Exploring

In honor of Columbus Day, Nate, Kendall, and I took the day off and spent some quality family time. We all slept in and got some good napping in, which was needed after the big birthday yesterday.

We all felt the need to get out of the house and do something, so we headed out to the pumpkin patch at Dieder Farms. What we forgot was that it was Columbus Day. We were not the only people off work with the idea to go to the pumpkin patch. And we hate crowds. So we turned around and changed our plan.

To honor Columbus, we explored a new land. Although we only live a mile away, we had never been to Lake Arlington. We headed over and had a great time. Took a 3 + mile walk around the lake, and hit the playground.

Kendall explored the playground, but she liked the slide the most. After sliding down, she would try to crawl back up the slide to go down again. The leaves falling from the trees also provided a lot of entertainment. She would point and watch them fall, and then walk over to pick them up. Leaves falling from trees? Crazy!

It was a beautiful fall day - even though it was 80 degrees out. Looking forward to the cooler weather and getting out to enjoy it.

A Year Ago Today....

We love you Kendall. Happy First Birthday!

Can't believe it's already been a year since you came into our lives. Looking forward to all the years to come!

Kendall and the Balloon

In prep for the birthday, I have been searching high and low for a giant rubber ducky balloon. Apparently they do not exist, although I swear I have seen one before. During my search, I took Kendall with me to the Party Store near our house.

You know how party stores are. Hundreds of balloons blown up on the ceiling, waiting for an owner. Balloons all over the walls so you can pick the perfect one - except no duckies. Well, Kendall loved the balloons. She pointed and ooohhed and ahhhed and giggled. I must have spent an extra 30 min in there pointing at balloons. I think that was the highlight of her day.

As I continued my search for the duckie balloon, I hit the Jewel. No, they don't carry them either, but they had some Bears balloons in the produce section (and inexplicably Packers balloons - seriously? Boo.) So as I bought apples and peaches, lettuce and onions, I remembered how Kendall liked those balloons, so I picked one up to see how Kendall would react when it invades her space. Go Bears.

That balloon, or as Kendall calls it the 'gaboon', is now her constant companion. Always following her around floating over her head. If it is not next to her, she will point to it, or if you ask where it is, she will go track it down and bring it to you. Or, my favorite, she will bring you both the balloon and her copy of Goodnight Moon - because in the great room, there is a red balloon.

At least she is never hard to find these days - just follow that balloon.

Early wake up call

Kendall and Daddy on their way to work, early in the morning - before the sun is even up.

Kendall is a tough cookie

Kendall is a walking chatterbox these days, and the thing she loves most are books. She will pick one up, walk over, hand it to you, then climb onto your lap and demand that you read it to her 15 times. Same book. I have taken to hiding some books because I just can't read them again for a while.

As a result of her love of reading, Kendall developed her first black eye. You may ask, how does reading give you a black eye? Well, when you are not so steady on your feet and pick up books a lot, eventually you fall on one.

A few weeks ago, Kendall was bringing Grandma Gorman a book, and tripped, falling onto the book she was carrying. It hit her right beneath the eye, giving her a nice shiner for a week.


This is after a few days healing on that black eye.

Kendall did not cry. She was a bit surprised, but just picked herself right up and brought that book over to Grandma Gorman to read it to her. This tends to be a theme for Kendall. She falls, a lot, but most of the time it doesn't faze her - and we try really hard not to react. When she falls, Nate has taken to saying 'kabooms', and now when she falls, it almost sounds like she is saying it too.

If she keeps this up, she is going to be one tough cookie. I think I see a Lacrosse player in our future - maybe even another goalie!

11 Months

11 months. 11 MONTHS! Woah. This time last year I was expecting Kendall to show up any day. Of course, she waited a month, but this child will wait no more! This past month has been growth by leaps and bounds. She seems taller ever day, more active, and definitely has LOTS of personality.

Let's jump into it, shall we?

Kendall at 10 Months

Weight - 19lbs 15oz (so I was close on my guestimate last month. 50 percentile)
Height - 28 3/4 inches (75 percentile)
Sounds Like - Kendall is starting to talk. At least it sounds like it if you are around her every day. Pointing and saying 'BIR' when she she a bird, or 'TER' when the train goes past grandma and grandpa Gorman's, or what definitely sounds like '5' when you ask her or a high five. Sounds like gibberish to most, but to us, she is making sense.
Likes - Kendall likes to feed herself, Cherrios, fruit, lunchmeat, and my personal favorite, artichoke spinach dip. She will try anything you put in front of her, as long as she gets to put it in her mouth herself. Kendall also likes to pretend she is an avid reader. She will leave her toys behind and return to her bedroom to flip through her books - all by herself. I've taken to putting a book in her bed after she goes to sleep. In the morning it buys us an extra 15 - 30 min of sleep as she "reads" the book over and over to herself.
Dislikes - Being told no. What you tell her not to do is exactly what she wants to do. Eating from a spoon - mushy food is so 9 month-old.
Things she can do - Stand on her own, clap her hands, high five, cruise around the house, and even walk a few steps all on her own without holding on.



Doesn't she look like a big girl in jeans and shoes?

 Kendall at 11 Months
Weight - 22 lbs 2 oz

Height - 29 inches (unscientific mesurement of wiggling baby)
Sounds Like - This past week we have had a bit of the whining. Not too enjoyable. Most of the time Kendall is singing, or talking to her 'bir', a lot of mama, da, yes, and this (with a point of the finger). We hear a lot of this. Oh, and duck. Pretty sure this is due to my duck, duck, Kendall! bathtub game.
Likes - Books. I've taken to throwing a few books in her bed after she goes to sleep. She wakes us and spends a good 20 minutes "reading" in the morning (as I continue to sleep). Baskets, and moving anything into and out of baskets. The remote, which is off limits. Don't let your guard down for a second, or she will be on that remote faster than you can say Jimminy Cricket. Clapping - just like Tinkerbell, Kendall apparently needs aplauds.
Dislikes - Locked cabinets - mwah, ha, ha, ha, ha. Diaper changes, they take her out of the action. Waiting. For anything. Food, to get up in the morning, you to go to finish your business. She will follow you, and bring you back to what she wants to do.
Things she can do - Walk. I knew it was coming, but was not prepared. Wave hello and bye-bye. She waves at the trains as they pass at Grandma and Grandpa Gorman's, people at the store when they tell her she is cute (yes, she is a ham and preforms on demand), and good-bye when we leave to go home.
 
One more month to go before the big 0-1! I better brush up on my cake decorating skills...

Milwaukee

This past weekend, we decided to take a short trip up to Milwaukee. A little family get-away. This was our first trip away as a family, and we were looking forward to showing Kendall the sights.

We headed up Saturday morning and took in the city.

First stop was for lunch. Turns out Kendall LOVES soft pretzels, and chicken fingers, and ketchup. This was the weekend of Kendall trying all sorts of new foods, and loving all of them.

After lunch we took a walk along the Riverwalk to see the new Fonz statue. Kendall was a bit confused by The Fonz. And possibly by the British telephone both, fully equipped with functioning pay phone (when is the last time you saw a pay phone?).

After that, we checked out campus. So much has changed in the few years since we graduated (really? 6 years?!?!). New buildings are popping up all over the place, renovations, and campus is expanding. Of course, we hit the book store - can't leave town without Marquette gear. And took a long walk through campus taking pictures and introducing Kendall to all the places we used to spend all our time.

On Sunday, we hit the main goal of our trip, the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Kendall had a blast. As I have discussed previously, Kendall loves birds, and Milwaukee did not disappoint. At the zoo there are free range peacocks, swans, ducks, and flamingos just hanging around at the watering holes. You can get up close and personal with them, much to Kendall's delight.

There is also an aviary at the zoo, which was fun until you get to the room with the birds flying over you. I have always been scared of this at the zoo, but Kendall loved it!

I did enjoy the bird with the handlebar mustache, as is evident in the video below. I recommend turning off your sound to watch this one, the waterfall is really loud. Kendall does get excited, and is squawking right along with the birds.

Kendall also really liked the giraffes. We finally learned what sound a giraffe makes (apparently they are not mute, they make low grunts, who knew?). None of the other animals really held Kendall's interest, but she enjoyed the time and was really happy at the zoo. And of course, we made a mold-a-rama.

After all this, we had one tired little girl.

Good-bye until next time Milwaukee!