Super cute at 8 months!

My goodness how time is FLYING by! Days are chock full of the mundane tasks that keep children fed and clothed, and a house running. And in it all Axel is becoming more independent and demanding and Kenna is developing more personality and changing in ways I probably fail to even notice, until "all of a sudden" she's sitting up without any real worry of falling over and even doing her version of crawling (think army belly crawl).

Kenna is truly a joy. She is happy and easy going. So laid back, even when she gets knocked around by Axel she keeps on being her cool self. She is absolutely smitten with Axel. He can snatch toys from her, accidentally knock her over, point to (poke) her eye and she just swoons and grins. He can do no wrong. She laughs with a bit of effort and smiles easily. She makes happy babbling sounds. The only time she is less than a joy is when she needs a nap or food.

She is really into eating these days. Food- not so much nursing. She'll nurse, but she's so easily distracted that sometimes things get cut short so she can "get in the action" and not miss out on the fun her brother is having. If she sees us eating she wants in. She has more of a sweet tooth, preferring fruits or even peas and sweet potatoes over more savory foods like green beans and avocado. She loves yogurt, and really enjoys feeding herself with the mesh feeder and also teething crackers. As soon as she sees the cracker package she starts turning her hands (like she's turning knobs) and that tongue sticks out, tucks her lips in and fusses excitedly. You can just hear her thoughts: "YES!! Give me THAT!!" She also loves Cheerios. She'll drink breastmilk from a sippy cup and grabs at the spoon when I feed her ("FASTER!").

She continues to be a good sleeper (the second part of the happy baby equation: eat + sleep = happy). She typically wakes around 8 am, has a morning nap around 10 for an hour and half, an afternoon nap around 2 pm for about an hour and a half- sometimes 2 hours and most evenings she needs a third cat nap 45 mins to an hour around 5:30, which even though it's so close to her 8 pm bed time is still "so far away" that she wouldn't last til then and she goes right to sleep at 8 and sleeps through the night, so we'll go with it :)

She's on the move. She's been a roller for a few months, like not just rolling front to back, etc, but rolling across the room. And now she's added this inch-worm/belly crawl and is full on mobile. She sees something several feet away and goes. The gas logs at Gramma's is super tempting and apparently calls her name b/c I have to keep chasing her away from it. Axel thinks it's funny to grab her foot and pull her back- and it kinda is, except that it kinda frustrates her :)

Kenna is not on the same growth trend as her brother, but she's a bit tall for her age. She's pretty lean. She's got CHEEKS, but she's not rolly polly. She's in sz 4 diapers and mostly size 12 month clothes. The doctor was pleased with her growth, etc at her 6 month check up, so we're thankful she's growing on her own trend and continues to be healthy and happy.

Kenna's Stats:
6 Months
Height: 27.3 inches
Weight: 16lbs 2.5 oz

8 Months
Height: 28 inches
Weight: 17.6 lbs

Axel's Stats:

6 Months:
Height: 27 inches, 68%
Weight: 19 lbs 11oz, 86% 

8 months
Height: 29.5 inches
Weight: 21+ lbs

Also- she met Santa and was NOT impressed. She didn't have the violent revolting reaction Axel has, but she was happy to be back in my arms :)

Kenna is 4 months old!

Kenna turned 4 months old on Saturday. We had her check up this week. Doctor says everything looks/sounds good, she's healthy and "solid" and he is pushing for us to have a third baby since we're doing so well with these 2?!?! Sounds like job security to me.

Kenna continues to be a great baby (she is trying to lull us into a third child as well I think... wouldn't count on it baby girl). She's mellow and happy, smiles with ease, giggles, screeches with delight- even when Axel dumps water on her head in the tub she wiggles and laughs- another water baby! She's still eating and sleeping well- 11-12 hours at night and 3-4 naps during the day (2 long, the others short). She supports her head well, pushes up on her forearms when she's on her belly, rolls from belly to back and has even rolled back to belly a couple times. She lifts her feet up when she's on her back. She reaches for toys and puts them in her mouth. She is super drooly!

Kenna loves her bother. Most of the time he is in his own world of cars and trains, but she loves watching him and occasionally he'll play peekaboo or pat-a-cake with her and she grins and laughs. She wakes up SUPER happy. All smiles and giggles- ready to go! Only really fusses when I'm slow in getting her fed.

She's moving into size 4 diapers and 9-12 month clothes. Growing fast and getting so big. It's hard to imagine that a year from now she'll likely be running around getting into trouble with her brother. It goes by way too fast!

Kenna's stats:
height: 26 inches, 96%
weight: 15 lbs 1.5 oz, 68%

Axel @ 4 months

Height: 28 inches, 100%
Weight: 17 lbs 12 oz, 88%
Side by side: Kenna/Axel @ 4 months...

Axel is talking more- though not always understandably. He follows some commands (get your cup/ball/etc) and understands a lot. You can tell he is trying to communicate- he looks me in the eye and says the same thing over and over, but if I don't "get it" he gets very frustrated... totally understandable! He's starting to sing- it's stinking adorable- and he knows it! Video of Axel "singing" pat-a-cake. Axel runs super fast and still loves jumping and splashing. He'll be 2 next month- HOW?!

2nd Child...

Someday when Kenna reads this I hope she doesn't get hung up on the fact that I didn't write a month one update... dear, sweet second child of mine, you are not second rate :)

Double the kids = double the diapers to change and mouths to feed, but it also means double the faces to kiss, bellies to raz and smiles to smile :) In short, double the blessings. Where blessings abound time is short. Like has been said before: the days are long, but the years are short. Every day is so full, but all of a sudden my baby is TWO months old?!

Kenna is a good eater and a great sleeper. Tremendously welcome qualities in any baby, but especially a second child :) Initially I had to wake her to eat both day and night every 3 hours (this helps establish my milk supply). By week 2 I let her sleep as long as she would at night (typically 4 hours), but still woke her every 3 hours during the day to keep her days/nights straight. By 4 weeks she was regularly sleeping about 5 hours at night before needing to eat again. She would have an occasional 6-7 hour night. Starting on Mother's Day she slept 9 hours through the night... and she's repeated this performance several times since then, even going over 10 hours a couple nights- YAY!!

Kenna had her 2 month check up today. All looks well- growing as she should, meeting her milestones, etc. She got her vaccines- took them like a champ with a big cry, but calmed down quickly. (meanwhile Axel was wailing and whining to get out of the stroller!) We ran an errand, came home, she ate and took a nap, then woke up with a great big cry. She was inconsolable. I gave her some tylenol, nursed her, held her, patted her. She finally calmed down and slept on my chest face down. She eventually transferred to the swing. It probably doesn't help that she hasn't had a bm in 2 days- sorry- tmi :)

She typically has a very mellow demeanor. She hates having the hiccups and prefers to be held upright as opposed to cradled. She holds her head up well- though tummy time is not a fav. She smiled within her first couple weeks, but hasn't been as easy a smiler as Axel was until more recently. She's just starting to coo and smiles whenever she sees Axel, who wants to always give her kisses and shake her hand saying his version of "how do you do"  Yes, it's as cute as it sounds :) We're working on being gentle, but he hasn't shown any signs of jealousy, etc, so he's being a sweet big brother even bouncing and quietly makes a comforting "shh, shh, shh" when she cries- even if he hears her through the monitor and she can't hear him.

As you can see, she's proving bald is beautiful, for now :)
Kenna's Stats:
birth
height: 21 inches
weight: 8lb 5oz

1 month
height: 22 inches
weight: 11lbs

2 months
height: 24 inches (97%)
weight: 12lbs 7oz (75%)
Already wearing size 6 month clothes... similar trend as Axel.
Axel @ 2 months:
Height: 25.5 inches (95%)
Weight: 14.8 lbs (94%)

As for Axel he cannot get enough water... he has taken advantage of my distraction by being elbow deep in the toilet about 5 times in recent weeks. Disgusting, way to go super mom. He's always really ticked when I tell him "no" and make him stop. Sigh. He also enjoys walking and jumping on the sofa while I'm nursing Kenna as he knows I'm less likely to get up and take care of that... But he is also loving playing with water outside in the pool, pouring water from one cup into another, or carrying a cup around the yard and watering plants and chairs and people... loves splashing and loves most of all to entertain and make us laugh by dumping cups of water over his own head :) Getting him to take a bath is not a problem, ever.

He's a crazy good jumper. He jumps in his crib where he gets a good bounce (But has yet to try to climb out- fingers crossed!!) he also jumps on carpet, vinyl, concrete, grass, puddles... basically any surface- he loves jumping. He loves playing with cars and trains, and balls- he'll both roll and throw each of these items, appropriate or not :)

He's talking more and understands probably more than I give him credit for. He has "his words" for things like any drink or cup is "meh" all cereal & crackers are "oh-woah" and berries and raisins are "beebeeps"... and of course banana is "nana or nanana" He calls Kenna "Nenna" He says no, mama, dada, papa, mimi, baby, car, ball. When he sees or hears a dog he barks/growls. When he sees/hears an airplane he points and says something that tries to be airplane, and recognizes birds singing or flying and says "birdie" There's likely more.

He has an ear/appreciation for music and will run from the kitchen if he hears a song on TV that he likes. He's getting his molars now- they've been creeping through the gums for a couples weeks now, but he's not so bad. He still eats well- though he is more opinionated. He's still a great sleeper- putting in a good 11 hours at night and 2+ at nap time. He typically goes down easily- plays hard and sleeps hard.
In short he's a mess, he's full of energy, runs wide open and I love him!

Axel is over 30lbs and nearly 3ft tall... big boy as usual :)