Kinlee went to visit Auntie Rachel and Uncle Patrick on Thursday while Braska and I had a meeting to go to and Daddy wasn’t feeling well. Uncle Patrick and KiKi are big buds, so she is always ready to go visit there. Rach took these and I thought they were pretty cute.
We had a great time with Jason and Sarah and their girls on the 16th. Kinlee enjoyed the bounce house for the first time. She wasn’t sure what to think of it.
Here’s the four girls..KiKi, Katelyn, Braska, and Amber.
We also came home with a completely to-the-roof full van, toys, slides, picnic tables, etc. Thanks guys!!!
I am not great at letting Kinlee get messy when she eats. I’m just not used to it. I never had to deal with it with Braska since she’s not into food and all. So it’s very hard for me to let her cover her face and so often her hair, too, with who knows what. I keep her meals pretty unmessy in their content, but she does love pizza, so I let her go at it on her own the other day, not even sitting by her with wipes ready. I’ve come so far.
It is still amazing to take a food, cut it into small pieces and give it to her…and she just eats it! What a process this is, having a kid who eats. Way to go, KiKi!
First, I realize it’s not Halloween. You don’t have to call the crazy police on me.
I just couldn’t put this away without trying it on her. She’ll be far to big by October. Truth is she is too long for it now, but we got it on her without too much tugging. I just had to have these cute comparison pics.
Kinlee 1/23/10 at 11 1/2 months. 
Braska 10/31/08 at 23 months 10 days.
You see my dilemma.
She is moving more and faster than is easy to deal with, and she made clear very quickly that this photo shoot thing is uncool.
Highlights this month: She’s not all that interested in walking, so cruising is still her thing right now. But she does like walking with a push toy or anything else that she can walk behind…. laundry basket, chair, toy box, Braska’s tricycle. She is very into climbing and has been falling from small heights left and right. She’s a very tough cookie, but you wouldn’t know it from her the-world-has-ended drama cries after she bonks her head even the slightest bit. Heaven forbid someone walk away from her when she wanted their attention. She will throw herself dramatically on the floor and cry as though she has been abandoned forever, never to be cared for again. We are hoping his drama queen thing is a phase, but we’re a bit concerned this may be her way for a while.
She loves to play with her sister, even more than the sister would like. They often tackle each other, Kinlee yanking Braska’s glasses off, while Braska screams “Noooooo!” and swings wildly at her, and Kinlee clings to an arm as she falls over. Sometimes it’s not a violent interaction, and they giggle and roll around on the floor together. Those are fun times. KiKi loves to play with Jack and Braska, especially at Jack’s house where they can run all over like a little train—Jack running, Braska crawling fast behind him, and KiKi bringing up the rear as fast as she can go.
This month brought some new eating experiences. She is loving a straw and prefers it for every drink except formula. She had grilled cheese, cheese pizza, and peanut butter sandwiches this month and loved them all. She loves peas and really hasn’t rejected any foods, vegetables or otherwise, though she definitely prefers finger foods, so she doesn’t have to bother with being fed with a spoon.
She’s very close to 20 lbs, getting within about a pound or possibly even less to Braska’s current weight.
Kinlee is signing more consistently and saying “moh” when she does. She also signs done along with “duh.” Other verbal words are mama, dada, beh-beh (for Belle), and sis-sis for Braska. She says hi and bye along with waving, too.
KiKi is very very busy, never slowing down, and that has included her nights. She sometimes will sleep through the night once or twice in a week, but she is usually waking at night still, rarely putting herself back to sleep. But we’re working on a new plan of tough love this week, so hopefully she’ll get the picture. I need sleep badly.
I can’t believe it’s almost been a year. Guess I better get to thinking about a birthday party!
PaPaw and Grandma C have a fun place to play that KiKi discovered this weekend. She’s looked into these places before, but suddenly she decided she could actually enter! 
Notice that her sister is more interested in watching Bears football than following her. And no, we don’t let her watch this closely, just had to capture Kinlee’s adventures before we redirected Braska to her chair.
No it’s not that high, but still… I was doing dishes and her banging in the drawer got quiet. And there she was. I grabbed my phone and snapped the first pic, then she took a moment to figure out how to get in and up she popped. Like “See, I can do it!”
I’m afraid this will mean that we find her in all kinds of places now… any guesses on where might be next?
