Life with a one year old!

It is surprising how fast moments, hours, days, and weeks go by. We are thoroughly enjoying all of our little moments with each other! Recently, we experienced snow in Alabama, Kaileigh's 2nd Valentines Day, rollerblading for the first time, and my 25th birthday! However, perhaps the most exciting news is that our work schedules have FINALLY changed! I am now working again at home so I can be with Kaileigh more, and Nik is working a better shift as well. His sleep schedule will finally return to normal! It may not seem to be that big of a deal, but for us... well all we can say is, "AHHHH!"

A couple of weeks ago, we got snow! Thats right! In Mobile, AL, it SNOWED!! YAY!!! Okay, so it only snowed less than a 1/4 inch... but it was still awesome! As you all know, I love my snow. Mobile county completely shut down that day. My work and all of the schools closed.... the day before! Haha... oh my, it was quite entertaining listening to all the people I work with freaking out about the prospect of driving in 1/4 inch of snow!! HAHA We spent my day off playing in the snow. Kaileigh was quite entertained while trying to catch the snowflakes. As soon as the snow started, we headed outside; along with everyone else in our ENTIRE neighborhood. This was the first snow in over 8 years - so it was a big deal! I guess God heard my prayers and gave me snow even though I am well south of the Mason Dixon Line!! Thanks!!

We enjoyed a wonderful Valentines Day! Not that we did much, but we spent it together and thats what is important. Kaileigh wore her "My <3>

I had a very nice birthday! Thank you everyone for the wonderful cards and gifts you sent me! It was, yet again, a very quiet day; but just the kind of day I LOVE after a long week! What leaves me just a bit AMAZED is, where did this past year go?? Last year at this time, I was learning how to be a mom - well okay, I am definitely still learning... but it all went by so fast. It was a great year, thank you to all that made it special for me; especially Nik, my best friend & husband and Kaileigh, my miracle!

Nik and I have recently taken up a hobby: rollerblading! I am still learning, but haven't fallen yet! Kaileigh enjoys sitting in the jogging stroller and going really fast! Nik is just as good on blades as he is on feet - so he is proving to be a great teacher for me! We are having a lot of fun excercizing as a family.

And so we finally get to Kaileigh; the really reason why y'all are checking in! lol Our little lady is as spunky as ever! She is running around the house, yard, store, and anywhere else we put her down. I now realize the reality of the possibility of loosing a child in a store! She is a very strong willed little girl. If she wants to be carried, you MUST carry her. But more commonly, it is the screaming to be put down. Within the past two weeks, Kaileigh has learned to voice her disapproval with our actions! She has truly developed her own little sense of humor. She thinks bellys, more specifically, bellybuttons are HILARIOUS! She will look for yours (future warning) as well as show you hers! She knows where her nose, eyes, ears, and mouth are as well. She even says "eyes" and rarely "nose". Kaileigh now has 13 teeth, with more on their way. She is an AMAZING sleeper; sleeping 12-13 hours a night with a great nap during the day. We are making plans to enroll her in swimming classes as well as music classes for this summer. We aren't quite sure when those will be. Kaileigh loves spending time with her friends and we are sure to have a very fun summer this year!

Here are some photos from the last few weeks! Enjoy! We all love and miss you dearly!!

She may not look like me, but girlfriend likes her books just like Mama!

Running to catch the rare Alabama snowflakes!

Probably a little confused...

I love this picture!

She looks so big!

Daddy and Kaileigh - having fun right on the kitchen floor!

Continued...

Haha... This is Kaileigh telling me it was a bad idea to let her run around without a diaper on! My bad...

Kaileigh and Madelyne, snuggling on a pillow!

She reminds me of E.T.

BTW... this is how I found her when I got home from work :)

Happy Birthday Kaileigh!!

On January 13, 2010, Kaileigh celebrated her very first birthday! Since it was in the middle of a very very busy week, we only had a small celebration with just Kaileigh, Nik and me. She enjoyed a small cake and opened some really fun presents! However, this past Saturday, we celebrated her birthday with a nice big party. Kaileigh's friend Madelyne celebrated her 2nd birthday on January 4th - so we combined their parties. It was a lot of fun! Four families - equalling 18 people!! Kaileigh really enjoyed herself - she just loves watching all of the kids running around like crazy! Although she does have to keep to the side, because even though she can walk, she gets knocked over often. With pretty princess hats and a beautiful purple and pink cake - the birthday party was a huge success. Kaileigh received so many wonderful presents for her first birthday: a grocery cart, bean bag chair, giant stuffed dog, picnic table, an outfit for st. patrick's day, and gift certificates to go towards her toy box!! Thank you all for the wonderful gifts and consideration on her very special day/week!

I cannot believe Kaileigh is a year old already. It seems like only a minute ago that she was born. We had such a wonderful year. Nik and I have watched her go from following our fingers with her eyes and holding her head up, to learning to crawl then running down the hall! Her personality gets better and better every day. She has a great sense of humor and really knows what she likes and doesn't like. Our little lady has also developed quite a stubborn streak. When things don't go her way - she will LET YOU KNOW! She talks all the time and has even started to dance with us. We are so amazed at the little person she is becoming; and although looking back we do have a twinge of saddness of the little baby she was; we are so happy about the little girl she is now.

Happy Birthday baby girl! You are the light of our lives and we love you so very very much!

Happy Birthday Girls!!

Pretty pretty birthday princess!

All the Kids!!

This picture was taken on 1.13.10

The most beautiful little girl I have ever seen!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Ok, I know I have truly been a slacker these past couple months in the blogging department... however, I promise to get back on track! So much has happened lately and Kaileigh is just amazing us day by day with her ongoing learning and growing. Our trip home was so wonderful, but as always, too short. We wish we could spend a full month home to truly be able to visit with everyone we know and love up there. Thank you so much for making us feel so welcome and loved each and every time we make it home. While we were home, we celebrated Christmas with some members of the family and, of course, Christened Kaileigh. It was a beautiful ceremony. Friends and family drove in from all over New England to share this wonderful moment with our little girl. Nik and I are truly grateful for our mothers especially - they organized and executed a perfect day for us. Another HUGE thank you goes out to Mrs. Pike who hand-made Kaileigh's gown. We really could not have asked for more - in any way!

Since returning home, we had many Christmas preparations to make. We put up our very large tree, lights on the house, and shopped for Kaileigh. Kaileigh made cookies for Santa at "Santa's Workshop" - a local bakery in which Mrs. Claus and elves help little ones decorate cookies to put out for Santa on Christmas Eve. She helps them, talks about the North Pole, and reads them stories. A very cute place. Then, Nik's work had a family Chrismas Party. They had hot dogs and hamburgers, bounce houses, crafts tables, and they even fly Santa in from the North Pole in a Coast Guard helicopter. That day, Kaileigh met Santa - and although she was reluctant, she did let him hold her long enough for a picture.

On Wednesday night, Nik's mom and dad flew in to be with us for Christmas. We are so happy for their visit. On Christmas eve, we put out cookies for Santa and I read "The Night Before Christmas" to Kaileigh, atradition set by my mom :). She went to sleep in her new Christmas jammies and slept soundly. During the night, Santa visited our home and set out all sorts of fantastic presents for us. When we woke up, we started opening presents. Kaileigh was quite meticulous with her unwrapping. She would take off one small piece of wrapping paper, and hand it to me... and on it went. Eventually, Nik and I had to start assisting her... She got so many wonderful gifts!! Some of her/our favorites: Ball Popper, pink and purple buggy, camera, sunglasses, songs and smiles silly town, and of course her very own rocking horse! We still have not been able to play with ALL of her new toys... she is such a fortunate little girl. We also recieved a full library of Baby Einstein movies, books, and CDs - so watch out world... our little genius is on her way! lol On Christmas night, I made (with some turkey handling assistance from my inlaws) a large Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner that truned out wonderfully. We had a beautiful day.

I cannot believe Kaileigh just had her first Christmas! It is just crazy to me to think it has almost been one whole year since she was born. She has changed so much and yet not at all. She still is our little angel who has us wrapped around her little fingers in every way possible. Today, we took her to get her "1 year" pictures. It was a wonderfully entertaining photo shoot... involving her very own birthday cake...

Well... I think that catches us up with what we have missed...

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas - we love and miss you always!

The following pictures are of our Christmas morning... In the following days, we will post some more pictures... so stay tuned!!

Kaileigh and our gigantic tree!

Putting cookies out for Santa...

ps. I made that plate! Go Me!

The ball popper - possibly the most amusing toy ever!

Finally got this wrapping paper thing down.

The ultimate toy... Kaileigh's very own car - with matching sun glasses!

She is too cool for school!!!

And yes, on Christmas day, we were able to go out for a walk... I suppose Alabama is good for something!!!

Kaileigh the "Clepto"!

Hey everyone! It has been a while since our last post, but only because our lives are running very crazy right now! We are all really looking forward to our trip home in a week and a half. Since our last post, Kaileigh seems to have grown so much. She is trying to walk (although she can't stand on her own yet!), is obsessed with pickles, and has recently learned to steal toys while grocery shopping at walmart!!! Yes, while talking to Auntie Chera on the phone, I missed the fact that Kaileigh had taken a Minnie Mouse Pez Dispenser off the shelf and was chewing it while I was cashing out. OOooppss!! She has also started to sign. Since she was 4 months old, we have been practicing baby sign language with her - she understands them all, but can sign back "snack" and "all done" so far. We are so proud! She also waves "hi" and understands when we ask "Where's Mommy" or "Where's Daddy?" Kaileigh also knows what "bathtime" is and will crawl and shriek with joy towards the bathroom when we start the water. We are so excited for you all to see her again as she has changed so much. She has begun to be a little shy around crowds - but not to worry - she gets comfortable very fast! Unfortunatly, I don't have any pictures to share with you right now, our camera is in the bedroom that Nik is asleep in , and since he doesn't get much sleep these days, I won't disturb him. I will post some pictures on Thanksgiving. We love you all and look forward to seeing you VERY SOON!!

Kaileigh's 1st Halloween!

Today, Kaileigh celebrated her very first Halloween. She dressed as the cutest little lady bug in the world. First, we went to Miss Lola's house for a party. Nik dressed in my scrubs and I dressed in his flight suit; we were a big hit!! Later, we went trick-or-treating with Gabe and Madelyne, Kaileigh's very best friends. She didn't last long, but still had a nice time! We hope you enjoy the following slide show!

Halloween

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