For those of you that used to follow my cooking blog you obviously know that is has been  sadly abandoned since I was  put on bed rest last year. Since having baby K I haven’t found the time or really the desire to spend too much time in the kitchen. Now that Shane is gone most of the week, its’ hard to get motivated to make a new recipe just for myself, what fun is that? But lately I have been getting the urge to try out some tasty and healthy recipes that I have found on Pinterest and in my new { and old } cookbooks. So without committing myself to an entire cooking blog I have decided to use this blog for all things baby K, food, and our travels.

In other news, my sweet child has another cold. This one is the worst so far but luckily it’s   not debilitating. She is really congested in her nose and head and has a little cough. Friday night was an all-nighter, she couldn’t breathe or get comfortable. I have done all I can think of to help her, saline drops, suctioned the nose, elevated one end of her crib mattress, put the humidifier in her room and rubbed her up with baby Vicks. She has a minimal appetite for solids but takes her bottles just fine. It breaks my heart seeing her like this and not able to make her better. But all that aside she is still so happy, you wouldn’t even know she was sick if she didn’t look and sound it.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year.  Aside from this cold, the year is starting out just fine!

 

Kaili Sloan

8 months

LOVES

  sippy cups ~ standing up and sitting down~clapping and waving~ baths~bedtime~ spitting~ mommy and daddy singing with her.

This is such a great age. She isn’t mobile yet but so fun to be around. She has a sense of humor and can be a goof ball, especially when she is tired. She likes to wave and spent a good amount of time waving to the birds and dogs while we were in Oxnard. She just recently started clapping . She really likes it when we clap for her, especially after she shows off how she is learning to stand up. She could do it over and over just for the positive recognition.  She still rarely cries and loves her alone time. She eagerly goes down for naps and bedtime. Now that we are back on our normal schedule she is sleeping from 6-7 PM til 6 AM.  Spitting is the newest trick she picked up, it’s lovely.<—(sarcasm)

I am looking forward to spending the next few weeks at home, getting back to our regularly scheduled routine, Gymboree, spin classes and smothering my baby girl before she can crawl away from me.

Kaili and I spent the last week up north since Shane had to work through the New Year. We stayed at a resort on the beach in Oxnard a few miles from his work. We had a nice newly renovated suite with an ocean view. There is something to be said about watching the waves from the couch and hearing them while laying in bed. The weather was gorgeous, Kaili and I spent our days taking long walks along the beach, sitting at the pool and playing in the sand.

She did great during this trip, napped her usual schedule and got to bed at the same time each night. However her schedule does impose with us wanting to go out to dinner these days. We either have to eat out really early or just eat in after she goes to bed. We were able to get out a few times, the first night we walked to a close Italian spot in the harbor and on NYE we enjoyed some Thai food. I have become pretty good at eating my dinner and feeding Kaili  hers at the same time.

Since we haven’t been home for a few weeks Kaili has been eating the pre-made Earths Best baby food. She has recently tried the chicken vegetable dinner and mixed vegetable, she likes it just fine. For Christmas Aunt Kellie got her a mesh baby food holder. You can put food in it, close it up and then she can “feed” herself without the fear of choking. Kaili has been feeding herself cantaloupe each morning. It’s pretty handy!

Shane was able to have the MOnday after New Years off and we spent part of the day and Brophy Bros in the Ventura Harbor. Kaili napped while we munched on clams. Then we sat on the balcony of our room watched the waves and enjoyed some wine. We finished the day with another walk  to the beach, I love being able to sit on the beach in January.

The last few days of our trip were spent walking, sitting by the pool and playing in our room. Kaili is getting really good at pulling herself up with some help and can stand on her own when supported.

Once Tuesday rolled around the majority of the people at the hotel were gone and it was a bit of a ghost town. Back to reality I guess.

It was a great vacation although I do wish we saw more of Shane. I would love to come back here in the summer.

This morning we opened up gifts from Shane’s family since we are heading up to visit mine tomorrow. Kaili enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper and bows but she enjoyed her gifts much more!

Since her Gymboree is closed next week we were able to sign up for a make up class. I decided today was as good a day as any to give the music class a try.  Turns out I was wrong. It was a nightmare! Things started just fine…(.see picture)

10 minutes in she started her screaming act. The music teacher said it was because “Kaili knew we were in music and she was singing.” Oh boy this poor girl had no clue! Kaili was semi interested but ultimately she started rubbing her eyes and crying, really crying. We barely made it to the end of class. I will not be signing her up for music. The teacher did not do a good job stimulating the kiddos, even I was bored.

The day ended with Kaili’s fave thing as always, the bath. I took some pictures of her sitting up like a big girl. She enjoys sitting up and playing with her toys but also likes to lay down to splish splash around. How did I end up with the cutest baby ever? So lucky!!

Our sweet little baby is growing up. Almost 8 months old and I am starting to see some changes in her. Since she mastered sitting up on her own she went through a sleep regression but luckily she seems to be back to sleeping through the night for the most part, lets hope!

Our independent child has become a little clingy, so far it’s not too bad but we are definitely noticing a difference. She will reach for me or Shane when she wants to be held which is cute, as long as it doesn’t happen at the gym day care. What isn’t cute is this screaming-fake crying thing she does when she is done. Done with being in her car seat, her excersaucer or basically whenever she wants.  She will throw in a fake cough too when she is being really dramatic, she thinks it’s funny, it’s not, especially in a store. I haven’t taken too many pictures lately, I am saving it up for Christmas and her 8 month b-day, however she did look pretty cute this morning so I snapped a couple up.

It’s the middle of December and I am done with all the Christmas shopping and wrapping. Uncle Brian took pictures for our Christmas cards and I just got them all addressed and in the mail today. Our flat in London has been reserved and we are in the process of getting the event tickets…Phew! What next? Now I find myself thinking about Kaili’s 1st birthday. I have been creating an inspiration board on Pinterest just for her party ( along with many other things). There are soo many cute ideas out there, I think 4 months should be enough time. If you haven’t been on Pinterest you don’t know what you are missing. It let’s you organize all the amazing things you find online, like a virtual bulletin board. You can categorize the different boards any way you want to help you plan your next shindig or decorate your house. It’s awesome. Here are some ideas I have for her party, what do you think?