3 months old!

Our sweet baby is 3 months old (as of Tuesday). I desperately wanted to post on Tuesday and give an update but time with work and baby and family in town just did not permit it. Oh well!

So what have we been up to lately? LOTS OF WORK! I'm winding down the year with my first graders so there's a lot of extra paper work that comes along with finishing it out. It's both a blessing and a curse because it means the end is near but it also means I've got a TON of work to do before it's all over.

Logan has been spending a lot of time with her paternal grandparents (Nana Kathy and Grandpa Don). They've been such a HUGE help to us this week as we've both been swamped with work. She's loving all of the sweet snuggles and fun things she's getting to do with them.

Mike has been working like crazy to finish his seminary stuff. He got his tetanus shot on Tuesday and that was really the last piece he had to complete to send off before we can hear yes or no from them. We have no doubt he'll get in academically, it's really all dependent on what God wants now--if that's where he wants us he'll open that door wide, if not he'll open another one. Right now we just both feel pretty strongly that he wants us out of here (but that could definitely change, too...remember, we thought we were headed to NC from Tallahassee and that all changed in a matter a month or two).

Ok--onto the part you really want :) Pictures!! (I'm going to post another post this afternoon with her 1, 2 and 3 month pictures together.)

Spent the afternoon dreaming away...yep, on her tummy. I've given up the battle, if that's where she wants to be, and she'll sleep for HOURS and HOURS on end...wonderful!

Sitting pretty in Olive Garden. (Thank you Miss Shannon for the sweet bow!)

Man, Mom, did ya really have to take my tete (paci in Spanish...yes, I'm trying my hardest to have a bilingual little one...won't my little Northern European girl shock people when she starts babbling in Spanish?)

And one from a couple of nights ago. She had such a sweet BIG smile and we captured it just at the right time!!

All Better Mommy

We are done with tylenol--hopefully for a long time. We are so glad that L is finally feeling better! (She's actually watching the NFL draft right now...she is definitely her father's daughter...and her Tia Carolyn's niece)

Logan and I spent the afternoon together while Mike was at work. Thankfully, she slept for several hours so that I could start cleaning our casa (which has been sorely neglected while she and I have been sick). She woke up in a very sweet mood. I tried to catch her smiles during our little photo shoot but I was just too enamored with them when they were happening that I didn't get the camera on her quick enough. Here are a few anyway.

C'mon mommy, another picture?

So, anyway, fast forward a few hours. We went shopping, had to get a few things from Babies-r-Us, including a mirror for the car so that she has something to look at while we're riding (I've had way too many hours in that car of screaming so I had to find SOMETHING to help). It seemed to work a bit, she cooed and cooed at herself on the way to the next store. We also hit up Michael's (for some more ribbon to do more bows--like the one I did on her head today?) and then went to Marshall's. Little did I know when I got in line at Marshall's that I'd be in it for TWENTY FIVE minutes!! Ack! It was like a Disney line, I'd go and feel like I was at the end and then they'd loop me around again. All would have been fine if I didn't have a poopy baby with me...luckily it didn't smell TOO bad so I don't think anyone noticed. People kept commenting on just how precious she is. (I think so, too)

And here she is after a long afternoon PASSED OUT in Nana and Grandaddy's bouncer.

Sweet dreams!

Sickies

Whew! We've had a rough week at the Kayle household. Sunday night as I was going to bed, I thought I felt a little bit of a chest cold coming on...you know the feeling--tight chest, kinda tight when swallowing, feels like impending doom. And what do you know? Monday morning rolls around and it hit me HARD! I got up for work but knew immediately I'd have to take a half-day just to get the sleep I lost the night before with both baby and cold.

It's turned into a nasty case of laryngitis, lost my voice (yes, my first graders did try to find it...looked under desks, on the playground, in the cafeteria...when I told them I had lost it they thought it was an invitation to a scavenger hunt) and I had a lot of chest congestion. As of Monday, L hadn't shown any traces of it. Tuesday she woke up congested, I sucked her nose up and she seemed ok. Tuesday night everything changed.

My sweet little angel got the worst of it at about 7:30pm and I could just tell she was going to lose it. She started whimpering when she swallowed and then got very congested and the whimpering got louder and then I pulled her out of her warm bath and the whimpering turned to screaming. She screamed and screamed so much that my mom, a nurse manager at Miami Children's Hospital, rushed down to check her out when she heard her over the phone because the noise scared her. No fever, no rashes, no other visible symptoms. At about midnight she finally calmed down enough (yes, do the math, that's 4 1/2 hours of straight screaming) to nurse and fall asleep but was up about every hour after that in need of suctioning.

Mike took her to the Dr. on Wednesday who informed him that it was nothing more than a mere cold and she was probably just uncomfortable. She hasn't felt well but we haven't had any screaming problems since. Poor thing fell asleep last night at 10pm and slept until about 11am this morning (not straight, just woke up about every 4-5 hours to eat and go back to sleep). She woke up at 11 this morning and we had a snuggley rest of the day together. (I think she's feeling better than I am... I'm still trying to kick the congestion)

This is how she spent most of the morning, I don't think she even so much as winced.

This is after she woke up and had eaten. Much happier baby! She's wearing one of the bows that mommy made for her.

Finishing a smile for mommy.

Isn't she sweet? I know, I'm partial because I'm the mommy but I just can't get enough of her!

Stretching in her swing. She makes the sweetest noises when she stretches.

Don't worry mom, I'm feeling better!!

Weekend With The Greats

Logan had yet another busy weekend as she was the star of the family show. :) This weekend she got to meet the last of her great grandparents, she met Mike's a couple week's ago and my dad's mom lives only about 30 minutes away from us. These are my grandparents on my mom's side. She also got to meet her Great Aunt JoAnne (my mom's sister). Saturday morning I loaded Logan up in the car with extra diapers and wipes (knowing we'd be out all day long) and headed to pick up my mom, my grandma and my Aunt and we headed out to SHOP!

We had no idea when we left (I SWEAR!) that we'd end up at the Falls on the day that they had their sidewalk sale. They had all kinds of stuff that was crazy discounted. Of course, my favorite stop was at Janie and Jack, my FAVORITE kids store (thanks Rebecca!), and we got a ton of fall clothes so that Logan will be ready for a cooler North Carolina fall. Here are some of the pictures from the weekend--

Great Grandma Natalie and Logan.

Great Aunt JoAnne and Lo.

Great Grandpa Niels and Logan (I think he was the most excited to meet little Lo)

Here is Logan with daddy this morning. We had a little projectile spit up incident this morning while she was snuggling with us in bed so we all had to take showers and Logan and I hung out in our robes until we got ready for church (wanted to avoid ruining our outfits just in case the projectiles came back).

Logan and mommy in our matching pink robes.

One of my favorite finds at Janie and Jack- Logan's cool shades! I thought she'd throw a fit when I put them on her this morning but she spent about 20 minutes on the way to church just hanging out and looking around with them...then she got sleepy and was having none of them. Such a sassy little thing!

Great Grandma and Grandpa with mommy.

4 generations strong!

Here is a GREAT picture of her big baby blues. She has red eye in so many of her pictures because of her light eyes so we are hard pressed to find one where you can actually see the deep blue with no red. Here's one! :)

Bad Case of Mommyitis

And so it seems the clingyness begins. Liz, a retired police officer from the church has been watching Logan when we don't have family lined up. She came for the first time yesterday and while Lo seemed ok before I left, I guess she lost it pretty good after I was gone and had to be held the entire day. I'm very thankful that she didn't call to tell me while I was at work or I would have just been miserable until I could get to her yesterday.

This morning when Liz walked in the door, Logan took one look and got her little quiver lip and started to cry. I cuddled her for a bit and then sat her in her bouncer to watch some Baby Einstein and as I grabbed my purse her lip started to pout and quiver again and I could just hear her whimpering as I walked out the door. It was horrible! I cried all the way to Mike's store and as I was getting my morning latte I tearfully told Mike how thankful I am that I'll be able to be with her next year. God really has made me to be a mommy, I have no desire to do anything else.

Here are a few pictures of Logan tonight in her crib (which she has yet to sleep in at night, she just loves the bassinet too much). She's wearing a sleeper that says "Mommy Loves Me" and that phrase could not be more true!!

Such a big girl! Right now she's sitting next to me fighting sleep. She'll get SO close and then start moving her arms and legs and fussing until she fully wakes herself up. It's so much fun..... except not.

A couple anecdotes from some of my little girls at school:

"So, is your baby alive now that she's out of your belly?"

Girl 1: "Mayah, stop being so popular!"

Me: "What do you mean, popular?"

Girl 1: "You know, someone who everyone knows but they're kind of act snobby and stuff. It's annoying."

"Mrs. Kayle, I want to be a teacher when I grow up because your hair is so beautiful and stuff." (and stuff is the favorite little phrase to add to the end of EVERYTHING)

Quickie

Ok, we're headed to bed but I just HAD to share this picture. I caught Logan mid-giggle tonight in her bumbo. Is this precious?!?! Love her so much!

Easter Sunday

We had a great Easter Sunday with Logan. We went to church this morning (and she slept through the whole service so I didn't have to sit in the nursery with her this week) and then we had a little Easter Egg hunt after the service. Logan got two eggs (well, Mommy got two eggs to take pictures of for Lo's baby book)! Then we headed to my parent's house for lunch and we spent most of the afternoon there. Here's a picture of Logan at my parents house, she's saying "Thank you Miss Shannon for my BEAUTIFUL Easter bow!"
Logan loves her bouncer at home so much that we had to get her a bouncer for her grandparent's house!
I'll leave you with our family photo.
Happy Easter! Love, The Kayles

Top 5 Reasons Why I Can't Wait to be a SAHM!

Since I'm on Spring Break and finally seemingly done recovering from my delivery (I was still on the mend when I first went back to work) I'm getting a taste of what it will be like when I can stay at home. I can think of a million reasons why I can't wait to start my new job as a stay at home mom but here are my top 5:

5. I'll be able to go grocery shopping and plan meals for the entire week AND won't be too tired to make the meals in the evening. :) Last night we had sweet polish sausage and wild rice. Tonight we'll be having a chicken casserole.

4. I'll FINALLY be able to keep up on household chores. Yesterday, during Logan's morning nap I was able to deep clean our kitchen, clean the downstairs bathroom, clean the living room AND get a load of diaper laundry done (by the way we LOVE cloth diapers!).

3. It'll give me a lot more time to craft! This week I made Logan a bow holder so that we can keep all of her bows and headbands in the same place. I'll be selling these on etsy once I'm done working too, so look out for that!
I hand painted the letter and the plaque.
The bottom velcros over so that we can hang all of her headbands in the same place, too!
2. I'm able to keep Logan on her preferred schedule. It is so nice to be able to have her get two full naps in, all of her normal feedings AND be able to get her to bed on time every night! When I'm working she has all of her naps at random times because of all of the different places she is during the day (sometimes at my parents, sometimes at home, etc.) It'll actually get a lot better in May when Carolyn is home and so Logan will be at home with the same person the entire month of May (I find that consistency is key with little Lo).
And the number one reason I can't wait to stay home is.....................

I get to spend a lot more time with my two favorite people!!

10 weeks old and smiling!

Today Logan is 10 weeks old!  She is such an incredible joy to her daddy and I.  We wake up every morning and can't wait to see her smiling face and we go to sleep at night marveling at how adorable and easy to love she is.  Logan can now sleep almost all the way through the night, she has a small snack after about 5 hours and then can sleep another 5 or so before she wakes up.  She has learned how to kick her feet in her bouncer so that it continues to bounce when it has stopped.  She has become FASCINATED with her mobile in her crib and will sit in there for 30-45 minutes just laughing at it.  She is starting to grab at her feet and I'm sure she'll soon be putting those in her mouth.  Her newest development is big smiles and little giggles.  Here is my best attempt at capturing them:  

Star of the Show

Logan has been a busy little bee meeting all kinds of family these last couple of weeks.  Last week, Logan met her Great Grandma and Grandpa Kayle.  They spent a lot of time together last Friday while mom was at work, she was held and snuggled all day long!  Here is a picture of the three of them at lunch on Saturday afternoon before Great G&G left.

Sunday afternoon Mike, Logan and I packed up the car and headed to a BBQ after church with our bible study group.  The hosts have a little 3 year old who followed Logan and I around all afternoon.  She was fascinated by the baby and so anxious to help do anything that was needed (bouncing the bouncer, putting her tete --pacifier-- back in her mouth, putting her socks back on and keeping me company while I rocked her).  She's going to be a big sister in a few months so it was good practice for her.  Here's a picture of Logan, it's the best smile picture I've gotten so far.  I swear I'll hold the camera for 10 minutes trying to get her to smile and as soon as I put it down she does it--it's a game!

Monday morning daddy took Logan and I out on a breakfast date.  I'm on Spring Break and it just so happened that Mike got Monday and Tuesday off and so we were all able to spend a lot of time together.  We ate at Casavanna, a local Cuban restaurant.  Here's daddy!

Logan slept the WHOLE date so Mike and I got some good conversation in.

Today is MY grandma's (Tita) birthday!  She had minor surgery on her foot yesterday so she's been in bed the last couple of days.  We went to make her feel better and to hang out with her on her birthday for a while.  Here is Logan getting ready to head over.
Logan and "Bistita" hanging out together.  As you can see, she's discovered her fist and can be found at any given moment trying to shove the ENTIRE thing into her mouth.  One day she'll figure out she just can't do it!
And finally, this is one of Lo's new favorite positions--tummy down on daddy's legs so that she can look out and see the world.  She likes to watch her Baby Einstein from this position, it lets her practice her standing AND watch and listen all at the same time!

Busy Week!

We've had a very busy week here in the Kayle household!  It was my second week of work and Mike was back to work so Logan was back and forth from home to Granddaddy and Nana's house.  That meant earlier mornings for mommy and baby to make sure we made it there on time.  It also meant earlier bedtimes which we are both trying to get used to.  Monday Logan spent the day with my dad and her great grandma (Tita), Tuesday and Wednesday she spent with my college roommate, Rachael, Thursday was back to my parent's house and Friday she spent with Mike and his grandparents!  Crazy busy week for her!

After a long day of playing at my parent's house I laid Logan down on our bed to go to sleep.  I left for about 10 minutes to go downstairs and wash some of her bottles.  I came back and she had rolled almost completely onto her tummy!  I think that once she is able to fully roll over on her own she is going to be a stomach sleeper.  She seems to sleep best when she is on it.
Getting ready to go to First Friday at church with her great grandparents.  
Today we started full time cloth diapering.  She finally fits into her adorable Bum Genius diapers and we are so excited to be using them!  I've noticed that Logan's disposable diapers have been giving her a bad rash and while I can get rid of it with methodbaby (it's the only stuff that works for her), it still comes back.  The cloth diapers should help.
Wow!  Look at our strong little girl!  I put Logan on her tummy this morning for a little tummy time before her nap and she propped herself right up onto her arms and held herself like this for about 20 seconds.  She's growing up!