18 months and a new home

I can't believe my baby is 18 months already?  Has it really been that long?  As always our life has yet to slow down.  Between work schedules and moving and everything in between, it seems as if we are always going and don't have much down time.

outfit for the contest

So lets start off with where we last ended.  It seems like so much has happened since july.  August was a very busy month.  It started off with going to the fair in Hermiston, where Kayden proceeded to win the prettiest baby contest!  She had to keep up with her cousin Emily.  But I think she made it official that the Walker grand kids truely are the cutest.  I might be a little prejudice though.  Miss Kayden made out like a bandit in the contest, winning over $600 worth of prizes for her, as well as some for mom and dad.




The following week, we moved into our new house with the help of mom and dad and Dustin's mom.  Hannah and Alyssa (our new sister in Dustin's family) kept Kayden occupied while the rest of us loaded and unloaded the cars and truck many times.  As usual, Dustin was gone for most of the moving part, I swear he plans it :)  With the design of the house, it made arranging some of the furniture into the correct rooms very interesting.  But we managed with nothing getting to seriously broken.

 

Kayden is loving the new back yard, which has grass by the way (our last place didnt).  The dog is also loving the grass.  With a fenced yard, it is so nice to be able to throw the dog, and sometimes the kid, out without having to worry about them.  Kayden loves to go out and smell the flowers and just have fun, which is going to make the winter hard with all the cold and ugly days I know we will be having.




At the end of August I proceed to join my co-workers in a 5 mile mud/obstacle run called the Dirty Dash located in Boise at the ski resort.  It was a blast and can't wait to hopefully do it again next year.

So excited for the zoo!!!

In September, we made a trip to the Boise zoo. Although it is a small zoo, Kayden still had a blast. She couldn't get enough of all the different animals. Some of her favorites were the lions and monkeys. She also really enjoyed the goats in the farm section, in fact she ran to them when we got near them! We will definently have to go back next summer!

 

Goats?!?!

 

 

enjoying some Fuddruckers

Now on to Kayden.  She now weighs 21 lbs 14 oz and is 31 3/4 inches tall.  Man she is getting big!  we have a total of 16 teeth (4 of which are still in the process of coming in).  She is talking more and more each day.  She recently started trying to repeat words that we say to her.  Most of the time she gets pretty close.  New words include kitty, blanket, leksi, grandma, papa, apple, stinky and so cool (she heard Dustin say this the other night and instantly started repeating it).  She also knows a lot of animal sounds, and is very good at letting you know what each one says lol.  She is becoming a daddy's girl more and more each day.  It is now to the point where she cries everytime he leave, where with me, she can't tell me goodbye fast enough.  I feel so loved.

Helping daddy remove the bark

As for the house.  Things are going great.  There are several things that we can't wait to change. The fence being one of them.  Dustin has already proceeded to tear down as much of it as he can, while still leaving enough to keep the dog in.  We have big plans for this house.  All the flower beds will be pruned or replanted, and the bark replaced with rock.  Lots of painting needs to be done to the inside of the house, mostly just changing to to colors we want and adding a fresh look.  We also plan to pull up some of the front yard and pave it to give us more parking space on the side of the house.  As I am writing this, we are getting the furnace and ac replaced, that only costed a small fortune.  Oh well, it will make things better.  We can't wait for everything to be done, but one thing at a time.

back yard

front yard

other side of back yard

eventually all flower beds will replanted and have the rock

 

living room/kitchen

family room

staircase, it was interesting moving things up these

12 -15 months and growing

These last few months have been so much fun.  We have had several new changes to our family.  First off, I took up the dog grooming position in the vet clinic I work at.  I am really enjoying it and seem to doing a good job or so i am told by many people.  The other big change is we are buying a house!  We are so excited for this step in our lives, it is something we have been trying to do for the past year and have finally found the house for us!  We will hopefully be able to start moving in the middle of august if everything goes smoothy and on time.  We can't wait to have a fenced yard again!

Kayden is still growing like a weed.  She now weighs 20 lbs 4 oz and is 30 1/2 inches tall.  Not only is she walking like a champ but running, some days i can hardly keep up with her.  She can be such a busy body!



eating yogurt by ourself

One of her favorite things to do is go outside and play.  She likes to just wander around and look at everything.  We also like to go next door and pet the pygmy goats.  She is starting to get the hang of talking.  So far she can say, mama, dada, more, hi, bye, where did it go and i love you.  We have been working on animal sounds, such as a cow, a pig, a horse, a goat and a dog.  However the cow, the horse and the goat all kinda sound the same, but hey we are still learning.









When we were last in hermiston, she was introduced to raspberries and blueberries and man are they good!



sharing with Grandpa

eating all mom's blueberries

Not much else has changed.  Kayden surprises us everyday with everything that she is learning.  She loves to help me pick up the house and is so good about putting things away.  She is becoming very independant and can be very ornery some days which can be quite frustrating to me.  Some times it hard to keep a straight face when you tell her no and she practically laughs at you as if to say "really mom? was the necessary?"



enjoying a drink at starbucks, it was later we found out it was caffinated! oops

1 Year Old!!

sneaking her puffs

Wow this year has just flown by.  We have been crazy busy the last couple of months, spending most of april on the road seeing friends and family.  Kayden has changed so much.  She is no longer my little baby girl, but is now transforming into a sprite little toddler.  At her 1 year check  up, she weighed 18 lbs 1 oz (barely doubling her birth weight), and was 29 1/4" long.  Dustin and I are in shock at how fast she is growing up.  She had an ear infection that we knew nothing about.  Seems like she is going to be like her daddy and hide them.

bad hair day

March was a busy month.  Both Dustin and I were working a lot, add in a trip to Bend to see friends and we threw Kayden a birthday party in Hermiston.  She wasn't too much into smashing the cake as she was about eating all the frosting.  She really enjoyed opening all the presents.  We also threw her a second party here at home on her actual birthday.  The cake process was about the same, all frosting lol.

Opening presents at party #1

Poor Emily was so bummed she didn't get to help

Cake #1

Cake #1

Cake #2

April was also a very busy month.  With all three of our birthdays in the same month, it didn't take long before we were all caked out.  Mid april, we went to Seaside for a week with Dustin's family.  It was nice to get away and relax, only Dustin had to work the whole time which kinda sucked.  Kayden thought the beach was pretty cool though.  Although it was to cold to go swimming or really play in the sand, she did enjoy watching all the seagulls and going for walks down by the water.  We tried out the pool once, but she wasn't too fond of it.  She hung on pretty tight to my shoulder.  She spent the following weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Walker while Dustin and I headed for Spokane.  Needless to say she was spoiled and is definently a daddy/grandpas girl.  She sure knows how to wrap them around her little fingers.  The last weekend of April, we spent shooting rock chucks. Dad and Matt came down and we all had a blast spending the day relaxing. Kayden really enjoyed exploring the great outdoors.


Opening presents with daddy at Party #2

Party #2

Cake #2

Easter

Kayden really enjoys her daddy time.  She gets so excited when Dustin comes home and loves spending one on one time with him.  Her day is brightened so much when she gets her time alone with daddy.

Seaside

Hanging out with daddy on the coast

walking with grandpa long

Indian Beach

As for movement, Kayden is walking more and more each day.  She spends most of her day now walking around the house and following me from room to room.  She really only crawls now when she is very upset.  It is so cute watching her walk on her own and to see the huge smile on her face as she does it.


the guys shooting

Hanging out in Jordan Valley

at the top of the crater in Jordan Valley