Frozen Fever

Kaycee hasn't really had much of an interest in any characters from any shows. Jake and I thought it would be fun if she started liking Olaf so we started pointing him out anytime we saw him. She started noticing him and called him Sven, except she didn't say Sven because of her communication thing with her tubes. It was more of a certain high pitched noise that we knew meant Olaf/Sven. 

My mom saw that Kaycee was becoming pretty into Olaf and brought her home an Olaf from Disneyland. Kaycee LOVED him and took him absolutely everywhere!! Because she liked him so much, we bought her a Sven to match! 

Olaf going grocery shopping

Olaf and Sven in the car 

Olaf nap with her Olaf and Sven pillowcase 

Olaf and Sven at nap time

Although she still loves Olaf, now she also loves Anna. She's become quite obsessed with Frozen and points out anything she sees that's Frozen related. When she wants to watch Frozen, she'll look super upset and look at you and say "Anna, Anna" over and over again. Super adorable! We love that she loves Frozen so much!! 

Kaycee gets tubes

We found out through kids on the move and lots of audiology appointments that Kaycee needed to get tubes in because she had fluid in her ears that was throwing off her balance {which explains why she walked late} and was making it hard for her to repeat words we say because she couldn't understand us {which explains her being delayed on communication}. 

Such a cute little patient

 She wasn't gone for very long and everything went perfectly smooth - so grateful!

All better a few hours later! 

I'm so grateful we decided to try tubes - it's made a world of difference in helping her walk faster and with more confidence and her talking is totally different!! So awesome!! 

Kaycee walking update

Just a quick picture-less post about Kaycee and her walking! She has been doing much better, especially on Sundays after a day in nursery. Seeing all the other kids walk is so good for her!

We had a play date the other day with my good friend Lindsey from the bank and she brought her 2 kiddos, Kherington (who is a month older than Kaycee) and Tristan who is just over 2 months. Kherington is an amazing walker and nearly runs everywhere she goes. Kaycee kept looking at her in fascination every time she went anywhere and ever since our play date Kaycee has been walking EVERYWHERE. She isn't holding onto things for balance anywhere near as much as she was before and she has learned in the last few days to stand up by herself without holding onto anything.

I am SOOO proud of her!! She has make HUGE progress this week! The therapist at Kids on the Move told us that if she wasn't walking by 18 months that we would need to schedule a follow up appointment and I've been stressed since she can walk but has been choosing not to. Well, that all went out the window this week! She's doing so awesome and I am so proud of her for overcoming something that was challenging for her!

Way to go, princess! We knew you could do it!

Winner winner!

About a month ago, Jake sent me a screenshot from Facebook about the baby contest that was happening for Pony Express Days. I told him I didn't really believe in baby contests and didn't want to do it.  While that is true, more importantly I was scared about her losing and didn't want to subject her to that since there's more to life than "being cute". However, a few weeks later my sister Lauryl told me that there wasn't enough contestants so there'd be pretty slim competition. I decided to enter her even if she lost because it would be a good opportunity {for later, since she's too little right now!} that even if you lose you should still try things.  You can still learn things and the fear of losing shouldn't prevent you from trying.

I was a little stressed about the event leading up to it but that morning I prayed I would just have fun with her and not be worried about it. I picked out a cute patriotic outfit she already had and did her hair in her normal cute way. I didn't want to do anything different from normal because I think she's as beautiful as can be just the way she is - she doesn't need fancy clothes or crazy up do's or make up to make her pretty.

Standing up all by herself for the picture! 

Love her little grin

We got there around 10:30, thinking it would be best to go at the beginning of the judging window (10:00 - 1:00) and turns out that was a good thing - because they didn't have many contestants they ended up doing all the judging and announcing everything in the first hour!

When it was our turn, I went back with her and the Miss Eagle Mountain royalty to the judges.  I stood her up on table and she stood by herself almost the whole time.  She said hi once or twice and was smiling and waving and just jabbering away in her little voice. The judges kept complimenting her hair and laughing as she kept trying to reach for Miss Eagle Mountain's crown and sash. When we left, one of my old young women Ella {who happens to be Miss Eagle Mountain} told me Kaycee was the only one who had talked so far! I was proud of Kaycee for not being shy even around strangers!

We came out and waited for the results.  They came out and read them and Kaycee won her age group! There wasn't a lot of contestants but there were other contestants in her age that she still beat! I was so proud of her! She won a beautiful Elsa dress up dress for her baby doll, a cardboard book of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and a $150.00 gift certificate to get her pictures taken by a photographer in Eagle Mountain! I was so excited!

We went back to our seats and were getting ready to go when they announced there were overall winners.  The categories were best eyes, best smile, best personality, best hair and best outfit.  Not going to lie, I immediately started running the categories through my head trying to think of which one she could win.  She hadn't been super smiley so I wasn't holding my breath there but she had talked a ton so maybe best personality?

They said her name for best personality and I was pretty dang excited. As we walked up to get her award {with her clapping for herself in my arms}, they also announced she won best hair too! I was so flattered and excited! She won 2 additional $150.00 gift certificates to get her picture taken, adding up to $450.00 worth of photos - for free!! As they read the remaining contestant winners she clapped for everyone and just was smiling away. Even though she didn't understand I was proud of her for clapping when she heard everyone else doing it and picking up on that social cue.

I was so excited for her I could barely suppress my grin.  Of all the contestants, no one else won 3 categories! It may have been my imagination but I felt like I had some moms giving me the stink eye as we walked to the car. I buckled her up and immediately handed her the new book she won - she loves to read and she contentedly read her book the rest of the way home.

When we got home I got her Elsa dress out and put it on her baby doll. That doll is now her favorite of her 3 babies and she carries her Elsa everywhere!

So proud of her!! 

A few minutes later I saw on a Facebook yard sale page a $5.00 Winnie the Pooh kids chair. She had a hard time in Nursery getting up and down from the chair because she doesn't have anything that size at home to practice on so I got it for her - every princess needs a throne right? 

Reading a different book in her throne

I am very proud of her for how well she behaved at the judging, how happy she was during the results and that she clapped for others and of course I'm proud of her for winning.  I'm also glad that I got over my fear of her not winning and that we tried it anyway.  I'm sure it would have still been a good experience had she not won but it sure helps that she did win!

Way to go babe, mom and dad think you're just the cutest little girl in the whole universe!

Kaycee's 1st Birthday Party

I'm finally getting around to posting Kaycee's birthday pictures! We had a Minnie Mouse theme for everything - thank you Pinterest!

I saw an idea on Pinterest to have everyone who comes sign a book!

My sister Jeannene wrote the cute poem! 

A banner of all her monthly pictures plus other milestones. I love how it turned out - it was HUGE! 

Dustin, Keisha, Clint, Adalynn & my dad. Macy, my mom and Rick, Brynne & Blake, Jeannene and Popper also came. 

The birthday girl eating her pizza and green beans. She loves green beans! 

We had pizza with different salads and cupcakes for dinner. After we finished eating it was time to open presents! 

Kaycee got lots of clothes and toys! She is definitely a spoiled little mini! After gifts, it was time for the cake smash! 

Kaycee's cake I made! I am so proud of how it turned out! 

She had lots of fun playing with it politely and I decided to help her get a little messy! 

Bath in the sink afterwards!

It was a wonderful birthday party, I'm so grateful we were able to celebrate Kaycee and her wonderful first year of life. Happy birthday again honey, we love you!

Kaycee is 1 year old!

Our little Kaycee turned 1 last Saturday! I feel like I've blogged a lot of pictures lately with Christmas festivities so here are some pictures that have not already been posted from her 12th month of life! 

All bundled up for a 5K - hoodie, long sleeve shirt, gloves, hat, pants, leg warmers, socks and shoes!

She loves pizza! She ate an entire slice by herself, we were super proud of her!

Watching Shaytards with dad

They are confused about who sleeps where apparently 

Discovering Max's crate

Pulled herself up in her crib all by herself! 

Standing! I helped her a little bit this time - probably shouldn't have taught her how to stand up at the bookshelf since she loves to empty it! 

Sleepy girl

She doesn't snuggle with Jake, like ever, so Jake was super excited that she just laid on him and stayed there for a good 15 minutes. She's done it multiple times since this was taken and he loves it! 

Wearing dad's hat

Eating mac and cheese - one of her favorites!

Trying to use her spoon!

On her grandpa's birthday {my dad and Jake's dad have the same birthday} she wore her "My Grandpa is the best!" onesie

She's strong - Jake couldn't get her to let go! 

Crawling around after playing with Chloe. No, we didn't get a new dog {I wish!} - we were dog sitting for a friend. Chloe loved to lay in Max's little bed even though she's a boxer and definitely not a small dog. Kaycee LOVED having her with us! 

Pig tails! 

Another shot of the pig tails

"What, I didn't do that."

Popper got her this onesie for Christmas. Yes, Kaycee does love her Pop!

Apples are a new favorite, especially when they are as big as her face!

Play date with her fiance Harrison

Crazy post bath hair! 

Fell asleep sitting up

12 month nearly naked shot 

Closest I was going to get to a picture on her birthday in her chair - she did not want to sit still! 

Some fun things from this month:

• She is 20 pounds 2 ounches {55%}, 29 inches tall {43%} and her head circumference is 45 cm {52%}. 
• She is amazing at pulling to stand and can pull on about anything to stand up now {walls, book shelves, dresser, legs, tables - if it's slightly steady she will use it!}
• She has sat up by herself a few more times. I know she knows how, I just don't think she knows that she knows how. 
• She is not a fan of formula lately - we have to really coax her to drink it. Switching to milk hopefully today. 
• She loves water and LOVES chocolate almond milk. Those are definitely her preference for drinks. 
• She loves every food we put in front of her. She loves to feed herself so I usually try to find things she can feed herself. I realized I hadn't been feeding her many fruits or vegetables so we've been adding lots more of those and she seems to love them! 
• She's going through a "poop in the tub" phase and it sucks. A lot. It's probably 4 or 5 nights a week she leaves us a nice smelly gift in her little bath tub. 
• She's getting a little vocabulary! She is great at saying hi and says it often and pretty much on command. She has said hello and hey multiple times too. She says "oggy" for Max and says it often! If she hears him, sees him, wants him or is playing with him she's saying "oggy". She has also said "bar bar" super fast like "bark bark". That is definitely something her "oggy" says a lot! 
• She is discovering pointing at things and we love it! 
• She LOVES her Violet dog she got for Christmas. She sleeps with it and we've caught her multiple times using it as a pillow or hugging it in her sleep. She's never liked any stuffed animals - whenever I try to get her to play with one she immediately drops it and picks up any other toy but she LOVES her Violet. It's helping her like other stuffed animals now, she is starting to play with some of her old ones that she had ignored previously. 
• She is in 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diapers. Her size 2 white church shoes are a little tight so we retired them. I don't know what exact shoe size she is since her shoes right now are all moccasins that aren't sized - she has 5 pairs! She actually keeps them on her feet which is a huge relief! 
• She is starting to show more interest when we turn the TV on, especially if it's Shaytards. She will sit in my lap and watch the entire YouTube video with us. 
• At last count she had 7 or 8 teeth - they are coming in like crazy! She is very sensitive in her little mouth and doesn't let us feel often so we have to wait until we can see it when she laughs before we know it's there {unless we want to hold her down and feel which she hates}.
• She is taking 2 naps still, 1 long in the morning and 1 shorter in the evenings.
• Church has been better since we switched to 1:00 because she can get a nap in before church but now she wants to crawl and explore and it makes sitting quietly in Relief Society or Sacrament Meeting really tough! We spend a lot of Relief Society in the hall way each week. 
• She is crawling SUPER fast - she has mastered the movement and can get places pretty quick! She usually stays near us and just explores the room we are in so we haven't had to do too much baby proofing. 
• She has identified the sound of the garage opening with daddy. She's had a few days where the garage will open when Jake gets home from work and she'll immediately turn towards the noise and say "dada". It's adorable. She's also started crawling towards the hallway now so she can see him when he comes in. 
• She started grinding her teeth last night - really hope that goes away! We think more teeth are coming and that's why she's doing it. Either way, I hate that sound! 
• She absolutely loves other kids and loves play dates! She tends to laugh when other kids cry and we are trying to teach her not to laugh but her laugh is infectious so we end up laughing with her while we are trying to tell her it isn't nice to laugh when other people are crying. 
• She is becoming quite the hair/necklace/earring puller. I've been just tolerating it and now I'm realizing I need to nicely be correcting her so that she doesn't think it's okay to pull other peoples hair. I will say "ouch!" when she does it to startle her a little bit and then she always cries - always. She is SO sensitive. Jake told her to stop chewing on her crib last night and she immediately started welling up. She makes the most ADORABLE sad face right before she cries, it is so heart breaking and so cute at the same time. She's definitely sensitive and doesn't like to be told she's doing something wrong. 
• She still loves the car and is usually very quiet - she just looks out the window. She's still rear facing and I plan to keep her that way as long as possible. I can't wait for her to be forward facing but I want her to be safe too! 

I think that's everything for this month! I am going to try to keep doing monthly posts just so that I know I am blogging at least once a month and have a place to dump all the cute pictures I take of her and I can continue to document things she is doing each month but I won't be doing the pig side by side comparison pictures anymore. Crazy how much she has grown in a year {or how much that pig has shrunk}! 

Happy birthday again Kaycee, we love you!!