Kacie is 4 Months Old!

Well, my little princess is 4 months old. I cannot even begin to express how fast it has gone by. Here are some new things about Kacie this month:

• Started taking NAPS! Yea! 
• She likes to hold something when she is falling asleep. I started with her little teddy bear blanket, then burp cloths, but they always end up covering her face. One day I gave her one of her baby washcloths and it was perfect! As soon as I lay her down in her crib, I hand it to her. She grabs it, sucks on it, and rubs it on her face. Then after a few minutes, she rolls over and goes to sleep. When I see she's asleep on the monitor, I go in and move it, just in case. 
• She still loves to suck on her fingers and stick out her tongue. 
• She smiles all the time...at home. When we are around "strangers," it takes awhile for her to warm up. She doesn't cry, she just looks very serious and looks all around.
• She has learned to reach out and grab things. It's so funny to watch, because she gets a serious look on her face and slowly reaches her hands out until she touches whatever the object is. 
• She also loves to grab/touch our faces. I put my face close to hers and she reaches out and puts a hand on each cheek and just grins!
• She usually goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes up anywhere from 5-9. That's why our mornings are still a little crazy, because I never know when she'll wake up. I think when school starts, it will be more regular.
• The only time she cries is if she's overtired if we're out somewhere, or for 5-10 minutes sometimes at the beginning of naps/bedtime. Overall, she's still a very happy girl!
• She is talking and jabbering up a storm. She has so many different tones and sounds, and it is definitely entertaining to listen and watch. 

Here are the pics from our monthly "photo shoot." The first one is good, and the rest show our little wiggle worm trying to get away!

We had to go this morning for her 4 month check up and shots. She now weighs 14 lbs, 9 oz, and is 24 inches long. She cried with the shots, but then fell asleep in the car on the way home. In fact, she was asleep before we even left the parking garage! This is her in her carseat when we got home. We didn't want to wake her!

Then here she is later, after lunch and longer nap.

We love you Kacie! Can't wait to see what you'll do next month!

10 Years in Texas

This week Jason and his friends, Kevin & Allison, have been official Texans for 10 years! The three of them moved out here together from California  in 2001, and I am definitely glad God brought my hubby here. We went over to the McNeelys' house for a hamburger cookout, and just got to hang out and visit.  Kevin, Allison, and Jason were joking that this is not how they ever thought they'd be celebrating their 10 years in Texas-eating hamburgers and watching Macey & Xander entertain us in the living room. Oh how times have changed!

Macey & Xander were carrying their dolls (Baby and José!) around on beaded necklaces. 

Me with all the kiddos (Macey wanted to sit on her bean bag chair)

Kacie with Uncle Kevin & Auntie Allison

The three Texans! Happy 10 years!

17 Weeks & Nap Udate

On Monday, I had lunch with 2 of my favorite teachers of all time. Mrs. Terri Dirik (6th grade social studies) and Mrs. Lori McGill (7th & 8th grade Spanish). I really loved them and their classes, and I babysat their kids all through middle school and high school. We reconnected through Facebook. I didn't get a picture of Kacie at the restaurant, but this is what she wore!

Here are more pictures from the same day, once we were back home.

Wednesday, we went to visit my friend Gail. Gail was a friend from high school, but we really got close in college in San Marcos. She was an "honorary bridesmaid" in our wedding, because she had a baby 3 days before and obviously couldn't be there. She now has 3 kids-Luke (6), Loran (3), and Levi (2). We had a good visit and Kacie loved watching the big kids run around the living room. But...no pictures, except this one when we were getting ready to go.

Here are some where we were just being funny one morning. We are training her early! haha!

And because I LOVE it when she "talks," here are 2 videos of her just jabbering away to herself. This is my favorite sound in the whole world.
(I'm SUCH a first time mom, aren't I?!)

 

This one is upside down. I don't know how to fix it, and it's not upside down in my phone. 

Now for the nap update: For the most part, things are going SO well! Usually, Kacie takes 3 naps a day. Sometimes they're 2 hours, sometimes 45 min, but we're working on that. Most of the time she just talks to herself for a few minutes and rolls over on her side, and goes to sleep. We've had a few rough days where she just threw a fit at every nap, but most days are pretty easy. Bedtime is around 8:30, and for the most part, she goes down pretty easily as well. Her morning wake times are different almost every day, and that's why it's hard to have a schedule with consistent times. Basically, if she wakes up before 7:00, she eats and goes back to sleep until about 9:30. If she wakes up after 7:00, she eats, but then I keep her up to begin the "eat, awake, sleep" cycle. That puts her first nap around 9:00. But I'm very happy about the progress! Yea! Our little pumpkin will be 4 months on Sunday. So until then...

16 Weeks

The week in pictures:

Tummy Time

Now that she can roll, it's almost always "tummy time." She doesn't stay on her back for long!

One night, she kept grabbing the blanket and rolling over. It is a really soft blanket, and I think she liked how it felt being wrapped up!

 

Just a picture we sent to Jason one day.

One of my favorite outfits! Unfortunately, the legs don't have elastic in them, and were waaaaay too tight on her little (big) legs. I wish I knew how to sew, because I would turn it into a dress. I guess she won't be wearing this one again.

A new outfit that I bought (splurged on) from etsy. She wore this to church, and for the first time, she DID NOT cry at all in the nursery!! Yea Kacie!! (You might notice I switched bows between photos. I decided the big one looked better).

Other big news for this week: Kacie started sleeping without the swaddle. She had recently begun "breaking free" of her swaddle, and even though she slept better with it, we didn't want to spend money on a bigger size. Some nights she sleeps in a sleep sack, and other nights she has little footie pajamas. It's going really well! I thought her arms would wake her up, but that's not the problem. The problem is, now that she can roll, she rolls over and gets stuck. Sometimes she falls asleep on her side and she's fine, but other times, she gets mad and starts screaming, so we go roll her back over.

Two Anniversaries!

This week, we had 2 special anniversaries at the Wichert house. First, Jason & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on July 12. My mom came over to watch Kacie, and we went to Olive Garden and Yogurt Land. Nothing too exciting, but definitely nice to get away for a few hours. It didn't take as long as we thought, so when we got home, my mom said, "Go away!" because she wanted more time with Kacie!

Here is our little family!

The other "anniversary" was July 15. That was the day, one year ago, that we found out I was pregnant! It's so surreal to realize that it's been a year already! Can't wait to celebrate many more special days as a family.

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Roller!!

Saturday night, Kacie rolled over from her front to her back. I wasn't home, because I was at my friend Kelly's wedding.  Luckily, Jason got it on camera. This video is actually the next day. I can't figure out how to turn it around, sorry!

15 Weeks

Lots going on around here! Here are some of the happenings from this week! Tuesday, my friend Michelle visited with her 2 sons, Corey & Carter. Michelle was my BFF from high school and my college roommate. We went to the playground in my neighborhood and got to chat for a little while. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture! Then on Wednesday, I had lunch with my friends Amy & Autumn, and Autumn's daughter Lux, who is 1 month older than Kacie.  The 3 of us used to work at ASI together. Again, I forgot to take a picture. Ugh! Here are some pictures I DID take this week!

A sweet father/daughter moment-Jason was making faces and Kacie was just cracking up! (Not sure why she doesn't have clothes on. Must have been before or after a bath!)

Yet another tongue picture

Some cute outfits!

Lovin' on her teddy bear

Here she is turning around in a circle on her play mat. She originally started with her feet on the pink flower in the back, and managed to scoot around until her face was under the toys. She tries so hard to roll over, but ends up scooting around instead!

That's all for this week!

Happy 4th of July!

We went to Leanne's parents' house yesterday for our annual 4th of July party with the Owens, McKinneys, and the Tylers. Here is Kacie's party dress. We actually bought this before she was born specifically for this party!

Here are all the mommies & babies by Jeff's tree. Jeff is Leanne's brother, and he passed away a few years ago. Her parents planted this tree in the back yard in his honor, and every year at the 4th of July party we take a picture of all the kids in front of it. We doubled the amount of kids from 3 to 6 this year!

Leanne with Nathan (2 mo) & Carter (2 yrs)

Heather with Grayson (3 mo) & Tyler (almost 2 yrs)

Seana & Kacie (3 mo)

Danielle & Jake (2 yrs)

Then we all changed and went swimming. This was Kacie's 2nd time swimming, and she really likes it, although you wouldn't know it by her face in these pictures!

I tried to get her to take a nap, but she threw a huge screaming fit, so I finally gave up and brought her outside with the grown-ups and the big kids while we were eating. She just sat and played in her bouncy seat.

Finally she fell asleep after a long day!

Cuddle time with Daddy before going home

We had a great time at the party and can't wait until next year when Grayson, Nathan, and Kacie will be running around with the big boys!! And who knows if there will be any new little ones in front of the tree....??!!