Kalina's Five Months!

"By the time a baby is about 5 months, (s)he almost has to smile when someone smiles at him, as if it's a reflex." (American Baby Magazine)

So this is Kalina to a "T". What a happy baby! Once you give her any attention at all, she just smiiiiles away! Going from months 4 to 5, has shown the biggest changes in Kalina with her holding her head on her own (to where psycho-cautious mom doesn't even hold her head when I pick her up), grabbing things, switching hands, and pulling them to her mouth. She is definitely in the more 'fun' stage of being more interactive and social. Her eyes are definitely still blue, but her hair just can't decide what color it is going to be! She is trying to grow out a mullett and a mohawk, both at the same time! The lower back hair is still very dark, but the rest of her hair is growing in lighter, some blonde, some darker. I suppose only time will tell what color it will be!

May 2010

Pictures to come

What a busy month May was!



Tatum's First Hair Cut!!!



We started the month out with Tatum getting her first hair cut! We were very reluctant to get it cut because the longest hair would curl in humidity.... and because I would finally have to give in that she is growing up *sigh*



Tatum didn't quite know what to think of getting her hair cut. She was actually quiet.... barely spoke with the lady at all! This is a girl who wakes up talking and goes to bed talking and sometimes talks in her sleep, so for her to not talk is odd. She was able to pick what to sit on, and she chose a pink elephant and later was able to pick her hair style. My little girl is growing up!



Trip to Indiana



The girls, Matt, and I packed into the car and headed for good ol' Indiana. The girls did pretty well, as Matt drove all through the night- Kalina slept and Tatum woke up a few times, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. The original plan was to run/walk the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon... then we decided to walk to 5K with Patti, but then we woke up in the morning and it was windy and cold- not exactly great weather to have the girls out in... so, we didn't do any of it :( ... Hopefully next year we can redeem ourselves! :)



While staying in Indy, we were able to visit with Granny and Uncle Carl, Aunt Judy, and cousin Nikki (and now husband, Aaron) - who was one week away from being married- Congratulations! :)



Sunday, Mother's Day, we headed to King's Island in Ohio with Lola & Pocky. What a great time! Tatum LOVED the rollercoaster, and I must say, Pocky seemed to love it as well! We finished off Mother's Day with a trip to Olive Garden. What a GREAT day with family!

BAKING WITH LOLA

We had a great time hanging out with the Carrington's in Indy, and Tatum especially enjoyed baking with Lola... she made some 'Grilled Cheese', and then made some cupcakes... mmmm they were delicious! The best tasting cupcakes I've ever had!!! I bet you wish you could have some!!!

Kalina would have joined in with the baking fun, but she just enjoyed hanging out with Lola & Pocky, getting some love!


Following our visit in Indianapolis, we headed up to see the Bilinski's(Baloonski)/Potts'. First stop, G'ma Birt & Pocky B...


TRAIN TIME WITH GRANDMA BIRT & POCKY B

We headed up and stayed with G'ma Birt & Pocky B for a few days where the girls enjoyed some play time, giraffe rides, horsey rides, and the train! G'ma surprised Tatum by pulling her train set out and let Tatum be the conductor. She had a BLAST! Later, we headed up to Tyler's Tender- a train themed kid's restaurant in Schererville. Tatum had fun riding trains and got her own conductor hat!

Kalina shared some laughs with the grandparents and had some great one on one time with Granny!

HANGING WITH UNCLE DOUG, POPS, AND GRANDMA POTTS

Over the river and up the road to Grandma Potts' house we gooo... okay, so we didn't really cross a river from Pocky B's house to G'ma Potts' house, but we crossed over lots as we drove across the country! :)

We were able to visit with Grandma Potts and Pops, along with Uncle Doug. We helped Pops plant some flowers, taught Uncle Doug his ABC's, and Tate fell asleep with Grandma Potts reading to her after enjoying a trip to the bookstore. Grandma also got to enjoy doing a puzzle with Tatum...

Unfortunately, our visit with Uncle Doug was shifted to the hospital (girls could not visit with him there)... Doug got a bad case of pneumonia and was put on a ventilator. He has since, been trached, and now is in a facility to try to ween him off of the vent.

MEETING ALEXANDER!!!!

No offense to anyone else in IN, but my highlight for the trip was being able to finally meet my nephew!!! What a cutie! He was sooo little! I barely remember Kalina that size!!! :) He's so sweet, I can't wait until they move out here to Colorado!!! lol... ;) (an Auntie can dream, right?) He definitely felt light in my arms after holding Tatum/Kalina! I looooove him!!! Tatum loves him too, and is excited to be a big cousin (again)! Kalina, although she doesn't quite understand what's going on, is excited to be a big cousin, as well! :)

Look what I found!!!

Time is flying and Kalina is just growing like crazy!!! So amazing to watch her everyday picking up new things and learning about her world. Everytime I get her from her crib, she has ahold of at least one of her feet. In just the last couple of weeks, she has gone from just looking at her 'friends' to batting at them, to grabbing them. Kalina really is a happy girl! If she is upset, we just have to sing to her and ope, there's the smile! The past couple of days have shown lots of laughs from her, as she just loves attention!

Tatum is still sharing her toys with Kalina (as she had when I was still pregnant)... the last two days, she has shared her firetruck and always enjoys 'reading' with Kalina and me- she points to animals and tells Kalina what they are and what they say. It's really sweet. Tatum also enjoys 'reading' to Matt and I at night. She has two books that she always asks us to read to her and now, she pretty much 'reads' them to us! It's so sweet and way too cute! One is 'Shiver me letters, A Pirate's ABC's' and the other is 'Put Me in the Zoo'. Another she knows pretty well is 'The Crunching, Munching Caterpillar'. She definitely loves her books! She also loves being outside! Once she goes outside, I have to practically bribe her to come inside! lol... A GREAT problem to have!

Anyway, the past four months have absolutely flown by. I was packing up the smaller clothes and can not believe how little she was just four months ago! It's absolutely unbelieveable how quickly the time has gone!

Auntie Liz!!!

Dexter

I have blue eyes!

Sisters

Sister love

Things are a-changing!

So, lots has happened in the last month... two new additions to our family- Auntie Liz & Dexter ... Grandma Potts drove with Auntie Liz out here and stayed to visit for a few days... and Matt is transferring to a new Lifetime... at least this time, we are staying in the same state, just south of Denver instead of north. :)

Here are a few pictures from this past month

Kalina is Three Months!

So, the first three months have been a whirlwind! At one month, Kalina had just started smiling ... at two months, she hadn't stopped smiling! At three months, she has given us a few giggles, lots of smiles, started blowing raspberries, is extremely observant! LOVES her sister! (and T loves her!) She has been trying hard to roll over, and has (three times from her stomach to her back), but I think it can be attributed to the momentum from her head going in that direction! :) It's amazing watching her grow and take in more and more everyday!

Tatum is such a blast! She loves the movie, 'Madagascar' right now, and TTMelman, the giraffe, is her favorite! She has a giraffe who goes everywhere with her, and every giraffe she sees is 'Melman'- whether it is one at the zoo, her stuffed one, or one in a puzzle! She now has an Alex and a Marty... imagine a 2 1/2 year old carrying three stuffed animals all over the house, then tucking them in bed with her! It's almost hard to see her face! :) Today, Tatum saw a little giraffe at Target, and we had to get it for Kalina- Tatum said she needed a Melman and wanted to get it for her baby sister. So sweet! She loves to learn and picks up everything, and remembers EVERYTHING!!! She will randomly bring up things that happened or related to something we are doing or someone we talk to. Matt and I often just look at each other, and ask, did she really just say that???

I had asked her if Melman was there, and she was saying "Yeeeeaaah!"

It is so fun to watch T and K interact with each other and grow! And I know this is only the beginning...

Visiting with Family

My Great Aunt Juanita passed away in the middle of February, so we headed to IN to pay our respects. While there, we were able to 'visit' with family that hadn't yet been able to meet the girls. It was Kalina's first time on an airplane, as was it my first time to fly with both girls- alone. I expected it to be very stressful, but the girls were wonderful on the planes!

Sorry Uncle Carl! Mom took me away from my meal for this picture... I was HUNGRY!!!



We drove down to Indy to see Lola & Pocky before flying out... (I let Pocky off the hook this time- no pictures)

The night before flying out to Indiana, we met up with Uncle David for some dinner...

Pocky B and Grandma Birt came out for a visit just as Kalina turned one month old. We all enjoyed their visit! Here are some pictures from their visit...