Mmmmm ... Mmmm ... Ma-Ma-Ma!

I am such a happy mommy! I'm extremely proud to announce that Today, my sweet baby girl ... finally ... for the first time EVER said .... "Mmmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmm ma. Mmmm, mmmm, ma-ma-ma!"

Can I please get a "Hallelujah!" here?!?! Woo Hoo, Kendall!

I know this "ma-ma-ma" was not her calling me ... but she's finally said ma-ma-ma and I couldn't be happier! We were in the car ... she was starting to fuss and was 1/2 whining - 1/2 babbling when she said it ... I was even talking on the phone with Ash, but of course, he said he did not hear her ... BUT I sure did ... so I'm recording this day as the day she said it! (For the record, she has Lots to say. All. Day. Long. ... Very Loudly (I might add ... hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from ... ha!) ... so I'm thrilled that she's finally added ma-ma-ma to her vocabulary!

Happy March 31st!

Bits & Pieces from our week

Here are some bits and pieces of this past week and weekend all rolled into one gigantic post ... we've had a busy week having fun with Kendall's development progression, getting ready for (& working & shopping at) Just Between Friends (JBF) consignment sale and having my family visiting ... there are a lot of pictures below!

Bows, bows, bows ... oh, how I LOVE bows on sweet little girls! One day at church, about 7 years ago, I remember Ashley seeing a cute little baby girl in a few pews ahead of us ... she was wearing an adorable outfit and big bow (I'd already noticed her, of course) ... and he leaned over and asked me if we had a girl, would I dress her in a dress & bow like that? I said yes! And he said good, I like that. So, as soon as we found out we were expecting a girl, bows & headwraps were purchased ... and not just by me ... I have 2 sisters who also were purchasing things as well! And bows have adorned Kendall's head from her 1st day old, while she was in the NICU! I started her out wearing bows early on and she's done a great job leaving them alone ... until recently, which truly pains me to say! So now, if she has a bow on her head for a few seconds, this is what she does ...

I'm really, really hoping this will be a very short phase and she will LOVE to wear bows once again someday very, very soon ... hey, a mommy can hope, right?!?

Playing with her Kitchen ... working on CRAWLING ... and PULLING herself UP to STAND! This week Kendall has just continued to progress with her somewhat-near-crawling ... she gets to all 4's and rocks back and forth lots now ... is always going after a toy or something else that has caught her eye ... and is holding herself up (completely off of her tummy) when she's on all 4's for much longer than she's ever been able to before. She is much stronger now and is really wanting to move around ... yeah, Kendall! (Her therapists at Baylor Hospital's Our Children's House (for her NICU Graduate program that she's in) want her to be crawling or very, very-near crawling by her next appointment, on April 23, so I think we are doing good with that and are moving in that direction ... so we'll see where she is in one more month! I know that all babies do these different development stages at different times, so if she's not crawling by then, it's not the end of the world, it's just one of the many things that her therapists will look at when looking for (possible) developmental delays due to her prematurity.) She LOVES her kitchen that her Auntie E and Uncle T got her for Christmas and now, when we get her up from her naps, she always looks over at her kitchen and usually babbles something to it or us to take her to it! Over the last couple of weeks, we've been helping her stand up (which she definitely prefers) to the kitchen (holding onto her from her back, lightly supporting her) ... she is doing great on her balance and adjusting / correcting her balance. On Wednesday & Thursday, I witnessed Little Miss trying to pull herself up on her very own ... she didn't get all the way up, but she did get halfway up before plopping back down on her hiney or at least up to sit on her knees! But then, on Friday, she pulled herself up all the way to standing & was up for a half-second before sitting back down. She continues to practice on pulling herself up and does stand up (& stay up) now ... she's quite happy about this and is proud of herself, as she should be! She's making some big locomotion developments these past few weeks ... Go Kendall! (Please pardon her mess of hair in these pictures!)

Bathtime Fun ... Kendall continues to love her baths ... we are still using her baby tub inside the bathtub ... she sits up and plays and slaps the water & laughs ... and when it's time to rinse the shampoo out of her hair, she lays back the opposite way ... she is sooo long (really too long for this tub) that she lays across the entire tub ... just layin' back and relaxin' ... really though, what girl doesn't love having her hair done? We sure do!

JBF ... and Aunt Rach, Uncle Mike & Mason ... AND Grams! My sister, Rachel & I had a few items to consign at JBF this time ... any items to be sold had to be dropped off on Wednesday night, so I took everything up there for us. On Thursday, Rae, Michael and Mason arrived at our house ... Ashley took the day off of work (it was his birthday the day before and he wanted to stay up nearly all night playing video games with some guy friends online) ... and he was going to take care of Kendall while Rae & I shopped the volunteer "pre-sale" at JBF! Rae & I shopped and shopped and shopped ... we were there for more HOURS than I care to admit (and especially document historically here) and found LOTS of great deals on darling clothes & shoes, books and brand new toys for Kendall for this spring & summer ... Rae shopped for Mason & "baby brother" as Mason calls him (until a name is announced!) and found some great deals, too! We were there so long, the security guard was getting a little suspicious of us ... ha! We volunteered to work one 4 hour shift on Saturday, so we got to shop at 12noon ... at the volunteer pre-sale ... and it was awesome! We had a FABULOUS time and definitely had "shopper's legs" (as Michael calls it) once we were all finished ... but it was worth it! If you've never done Just Between Friends, you need to ... you won't be sorry! No pictures of our awesome finds, but trust me ... there was a complete fashion show presented to Ashley, Kendall, Michael & Mason as soon as we got home!

Friday and Saturday we did more shopping ... Kendall even came shopping with us, too and she did great! Rae was shopping for "baby brother's" nursery, so we went to several different stores that they don't have in Abilene and she decided on a nursery theme and found some room accessories ... this nursery is going to look so cute! (We'll be in Abilene next weekend for Easter and we're going to work on getting it all put together ... yeah! We love doing stuff like this!) Rae and I worked at JBF for 4 hours Saturday late afternoon ... we had awesome jobs of working the docking station (LOVE this easy and fun job!) and then I got promoted to cashier (LOVE this job even more!) ... woo hoo! The shift we had was during the volunteer and consigner "1/2 off pre-sale" so we had a lot of fun and got to see lots of friends who were shopping, too! (I'm hoping we can work that shift again at the next sale!) By the time we got home, the rest of the gang had just picked up Grams from the airport, so we got to hear all about her awesome cruise she'd earned as an independent distributor with Premier Designs jewelry! Way to go, Grams!

Standing up and playing her piano ... and so proud of herself!

What's better than playing the piano ... how 'bout eating it? Yes, this Little Miss is soooo teething!

Grams and Kendall ... "Woo Hoo!" says Kendall ... Grams spent the night with us on Saturday and we enjoyed our Grams time!

Uncle Mike and Mason ... such silly boys!

I didn't get a picture of Aunt Rach (and "baby brother") ... but trust me when I say, that she & I had a FABULOUS time together ... shopping, laughing, shopping, chatting, playing with our kids, and shopping some more ... we missed our sister, Estee, who lives in Florida ... who was flying home from a month-long vacation in Italy, visiting her hubby!


Brooke's 1st Birthday Party ... Kendall attended her 2nd little friend's party on Saturday and we had a great time! It was beautiful outside and perfect for the party ... they had the backyard all set up and decked out for the party ... with a cupcake theme! Too cute!

Deanna and Brooke ... Deanna (& Drew) threw a GREAT party for their little sweetie!

Kendall checking out the Birthday Girl's cutie-patootie tutu!

Brooke opening her gift from Kendall ... a gift card at The Children's Place and a couple of (spin & flap) books

Kendall picking up some tips from Brooke on eating her first birthday cake

Swinging and Sliding ... Kendall got to swing & slide for the first time while at Brooke's party and she loved it! (Hopefully the Easter Bunny will be bringing Kendall her own outdoor swing next week and then Daddy will have to hang it!)

(This pose was just for the picture. When she was really sliding, I was holding her from her underarms ... and we only started at about halfway down the slide ... safety first, people!)

We've had a great week and weekend ... and now, it's time to get ready for Kendall's 1st Easter! (I hope the Easter Bunny has everything ready for Kendall's Easter basket!)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is Ashley's 34th birthday! (And, for the record, it's also his twin brother's, Brandon (aka Uncle B) 34th birthday, too! Happy Birthday, Uncle B ... sending you our love and happy birthday wishes all the way up to Vancouver, BC!)

Kendall & I met Daddy for a lunch date at a favorite spot of ours ... Red Robin ... yummy! (Eating at Red Robin for your birthday is a Rogers family tradition that Ashley and his siblings did growing up ... and we continue!)

Here's Daddy with his "mini-me" (also known as Kendall ... or Cutie-Patootie, or Little Miss, or Sweetie Pie, or Kendall Lou-Who, or ... and the list goes on and on ... ha!) Regardless, our sweet girl has with many, many faces ...

Happy Birthday to our favorite Daddy!

And we continued celebrating ... after work, Ash met Kendall & I at the Grapevine Convention Center to help me while I dropped off the items I'm consigning (and my sister's items she's consigning) at the Just Between Friends consignment sale ... it was pouring rain, so we tag-teamed Kendall & swapped cars (I got to see a few friends & visit with them while placing all my items and got a bit of a sneak peak at all the items for sale, for tomorrow's big pre-sale) ... we had a little cheesecake for dessert (one of his favorite desserts) ... watched American Idol and Survivor. Kendall is fast asleep and it's time for Mommy to go to sleep, too ... and Ashley is finishing up his big birthday by playing his (current) favorite video game on his XBOX 360 ... and will still be playing until the wee-hours of the morning. (He is taking the day off of work tomorrow ... to help me with Kendall ... so I can shop at the JBF consignment pre-sale (before it's open to the public ... woo hoo!) ... so I'm really looking forward to shopping and having the day with him ... more on JBF in the next post!)

Girls Only Spring Break

For Spring Break, we had a little Girls Only trip ... well, not really a "trip" for me, as Kendall & I (and Ashley ... smile) hosted my 3 best girlfriends from "high school-college-and beyond" for a little Girls Only time.

Two times a year, Naomi, Lauren & I (and Amy, when she's not being a medical missionary in Paraguay) get together for a few days ... one time a year, it's just us 3 (or 4) girls and the other time it's with all the kidos, too. Amy (& her family) are here in the US for a year-long furlough (which is nearly over now ... sad), and we've really been trying to get together a bit more this year, taking advantage of getting to see her (as it has been 4 years since they've been home and it could be up to 4 more years until they come back)!

We spent Wednesday - Saturday together ... just hanging out, staying up each night entirely too late, laughing hysterically, shopping, shopping, & more shopping, and picking up right where we had left off the last time we'd gotten together! (Ashley was as sweet as he always is and took care of Kendall for me once he got home from work each day!)

Friday night ... the 4 of us girls spent the night in Frisco ... ate dinner at Buca di Beppo's (my first time there ... very good food) and had some great shopping time on Saturday at the Allen Outlets, while Kendall had some quality Daddy-time! This was my second time to ever leave Kendall for a night ... I missed her like crazy, but I had a fun time with the girls ... and was so happy to see her sweet smiling face Saturday evening! (I know she had a fun time with Daddy while I was gone for 24 hours, but she was happy to see me again too ... like she is to Ashley, when he comes back home from work each day ... that just melts your heart!)

We only took these pictures of our time together ...

at my house ... Naomi, Lauren, Amy & me

at Buca di Beppo's ... Lauren, Naomi, me and Amy (and baby McKissick)

Gotta love Spring Break ... especially when the weather is in the 70's one day and SNOWing the next! What? Yes, you are reading correctly ... we actually had snow falling at our house today ... now that's the way to end Spring Break! Happy Spring ... I think!

Spring has sprung

and I love it ... minus the whole "spring forward" time change thing! Spring is a great season ... nice cool weather, celebrating Easter, great bright & cheerful colors, spring break, LOTS of family birthdays (on Ashley's side), flowers start to bloom, trees get their leaves & the grass comes back ... and that's just a few great things that God has this season doing!

I finally got a chance to change up our blog today ... I've been wanting a change for a while now and it is pretty easy to do, but it does take some time ... especially working with the html code (since I'm not a techy)! So, today we said good-bye to the winter snowflakes and moved into more of a spring-inspired design ... finally ... I mean it is March 12th already! Not sure if this one is what I'll end up staying with, but at least it's bright & cheerful ... I think it is, anyways ... so we'll see.

Today, Kendall & I spent a little time swinging on our front porch swing ... just enjoying our time and the beautiful day that God created! Once Ash came home, we spent some time in our back yard ... cleaning out leaves that had fallen into the pool, playing with Cassie (who desperately wanted to go swimming ... and practically did after trying to retrieve her Frisbee that she continued to toss into the pool, herself! ha!), and looking around at all the landscaping work that needs to be done! We love our backyard, but it is a bit high maintenance ... but definitely worth it ... I LOVE our backyard in the spring and summer! We are getting cost bids for putting up a fence around our pool ... it's time now with Little Miss about to get mobile.

Now for some spring cleaning ... lots of hard work ahead of us for several projects that we want to get done, but after it's all done, it sure looks great and clean! We are getting started this weekend ... so, Welcome Back, Spring ... Welcome Back!


Happy Birthday to our sweet niece, Sadie ... she turns 4 today and she is sooo adorable with her beautiful blonde hair and big blue eyes! Can't wait to see you in a few months when we come to Canada to visit you!

Our time with Huni & GranGran

We got to see Huni and GranGran briefly on Saturday night when we met them at the airport once they flew in from the Ukraine. After speaking at the missions conference they were a part of, they came over to our house to spend a few days with us before flying back to the Ukraine ... a very fast trip to Texas and back, but we are happy to have them here!

Monday ... we spent the day playing with Kendall & running errands ... and then they treated us to dinner ... at SaltGrass Steakhouse ... and we loved it (Kendall did pretty good during dinner ... really this was the first time she's been a bit fussy during a meal out ... she finally decided she was too tried to stay awake and eventually fell asleep in my arms ... I know we probably don't have that many more days that she'll do that, so I always try to enjoy it ... at home, we just lay her in her crib awake & she falls asleep on her own ... so being able to rock her & put her to sleep is a special time for me ... and she is just so sweet sleeping (and all the other times when she's not sleeping, too)!) This was also the first time that we feed her food while we were out ... it's just worked out before that we are always at home during those food feedings ... until Monday ... she did great eating her applesauce ... I think we can safely say that it's her favorite food right now!

Tuesday ... GranGran took some Kendall-duty (during nap time) so Huni and I could go enjoy manicures and pedicures ... and boy, did we ever enjoy them ... and Kendall enjoyed her time with her GranGran ... she even woke up a little early so she could play with him! We had dinner and watched American Idol ... one of our favorite shows ... although, this year, there isn't anyone who we are just loving so far in the competition ... but after watching the girls Tuesday night, we definitely had the 2 girls that we were ready to have off the show ... but we'd have to wait until Thursday night to find out which 2 girls and which 2 guys would actually be going off the show.

playing with Huni and GranGran

happy girl with cute little teeth and a mess of hair!

Wednesday ... we ran more errands (Walmart and Sam's) & got all the items they needed to take back with them to the Ukraine ... there are so many things that I just take for granted that we have easy access to living here in America! They packed, packed, packed & we all watched America Idol (the guys part) and web-conferenced our nieces & nephews via the PS3.

Thursday ... we had to say good-bye to Huni and GranGran ... Kendall & I took them to the airport in the morning so they could fly back to the Ukraine and get back to the mission work that they love so much! We had a great time with them visiting us and I know Kendall loved getting to see them again too! The next time we will see them is this summer, when we take Kendall's first family vacation ... to beautiful British Columbia ... to Vancouver ... home of these past 2010 Winter Olympic games (and Ashley's hometown)!

After we dropped off Huni & GranGran, Daddy called us to ask if we wanted to meet him for lunch ... just a little lunch date ... of course, we said yes! Then Kendall & I had a day of running errands ... doing a little recon work for her upcoming 1st birthday party bash ... yes, I realize it is only March and her birthday is May 1st (and we aren't even having her actual party until May 22nd), but I'm a planner ... there are sooooo many stores and websites that have soooo many options & ideas & then I think I kinda know what I'd like for her party so I'm looking for that as well ... and I really don't want to be running around last minute still trying to get everything put together ... it's a lot harder to do that with a baby! To be totally transparent here, there are MANY things that I have thought about/dreamed of/envisioned for years ... I'm kinda weird that way ... not sure if it's just because I'm a girl, or because it's my personality & being a planner, or maybe because we had Kendall after 8 years of marriage (and I've had a few more years to think about things like this) ... or maybe it's just normal of a mom to do this?!?! One of the many things that I thought about before & while I was pregnant with Kendall was all her firsts' ... and her first birthday is one of those big ones! It was also a very positive thing for me to be able to think about when I had to deliver Kendall at 29 weeks ... loving her by only being able to look at her tiny 2 lb 6 oz precious body from her incubator and longing to hold her ... just touch her ... just be with her in a normal situation without all the wires & monitors and everyone all around ... and being in the NICU for 8 weeks ... and just trying to think about our future with her and what things would be like once we got home all together and where we'd be & how far away we'd be from this situation in 1 year from then, in 2 years from then, in 5 years from then and so on. Sometimes that time in our life feels like a million years ago and other times it feels like it just happened.
Anyway, all that to say, the planning preparations of sweet Kendall's 1st birthday bash has definitely begun ... I'm sure I'll be sharing a bit of it here and there as decisions are made ... so stay tuned!

Over the weekend ...

we had some fun ... going to Kendall's 1st little friend's birthday party, seeing some old friends, and meeting Huni and GranGran at the airport!

Saturday morning ... Kendall attended her first little friend birthday party ... it was Landon Alverson's 2nd birthday ... and we had so much fun! (I know that you know by now that I like to document all types of things ... especially "Kendall's 1st" events/tricks/stuff ... I think it was so sweet that they invited Kendall ... she was the youngest one there!) Landon's party was at Richland Hills at the playscape (the new indoor playarea ... it's awesome!) and it was a great party ... Jayci (and I'm sure, Luke, too) had everything decorated sooo cute ... bright colors of green, yellow, blue & red ... yellow, orange & blue dump trucks (of all sizes) on the tables as decor and holding all the party favors ... the party was at 9-10:30am so they served breakfast foods (sausage rolls, variety of donuts, fruit) & cupcakes ... all the kids (ages Kendall to 6yrs old) had a blast running around ... and Ash & I enjoyed our time chatting with all our friends! Kendall hung out in our arms or in her stroller and just played with her toys that we brought for her ... she LOVED watching all the kids running around ... I can't wait for her to be able to do that kind of stuff too ... not that I want her to grow up & be an older age (I'm sooo enjoying her current age & development), but I know she will have such fun when she's older and doing what these bigger kids were doing, too ... and seeing that development in her as well. They gave out cute party favors ... all the boys got yellow dump trucks and all the girls (even Kendall!) got pink & green watering cans ... with a personalized tag tied with ribbon on each one ... sooo cute & clever! (Unfortunately, I didn't get one picture of our time together ... I brought our camera to document this 1st of Kendall's ... but couldn't take any pictures, as I forgot the SDcard. Sad.) Jacyi was sweet to share these pictures of the party, so I'd have something to capture this event ... thanks, Jacyi!

The Birthday Boy ... Landon

Kendall hanging out at the party

Jacyi holding Landon ... ready to sing "Happy Birthday to You!"

I was able to take pictures of Kendall with her new watering can, once we got back home ... it's her first party favor gift and she likes it and the tag & ribbon, too!

I took Kendall home to take a nap after the party ... Ash stayed at RHCC for the day ... it was the Upwards Soccer evaluations ... hundreds of kids came to register for the soccer season and be evaluated on different soccer drills and tricks so they can put together all the teams. Ash will be coaching the 3rd & 4th graders this year ... he has moved up the league with Luke Rocha (his "pretend son" ... ha! We joke that he is the coach's son ... most of the coaches have a son that they coach ... that is why they coach ... but Ash has been coaching for over 4 years now & we just had Kendall, so since Ash doesn't have a son (or daughter old enough) to coach, he's claimed Luke as the coach's son for several years now ... plus, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I couldn't be on the sidelines with the Rocha family cheering for Luke and Ashley!) Soccer starts the weekend after Easter, in April ... so we are geering up for a fun season ... Kendall's first soccer season! Ash can't wait to have Kendall out there with him ... practicing & playing soccer ... hope she wants to & doesn't have my lack-of-atheletic-talent (when the time comes) ... she already has her first real little soccer ball (it's a size 1 and it's hot pink) ... ha!

We met Ash back up at RHCC for the Saturday night worship service ... and it was great! Kendall did really well through the entire service (even though, she really needed to be taking a nap) ... having a baby/child with you during a service makes it hard to stay focused ... there is always something that she is needing and I know I'm only catching bits and pieces, at best ... most times, one of us has to take Kendall out into the lobby or I'm putting her to sleep ... I know this is for just a season and next month we will be able to take her to the nursery (which brings up a bunch of new thoughts and emotions for me). Anyway, we also got to see a bunch of friends that we normally don't get to, since they go to the Saturday night service and we normally go to the Sunday 1st service. We saw my cousin Kayla and Kendall enjoyed being held by her ... and we ran into several friends, including Paul and Amanda Aslin ... who we love and have missed ... we were friends with them for several years when we were both newly married (Ash & Paul used to run together in the mornings) and we had just lost touch with them ... they have 3 sweet girls and we are planning a family dinner with them over at our house soon! It was so nice getting to catch up with them!

After church, we ran to FireHouse Subs (love this place and we haven't been there in over a year!) for a quick dinner and then to DFW Airport ... to meet Huni and GranGran who had just flown in from the Ukraine! They are here for a short 5 day stay so GranGran can speak at a conference one of the churches is having about the Ukraine. They will come to stay with us starting on Monday ... and we'll have a few days with them before they head out again on Thursday! (Poor Kendall was a bit sleepy here, after missing a couple of naps ... so she wasn't giving out too many smiles for the camera ... but she was excited to see them.)

Today, Sunday, we just spent the day at our house .... having some family time ... the 3 of us, plus Cassie, of course! Tonight we met up at RHCC for our Care group / Small group ... the church is going through a small group study called "Balanced" by Andy Stanley ... and it is really good! You can check it out by clicking here. After our study, our group went to eat at Fuzzy's Tacos (yes, that is really the name of the place ... we've made fun of this place for many months now, but tonight we went there for the first time, as our friends actually eat there & say it's good ... so we went, and it really was really good!) ... it's kind of crazy when we all go out to eat each Sunday night ... it's usually like this: there are 5 or 6 families (with 2 or 3 kids each ... we are the only fam with one kid) ... 12kids (6yrs old & under, including babies Kendall, Emerson & Henley) & the moms at one end of the table and then all the dads at the other end ... yes, it's a bit crazy, but we always have a great time! (I'm pretty much laughing the entire time!)

Also ... Happy 6th Birthday to our adorable niece, Hannah ... wish we could be with you to celebrate your big day! We can't wait to come visit you in Canada in a few months!

Another tooth?

Could it be ... already ... well, apparently! Kendall is cutting her 3rd tooth ... within a month ... I guess she thinks she's got some catchin' up to do or something! It's her 1st top tooth and it cut through her gums on Friday!

So, this week she's been a tad fussy ... I really just chalked it up to having a few days of weird schedules ... and missing some naps. She really hasn't been eating that great for several days, but she's such a small eater anyway, she goes through spurts of eating ... she's really not that consistent anyway. She's had a bit of a cough ... not bad and not all day, but a little of one.

But, Friday ... she woke up at 7:30am for her 1st feeding, she just didn't look quite right ... her cheeks were red and she was warm, but her room was very warm as well, so I thought that was the reason. She took her bottle (pretty well) and wanted to go directly back to bed (which is our normal routine) ... she took a short nap and then we ran to Khol's make a return ... she fussed through out our errand and felt hot by then and her eyes didn't look right, so I took her temperature (under her arm ... the same thermometer we used in the NICU ... when we would take her temperature 6 times a day during "touch times"). She was squirming around so much (she never liked having that done), I really don't think it was accurate, but it read 100.1 ... it probably was higher, if I'd been able to keep it in place better.

I started a light-panic ... flashing back to those 8 long weeks in the NICU and fearing that she was extremely sick and would be put back in the hospital due to RSV or Swine Flu or something ... and why was I just now taking her temp when I could have done it at 7:30 when I thought she didn't look quite right ... what kind of a mom am I? This is the 1st time she has had a fever since we've left the NICU ... 10 months old ... I know God has protected her (and us) through this winter season & she has stayed so healthy, thus far ... we are so thankful! (She's only had a small cold in November but never ran a temp. so we didn't take her in to see the doctor then.) I know that she is very strong and is not the same little preemie that she was when she left the NICU 8 months ago, but this just put me back there and it was scary! I know that all kids get sick (some kids get sick a lot) ... but we've just not experienced this yet.

I called her doctor's office to see if we should come see him that afternoon (as it was a Friday and they aren't there over the weekend ... if this really was something serious, we would to go to Cooks Children's Hospital, if she worsen over the weekend) ... our Nurse Judy called me back within a few minutes ... after hearing Kendall's symptoms (and subsiding my fears), she thought she was teething ... not RSV, not the Swine Flu ... just teething!

Teething? Kendall had just popped out her 1st 2 bottom teeth within 5 days of each other ... and that was 3 weeks ago ... and she hardly fussed at all ... I didn't even know she had cut the 1st one until I felt it ... that's how pretty normal she had been! And, I thought they were supposed to get 1 tooth per month ... So, it didn't dawn on me that all of this could be teething! I gave her a dose of Tylenol and extra love & attention (as recommended by Nurse Judy ... she is the sweeeeeetest lady I think I've ever met) ...

After some Tylenol and extra love, Kendall took a good nap ... ate a very little bit ... fussed a bit ... got more Tylenol ... took another nap ... ate a bit ... fussed a bit ... took another nap ... this was our Friday (also mixed in there was lots of love and extra attention, of course). By the evening, she was looking much, much better ... her fever continued to go down and stay down ... and she slept through the night as well. (I am soooo thankful she is such a good little sleeper! I know God knew that I needed a baby that would sleep so I could function properly!)

I am sooo thankful that it was just a tooth and nothing serious! I know the day will come when she will really be sick with something ... and I hope that I am bit more composed on that day, now that we've made it through this Friday. I'm learning how to be a mom ... and I always do better after a "trial run"!

Kendall woke up happy again Saturday morning ... her normal self, with no temperature, so we are off to start our day ... first event ... attend her first little friend birthday party ... yeah! (Sorry ... no pictures of Little Miss from Friday ... we weren't in the picture posin' / picture takin' mood!)

Happy 10 months old!

Happy 10 months old, Kendall Grace!

Dear Sweet Kendall,
You are 10 months old today and we are so thankful for your sweet life that God has given us! You are just growing up sooo fast ... we know that everyone always says that, but it's really true ... 10 months already ... these months are just flying by and in two more months we will be celebrating your big 1st happy birthday!

You are the joy of our lives and we couldn't be happier having you as our daughter! We praise God for ALL He continues to do in growing your body and developing you! We are sooo proud of you and how hard you are working on your exercises that your therapists have given us ... over this past month, you have made such huge progress on your locomotion development!

You've been keeping us busy this month by babbling "da-da-da", "ga-ga-ga" & "ba-ba-ba", squealing & screeching with excitment, getting your 1st & 2nd teeth, smiling & laughing all the time, and eating baby food like a champ (plus, many, many other fun tricks, too)!

Mommy is so happy to be able to spend her days with you and can't imagine spending her time doing anything else, even though you won't even attempt to say "ma-ma-ma-ma" ... when Mommy says it to you in hopes you will repeat it, you just laugh back at Mommy instead!

These last 10 months with you have given us more joy and love than we could of ever imagined ... and we can't wait to see what this month holds for you!

You are such a happy & sweet baby and we LOVE getting to be your parents!
We love you very much, sweet girl! Happy 10 months old!
Mommy & Daddy