Kyle is now 7 months old and he is as sweet and wiggly as ever. Goodbye to the days where he would just chill in your arms, cuddle and hold still while getting his diaper changed. Hello to wiggly, busy, rolling and scooting Kyle. He wants to play every second that he is awake and as always he enjoys watching his crazy sister do what she does best. He loves to give everyone big smiles and he loves to babble. He eats all sorts of baby food these days and gets hypnotized when he watches us eat big people food. He wants it so bad! He can feed himself the gerber puffs with 100% accuracy and his fine motor skills seem to be better at this stage than his gross motor skills. He still loves his binkie but most of all he loves his mommy! I don’t think there is a person out there who loves me more than he does. lol He lights up when I walk in a room and cries when I leave. He’s my little buddy and I can’t imagine what life would be like or even remember for that matter what life was like before him. He is such a sweet and necessary part of our family. We all love our Ky Man!
Oh and he has blow outs daily. haha Which means lots of baths!
Kyle turned 6 months old on Jan 9th but because we were in Utah I am just now blogging about it. I can’t believe he is half a year old! I seriously want him to stay my baby forever. He is such a good little guy who loves his momma. He is all smiles almost all the time and he is becoming a playful little man. He loves toys and grabs for anything and every thing. (Unfortunately it is usually my hair.) He started eating solid food and of course gobbles it up. So far he eats: carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, and peas. He also says “dada” constantly.
It seems like he changes everyday and sometimes I cry because of it. After watching Hallie grow up I know how fast it goes and it makes me sad to think that I won’t have a baby much longer. Okay moving on before I start crying at the computer. lol He now rolls in order to get to toys etc. It’s so cute and fun to watch him play with toys. He and Hallie are starting to play together and I love it!
Eating carrots for the first time.Me and Kyle on our Utah vacation.
Kyle weighs 18 lbs. 6 oz. and is 26.5 inches long. (on 1/27/11)
I have been blessed in my life to have great friends. Growing up I lacked good true friends and so I prayed and prayed that friends would come. Well the Lord answers prayers because they have come and I couldn’t ask for better people in my life. While in Utah I had hoped to see many of them. But, alas, sickness confined us to solidarity. I was there for 3 1/2 weeks and only saw a handful of friends, most of which, were willing to drive to see me. (Thanks girls!)
First up, Oakcrest reunion. (Oakcrest is a church girls camp in Utah. I was a counselor in 2004)
I'm pretty sure everyone thought we were sisters because of our smiles and blonde hair. Truthfully though I am honored to say I even look a tiny bit like Niki because I think she is gorgeous! Somehow Kristen and I manage the same pose every time we are together. We call it the Burt and Ernie pose. Some of my Oakcrest buddies. Love them and wish we could get together more because they sure can make me laugh!
Next up: My name twin and old mission roommate. I still call her by her maiden name. Old habits die hard.
Britny has the cutest little baby Quinn. I was so grateful I got to meet her in person. She is a doll!Quinn and Kyle are only weeks apart.
College buddies are next:
I decided that I only choose friends who make me laugh. These two do a good job at it!
My other name twin Britty and Lindsey. We always make good memories when we are together.Emily is a rockstar! I am honored to be her friend. She is defiantly going places in life!3 cute kids! Em's boy Max is the cutest little tank I have ever seen!Lena or "Lean Bean" is the greatest! She is defiantly the person you want to go clubbing with.
While in Utah my dad had to teach for the Fire Academy down in beautiful and warm St. George. Of course we offered to go with him! My cousin Deven’s boss just happens to be a multi-millionaire and was gracious enough to let us stay in his house. (A house that he visits maybe twice a year!) We went with Deven and his cute family. I wish I could hang out with his wife, Julie, more often. She is so sweet and chill. I could definitely use some of that rubbing off on me. 🙂
The view from the balcony.1/8 of the housePart of the backyard.Kitchen and living roomTheater roomCan you imagine having a playroom like this in your house?! And yes those are full size swings!!Hallie was in HEAVEN!Who would take the stairs from one floor to another when you can slide?! Swimming with Papa.We went on lots of bike rides because the weather was so amazing! (btw Kyle hated riding in the cart and screamed the whole time. Needless to say that was his only ride. Hallie however couldn't get enough.)
One Sunday after church we decided to visit my dad at work and let the kids explore the fire station. My favorite memory from that day:
Papa- (pointing to the bed in the fire truck) “Hallie this is where kids who get hurt ride to the hospital”
Hallie- no response just checking everything out.
10 mintues later.
Papa- “Hallie want to go for a ride in the fire truck?”
Hallie- runs to me, grabs my leg and hides behind it. “I not hurt mom! I not hurt!” lol she thought that if you ride in the fire truck that means you are hurt and you go to the hospital. I think we may have traumatized her. Hopefully not.
Ben’s little sister Alix’s wedding was the whole reason we went to Utah. We had discussed going to Utah for Christmas but decided against it because of finances. However, after hearing the news that Alix was getting married we knew we couldn’t miss it and pulled out the good ol’ credit card. 🙂 We were grateful that she chose to get married so close to Christmas because we were able to celebrate the holiday with our families.
All the girls in the family. Alix made a beautiful bride.I love this picture! My handsome little man all dressed up for the wedding. The kids with Great Grandma and Grandpa CraneHallie with Uncle Brogan.Getting into mischief at the reception.
While in Utah we were able to do a few really fun activities. (In between illness that is.)
First up- We took Hallie skiing. She rocked those tiny ski’s. We couldn’t believe how amazing she was. No fear what so ever. At first she rode between Ben’s ski’s but by the end of the afternoon she was going all by herself. Ben would send her down and my dad (who went with us) would catch her. She is a rockstar!
Ben and Hal already to go. Getting started.Hallie and PapaThe three of us could have stayed up there all day, but alas Kyle missed mommy too much.
The other activity I was able to do was go flying with my dad. My dad is currently getting his pilot’s license and took me out on one of his long distance flights. We flew to Wendover and back. It was awesome to be in a plane my dad was flying. He is such a stud!
The little plane we rented.The stud himself!Ready to take off! The view from the plane. Utah is so beautiful!
Talk about a roller coaster of a trip. Two days before we left I got sick with fevers, cold sores and an ear infection. I went to the urgent care and the doctor told me not to fly on the airplane the next day because my ear drum could burst. After praying and discussing the pros and cons of me not going to Utah we decided at 4 am to just go for it. (We left at 4:30 am) My ear drum did indeed burst and the only pain that this gets close to is labor. (Labor winning of course.) Anyway, our trip was off to a good start. lol
Once we got to Utah both kids got sick. Kyle especially. He had been sleeping through the night since 4 months-old but once he got sick he woke up several times needing his nose sucked out. Then once he got used to waking up several times a night I couldn’t just let him cry it out because we were staying with family. So I said goodbye to full nights rest and didn’t really sleep the whole 3 1/2 weeks we were in Utah. (With that said I do need to thank Ben’s parents for getting up with Kyle during the night so I could sleep longer that 2 hours at a time and also my parents for letting Hallie sleep in their room when we were at their house. Thank you!!) After Kyle started getting better my mom and I got strep throat. WHOA! Once again we were confined to the house and had to cancel all our plans. Don’t worry there is light at the end of the tunnel. We ended up getting better just in time to drive down to St. George for a long weekend. (future post) It was a very long trip full of lots of family time (since we were stuck inside) and good memories. I’m so grateful we were able to go.
Enjoy all the pictures:
Making cupcakes with Nanna's new cupcake maker.Again with the cupcakes.Getting spoiled by PapaKyle meeting Great Grandma Chenie and Grandpa PopKyle watching T.V. with Grandpa Crane (who he is named after).This has got to be one of my favorite pictures. Eating cereal like a rockstar! Going on a walk with Papa and cousin Carson.The snow in Utah only lasted a couple of days so Hallie and her uncle Tyler had to take advantage of it while they could. When I got strep throat I had to wear this very attractive mask until I wasn't contagious anymore. I knew Hallie would be curious and want to try one so I got one for her at the Doctor's office as well. On the plane ride home. Bringing the car seat along was a good idea!Hallie snuggling with Nanna on the plane ride home.
This past weekend we went with our friends the Wendorff’s to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. We had been planning on leaving Saturday morning and coming home Sunday morning but on Thursday I got a surprise text from Ben saying he wanted to leave ASAP. haha (This is coming from the man who hates even leaving the house on the weekends.) He had been working on his final all week and once he finished he said he wanted to get out of town. So….after rearranging some plans and stressing about cleaning and packing we left Friday morning. We stayed at the Historic Powhatan Inn again. It was a wonderful weekend full of family time!
Hallie watching a movie on the drive to WilliamsburgBreakfast stop at the Waffle House. We were greeted with a good morning from the cook and everyone there seemed to know each other. I loved it! They spoke in southern accents and were super friendly. Makes me want to try living in the south! Funny story: While we weren't looking Hallie started eating spoonfuls of salt and pepper. haha Are we bad parents that we laughed when she started coughing after eating a spoonful of pepper. 🙂2 days of indoor swimming. Hallie was in heaven and never wanted to get out. Ben found a little swimming noodle on the 2nd day and Hallie took off swimming all by herself. Seriously she's two! Is she supposed to be doing that already? She was loving life! Kyle went swimming too! However, unlike his sister, he got wore out kicking his cute chubby legs and took a nap.
Saturday afternoon/evening we headed over to Busch Gardens Christmas Town celebration. It was pouring rain but we had already bought the tickets so we decided to go anyway and pray that it would stop raining while we were there. No luck!
Trying to keep the kids dry.Kyle in his carseat trying to stay warm.The handsome men in my life! On the train ride. Hallie's fake smile kills me. One of the beautiful trees.Hallie rode the bumber cars all by herself. She did great but as I suspected she got upset when other cars ran into hers. lolHallie's favorite ride was the airplanes. Ben was a proud papa when she pulled her joystick and got her plane to go high.
We had a lot of fun. The cold never even phased Hallie. I on the otherhand complained the whole time. Ben explained to Hallie that He and Hallie were strong when it came to the cold but Mommy was a wuss. I agreed! I have no tolerance for the cold!!! Thanks Wendorff’s for inviting us! We can’t wait to go back in the spring and try out all the roller coasters.
