16 to 18 Months Old

Kian had two big accomplishments in her 16th month. She spoke her first sentence and she learned to crawl!! Mommy and Daddy are very proud of Kian for finally crawling even if it did happen a little later than is "normal." Joking aside, it was a big deal for Kian who has not spent a lot of time on her stomach due to her reflux problem. Kian spoke her first sentence very loudly and clearly one morning. She looked at her sister and said, "No, Aiya!" (Skyla) We are sure this is only the beginning of her demands.

In her 17th month Kian had an Easter party at her Mother's Day Out program. She exchanged Eggs with the other little kids and had a special lunch. Mommy and Daddy went to her party and ate with her. She is doing very well at her program now so Mommy and Daddy decided it was time for Kian to start taking her nap there as well. Kian wasn't used to the noise for the first couple of weeks and only slept for a few minutes but she has adjusted and now she takes a full nap with the other kids! Kian's teachers are very proud of her and say she is the first one to lay down and the last one to wake up. They say she sets a good example for the other kids. Mommy and Daddy have been told many times by her teachers that Kian is "one of our favorites." We tell them that Kian is one of our favorites too!

Kian's vocabulary has really expanded during her 18th month. She can say many words including, Shoes, Elmo, (Melmo), Yes, Cracker, Juice, Ball and many others. Her favorite new word is "Mine"! She also has named her Uncle Mike, "Cuckle." She learns new words daily.

In May, for her 18 month well visit, we switched pediatricians and we are now seeing Dr. Dianne Lackan. Kian weighed 23 pounds 8 ounces (35th percentile) and was 23 ½ inches tall (75th percentile). We all were a little concerned that she dropped so far in the percentiles for her weight, but with her being sick so much (2 ear infections, Bronchitis and a UTI), it made sense. Unfortunately, the weekend after her 18 month well visit, Kian came down with Bronchitis again. However, after lots of breathing treatments and antibiotics, she is once again doing better. During Kian's 18 month well visit, Dr. Lackan decided it was time to schedule Kian for an Upper GI test to make sure reflux is Kian's only stomach issue. Most babies grow out of their reflux way before Kian's age so Dr. Lackan decided it was time for further testing. When Mommy, Daddy and Kian went in for the test they were in for a big surprise. Kian had to be strapped into the table and a tube was put down her throat while the X-Rays of her stomach were taken. It was a horrible 20 minutes and everyone cried. The preliminary test results show nothing out of the ordinary with Kian's test results (except for reflux) but we will know more after the doctor appointment next month. We will keep everyone updated.

Kian is very happy to have her sister home for the summer and is excited to have lots of fun with both her sister and her new puppy Sammi! Kian and Sammi are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. They play lots of fun games together like "chase each other around the house" and "How many Goldfish can Kian feed Sammi before Mommy notices" but Kian is having a hard time learning not to hit Sammi when she is done playing with her and Sammi still wants to play. Sammi is having a hard time learning that playing does not involve biting.

Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy as well as a video of Kian when she was 18 months old saying her words and showing us the signs she knows…

Easter Party at MDO Program

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Coloring Easter Eggs with Sister & Daddy

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hunting for Easter eggs with Sister

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kian, Mommy and Sister on Easter Day

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is what happens when Easter celebrations get out of hand...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kian is Daddy's little assistant

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
At first, Kian would not ride in her wagon, so sister showed her that it was OK

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kian's first trip to the park and her first time down a slide.  We also tried putting her in a swing, but she did not like that at all

Kian and Daddy enjoying some breakfast

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kian and Sammi playing one of their games

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kian's words and signs

13 to 15 Months Old

Kian's 13th month was a big one.  In December we had big Sister Skyla's 16th Birthday as well as Christmas.  Kian loved Skyla's Masquerade party and tried to dance with the big kids as much as possible. 

Kian had a great time at Christmas.  Most of her family was able to come to Amarillo to visit her.  She really enjoyed spending time with all of them and loved all the wonderful presents she received.  Santa was very kind to her!

Happy 2010 Everyone! In Kian's 14th month she began attending a Mother's Day Out program one day a week.  It was pretty difficult in the beginning for Kian to be away from Mommy and Daddy.  She cried a lot and wouldn't take her nap when she got home but this got better as time went on and Kian adjusted to spending time with her new friends.  Kian does circle time, colors, eats lunch and sings while at her daycare program.  She does not yet stay through nap time.  We are working up to that. 

In January, Daddy began working full time from home.  It took some time for everyone to adjust to that but now Kian is Daddy's "Little Assistant."  Every time Daddy receives a fax or prints papers Kian runs from whatever corner of the house she is playing in to pull the papers from the machine and hand them to Daddy.  She also rearranges whatever papers he has laying out and colors on them.  She takes his boxes of promo CD's and "carefully" unpacks them for him all over the house.  She is a big helper.

Kian got two more teeth in January as well. 

Kian loves to watch football!  Also in January we went to visit the University of Texas for big sister Skyla. This was Kian's first airplane trip and she did very well. We drove around the town and found some great places to eat and saw the sights. Skyla and Kian had their first "Introduction to the University" seminar together. Kian did not seem as impressed as Skyla.

  
In February Kian had a Valentine's Day party at her Mother's Day Out program.  She received lots of Valentine Cards from her friends as well as candy that Mommy, Daddy and Sister were happy to eat for her.  Mommy and Daddy did not think M&M's or chocolate hearts were appropriate for a 15 month old. 

At the end of February Mommy and Kian took a trip to Denver to visit Desiree, Johan and Hansie.  Kian and Hansie were fast friends and loved playing together.  We visited an Animal and Nature Museum and spent lots of quality time with our friends the Pelsers.  Unfortunately, once we returned home Kian got pretty sick and ended up having strep throat, bronchitis, a UTI and an ear infection before the whole thing was over.  She REALLY hated the doctor's office by the time she got better. 

Thank you to everyone for being patient if it takes us a long time to update the blog.  We will continue to do our best to update on a quarterly basis!

12 Months Old

We know it has been a really long time since the last post and we apologize. We really have no excuse other than life just keeps getting in the way. So, let’s catch everyone up.

In Kian’s 12th month, many exciting things happened…she had her one year appointment with the pediatrician, she got a couple new teeth, she started walking, she got her first haircut and she had her big first birthday!!!

By her one year birthday Kian weighed in at 21 pounds and was 30” tall. This puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for her height. On the medicine front, Kian was still taking medicine four times a day for her GERD.

By 12 months old, Kian was sporting 4 teeth…the front two on top and the front two on bottom. The next ones to front on either side, both top and bottom about ready to come through.

Kian took her first steps on the Thursday before her birthday. Mommy and Kian were sitting on the couch when Daddy came home from work and Kian took 6 steps all by herself to come to Daddy. By the end of November, she was walking anywhere she wanted to go!

Kian got her very first haircut the day before her birthday. She was very good and sat in Mommy’s lap while she got a little trim. Don’t worry…we saved her first curl.

November 7, 2009 was a big day for all of us. This was the day that Kian turned 1 year old!!! We had many friends and family come from near and far to help us celebrate. We were worried about the weather, but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Kian had a Daisy Dino Ball Pit at her party for the older kids to play in…when we put Kian inside to play with the balls, she did not care for it very much. Kian was very much a little lady when she ate her cake and did not make that much of a mess. Kian loved opening all of her presents and socializing with all of her guests.

For Thanksgiving, we went to Grandma Diann’s house. She made a wonderful feast and we had a great time…

We are very thankful to all of our friends and family for sharing in the excitement in Kian’s first year of life!!! It has been an amazing year and we are so thankful to have Kian in our life as she brings so much joy to our lives.

Here are Kian’s one year/family photos that we took in November…