Big Stuff

My girls both think they're big stuff lately-- Avery because she recently got to ride my sister's new horse Kola, and Kendall because she just started pulling up on things. Last weekend Scott went out to Possum Kingdom with some friends for a bachelor party type thing and so the girls and I spent some time with my parents. Saturday morning my parents picked us up and took us out to Justin, TX (about 30 min. away) where my sister boards her new horse, Kola. Ever since she was a little girl she has wanted a horse of her own, so we are all really happy for her. Kola was great to let Avery ride her and pet her and brush her. Amy is still working on training her and everything, but she is a really sweet horse and seems to be doing great so far.

taking a ride with Amy

brushing Kola

checking out the tack room

petting the barn cat

all smiles after her ride

Kendall has been pulling up to her knees for a few weeks now, but just this week she started going all the way up to a stand. This morning she pulled up on her Leap Frog table and stood there playing for the longest time. She is still a little wobbly, but I resisted the urge to go over and sit there so I could catch her if she fell. It wasn't too hard since both girls were playing so well by themselves and I was busy making breakfast or doing dishes or something. Last night I had a dream that she was eight months old (which she almost is) and was walking! That's a bit of an exaggeration on the reality, but still, she is getting so big so quickly now and I feel like her first year is whizzing by!

Fall Pictures

My Mom took the day off work today to spend time with the girls and I, so we headed over to Portrait Innovations this morning and had some fall pictures taken. I mostly wanted some new pictures of Kendall since it has been 2 1/2 months since her last ones and she is growing and changing so fast. It was a little easier posing her this time since she can sit up on her own, although since she is crawling now she didn't want to sit still for long! I had some really cute matching outfits, so of course we got some of the girls together and some individuals of Avery while we were at it. We didn't have too much luck getting a really good one of them together, but I really liked some of the individual ones. Before I share the pictures, I have to tell a quick Avery story. About a week or so ago I was asking Avery about some of the kids in her class at school. After she told me the names of several of her friends, I asked her who her best friend was. She answered, "Kendall. She's my best friend in the whole wide world!" I thought that was so sweet and it made my heart so glad! And judging by the way Kendall lights up when Avery is around and cracks up at everything she does, I'd say that Avery is Kendall's best friend too :)

A Day in the Life

My sister-in-law, who is a Creative Memories consultant, used to (and maybe still does) include a monthly calendar and/or daily schedule in her scrapbooks so she could look back and remember what day-to-day life was like for their family. I always really liked this feature and so I've decided to try and include something similar in our blog from time to time. This time I think I'll share just a typical day for the Bedicheks at this point in our lives. Hang on because it's likely to be a long one!

Monday, September 22, 2008

6:15 AM Kendall wakes up and starts playing and making noise in her crib. I ignore it since she's happy and try to get a little more sleep.
7:00 AM Scott brings Kendall to me before he leaves for work. I nurse her in bed, still trying to sleep a little bit.
7:30 AM I throw on some clothes, brush hair, put on some makeup (my personal hygeine standards are a little lower these days). Get Kendall dressed.
7:50 AM Wake Avery up for school and get her dressed. We all eat breakfast.
8:35 AM Can't find keys! Begin frantically searching for them so I won't be stuck at home all day w/ both children! Call Scott and leave message asking what he did w/ them after church yesterday.
8:55 AM Found keys- yay! Take Avery to school.
9:25 AM Leave the church to run some errands. Target- I scored some new shoes w/ my b-day $ and picked up a few groceries. Linens N Things and Kohls- looking for decoartions for the girls' newly decorated bathroom. Got Kendall a sound machine on sale.
11:00 AM Return home. make a few phone calls and perform damage control on the house from this morning.
11:30 AM Nurse Kendall and do a few chores.
12:15 PM Kendall and I eat lunch.
12:30 PM Put Kendall down for a nap. I get on the computer to take care of some financial stuff, read e-mails, begin this blog entry.
1:40 PM Wake Kendall up so we can go get Avery. Wonder why the drop off AND pick up times fall right during Kendall's nap times!
2:00 PM Pick up Avery. We hang out at the church for a while since Avery has a 3:00 Dr's appt. for a repeat urine culture.
2:45 PM Drag Avery away from the playscape so I can change Kendall's dirty diaper before we go. Avery cries and whines almost the whole time we're in the bathroom. I have a lurking suspicion that her not taking a nap at school is a major factor in the whining. Remind Avery that no nap means early to bed.
3:00 PM Attempt to catch Avery's tee-tee in a tiny cup at the Dr's office. Feed Kendall a bottle while we wait 45 minutes for the Dr. to come in and talk to us. Thankfully, Avery actually likes going to the Dr. and is very cooperative the entire time. Avery chooses a sucker that makes her lips and mouth turn blue. On the way home, she tells me about 5 times how good it is.
4:15 PM Return home and play with the girls.
4:30 PM Attempt to get Kendall down for a 3rd nap so she won't have a meltdown later when I'm trying to cook dinner. No luck!
5:15 PM We go out to check the mail and for a short walk.
5:30 PM Start making dinner with Avery's "help." About 5-10 minutes in, Kendall begins having the aforementioned meltdown.
5:45 PM Scott gets home and puts Kendall down for a nap. Yay for husbands!
6:00 PM Dinner.
6:40 PM Wake Kendall up and pray that the late nap does not cause her to stay awake too late.
Feed Kendall dinner.
7:00 PM We all go out back to play.
7:15 PM I come in to give Kendall a bath.
7:45 PM Avery and Scott come in. Show Scott and Avery Kendall's new "trick"- waving back at you! Scott gets Avery ready for bed while I feed Kendall and put her to bed.
8:05 PM Read and sing to Avery.
8:20 PM Eat ice cream that Scott just picked up at Braum's and talk about his day.
8:45 PM Finish this blog entry and time for me!

So there you have it. The good and the bad-- a day with the Bedicheks!

Seven months

Today was Kendall's seven month birthday. She is working hard on learning to crawl right now. Actually, she's got the whole mobility thing down to quite a science. She gets up on all fours and moves forward a "step" or two and then lunges forward onto her belly. Then she army crawls some and then repeats the whole process again and again until she gets where she wants to go. All the while her little hands are reaching, reaching for whatever they can find. Oh, and sometimes she throws in this bear walk move where she gets up on her hands and feet, and then there's the occasional roll as well. It's pretty entertaining to watch her make her way across the floor to get ahold of a toy or check something out. She also pulls up to a kneeling position now and can go from lying to sitting by herself. She's quite the mover! That's probably part of the reason why she is still in size 2 diapers and can still wear some of her 3-6 month clothes. But she is eating and sleeping well and her reflux seems to be getting better too. She is finally off the Bethanechol, which basically helped her food to digest quicker, but is still taking Axid, an acid reducer, twice a day. I think after her 9 month appointment we are supposed to take her off that as well, so we'll see how that goes. A lot of people comment on how much she smiles and how happy she is, which is so true most of the time, but Scott and I always laugh when someone says that because she can also be quite the little "rager" as we say. When she is mad or upset she is not afraid to let you know about it! As difficult as it can be to deal with, as her mother I have to believe that I can somehow nurture that "rage" into a positive quality one day. She has recently been experiencing separation anxiety, especially when I take her to Bible class. She is usually OK for a minute after I leave, but when she realizes I am gone, she screams and cries so hard and nothing calms her down but me. How did I end up with two Momma's girls? I love it, but sometimes it's not such a good thing. Luckily we had a breakthrough last night at church and they actually were able to calm her down after a few minutes and they said she was happy as a lark for the rest of class-Yay! For the most part though, she is just getting to be more and more fun. She laughs and interacts with Avery, babbles and talks to you, and is so easily amused and entertained. As always, I am enjoying this stage but looking forward to watching her grow and seeing what the future holds!

School Days

First Day of School- Sept. 08 (2yrs. 5 mo)

First Day of School- Sept. 07 (17 mo.)

Today was Avery's first day of school for the year at Richland Hills Church of Christ. I decided to take her picture this morning in the same spot I took it last year so I could compare. It would have been better if she had been standing up in last year's picture, but I remember thinking I was doing good at the time just getting her to sit there for me to take her picture at all. It's amazing to me how much older and bigger she looks this year. She is becoming a little girl and is losing her baby look! I took my camera up to the school today with every intention of taking some pictures, but it is just so crazy with all the kids, strollers, backpacks and nap mats-- plus I was more concerned about telling Avery's teachers a few last minute things and getting her all settled in. She had such awesome teachers last year that it was a little difficult to give them up! Actually, it was probably more difficult for me. Avery gave one of her teachers a hug this morning and then gave her a high five and said and waved goodbye this afternoon, so I think she was fine with the transition. She has a lot of the same kids in her class this year and she is actually in the same classroom that she was in this summer, so I think that made it easier. Although she says all the time that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, I'm not so sure there's not some teaching in her future with the way that she enjoys pretending to be her teachers and instructing her pretend class how to make things. I think she is going to have a great year and I am looking forward to hearing about her days at school and seeing all the new things she is learning!

The Lake- take two

This past weekend we spent our second Saturday in a row out at the lake, only this time we were at Lake Bridgeport. My aunt Milly graciously shared the lake house and boat that she rented so my family could all come out and enjoy a little R and R. We made the 1 hr trip on Saturday morning in time to take the girls out on the boat and do a little swimming before it got too hot or before anybody got too tired. My Dad took us to a spot that he and my aunt had found while they were fishing that morning where you could see tons of alligator gar skimming the top of the water to catch minnows. After seeing one up close Avery asked, "Do the fish have teeth? Do they bite your feet in the water?" After assuring her that there would be no fish biting her feet she happily jumped in for a little swim. After I commented that we should've brought a raft, my Dad took one of the seat cushions from the boat and threw it in the water. It actually worked pretty good! After we had lunch and put the girls down for naps, Scott and I went back out on the boat with my sister and brother-in-law to do a little exploring and relaxing. Ah, the beauty of a "Mimi" who is willing to stay with your kids while you go and have fun! After going out on the boat late that afternoon because we had promised Avery we would, my brother-in-law Chris grilled some delicious steaks for everyone on the deck while it rained. We sure were glad to have that grill when the power went out! After dinner we made s'mores on the grill, visited a little more, and started off back home. It was such a fun day--thank you Milly and family! Here are a few more pics from our day at the lake.

Aunt Milly and KendallAvery was a little upset about getting water in her eyes

Our makeshift raft

Avery was cracking Kendall up with her funny maraca dance

We forgot Kendall's booster seat, so we just tied her to a chair!

August Weekend Adventures

Weekend before last we took advantage of the uncharacteristically cooler weather and headed down to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, TX with my parents. It was a great little day trip and we had a lot of fun seeing the animals up close and feeding many of them as well. For my Okie readers, it was similar to the Arbuckle Wilderness where you drive through the park to see and feed the animals, but Fossil Rim was more scenic and larger. We saw buffalo, deer, elk, goats and rams, ostriches and emu, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, and more! We decided some of the animals were running a toll booth of sorts because they would stand on the road and refuse to move unless you fed them! The park had a small children's area as well with different kinds of goats that kids could brush, some tortoises, and maybe a few other things I can't remember. Avery and Kendall both really enjoyed riding through the park in Mommy and Daddy's laps rather than buckled up in car seats! Every time we would go down a hill Scott would make Avery put her arms up like she was on a roller coaster. Then she just started spontaneously putting her arms out and saying "Whee" as we drove around the park. Silly girl!

checking out a scenic overlook near the children's area

"Whee! No car seat!"

giraffe family

zebras (baby on the left)

muddy rhino

brushing a goattortoise that really wanted out- he was pushing and biting on the fence!

Then last Saturday we headed to Cedar Creek Lake for our annual college friends weekend. We weren't able to go out there until late Saturday afternoon due to a church project (School Supply Store) that Scott was in charge of, but we had a good time nonetheless. It was nice to spend a little time with friends, although if Kendall had been a little more cooperative it would've been even nicer! She went down fine on Sat. night, but then woke up around 10:45 and was up until 12:45, which was really frustrating since I was missing out on prime time talking with my friends and playing Wii bowling and golf! At some point I just quit trying to get her to go back to sleep and brought her downstairs so I could hang out with everyone else. I felt crazy sitting with an awake, smiling baby in my lap at midnight! Then Kendall woke up at 5:30 AM and did not go back to sleep! Since our whole family was sleeping in one room, Avery woke up around 6:00/6:30 as well. Ugh- we were sooo tired Sunday. But we did have fun going out on the boat, riding the sea doo, water skiing and swimming. Unfortunately, I did not take a single picture. I guess 2 small children was enough for me to handle on a boat-- imagine that! Despite the lack of sleep, we did have a good time and made some memories that we will look back and laugh at later!

Next up--Lake Bridgeport with my family for Labor Day weekend. Maybe my camera will see a little more action. Stay tuned . . .

Milestones

This past week my little "Ken" turned 6 months (half a yr!) old-- is that possible? I can't believe that it has already been that long since she was born. At her check-up she weighed 14 lbs 12 oz (25%ile) and was 25 1/2 in (25-50%ile). She has chubby little thighs, but I definitely wouldn't describe her as a "squishy" baby like my friend Jeny once described Avery. She does like to eat though and has tried just about all the #1 baby foods now. I think she just has little bones and wiggles most of her calories right off. Kendall is sitting up well now and doesn't fall over much at all anymore. She is finally at that stage that I was wishing for a month ago where I can just plop her down on the floor instead of having to find some sort of seat to strap her in or other safe place to lie her down. So nice for when you are meeting the never-ending "urgent" needs of a 2 yr. old! Her most recent skill however is babbling, mostly "da-da-da". She just started that yesterday and it is so cute! Church tomorrow morning will probably be a nightmare if she practices it as much as she did today. But she is such a joy and her little smile just lights up my life!

Miss Avery had a milestone of her own yesterday-- her first haircut. She had received a gift certificate for her birthday to this neat salon for little girls called "Sweet and Sassy", and I finally got around to taking her. My Mom had taken the day off work, so we headed over to Southlake Town Center for Avery's haircut, lunch at Corner Bakery, and some shopping at Gymboree. Thanks for the fun day Mom! Avery did great with her haircut-- she sat very still and didn't seem scared or upset at all. She even let the girl blow-dry and curl her hair, neither of which she had ever had done before. At the end she got "sparkles" sprayed in her hair, her picture taken, and got to choose a lollipop for doing such a great job. When she was all done, she just kept looking in the mirror and smiling. It was really cute and I'm glad that she had a good first experience at the salon. She's definitely a girly-girl!

Avery's 2 yr. portraits (and some of Kendall too!)

Last month we had Avery's 2 yr. portraits taken at the Ft. Worth Botanic gardens. It was the same price to have some of Kendall taken too as well as both the girls together, so we took full advantage of the opportunity. I think we got some really good ones. It's going to be hard to decide which ones I want larger prints of. Luckily, we got a CD w/ all the pictures she took, so we can take our time deciding and have more prints made later if we want. Love that! Here are a "few" of my favorites!












And we're done folks!

Feast or Famine

I don't know if any of you have experienced this phenomenon, but at our house it seems like we are either really busy, or we just don't have much going on. The past week or so has been "feast" rather than "famine" for us. Besides the usual errands and taking Avery to and from school, this is a little run-down of our week:

Last weekend: Scott and I went to Austin for the Southwest Society of Periodontists meeting. We took Kendall along since I am still nursing, but Avery got to stay with Mimi and Poppi for the weekend. We didn't do a whole lot while in Austin since we had Kendall in tow, but it was good just to get away and stay at a nice hotel and relax a little bit.

waiting to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress Ave. bridge behind our hotel in Austin

Monday: Scott and I got to go to a Texas Rangers game, which entailed taking the girls over to his brother's house in Coppell so we could enjoy the game alone. His accountant's son had some extra tickets that were box seats, so we thought the opportunity was too good to miss.

Wednesday night: We picked up my brother-in-law, who had just returned from Iraq a week ago, at the airport. Scott's sister (Mike's wife) was taking the bar exam and couldn't be there, so we stepped in as his surrogate family and picked him up and took him out to eat.

Friday night: We took the girls swimming at our neighborhood pool. I am so sad that I didn't take my camera because Kendall looked so cute in her little baby bikini and sun hat. Scott's parents, who were in town for the weekend, joined us at the pool and then came back to the house w/ us to spend some time w/ the girls.

Saturday: We had lunch with some friends from our church in Edmond. They were passing through on their way to San Antonio for a family vacation and decided to drop by. Then, after the girls napped we went over to Scott's brother's house in Coppell for an anniversary party for my in-laws. We had a nice dinner, cake and ice cream, and watched a video that my brother-in-law had made w/ pictures of Scott's parents and his family. Happy 45th Anniversay Tom and Jan!Avery and cousin Braden at the anniversary partyTom and Jan watching their surprise video

Despite the somewhat chaotic nature of a "feast" week, I think I actually prefer to be busy like that most of the time. I'll close by posing this question: Which do you like better , "feast" or "famine"?