Kyndall's ONE!

My sweet baby girl on the day she was born. December 30, 2008.

My baby girl one year later. December 30, 2009.

What has she been up to?

-Kyndall is officially in 3-6 month clothes and size 2-3 Pamper Swaddlers.

-She weighs 17lbs 1oz and is 27.2 inches long.

-She has moved to her big girl car seat. Shes still rear-facing, but out of her infant seat.

-Kyndall absolutely LOVES music and dances to almost any and all.

-She will "talk" your ear off. [When shes in the mood.]

-She's not walking on her own, but can get around with her push toy or holding on to some one's finger.

-We are DONE with baby food and eating only table food. Her favorites are bananas, applesauce, pineapple, mashed potatos, green beans, and french fries.

-Kyndall is still nursing, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

It has been an amazing year, and I'm looking forward to what the next one has in store for us!

Wordless Wednesday: A look at the year

Picture Me Monday

Ok, so I know this is later than I normally post this, but I've been a little under the weather yesterday and today...This is a picture taken on Christmas Day at my Granny's house. Her house isn't very "kid friendly" so we had to improvise on ways to entertain Kyndall before lunch and gifts. I found this tin, and she LOVED it! She would drum on it, roll it to her cousin, and her favorite was to climb up all by herself and sit on it. She was so proud of herself. She just smiled as if to say "Look at me! Look what I did with no help."

Baby's First Christmas

Here are just a few pictures from Kyndall's first Christmas!
Of course, every babies' favorite thing about Christmas. Playing with the wrapping paper!

Kyndall looking in the bag to see what goodies awaited her!

Playing blocks with her cousin.

ROCKET!

Isn't she the cutest? Super excited about her gifts from Santa.

Along with the pictures that are here, we had a good Christmas. Kyndall hit the jackpot! She got lots of goodies from Santa, Grandma and Grandpa, Momma and Daddy, Uncle Mikey, and family in Shreveport.

However, we didn't have a lot of time to recover from Christmas before we started looking forward to Kyndall's 1st birthday! (That post to come soon!)

December 25, 2008

One year ago today, December 25, 2008, was my last day of "freedom." I had been diagnosed with Pre-E just 11 days before-Dec. 16, and put on mandatory, strict bed rest.

The week of Christmas was an eventful one, to say the least. On Dec. 22, I went in for a growth scan, and Kyndall was measuring small, but she had been the whole pregnancy. Later that morning, I went to the OB for my first appointment of the week and my protein levels were much higher than she would have liked so she sent me to the hospital, giving me a small chance of making it to Friday without a baby. After spending 12 hours in the hospital under observation, I was sent home with orders to monitor my BP every 2 hours and return to the hospital if my BP was 140/90 for 3 checks in a row[thank goodness that didn't happen!]

Christmas Eve morning, I thought I was having contractions and uncontrollable head shaking. So off to the hospital we went at 4 in the morning. They determined that I was just having Braxton Hicks, and I was not seizing, but gave me some meds to help with the BP levels, and we were home later that same morning.

Friday, Dec. 26, I went in for my second OB appt. that week, just have my BP checked twice and told to go straight to the hospital. After 8 hours of monitoring, the on-call OB(who had sent me on that Monday) decided it was going to be best to admit me for hospital bed rest so they could monitor me better, and I would be in the best place possible if anything were to happen.

Here, I am, one year later with a healthy baby girl who will be one on Dec. 30, and I could not be more thankful/ grateful/ blessed. It was a scary time, but I wouldn't trade it one bit because of the end result.

Wordless Wednesday

New Look

Don't you just love my new look? I know I sure do!

Thank you so much to The Design Girl for doing if for me! Of course, I wouldn't have this lay out if it weren't for Kelly at Kelly's Korner.

Thank you again Kelly for picking me for the blog makeover!

Picture Me Monday

This picture was taken in August 2009. I absolutely LOVE this outfit. Its a hand-me down from some wonderful friends in the DFW area. Kyndall has worn this outfit a few more times, in fact pretty recent, with in the last month. I am super sad that by the time it gets warm enough for this type of outfit, she'll have outgrown it. However, I am keeping it just in case we have another little girl next time around.

Weekend Wrap-up

My weekend didn't start until 6:00 Friday night, but Kyndall's started just a little before noon on Friday. She was running 102.3 fever and was sent home. Chad came up to the daycare to pick her up because my boss didn't have anyone she could call to take over my class. [Unlike Monday when Kyndall was sent home with diarrhea.] Friday night my parents came over and we ordered Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. It was YUMMY!

Saturday, when Kyndall woke up at 8ish, I went and got her and brought her to bed with us. Around 9:30, she and I came up to the living room and played. Then my parents showed up. From there we went to the mall for Santa pictures- which Kyndall did NOT enjoy. We have a picture of her screaming in Santa's lap. After that we went to lunch and then home. My daddy and I went and did some shopping for my mom, my brother, and Chad and my nieces. Then for dinner, we went to Texas Roadhouse. I LOVE their rolls!

This morning we went to church. It was a good service. We looked at Mary and Joseph and their role in the Christmas story. Then went for some yummy Mexican food. After lunch, we came home and Kyndall went down for a nap. When she woke up, we did a little birthday photo shoot, including a cake! Once she figured out what it was and that it was yummy, she dug right on in! Afterwards, she went straight to the bath. Then this evening, my parents, brother, Kyndall, and I went to the candle light service at the church I grew up in. For dinner, it was Newk's, which I really enjoy.

Hopefully tomorrow, Kyndall will not have to go home early from daycare...

Twitter

So I'm thinking about setting up a Twitter account.

My main reason- I think I update my Facebook status to much. I seem to be using the Facebook status more like what Twitter seems to be set up for.

My main concern- If I did set up a Twitter account, would I keep up with it or continue to use Facebook for my "tweeting?"

Do you Tweet? Would you follow me on Twitter if I joined?

Wordless Wednesday: Kyndall one year ago

My Great Aunt Etoile

Etoile Reeve Alexander, CRNA

SHREVEPORT, LA - Mrs. Etoile Reeve Alexander passed away on Monday, December 14, 2009, at the age of 92 at Willis-Knighton Pierremont Hospital after a brief illness. Visitation will be held from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16th, at Osborn Funeral Home. Funeral services will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 17, 2009, in the chapel of Osborn Funeral Home. Officiating will be Deborah Moorehead of Parkview Baptist Church. Interment will follow at Forest Park Cemetery.

Mrs. Alexander was a native of Heflin, LA and a resident of Shreveport. She was a longtime member of Parkview Baptist Church. She was retired from Confederate Memorial Hospital in 1977 (now LSU Medical Center) as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

Mrs. Alexander was preceded in death by her husband, Harlan Alexander, Sr.; mother, Maggie Lou Felts Reeve; father, David Laird Reeve; brother, Clyde Reeve; sisters, Cecie Fuller, Ruby Barnes, Minnie Lou Dugan and Margarite Hoke. She is survived by her son, Harlan Alexander, Jr. and wife, Susan of Shreveport, LA; sisters, Audrey Gray and husband, J. T. of Sibley, LA and Melba Sawyer and husband, Don of Castro Valley, CA; sister-in-law, Doris Alexander of Shreveport, LA; grandsons, Scott Alexander and wife, Angel of Bossier City, LA and Kevin Alexander and wife, Mara of Shreveport, LA; great-grandchildren, Grant and Genevieve Alexander of Bossier City, LA; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

What a Difference a Year Makes

WOW! Its been a crazy year! Last year at this time is when things started going crazy with my pregnancy.

December 15, 2008 was my last day of freedom until Kyndall was born. Granted I did not do alot that day other than maybe a little more decorating and some cleaning around the house. I do remember that the day before my brother and I did all our Christmas shopping in under 30 minutes because my doctor had taken me off my feet for more than 30 minutest at a time by then, thus the reason I was not working. I couldn't check because that would have meant I would have been on my feet for about 7 hours. I was working in the gas station where I could sit for the majority of the shift.

However, on December 16, my brother and Chad went with me to my doctors appointment. We went with the expectation that everything was going to go as normal. Boy were we wrong! After having my blood pressure checked 5 times, yes you read that right, 5 times, my doctor stated that I was now on strict mandatory bed rest starting immediately. Well, I was supposed to work the gas station that afternoon, but that didn't happen! She gave us a note which Chad took to my boss.

Once we got home, I was confined to the bed or the couch. Only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and a very quick shower every other day or so. Needless to say, I did a lot of sleeping, TV watching, and Sims 2 playing. In fact, I mastered all the jobs, acquired all the friends, and mastered all the skill points. I was BORED!

I had to lay on the couch while we did Christmas with Chad's mom's family. We had to miss Christmas with his dad's family, and we didn't get to go to Shreveport for Christmas with my family like we had planned. However, this year, we are going to Shreveport, and I am super excited!!

After being put on bed rest and spending a couple of weeks of that at home, I was admitted to the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy. I thought I was bored at home...I didn't think that being more bored was possible, but it was. Thanks to a couple of good friends who came to see me, word puzzle books, my computer, and Gilmore Girl DVDs, I made it through living in a 10x10 room staying in bed for 3 days and 4 nights.

On December 30th, we experienced the biggest blessing and miracle possible. The birth of our healthy, tiny, little girl, Kyndall Elaine. Our lives have not been then same since. In fact, it has been so much better.

I do believe that this year, despite its ups and downs along the way, has been the best one yet. I hope there are many more to come!

We will celebrate Kyndall's first birthday on December 30th with my parents and my brother. We are having her party on January 2nd, and I am excited about that.

But its amazing what a difference a year can make!

Picture Me Monday

This is a picture of Kyndall with her Great Great Aunt Etoile taken back in March. It was the first and only time these two met. Aunt Etoile passed away this morning. She will be very missed.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Our Christmas card. I took the pictures and then had the cards made at Walgreens.



Kyndall's stocking that my grandmother hand stitched!

Chad's reinbear. :)


Our mantle. Chad's stocking is on the left, Kyndall's in the middle, then mine on the right.

Our Christmas tree. You can tell we have a little one because there isn't anything on the bottom foot! HAHA!

True Meaning of Christmas

So these days, people are thinking a lot about Christmas and what it really means...

Well, I guess the answer to that question is depend on who you ask. A child will probably say something like, toys and Santa. Some adults will say something along the lines of, its a commercial holiday where I have spend all my hard earned money on stuff for other people. If you as Santa on Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure, he will tell you its not swiping your friends toys and sharing*.

I think out of all of those answers, Santa has the best answer. It may not be the TRUE meaning of CHRISTmas, but its closer than the other two.

Just in case you're wondering how I answer that question...That's easy. Christmas isn't about toys, Santa, and spending your hard earned money on stuff- even those things are nice; Christmas is about God sending His Son, Jesus, to earth.

He wasn't born in a fancy inn or in a palace or in a castle, but in a stable, maybe something like this. He was born is cows and sheep and horses and other animals all around Him. What is so glorious about that? Nothing. Now, this is just my opinion, you can think what you want, but I think God planned His Son being born in a lowly stable to symbolize that Jesus is for all people, not just the rich.

Remember the reason for the season! Merry CHRISTmas!!

*We have been watching Dora the past few afternoons at work. That's why I used that example.


(This is what our nativity looks like)

Wordless Wednesday

All I really want...

Serious things:

...is a good nights sleep
...a meal with just my husband without a little one climbing up one of us for food or getting upset because she doesn't have anything yet*
...to be debt free, or at least be able to pay all our bills, buy groceries, and have some left over
...to lose some weight

Fun things**:
...a snuggie, preferably the zebra one
...a hair cut and my brows done
...a pair of XXL men's flannel pants with pockets(I don't need them that big, but I like my comfy pants to be roomy)
...some more boxers to lounge and sleep in

*Its not that I don't love Kyndall, it'd just be nice to have some adult time just me and Chad.
**In hopes that certain someone(s) may be able to get some Christmas gift ideas since I can never really think of them when asked on the spot.

Picture me Monday

In the spirit of Christmas, here is a picture of Kyndall wearing one of her Christmas outfits sitting in front of our tree

Don't.

I don't think I ever realized how many times I use the word "don't" in a day...

Don't run. We walk our feet.
Don't pick your nose. Use a tissue.
Don't hit. We have nice hands.
Don't climb that. Keep your feet on the ground.
Don't put that in your mouth. You could choke.
Don't put your hands down your pants again. Thats gross!
Don't stand on the table. Our feet stay on the ground.
Don't be so loud. Use your inside voices.
Don't touch that. It'll hurt you.

However, I guess when you spend most of your day with a bunch of 2 year olds, those are normal phrases.

A new look is coming

So I have become a HUGE fan of Kelly's Korner, well more like addicted to it! Well, she does these giveaways for different things. I enter most of them just to test my luck, well I won!!

She was giving away a blog makeover from The Design Girl. It is a $75 value! That is insane! But I'm so excited!!!

March of Dimes 2010

Yes, is that time again...Time to start thinking about the March of Dimes, March for Babies!

I just signed up to participate in the 2010 March for Babies, and I am super excited! There are only 153 days left until the march. That'll be here before we know it.

So start praying now as to how you can help. You can either join my team or donate money to help fund research so that one day all babies will be born healthy.

Here is the link: http://www.marchforbabies.org/kfred311.

Wordless Wednesday

Picture Me Monday

Kyndall just seconds old! Dec. 30, 2008

This wasn't taken today, but it is about the most current picture I have of Kyndall...Here she is at just a couple of days shy of 11 months old trying to get all the puffs! Nov. 25, 2008.

I can't believe that my sweet little Kyndall is 11 months old!

What has she been up to?

~ She has 6 teeth. 4 on top and 2 on the bottom

~ She hates baths now...

~ She eats table food like its going out of style, but surprisingly will still eat baby food

~ Shes still nursing and still going strong!

~ She is wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 2-3 diapers

~ She is standing pretty well on her own

~ She can cruise along furniture, walk well with her push toy and holding on to fingers, but still prefers crawling as her main mode of "transportation" next to being carried

~ She is sleeping(for the most part) through the night and doing pretty well with CIO at night.

~ She now weighs pretty close to 17lbs, if not a little more and stands tall at 27 inches- that's a whole 10 inches taller than she was at birth!

Turkey Day and Black Friday

Kyndall really enjoyed the cranberry sauce.
And the mashed potatoes.

But wasn't sure about the cranberry sauce with the first bite.

Our table. I made the green bean casserole, corn casserole, and the baked mac and cheese, and I have to say, it was pretty yummy!

I also think that my Black Friday shopping was a success. Chad had some money put aside for shopping, and Popple didn't turn down the chance for us to get get Kyndall's gift from him.

I had originally planned on going to Toys R Us at midnight when they opened, but we got to looking at the ad and realized that the main gift we wanted to get didn't go on sale until 5. Therefore, I went at 4:30. I got everything I went in for and then some. I got a ball pit, a sofa, a Little Einsteins Transform and Go Rocket, a pack a pacis, and a travel snack cup (not this exact one but one like it). All for less than $62!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Lets Say Thanks

Picture me Monday

My little family. My brother was nice enough to take some pictures of us yesterday, and this one is one of my favorites. I have always LOVED pictures of parents holding their child's hands and walking so now that I have a little one of my own, I had to get one.

Innocence of a child

Wouldn't it be nice to be a child again?

So innocent, so unaware of all the bad going on, not caring about what others are going to think.

To find pleasure in a simple plastic cup and a sock. To find standing at the back door watching the dogs play and the cars drive past so entertaining.

To have the faith that mom and dad will be there no matter what.

At almost 11 months old, Kyndall has no idea that the economy is doing so poorly. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all stop worrying about the problems and start focusing on the little things?

Yummy in my Tummy

Kyndall LOVES

bean and cheese tacos!

Are you ready

for Turkey day?

Kyndall is!

Wordless Wednesday

Letters to Kyndall

Dated May 11, 2008:

Baby,
Well, its Mother's Day...Of all the days to find out that you're in there. Daddy and I have waited a long time for this day. I'm not sure what daddy is thinking right now, but I'm sure its a combo of excitement and anxiety- kinda like me. I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow to get an appointment to see how things are going.

Love,

Mommy

Baby,

This is daddy. I am so excited that you are in there and am so ready for you to come out.

Dated Nov. 3, 2008:

My dear Kyndall,

Well, its mommy. Since the last note I wrote you(the day we found out you were coming) we have seen you twice. The first time, you were our little peanut! The second time, we found out you're a girl, only after 30 min of trying to get you to open up. We also got to see your face-well, only half since you wouldn't move your hands!

The doctor says you sound good and healthy every time we go to see her.

Your daddy is so ready to meet you, and so am I. He is already watching out for you. He even bought you your first pair of shoes- little cowgirl boots! Daddy is even taking a class just for new daddies.

We know the grandparents are excited. Your Granny and Pawpa are already getting you things. So are Grandma and Grandpa.

Only 11 more weeks til we get to meet you, and we cannot wait.

Love always,

Mommy

Picture Me Monday

"Daddy, what are you doing to me?" Taken in March 2009.

Time Flies

Kyndall is now 10 1/2 months old. That may not seem like a lot for some people, but for me, time has gone by way to fast! She has officially been a part of the outside world for longer than she spent in me growing.

Where did the time go?

Sometimes I wish I were still pregnant. Sometimes I wonder if we were really ready or if we were thrust into this whole parent thing too soon. However, I do think that in the last 10 1/2 months, I have learned a lot.

My mother has ordered Kyndall's birthday supplies; I have ordered the cake, and I have a friend making us a birthday tutu. (I'm sure she'll be the cutest 1 year old ever! But hey, I'm a bit bias!)

Chad and I are trying to figure out how we are going to make Christmas "Kyndall Proof." Where are we going to put the tree? Are we going to have to get child-safe ornaments? Oh, and Santa. I don't think we're going to like Santa. Not one bit. I tried to get Kyndall to look and talk to him yesterday, but she wasn't going to have anything to do with him. We will probably end up with one of those classic child sitting in Santa's lap screaming pictures, but at least she'll look cute in her Christmas tutu and shirt.

What are you doing or did you do with you tree for your child's first Christmas? How did your first Santa picture turn out?

Messy

We went to Carino's last night with Chad's grandfather, mom, and her husband. Kyndall ate penne and tomato sauce. She LOVED it! Want proof? Just take a look at these pictures. (sorry they aren't the best quality, they were taken with a phone)

I'm not just a mom...

...I'm a

jungle gym
punching bag
pillow
chew toy
trampoline
crawl up drink dispenser
hair dresser
nurse
tickle monster
feet kisser
fashionesta,

but in the end, all those things make me a mom to my sweet baby girl.

Wordless Wednesday

Picture Me Mondays Tuesday

This picture was taken in March 2009. It is a picture of my grandmother, my mother, me and Kyndall. It is a 4 generation picture and another thing we all have in common is our middle name: Elaine.