Family Ties

Blogging Backlog - Visit(s) with Santa

2012-01-09T15:56:00.000-06:00

Kaylee had the opportunity to meet with Santa on three separate occasions before Christmas. By the third time, she kind of sort of like him.

Visit 1: Our friends Rob and Mary had some friends over to visit with Santa.

The Verdict: Was not impressed. Had no intentions of sitting on his lap.

Visit 2: Santa at Daycare

The Verdict: Sat on his, but did not like it. Our child is the one crying in the bottom left corner.

Visit 3: Jackson's Birthday

The Verdict: Sitting on Santa's lap with an almost smile!

Repeated exposure to Santa helped tremendously. She's no longer afraid of the concept of Santa (strangers in generally are fairly scary to her). And by the time Christmas rolled around, when asked who was coming to her house, she would respond, "Satan!" (that's no misprint, Santa really sounded like Satan coming out of our toddler's mouth). "What is Santa bringing you, Kaylee?" "Candy!" Oh, the memories!

Even though Christmas is over, Santa is long but forgotten. Last night at the grocery store, Kaylee saw a white-haired, bearded man and said, "Santa!". She followed it up with a "Ho, Ho, Ho" As we walked by. Goodness gracious!

New Year, New Blog Posts?

2012-01-05T09:03:00.000-06:00

Lets hope!

Christmas was great. New Years was wonderful. 2012 is going to be even better than 2011!

Common Phrases

2011-11-29T11:34:00.000-06:00

Ron and I were talking the other day about common things heard around our house these days. Kaylee is chatting up a storm, but these tend to come from us.....

Get Down!
Sit Down!
That's Hot!
That's Mommy's!
That's Daddy's!
You can't climb on that!
Good girl! (when she stops climbing on things)
Watch out!
Be Careful!

and from Kaylee....
Sit Down!
That's Mine!
Burp!
'Cuse me! (When prompted if she burps)

Movie Monday

2011-11-28T14:49:00.000-06:00

Movie Monday

2011-11-14T11:30:00.004-06:00

Many of you will have seen this movie on Facebook, but I thought I had better share it here too. In case you miss it, she's listening to "Aldean". This girl is crazy about Jason Aldean. If any of his songs on the radio come on, she clapping along. If he comes on tv, she stops dead in her tracks and comes back to dance along with the video.

One week post-Halloween

2011-11-07T12:34:00.000-06:00

Our little Minnie Mouse enjoyed Halloween this year....and so did mom and dad when they ate most of her candy :)

A trip to Reindeer Ranch

2011-10-20T11:01:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Kaylee's daycare took a trip to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch and Pumpkin Patch. I was pretty excited that my schedule allowed me to tag along with group. The kids had a great time, and I think we'll definitely be heading back sometime closer to Christmas to see more of Santa's reinderr!

I don't think that a "moo" mama?!?

As much as Kaylee loves animals, she will not feed them from her hands. Poor reindeer got his treat thrown at him.

We'll be back to see you later!

Messy

2011-10-11T13:18:00.000-05:00

Someone really liked her spaghetti last night!

Movie Monday

2011-10-10T16:37:00.000-05:00

Fishing Derby

2011-09-12T16:36:00.000-05:00

Fishing with Papa and Maddy

Pretty excited about her prize!

One and a half

2011-09-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

Oh little girl...that's right, you're a little girl, not a baby anymore. Actually, you've not been a baby for quite some time.

Today we head out to visit Dr. P for your eighteen month check up. That's right, a year and half. Never mind that people think you're 3 years old. At your 15 month check up, you were the size of an average 2 1/2 year old. Yes, you're tall for your age, but its more than that.

That independent streak continues. You must feed yourself, brush your teeth (multiple times a day), and put your own shoes on. The other night, you were trying to put your own pajamas on.

You love to read, swing, and carry your babies around the house. You love to tell me who you played with at daycare - Ru-e (Ruby), Ari (Arika), Nanan (Nathan), Mar (Shamar), Aaaa (Abbey), Jake (Jacob)...and you love DiDi (Diana) and RaRa (Robin).

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds lately. Animals and sounds they make are still a favorite. You're starting to associate words with things around the house. You like to read your jeezee (Jesus) book at bedtime. I finally figured out where your "K" that follows any request we make has come from. "Kaylee, lets go change your diaper." "K." "Kaylee, its time for a bath." "K." A couple of nights ago, I heard Daddy tell you that "we'll have supper in a little bit, 'k?" Let's hope you don't pick up some of daddy's more colorful vocabulary. Okay?!?

What a little sponge you are!

When did you get so big?

2011-08-24T09:41:00.002-05:00

Little MIss....

2011-08-19T05:06:00.000-05:00

Determination

While Kaylee is starting to chatter away, her vocabulary is still quite small. However, we firmly believe if she could say anything, it would be "I'll do it myself!"

Holding hands? I don't think so.

Putting on my shoes? I'll give it my best shot.

You want to feed me? Think again.

I'll open my own door, thank you.

You want to hold my toothbrush? I've got 2 hands that work.

And probably the thing that upsets her the most...assistance climbing onto the couch. It doesn't matter if she's crying out in frustration because she just can't quite get that leg up. DO NOT try to lift her, give her a boost, or offer any type of support. It will be rejected immediately. And you did lift her up to the couch, she will climb down and start the whole process over.

Some may call it a stubborn streak. We like to think of it as determination.

Movie Monday

2011-08-01T15:07:00.000-05:00

Caught the little lady bustin' a move to Jason Aldean last week.....

...Thankful

2011-07-21T10:36:00.000-05:00

As I've gotten older,I guess you could say I've become more AWARE. In AWE of all the wonderful things I have in my life. Things I take for GRANTED. There are always certain events in our lives that make us REFLECT on days gone by and how we want to live our lives in the future. How we might CHANGE what we did, what we said, or how we act from now on.

Each day I'm try to BE THANKFUL for all I have been BLESSED with, and on this Thankful Thursday I'm thankful for these two...

LIttle Miss...

2011-07-19T14:21:00.001-05:00

...Inquisitive

This little girl likes to know what's going on. If there's a noise, she's investigating it. If its moving, she's checking it out. And if the neighbors are around, she's watching them.


Whatcha doin', neighbor?

If there's a shut door, she's trying to open it. If there's a phone around, she's calling someone. If there's a button to be pushed, she's trying it.

Hmm, if I push this...

If she's doing something...she's always checking to see if you're watching.

Are you paying attention?

Petting Zoo

2011-07-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

Someone REALLY liked our trip to Prairie Farm here in Champaign.

Wordless Wednesday - Daddy Love

2011-06-22T09:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day to my guys and Kaylee's too!

H20

2011-06-13T20:47:00.000-05:00

Water? Yep, we like that too.

A girl that likes to play in the sand

2011-06-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

(Un)organizer

2011-06-01T07:04:00.000-05:00

I guess with June and summer around the corner, Kaylee decided it was time to go through her clothes...

Long overdue

2011-05-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

Just a week and a half ago, we celebrated Ron's graduation for his master degree. Despite the cold and rain, it was a wonderful day with family and friends.

2011-05-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

I love my John Deere hat!

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Toes

2011-05-11T09:45:00.001-05:00

It's amazing watching your kids as the learn new things. The rate at which they pick things up is incredible. Kaylee is always watching you, taking things in, and then trying them out.

Case in point, the other night after supper Ron and I carried our plates to the sink to rinse them off. We turned around and Kaylee had grabbed a plate off the table, and carried it over to the sink to us.

We were astounded.

and excited

and awfully proud.

However not everything she is learning is quite so monumental.

For instance, this is one of her new favorite things to do, especially now that it's sandal weather.

She loves her toes.

And thanks to daddy, she loves to pick at them.

Sometimes, she likes to check ours out too. All because daddy picked some sock lint out of her toes one night.

We were humored

and a little grossed out

and Daddy is awfully proud.

Mothers

2011-05-08T21:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there! What a wonderful thing to be a mom - to have someone look so lovingly up at you, to ask you for help, to watch grow. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I had a wonderful day at home working on our backyard. Deck-done. Landscaping-done. Sandbox-filled. Next on the list - new fence and swingset. I guess you can say the next couple of weekends are full.

Ron and Kaylee did something special for me today. I've been saving for a nice SLR camera, so I had told Ron, to not worry about a gift. Instead he made a donation to Reece's Rainbow for me.

I follow quite a few blogs and one day a stumbled across a blog of a family who was blogging about their adoption journey to bring home their daughter from Eastern European. Reece's Rainbow promotes the adoption of international children with Down Syndrome by raising grants to offer adoption grants for waiting children. What a great program! Not only does it aid in the adoption process financially, it help serve as a connector between waiting children and families looking to adopt.

Needless to say, I've been hooked on following several families through this adoption process. I've also begun to question whether we are being to called to adopt. It's been quite an eye opening experience to learn not only about special needs children, but also orphans around the world. Could we raise a special needs child - I think so. Is this the right time for us to venture down this road - we're not sure. I'll admit, there is one little girl I continue to check back on frequently to see if a family has found her. Ron donated to her grant today in honor of Mother's Day. If you have a chance, check out Reece's Rainbow, and if its in your means (whether its $5 or $50) consider supporting this organization by donating to a child's grant. Help them find their forever family and spend this day next year with their very own mother.

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Routine

2011-05-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

Seriously, where does the time go? Better yet, where does my time go? We find ourselves immersed in our daily routines - wake up, get ready for work, get Kaylee up, get her dressed, get us out the door and to daycare, and then off to work. By the time we all get home, fix supper, and have bath time, Kaylee's bedtime shortly follows. A few hours to ourselves to catch up on the day, dishes, and laundry, then its time for us to turn in too. We find ourselves in a this daily routine quite often. Luckily things are looking to switch up a little.

For those that may be following the Cook Farms blog (its been sorely neglected too), it's "Go Time". It spring and that means spring has sprung or at least it is trying to.

Last week I got my field season started in soggy southern Illinois. Between raindrops and flooded waters, we got the first of the traps set out for my vineyard survey. That's right, vineyards - in addition to doing some research on invasive insects this summer, I'll be getting to survey some of the fantastic wine produced right here in Illinois. Yahoo!

Ron has hit the road with the planter this week and his first corn trials are in the ground. He's feeling a little better about getting research started too.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

Ewww...there's grass in my Easter basket!

Coloring Eggs

2011-04-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

Poor Minnie!

Just a Swingin'

2011-04-06T07:58:00.001-05:00

YOU have a great day!

2011-04-05T08:51:00.002-05:00

Movie Monday

2011-04-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

Kaylee is pretty mobile these days. She's been on the brink of walking for several weeks now. Around her birthday she started tentatively taking steps and letting go of things. She would reach out as far as she could and then lunge and step to her intended destination.

Shortly after this, she started walking on her knees. She'd get so excited about wanting to get some where, she'd take a step or two and then drop to her knees and "walk" across the room. You can't help but laugh as this happened. I'm pretty sure she developed this mode of movement at daycare to try and keep up with her friends that are a tad bit older than her.

We've been struggling to get it on video. As soon as she takes sees me drag out a camera, she drops on all fours and crawls over to investigate. Luckily, we were able to get this on video this weekend. Our chances have been decreasing day by day as her progression of walking continues.

Next on the "to do" list, videos of walking - she's been toddling around the house pretty well in short bursts. From what everyone says, we better get moving on it too; it won't be long before she's running.

Cowgirl

2011-04-01T09:06:00.001-05:00

Last weekend Kaylee got bundled up in a mix match of clothes from cousins Maddy and Jackson and headed out to check out the cows with Papa. We have an animal lover on out hands, and the cows are no exception. We're going to have to work on teaching her that squirrels are not "kitties".

Uh-Oh

2011-03-30T08:32:00.000-05:00

Her new favorite saying...and will even throw stuff on the floor to say it!

But don't worry, someone always picks it back up

Happy Birthday Miss Maddy

2011-03-29T05:58:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th Birthday Madison!

Rollin'

2011-03-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Last week when the weather was warm, we tried out the new wagon. Lots of fun for everyone. We definitely have a little girl who loves the outdoors. When we tell her its time to go bye-bye and get her coat, she's ready to roll!

Good news...the temperatures are supposed to go back up at the end of this week, so we'll be able to spend a little more time outside!

2011-03-24T09:49:00.000-05:00

Boy, this little smile can brighten the dreariest of days...

Happy Ag Day

2011-03-15T11:43:00.002-05:00

From the Illinois Farm Bureau

Farmers Say “Cheese” During National Ag Week
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Traditionally, farmers spend National Agriculture Week, March 13-19, talking about how the crops and animals they raise are turned into food, fuel, and everyday products like plastic cups. They call it “telling the field-to-fork story.” This year, farmers are letting family photos tell their tale instead.

Illinois farm families are using National Agriculture Week as a time to improve lines of communication with their city cousins. “When a mom has a better understanding of the different ways that real farmers raise crops and animals, she can make more informed personal choices about the food she puts on her family’s plates,” said Illinois Farm Bureau’s Steve Simms.

Different farmers use different farming styles. This diversity doesn’t mean one farmer cares more than another. After all, farmers eat the same food, drink the same water, and live on the same earth as non-farmers do. Of course they care. The variety of farming methods means a good variety of food choices, though. The more shoppers know the true facts, the more confident they can feel knowing that they don’t have to choose price over nutrition or convenience over safety.

“The first step to an honest dialogue between consumers and farmers is making the introductions,” continued Simms. “That’s why we’re asking farmers across the state to share their family portraits online. It’s almost impossible for people to meet the men and women who grow their food, but thanks to websites like Facebook, anyone can meet a real-life farmer online, ask questions, and get answers right from the horse’s mouth.”

Starting this week, the Illinois Farm Families coalition is encouraging farmers to upload their photos to the free website www.flickr.com and share them with the Flickr group called “Illinois Farm Families.” All Illinois residents are also encouraged to join Flickr and search for “Illinois Farm Families.” For tips and tricks to using social networking sites like Flickr, visit www.ilfb.org/social.

“Family farms make up 94% of the farms in Illinois,” said Simms. “National Agriculture Week is not only a good time to celebrate their hard work, but it’s also an ideal time to meet them.”

Illinois Farm Families is a coalition of grassroots members from Illinois Beef Association, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Pork Producers Association. This group of united farmers is dedicated to improving two-way dialogue with Illinois consumers.

Branching Out

2011-03-10T11:11:00.001-06:00

Over the past year, this blog has been hijacked by baby pictures, baby stories, more baby pictures, and sometimes some other stuff. I know, I'm a proud mama, but our lifestyle has also changed some too. Our world now revolves around our toddling 1 year old. (wow, it seems weird to say that, but typing it gives you a little gut check too).

I still follow a lot of blogs. I don't get around to commenting all the time, but I'm still stalking you, trying recipes, and bookmarking crafts I want to try ---when I get some free time, that is.

I'm going to make a concerted effort to diversify a little and not focus exclusively on Kaylee. I'll not only be doing that here, but also on our family farm website I've been working on. The website is live, although I have some sections that need work yet.

We'll be blogging farm industry news, along with stuff happening on the farm, and it also serves as a business website for potential clients interesting in cattle, custom ag services, and potential landlords. We hope to incorporate field notes throughout the year on the farms with hybrids, yield, and other pest news. I'm sure some family news will trickle in. Let's face, we have some very proud grandparents.

So, if you know anyone in NW Illinois that could benefit from Cook Farms, send them over to the new website!

One Year

2011-03-08T21:25:00.001-06:00

One year ago today, our lives were forever changed.

One year ago today, dreams became a reality.

One year ago today, you brought us more laughter

One year ago today, we became a family.

One year ago today, we welcomed our daughter into the world.

Happy Birthday Kaylee Grace. You have completely taken over our lives. You are simply wonderful and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Movie Monday

2011-03-07T05:16:00.002-06:00

Frosting for a Cause

2011-02-28T08:26:00.001-06:00

While scouting the internet for some cupcake ideas, I came across this site. What a wonderful idea! And some very tempting recipes too!

The Project

Beginning January 1, 2011 a total of 365 sugar cookie & cupcake bakers/decorators and bloggers from across Canada and the United States will take turns doing a guest post here at Frosting for the Cause. Once a day, every day for a year you will be treated to a new and talented blogger who will showcase their home-made, hand-decorated cookies or cupcakes together with their recipes. Almost everyone, everywhere, has been touched by cancer in one form or another. The guest bakers will also share in a very personal manner with readers of Frosting for the Cause, about a woman in their life who had to face this terrible disease head-on.

The Goal

By signing onto this project every guest baker/blogger has committed to not only donating a batch of their cookies or cupcakes to their local Women’s Hospice but they have also committed to making a personal $25.00 donation to either the Canadian or American Cancer Society to be directed to research projects that are working diligently to find cures specifically for cancers that affect only women. If there is no Women’s Hospice in the area of the guest baker/blogger then the baker commits to donating their baked goods to their local hospital or Cancer Society office. Through the generous volunteer commitment of the 365 guest bakers on Frosting for the Cause, we will not only raise awareness of all of the cancers that currently affect women, but we will raise a total of $9,125 alone for research into these diseases.

TGIF

2011-02-25T09:23:00.000-06:00

Yay-Its Friday!

It's been a long week at our house, but one that began and will hopefully end well. After a spending Saturday night with the Estes clan (you can check out some Kaylee pics over at Leslie's blog, we ventured over to Morton on Sunday after church to meet up with Papa and Grandma for lunch. Papa's birthday was on the 15th, so it was fun to have a birthday lunch at Cracker Barrel. Well, most of it was fun. We had an incident in the bathroom. Kaylee is deathly afraid of public restroom changing stations (I try to avoid them altogether - but very lots of different reasons). Anyway, laying flat on the changing station just freaks her out and she will scream, twist, and try to climb off. This did not go well with a dirty diaper followed by a little girl that decided to start peeing will trying to climb off of the bench. Luckily, after help from grandma, a clean up, and some yummy food, all was well and we had a great time.

Monday was a little rough. We had to be at the hospital by 6 for Kaylee to get tubes put in her ears. She hasn't had a lot of ear infections, but she wasn't responding well to antbiotics. After a visit with we ENT doctor, and a prognosis of fluid in her ears, he recommended tubes. The procedure went well, recovery was a little rough, but we headed home with Elmo doing pretty good.

Late in the afternoon she ended up with her left ear bleeding quite a bit and we headed back to the doctor. No worries, this doesn't happen often. Luckily, the bleeding didn't last long. A little extra care to prevent blood from drying up in the tubes should help prevent the need to take out and replace the tube.

By Wednesday the little miss was pretty much back to normal and excited to head back to daycare. Just another story for the baby book!

Gotta Try This

2011-02-24T09:24:00.001-06:00

I think I'm in LOVE - Can't wait to try this recipe!

11 months

2011-02-23T16:26:00.000-06:00

Whew...another month gone by (and me late getting up the monthly comparison photo). Remember when I started posting a monthly photo with Kaylee's puppy? I've been getting these monthly photos up although they maybe a little late. Remember 5 months? or what about 6? and 9 months? How I've loved seeing how much she has changed month by month and having our little reference item of the puppy. We're oh-so-close to full out walking this month. Exploring the house and pulling up on everything keeps Kaylee quite busy. Cruising along the couches, coffee table, tv stand, and kitchen chairs makes her things she is pretty big stuff. She's getting braver and letting go more and more. Sometimes she starts to stand up in the middle of crawling across the floor and changes her mind. I think she prefers to get to her destination as quickly as possible and right now, that's by crawling.

We've also got 8 teeth this month. Little miss independent is demanding big girl food. And we don't mind sharing...most of the time :) As long as she doesn't mind sharing with us too!

My Valentines

2011-02-21T20:13:00.001-06:00

We had a great Valentines Day this year. A trip to Peoria to check in with Kaylee's orthotist and neurosurgeon resulted in great news....helmet therapy is done! Kaylee had met the goals that were outlined when we started. Needless to say, we were one happy family!

Retro Post: - Valentines Day

2011-02-21T14:59:00.000-06:00

Lots to catch up on from the last week. We have a well loved little girl at our house. Over the course of the days leading up to Valentines Days she received several cards in the mail. Who doesn't love getting getting mail?

2011-02-10T10:32:00.000-06:00

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People Person

2011-02-02T16:14:00.000-06:00

Kaylee has taken a fancy to looking at pictures. Granted, she mostly likes looking at pictures of herself, but she definitely likes seeing smiling faces staring back at her.

Today I caught her looking at some pictures in a new frame we're going to hang in the hallway.

Make Your Own Groundhog Weatherman!

2011-02-01T08:40:00.002-06:00

A cute idea that our outreach group at work (Illinois Natural History Survey) has put together. Unfortunately, based on the weather forecast, this may be a little hard to try this year. Great project for kids!

February 2 is Groundhog Day, a day in which tradition (probably originating from the Pennsylvania Dutch people) says that a groundhog will come out of his burrow and see if winter is nearly over. If the groundhog sees his shadow, he returns to his burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter. If it is a cloudy day and he does not see his shadow, then winter is nearly over. While actual weather records show that there are always six more weeks of winter, and that the Groundhog Day predictions are actually wrong more often that they are right, it is still fun to celebrate the day. Also, while there will be six more weeks of winter after February 2, sometimes the weather does start to moderate after this date, with somewhat warmer temperatures and fewer major snowstorms.

To get your own Groundhog Day prediction, you do not need to wake up a groundhog (not a good idea). You can make your own groundhog:

1. Download and print the groundhog pattern. Use the colored version or color your own. If you use the non-colored version, color it before going on to #2.

2. Cut out the groundhog. Be sure to cut along solid black lines, including the lines around the ears, below the front legs, and above the hind feet. Do not cut along dotted lines.

3. If the dotted line is light colored, fold up towards the colored side of the paper. This is the groundhog’s tail.

4. Fold down along the black lines, towards the unprinted side of the paper. This includes the shoulders, neck, and flaps that form the groundhog’s head.

5. Roll the body of the groundhog into a cylinder, slightly overlapping the belly area. Add a piece of clear tape to hold it together.

6. Form the groundhog’s head by pulling a side of the head under the front of the face, and taping the tab to the bottom side of the face front. Repeat this for the other side of the face. Pull the ears up slightly.

7. Pose the groundhog by pushing the free corner in the shoulder area to the inside of the body cylinder, and tilt the upper body forward slightly. You now have a groundhog!

Predict the End of Winter!

On the morning of February 2, Groundhog’s Day, take your groundhog outside and set him on a flat surface (a sidewalk or picnic table). If your groundhog casts a shadow on the surface (if it is sunny), then you are predicting 6 more weeks of winter. If there is no obvious shadow (the sky is cloudy), you are predicting an early spring.

Download printable version of this page

Our little bookworm

2011-01-26T08:45:00.000-06:00

At least someone is happy its Monday

2011-01-24T08:50:00.001-06:00

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Ten Months

2011-01-19T09:30:00.001-06:00

We reached the 10 month mark a week ago. That's just crazy. Our baby can't be 10 months. She can't be pulling herself up on anything within reach. She can't be babbling up a storm. She can't be eating "big girl" foods. She just can't be, can she?

She is, and we love it. She's got personality oozing out her ears (maybe that's why she's always got her fingers in them?). She's got smiles and laughs for everyone she meets. We're truly blessed how wonderful our little girl is.

Movie Monday

2011-01-17T17:30:00.000-06:00

Hopefully we can get a better one soon. I doubt you'll have trouble figuring out what we're wanting her to say :)

As requested by Papa, a movie clip...its the best I have of the latest babble.

Kissy

2011-01-12T16:11:00.000-06:00

I was putting some Christmas photos on Snapfish and came across this video we took over Christmas break. Kaylee had discovered her lips could make sounds and we wanted to try to work on kisses.

*I'm sorry, the sound quality is horrible on this little clip.

Rockstar

2011-01-10T08:19:00.000-06:00

New Year

2011-01-06T09:50:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year (although quite late)!

We started with new year with coughs, upper respiratory issues, an ear infection, and teeth. I guess Kaylee feels the need to "go big or go home". The last few days have been a little rough, but it looks like she is on the mend. Antibiotics seems to be working and a tylenol/ibuprofen rotation has brought down her temperature that got as high as 104 Sunday night. It's also looking like her 4 top teeth are going to come in together. We've got two on the left side poking through, and maybe we'll get lucky and the two on the right decide to come follow suit. Just one more step closer to steak :)

Kaylee is back to daycare and mom is back to work. Let's hope we're all back to a full night's sleep soon. We've got some fun pictures to share from Christmas and new pictures from the last week. Until then, everyone continue to play with your new Christmas toys.

Christmas Memories

2010-12-30T22:30:00.000-06:00

Its been a week since the last post...and Christmas. Its taken almost that long to recoup and reorganize (seriously, Santa may need to bring us a bigger house for Christmas next year...or less presents for Kaylee).

The week of Christmas was a whirlwind of travel, family, fun, and lots of memories. We started the week with a trip to Peoria to check in with Kaylee's neurosurgeon and orthotist (helmet doctor). We were literally in her neurosurgeon's office for no longer than 15 minutes. For those that are not aware of the geography of Illinois, Peoria is an hour and a half from Champaign. Kaylee's doctor was happy with the progress that the helmet appeared to having with her plagiocephaly. He would like to see her wear the helmet another two months. While didn't expect him to say "that's all, folks", we were a little bummed nonetheless. After a quick call to Plattner's to see if we could move our appointment up in hopes to avoid the snow/freezing rain that was supposed to be moving in. As luck would have it, they fit us right in....and we left with great news.

A new scan confirmed that Kaylee's head was begin to round out. That made us feel a little better about another 2 months of helmet therapy. After some adjustments to the helmet, we were homeward bound.

We tied things up at work the following two days and headed north for Christmas with the Cooks, turned around on Christmas day and headed back to Champaign for the Estes Christmas. In between those trips, almost 8 inches of snow was dumped in Morrison and almost 6 inches in Champaign. I love snow! And it was perfect for a white Christmas.

We couldn't have asked for a better first Christmas for Kaylee. Lots of time with family and fun all around. I can't wait for next year!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T04:31:00.001-06:00

Remember when we talked about the great deal from Shutterfly? These were the wonderful Christmas cards we were able to create. Well, actually one of two - I can't help it, we send out A LOT of Christmas cards. And there were so many to choose from! We had two favorites, so we also ordered another set too. They were GREAT -everyone loved them!

More than Santa

2010-12-24T05:50:00.002-06:00

Source

Love of the Sugar Cookie

2010-12-21T10:15:00.000-06:00

9 Month Rundown

2010-12-17T11:27:00.000-06:00

Who knows? Maybe by 10 months there actually may be running (probably not)! A lot of accomplishments to keep track of this month. Waving -check, So big! - check, high fives - check, and of course, pointing. While the first ones are cute and a lot of fun, I'm pretty excited about the last. From what I've read (I'm a reading kind of mom), this is the beginning to letting us know what she wants. Awesome! Kaylee is a crawling machine that is into everything. I can only imagine what walking is going to have in store for us.

Her 9 month well check went...well. She's about 30" tall and weighs 21 lbs. Kaylee also survived her flu shot and I'm happy to report dad survived it as well. We head to Peoria on Monday for a recheck with her neurosurgeon, followed by a visit with the orthotist. The stop at Plattners will involve a head scan and reshaping of the inside of the helmet. It will definitely be interesting to see how her head has changed over the past couple of weeks.

Special Visitor

2010-12-16T08:40:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure if you were aware of this, but the big guy from up north was in town yesterday. He made a special stop at Kaylee's daycare. Much like the first time Kaylee met Santa, she did well with no tears. I'm sure she let him know exactly what she wanted for Christmas this year.

Mobile Upload

2010-12-15T14:14:00.002-06:00

What can I say...she gets pretty excited sometimes.

Number 1

2010-12-14T16:04:00.000-06:00

Just ask Kaylee who's mommy's number one girl...

Busted

2010-12-09T10:55:00.000-06:00

Things got a little quiet last night while I was making supper and switching some laundry around. Then I saw why....someone physically moved my barricade in front of the Christmas tree, pulled out a present, then proceeded to start unwrapping it. I must say she was getting the hang of it before I put the present back. Needless to say, I had to step up my efforts in protecting the rest of the presents.

Major Cheeser

2010-12-08T08:57:00.000-06:00

Any questions about who this little girl looks like in this particular photo would be laid quickly to rest if I had my hands on some of Ron's baby pictures...but this one will have to do.

I need to work with both of them on keeping their eyes open when they smile :)

Helping Put the Tree Up

2010-12-07T06:17:00.000-06:00

After spending a almost a week in Kansas City, mom was more than ready to spend some quality time with her baby. She's still a little young, but it was snowing outside and dad was busy working on his research paper, so we put up the tree this weekend.

For the most part Kaylee was pretty disinterested in what I was doing. She held a few ornament boxes and checked out the tree, but I am happy to report she doesn't bother the tree at all. The presents underneath are a different story. She just loves the sparkly bows!

First Snow

2010-12-06T20:35:00.001-06:00

On Friday and Saturday we received almost 9 inches of snow...not the 3 inches as predicted. It was the first significant snow of season.

A Journey

2010-12-06T20:12:00.000-06:00

We're well into Kaylee's journey of wearing a helmet and she's still doing great. We headed to Peoria the week of Thanksgiving to get it adjusted and since then, everything seems to be going well. She continues to amaze us with her tolerance, especially when things weren't fitting exactly right. There's a little wiggly room in the helmet; after all, the point is to let the side of the head that had some flattening round out. We don't want to jinx anything, but both Ron and I think we can already see changes in her head shape. We'll keep our fingers crossed when we go for her next appointment.

My Favorite Time of Year...and a Great Deal!

2010-12-05T10:58:00.002-06:00

Wow...its that time of year already. My favorite time of year: Christmas. The decorations, twinkling lights, snow, cookies and treats, picking out gifts for the special people in your lives...I don't think there is anything I don't like about this time or year.

One of my favorites...sending Christmas cards. I love getting the traditional bi-fold cards and sorting through boxes at the store to find the perfect one. The past couple of years we've sent photos cards. It's a growing trend that I also love. You get to create your own card and personalize it with one or more photo memories. Now that Kaylee is here...I know this trend will continue for us.

We've used Shutterfly many times before - to order photos, photo books, and cards. They are offering an AMAZING offer for bloggers. Share your Shutterfly experience and receive 50 free photos cards. Consider it done! We've been nothing but happy with our previous Shutterfly experiences. The photos have turned out perfectly and the products always arrive in a timely manner.

In a time where everyone is making every dollar count, this offer from Shutterfly is incredible. Thanks Shutterfly! And remember, they do more than just Christmas cards...mother's day cards, new year's cards, birthday invitations, the possibilities are endless!

Pride and Laughter

2010-11-23T08:12:00.001-06:00

I know time and time again our daughter will not only continue to amaze us, but make us proud. We've seen it countless times before - her first smile, sitting up by herself, the list goes on and on. The past couple of months have been absolutely a joy. Watching her figure things out for herself invokes an enormous amount of pride in a parent. Like I've said before, its incredible to visually see the "light bulb" click. After they figure things out, there is no stopping them.She loves to clap and smile at you...and most of the time will lift her arms up when you ask her how big she is. Last night we had to laugh when we saw her practice with her toys.

Kaylee has been working hard at learning to crawl. And she almost has it. We caught her working her way across the kitchen floor to get her empty ice cream bucket. Yep, I let her play with the bucket...it makes an excellent drum and she loves to hold onto the handle. Isn't it typical that kids ignore all the fancy toys and play with those random objects around the house? You can't even imagine the fun she had with newspaper :)

Camo Cutie

2010-11-19T08:54:00.000-06:00

For those you that aren't aware...shotgun season started today. Its generally a little hard to tell around Champaign as there are people in Illini orange all of the time. But, I guarantee if you are out driving down the rural highways, you'll meet plenty of people in orange and camo.Luckily, it will be awhile before we have to explain to Kaylee why Papa, Daddy, or Uncle Erik shot Bambi.

I have to laugh, because where I grew up, you'd hear this song several times a day during deer season. Unfortunately, people around these parts don't think its near as funny as us northerners.

She's a Trooper

2010-11-18T08:40:00.001-06:00

We hit the mark of Kaylee wearing her helmet 23 hours a day yesterday. And I just have to say she's a real trooper. No crying when we put it on and she doesn't seem to mind at all. She wore it all night Monday night and slept like a dream. Tuesday night was a little rough, but we think her having trouble sleeping may have been a combination of things - a nasty little cough she has and not being able to find a comfortable spot to sleep. But, then last night, even after a full day of wearing the helmet, we were back to a a normal sleeping night -- where everyone sleeps through the night!

Its been a little adjustment to our normal routine. She has a little more hair than the average child her age and the poor thing sweats quite a bit. Thanks goodness we're going to be doing this in the middle of winter and not summer! We get to take it off for one hour each day. During that time, she gets her bath and the helmet gets cleaned too. We check for any areas on her head where the helmet could be rubbing and put lotion on to prevent chaffing. Otherwise, eating, playing, and sleeping aren't really affected at all. We can take the helmet off briefly to change clothes or if she's not feeling well. We take the opportunity in the morning when I get her dressed to clean the helmet again and get her hair dry before we head out the door to daycare.

One of the concerns of this experience has focused less on how she's doing, but how other people are perceiving her. Cranial remolding helmets are becoming more common in their usage. And I'm sure most people have seen children wearing them. Our first experience out and about (for a significant amount of time) was last night when we went grocery shopping. First, a disclaimer - our little girl is a ham. She's a happy kid that is smiling about 85% of the time - and wearing the helmet there is no difference. We went through the store with her smiling and occasionally waving to many of the shoppers. The general response is usually something like "What a sweetie!" and "How cute!".

Since it is a big concern of mine, I couldn't help myself last night thinking whether or not these people were paying more attention to her because she has a helmet on. There were only a couple of people that specifically mentioned her helmet when they stopped and I know I need to not let things like that consume my mind. Like we've said before she's our sweet, little, perfect girl regardless if she has a helmet or a paper bag on her head. She responds to people no differently so I need to do the same. I think we will all be learning some life lessons over the next couple of months.

Hair

2010-11-16T06:23:00.000-06:00

"Look at all that hair!" is something we commonly hear when out and about. Kaylee has had a lot of dark hair since she was born, and its been growing ever since. Little Rachel may have a little more, but I'm sure both of their mommies will be investing in Johnson's No Tangles somewhere down the road.

Eight months

2010-11-15T08:22:00.000-06:00

Yikes! We can mark another month off on the calendar. Our little tyke is growing up so fast. This was taken a week ago today on her 8 month birthday - when waving hi, bye, and at random times in between was just beginning. In the last 7 days, she's perfected her heart tugging wave - throwing up a wave to anyone that looks her way. That's right, our little girl knows how to work a crowd! While in Peoria on Friday, we made a couple of stops before getting fitted for her helmet. At each location, Kaylee would put on her brightest smile and wave to passerby's and restaurant customers. There was even one time where she was waving with both hands. The people were eating...out....of.....her....hands.

We survived day 2 of helmet wearing. Yesterdays schedule called for 2 hours on and 1 hour off, and keeping it off for naps and bedtime. We're so glad we're approaching cooler weather. Other than a sweaty head, Kaylee is adapting well to her hat (as we call it) and so are mom and dad.

Clap-Clap

2010-11-13T13:33:00.001-06:00

Mommy and Kaylee have been working diligently on waving, "so-big", high fives, and clapping. We've got waving under our belt pretty good (more to come on this later). So-big and high fives are pretty sporadic. Now, clapping was pretty much nonexistent until today. Kaylee has been putting her hands together and will very excitedly smile and shake them. We can almost say we saw the lightbulb go off during the Illini game. When something good would happen, we'd turn to her and say "yay!" and clap. She's been clapping all afternoon!

Helmet Day 1

2010-11-13T12:59:00.001-06:00

So far, so good. Little Miss Kaylee is adapting well to her new helmet. She doesn't seem to mind it at all. We have a wear schedule for the first few days to allow her to adjust to wearing it as well as letting her skin adjust to incidental rubbing. All appears to be okay. We're keeping an eye on her right cheek; its been a little red when we've taken off the helmet. Its hard to tell if the helmet may be a little more snug on the front right side or not. Tony, our orthotist from Plattners, has instructed us to be alert for areas on her head and face that are red and irritated. Any area that remains red for longer than an hour may be indication that a place on the helmet may need to be altered.

Today's schedule calls for one hour on, then one hour off. No napping or sleeping in the helmet. Luckily, we don't have to worry about sleeping in the helmet until day 3. I think that will be the true test.

STARband

2010-11-12T21:30:00.007-06:00

We’ve talked with some of you recently and you’re up to speed with the latest Kaylee news. For those of you that don't know, Kaylee has dealt with having torticollis since birth as a result of being breech. She started physical therapy several months ago to help with stretching her neck muscles and improving her head rotation. Great news – she’s been doing awesome! Rotation is good and there is still a little bit of a tilt, but we’re still working on it and notice it less and less all of the time.

We have however, been dealing with some flattening of her head-positional plagiocephaly - due to the torticollis and her wanting to put her head in the same position all of the time (especially while sleeping). Her increased mobility has certainly helped - sitting up, sleeping on her tummy, and working on learning to crawl are all going to help her head “round out”. After talking with her therapist we went to a neurosurgeon to get a second opinion. He diagnosed her plagio as moderate to severe, and recommended we look into the use of a cranial remolding helmet. Most of you won’t notice some of the symptoms of plagio (the flattening on one side, a rounding on the other, her ears are a little offset, and one cheek a little chubbier than the other) in the pictures you’ve seen of Kaylee or even when you're face to face with her. We can’t blame you, that smile is pretty captivating!

After talking with the people from Starband and using their cranial scanning machine, we were able to see specific areas of Kaylee’s head that were misshapen. We also were also able to see the calculations of the measurements taken and how those numbers compared to what is considered “normal”. It's crazy that we are only talking of differences of 6 mm…but Ron and I talked things over, weighed out different possibilities/consequences and decided we would go ahead with the helmet.

Kaylee was fitted for her helmet today. After the initial adjustment period, they are recommending she wear it for 23 hours per day for the next 3-4 months, but depending on how fast she grows, it could be less. In the grand scheme of life, this is pretty minor. We’re lucky that we don’t have anything more serious to worry about concerning her health. We share this not to make a big deal of this, but so you wouldn’t be taken by surprise the next time you see us or if you see pictures of Kaylee in her helmet. The blog has been our place to share our stories and photos, particularly for family we don't see as often as we'd like, so you'll probably be hearing some helmet stories over the next few months too.

She’ll still be the sweet, smiley girl who steals your heart, especially now that she has the waving-thing down.

2010-11-11T09:21:00.002-06:00

A first attempt at mobile blogging...I end up taking a lot of pictures with my phone. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago. I've got a great helper with the laundry!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

She's a Natural!

2010-11-04T09:16:00.000-05:00

Halloween Cuties

2010-11-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

Mav, Maddy, and Kaylee at Aunt Stacy's house

Mav (6 months) and Kaylee (7 months)

Ball-playing princess

Our cute little lamb

Kayla, Kaylee, Leslie, and Kyle

Carving Pumpkins

2010-11-02T14:45:00.000-05:00

Last week we carved pumpkins and Papa and Grandma's house. In addition to the regular pumpkins, Papa and Ron carved a couple of the giant pumpkins from the pumpkin path too. Too bad I forgot to get a picture when they were all done....

One down....

Do you need help, Uncle Ron?

Kaylee wasn't too impressed.

Have you thanked a farmer today?

2010-11-01T09:10:00.001-05:00

We've been up north...and Ron's been spending a lot of time in the combine. Pictures and posts to come, but until then, Have You Thanked A Farmer Today?

Wordless Wednesday - Daddy's Girl

2010-10-20T09:51:00.001-05:00

Baby Talk

2010-10-14T09:29:00.001-05:00

Our little girl is a jabbering machine. Especially in the morning. I love that when you go in to wake her up with "It's time to get up Kaylee", a little head pops up and you are greeted with a smile.

From then on, our little motormouth is chattering away. While getting her dressed we practice "da-da", "ma-ma", "pa-pa", "la-la" and so forth. She readily spits some form of baby talk back at me.

In this morning's chat I couldn't help but laugh.I'm just gibbering to away to her. She's gibbering back and I thought to myself -"I wonder if she thinks she's repeating to me exactly what I'm saying to her"...and I thought instantly of the Friends episode when Joey speaks French.

Wordless Wednesday - It's Fall Y'All

2010-10-13T10:23:00.001-05:00

Houston, We Have Teeth

2010-10-12T10:14:00.000-05:00

I had been trying for a couple of weeks to get a picture of Kaylee's first tooth. Then within the next couple of days, out came the second. She'll be eating steak in no time!

Hanging Out

2010-10-07T05:48:00.000-05:00

Kaylee loves hanging out with the cousins...and chewing on camera too ;)

Trip to the Zoo

2010-10-06T08:46:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago, we took a day off for some family time. After getting Kaylee's 6 month photos done, we headed to Bloomington to visit Miller Park Zoo. Its a small little zoo and Kaylee loves spending time outdoors.Given her short attention span, we thought it would be a nice little trip.

Out of all the animals there - monkeys, tiger, pandas - she loved the goats in the children's petting zoo. Go figure.

We also stopped by and saw baby Caroline on our way home. What a doll!

2010-10-05T15:28:00.002-05:00

2010-09-22T14:28:00.000-05:00

The family has been singing a new tune for the past week.

Welcome Baby Caroline!

2010-09-21T08:26:00.002-05:00

Someone really likes her sippy cup. I can already hear "I can do it myself".

September Stats

2010-09-19T16:04:00.000-05:00

The monthly photo with her monthly "stats" and milestones. Our 6 month check up went well with the lil miss. And she sure surprised us....we knew she'd grown, but we weren't expecting 3 inches! Kaylee is measuring 29 inches long - time to get a bigger carseat! She weighs 18.5 lbs and is right where her doctor thinks she should be.

Lots of new things this last month. Kaylee can sit by herself for short periods of time and she much prefers sitting up to laying down. She's rolling in both directions from her back to her tummy and has even made it from her tummy to her back once. It won't be long before and she'll be mobile.

Teething is in full swing -- two bottom teeth appear to be quite close. We also survived our first cold and are now in the middle of her second. Ahhh, the joys of daycare.

She loves her fruits and veggies and takes quite an interest in what we're eating too. Our big girl also loves trying her sippy cup. Not great at it, but she definitely understands what its for.

Its just amazing how much she is changing and accomplishing everyday. There's so many little things that she figures out. I can only imagine what will happen in the next month.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-15T06:39:00.000-05:00

Sittin

2010-09-14T06:12:00.000-05:00

I got a chance to snag a few photos this weekend of the next big milestone for the lil miss. She's been working at sitting by herself for awhile. And, she now can sit unassisted for a small amount of time. She still does the occasional face plant, but is usually not fazed by it. Something else we're working on? Teeth...The amount of drool that is coming out of her mouth is astounding. The strength that she can bite down on your finger is astounding. The high pitched screams -- you can only imagine.

Gameday

2010-09-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

Saturday was a difficult day for Kaylee....she just couldn't decide what team colors to wear.

It's a good thing her mommy dresses her :)

Grandma C. and Kaylee

Good Times with Good Friends

2010-09-07T15:38:00.000-05:00

Someone had an awfully good time in Missouri this weekend. And so did her parents!

We trekked over to Kansas City for Labor Day weekend to visit friends and had a blast checking things out...BBQ (of course), Bass Pro and Cabella's (for the boys), and Santa-Cali-Gon Days (with some crafts for the girls). We can't forget some quality time hanging out by the fire in the evening. One of the most interesting little thing this weekend? Rootbeer milk. That's right, rootbeer milk. Its awesome and we brought some home, along with some strawberry milk. Too bad you can only get it in Missouri and Kansas.

A trip to Cabella's isn't complete without a buying something camo

All smiles with Doug and Dawn

Fun at the Fair

2010-08-31T08:04:00.000-05:00

Checking out Great Gpa Cook's Flemish Giant rabbits

With Papa and his 235# pumpkin