18 Months!

I know every time I post about Kinsey's age I always say "where has the time gone?" But until you have a little one of your own you really dont realize how fast time flies or how fast little ones grow up!  It seems like just the other day I was waddling around pregnant with Kinsey and anxious to meet her,and now she is 1 1/2!!!  It has been the best 18 months EVER and I wouldnt trade any of it for the world.  The love you feel for a child of your own is so strong and the best feeling ever! 

Kinsey is doing AMAZING like she always is :)  Her growth is doing well along with her growth charts.  She is 20.4 lbs (she is little!!) which puts her in the 5th percentile for her weight, and her height is in the 40th percentile and her head is the 25th.  I have been so worried about her lack of weigh gain but her Doctor reassured me today that is is SUCH an active little girl and is burning calories faster then she is consuming them.  He is not the least bit worried about her weight so I guess I wont be either.  She is a GREAT eater and is always willing to eat haha so I know she is not going hungry ever!  We eat very healthy (usually) and are always moving around and outside any chance we can so I guess that explains everything!

-Dancing is one of her most favorite things to do.  All you have to tell her is "dance" or "go-go-go" and she immediately starts shaking her hips, moving her arms and just dancing lol It keeps Brandon and I entertained for hours!  She also dances the second she hears any music haha

-She is talking so much now its hard for me to think of all the words she says... we are currently working on getting her out of the habit of saying "uh-uh" when she wants something and saying "please" instead.  Other than that she pretty much tells me what she needs or wants and I love it :)

-Not only does Kinsey dance, she also sings... All the time!  It sounds like the same song every time but I dont quite get the tune yet or any of the words.  All I know is it is the cutest thing EVER!!  She will hit high notes and shake her hands and get totally into it haha

-She is a total outside girl.  When she is in a bad mood (not very often) I take her outside and she is Miss happy go lucky lol She is NOT afraid of bugs or getting dirty either!

-Kinsey goes to bed between 830-9 pm and wakes up anywhere from 730-8am.  She is only taking one nap that is about 1.5-2 hours long.  She is still an amazing sleeper and loves her crib!

-she loves to wear necklaces and you will often catch her running around when we are at home with beads around her neck

-she is drinking from a normal cup (she spills every once in awhile) but you can tell she is so proud of herself that she is such a big girl :)

-I often call Kinsey my little fish because she LOVES the water or anything to do with water.  She will lay in her bath until all the water is gone and soak up every last min she can lol 

-Kinsey is also discovering how to put her own clothes on.  She will pick up a shirt (its not always hers though lol) and put it over her head or try to put sock on her feet! She is a smarty pants!

I love being a stay at home mommy and watching Kinsey grow and learn new things every day!!!!

One-hundrend AND ten degrees!

People thought we were crazy when I would tell them we were going to St. George in August.. and now I can see why!  It was 110 degrees most of the days we were there, except for a few when it was a cool 105 ahah.  We are just so thankful we had a nice and cool house (never warmer than 72 degrees) to come home to after being out in that heat!

My grandparents moved from Washington to St. George a little over 3 years ago and we even stopped by on our way home from our honeymoon to visit them just about 3 years ago.  Thats when they were signing the contract on their BEAUTIFUL home they now live in.  It had been way too long since we had been down there to see them (thank goodness they come up to northern Utah to visit frequently).  So we didnt care if we were going at the hottest time of the year, because it had been just too dang long and thats the only week Brandon could get off work.

I was a little worried to take a 5 hour long road trip with a 1 1/2 year old who never likes to sit still for more than 10 minutes, but she proved me wrong in so many ways!  We were able to drive non-stop other than a quick break for lunch and to stretch our legs on the way there.  And on the way home we only stopped once because a certain someone was using my bladder as a soccer ball and I was miserable lol  She sang songs, ate lots of snacks, took long naps, read books, laughed at me singing to Brandon and dancing in the car, and just had fun!  It was some serious bonding time for all of us and I LOVED it!

she didnt like the sound of being in a car for 5 hours..

my goof ball hubby..

gotta have the junk food!

We took it easy in St. George because of the heat and made sure each day consisted of playing in some sort of water!  We did go to Zion and hike there one day as well!  Brandon and I have been there before but it was so long ago that we hardly remembered it.  We even got to splash around in the Virgin River and that was def Kinsey's favorite part.  Most of the hikes were pretty easy for us.. it did take me a little longer than the average human simply because I am PREGNANT lol I didnt want to overdo anything and wear myself out too fast so I just took my time and enjoyed every min!  Kinsey was lucky to be able to sit in her stroller when she was tired or walk when she felt like hiking with us.. What a LIFE! :)  Its hard for me to pin point my favorite part because I enjoyed all of it!  One part, though, that really stands out to me is the hike to weeping rock.  That was a "butt-kicker" for sure since it was straight up and down, but it was so so so worth it!  The rock is constantly "weeping" water that is said to be anywhere from 700-900 years old!!!  It was amazing to see all the different plants and flowers just growing out of the rock because of the constant water supply.  We also drove through what used to be the longest tunnel and when you would come out the other end, you had totally different scenery!

the Virgin River

SUPER DAD!

Kinsey and I at weeping rock

Daddy and Kins at weeping rock

These are the plants I was talking about, how cool is that!?

The rest of the trip was mostly us just relaxing (we were on vacation and all lol) and playing in water.  St. George has a community swimming pool thats indoors that we played at for a few hours... We left kinda early because I over heard ppl talking about me in my swimming suit and preggo belly (BITE ME) and some weird dude kept staring at us haha But we still had a blast and Kinsey got to go down her first water slide with dad! and she LOVED IT!  We took a tour of Brigham Young's house and that was pretty cool.  I was a little disappointed because the only original things left in the house was Amelia's chest, and Brigham Youngs hat and walking stick.. We even got to eat almonds off the almond tree in the front yard :).  One of Kinsey's favorite things to do while we were there was to play in the river and fountains in St. George.  Whoever had that idea was a genius!  It is just a shallow river with a few water falls and they even have fountains that shoot water every so often.  We went their two days because it was so much fun!  Another great thing we got to do was leave Kinsey with Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours while Brandon and I went to have fun and actually have time together!  We went to an arcade and played miniature golfing, lots of games (that I beat Brandon at every time lol jk) and Brandon even played in the batting cages! It was so fun and we knew my grandparents and Kinsey were having a blast as well :)

first water slide!

first time at the river..we didnt have her swimmng suit but at least we had the swimming diapers lol

having a BLAST!

relaxin..

While we were there we got fed 3 meals a day plus some, and felt at home from the second we walked in the door!  My grandma Becky has always been my closest because I lived with her for a long time with my mom and she just understands me! I LOVE IT!  Plus she is married to the perfect guy and is nothing less than a grandpa to me.. I think deep down he has always been my grandpa lol :)   We were spoiled rotten and had the time of our lives!!  I was able to do a lot of venting, Brandon got lots of "guy time" with my grandpa, and Kinsey was the main entertainment and melted our hearts everyday!  This was a true vacation and never a dull moment thats for sure :)  We ate lots and lots and lots but laughed so much I think we burned all the calories we ate each night lol  We were so sad to leave and missed them the second we pulled out of their driveway, but we just keep telling ourselves, "we will see them for the family reunion in September!!".  Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa and we can't wait to see you and cant wait to come back to St. George and visit again!!!!!

Kins and Grandma :)

Kinsey sure does love her Grandpas!

bugs, bugs, and more bugs!

Living in Utah and now especially living in Layton Utah I felt it was about time for me to see what this Antelope Island was all about!  My mom invited Kinsey and I to go with her last Saturday so we finally went with her, Rob, and Mason.  The drive out there was so pretty! I loved having the water on both sides as we drove to the island :) 

We decided to go to the visitor center first to see what was there and let me just start off by saying my mom is NOT a bug or insect person.. She freaks out over a potato bug lol and when a bee is around you, she makes you feel like you have a SWARM of bees attacking you haha Well we were just walking around and my mom saw a huge (seriously huge) spider on the floor.  She freaked and wouldnt even let Kinsey be in a 20 foot radius of it haha it was funny! 

Then we drove to the beach to stick our feet in the Salt Lake.  I knew there would be bugs there but holy smokes!!! there were so many flies it looked like the sand was black near the water lol  Then the wind would blow and they would all move in what looked like a wave of flies.  That didnt stop me though, I wanted to get in the water haha and guess what, my mom did too!  It took us a little bit to just ignore the flies but when we did it was nice and refreshing to cool off in the cold water :)  Kinsey loved it so much she decided to sit down and just play! (she got a nice scrub down as soon as we got home!)  When Kinsey and I were walking around in the water I looked down and noticed her toes were buried in the sand, so I asked her "Kins, where are your toes?"  She looked down and went into a full blown panic and practically crawled up my leg because she couldnt see her toes haha I felt bad!

Next we had to go see the bison and when we drove to the corrals we noticed they were no where to be found.. There had been a HUGE fire there a few days prior so they had to relocate all of them to different parts of the island.  But we soon found them down by the fresh water :)  It was a great time and I will be going back just so Kinsey can play in the water!

Pearly Whites

Time to catch up!! lol

Kinsey went to her second dentist appointment a couple weeks ago and I cant brag enough about what a good girl she was! The second we walked into the office she ran over and played with the toys and was just being her cute self. Then we went back to the chair, she sat on my lap and laid her head in the dr's lap and didnt make a peep!!!!! She opened her mouth BIG and let him check for cavities, plaque and she even got a fluoride treatment where he had to dry each tooth and paint it on! Can you say AMAZING! I am so proud of my little girl :) Her "pearly whites" are doing great and everything is perfect in that little mouth of 16 teeth. We are now starting to floss between her two bottom teeth since they are now touching each other and that is going quite well, and we are working on weaning her off her binkie. Kinsey got her goody bag with toothpaste, toothbrush, floss and even got to pick out a toy! It was a great visit :)

ITS A GIRL!!

Well folks we are having another girl and I am so EXCITED!!! I would be just as excited if it was a boy, but now my dreams of Kinsey having a sister close to her age and a friend for life has come true :)  I have 2 brothers (that I absolutely LOVE and would not trade them for the world) but deep down I always wished I had a sister.. Most of my friends had sisters and they would share clothes, have mutual friends, have "girl talk", and just all that girl stuff that I never had a sister to do any of that with.  At least I have my AMAZING mom :)

The ultrasound yesterday went really really well!  We saw 10 fingers, 10 toes, long healthy looking legs and arms, perfect heart and brain, and all the other organs seem to be perfect as well! My fluids were excellent and my placenta is completely out of the way, and my cervix is still nice and thick. She is a mover and changed positions about 20 times in a 30 min time frame lol and so far, she looks EXACTLY like Kinsey!!! She has Brandon's nose, eyes, shape of face, and then it looks like she will have my lips.. So once again we are having a girl that is identical to Brandon! At least he makes cute girls ;) 

I cant wait to buy coordinating outfits to put my girls in for pictures or just for fun!  Brandon feels a little out numbered but I just keep reminding him of how big of a "Daddy's girl" Kinsey is so he will have no problem.  We can still have our girls be into sports and all that stuff.. I just wont allow my girls to play football.. Sorry babe! haha

I have been telling myself that if this baby was a boy then it would be our last little one.. but I think someone else has a different plan for us so its a girl and now I want to have a 3rd, just in case we get a boy! (not for a few years, like 5 lol)  Some people think I am crazy for having 2 kids by the time I am 21, but the way I look at it is I will be a young parent and always have enough energy to play with them or do what they are doing.  I wont be that "old" mom haha ;)  Plus by the time I am 30 they will be able to take care of themselves and Brandon and I can enjoy our lives and our family!

YEA FOR GIRLS!!!!!

boy.. or girl!?!?

Just a quick little update on my pregnancy so far.. I will be 20 weeks on Tuesday!!! I have been feeling very tired lately and have a REALLY hard time getting up and ready for the day! Kinsey and I play so hard and I think its finally catching up to me.  I have found that if we go for a walk right after breakfast I have a little bit more energy throughout the day, but not much haha.  So I think I just need to start exercising a little bit more and hopefully get my energy level back up.  I got a DVD workout that I have heard of so many preggo moms using called "10 minute solution".  So far I LOVE it!!! If you only feel like doing one of the 10 min workouts, thats all you do, or you can do all 5 and get almost a full hour workout in :).  Kinsey loves when I sit on the floor and work out and she even tries to do some of the moves!  We have fun!! I have also been battling constantly with feeling dizzy and faint.  Some days are better than others but it is so annoying! Especially when I am in a hurry to get ready or go somewhere and I have to keep sitting down to relax for a few minutes.  My doctor was worried about my lack of weight gain at my last appointment... I had only gained 2lbs for the first 17 weeks and I guess by 20 weeks you should have gained at least 10 lbs.  I feel like I eat constantly but I am much more active with this pregnancy then I was with Kinsey.. Hopefully my weight gain is starting to look better when we go to the drs on Thursday.  My belly is getting bigger and bigger by the day! My shorts that used to be big on me are now fitting perfect :) haha and I have stopped wearing some of my favorite shirts because I dont want to stretch them out ( I learned that the hard way when I was pregnant with Kinsey)  I think thats about all the updating I have for now..  Thursday is the BIG day with our targeted ultrasound to check all the parts and systems of the fetus to make sure everything is a-ok!  I declined all the extra testing that checks for downs and that type of stuff because it would make no difference to me and thats a lot of extra needle poking I dont want to have to go through lol

Cross your fingers the umbilical cord has moved from in between the babies legs so we can get a peek!!!

I am hoping for a girl because how fun would that be to have Kinsey have a sister only 22 months apart from her!? I always wanted a sister to be friends with for life.. I was lucky enough to have awesome step-sisters throughout my childhood but none that I ever lived with 24/7.

Brandon says it doesnt matter if its a boy or girl but I have heard him hint a few times he really wants a boy so he can teach him to play sports and do those "guy" things haha...

4th of JULY!!!

Wow did we have a great weekend!! It was filled with food, treats, playing outside, water, fireworks, and lots of fun stuff :)  We were so lucky to have Brandon be able to get the 4th off so he could spend the whole day with us!  Sunday night we lit off fireworks at our house and had a blast.  Kinsey loved watching them and would yell "WOOOW" with each one we lit off haha. We even got one of the new aerial ones they allow in Utah, but it was so loud Leo ended up going CRAZY and yipping and Kinsey just sat there with her eyes so huge.  The next morning I woke up early like a little kid because I was so excited for the parade and all the fun stuff we had planned for the day, while Kinsey and Brandon slept in until 9am! I love that Layton City's parade doesnt start until 1030 because it gives you time to sleep in and eat and get ready for the day!  The parade was packed and we soon learned that we would have to set up chairs at midnight next year so we can get a better spot out of the sun. We also learned that Kinsey will be a dancer in a parade... anytime a group of cheerleaders or dancers would go by, she would run after them and start dancing to their music! Everyone around us kept laughing saying how cute she was and how she was such a goer!  After the parade we headed over to Layton Park to go to all the booths, eat lunch, play at the carnival, and just have fun :)  Kinsey and I went down the big blow up slide and we both laughed the whole way down.. it didnt seem that high up but it tickled my stomach and everything haha.  Kinsey started to slow down and just sit back so we took her home to have a nice long nap!  We played outside, ran around, and Kinsey even scrapped her knees but never once did that stop her!  I think I am going to have to start putting knee pads on that child because she loves to run the sidewalk in front and all along the side of our house.. Im glad we live on a corner so she can get all that energy out!  Playing hard outside worked up our appetite so we cooked hamburgers and I hate to brag but my homemade hamburgers are the BEST!!!! I have a secret my mom taught me and it makes them turn out so flavorful every time :) I also made fun fruit kabobs to look like the flag!  Then it was more resting time to prepare for the fireworks. 
I have never been to any other fireworks on the 4th besides the ones in North Ogden so this year we of course went to Layton City's fireworks and they were pretty good :)  we sat on our blanket eating popcorn and just being the goofy family we are and enjoyed every single minute!  Kinsey started to get tired towards the end of the fireworks and started to put her shoes on and even pushing her stroller haha its so funny how she already knows how to tell us EXACTLY what she wants! We had a GREAT 4th Of July :)