllll over her shirt.  So we decided no shirt was better than drool shirt. 

Andrew being the overprotective parent.

She stands up so well, I really think soon she will stand on her own.   She still has to learn about pulling herself up - that will come later. 

Kenley and her stimulus package

She loves her stimulus package so much... sometimes I think she dances to the beat.  Maybe I am just looking too much into it.  

I apologize for the background noise, we were watching "Anthony Bourdain: No reservations."

Bye bye bucket!

It is a great car seat, until your baby gets so big that she no longer fits comfortable in it.  As you can see,  the bucket seat was close to being too small.  Yesterday, Kenley's new car seat arrived! We took it out for a test ride last night and she seemed to be happy in it.  She even made it all the way to the daycare today with no tears.  Hopefully this trend will continue.  

Andrew practicing...

This was taken this morning, she was SO good all the way to baby school.  

Ready to go to baby school!

And now -- making it's big blog debut...

The MONKEY HAT!

So cute! I cannot wait until fall/winter when she will be wearing this hat probably every day. 

Ahhh! I die.

12 weeks ago today...

12 weeks ago today, Kenley came into this world. Every week seems to go by faster than the last. I feel like my mom when I say, "12 weeks ago today..." because that is how all birthdays start out in the Paradise house. Mom says to Lauren and I, "[your age] years ago today, I was eating Christmas dinner/riding down the street on a tricycle..." I have a feeling I will do this to Kenley.

My friend from work is celebrating a birthday today. We were discussing how I have a new appreciation for birthdays. Mothers should get just as much recognition/celebration from a child's birthday. For god's sake, they are the ones who had to get them into this world! It is hard work!

This week has passed us by quickly, Kenley has tried on her Redskins jersey to make sure it will fit right for the 1st game of the season, she has been adjusting to baby school, and is waiting for her new car seat to arrive. That's right. A new car seat for her 12 week birthday. Actually, if it works out, it will be more of a gift to Andrew and I.

We have decided to get Kenley a new car seat for a couple of reasons. One, her current seat is called an infant carrier which is a GREAT thing to have. But she has been straining to sit up in it for weeks now and the infant carrier seat is shaped more like a bucket where she is constantly reclined. She tries to pull herself up but the shape of the car seat doesn't allow her to do so, which then results in her screaming. Two, the infant carrier cover makes Kenley really hot and sticky which is probably another reason she screams. Lastly, we will have to get a new car seat once she reaches the weight limit of the current infant seat. I thought it was 30 lbs but according to the Babies R Us website (I just looked) it says up to 22lbs. Hmm.... She is going to reach that soon.

Sooooo, ladies and gentlemen -- here is Kenley's new car seat!

It shipped out today. I really hope this helps her enjoy the car a bit more. Otherwise, she is stuck with her new cowmooflage seat. Yep. cowmooflage. That is really what it's called.

Here are some pictures from the past few days, including this morning before baby school - on her 12 week birthday! *Awwwwww...*

Her new favorite boo-bop... The past two days, she just stares down the lion. Maybe they are having a staring contest.

Tuesday, I worked from home and had a really great day with Kenley. She was so good, she even took an hour nap in the morning. Andrew came home around lunch time so when I had to do some work, he took Kenley and they ended up taking a nap together.

Getting ready for football season.

The picture I took before this, there was a diaper peeking out... I could hear my dad in my head, "too much diaper!" So I quickly pulled the onesie over and took another picture.

Aunt Kate's gift to her bff baby.

Ready for baby school, getting out her morning ya-yas.

Notice she is playing the "got your nose" game with her right hand. Her hands are always in this position. I wonder how many past pictures I have posted where her hands are like that... In this post alone, there are 3 pictures of her doing it. Silly baby.

When I go to Kenley's baby school at lunch time or to pick her up in the afternoon, I always find her swaddled all tight and napping in her swing. She sleeps longer (at least thats what they are telling me) when she is all wrapped up. So tonight, I am giving it a try. I have only used this swaddle blanket one day for a nap. She took a good nap but was mad when she woke up and couldn't move. We will see how she does tonight. So far, she's doing great - it's only been an hour though. ;)

Tomorrow is Friday, thank goodness - which means I am one day closer to spending two whole days (with no baby school) together with Kenley! Yay!

Last Tuesday was my first work-from-home day since going back to work.  I knew it would be difficult but luckily it wasn't a busy day for me.  Kenley was on a eat-play-sleep schedule and it seemed to work really well for her.  So every 2 hours I got a good 30 minutes straight of uninterrupted work done.  At other times, while feeding, I was able to read emails etc but she had about 4 short naps which let me get some nerd work done. 

Kenley and I were playing under her stimulus package on Tuesday and I was lifting her up from laying down to be sitting up.   She was having a lot of fun and kept insisting on me pulling her up all the way to standing. She was sending me all sorts of hints that she was ready for bigger and more "grown-up" toys.  So, on Tuesday night, I went to Target and picked up her newest stimulus package.  Fischer-Price calls it a jumperoo, Andrew calls it (and every other seat/plaything she has) a boo-bop. Here she is playing with it the first night.  It was a big hit.  AND wears her out... BIG TIME.

I must add that Kenley got three new headbands last week, she sure does look cute in them.  

Like I said, the jumperoo wears this little lady out! 

Today we had a rough day with Peanut... she is either teething or going through a serious growth spurt.  She got us up around 7, we had some pancakes and went to the grocery store a little later. Around noon she became superrrrr fussy and cried for about 2 hours.  We tried everything, not eating, not sleeping, clean dipes, jumperoo... nothing worked.  All afternoon into the early evening she refused to nurse and took only about a 20 minute nap.  I am wondering if she is teething already... oh man, that would be crazy.  Anywhoo, after a bath and a quick nap she finally nursed and is now asleep --- hopefully for the night.   This coming Thursday, Kenley will be 12 weeks old! Ah! There will be many photos and an update to fill you in on her 12 week birthday festivities. 

Kenley is getting a new boyfriend!!

I just want to give a big YIPPPEEEE shoutout to Christina and Timmy!

They found out yesterday that they are having a baby boy! So excited to meet this little guy, I am sure he will be the cutest baby boy I have seen. Check out her blog, which is being re-dedicated to all things baby, here.

A bit behind on recent events.

Last post, Kenley had her 8 week birthday. Well, a lot has happened since that post. Her dad came home, she got to meet Alexis and Sarah, we went to the OBX, she had her first set of shots, she met her other set of Grandparents (!!), I went back to work last week and today she was able to stand up while I held her hands up (usually, I hold her under the armpits). Let's start at the beginning...

Andrew came home from California and his baby was now a lot bigger than when he last saw her. She was more alert, smiled, cooed.

Naturally, it took a couple of days to get them reacquainted but soon he had his baby groove back.

We tried on her cowboy boots that Aunt Lauren gave her. They were great!

She got to meet Alexis and Sarah before we left for the Outer Banks. Sarah, apparently, is the baby whisperer. Looks like I found my first babysitter!

After a looooong trip to Duck, NC (which should have only taken an hour and 20 minutes), Kenley experienced her first OBX vacation, Barrier Island style.

Getting ready for her first morning on the beach.

The pink suit was a bit tight, so we had a wardrobe change and headed down to the beach.

Kenley did great the first day. There were lots of naps, the clouds were out (which is a good thing when you have a baby and it's 90 degrees) and the water was cool.

She is her father's daughter... in more ways than one.

Trying out her new sunglasses... not a fan I guess.

Monday morning we drove back to Chesapeake to have her 2 month checkup. Kenley weighed in at a BIG girl 14.5 lbs and 24.5 inches. She got 4 vaccinations, 3 in shot form. I could not handle watching them stick my baby, so thank goodness Andrew was there to hold her in place. Her cries were unlike anything I have heard before and I was about 2 seconds away from crying myself. I was able to nurse her in an empty room and she calmed down quickly. The rest of that day was an adventure though. She was very cranky and did not want to be moved once she was comfortable in someone's arms. It broke my heart thinking about her being in pain and her crankiness made me feel terrible. After her bath, she was as good as new. She loves her whale tubbie.

The next day, she was her old silly self in the morning so we got her dressed and ready for the beach again!

This time, she tested out the waters. Not sure she liked how cold it was. Note the tense fists and curled up toes.

A beach vacation family photo.

Peanut wearing her new crabby headband that Aunt Lauren brought for her.

The morning we left to come back to Virginia Beach, she wore her new Duck onesie. Word on the street is Aunt Lauren got the matching shirt. Love it.

We came home early from the beach to get ready for a big event. Kenley met the Porter grandparents the very next day!!!!

Grandma Mary and Kenley at Lynnhaven Fish House, celebrating Grandma's birthday!

We had a great time, food was excellent and the view was amazing. Sitting on the Chesapeake Bay is always a great way to have dinner.

Andrew and Scott acting like they are 14.

The grandparents walking the Bay with the baby.

I love this picture. The timing was perfect... and look at that cute hat.

The boys, having boy time.

Love the Chesapeake Bay. Beautiful.

She sat outside with Grandma while watching the boys destroy our old fence. I guess she thought it was boring, she napped most of the time.

Working hard in the 95 degree weather... they mean business.

Grandma's!!! Grammy Paradise was in town too, she was Kenley's babysitter the week I went back to work.

Every day the play mat (or stimulus package as we call it) gets more and more fun for Kenley. She LoVeS the penguin on the mat and makes faces and talks to him a lot.

She is also starting to sit really well in the bumbo chair. She is so strong for being only 9 weeks old here.

There are the guys, finishing up the fence. Good work! It is a great replacement to the fence we had before.

Getting ready for tubby time, Kenley's favorite time of day! It was about this time that she officially stopped wearing her 3 month clothing. She is now in 6 months, 6-9 months depending on the brand. Shocking!

Looking like a big kid after tubby time. Her pajamas are my favorite, they were a great gift from Aunt Belle. Love a good zipper jam.

Another picture of her looking like a big kid.

Working on her sitting skills. She looks a little caught off guard here, I promise I didn't sneak up on her.

Today, Kenley and I played under her stimulus package a lot. She was talking to her animals all afternoon and I helped her sit up from a laying down position by pulling her arms up and she hoisted her little butt off the ground to a standing position. Too bad the camera wasn't close but I am sure I will get a picture of it soon.

I tried to spend a lot of time with my baby today. Tomorrow is her first day of day care.... but we are no longer referring to it as such. It will, from here on out, be called baby school. Makes me feel less depressed about it. I will post tomorrow (with any luck) on how it goes. I am sure I will cry about it. :(