Brax is ONE!!!

Posted in Baby by klmatthews16

My baby is one. ONE. How is this already true? I feel like he was born YESTERDAY. I went back and read his birth story today and cried and wallowed in my nostalgia. I remember every last detail about the evening before and the morning he was born. The intense thunderstorm that cleared the roads for us to drive to the hospital, my water breaking as soon as I crawled into bed, feeling completely exhausted and attempting to “rest” but not being able to because I was SO anxious…but most importantly, meeting my boy. My beautiful, perfect, 7 lb. 15 oz. baby boy that I waited not just 9 months, but my entire life to meet. I cannot believe that it was a year ago that we became a family of four. A year ago, my sweet little boy came into this world and wiggled his way right into our hearts.

Brax is very busy these days. He is always on the move and learning new things. Here are his ONE YEAR updates…

He is 22 lbs, 8 oz. (70th percentile) and 29.5 inches tall. (50th percentile)
He has 8 teeth. He doesn’t use them as much for chewing food as much as biting his loved ones. He finds it hilarious. We don’t.
He can stand independently for up to a minute…probably longer. It only happens when he is distracted and doesn’t realize he is doing it.
Some of his favorite hobbies include playing catch, eating, yelling, and wrestling with his sister.
He loves to clap his hands.
He loves to dance.
He hates naps (how did we get 2 children who hate sleep?)
He is learning to talk more and more every day. He mainly says “mom” and “dad,” but he loves babbling, yelling and hearing his own noises at a very loud decibel!
He loves touch and feel books, and even tries to touch the pages on non-touch and feel books.
Some of his favorite foods include blueberry waffles and mac and cheese.
He is learning what “no” means. You can see the little wheels turn in his head when we teach him when he shouldn’t do something. (Like eat dog food)
He is super ticklish…especially his toes.
He still loves bath time. As soon as we start the bath water, he books it to the bathroom and tries to climb in by himself.
He loves chasing the dogs and trying to grab their tail and paws. Koda runs away, Addie just licks his face.
Nobody can make him laugh as much as Kinsie can…they are the best of buddies and partners in crime!

To my sweet, one-year-old boy, Braxton…

I can’t believe you are one year old! We have all LOVED getting to know you throughout the last year. Every day, we learn more about you and fall in love with you even more. You are a crazy, loud, little ball of energy with an award-winning smile, making it impossible not to smile back. You haven’t let me have much quality sleep in the last year, and one day at home with you puts more steps on my Fitbit than if I ran the mini marathon…but I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything in the world. Your sister may pester you constantly, but she is your biggest fan. She loves having a little sidekick and putting on a show for you to make you smile. Your dad and I are obsessed with your sweet personality, and your precious giggle is our favorite sound in the world. We can’t wait to watch you continue to learn and grow into a little boy and see what amazing things you accomplish. I thank God every day for the amazing blessing that you are. I am so grateful to be your mom!

21Sep2014

Kinsie Kay is ONE!

Posted in Baby by klmatthews16

Happy 1st birthday to my little sunshine, Miss Kinsie Kay! I cannot believe it was one year ago today that my baby girl entered the world and completely stole our hearts. She has already become such an amazing little girl who is fascinated by the world around her, and we love watching her unique personality develop and change every day. She has never failed to brighten up each and every day that she is in my presence. The last 365 days have been an unbelievable adventure with our little bug, and I cannot wait to continue the ride!

Our little girl LOVES any and all kinds of animals. She chases around the dogs and loves watching our 18 fish (yes…18). Her favorite places to visit are the zoo and the pet store. We will probably end up with a zoo in our backyard someday.

Lately she has had a particular interest in bears. She has a documentary about bears that she watches and tries to climb the entertainment center to get to the bears on the TV!

Kinsie is a complete water bug. Whether it is the bath, the pool, the rain, her sippy cup..she doesn’t care. She loves it all.

Kinsie has become quite the little talker. She is constantly talking, singing and mimicking any sounds she hears. Her favorite words to say are polar bear, fish, yep, and bye bye.

Our girl has recently discovered a love for music and dancing. Anytime she hears music come on, she immediately starts dancing! Her favorite dancing song is “Elmo’s Song.”

Kinsie loves books. She gets pumped during story time before bed. She loves turning the pages, and she dances to the rhythms of the rhyming stories. We are hoping that her love for books continues as she gets older!

Kinsie is a great eater. She loves blueberry waffles, Hawaiian bread, and pretty much any kind of fruit. She has always been good at eating her veggies until lately, so now we are having to get creative and mix them in other foods. She eats way too fast (she definitely got that from her dad). We are trying to teach her to put one piece of food in her mouth at a time!

Like both her mom and dad, Kinsie loves to learn. She likes to watch and take things in. Whenever she plays, she analyzes everything and tries to figure out how it works. When she gets a new toy, she’ll inspect it, shake it, bang it against something else, and usually tastes it as well. Right now she is on a kick where she puts her smaller toys into a bucket, then takes them all out, then puts them in again.

Kinsie is a very social little girl. She loves to talk to people, wave to everyone, and is always making new friends. Anywhere we go, she makes lots of friends by showing off her sweet smiles, giggles, and waves.

Thank you to my sister, Krista for taking Kinsie’s 1 year photos!

Here is a video that summarizes the past year with our little bug. Enjoy!

Happy birthday, my sweet Kinsie! Thank you for the best year yet!

We love you!

21Jul2014

10 Month Babe

Posted in Baby by klmatthews16

It doesn’t even seem real that in 2 months, my baby girl will be 1 year old! Hopefully in 2 months, I’ll be ready to accept that reality. Kinsie has hit a lot of milestones this past month. Lately she’s been acting less like a baby and more like a toddler. Yikes! She is constantly on the move…if I turn my back for 2 seconds, she is half way across the room getting into the dog’s food! She definitely keeps us busy every day, but she also knows how to keep us smiling!

At 10 months old, Kinsie…

Can officially crawl…and never stops.
Can pull herself up…and tries to every chance she gets.
Can stand independently for up to 10 seconds.
Has her third and fourth tooth.
Knows what the word “no” means and doesn’t like it.
Loves eating table food.
Waves “hi” and “bye.”
Can say “mama” and “dada.”
Often screams when she’s happy…which causes her cousin Briggs to call her an ostrich.
Sleeps with her butt up in the air.
Loves reading stories before bed with her mom and dad.

This girl is just too much fun!

21May2014

8 Month Wild Child

Posted in Baby by klmatthews16

I know I say this every time, but it is amazing how much Kinsie has developed in just a month’s time. She has become a WILD CHILD! She has such a rambunctious personality and she is constantly moving and talking. This girl is so much fun to be around. Even strangers can’t help but smile at her little happy face! Now that we are finally having pretty consistent warm weather, she has gotten to do more than just play inside…like go to the zoo and go swimming in Grandma’s pool. She is definitely an outdoorsy girl and loves to look at and explore everything she possibly can. Ryan and I fall more in love with our girl every day and are having so much fun watching her grow.

At 8 months old…

She already gets into everything.
She loves playing peek-a-boo.
She gets bored with a toy quickly and needs to move on to something else.
She pivots and barrel rolls to get where she wants to go.
She is in the process of learning to crawl…just hasn’t perfected the motion yet.
She is very fiesty and will try to escape any type of confinement.
She loves to swim in the pool and blow bubbles in the water.
She is very quick at grabbing things, like her daddy’s glasses.
She and her cousin Briggs love to read books together and laugh at each other.
She and her cousin Kerigan like to grab each other’s toys, pacifiers, hands and toes.
She is happy even when she is sick.
She is obsessed with tags of any kind.
She is still fascinated by animals.
She LOVES being outside.

Cousin fun

Loving her visit to the zoo

Water bug

Our happy girl

21Nov2013

Two Month Beauty

Posted in Baby by klmatthews16

My baby is two months old! I still can’t believe how quickly she is growing! She already has an awesome personality and she makes me laugh every day. She has already become such a beautiful, smiley, happy little girl. Every day she seems to be more interactive, and if it is possible, my love for her grows exponentially each day. Here is a little more about what we’ve learned about our daughter in the past month:

She loves ceiling fans. She will stare and smile at them for long periods of time.
She likes to look in the mirror.
Her happy place is in her crib watching her mobile.
Her favorite way to be held is snuggled close to our chest.
She is always very happy in the morning and fussier at night.
She recognizes faces and voices (she gets very happy when her daddy comes home!)
She takes shots like a champ (even though her mommy can’t handle it when she gets them)
She will eat from a bottle.
She can hold her head completely upright for 30 seconds or more.
She sleeps up to 6 hours at a time at night.
She likes to be read to (The teacher in me is grateful for that!)
She can almost roll herself from her tummy to her back.
She never stops moving…even while sleeping.