First Solids and Playing Dress-Up

Hello friends! I can't believe how different this winter has been from last year so far. Last year it snowed buckets around Christmas and was so cold. This year we've only had two very, very light dustings, not even enough to stick on the ground, and today it's 60 degrees...in mid January! Maybe it's that thar Ole' Nino! ;)

In other news, we started Kendall on solids three weeks ago and she took to it like a champ! She opened right up when the spoon came her way, which I had a feeling she would because she'd started doing it when we'd offer her a pacifier. Her first foray into the world of all things non-milk included rice cereal, followed a week later by oatmeal cereal, followed by mashed bananas, and just today we tried pears for the first time. She's done great and does a pretty good job of keeping most of it in her mouth, although she will throw a curveball every once in a while and pop her thumb in her mouth that is full of food. Ah well...

Here she is on her first night trying rice cereal:



We feed her in the evening after her afternoon nap and she's usually a very patient girl, sitting in her high chair while I fix up her dinner. Another development is that her hair has started standing straight up so she looks like she stuck her fingers in an electrical socket! You can kind of see it here as she waits for her dinner:



I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but we've been so blessed by family and friends who have bestowed fabulous hand-me-downs on us for Kendall. My cousin Matt and his wife Jill loaned us a crib, changing table/dresser and glider for Kendall's bedroom, as well as a bassinette and swing! What a huge blessing! Then my Aunt Joyce gave us a highchair, pack-and-play and walker her grandsons had grown out of. Clay and Maryann loaned us the cutest crib bedding they'd used for their girls and LOTS of clothes. My friend Jill in Lubbock also gave us some clothes her one-year old daughter has grown out of.

I LOVED this outfit she passed down to us from her daughter, Avery:



I think Kendall likes it too! (Although this was hours before one of her hugest blow-outs ever...I don't think it was a reflection of her feelings on the outfit though....)



Isaiah has proven to be a fabulous daddy. I knew he would be, since his Grandma told me once that "all kids and pets like Isaiah, which is a very good sign!" But I have to say I've been surprised how good he is with her and how lovey dovey they are together. Here's a pic of him loving on her during blankie time...he was trying to kiss her and I think she wanted to pop his nose in her mouth!



I realized I hardly have any pictures of Kendall and me because I'm usually the one behind the camera. So, I had Isaiah take a few snaps of the little miss and I the other day. Nothing dramatic...just a Mommy and her baby girl:



So these next few pics are fun because my mom saved several of my baby outfits all these 31 years and passed them down to me for Kendall. Of course they're all too fancy pants for wearing every day, but I had a little mini dress-up session and photo shoot last week so we could at least see her in the duds before she outgrows them. So fun!

This first outfit is a pink get-up with a ruffly bottom and is so cute!



I couldn't resist taking a pic of Kendall's ruffly booty!



Outfit #2 is a yellow outfit that has a little sheath dress underneath and then this button-up pleated dress over it. Miss K likes it, I think! (You can also see her Chia pet head in this one!) :)



I saved the best for last! The only thing in this picture that wasn't mine are the little shoes, which are so stinking cute, even though they're not vintage. Anyway, the white eyelet ruffly bloomers, pink sweater dress, gold bracelet and bonnet were mine. Kendall's new thing is to pull up and stuff whatever she's wearing into her mouth, making for lots of soggy clothing. So, it was a challenge getting her to be still and not eat her dress, but we were able to get some!



Here's another one of my favorites, showing some of the pearl and ribbon detail on the bonnet. Love it!



And last, but certainly not least, I'll close with an answered prayer! Isaiah's been the night supervisor for the Rumba department since last November, and we've adjusted to him working the night shift. It's been a good challenge for him, managing several different areas with as many as 75 people, dealing with all the HR paperwork for them all (time sheets, paychecks, leave requests, etc.), balancing his normal job and the project management events they have him do from time to time, etc. BUT, he's said all along he'd like to get into the environmental and safety areas when he can. It's more closely tied to what he studied at A&M, and has more potential to lead to better opportunities within Cargill and elsewhere in the future.

That said, the Monday he went back to work after New Years, he was told he's been made the newest supervisor in the environmental safety department...and it's on the day shift! YAY! So not only will he be working days starting two weeks from today, but he'll be training to do what he's really interested in. WOO HOO! I'm really proud of Isaiah for sticking out the last 15 months in Rumba, dealing with the crazy schedule and some crazier people, and I'm so happy he's being rewarded for his hard work. (I'm also happy not to be home alone five nights a week anymore too!)

Wish us luck...a super sweet gal I met while working at the A-J is taking pictures of us three on Thursday. She's a fabulous professional photographer (it's ALL she does!), but I'm just hoping the weather will be warmish and Kendall will cooperate. Eeek!