For daddy continued

Finally I got the other video to load.  Here you go Lee!  We miss you.

For daddy

Lee is out of town for 4 days and Kinley has already changed so much.  She is "talking" all the time.  Of course when I try to video it, she gets shy.  But I managed to catch one of her shorter conversations.  We help a picture of Jesus up in front of her and she just started jabbering away. 

Lee and I both missed her biggest milestone yet!  She rolled over yesterday when Nana was babysitting her!  And now she wont do it again for me!  But she is lifting her head so high and using her arms so much more than she was a few days ago.  She is growing up.  :(

She laughs!!

We finally got Kinley laughing on video!  She giggles a few times and only laughs once, but at lease we caught it this time!  Wish there was more.  I know the grandmas are dying to see it!

My opinion might not count...

But I am pretty sure Kinley is the cutest baby in the world! 

Now, to all of you other mothers out there, I know you think the same of your babies, and that is fine.  I wont fight you for the title.  I think it comes with the territory.  Everyone thinks their baby is the most adorable child that has ever been born.  I read a friends blog the other day and she was talking about how she has become that mom that cant delete any pictures of her son.  She has hundreds of the same pose, but cant get rid of any of them.  Don't worry Lindsay, I am the same way.  It takes me an hour just to decide which pictures to post because I want to put all 83 that I took today.  I will refrain though.

Kinley is really starting to get a personality and it is so fun to watch her learn and grow.  She has laughed several times, but never when I could get to the camera fast enough.  When I sing, "The wheels on the bus..." she thinks it is really funny when I say, "The babies on the bus go, whaa, whaa, whaa..." and I poke her cheeks.  But when I do that and try to record it, she doesnt think its funny anymore.  I guess she is not going to be a performer. :(  Her favorite pastime these days is chewing on her fingers and hand.  One day Lee went in to get her from a nap and she was sucking on her thumb, but usually she just chews.  And she is really starting to enjoy her little bouncy seat.  She can grab the little toys on it now and loves to shake them and make all kinds of noise.  She is also starting to like her Bumbo.  Anything that allows her to look out and see the world makes her happy.

Dont mind the gang sign she is throwing up... she doesnt mean it!

So Kinley is 3 months old today which is crazy!  Time has flown by.  Her Aunt Jessica sent this tutu, so of course we had to take pictures in it today. 

 She still looks pretty skinny, but I swear she is gaining weight.  Last week she weighed 10 lbs, 11 oz!  I wanted to try to get a picture of her rolls on her legs, but it didnt work out so well.  You can really see them when you change her diaper, but I didnt think anyone wanted to see pictures of that!

 And is this face not the cutest thing you have ever seen?  She can get a pretty mischievous look on her face sometimes, but this is just pure sweetness.  I just want to eat her up!

 In Lee and Katie news, Lee started Week 4 of P90X today.  He is doing great and I am very proud of him.  I still have lots of baby weight to lose, so I decided I was going to give P90X a try too.  I started today and it was rough.  I am much more out of shape than I even thought.  We will see how it goes.

Spring is starting and we are having wonderful weather.  I cant complain too much!  Except that I miss my family and friends.  Luckily my mom is coming back out here next week to stay with us while Lee goes back to DC for a week and a half!  Cant wait to see her! 

Baby Blessing and more

Kinley is over 2 months old and in our church we usually bless babies once they are a couple of weeks old.  We decided to wait until grandma and grandpa Carnell were here to witness it.  Kinley looked adorable in her dress and was in such a happy mood all morning.  But of course, as soon as it was time for the blessing, she got cranky and she cried through the entire thing!  Lee did a great job although he was extremely distracted by the crying.

Why did mommy iron when I had to get in the carseat?!

We had to take Kinley in for her 2 month shots today.  I think it was worse for me than her.  I was tearing up before I even walked in the doctors office door.  She screamed like a champ, but it wasnt as bad as I was expecting.  And we found out that she now weighs 9 lbs 5 oz!  So she is growing.  I cant believe how much she has already changed in 2 months.  Here are some recent pics of her:

Such a sweet face.  And her favorite hobby is blowing bubbles

2 months old

This is her first dress

 We couldnt find tights here, but there is a lady at the market that makes doll clothes and she had tights!  So I thought they might fit since she is so small.  I was wrong!  I could only get them halfway up her thighs.  So I cut them apart, sewed up each leg and then she had thigh-highs!  Of course the next day we got a package from my mom and what was inside?  TIGHTS!  Just one day too late. 

Thigh-highs

Too big, but too cute not to wear!

Laying on the quilt Ann Weatherly made

Saturday baking

There are many wonderful things about South Africa.  Its not too often that we find ourselves in NEED of anything.  But there are a few things, mostly food, that we really do miss.  Bagels are one of those things for me.  Sure, you can find a bagel here or there sometimes, but they are not the same and they leave you longing for those big, chewy, round morsels we all know and love.

So, how do I overcome this tragedy?  MAKE MY OWN!!  Now, I have never made bagels before and it seemed like a big task.  Plus, who has time to make bagels from scratch when they have a 2 month old?  Well, that is what Saturdays are for!  Dad can babysit while I work!

I was so proud of myself that I wanted to share my creations.  Our camera is dead, so iphone pictures will have to do.  Wish you could have tasted them!

Like most bread doughs, this one was easy.  The only hard part was the kneading.  It was an easy task, but 10 minutes of kneading is a long time.  Then I was worried about shaping them, but that ended up being pretty easy.  Here they are after being shaped.  Now they just needed to rest for a few minutes before being plunged into the boiling water.

 I didnt realize they were going to grow so much during the boiling process.  I guess I didnt really thing about it that much.  They grew so much, that they ended up not being round anymore because they got all smashed together.

After the boil, ready to go in the oven.

Ta-da!!  Nice and golden

YUMMY!  I couldnt even wait for them to cool.  We had them hot and steamy right out of the oven and they were very tasty.  So, there you have it!  A random post, but one I was proud of!

Smiles!

I have been trying to capture Kinley smiling on camera for the past week.  I havent been super successful, but I got a few.  I just want one HUGE smile, old granny gums and all. 

Kinley will be 2 months old next week (I cant believe it)! She has been smiling a lot more lately.  She smiles when I put her under her activity mat and when I turn her mobile on in her crib.  But the funniest is that she smiles when I use the nasal aspirator up her nose!

It is so fun to watch her grow and start to have a personality.  She is much more awake and alert now and we are enjoying how adorable she is. 

We are preparing for the arrival of Lee's parents next week and cant wait for them to get here.  Other than that, we dont have much to report.  Lee is still enjoying his job, but is very busy lately.  His boss has moved on to his new post, so Lee is the only Facilities Manager and his workload has gotten much bigger.  I am sure he will be glad when his new boss gets here in a few weeks.  I just spend my days taking care of Kinley and trying to keep Rugby in line!  She is a handful and has been acting crazy due to the new addition to the family.  Today while I was gone she got up on the couch, took Kinleys hair bow and destroyed it.  A few weeks ago she got up on our bed and peed on our down comforter.  Wanted to kill her! And she has gotten a hold of a dirty diaper and ripped it up.  Got poop all over the floor... nice!  So hopefully her adjustment period will be over soon.  We try to give her attention and she does really well for awhile, but about once a week she has to do something to remind us she is still around. 

Its always an adventure!

Stretchin' it out

Smiling at the flashing lights

Look at those eyes!  LOVE

She loves her mobile

Cozy in her "raft" for bath time