8 Months.

At 8 Months Kennadi is...

-wearing 6 month and some 9 month clothes along with size 3 diapers

-has learned how to pull herself up on things as well as how to open cupboards. This results in her getting into anything and everything plus a trail of huge messes.

-loves, loves, loves bathes. I know I say this about every month but it is definitely the highlight of this little gal's day. Some days she will just cry and beg until i cave and put her in the tub for the second or third time that day. What ever makes her happy!

-has a love/hate relationship with animals especially Aunt Lorie's puppy Baxter. 

-has absolutely no stranger anxiety which has been nice especially now that she frequently goes and plays with Aunt Aubrey while I work. I have been told she is a little afraid of Uncle Trey in the morning. I don't think it is Trey's fault though. She just is not a morning person.

-loves food and is starting to eat more table food. Hands down, her absolute favorite food is yogurt bites. I am convinced she would eat the whole bag in one sitting if I would let her. 

-still no teeth. I don't think these things will ever come in. They have been bugging her for months now. 

7 Months.

At 7 Months Kennadi is...

-weighing in at 16 lbs 14 oz.

-26 ½ inches long

-wearing 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers. I am glad the weather is finally warming up because her little chubby legs look so cute in shorts.

-crawling all over the place. I was really hoping she wouldn’t start crawling until I was finished with school because now I can’t just sit her down while I try to get things done. I have to constantly watch her or she will find trouble.

-starting to pull herself up on the table, chairs, and her bed.

-said her first word which was “UP.” I was hoping it would be “mama” but what can ya do?

-still has no teeth. She is constantly drooling and gnawing on something but those stubborn teeth just won’t poke through.

-loves eating her vegetables but not a fan of the fruit. She absolutely hates peaches or anything sweet. This mama wishes that was her problem. I just can’t get enough of the sweets!

-so social. She has to be in the center of attention or she gets upset.

-is such a happy baby. She loves to laugh and hardly ever whines. I love it when she looks at me with her big blue eyes, chubby cheeks, and toothless grin.

Easton Richard Erickson.

Meet my new, adorable nephew 

Easton Richard Erickson.

 Isn’t he precious? This handsome guy was born on February 20^th weighing 8 lbs 2 oz. Not too bad for being a couple of weeks early. Easton unfortunately had to spend a couple of days in the NICU because he was fighting an infection. I was one of the lucky few who were put on “the list” which meant I got to go see him in the NICU.  When I first saw Easton, I was instantly drawn to his chubby cheeks. His cheeks were massive and so kissable. They sure gave Kennadi’s cheeks a run for the money.

 Kennadi just loves her new cousin. She just stares at him whenever she is around him. When he cries, she gets such a concerned look on her face. She just looks around and tries to find someone to help him out. I have a feeling that in a couple of years these two will be inseparable and best buds. They will be trouble makers and partners-in-crime. I can see Kennadi begging Easton to set her up on dates with his hot friends. I would love for Kennadi and Easton to have a close relationship like Markel and I have.

Now can we do a little bit of ‘honesty hour’ for a bit? My sister, Courtnie, had a hard time getting pregnant. As a result of this a lot of people have been calling Easton a miracle baby, which I completely agree with.  Because of the trial Courtnie was experiencing I felt extremely guilty once I found out I was pregnant with Kennadi. I had absolutely no problem getting pregnant. I was worried that my pregnancy would ruin mine and Courtnie's relationship. As silly as this sounds I was too terrified to tell Courtnie that I was expecting that I had to mail an announcement to her to spill the news. Once I found out Courtnie was pregnant too I was soo excited. Maybe ‘soo excited’ is even an understatement. I was thrilled that Courtnie was finally able to have the family she dreamed of. For selfish reasons I was also excited for myself. I felt like Courtnie could finally be excited for me plus I was anxious to have someone so close to me experience motherhood at the same time I was. It is always nice to know you aren’t experiencing new, challenging things alone.

Anyway, back to Easton... I am so glad this little guy joined our family. It is nice to have another boy around, they were a bit out-numbered! I am glad that Kennadi will have a cousin who is so close in age. I am also glad I have a little nephew to spoil, because lets be honest, we all know I am going to be the favorite aunt! 

Meeting Easton for the first time in the NICU 

Kennadi's first time meeting Easton

Kennadi loves playing with Easton.

Pizza & Bowling.

One weekend we went on a lovely double date with Aubrey and Trey. We did the typical date of pizza and bowling. We started the night off at The Pizza Factory. Their breadsticks are too die for! Seriously, go try them out if you have not. We then ventured out to the bowling alley. I am not a bowler but I sure had fun trying. Kennadi also had fun tagging along and I am pretty sure it is simply because she was able to get out of the house. She is usually cooped up because this momma has been a bit paranoid about RSV season. I can’t wait for summer for that one reason. Bring on the sunshine and the end to the cold/RSV season!

Even Kennadi likes Pizza Factory Breadsticks

My two loves.

My hot husband bowling.
Sorry for the blurry Iphone pic, it was all i had.
Maybe a nice, new, fancy camera is in order. (*Aust--hint, hint*)

6 Months.

At 6 months Kennadi is...

-wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothes

-wearing size 2 diapers. We finally found a type of diaper that doesn’t cause excessive diaper blow-outs. Thank goodness. I was really getting tired of changing blow-outs at least once a day.

-can hold her bottle all by herself! She is becoming more and more independent which I am not complaining about.

-is eating some baby oatmeal and pureed vegetables. She loves this so much more than formula but is one messy eater.

-obsessed with taking baths. She is not afraid of the water and will splash and kick till her hearts content. She loves getting her (and me) soaked. I am convinced she poops or pees everywhere just so she can take another bath.

-sleeping for a solid 11-12 hours each night. She is really good about taking a morning and afternoon nap too. She sleeps just like her momma.

-is rolling all over like a maniac.She is getting really close to crawling too. She can get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth. She just hasn’t quite learned the concept of moving forward. It is only a matter of time.

-is such a cheeseball. As soon as she sees a camera she will pose and just cheese it.

-loves to take her pacifier sideways. If we put it in the right way she will pop it out and put it in the wrong way. I have no idea where she learned that trick.

-can sit up all by herself.

First Jazz Game.

I had February 27^th marked on my calendar since the release of the NBA schedule last summer. This was the game the Atlanta Hawks and Kyle Korver were going to make their only debut in Utah. If you know me, you know I love the Jazz and I love Korver. This was a game I could not miss. As the date was approaching I soon realized this game was on the same night I have night class. Sometimes I hate school and being responsible. I had pretty much given up any hope of me ever going to this Jazz Game when I received a nice little Facebook message the day of from my Uncle Shawn. He had free tickets to the game. Free! How could I turn this down? It didn’t help that Markel called me and persuaded us to go with her. After all, this was going to be her last Jazz game for 18 months. So I quickly made an executive decision and decided to be rebellious and skip class (something I rarely do). I called Austin and told him I was throwing responsible out the window and we were going to the Jazz game! I was feeling invigorated.

We opted to take Kennadi to the game that night. Her very first Jazz Game! I need to teach her while she is young who the best team in the NBA is. After all nothing would break my heart more than having her grow up to be a LA Lakers fan. Overall, Kennadi wasn’t a huge fan of the game. She hated when people clapped and got excited. She would pucker up and cry until everyone calmed down. She also wasn’t a huge fan of the Jazz Bear as you can see from the picture below. She did love all the people, the bright lights, and the jumbotron though.

The Jazz ended up losing that night but it was definitely worth skipping class for. It was fun being at the game with my family. I don’t think we will take Kennadi to another game until she is a bit older. Austin and I tend to have a bit more fun without worrying and trying to entertain the babe. 

Weekend Getaway.

Austin’s family invited us to go to the Clark Planetarium with them one weekend. We of course had to say yes. It has been ages since we have been to the planetarium and it felt like it had been ages since we had seen Austin's family. Once we got there we started out with an IMAX movie. I was a bit nervous that Kennadi wouldn’t sit quietly through it but she surprised me and did really well with the help of some 3D Glasses and drink straws. After the movie and looking at some of the exhibits, we ended our adventure with a trip to Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Immediately after our Planetarium excursion, we headed down to sunny St. George. My cousin KC came home from his mission so we wanted to attend his homecoming. Plus my grandparents from Arizona were going to be there and Austin’s grandparents live in St. George. Kennadi doesn’t really know either one of them so we thought this would be a good opportunity as well. We spent Saturday at Grandpa & Grandma Gale’s house. Kennadi just loved them. She loved all of the attention. Sunday was spent at KC’s homecoming, which he did a fantastic job at. We then went to a little luncheon where I was able to catch up with my cousin Sharla. I haven’t seen her in ages. I wish she lived a little closer so we could get together more often.

Kennadi was a good sport throughout the trip. She is a little social bug. She loved the attention and meeting all the new people. On the trip down to St. George she slept the whole way. By the time we were driving home though, she had had enough. Thank goodness Darci came on the trip with us so she could occupy and distract Kennadi in the car. She was a lifesaver! Thanks Darci. We love you.