Her 1st Birthday!

Just a few pictures I took that day! We celebrated a little early since we had family in town. Not to mention we were arriving back in AK at 5:00 AM the day of her actual birthday. I knew it would be tough to throw a party that day. It was a lot of fun! We had our family here and our AK family here.

Briana helped me make the cake. I ruined most of it. It turned out OK. Not at all what I had in my mind but then I did watch a lot of Charm City Cakes. Who can live up to that?! :)  I do know that I have many years of practice ahead of me. It will be fun to get it just right for her every year.

I didn't realize how fast time flies when you have kids! The first year flew so quickly, I find myself morning it a bit. I want her to stay little forever! I want her to need her mommy forever! I am greedy. I know this! I am certainly savoring every minute I can with her. Before I know it she will be 16! UGH!

Random Picture Friday

Photo Courtesy of Karen Huffman

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

We had a lot of fun this past week with Aaron's parents and brother's visiting us. We took this afternoon to rest and recharge. Pictures from there visit coming soon!

After Dinner

 

I really need to quit taking videos with my iPhone. Sorry the quality stinks. I will get out the video camera next time! I was being lazy.

UPDATE: The First Batch

 "That doesn't look so good."

 "There are you happy?"

 "I don't know how I feel about these sweet potatoes."

"Oh, cool! What is this?"

The verdict: She really didn't seem to care. She paid about as much attention to the sweet potatoes as she does the rice cereal or oatmeal. I will keep trying though! (Sorry the pictures were are so bad. I had it on the wrong setting and was just trying to catch any picture I could get!)

The First Batch

I was inspired by Crystal over at The Longest Year to try and make Kinley's baby food. CLICK HERE to read her post on how to actually do it. She made it seem simple enough that even I wouldn't screw it up! I am not an organic lover and everything we put in our mouths doesn't have to be healthy. But I did want to start her out on the right track. It was actually really easy and a lot of fun to do! Not to mention it is cheaper. I love a good deal! I am sure I will still give her Gerber food along the way but for now we will start with homemade sweet potatoes.

 I love the Ninja blender! If you are looking to buy a new one I would recommend it. It has one blade in the middle and one at the bottom making blending so much faster! I bought ice cube trays to fill up with the sweet potatoes. I know they make specific trays for baby food but they are basically the same thing. And the ones I bought were a lot cheaper!

 I chopped them up and steamed them.

 

 The put the sweet potatoes in the blender to puree them.

I filled up each little 'ice cube' hole with taters! Each little cube is 1 oz. Great to know if you are tracking how much your baby eats.  I only made one tray to start out. Once they freeze up I will take them out, put them in a freezer bag, label and date them. Kinley is sleeping but when she wakes up, she will get her first taste of sweet potatoes. Hopefully she will like them. If not, there is always next week to try something new.

Wordless Wednesday: Evolution of a first meal

(tedddy) BEAR ATTACK!

 There was a teddy bear attack at our house tonight. It was a little touch and go at first.

They both fought hard.

 In the end they called a truce.

And someone is a little bitter about it.

* Dear Blogspot,

You are really starting to irritate me. My photos were not saved that way so why you are showing them sideways, I HAVE NO IDEA. This is only one of many issues lately. Keep this up and I am moving my blog to Wordpress. You have been warned.

Sincerely,

Irritated in AK

4 Months Old

The Bumbo

 Hanging with Dad watching tv. Well, she watches for a few seconds and that is about it!

Chilling in the bumbo with a little help from the blanket! She actually really likes sitting in it. So cute! (Even if I do say so myself!

Random Pics & Videos

I promise this blog won't turn into just pictures of my amazing child! But for now, until all my volunteering madness is over and I have more time, this will have to do.

 Her new friend, Mr. Lambie.

Cheering on the Steelers.

 

 Like brother, like sister...

We have been told many times that babies like looking at babies. In this video Aaron is showing Kinley some babies from a magazine. The audio is horrible (I need to quit taking videos with my iPhone!) but you can see her reaction when she sees a baby she enjoys! Better video to come, I promise!

Crazy Hair and Her Zebra

(Fun white boots compliments of her cousin, Delaney!)

Kinley's Movie Debut

5 Weeks

I have no idea where the time is going. It is almost the end of December and I have barely blinked the last five weeks. Kinley is growing strong! She is an amazing little person. I can't believe how in just a few short weeks she has become so aware of her surroundings. She is picking her head up more and more. She can stare us in the face when we lay her on our chest. It is a pretty funny sight!

She is sleeping well. She wakes up about every 2 -2 1/2 hours to eat. She has her fussy moments but  mostly only cries when she is hungry and even then her cry is pathetic. I know, I know, enjoy it while it lasts! I am loving being a mother but am already worried about her future. I am sure all moms go through it! I am trying not to worry the days away. We are taking lots of pics to document everything. I am sure you don't believe me since I have been so horrible about posting.

Everything has gone pretty well with the exception of  me having to go back into the hospital a week or so ago to have my gallbladder removed. I have learned from other ladies this is sort of common among pregnant women. I wish someone would have told me! The pain hit and within an hour I was on my knees unable to do anything! I called my neighbor and they came to my rescue and call the ambulance. My neighbor is an EMT, I was in good hands! They found Aaron out in the field because he was doing an exercise. He met me at the hospital and all the tests ensued.

They found out my gallbladder and pancreas were inflamed and irritated. I also had gall stones. Fun times. So they admitted me and so began Aaron's 3 days/nights of being a single dad to a new born. He was amazing! I never doubted it because he has been so super helpful from the get go. A real man doesn't shy away from poopy diapers! :)  I love that man!

After two days in the hospital, they took out my gallbladder and pumped me full of anti-biotics to fix the pancreas.  Never a dull moment around me I swear!  Oh, they also fixed a belly button hernia I got from being pregnant that I had no idea I had developed.

So I am home now and feeling much better! Hopefully that will be my last stay in the hospital for a long time. I hated being away from Aaron and Kinley. Although, the hospital was gracious enough to put me in my own room so he could bring her during the day to see me.

Sorry for the poor quality. I took these with my iPhone. I promise to get better pics up soon!

Isn't she sweet! Love her!

She's Here!

 Kinley Keating Pearsall born November 11, 2010 at 9:20 am. She weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs 8 ozs. People have been wondering about her name. Well, we picked Kinley because we thought it was a fun ode to AK with Mt. McKinley. Keating was the last name of a dear friend Aaron lost in Afghanistan during his first deployment. Ben Keating was an exceptional person and friend. We miss him dearly and thought it would be a great tribute to Ben and honor for our little girl to share his name!

 With daddy for her first meal. 

 Enjoying some bonding time with mommy!

 I love her so much already! I am so excited to get to be her mom!

 

After her first bath. Lots of hair! 

 

We still are not sure what Boone thinks of her. He wants to lick her all the time so I guess things could be worse. When she makes any kind of noise he comes over and stares at her. I guess time will tell! Little does he know, she is here to stay!