Such a Girl

The differences between girls and boys start to emerge at a very early age. Even now, Kaitlyn is very much into hats, shoes, and purses. Where she got this fashion gene is beyond me, but it's cute to see her personality and preferences emerging. She likes picking out her own shoes to wear when we go out, and she tries on all of her hats several times a day. Lately, she's started strutting around the house carrying my purse (after emptying out all of its contents!). So I pulled out an old purse from my closet and designated it as Kaitlyn's very own purse, complete with some "necessities" that every girl needs...hand lotion, make-up brush, keys, etc. She thinks she's hot stuff now!

Hours of fun!

Picking out shoes to go with her outfit

And more details regarding my last post (although we've talked to a lot of you already!). The new baby is due on March 15. So far, I'm feeling pretty good. The 1st trimester fatigue is starting to subside. Certain smells can still make me nauseous at times (especially poopy diapers!) but my wonderful husband has been so good to lend some extra help when needed. And Kaitlyn is blissfully unaware that her world is going to change drastically in a few months!

Jeff and I are going to take a much-anticipated trip out to our beloved southern California later this week. This time, we're actually staying on the beach in Malibu! Gran has graciously agreed to come up and take care of Kaitlyn while we're gone. I'm sure Kaitlyn will be good and spoiled by the time we get back--after all, that's what grandparents are supposed to do! :) Hopefully we'll have lots of pictures of sunny beaches to post when we get back.

Kaitlyn has a secret

Play Date with Kaleb

Kaitlyn's friend Kaleb came over today for a play date (while his mom and I got in a fun visit!). Now that Kaleb can crawl, he and Kaitlyn were able to interact a little more. Kaitlyn kept offering to "share" her toys with Kaleb, and then would want to take them back as soon as he started playing with them. Fortunately, Kaleb is too young to really get upset about that yet, but we'll need to work on the concept of sharing as Kaitlyn gets a little older!

We tried to get a decent picture of the two of them together. But these little wiggle worms would just not sit still together. At least we got some humorous ones!

15 month update

I took Kaitlyn to the doctor today for her 15-month check-up. She weighs 28 pounds (97%) and is 33 inches long (97%). She got a clean bill of health and only one shot! Unfortunately, Kaitlyn is at an age where she remembers what happened at the last visit and does NOT like being in the exam room. She's fine in the waiting room, and she's fine when it's just the two of us in the exam room. But as soon as a doctor or nurse walks in, she starts wailing and doesn't stop until the offending medical person leaves the room. It's quite challenging to have a conversation with the doctor when your daughter is screaming and clinging to you :) Even her favorite toys couldn't soothe her today! Hopefully this will be a short-lived phase. We have one more round of shots at 18 months and then no more until she's five!

A Family Wedding

This weekend, we celebrated the marriage of Andrew and Lindsey. It was a beautiful evening ceremony that perfectly reflected their personalities and hearts. After all the stress that goes along with planning a wedding, these two are now getting some much-needed rest in the Caribbean sun!

Since Jeff was a groomsman, and I was taking care of Kaitlyn, we didn't get many pictures of the happy couple. But here are some of the festivities after the ceremony.

Andrew and Lindsey listening to her father offer a toast

Andrew and Lindsey toasting their new union


The cutting of the cake

The Krinks' siblings (both Jeff and Jess were in the wedding)

One of the great things about a wedding is getting to spend time with family. Most of Andrew's extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) were able to come to the ceremony, as well as several beloved friends from the church in New Jersey. It's always fun to reconnect with loved ones that you don't get to see often!

Kaitlyn got to spend time with some familiar faces. She loved all the extra attention! She had lots of people who were willing to read with her...one of her favorite things to do!

Reading with Mimi


Reading with Gigi


With Papa Greg (melting his heart with her affection!)

A Family Picture

Miscellaneous Fun

These are some various pictures that we've taken of Kaitlyn in the past few days. Kaitlyn has figured out that crossing her arms at random times (especially when she's asked a question) gets a big laugh out of everyone. So now she crosses her arms many times a day and looks at us with this huge grin, waiting for us to laugh. We can't help ourselves. She's just so cute and prissy when she does it.

When I was changing her sheets, I put the mattress on the floor for a while and let Kaitlyn have some fun. She wore herself out bouncing up and down on the mattress.

And she didn't even cry when she bounced off :)

She's very curious about the camera and looks intently at it whenever I pull it out...

...and then makes this face when I won't let her play with it. I get this face a lot during the day now :) She's become much more aware of her independence and doesn't like it when I stop her from doing something. And since her only words so far are "Mama" and "Dada," she can't really express her feelings and frustrations in any other way. In her defense, though, her gums are very swollen right now with incoming teeth, so she's been unusually grumpy lately. She's cutting a couple of those big premolars. Ouch!

Crossing Arms

Last night, we had Andrew and Lindsey over for dinner. It was so nice to catch up with them and hear all about the latest wedding plans. It's hard to believe that they'll be married in a couple of weeks! Of course, Kaitlyn was loving all the attention. Her newest thing is crossing her arms like a grown-up in order to get a laugh. Here she is imitating Uncle Andrew and Aunt Lindsey:

Our Little Pianist

Last week, Kaitlyn and I spent a couple of days at my mom's house. Gran has held on to several of my toys from childhood, including this Schoenhut piano that I loved as a kid. Apparently Kaitlyn loves it too because she spent a lot of time "playing" the piano while we were there...

...and jamming to the music. It takes talent to play the piano and dance at the same time :)

In other news, Kaitlyn is walking all over the place! Finally! She's been taking several steps at a time for a few weeks now, but she was still crawling more than walking. But while we were at my mom's house, she figured out how to stand up all by herself (without having to pull up on anything). Now when she falls down, she gets right back up and keeps walking. In fact, she can almost run! It's getting much harder to keep up with her, much less stay one step ahead of her!

Sunglasses and Balloons

Kaitlyn is modeling her new shades. Lately she's been wearing ours when it's sunny outside, but they're way too big to stay on her head. So I decided it was time for a pair of her own. Now she wants to wear them anytime we're in the sun. I can't believe that she actually keeps them on, but she doesn't even attempt to take them off until she's inside. I must admit that she's quite adorable in them.

An airplane was passing overhead. She never fails to be mesmerized by them.

The other thing that she likes a lot right now is balloons. She's always pointing them out--in her books, in the store, and in other random places. I'm not sure what it is about balloons that make them universally attractive to kids. But one of the perks of shopping at Publix is that they give free balloons to the kids. She clutched her prized possession all the way home and was grinning from ear to ear. Ah, the simple pleasures of life!

Favorite Books

These are some of Kaitlyn's favorite books right now. She loves pointing at pictures in First 100 Words and having us say their names. It's a great book for the "Where's the____?" game. She can correctly point to all the pictures in the book. She also has gotten very good at identifying letters of the alphabet when asked. So "A" Was Once an Apple Pie gets read several times a day.

And then there are the ones that she has treasured for quite some time.

The pages of the last two books are already tattered and worn. Signs of a much-loved book!