Kylee is 4 Months!

Kylee is 4 months and getting so big! She is now 11 lbs on the nose and 23" long. We have started our venture into "real" foods, she had her first taste of rice cereal. Sweet potatoes to come tomorrow! 

She is using her legs more and more, acting like she wants to crawl and loves to look in the mirror at herself. She is sleeping in her crib through the night consistently now. Her smile in the morning is THE.BEST.THING.EVER!

Smitten

Remember when you were little and you used to always hear adults say "You will never understand a parent's love for their child until you have your own"? I understood. I mean, I LOOOOOVED to shop - it had to be the same feeling, right?

WRONG. 

{{Obviously}}

I hate to admit it, but they were right. I NEVER in a MILLION years thought that loving a child could be like this! 

It has only been four short months, but I already hardly remember my life without her... Nor do I want to. These have been the best.. and most tiring... four months of my life. While I am sad that time is going by SO.FREAKING.FAST, I have to admit it... it is fun. I love watching her grow and learn things. She cannot do much, but I have loved seeing what little she has already learned. 

If you know me, or were ever blessed to live with me, you know that I am NOT a morning person! I am the queen of hitting the snooze button  a couple at least 5 times every.single.morning. Now? While exhausted, I love to hear that Kylee is awake, especially if I have had time to get things done before she wakes up! She is the happiest baby in the morning and it just melts my heart over and over when I see her smile when she sees me. THE best feeling ever.

There is not one single word that I could use to describe this feeling of parenthood. It is indescribable, but I know that I am so happy and so blessed to be able to be a part of this "hood", and even more blessed with such a sweet, loving and silly baby girl.

Kitchen Table Refab

My grandpa Larry blessed us with a dining room table when we moved. He didn't think it was in good enough shape to do anything with it... Muahahahaha.. I felt a challenge.

My mom, sister and law and I had a painting day one weekend and project kitchen table refab was underway!

I am terrible at taking before pictures - so here is a during picture... in the beginning of the makeover.

It was originally just a solid oak table, with one leaf.

Here is the almost done picture.

I sanded it, cleaned it up with Mineral Spirits and then stained the top and we painted the bottom. I LOVE it!

Here is the table in my house.

And how amazing is the hutch in the background? My mom is amazing at furniture renovations.

Kylee is 3 Months!

I am sure I sound like a broken record but, seriously, how has this time gone by so fast? 

Kylee is now 3 months old!

Kylee, finally, got to meet her big sister, Ja'Maia! Aren't they the sweetest?

Kylee celebrated her first Christmas Season! I have always loved Christmas, but it is SO much better with a kiddo! I can't wait to see her rip open her presents! She is consistently sleeping through the night... unless there is something wrong (like pneumonia - UGH!). She is cooing and babbling more and more. She loves to suck on her hands and stick her tongue out. You can tell when she is mad now because she YELLS,AT.YOU - Seriously! She cries when she is sad or something is wrong, but no longer when she is mad. The best part... KYLEE IS GOING TO BE A BIG COUSIN! My brother and sister-in-law are having a baby! She is due at the end of June. Kylee is 9 lbs 14 oz and 21 inches of pure perfection (not being biased or anything).

This is a rocking chair that my grandma has. It has rocked 7 GENERATIONS of children! How amazing!

4 generations of pretty ladies

Our first Christmas as a family of 4

Kylee is 2 Months!

I, seriously, cannot believe how fast time has gone since we were blessed with our baby girl! It is a love/hate relationship. I LOOOOVE watching her grow, learn and experience new things, but why does it have to go SO fast!?

Kylee is now 2 months old. 

She LOVES her baths now. I think she HATED being cold, which is why the "bird baths" were not ideal for her. Submerge her in some warm water and she is so content!

She slept for 11 hours... one time. But, I will take it. She is getting better and better with her sleep and sleeping through the night. She likes to sleep on her stomach, and gets much better sleep like that. 

She is starting to "coo" and baby talk! I love it!

Kylee had her first sleepover with out me! The hubs and I have to go to Tennessee to pick up my step-daughter so we did a trial run at my mom's house and Kylee did well!

She celebrated her first Thanksgiving  and met so many more people!

Kylee is now 8 lbs and 20 1/4 inches long!

Kylee Is 1 Month!

Why is time such a thief? 

Kylee is 1 month old, and I cannot believe it!

She is 8 lbs and 20 1/4 inches long. She hasn't grown any more hair and LOVES being held! She hates the "bird baths" that we had to give her the first couple times. She would cry SCREAM and SCREAM until she was back clothed! She celebrated her first Halloween and she knows when she hears the water running in the sink that it is time for her to eat and she goes nuts. She will suck on your arms, neck... whatever is closest until she gets her bottle! She has had SO many visitors, but still hasn't met everyone. She had her first sleepover at Grandma's (I was there, of course). She is very patient with this first time mama.

This is the outfit I wore home from the hospital when I was born!

I love this little girl more than I ever thought I could!

What's In A Name?

"A name represents identity, a deep feeling and holds tremendous significance to it's owner." 

- Rachel Ingber

When we found out we were pregnant I busted out my notepad in my cell phone and started to ponder the list of names that I had for babies. I had been compiling this list for quite some time. Of course, I had to have options for the hubs.

He didn't like  HATED every.single.name.I.had! I only had one name that I had wanted for a baby girl - he hated it. All 30,000 ++ boy names... he hated them. This was going to be a process. I tried to lay off of the names for a bit, and when I heard one I liked... he hated it.

My cousin Steffani and I were chatting online and she said she had a dream and said a name that I INSTANTLY fell in love with. (Thanks, girl!)

{Name to be disclosed later in this post.. keep reading}

I ran it by Kim and he wasn't sold.

When we found out we were being blessed with a princess, I began the name game more seriously. Kim randomly messaged me and he made the middle name of RaeLynn (Uhm... PERFECTION). My mom's middle name is Rae and his mom's middle name is Lynn.  

GOOD JOB, HUBS!

So, baby girl had a middle name... we just need a first name.

I tried to convince him of the name my cousin had came up with for months! At Torch Lake for the 4th of July, when people would ask if we had a name yet I would look at him and said "I do. I just need him to get on board." I would mention the name and he would say "Most likely it will be *****". (He is always keeping people on their toes)

I never blogged about it - mostly because of the tears I shed every time I tried, and the fact that I didn't think I could ever find the right words. But, my father passed away in January 2016. It was the hardest thing I had ever gone through. 

The name that Steffani had mentioned was Kylie. I loved it. My dad's name is Kyle Lee! So, so, so perfect! We changed it up and the spelling is Kylee.

So, there we have it... Kylee RaeLynn Donald.

I could not be more proud of the name(s) we have chosen to represent our precious baby girl, and I cannot wait until she can understand where the names come from and to share stories of my dad with her.