11 Months

Kensie learned so many new things this month! Her biggest milestone was finally learning to crawl!

Here are some other things she does now...

She learned how to get into sitting position from laying down

She can pull herself up to standing position by hanging onto something

She 'cruises' along furniture and walls

Uses sign language for 'all done' when she is done eating

Likes to share her food with us. Niel is really nice and eats it from her sticky little fingers. I usually just pretend to eat it.

She understands 'no' but usually doesn't obey.

Dogs and puppies are her favorite!

She is very outgoing and doesn't have a problem with strangers unless mom and dad aren't around.

She usually cries when I take her to the gym daycare.

She is very determined, independent, and can be impatient.

LOVES her stuffed animals. She gives them big hugs and says, "Ahhh Ahhh."

She gives lots of hugs to mom and dad. We can't get enough of them.

I started taking her on a morning walk every morning when it's only 80 degrees instead of 105

Sometimes I take her to the park after our walk and put her in the swing, which she loves.

She has been fighting her second nap of the day. Sometimes she won't go down at all. Sometimes it takes her an hour to fall asleep. And when she does finally go to sleep it isn't without a fight. She throws her wubbanub out of the crib and cries until I come get it. Or she throws her puppy out of the crib. Sometimes she lays on her back and bangs the crib slats with her feet making a loud noise. Most the time she stands up next to her crib and jabbers really loud as if to say, "Mom! I do not want to take a nap!!!" If she doesn't get her second nap though she is overly tired and cranky by bedtime. I'm trying to decide if I should just transition to one long nap in the afternoon. Has anyone else ran into this problem at 11 months?

She has so much personality for an 11 month old. I have people tell me that all the time. Can you tell by all of her different facial expressions from this one photo shoot?!

Getting tired of pictures...

Alright mom, I'm seriously done with pictures!

Crawling

Kensie finally learned to crawl on August 14th, just a few days before her 11 month mark! Most babies start sooner than that so I was a little nervous even though the doctor said as long as she was crawling by her birthday. Now she is cruising. Getting into all the cupboards and drawers and making a mess of everything! People always comment about how much harder it gets once they start crawling. But ya know what? I am actually really glad she is crawling. She has been a lot better at self-entertaining ever since she started. I can tell she is really enjoying feeling independent and able to move around on her own. She loves exploring and getting into things she hasn't seen before.

I took this picture the first or second day after she learned. She was still pretty timid about it. Don't mind her crazy bed head. Doesn't she look adorable on all fours?!

Sonja's Wedding

Niel's sister Sonja married Jason on July 9th at Red Butte Gardens.

The ceremony was held outside in the gardens. Following the ceremony, a luncheon was served inside.
Sonja asked Niel to perform the marriage several months ago. It's a little too easy to get your marriage license we found out. Basically all you need is a drivers license and some money for the license fee. Anyways, the ceremony ended up going really well. Several people came up to him and asked if he did marriages as a full time job. Hah!
Pastor Niel

Our little family of three

Niel's younger sister Stephanie and her family.

There was a live band playing and dancing at the end. Kensie had lots of fun dancing. I think she is going to be a little dancer like her mom.

Dancing Queen! Grandma Millie was pulling off some sweet dance moves as well. If you were at our wedding reception you know what I'm talking about.

Everyone is really happy for Sonja and Jason. Jason is a great guy and everyone has been hoping they would tie the knot!

Pastor Niel

You should see Niel's resume. He has held just about every different type of job there is. Just to give you an idea...

Dishwasher

Chef at an Italian restaurant

Kmart associate (in high school, don't judge)

FootLocker associate

Comp USA sales associate

Painter

Door to Door pest control salesman

CNA

Real Estate Agent

Physician Assistant

He has yet another to add...

He is a licensed minister.

If you need someone to marry you, he can do it.

But seriously.

He really did perform his sister's wedding ceremony.

And he did an awesome job. Complete with a poem and everything. It was pretty hilarious and awesome all at the same time. More wedding pictures to come.

Family Reunion

Last month we had a family reunion for Niel's side of the family in Blanding, UT. The eight day trip started out by cramming four adults, a baby, and everyone's luggage into our Acadia. Then we embarked on the nine hour road trip. Luckily, Kensie did great except that she didn't sleep much in the car.

After a long day on the road we finally reached our destination. We ate Navajo tacos for dinner and then drove to the grave site of Niel's ancestors who settled Blanding, UT.

The next day we went site seeing. Too bad I can't remember the names of the places we went to. I think one of them was called goosenecks.

That night we had a fish fry at Niel's Aunt Karyn's house. Niel's dad and brother brought lots of salmon and fish from Alaska.

Monday was the Fourth of July (separate post).

Tuesday we drove back to Provo, ate at J-Dawgs and had a BBQ. We stayed with our friends Brittany and Adam and met their baby Crew for the first time!

Wednesday morning Kensie threw up her whole bottle. We crossed our fingers she wasn't sick and headed on our way because we had a scheduled hike to the Timpanogos caves. Unfortunately the caves were closed because of rain so we did a small hike nearby instead. Kensie threw up again after lunch and it was all downhill from there. Lots of projectile vomiting and diarrhea for the rest of the trip. She couldn't keep anything down. Poor baby.

After our hike, the boys went to see Transformers 3 and I went shopping (after changing a diaper or two and grabbing pedialyte for Kensie). That night we had another BBQ and stayed at the Nelson's again.

Thursday morning Kensie wasn't doing any better. If anything she was getting worse and wasn't acting herself at all. She was lethargic, melancholy, and just wanted to be held. Complete opposite of how she usually is!) We decided to pack up our things and get a hotel for the rest of our trip since she was so sick. After packing up our things we headed to Jordanelle Lake for the day. We had lunch catered by Famous Dave's and enjoyed an afternoon on the boat.

Kensie fell asleep in my arms on the boat. I felt bad she didn't feel well, but at the same time I loved having a mellow baby for a change who wanted to be cuddled and held:)

Afterwards we went shopping at DownEast Home and Lime Ricki. I was hoping to meet the owners I do business with but we didn't make it by 5 p.m.

Friday we had a low-key day. Niel worked on his wedding speech, we did some shopping, and visited my sweet grandma Davis.

Friday night we barbecued at the park and had a family baseball tournament. Kensie finally started acting more like herself that night.

4th of July

We dressed in our patriotic gear and headed to the Blanding parade. It was quite impressive for a small-town parade. I guess I was mostly impressed by the amount of candy thrown out. You better believe I was one of those adults getting candy!

Kensie with Grandma Schurig

Watching the parade with cousins.

Then we went to the Blanding city park for the 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Niel, his brother Jens, and his brother-in-laws formed an awesome team. They won three out of the five games playing in the blazing hot sun. Kensie and I only got to see the first game and had to leave because she was hot, sweaty, and exhausted.

After a nap and dinner at A&W we went back to the park for live music and fireworks. It was a pretty awesome firework show.

Gross picture of me but isn't it too cute Kensie fell asleep during the concert and stayed asleep during the firework show in my arms? I was eating it up because she hardly ever falls asleep in my arms.