9 Months.

At 9 Months Kennadi is…

-in 6 month and some 9 month clothes and still rocking the size 3 diapers.

-walking alongside furniture and if we hold her hands. She will stand by herself for a couple of seconds but once she realizes what she is doing she quickly falls down.

-absolutely hates grass. She refuses to touch it and if I sit her down on it she quickly tenses up and freezes like a statue.

-has mastered the waving hello/goodbye.

-always begging to eat more table food but she is still toothless so I have been pretty reluctant. Maybe once those darn teeth come in we can be a little more adventurous in the food category.

-can give high fives and constantly claps.

-loves getting her back rubbed and sometimes that is the only way she will go to sleep.

-has this strange obsession with the bathroom. She absolutely loves being in there and if the door is shut she will knock on the door until someone will open it. She also believes that whenever the tub is turned on it means that it is her turn for a bath. I have caught her crawling into the bathroom with her towel in hand multiple times.

-survived her first ear infection! I am confident it was tougher on me than it was on her.

Madison's Homecoming.

My sister, Madison, has been living in Florida and doing an internship at Disney World for the past semester. When it was finally time for her to come home we thought it would be fun to all greet her at the airport and embarrass her. I think we accomplished our task. I am pretty sure Madison could care less if I was at the airport though, all she really cared about was the babies. This was the first time Madison got to meet Easton and Kennadi sure grew up a lot while she was gone. Kennadi was so excited to finally get to play with Madison again. It did not take long for Kennadi to warm up to her. Maybe all those FaceTiming sessions paid off! 

We look like an embarrassing crew, right?

Kennadi couldn't wait to see Auntie Madison.

I think she missed the babies the most.

Memorial Day Weekend.

If there is one thing you should know about Austin it is that he gets cabin fever fast. He is not the type of guy that can just sit on the couch and enjoy watching TV. That lasts about an hour before he gets super bored and starts rummaging the cupboards or golfing inside the house. As Memorial Day Weekend rolled around we realized we had no plans whatsoever. This was not going to fly because I knew Austin would lose his mind. Because of this we decided to plan a last minute trip to Tremonton. We got up there Friday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. During our stay, we were greeted by this awesome sign my sister-in-law made. My sister-in-law is so crafty she also made this crown for Kennadi. Isn’t it adorable?

While we were there we took Kennadi to Pizza Plus for her very first time. For those that don’t know this is where mine and Austin’s love story started (A pizza place, it doesn’t get more romantic then that!). We wanted to go show Kennadi off to all our old co-workers plus I was in some serious need for some of their famous breadsticks. Kennadi was as cute as a button (as usual) and mastered drinking out of a straw while we were there too. Sometimes I am amazed at how quick she can master new skills.

For Memorial Day we were back in Provo and decided to take Kennadi to Seven Peaks. This little munchkin loves taking a bath so we wanted to see if she would love swimming. To no surprise she was like a fish. She would just squeal and splash and kick around. I think her favorite part of the park was the lazy river. She would point to the waterfalls and beg to go underneath them. I have a feeling we will be going back often. Thank goodness for the Pass of all Passes!

Graduation.

I am done! I am finally done! I am an official university graduate.

On April 26^th I graduated Cum Laude from Utah Valley University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. On Graduation Day, I opted to forgo the commencement ceremony and just do convocation. I figured the most memorable part of the day is the actually walking across the stage part plus I didn’t want to make my family suffer through two graduation ceremonies. Scratch that, I didn’t want to have to suffer through two graduation ceremonies. I have been blessed with an amazing support system to help me get through this crazy college experience. It was nice to have such a low key day and spend it with those that have helped me reach this goal. My low key day mainly consisted of stuffing our faces at Chuck-A-Rama and then sitting on our couches, stuffing our faces again with ice cream, and just visiting.

I have absolutely loved my experience at UVU. I only have positive things to say about that fine place. I have created memories that will last a lifetime. I have developed relationships that I will cherish forever. I have had opportunities and experiences that I know I would not have had anywhere else. One of my favorite, most life-changing experiences would have to be my internship. I know I have mentioned this before on my blog, but I was able to intern with the Presidential Cabinet at UVU. One of the Vice-Presidents mentored me specifically and gave invaluable career and life advice. I learned more in my weekly mentor sessions then I did in some classes and those sessions helped me set a path for my future. Because of my internship experience I can't help but look at those students who were unable or unwilling to do extra curricular experiences while in college and feel bad for them. They miss out on such! 

So now you may be asking the question, what is my future exactly? What’s next? Well, I am planning on attending graduate school in a year or two. I have been specifically looking at the University of Utah’s joint Masters in Public Administration and PhD. in Educational Leadership. As for the more recent future, I am now working at UVU. In order to get into the graduate program I want I need some sort of work experience plus I just love UVU I just couldn't get away. It is a win-win situation.

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.