Go See the Dirt

Since we first started going to see our lot we have always told Kamdyn that she couldn't get down and walk because it was muddy and dirty. She seemed okay with this and would always say, "Bye, dirt" when we would leave. Today, we were getting ready to go look at our lot and I said, "Kamdyn, you want to go see the dirt?" She says, "Go see the dirt, Daddy!" It cracked me up because she knew exactly what I was talking about. We let her actually walk out there today since there has been no rain to speak of in weeks. There was NO mud today! Here she is with Daddy looking at the dirt!

GOOOOO TIGERS!!!!

Since it is getting close to the Tigers first game, our TV STAYS on football! High School football, NFL Football, ESPN talk shows about football, it doesn't matter. If Midget football was on, we would probably watch that, too. Well, maybe not, but you get the point! We have even been to two high school football games already (South Aiken and North Augusta). Needless to say, Daddy is ready for the Tigers first big game against FSU on Labor Day. We've been practicing with Kamdyn saying, "Go Tigers!" and everytime she sees a tiger paw she says "tiger" or "Go Tigers!" Here she is in action! :) She's even dressed in purple!!!

HAIRBOW......FINALLY!!!!

Hairbows will finally stay in Kamdyn's hair.....well, that is if she doesn't pull them out! The "alligator clip" bows will finally stay and I can't tell you how ecstatic I am! Now I can dress my sweet girl up in cutsie clothes and hairbows to match!! Watch out, Daddy!!!


Taking her picture with a mouth full of grapes probably wasn't the best idea!

Newest Accomplishment

While I think she achieved this accomplishment a little late, it is an accomplishment, none the less. Kamdyn has finally learned to climb up on the couches and get down off of them ALL BY HERSELF! She will now throw her leg up on the couch and say "up here." She gets herself up. Then, when it's time to get down she says, "on my belly." She rolls over on her belly and pushes herself off. This is such a relief to us because she has always wanted to sit on the sofas with us; however, once she got up on the sofa we had to watch her like a hawk because she was notorious for trying to leap off and she always wanted to stand up. We were always paranoid that she was going to "break her neck" attempting to dismount off of the sofas. Now we don't have to worry because our little sweetie can do it ALL BY HERSELF!

Dora Tent

Kamdyn got this Dora tent for her birthday. Yes, I know, that was almost 5 months ago; however, how many toys can a baby really play with and enjoy at a time? I have saved many of her birthday toys/books and have brought them out one at a time when I thought she was ready for them. This has made her LOVE them that much more. And, she feels like she gets new presents all the time. Here she is enjoying her new Dora "house" for the first time. She hasn't mastered ducking under the door just yet. Instead, she tends to move the entire tent with her each time she enters and exits!

Baby Einstein Video

Here is where I found Kamdyn shortly after she got up this morning. Anyone who currently has or has had a 16 month old knows that these moments are very few and far between because they NEVER slow down to sit, much less lay down to watch a movie. When they get quiet or you don't hear their little feet for more than a few seconds, you immediately run to see what they have gotten in to.

I had turned the movie on when she got up. Normally, she follows us around the house and will occasionally check on the movie. This morning, however, she stayed in our "office" and actually laid down to watch the movie! I could hardly believe my eyes.

Growing Up

Here is a our precious angel in her diaper. It is VERY rare to find her running around the house in her diaper. However, tonight, I wanted to make sure that she did not get any food on her cute little strawberry dress. So, I stripped her down to her diaper before dinner time. This is her showing off for the camera. Look how big she is getting! I've given up on trying to keep up with all the words and phrases that she is saying. She sometimes speaks in 3-4 word sentences. And, yes, she still LOVES to dance to the Fridge Farm! As many pictures that we take in our kitchen, you would think that I did a lot of cooking in there. HA!!! There's not a whole lot of cooking going on in our kitchen; however, I find that there is always a lot of work to do in there!

Dippin' Chicken

One of Kamdyn's most favorite things to eat is chicken nuggets. We're not quite sure if she really loves the chicken or if she just enjoys the act of dipping the nuggets in to the ketchup. At any rate, she can put away some chicken nuggets and dips each and every tiny piece into the ketchup. And, seriously, does she get enough on each piece? :) I love watching her chubby little fingers as she dips. She concentrates so hard and works so diligently so as not to get ANY ketchup on those little fingers. If she does get any ketchup on her fingers, she will say "lick, lick" and she will lick it off! So cute! We'll have to work on getting her to use a napkin soon.......

What Does a Fish Say?

Does a fish really say anything? It seems that Richard would be the expert on this; however, he has taught Kamdyn that this is what a fish "says."

Little Drummer Girl

Here is Kamdyn playing her turtle/drum/tamborine. She loves singing and "making" music. She especially loves playing the piano and she LOVES singing to her Baby Einstein CD's in the car.

Oh Boy!

Kamdyn is spending the entire weekend with Nanny and Pop Pop while Mommy and Daddy stay home for the weekend. Previously in the week we kept telling Kamdyn that she was going to spend the night with Nanny and Pop Pop. She would say "otay" and "Oh, boy." We met Nanny in Greenwood on Thursday night for dinner at Capri's and for a "baby drop-off!" This is the first time since Kamdyn has been born that we have been at our house alone without her. Boy, is it different and QUIET!!! Richard and I got a much needed weekend alone. We got to do some things that are much easier without a baby (i.e. cleaning house, paying bills (in peace), going out to our house-to-be, grocery shopping, laundry, going out to dinner, etc.) While I enjoyed getting many of these things accomplished, I missed her terribly. I can hear her little feet pitter pattering after me and her saying "Mommy, mommy." Anyway, we meet them again tomorrow (Sunday) in Greenwood to pick her up. I know she is having a great time, but I can't wait to hug and kiss my little stinker!

Baby, I'm a Star!

Here is Kamdyn wearing a pair of the star sunglasses that were in the goody bags that I made for my class for Open House. She is also wearing the gown that Nanny bought for her! It has stars all over it, too. Kamdyn loves trying to put the sunglasses on herself and then she tries to put them on us. The last picture is a HORRIBLE picture of me (I had just woke up), but she got the camera from me and wanted to take my picture like I was taking hers. I showed her what button to push and this is what we got!

Shoes

Kamdyn is notorious these days for trying to put on either my or Richard's shoes. When she does get them on, which is rare, she tries to walk around with them on. This, of course, doesn't work too well. It brings her to tears and a fit because she wants to wear our shoes. What a mess she is!!!

Back to Reality

Boy, was I hit smack in the face with reality today. Yes, I had to join the rest of the world again and go back to work!! I have a new outlook this year and I am going to try REALLY hard not to let work and my "kids" stress me like I normally do. I am also going to try to leave "work" at work instead of bringing it home. That being said, my day started off just as planned - CALM. Kamdyn and I got out the door on time as planned and we were not rushed in the least. We are on the way to Georgia's and I am talking to Kamdyn just as if she is a grown-up. I'm telling her that "Mommy has to go back to school again. You won't be staying with Mommy all day anymore. You will be staying with Mrs. Georgia. Mommy will be back to pick you up and I will miss you so much!" I am tearing up just telling Kamdyn all of this and my little 16 month old looks at me in the rear view mirror and says "And, no 'tying'" (Remember, she can't make the /k/ sound, so this meant "And, no crying.") I always tell her this when I leave her at Jazzercize, with Daddy, with Nanny and Pop Pop, Grand, etc. I knew she was just finishing what I normally say to her, but today I took it as her way of telling me not to cry or be upset. She was going to be okay and so would I! I started laughing in the car at her and my tears quickly dried. I knew that we would both be okay and all the crying in the world wouldn't change the facts. So, my day is still going quite well at 7:30 when I drop her off. Kamdyn tells me "bye, bye" without a tear and I'm off to work. I am greeted at the door by my custodian telling me "I've got bad news!" I wanted to get right back in my car and drive home before I even hear what he has to say because I knew it was going to be bad! And, it was! He says, " Your air is not working and I don't know when they will be back to fix it!" I, keeping with my new school year motto, take a deep breath and say, "Are we talking days or weeks?" Anyone who knows me know how hot natured I am and this was the hottest day of the year (106 with heat index). He says, "Probably a couple of days." I decide to suck it up, go get my fan, and move on. I didn't get air by the end of the day, but I felt better because I did not have a "fit". I decided to give them some time to fix it. Besides, I can't change anybody else and their actions, I can only change myself and my reactions. I lived (barely) and I will get through it tomorrow if need be. But, I am going to have to work hard at telling myself, just as Kamdyn told me this morning, "no tying" which can also mean whining, fussing, etc., because I'm going to have a good year. There are no other choices!

Nanny and Pop Pop

Nanny and Pop Pop came to visit with Kamdyn today. They decided that there was no way that they could wait until Labor Day to see the little stinker. While Kamdyn enjoyed a fun day with Nanny and Pop Pop, Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy a day at the lake on the boat. This is the first time we have been to "our" lake (Clarks Hill) all summer long. That is unheard of for us during the summer! We had so much fun, but we miss Kamdyn when she's not with us. We find ourselves talking about her a lot when she's not around. We can't wait until we can take Kamdyn out on the boat when she will actually enjoy the boat and water activities. Thanks Nanny and Pop Pop for giving us some much needed Mommy and Daddy time ALONE! It doesn't happen.......well, EVER!!!

As for Kamdyn, we came home to her eating ice cream. They took her to the park AND she didn't have to take her afternoon nap. Nanny says she left her in the crib for 30 minutes talking (not crying) to herself, but she would never go to sleep. So what else would Nanny do except go in and get her out? Nanny left out the part about letting Kamdyn have a book in her crib. Of course she's not going to sleep with a book in her bed. Books are her favorite!!! I'd say Kamdyn had a great day. Kamdyn was in charge and got to do exactly what she wanted to do! She loves Nanny and Pop Pop. There is no doubt about that.

Thanks also, Nanny, for Kamdyn's new books and all of the new Fall clothes and PJ's. The clothes are much needed since our munchkin is growing so quickly!!!

Crawling

Are you kidding me??? Kamdyn skipped right over this milestone and has decided to come back to it. Today, I'm sitting on the couch and Kamdyn is playing. I look up and she is crawling back and forth across the floor. I say, "Kamdyn are you crawling?" She looks up at me with the biggest smile and says "tall?" She doesn't have blends yet (cr) nor does she have the /k/ sound. She substitutes a /t/ sound for /k/. It took me only seconds to figure out that "tall" meant crawl and oh how excited she was that she could alternate her hands and legs to successfully make it all the way across the floor! Before, she would drag one leg and attempt to walk with the other in a desperate attempt to crawl! Richard comes home and she has to show off all that she has done for the day including "talling." Here she is "talling" and this time she's got the "side tall" going on!! She didn't seem this excited when she learned to walk. It will be our luck that she will now want to crawl everywhere instead of walk! How funny!

She shows you her "bo-bo" (bellybutton) and tries to tell you it's her "bo-bo", but I interrupt her. Then, at the end she is saying "tall, tall, tall." Then, my camera battery went dead AS USUAL!!!!

First Drawing

Kamdyn has made a couple of scribbles on cards to people and we have stamped her handprint on cards to people, but this is her first "real" drawing! She did pretty well. She seems to really like purple. She can even pick out purple and say "purple." We won't be seeing her work in art galleries quiet yet, but she's on her way! :) I tried to get her to let me hold her hand while we wrote her name, we got to "K" and that is all she would have of that! I had to do the rest. She wanted to color by herself!

Our Silly Monkey

Kamdyn has a new face and I was able to capture a picture of it today. Sometimes instead of "uh oh" we get this face! It cracks me up and is so very cute!!!

Chocolate Milk

Well, well, well......I've finally found a solution. Kamdyn WILL NOT drink regular whole milk! Since she stopped taking her bottle, I have had a time getting her to drink milk. I practically have to force her to drink it every morning and every night as part of our routine. She is supposed to have 16-24 oz. a day. She has barely been getting 10oz. and that's on a good day! I know that she drinks chocolate milk at Georgia's, but I've even had a problem with her drinking that here. Today, however, I put a dollop of chocolate in her milk and she has already drank two entire sippy cups full without my forcing it down her!!! Yippee!!! Richard isn't too keen on putting something in her milk, but I don't know what else to do. I figure a drop of sugar free chocolate syrup won't hurt her.............will it???