Super Bowl Sunday!

It's Super Bowl Sunday, today ... WooHoo! Kendall's first Super Bowl ... the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New Orleans Saints ... in Super Bowl 44 ... and the 3 of us were tuned in to CBS to watch and cheer on Peyton Manning and the Colts!

I really do love sports (which is not true of most wives, I guess) ... well, most sports, that is (not wrestling, if you call that a sport ... and there are a few other sports that I don't care for) ... however, I'm terrible at playing sports! But I love watching most sports and cheering on the players and I especially love winning! (I'm really not a very good loser, which is why Upwards Sports (the program that Ashley coaches in) is really good for me ... it forces me to stay focused on what's truly important for the kids ... you know the coach's wife can't be a sore loser over on the sidelines ... ha!)

Anyway, I love football (not to the extent of my husband's LOVE for football ... he's played most sports his entire life and is very athletic and is good at pretty much anything!) ... but I really enjoy watching NFL football on Sunday afternoons, Sunday nights, Monday nights (and Thursday & Saturday afternoons/nights, when it's on) (and multitasking while the games are on), learning things about the players (I LOVE the heartfelt stories ... my favorite part!) and even have my own Fantasy Football team in our family's Fantasy Football League ... I usually do pretty well each year (coming in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place at worst) and have even WON the championship one year!

I am a Dallas Cowboys fan ... have been since the 90's when Troy Aikman was the quarterback and they won the Super Bowl a couple of times ... we've had several frustrating seasons for a few years now ... which is why Fantasy Football is so cool ... with FF, you pick players from different teams to make up your own team, so you get a chance to cheer for lots of other players that you probably wouldn't even know otherwise ... and that is how I came to love watching Peyton Manning (the quarterback for the Colts)! I started liking him before he had won his first Super Bowl ... so it's been a while, now. He is ALWAYS my First Draft pick EVERY year for my Fantasy Football team ... he does not disappoint, you can count on that! I love that he is just the picture of an all-American guy (to me), he's classy, well-spoken, doesn't create drama for himself or his team, doesn't get into trouble, has a family history of football, has amazing talent & passion for the game and has hilarious tv commericals ... and I love the Colts' coaches and how many of them are Christians ... I think it's awesome! I love the heartfelt stories ... they always get me!

I cheer for the Cowboys first, and then the Colts as a close second! When the Cowboys did not make it to the Super Bowl this year and the Colts did, it was obvious who I'd be cheering for during the Super Bowl, no matter who the Colts played against!

I turned in my Cowboys Star for a Colts Horseshoe this Sunday! Kendall & I dressed in blue & white (and as you can see, she wore a little pink as well ... this girl doesn't really own any blue, so her overalls with pink stitching were the best thing I could find for the occasion!) These really aren't the best pictures, but they are the only ones we were able to take before our camera battery died, so they'll have to do!

The Colts played the Saints ... it's the first time the Saints have ever been to the Super Bowl in their 42 years of history ... amazing! And they had an unbelievable season this year ... both teams definitely deserved to be at the Super Bowl and win, too. And what a story both Drew Brees and the Saints have ... I love hearing all the stories and interviews and Drew sharing his faith!

We watched ... cheered ... grimaced at times ... and the Super Bowl ended ... the Saints are the champions ... 31 - 17 ... the Colts were down in the 4th quarter and just couldn't make a come back this time ... poor Peyton.

Congratulations, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints!

Overnight, all by myself ...

Friday night was "Girls Night In" ... Mommy & Kendall's first night alone ... just us two girls!

Friday Ashley left for his office at 6:30am, came back home around 4pm to pack a few things & see Kendall & I for a little bit and then, headed out to his Men's Retreat for the night and 1/2 day on Saturday. (He'll be home around 1pm on Saturday.)

Now, I'll be the first one to admit, and if you know me well you already know this, I was very nervous about being alone all night ...

The Men's Retreat is an annual event, that Ashley usually attends, and they've been advertising about it for over a month now ... I'm even the one who kept reminding him to get signed up, so please note that I am very happy for him to go to the retreat. However ... I never sleep well when Ashley is not here ... I usually have a very difficult time actually falling asleep (which is very abnormal for me) ... then I usually wake up every hour, worried I've heard something, or now with Kendall, wanting to make sure that she's okay still ... I don't know, all I can say is that I'm a wimp when it comes to being all alone late at night, for very long!

(The only other time Ashley has not been here overnight was his 4 day business trip to Boston back in October ... and my old college friend and roommate, Christi, came to stay with Kendall & I ... she was really sweet to sleep over here & get up each morning to go to work and then come back over here each evening/night to keep me company ... all so I wouldn't have to be alone all those days!)

But, this time, I decided that with Kendall being 9 months old, I should be "Mommy-enough" to handle 1 overnight experience alone!

And, we made it through just fine ... I didn't sleep very well ... kept waking up just to make sure everything was still okay, but of course, it was. Sweet Kendall was perfect! She stayed on her normal schedule ... slept from 8p-10p (we have to wake her up between 9-10p each night) for her final 5th feeding (so she can make it through the night, since she's still so small) ... she gulped it down and fell asleep on my shoulder (soooo sweet!) ... and she didn't wake up again until 8am on Saturday! (I know I am soooo spoiled to have a baby that sleeps so well at night - and still has 3 or 4 (little) naps during the day!)

Random Cuteness from this week

Here are just a few random pictures & tidbits of our life from this week ...

Working on tummy time (and apparently, enjoying it for the moment) ... and Cassie & her bone joining Kendall ... getting as close as possible, of course ...

Just playin', Little Miss 9 months old! ... sitting up and biting on something ... 2 of her favorite things!

Took a few pictures outside when it warmed up a bit ... she's sitting on the grass/ground for the 1st time ... very interested in the dead grass and leftover fall leaves .. (just a side note: I did not actually let her eat the grass she grabbed, for those of you who are wondering!)

Cassie lying in front of Kendall's bedroom door ... waiting for someone to go get Kendall!

Saying Good-bye to GranGran ... we picked up GranGran at the airport on Wednesday afternoon and took him back to the airport on Thursday morning ... he has officially left the US to go back to the Ukraine, so he could start the next semester of their school. (Huni is still in Canada ... she's going to attend an ice skating competition at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver ... lucky duck! Then, she'll be coming back to Dallas to fly out to the Ukraine, too.) We enjoyed having them visiting us this winter and look forward to seeing them again this summer!

Green Beans & Sweet Potatoes, anyone? Anyone? Bueller? (Sorry, I just had to throw in that movie quote!) Anyway, feedings went really great this week (especially from where we were last week!) ... she loves green beans and sweet potatoes, and is eating rice cereal really well, now too. Today, Friday, we tried Winter Squash (that I made for her) ... and she seems to enjoy that as well! I also made her more green beans and carrots ... all are in the ice cube trays, ready to go! After a few more days of the squash, we'll try the carrots. She's really increased her food intake over the past couple of days ... she's now eating 1 tsp of rice cereal, 1/2 ice cube size of green beans & 1/2 cube of sweet potatoes or squash ... 3 times a day, plus her normal 5 bottles, too! Yay, Kendall!

Last hugs from Daddy for the night ... Kendall loves her Daddy ... can you blame her? (Kendall & I are having our 1st night without Daddy tonight ... he is at the Men's Retreat until Saturday afternoon! We miss him, but know he is getting some good "men-time" in!)

Our Kendall ... pretty girl ... who must wear a bib now 24/7 since she loves spitting constantly now & is always drooling, as well! ... Really hoping the spitting thing is a quick phase! It's a good thing she's so cute! Love, LOVE, L. O. V. E. her!

Photo Shoot Outtakes ... Valentine's Day Cards

With Kendall's 1st Valentine's Day coming up, I really wanted to send out a few cards to our family this year ... which meant, photo shoot time for Mommy & Kendall!

And with a photo shoot of a 9 month old, comes many, many outtakes just to get 1 good shot ... so please enjoy the many faces of our Kendall Grace!

She loves to suck/bite on her bottom lip ... actually, she loves to do that to her top lip, too ...

Who could resist these adorable cheeks?

Daddy's favorite picture of the shoot.

Checking out her shoes ... pretty Mary Janes.

Playing with her tongue ... as usual.

Mommy's favorite shot and the one that made it into the card! Kendall was really a good sport during the photo shoot ... I think she's used to Mommy always taking pictures of her!

(Of course, I mailed all of the cards and forgot to take a picture of it or scan it in before doing so. But, these cards were nothin' fancy ... I just bought Hallmark folded Valentine's Day cards and attached a 4x6 picture of her to the inside left side ... just a little something to send out with an updated picture of Kendall at 9 months old.)

9 month Check-up

Kendall had her 9 month wellness check-up appointment today with her pediatrician, Dr. Benzick. (This is a bit of a long posting ... sorry for all the detail, but I use this blog as my scrapbooking info, so I don't want to forget anything for that or her baby book!)

January was our first time to not go to a Dr. appointment ... we've been going each month, since we left the NICU, but we got to skip coming in January because Kendall is doing so well. So, we've been very excited about what Dr. Benzick would think at this visit ... since it's been 2 whole months since he's seen her. (She's 9 months old, but her growth & development is corrected to a 6 1/2 month old adjusted age.)

The appointment went very well ... and here's all of her stats from today: (The charts they use to determine what percentile she is at compare her to the other kids born mid July, her original due date. She's nowhere near the charts for her true birth date (May 1st) ... but that is why we have to go by the "adjusted age" (or "corrected age") until she is 2 years old.

She gained 2 lbs over these past 2 months, which is good for her (slow and steady)
- Weight: 14 lbs 9 oz ... putting her in the 18th percentile (dropping down from the 40th percentile back in December) ... she is just really small, but at least she is still on the charts!
- Height: 26 inches ... putting her in the 55th percentile (dropping down from the 75th percentile back in December).

Other good news ...
- She is now officially off of the acid reflux medication that she's been on since she left the NICU ... yay! (2 days of no medication, and so far so good!) We are sooo thankful that she has outgrown the acid reflux!

- She is now able to change formulas ... she's been on Similac NeoSure (for premature babies) and now gets to move to normal, full-term formula ... so we are hoping that she will like it! (Plus, the formula is a bit cheaper and you can buy it in bulk at Sam's, so we're really liking that! Of course, I never dreamed we'd ever use formula in the first place ... but that's a different post, for a different day ... and something I don't think I will ever fully get over!)

- She's been using the "Level 3 Dr. Brown's bottle nipple" since Friday night 01.22.2010 (when we got the okay from her Speech Language Therapist) and this has made feeding time a much faster experience! She's gone from 30-45 minutes (or sometimes, even as long as an hour) down to 15-25 minutes ... drinking the entire 5 1/2 oz! That's huge for us and we are sooo happy about that!

- She's lovin' those green beans (and my cooking, as well, hopefully! ha!) and we are ready to take the next food item, starting tomorrow. We've moved to eating 3 times a day in conjuction with the bottle 5 times a day ... and feedings are going much better than last week. Over the past weekend, she turned a corner feeding-wise and I hope we never look back! She'd found her tongue about 2 weeks ago and was amazed by what her tongue could do with the rice cereal and sweet potatoes and nothing was getting down her throat, as she enjoyed ooozing and spitting it back out ... not in a "I don't like the taste of this stuff" kind of way, but just a "Ohhh, this is a different texture and it's so fun to do this" way ... and she was doing it with her bottle when she'd had most of it done and was just playing ... until this weekend ... and now I think we have it figured out ... I truly hope! But, I know if it's not one thing, it's another! All in all, she's doing great ... especially from some of the horror stories I've heard about preemies & feeding ... I am soooo thankful she's doing so well! (She is consuming about 1/2 of a ice cube size each feeding, so about 1 1/2 cubes a day.)


Every month I forget to take the camera with me when we go to the Dr.'s office (probably because I always have so much other stuff to bring with us), but I remembered this time, so I finally took pictures of Dr. Benzick and our 2 sweet, sweet Nurses that always help us ...

Dr. Benzick holding Kendall ... He's a great doctor! He is very thorough, high tech with his laptop & up-to-date info, doesn't forget a thing that we've discussed in the past, and patient in answering all of our questions and getting us ready for her next parts of development ... and Kendall always smiles at him.

Kendall's sweet Nurses ... Nurse Renee and Nurse Judy ... they are truly 2 of the sweetest ladies I have ever met ... I really don't know how they do it! They just ooohh & aaahh over Kendall, her outfit and of course, her bows, every time they see her ... which I'm sure they do that to every kid they see, but it sure makes Kendall (and me) love them ... she is always super smiley at them! They are also the ones that take turns administering those mean vaccine shots ... which is all of our least favorite part of the visit ... and poor Kendall usually gets a shot or 2 each visit, as we are spreading out her vaccines since she is so premature. (This visit she got the normal 9 month test to see if she's anemic ... we will find out the results on Thursday. Unfortunately, to her, that finger prick was nearly as bad as the vaccine shots ... and she cried quite a bit.)


Dr. Benzick is happy with her growth and development and so, we won't be needing to come in for monthly appointments at this time ... we'll be back in 3 months, for her 12 month well-check appointment! Yay for Kendall!

Happy 9 months old ...

Kendall Grace is 9 months old today!

Can you believe it? It's been 9 months already ...

Our lives are changed forever ... She is such a sweet baby girl and we are overjoyed to have her as our daughter! We are so thankful that God has entrusted us to be her parents and how He is using her for His Glory!

To God be the Glory ... Great things He has done!

Fur-Ever Friends ...

Okay, so I know my mother-in-law "Huni" will be horrified by this post, as will any other non-dog lovers (if there ARE any other non-dog lovers actually out there ... and I don't want to use the word "dog haters" ... but it's close to that! ha! I think what makes it worse between Huni and Cassie, our wonderful, sweet 6 1/2 year old, 70 lb pure-bred Black Labrador Retriever, is that I think Cassie senses her dislike for her and tries even harder to be near Huni, sniff her, sit by her, etc ... maybe she's trying to convince her that she is lovable ... I don't know ...)

Anyway, I do love dogs (well, most dogs ... I am a little bit of a dog-snob, I will admit) ... and I do love our dog, Cassie. Ash and I got her for our 2nd year wedding anniversary gift to each other ... kind of a test run to see how we'd do being parents of a dog and then, we could work our way into being parents of actual children ... ha! I picked Cassie out of the liter, myself, and (conceitedly) even worked from home during the time she was a puppy, so I trained her and she knows LOTS of fun tricks! Of course, she LOVES Ashley even more than me ... but apparently, her loyalties have changed once again, because as soon as Kendall came home with us, Kendall immediately became her new favorite! I really can't blame Cassie, though ... Kendall is so sweet and adorable ... I don't know how anyone could resist her!

I was a little worried about how Cassie would be with Kendall, but she was great right from the first day ... one of the main reasons why we decided to get a Black Lab so long ago ... because they are fantastic with kids and Cassie does not disappoint!

Cassie follows Kendall & I everywhere around the house, all day and all night long! She is never more than a few feet away from Kendall, sitting or lying down next to or as near to her as I will let her ... it never fails ... no matter what time it is ... those middle of the night feedings we used to do ... Cassie would get up from her sleep to come join Kendall & I for the feeding until I put Kendall back to bed. There have been times where Cassie will come to get me if Kendall has woken up from her nap and is crying in her bed (and I apparently haven't gotten Kendall soon enough). Now that Kendall is grabbing everything in sight, Cassie is a favorite target of her's ... she grabs her fur, reaches out for her face ... anything she can possible touch, including Cassie's eyes, nose, ears and her teeth! Of course, we are always right there with Kendall (and don't let her grab her teeth!), but Cassie is just so sweet and just lets her do it. Cassie has enjoyed getting close to Kendall, but she also likes to get just barely out of reach of Kendall's little hands. Kendall jumps up and down and bounces around with excitement each time she sees Cassie coming ... or hears her coming and stops what she is doing to look at Cassie ... I think these 2 are going to become the best of friends ... as long as Cassie can endure Kendall's treatment of her!

Here are a few pictures Kendall and Cassie and their growing relationship over the past 6 months that Kendall has been home with us ...

July 2009

August 2009

Taking a nap after tummy time ... Cassie joined in the nap session too (in the background) ... you can see her better in the next picture ... September 2009

December 2009

January 2010

Watch out Cassie ... she's comin' for you!

(And what do think of this post's title ... "Fur-Ever Friends" ?... It cracks me up ... my sister used to take her dog, Sassy, to a dog grooming/boarding place called Fur-Ever Friends, and I've always thought it was a cute/clever name for a place like that ... ha!)