Squishy Squash

On Friday Kylie got her first taste of "real" food in the form of pureed squash. As I fed it to her, Kylie would take a bite and then make the most sour face. She would quickly recover and immediately open herself up for more. I laughed as I held the camera in one hand and tried to keep the spoon steady as I fed her with the other. And suddenly I felt as if I had gone back in time 20 months. I saw Kyra sitting in that same highchair making the same sour facial expressions and I couldn't believe how fast I got from there to here, from Kyra to Kylie.
KylieKyra

Open Doors

The toddler years. Full of awe, growth, frustration, limit pushing, giggles, surprises, stuffed friends, spankings, energy, discoveries, screams, and much more. I find myself feeling overwhelmed, lighthearted, exhausted, awestruck, proud, exasperated, and impressed. Kyra's vocabulary has recently expanded to include phrases such as:
"See ya!"
"What's up?!"
"What happened?"
"Where's daddy?" ("Where's Pop Pop?" and "Where's Elmo?")
"Hi Kylie!"
"It's Mac" (Uncle Declan and Aunt Katie's dog)
"I don't know."

She has a new enthusiasm for playing with friends. Her curiosity and sense of adventure far outweigh any fear of getting hurt or disciplined. She loves to climb on the couch, ottomans, tables, chairs, and grown ups. She loves to spin around until she falls down and then gets right back up to spin some more.

She is growing physically too. She must've gained an inch in the last month as her pant legs all seem to no longer drag on the floor. And as she grows bigger, so do her opportunities for exploration. For instance, her growth spurt was just enough to allow her to turn the door knobs and open the doors in our house. A week ago she began letting herself out of her room when she awoke from a nap or first thing in the morning. A few days ago she let herself out of her room, at who knows what time of the night or morning, and she came downstairs. She found her bag of foam stickers and took them back to bed with her. When I went in to get her up in the morning, there were dozens of brightly colored flowers stuck to her pajamas, sheets, and stuffed animals. And I realized that it was time to take extra precautions to keep her in her room. So I cleverly put up a baby gate outside her door. That way, when she got up and opened her door, she would find herself still trapped. And for a couple of days the gate served it's purpose. So Kyra decided to throw us another curve ball.

Last night, she discovered that despite the fact that opening her door wouldn't get her out of her room, it would still allow more light to enter in. Enough light in fact for her to play. We would hear her open the door and then Jim and I took turns going up to her room and putting her back in bed. After 3 hours of doing that dance, I'd had enough. Jim took her doorknob off and reversed it so the lock is now on the outside. And it seems to be working brilliantly. At least for now, until her little clever toddler brain comes up with a new scheme.

6 Months old

Yesterday my baby girl turned 6 months old. Those 6 months have flown by and at this rate, I have a feeling that when I wake up tomorrow she'll be a year old already. In the last month Kylie has started sitting up on her own and rolling over regularly. She has been chewing on her hands like crazy. In fact, she has been chewing on anything she can get near her mouth as she is trying to get those front teeth to break through. Kylie loves eating cereal and wiggling when she is happy. She also enjoys watching movies with her big sister Kyra.

My birthday and such

It's a little past 8:30pm. Jim is in Florida until Sunday, both girls are snuggled in their beds, and with the exception of a new episode of The Office, there's not really anything on tv tonight. So what am I to do?... Though I'm dying to read the next couple of chapters in the Nicholas Sparks book I bought a year ago and just now had time to start, I decided to get on the computer and entertain the masses instead. Okay, well at least the half dozen or so people who actually read my blog religiously. Now that I'm settled in with two baby monitors, my cell phone, my drink, a bag of chips, and some of my homemade salsa, I can begin.

First, I'd like to display the incredible crocheting talents of my littlest sister:



This is just the most recent display of her skills as she has done several quilts, pillows, hats, and even a rug prior to these. I've been telling her she needs to start selling her crafts, so I guess this is my passive aggressive way of turning up the pressure. :) (And can I just say how much I LOVE iPhoto on the Macbook!)

Okay, so next on the agenda is the topic of my birthday. I'm not going to post my age, but not for my sake but rather the sake of my dear friends. Unlike many women, I'm not freaked out by birthdays. Over the years I managed to strategically attract friends who are all older than me, so no matter how many birthdays I have, I'm still the youngest of the bunch. For the rest of them however, my birthday is a very depressing event for that same reason. Not to mention the fact that for the past 12 years I've looked 16. (Oh the stares that brought on when I was 9 months pregnant!) The day after my birthday, however, I noticed something in my features that gives way to my actual age. I have wrinkles! Not all the time, but when I smile... BAM! There they are, crazy highlights around my eyes. I've been told those are the best kind of wrinkles to have though, because apparently they are a direct result of smiling and laughing frequently throughout one's life.

I had a good birthday. Jim took me to dinner while his parents watched the girls for us. He also got me a new digital camera and soon the fabulous pics from it will be displayed on my blog. I got to webcam with my parents for an hour or so and they even got to see me open my birthday cards, which made it feel even more like they were really here and not in Oklahoma. I would like to thank everyone who sent cards and emails. They made me feel very loved on my birthday! Including the ones I received from Borders.com, Birthday Alarm, DSW shoes, and myspace. There's nothing quite like birthday spam to get you in the birthday spirit! Also, I have to thank my sister-in-law, Susan for really going over the top for me this year. Not only did she have lunch with me and hang out watching Chuck: Season 1 extras on dvd, but she got me an awesome (much needed) coat AND wrote the absolute sweetest (aka tear jerking) blog about me. Sue, I love you! Thanks so much for everything.

I'm gonna wrap this up now. I've got a date with Nicholas Sparks.

My Girls

When I was pregnant the first time, Jim and I had opted to not find out the baby's gender so as to be surprised in the delivery room. After thirty-something hours of labor I was beyond exhausted when the doctor made the big announcement that we had a baby girl. In the moment, I was overwhelmed and more than anything thankful that our baby had finally arrived and that she was healthy, but my brain couldn't process much beyond that. As a new mom it took me weeks, even months, to fully process the fact that we had a baby and what all came along with that. Lately though, I have begun to think beyond the realm of just having a baby and more about what it means that we have girls.

I naturally gravitate to the fact that we will have to pay for a couple of weddings one day, but then I think about how much fun it will be to help plan for them. But before I dwell on that for too long, I pull myself back on the timeline and begin to think about simpler things like slumber parties with a dozen giddy little friends. I think about dance classes and gymnastics. I think about mother-daughter brunches at church. About shopping trips and manicures. I think about heart to heart talks, cooking and baking together, cheerleading, hair bows, crushes, diaries, and babysitting gigs. In my head I've told myself how to react to first kisses and broken hearts. I hope to have the right things to say when there is a fight with a best friend. I hope to share wisdom gained from my own experiences and I pray for the strength to be able to let them learn some lessons the hard way. I desire to raise them to be strong women of God, to be trustworthy friends and loving wives.

And though I would love to have a boy some day, I thank God that I have my girls. There is so much to look forward to with them, including the unexpected. I greatly look forward to seeing my girls experience the things I mentioned, but I'm in no rush to get them there. Time goes by fast enough as it is and so I am treasuring each day. Even if it doesn't present a milestone in the "book of things I anticipate with my daughters", every day shows me something new about my girls. And I love learning who they are and seeing little glimpses of who they will one day be.

Better Late Than Never

I realize that I haven't blogged about Christmas or the New Year, so this will be my attempt to recap the memories made on Christmas Day.

Jingle Bells: A Witmer Christmas 2008

Dashing to Jim's parents
The girls all bundled up
Inhale lots of cinnamon buns
No eggnog in Jim's cup
ha ha ha!


Susan reads the Christmas story
Its a really fun pop-up book
Sing "Happy Birthday Jesus"
In the presents now time to look.


Oh, Jingle Bells, Kyra yells, presents galore!
Can't get them opened fast enough, giftwrap covers the floor!
Jingle Bells, something smells, Kylie rips a fart!
Susan's gifts were all handmade straight from the heart!


Clothes, DVD's, and giftcards
Stickers, toys, and puzzles too
Kyra gets a huge play kitchen
Kylie gets a jumperoo
he he he!


Jim opens up a gift
He wasn't supposed to get
Kyra makes a pouty face
When she passes presents to Uncle Wit


Oh, Jingle bells, Kyra yells, presents almost done!
Jim surprised to get a Mac, didn't know who it was from!
Jingle bells, something smells, Kylie farts again!
Oh my goodness hold your nose, who let this girl in?!


Later on at night
We play a lot of games
Laughing, joking, eating subs
It is anything but lame
ha ha ha!


At last we head for home
Time to get the girls some rest
One thing this day reminds us of
That we are truly blessed.


Oh, Jingle bells, no one yells, finally a silent night!
Knowing Jim is taking Friday off makes Keshet's heart feel light!
Jingle bells, something smells, this time I think it's Chase!
The memories of this Christmas day can never be replaced!


We did have an absolutely wonderful Christmas this year. It was so much fun to see how Kyra responded to each gift and how her face turned sad when she had to hand off a gift that wasn't for her. And thanks to Jim's new computer (that was a major surprise from his parents and I), we were able to webchat with my family on Friday so they could watch Kyra and Kylie open the gifts they had shipped to us. It was the next best thing to actually being with them.