Kaycee is 8 months!

Our Kaycee girl turned 8 months yesterday! It's amazing to me how fast time is going! This month I didn't take as many pictures as previous months, but I think that's partially because I posted some of the pictures I've taken in other blog posts this month.  Without further adieu, here's Kaycee's collection of adorableness via pictures!

She loves to help me do the laundry. Or maybe she just loves hangers?

2 tired kiddos after a walk

Her first time sitting in a high chair at a restaurant. Don't worry, I didn't let go of her the entire time we were at Sean's Smokehouse!

Smiling for Aunt Nene in the back of the Durango



She thinks she can take Max for walks all by herself now. Seriously, it kills me how cute he is with her!

Whatcha doing?!

Her shirt says "Whoos the cutest?" Uh, Kaycee!!

Practicing rolling over!

Her version of a PiYo flip

True love

Her cute pink converse. She kicked them off about 10 seconds after I took this and they landed in the dishwasher. She had the most triumphant little smile on like "mom I found my feet again!!"

I told her to smile for daddy so I could send her daily picture to Jake and I got this. She sure loves that daddy word!

Cowgirl Kaycee!

Holding onto the cup holder in her stroller

2nd generation besties - she loves hanging with Majken

Nearly asleep leaning against Jake a church.

Pulled herself ALL the way forward. She's so strong!

Jake snapped this picture during family prayer. Love that Max stayed in with us for family prayer!

She's a gansta

She loves her exersaucer!

Bathtime buddies

2 laundry helpers!

First ponytail! The night before, Jake suggested I try it and he called her a unicorn. I can't help but think that's exactly what she looks like!

Admiring her pony tail

First pony tail with a bow

Jake's work had an awesome event at Thanksgiving Point where we got to see "Night at the Museum" on the grass by the waterfall. I've never been to the waterfall before and I was dying at how gorgeous it was!

Kaycee's first 5K!

We did the Addicts II Athletes 5K in Lehi last weekend. Kaycee did so good!

Happy girl her with spoon!

Playing in her blanket. It reminds me of Linus in Charlie Brown Christmas Special!

Good morning, mom! I literally see this face EVERY single morning when I wake her up. ALWAYS a huge smile.

Selfies!

She's big enough to stand now for her monthly nearly naked shot!!

Cute unicorn!

Some fun things from this month:

• She said her first word! She said "dada" on August 28th and I about died I was so excited. We got it on video too. She practices saying it now and it's super cute. If I were to predict, I'd say her first "real" word is going to be Max. She sounds kind of like she's trying to say it.
• She waved!! She waved at Clint when we were going over to Jake's parents to see them and I was totally surprised, I didn't know she could do it! She clenches her hand and then loosens it but she mimics you if you do it first. SO cute!
• Sleep wise, she's gone back to doing 3 naps some days, it depends on the day. Most days it's only 2 and she's done great at sleeping this month again, back to 12 uninterrupted hours a night.
• She loves solids. She's eating peaches, yogurt, carrots and applesauce now in addition to the foods I mentioned last month. We try to have her eat solids 3 times a day but sometimes it's only once or twice.
• She has 5 bottles a day, averages around 25 ounces. She is getting very good at communicating when she's done - duck lips and she vigorously shakes her head no when she is done with her bottle. Still has zero interest in holding her bottle.
• Still very much in size 3 diapers.
• I moved almost all of her 3-6 month or 6 month clothes out of her closet. I can think of 1 outfit that's 3-6 that still fits but it's a different brand so I think that's why. I'm getting ready to start having her wear 9 month clothes, they just look so big but I think she's ready for them.
• She's doing so great at standing. Not really much interest in taking steps, but she is holding onto other things now like the edge of the crib or her dresser if we guide her hands to them. She will also stand on her own if she's leaning against something {like the chair picture above}.
• Ok but really, I swear she has 2 teeth coming. She's drooling like crazy and I swear I can see her gums swelling up but I thought that last month too so we'll see what happens.
• She is a PRO at rolling. She can roll and roll and roll - she'll go from one end of the room to the other if you give her long enough. So just a tad late on that one but hey, she's moving at her own speed and it's helping me get to enjoy her as a baby so it's fine by me!
• She loves other people. She's very social at the grocery store or at the hospital when I get my blood drawn {those are the 2 main places we go each week}. She smiles and talks and waves and it's super cute.
• Still loves Max, she is constantly trying to touch him. If she is fussy and he walks in the room, the frown turns upside down and it's all giggles. She knows the sound of his nails on the wood floor and as soon as she hears it she will look around for him. They seriously love each other.
• She plays with these little floating numbers in the bath and she loves them - right now she's playing with an 8 for 8 months, a K and an M. She loves to eat them, set them down and watch them float and do it all over again.

Happy 8 months Kaycee, we love you so much and can't imagine our lives without you!

Updates on me

I've got a few things going on with me that deserve a post dedicated to just me. First off, my blood count. Last week it was at 53,000 and this week it's at 89,000. We have no clue what I'm doing to make it go up but we are grateful regardless. Kind of weird that it's suddenly coming up by itself but hey we'll take it! I get to start having it checked every 2 weeks instead of once a week which is really nice. Kaycee does amazing when we go to the hospital each week but it still is a drive and I hate having it done so it's nice I get to start doing every 2 weeks!

Because my energy has been a little lower because of what's going on, I decided to back out on my half marathon I had planned for October. I'm bummed to not be doing it, but at the same time I feel very at peace about it. I am not even close to ready for it, and at this point I am absolutely HATING running anything longer than 3-4 miles total. The thought of 13.1 sounds like torture. So in a way, I'm grateful I have the "excuse" of my platelets so that I don't have to do it. I had made a goal to do a half marathon every calendar year for like the rest of my life pretty much and I'm already going to mess that up but I decided to change that goal to doing a 5K every calendar year until I'm like 80. I've done 3, 1 in 2012, 1 in 2013 and 1 in 2014 so I'm doing good on that goal! I'd like to run a whole one someday soon too, I've never done that so that's a great goal for me that I can do because the thought of running 3 miles is nothing compared to running 13! I am sad about missing the high after a half marathon, so maybe I'll do some 10K's someday but for now, 5K's sound great!

I joined a DietBet! I've never done one before but I'm super excited to do one! The pot is just over $58,000 that gets split between everyone who loses 4% of their body weight in 4 weeks. I keep yo-yoing and do great during the week but crappy on the weekends and gain back what I lose during the week. Now that I'm invested and I paid for this, I feel like that will help me stay focused on the weekends!

Along those same lines, I am also officially doing Weight Watchers. I had done it before when I started losing weight 2 years ago and did it for 6 months and lost 50 pounds but I did a free version of it, not the real thing. The app wasn't my favorite but I made it work. I like the habits it taught me and the concept behind it, but I really dislike the app of the free version so I decided to actually pay for the program and do official Weight Watchers. Like I said before, paying for it I think will really help me stick to my plan.

I'm doing PiYo 6 days a week and I'm starting to like it. Definitely don't love it like I love Turbo but I'm getting stronger and I'm liking the changes I'm seeing and feeling so I'm definitely planning to keep doing it! Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to go back to Turbo {energy wise} but for now, PiYo is a great replacement in addition to all the walks Kayc, Max and I go on!

And last but not least, since I'm talking about all this stuff anyway I figured I'd post my goal in a "public" place, since there's like 10 people that read this haha. My long term goal is to get back into this 1 pair of jeans I have that BARELY fit me when I was at my very smallest, so I have to get smaller then my smallest to have them fit. Like I said, that's long term goal. My short term goal is to fit in the majority of my pre pregnancy clothes and at least my pre pregnancy jeans by Christmas Day. I have 2 MASSIVE containers in my closet full of really cute, nearly brand new clothes that I want to wear again. I want my Christmas present to myself to be that they fit again. That's like getting a whole new wardrobe for Christmas!! I am planning to leave the clothes alone and not try anything on or see if I'm close until Christmas Day unless I run out of jeans that fit, then I can get in there and grab out a pair or 2 but nothing else can come out until Christmas Day. Hoping now that I've actually told someone my goal rather then just thinking about it will help keep me more accountable!

I'll make sure to keep y'all posted on Weight Watchers, my DietBet, PiYo and how my current clothes are fitting!

Ogden Temple Open House

I had the chance to go to the Ogden Temple Open House the last weekend of August with my family. I haven't been to an open house since Fresno, CA in either 1999 or 2000 so it's been a REALLY long time! My mom got the tickets in June so it was something we had been planning for quite a while, but last minute Jake ended up having mandatory OT so he wasn't able to come. I was SUPER bummed since it was our first time taking Kaycee to any temple. I was also really nervous about taking care of Kaycee without him. Our tickets were for right when she should be napping and our Kaycee girl loves her naps and is not a happy camper if she has to miss one. Having a screaming baby in the temple did NOT sound like fun to me but I decided to go anyway and hope for the best.

We waited between 1-2 hours before we got inside the temple. She barely slept on the way up, plus sitting and waiting so long - in my mind that meant I was going to have an insanely fussy baby. But she did amazing - she didn't make a peep the whole time. By the time we got out of the temple, it was 2 hours after she should have had a bottle and she'd been awake for nearly 4 hours. And she did not make a peep, no fussing, no talking - nothing! She sucked on her binky super contentedly and looked around absolutely everywhere.

It was AMAZING to me how wide her eyes were. She loves lights anyway, but the temple chandeliers are stunning and she was absolutely fascinated by looking at them. And she seriously did not make a SOUND! I had her in the Bjorn and I had thought she'd want to get out part way through but nope. I know I have an awesome baby who is super chill but this was above and beyond her usual awesome self. I'm absolutely positive my little princess knew she was at her Father's home and she could feel the Spirit.

I love how I feel in the temple and it always amazes me how strong the Spirit is even when the temple hasn't been dedicated yet. This was no exception - when we got to the Celestial Room I felt like I'd hit a brick wall because the Spirit was SOO strong in there. Kaycee and I held hands while we walked through the room and she just stared at that huge chandelier. It was such an amazing moment in my life and I'm so grateful for it, I just wish Jake had been able to come too. Good thing there are 2 temples that will be having open houses soon - Provo and Payson! Jake and I are already planning our trip for just the 3 of us to go and see those temples too!

My family after we finished our tour

My princess and me 

I'm so grateful for temples, for the Gospel, that I'm sealed to my amazing little family, for having a worthy Priesthood holder and temple recommend holding husband and for the chance I had to go the temple. Seeing the impact the temple had on Kaycee really strengthened my testimony of just how amazing temples are!