Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye

See ya later Cherrywood Dr!

That's right, we're moving!! We (finally) sold our house today! We close on June 16th, so now we begin the race to get everything moved, find a place to live, and get our new house plans finalized. We are super excited and thankful that everything is coming together. I CAN NOT WAIT to be sitting in our new living room, looking out the windows at an amazing sunset over the fields in about 5 months!

Kinley's 1st Easter

We had a great first Easter with Kinley! We weren't going to do a fancy Easter dress, and then last minute decided we really did want to. So off to Kohl's with Matt and my mom we went, we FINALLY all decided on this dress, I think it was darn cute!



We went to my Aunt's house, and of course, Kinley needed to nap just as we were about to start the egg hunt, so we put her in the carrier (the one that straps to me) and then she slept through every single minute of her 1st Easter egg hunt, oh well. By the time we got to our 2nd Easter she was wide awake and ready to go!

Here she is picking up her very first Easter egg- I think her daddy might have helped eat the candy this year. =)



Our first family Easter picture! It's so weird to see this, I remember being barely pregnant last year at Easter wondering what this Easter would be like.

Florida Vacation

We had an amazing time in Florida last week! We got to stay with my sister Keri, meet her boyfriend Mike, see lots of great things and enjoy 85 degree weather! Here are few highlights from our trip.

Kinley and I with my sister Keri, this is the best we could get =-/


Kinley's first trip to the ocean.


A little dip in the water, she wasn't sure what to think of it.





Then she decided she hated it, I think it was a bit too cold.



A trip to sea world to see where my sister works. This is the best picture we got the entire day of the 3 of us. oh well.


Here is an alligator topiary that my sister created.



And this manatee really wanted to see us!



The dolphin show was great, Kinley LOVED watching them jump! Here she is ready for the show to start.



The dolphins pushing the trainer with their noses under the water while spinning, so cool!


Kinley getting ready for the shamu show.



The MASSIVE "shamu", or Tilikum is his actual name, this is the same whale that tragically killed the trainer last year. It was so surreal to see how big he really is!



We thought we'd try the pool to see if kinley liked that better than the ocean (she LOVES baths so we thought she'd love the pool)... NOPE!



Our last day in Florida we decided that we needed to get 007 (my sisters dog) and Kinley to take an Easter picture together, I don't think we did too bad!



Now we are back in the 45 degree rainy weather. Keri and Mike are coming back in May and Kinley CAN'T WAIT to see them again! Thanks for a great trip sis!

On our way home from vacation!

We are on our way home from our vacation to Florida. We had a great time, saw lots of neat things, and Kinley LOVED spending time with her aunt Keri. TONS of pictures to come later this week!

Day 30

Day 30 — A motto or philosophy

Everything happens for a reason, God is in control.

Oh how true this is, and oh how many times I've had to remind myself of this(or my husband does it for me). =)

Day 29

Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

I hope that we are able to sell our house and move into our new house. I dream that we can get pregnant with another baby. And I plan to continue to live a very happy and blessed life with an amazing husband, our beautiful baby girl, and great friends and family.

Day 28

Day 28 — A scar you have, and its story

I often find myself staring at this scar. I acquired this lovely lady a few years ago on a girls weekend trip. A bunch of us headed to a local river and went tubing down the river for a day, it was a blast! Sometime during the day I got a tiny scrape on my hand from the rocks. By the time the float was over and I could wash my hand I had a big nasty, red and infected looking cut. After lots of neosporin and bandaids, this is the beauty I ended up with.

Day 27

Day 27 — A physical feature you love

Since this doesn't say that it has to be about me, I'm going to share my favorite physical feature of my husband. Matt has the most amazing calves! I've loved them since the first time I actually saw him in shorts. There's something about his muscular calves that make him look super athletic and strong, I love it!

Now for your viewing pleasure, a picture of my husband's awesome calves:

Day 26

Day 26 — A childhood memory

I have lots of great childhood memories, but one that stands out in my mind is participating in 4-H for many years. My sister and I were in a 4-H club with lots of other farm kids. We did community service, tours, etc, but nothing was as big as preparing our projects for the fair. We brought vegetables, sewed clothes, baked, took pictures, but the biggest project of all was our sheep. We kept them on a strict diet, walked them to get their muscles toned, and worked with them so that they wouldn't freak at the show.

The one memory that stands out the most was walking the sheep. We have some VERY hot summers in Iowa, mix that with high humidity and it can be darn right miserable outside. On a side note, I'm always hot, and I HATE being hot. So walking those stinking sheep up and down the dirt road in the field was basically my defintion of misery. Eventually the sheep knew that once we got to the end of the road they got to go back to their pens, in the cool barn. Once they had the route down we would take their ropes off and they would run at full speed back to their pens. It was pretty awesome.

Although I may have hated walking the sheep, the 4-H fair is something that will always stick in my mind as a fond childhood memory. Spending time gardeing with my Grandma Maxine, sewing with my mom, and raising the sheep with my dad and sister are all amazaing memories.

Day 25

Day 25 — A recipe

One of my favorite, simple, makes me feel like I'm 8 years old, foods is jello cake. It's so easy and so darn good!

From Cooks.com

STRAWBERRY JELLO CAKE

Ingredients:
1 white cake mix
1 3 oz. package strawberry Jell-O
1 package frozen strawberries
1 container topping like Cool Whip

Bake cake according to directions on box. Mix Jell-o with 1 cup warm water. Make several holes in top of cake without going through and then pour Jell-o over cake.
Microwave strawberries until thawed and pour on cake.

Add Cool Whip over all and refrigerate until chilled.

Serve.

Dday 24

Day 24 — A movie no one would expect you to love

A movie that I USED to love, that might be a surprise, is Kiss the Girls. I currently HATE scary movies, but back in the day I totally loved them. If you are into thrillers, and don't mind an oldie, you may want to check this movie out.


Here's the info from wikipedia.com:
Washington, D.C. detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) heads to Durham, North Carolina when his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera), a college student, is reported missing. He learns from the local police, including Nick Ruskin (Cary Elwes), that Naomi is the latest in a series of young women who have vanished. Soon after his arrival, one of the missing women is found dead, bound to a tree in a desolate forest, and shortly after that, intern Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is kidnapped from her home.

When she awakens from a drugged state, Kate discovers she is being held captive by a masked man calling himself Casanova, and she is one of several prisoners trapped in his lair. She manages to escape and is severely injured when she jumps from a cliff and into a river to escape from his clutches. After she recuperates, she joins forces with Cross to track down her sadomasochist captor, who Cross concludes is a collector, not a killer, unless his victims fail to follow his rules. This means there is time to rescue the other imprisoned women, just as long as they remain subservient.

Clues lead them to Los Angeles, where a series of gruesome kidnappings and murders have been credited to a man known as the Gentleman Caller. Cross deduces he is working in collusion with rather than imitating his East Coast counterpart, but his efforts to capture and question him are foiled and the man escapes. Upon returning to North Carolina, he eventually discovers the underground hideaway used by, as well as the true identity of, the man who calls himself Casanova.

4 Months Old

Dear Kinners,
You absolutely complete us. Every day is a new adventure with you, we look forward to each and every day with you. You are starting to interact more and are also becoming more playful, before we know it we won't be able to keep up with you! We love you with our whole hearts!
Love,
Daddy & Mommy


And now for your latest stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz : 70th percentile
(3 Months - 13lbs 5oz : 64th percentile, At 2 months: 12lbs 0oz : 75-80th percentile)

Length: 24 inches : 45th Percentile
(3 Months - 24 1/4 inches : 67th percentile (At 2 months: 22 3/4 inches: 50th percentile)

Diaper size: Size 2

Clothes size: You are mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes.

Sleep: You are still an amazing sleeper, you have no idea how happy that makes mommy and daddy!! You are consistently sleeping 10-12 hours each night.

Favorite activities/things: Sleeping, rolling over, standing and jumping in your excersaucer, smiling and laughing at daddy, reading "touch and feel" books, and "talking".

Eating: You are eating every 3 hours, except for the day we tried to get you to eat out of a bottle, and then you refused to eat for 6 hours, I think you were trying to make a point. Point taken, we gave completely up on bottles.

Nicknames: Sweet girl and still using Kinners.

Talking: You have started to really have conversations with us! We mimic the sounds you make and you get so excited, your sounds are starting to get much louder too!

New adventures: You got to experience your very first garage sale this month! You slept quietly in your new baby carrier for most of it while mommy picked out some cute clothes for you. You also got to experience your first cold this month, you looked so pathetic as you sat and sneezed and coughed while mommy held you. Daddy and grandpa were thrilled to take you on your first gator ride around the farm. You rode in your baby carrier strapped tightly to mommy's chest, and had mommy's watchful eye as she made sure that daddy and grandpa drove extra slow.

New Skills Rolling from tummy to back, laughing out loud, biting your tongue (which then ends in screams), standing while we hold your hands, and having "conversations".

Your new favorite way to soothe is to suck your lower lip, makes me laugh.


You finally got a bracelet, aka a fat roll. =) Love it, and so does the doctor, he says your extra healthy!






And I'll leave you with my favorite picture, how can you not love this face?!

What a difference a year can make

One year ago today I sat and nervously looked at a positive pregnancy test. I fought feelings of nervousness with hopes and excitement that this was "the one" that would stick. I still have the 10+ positive pregnancy tests in a drawer in our bedroom, I even have the last vial of hormones in our fridge. I know, I really should get rid of all of it, but something about seeing those things still makes me ridiculously happy, and maybe a bit hopeful that we'll get to do it all again sometime.

I can't even begin to explain the joys that this last year has brought for me, and Matt too. I loved nearly every minute of the last year, being pregnant, learning about what was going on with our baby, delivering our baby, and now getting to spend every single day talking to, playing with, and loving on our sweet Kinley.

I cannot thank God enough for all that he put us through, and brought us through, to get to this amazing point in our lives... what a year.


Make sure to check back tomorrow afternoon for Kinley's 4 month update and updated pictures!

Day 23

Day 23 — A way in which you want to be remembered

I would like to be remembered for being a great wife and mother. Especially now that I have resigned from my teaching position, I feel even more passionate about being a good wife to Matt and a good mother to Kinley. I truly hope people can look back someday and say that I did my best to be there for Matt and Kinley.

My two loves

Day 22

Day 22 — A website

I love the internet, I spend way too much time on it, especially lately as I investigate getting some new photography equipment. So narrowing my favorite websites down to just one to share is quite hard. I guess I'll share one of my most "useful" websites. One of our friends, Shane, shared this website with me a while back and I have used it daily since.

Google Reader

This website allows you to put all of the blogs that you read into it, and everyday it will put all of the new blogs that were written on your favorite blogs into a list for you, so no more visiting every single blog every day just to see that nothing new has been added.

If you read several blogs and haven't heard of google reader, you can thank me later for telling you all about it. Enjoy!

Day 21

Day 21 — Something you know you do differently than most people

I can't really come up with anything too spectacular, but Matt thinks the fact that I still use a paper planner is different than most people who now use an electronic version. I love my planner dearly. I LOVE crossing off all of the things in my planner that I've done. I attempted to switch to an online planner and I thoroughly missed my paper version, so now it's back, and I'm happy. =)

Day 20

Day 20 — A hobby of yours

This is going to be a lame blog today, because besides photography I truly don't think I have any other hobbies. So why don't you tell me what your hobby is, and maybe I'll get inspired to try something new! Go ahead, share with me! =)