Playdate with the Besties!!

This week Kacie and I got together with my 2 best friends (Danielle & Misty) and their kids. Misty was in town and we hadn't seen each other since Kacie & Sarah Beth were a few months old. It was so fun getting to catch up and see the 5 kiddos together.

 Auntie Misty & Kacie

 Kacie & Hannah

 Sarah Beth & Auntie Seana

 Sarah Beth & Auntie Danielle

 Rock Star Jake!

 Silly Hannah

 Sweet Hayley

 Me with Kacie & Sarah Beth (The girls are 2 days apart)

 The best attempt of all 8 of us!

 Big girls sitting at the table

 The other big kids

Grandma Sharon's Visit

Grandma Sharon (Jason's mom) stayed with us an extra week after Kacie's birthday party. She kept Kacie while I was at school, so Kacie really got to spend time with her and get to know her. By the end of the week Sharon was getting just as many hugs and kisses as Jason and me. One day Sharon and my mom took Kacie to the Arboretum. Here are the cute pictures from that day.

I love how Kacie is looking at Sharon in this pic

 Snack time

 Grandma Bonnie

 Unfortunately, these are the only pictures we got with Grandma Sharon besides at Kacie's birthday party. We are so glad she was able to spend a week with us!!

One Year Stats & Fun Times

Grandma Sharon and I took Kacie to her one year doctor appointment this week.  Here she is before we left.

 Playing in the room while waiting for the doctor

 Everything was great! She weighs 23 pounds, 13 ounces, and is 30 inches long. She got 4 shots, so that wasn't fun, but she was a trooper and didn't cry very long. She was asleep before we even got out of the parking lot! I always have to fill out a developmental/milestone checklist for each appointment. The only thing on this month's survey that got a "no" was walking. She is standing more and more, so I think steps will come any day now!

Here are more pictures of my baby in her first week as a one year old!

 Her "ball pit"

 Riding her horsey

 Outside with Mommy & Daddy

 She loves moving the beads around

 New car that plays music

 LOVE this one!

 Kicking her feet up

 Enjoying her new swing

12 Months

Here is the "official" 12 month/one year post. I cannot believe how much my life has changed over the past year. I know everyone says that, but when I go back and look at that little bitty baby in my arms last March, it's just so surreal. As I mentioned in a previous post, Kacie wanted NOTHING to do with taking her 12 month pictures. She would not sit still, kept pulling off her bow, was trying to crawl off the chair, and would not smile. Sigh. I guess this one is considered the "best" one, although I was disappointed we didn't get a smile.

I got this cute picture a little later as she was enjoying her new birthday chair.

Here are some things about Kacie this month:

• She still gives lots of hugs & kisses to everyone and everything (including her dolls and animals)
• Her laugh just makes my heart melt.
• She loves to tickle her dolls, stuffed animals, toys, us, and people in books. She tickles with her little fingers and says "tickle tickle." (It sounds like "ta-kul")
• She has been eating fruit and bits of food from our plates, but also stage 3 baby food.
• She can stand by herself for a few seconds when we let go of her hands, but no steps yet.
• I stopped pumping during Spring Break, and the past few weeks she only nurses for a few minutes before bedtime. She will be completely weaned in the next week or so. It's kind of bittersweet for me! I'm SO ready to be done, but it was also SO easy once I got past the first few months.
• She has been blowing kisses.
• She says "Hi Doggy" when she looks at Earl through the window. (Although it sounds like "Aaaaaahh Didi")
• She has started pointing to herself when we say, "Where's Kacie?"
• She babbles ALL the time. I love to listen to her.
• She also repeats everything, and we can actually understand what she's saying. If you just heard the sounds out of context, it would just be babble, but because she's repeating it after we say it, we know what she's trying to say. Some examples: love you, thank you, night night.
• She understands and remembers so many things. She is able to point to the many of the correct animals/people/objects when we're looking at books or pictures.
• She started saying "no no" when she's near something she's not supposed to touch. Example: She'll crawl up to the tv and point to it and look at Jason or me and say, "no no."
• She's still hesitant and a little shy around new people. It takes her a while to warm up most of the time. She cries when we hand her over to the church nursery, but she's fine when we come to get her.
• She loves music, dancing, and clapping. If she hears music of any kind (radio, tv, computer, a toy) she squeals and starts "dancing." She also starts clapping when she hears clapping on tv. Here she is dancing to the music of her new car.

• She does the signs for more, eat, milk, and all done.
• She has started doing a kind of fake whine, but we just ignore it or try to distract her, and she stops.
• She still is VERY content entertaining herself.
•  It's so easy to take her to the store or go out to eat, because we don't have to worry about how she'll behave. I know the 2 & 3 year old tantrums are right around the corner, but for now we're thankful for her easy-going personality.
• She is learning where things go. For example, she holds up her foot and tries to put her shoes on. She picks up a bow and tries to set it on her head. She picks up our phones and holds them to her ears. She tries to put Jason's hats on her head. She brushes her hair. She takes our forehead thermometer and puts it on her face. I know those are small things, but it just shows how much she's soaking up and learning.
• This girl LOVES books. She hands them to me and then crawls in my lap. I love it!
• She also loves to go outside, especially when it's windy. When the wind blows in her face, she squeals and kicks her legs. We go out to get the mail every day and she always has to hold something on the way back up the driveway.

That's all I can think of for now. Seriously, I could talk about how sweet and smart she is all day! We just fall more in love with our little Kacie every day. She really brings so much joy to our lives. She is such a blessing to us, and she is such a blessed little girl to have so many people who love her. I can't wait to see what this next year will bring. Happy birthday sweet girl! We love you so much!

Here are a few of the attempts for the 12 month picture...

Kacie's Birthday Party

Ok-this will be a long one! For Kacie's birthday, I did not want to do a big extravagant party. We had all 4 grandparents and some close friends over for cupcakes and snacks, and it was just the right size. I am not at ALL a party planner/hostess type person, so I was a little bit nervous about getting everything ready. I was also a little nervous because 5 of Kacie's friends are 3 year boys , and I didn't know what I could do to keep them entertained. Well, of course all of the worrying was completely unnecessary. Apparently the boys thought Kacie's baby toys were the most fun things ever!  Below are some of the millions of pictures of Kacie's special day!

Drinks-water, DP, Sprite, punch, and juice

 Goodie Bags

 Food Table-fruit, veggies, pretzels, goldfish, chips & salsa, cupcakes

 All of Kacie's monthly pictures

 Cute birthday hat & bib

My Cutie Pie in her tutu (made by Grandma Sharon)

 There she goes...

Her cute bloomers

Getting sleepy,,,,the party started at 3 and her nap would have been about that time

Family & Friends-Grandma Bonnie

 Grayson & Nathan

 Addison giving Kacie a hug when she got there

 Jake & Kacie

 Addison, Dawson, Carter, & Tyler

 A glimpse of the craziness in the living room as the kids were getting out Kacie's toys

 Grandma Sharon & Grandma Bonnie

 Macey & Xander

 Auntie Danielle

 Macey & Kacie

Cake Time!!

Not sure at first

 YUM!!!

Presents (just a few of my faves)

Great Grandma Bobbie

 

 Our Little Family

 The Whole Family

 The Attwoods

 The Wicherts

 Cute moment at the end of the party-Macey was pushing Kacie on her swing

That was the big day! Everything turned out just fine. I know Kacie won't remember this day, but it was still a fun time with family and friends to celebrate this precious little gift God has given us! (If you read all the way through, thanks for bearing with me!!!)