So once again it's been a long time since I've done a blog. I'm going to start with December because we did a bunch that month (and of course it was Kinnley's first Christmas) and go from there.
December:
The first weekend of December we went to my parents house in Rocky Mountain House to get our first Christmas tree for the family. Every year Jance and I decide not to decorate because it was just the two of us and we always went to see family over the holidays and were never home. So Grandma and Grandpa Shenfield came with us as we just basically walked down the road a little ways from their house and chopped down a small tree about my height. We had Kinnley loaded up in a little dogsled that my parents used for me and my siblings when we were little. She loved it! After we cut the tree down we decided to take Kinnley on a plastic toboggan that we were going to haul the tree on. She really didn't know what to think, but had a blast either way playing in the snow. Even my parents went down with her! We also tried making a family of snow angels (I'll try to load the video), and Kinnley had fun with that. Seriously the happiest baby in the world.
Seriously love this kid!
Me when I was little and Kinnley in the same sled
And video...
On top of the tree adventure, if you didn't catch it in the photos above, Jance grew his first real Christmas beard this year. He was pretty excited that he could pull it off. He keeps saying it still needs to fill in more, but I thought he did a pretty good job. He would have a beard year-round if he could. But Christmas works just fine for me, haha. What he seemed even more excited about was all the crazy designs he could do after, especially "the daggers". Note transition. He'll probably kill me for adding the first one cause he looks creepy with his bloodshot eyes, and we brushed his beard against the grains to make it stick out and look even more beastly.
Christmas:
For Christmas I stayed with my parents while Jance finished up a few things with school/research before Christmas Day, and then we headed down to Fort Macleod to spend Christmas with the McGale's! We had a great surprise when we got there. Cheyenne and Darren and the kids came out from Ontario so that everyone was there for the holidays. It was a lot of fun and Kinnley sure enjoyed spending time with her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Kinnley got spoiled, but seemed to loved playing with the Christmas wrapping more than seeing what she got for presents. It's amazing what entertains babies. Sometimes Jance and I think we should just give her a pack of 500 "Hilroy" for her birthday.
At Grandma and Grandpa Shenfields on her new wheels
I just realized that I don't have a good shot of our sad looking Christmas tree at home. Put it this way, too many ornaments for such a little tree, tin foil star, and the branches couldn't really hold them up very well (and they weren't heavy ornaments). When we got home, half of the ornaments had slid off the branches as about 80% of the needles from the tree had fallen off and the whole tree was limp. I wish I took a picture. Definitely had a Charlie Brown kick to it.
New Years:
For New Years we went to my brother's place in Edson and then went snowboarding at Marmot and played games to bring in the new year. It was the first time I went boarding since I was pregnant, so I loved getting out again! I forgot how much I really missed it. For New Years Day we went to my sister's place and she made a yummy dinner with the turkey Tayva won in the Turkey Trot.
At my sister's place
Catching up with my brother James on the hill
Jance busting a 360
At the top!
On another note...
It's crazy how fast time goes! Kinnley is growing like a weed and her personality is showing more and more. This past week she started her first swimming lesson and loved it! Poor girl swallowed a lot of water thanks to her mom from practicing the "bob". I just can't seem to get the timing right after I blow in her face. She didn't cry at all (what a trooper!) but she would come up spitting out water and showing me a "shocked" face. She was a little star with everyone there because she couldn't help but wave to all the kids and their moms and of course the instructor. It's exciting that she is already waving as it didn't appear that any of the other kids could yet, and most were older, a couple younger. However the majority of the kids can crawl, and Kinnley doesn't seem too concerned about it; so I guess I shouldn't be either. She's happy just the way things are and is always smiling no matter what.
Here are some milestones she has accomplished thus far:
- Rolling over (her main source of transportation)
- Sitting up (and move to her belly from sitting up-more gracefully)
- Clapping
- Waving
- Saying "hi" while she waves
- Crawling backwards (when she gets on all fours)
- Pee/Poop on potty (obviously she can't tell me when, just when I put her there)
- Pull blanket over her head and play Peek-A-Boo
Life of the Potty!
And on further note, Kinnley got her first shiner a couple weeks back. She was trying to do a face stand in the bleachers at volleyball.
