Kiki

McKinley has grown up so fast this year! Just in the last week she has started walking all the time instead of crawling. It's like she suddenly turned into a toddler! We had so much going on this year that I'm not sure I really noticed just how much she was growing until now. Some aspects of her personality were apparent from birth, but some she is just showing to us now:

• She seems a bit finicky about her sleep. Until about 7 months old, she would only take 30 minute naps. I don't know if that was just how she operates, of if her loud 3-year-old boy is a factor. Once we moved into the new house and her bedroom became a bit more secluded, she started napping better. I myself am obsessed with sleep and cannot fathom why a child would voluntarely NOT sleep when she could be getting the recommended 12-16 hours a day.


• Kinley is not a fish. She does not enjoy a bath, a splash in the kiddie pool or a dip in the waterhole. Once we went to a local pool and she actually enjoyed herself. That scenario hasn't repeated itself.


• McKinley is a thrill-seeker. She loves to be dipped and "tossed" on pillows. She loves to bounce. She is very cute bopping around on the couch, until Finn starts jumping too and I have to kick them both off.


• Kiki is very easy to entertain. She just piddles around the house, playing with toys, looking at books. She loves to watch her brother.


• Feeding one-year-olds is so EASY! Kinley eats almost everything I scoop in her mouth. I'm just waiting for the revolt to begin. Her favs: Boca Burgers, bananas, graham crackers, melons.


• Kinley has a bit of a reserved nature sometimes (she IS a virgo), but she is generally friendly. I think she sort of likes being in the middle of a lot of people.

I always thought that the first year of life for a girl was going to be a lot different than for a boy. It was different, but due to personality, not gender. I think having 2 kids and seeing how they differ personality-wise, weighed heavy for the "nature" debate. Over the last year, I have had to let go of a lot of my control issues to adapt to the little people I now live with. The most important thing that having 2 kids has taught me is to just let things go, and try to enjoy yourself!

Finally!

We finally made it back to IKEA today! I've been dying to go since last summer! We left Finn at home with Granny, but took Kinley with us. We just drove straight there and back. We even ate at the cafe! She was doing the funniest little wicked laugh all day:

Here we are with our loads of junk we bought:

Kinley was pretty good the whole trip, but she did get sick of the carseat. I thought she would nap most of the car ride, but she ended up only napping for about an hour all day long (it was an 8 hour car ride total)!

We took a little break along the way so Kiki could get some movement. She really appreciated it!

Mid-point Check-in

Finn and Kinley both had milestones this month--Finn turned 2 1/2 and Kinley will be 6 months next week! Here's just a little update on the two of them:

Finn--Since Finn turned 2 he's changed a lot. He is much more emotional is the best way to say it. It started out with tantrums, but lately, he's learned to handle his frustration a lot better (minus the occasional hitting and kicking). Lately, when he gets mad, he tells me "I'm mad, I'm very very mad" and then goes and has some alone time in his room. He usually slams the door behind him (a bit like living with a teenager), but I don't mind--at least he's learning that he needs to take a time out.

Finn has turned into the pickiest eater! For the last 6 months, he has subsided on just a handful of bites of food each day! I am really amazed at how much energy he has for as little that he eats. The child literally will go a day or two with only taking a few bites of food.

Finn is still as active as ever. He is busy all day long--and this is probably why he never eats, he won't sit still! He still loves people and is super friendly, but I have noticed at playdates he likes to wander off by himself and have some alone time.

Finn is becoming quite the handyman. He is very mechanical and loves to take things apart and put things back together. We bought him a tool set at Christmas and it's one of his favorite things! He also has a pretty big fascination with robots and loves to make them and other "redozits" (electronics) out of his Legos.

Kinley--It's hard to believe it's been half a year already! Kinley has grown so much. She's a very healthy eater and has started solids the last couple of weeks. She loves being with mommy, daddy and her big bubba, but is more skittish around others. However, she seems to be warming up to her grandparents a little (as long as mommy is around). Her very favorite person is Finn. He can sit on her, pull her arms or poke her and she thinks it's HILARIOUS. She loves her big bro.

Kinley loves to make noise and seems to be working on her "B" sound (to say "bubba" I'm sure!), but physically she doesn't seem to be doing much. She is great with her hands, but she isn't at all interested in sitting up, rolling over, or crawling. She has been crazy teething lately.

Overall, her personality is very sweet. She just likes to watch what we're doing and is pretty content most of the time. When Finn was this age, he would need a new activity every few minutes, but Kinley will lay for a long time on her play mat, just batting and chewing on her toys.

I would love to be blogging more, but I've been SO pressed for time! This month has been very stressful with all the moving plans. But we are (hopefully) moving in our new home in a week! Maybe then I will have more time!