Camping Trip

Greg took Cambry on her first official (tent) camping trip this past weekend. They went with their friends the Ramseys. Cambry has been talking about camping non stop this past week as they got ready to go. She was excited about her new pink sleeping bag, camping chair, and kite. Lainey and I stayed home since I don't think Lainey is quite ready for tent camping yet. And it was fun for Cambry to have some daddy/daughter time. They had perfect camping weather and they all had a good time!

Odds and Ends

I am getting so behind in blogging! I am going with the catch-all random list here.

1. I recently listened to the podcast Serial and it was so addicting. I hope they come out with a second one.

2. We went to Waco a couple weeks ago and had a great time. It is always fun watching the cousins play together. And I love big families. It was fun that with Greg's parents and siblings and spouses and kids we all played a little make shift baseball game in the backyard. The girls also did some shopping which is always fun.

3. Our church had a PNO recently and this time we went to dinner with 2 other couples to Taste of Texas. It was so much fun! I can't even remember the last time we went out with couple friends without kids. Dare I say YEARS? We had such a good time and the kids did great in child care. I don't even think Cambry wanted to leave and Lainey may have been the only one in her room not crying. Extremely grateful for this.

4. While other cities are stuck at home for snow days we have been stuck at home for sick days this week. The girls and I have been sick since Tuesday so we have pretty much cancelled everything and stayed at home. Now Greg has the cough too. I was sad to miss my moms group this week because we had a favorite things party. But my friend Joan still too my stuff so I did get to participate in a way. Hopefully this sickness will be leaving soon and we can have a better week.

5. I can't remember if I mentioned this at Christmas time but in case I didn't I need to document that Cambry pronounces Bethlehem as "Beckleham" and it is the cutest thing ever. She still mentions it occasionally and I never correct her. I am hoping she always says it this way :)

Lainey 16 Months

Little Lainey is 16 months. This update will be short and sweet. I realized I have been taking no pictures on my phone lately! Lainey never stays still though so all of my pictures of her turn out blurry. Anyway, this sweet girl is adorable and so fun. She is into everything. She just wants to open and unload stuff. Basically make a mess and move on and make another mess.

I think she weighs about 20 lbs. She wears 12-18 month clothes. She still babbles a good amount but no real words. Sometimes it seems like she is trying to say things or imitate but I'm not positive. She is cruising more and can even do a push toy by herself for short distances. Someone told me to put duct tape on the wheels so it doesn't roll so fast and that has been very helpful. She has also started letting go of things while standing to see how long she can balance by herself. It is usually only a few seconds before sitting down but I am very proud of her for trying to stand alone. She also is starting to want to climb things. She can climb on a very low surface (like when the couch cushions are removed). No feeding progress really. 

And on a final note, I have been trying to bring out Lainey's curls recently. Her hair is curly and adorable after bath but always straightens out in the morning. So I have started re-wetting it to revive the curls and it has helped some. I am also experimenting with a little gel because...are these curls not the cutest??

We love our sweet and silly girl!

How to Make It Really Hard for Your Mom to Cook Dinner

Step 1: Open the cabinet and take out all the fruit strips

Step 2: Find the napkins next to the fruit strips and spread them all around

Step 3: Leave your mess behind so no one knows you did it

Happy Valetine's Day

We sent out that picture to the Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles. I could NOT get Lainey bear to smile. It was difficult enough to get her to sit still without crawling off.

Greg's Dad was in town so he stayed with us Friday night. Cambry was loving all the attention. We got fro yo after dinner - Cambry's favorite. Lainey tried it this time and liked it too. Then Saturday morning his Dad headed out and we went to breakfast at Kraftsmen Cafe in the Heights. It was such a cute place and the food was sooo good. We will definitely be going back.

We just hung out around the house and outside the rest of the day since the weather was beautiful. Happy Valentine's Day!

Lainey 15 months

I feel like I need to keep documenting Lainey's monthly updates. It is hard to see the progress when you are with someone everyday, and I definitely don't remember what to compare it to the previous month if I don't write it down. So here is what is going on with her now.

At her 15 month check up she was 19 1/2 lbs (25%), and heights was 75%. Those are approximations since I am too lazy to dig up her well check sheet. 

She is making a LOT more sounds. M, B, D, P, raspberries, squeals, etc. It is so good to hear her learn to make new noises. She used to be so quiet all the time. In the past her therapy sessions were usually silent (on her part). Her  speech therapist was very impressed with all the sounds she is trying to make. No words, but this is good progress.

She is now super fast at crawling. She easily pulls up on anything, and can get down safely. She will cruise a little bit along couch or low table or tub, has better balance, and is starting to take a few steps while pushing an object (like a small chair).

She is still majorly a mama's girl. Surprisingly she doesn't cry when dropped off in child care (fingers crossed). But sometimes she can't handle me leaving the room at home or if someone else is holding her she will start leaning/lunging toward me.

She is very affectionate. She loves to give hugs, she likes "burrowing", wrestling, etc. I love how loving she is. She likes to give Cambry hugs too but it is a little more like tackling sometimes because she will raise her arms up and then just fall in/on Cambry. 

She still takes 2 naps a day. The length varies. Usually 45 min - 1 1/2 hours. Sometimes she will only take one nap if we have church or Divine Design where she doesn't sleep, and then her nap will be about 2 hours.

She takes 3 bottles plus baby food. She is still on nutramigen because dairy seems to aggravate her reflux and we are still working on chewing.

I love this little girl. I love it when she wakes up with wild hair in her footie pajamas with a paci in her mouth and a paci in each hand. Cracks me up. I love how hyper she gets at night when Greg wrestles with the girls and she is so silly and fun. I feel like I can never get a good picture of her because she will never stay still. I can hardly cook at all because she will try to remove everything from the kitchen cabinets and child locks don't stop her. She keeps me on my toes all day long!

Family Fun Week

My sister and her family came in town from Phoenix and stayed for a whole week at my parents' house. And my other sister, Ashley, was in town and stayed a couple days at my parents' house too. We had a blast all together especially the kids. The cousins hadn't seen each other since our beach vacation last summer, but they played like they see each other all the time. Greg took a day off work so we spent 2 nights over there and then I would come during the days the rest of the week.

We celebrated my mom's 60th birthday and my sister's 29th birthday by going to Ciro's, a family favorite restaurant. Then we came back for cake and presents.

 

Back in December my sister had suggested that instead of exchanging sibling Christmas gifts, we should go out to dinner sans kiddos. So one night we put the kids to bed (Cambry, Kyler, and Hayes all in the king bed), and left them with the grandparents. We went to Liberty Kitchen and had a wonderful time and conversation. My sister even found a wine I liked! If you know me you know that I hardly ever drink. There is not much I really enjoy and I am far too cheap to get a glass of wine or other fancy drink at a restaurant. But she ordered a moscato and insisted I would like it. And she was right! It pretty much tasted like welch's white grape juice which is why I liked it. Anyway, now I can say there is at least one type of wine that I really like. I am so sophisticated.

While the Kimmels were in town we had to go to Monkey Bizness like we did last year. I think we enjoy racing each other in the inflatables more than the kids. My sister gets super competitive.

We spent a lot of time hanging out at my parents house letting the kids run around and play or going to the park. On Saturday morning my dad, Cody, and Greg got to play top golf, which was part of my dad's Christmas gift. Then later that afternoon we went on an impromptu RV trip to Stephen F Austin park. We had just discussed personality types and how my sister was fun country. So of course this was something she loved. Well I was abruptly woken up from my nap with Cambry and told we were leaving in about 5 minutes so I got kinda cranky. My personality type is perfect country (meaning I like things a certain way, like to be prepared, etc). Anyway, I like to spend forever getting ready for the smallest outing and packing everything imaginable that I might possibly need for the girls. I eventually got over my crankiness and had a lot of fun. We hiked some trails and had hot cocoa outside. Then we headed back and picked up Rudy's on the way home. It was just a quick trip but really fun to go in the RV.

We had a great week of family fun. Thanks Gigi and Pa for putting up with all the kiddos in your house!