Fun-filled Christmas Day!!

Can you believe Christmas Day is already behind us?? Wow! The days sure go by quickly when you're having fun! :) Although fast, we had a wonderful day with Scott's side of the family. We began our day at Scott's Dad's house....eating lunch, opening gifts and spending time visiting with one another. It was a relaxing time and one we thouroughly enjoyed!! Kaelyn sure had fun getting to see her Grandpa and Grandma Denise, and Aunt Kim....as well as opening all those gifts. I have to say between her birthday and now Christmas...she's getting pretty good at this unwrapping gifts thing. :) She received some very nice things and has been enjoying playing with them!!

Denise, Kaelyn and Grandpa

Opening her gifts from Aunt Kim




Yum! Candy Canes are good!

Later in the afternoon, we headed to Scott's Mom's where we had a fantastic supper and got to spend the evening there. What a nice time it was for us all to get together. Kaelyn enjoyed talking away with Grandma Annie and Grandpa Dave, and showing off her new walking skills. :) She had gifts to open there as well, which was a lot of fun!

It was a wonderful day and one that I wish had not gone by so quickly. With the busyness of life we don't got nearly enough time to get out and spend enough time with family. I'm glad over the holidays that we have, and have plans to spend time with everybody. It's a great time of fellowship and one Kaelyn and I enjoy immensely, as we do not get out as much anymore now that the weather is so cold.

Today I am cleaning the house and getting ready for Josh, Di, Emry and Jake to come and visit for the night. It will be so much fun getting our little ones together...as it's been quite some time. I am really looking forward to it...I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to come ;).

The Holidays have officially begun.....

Today was the beginning of the holidays for us. Scott got off work at noon so we had the entire afternoon to spend together as a family. What a wonderful way to begin Christmas!! Later on this evening we decided to have our family Christmas since the next week or so will be very busy with other family gatherings.

Just being the three of us it didn't take too long...but it was a lot of fun getting to watch Kaelyn open her gifts. Last year was so different...as she was not even two months old yet. She wasn't able to do a whole lot at that point.

A couple of pictures from the beginning of Christmas last year

This year however, she was able to tear the paper and play with the things we got for her. We started off with her stocking and in it she found a little Care Bear which she absolutely loved. She also got a couple of puzzles and a fun Farm Fridge toy which will keep her busy for hours on end. She enjoys repeating the sounds that the animals make.

Kaelyn's Stocking & Care Bear

Puzzles




Farm Fridge Toy

What a fun time we had as a family!! We of course caputred it with video and lots of pictures. These times when Kaelyn is young are so precious and we want to cherish them always! Now tonight we prepare for our visit to Scott's Dad's tomorrow afternoon and then his Mom's in the evening. It will be a long, but fun day! We're really looking forward to it. Neither Grandparent has seen Kaelyn walking yet, so that will be a fun thing for them to witness for the first time.

Faith (remembering what Christmas is all about), Family, Fun, Fellowship and Food....these things make for a wonderful holiday season!!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

A Year's Changes

Scott and I were recently talking about how much Kaelyn has changed since this time last year. As we flipped through pages and pages of pictures from that memorable first Christmas...we couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly she has changed and how much she has grown! People are always telling parents and parents to be how fast the time goes...but until you're actually living it you have no idea to what extent they are meaning. I knew the first year would bring many changes, but to think back to our little newborn daugther only a year ago and to watch her today as she begins talking, walking and more....it's simply incredible!

Lately she's been talking a lot, as I mentioned in a previous post.....but has also been progressing in her large motor development more and more as well. We're seeing her take such huge strides when it comes to things like walking and climbing. She's been taking a few steps here and there for over a month now...but just this week we're noticing that she has a desire to walk more than she does crawl and is taking many more steps. She is starting to become an "official walker" (walking more often than not and taking between 10 and 15 steps at a time) and it's adorable to watch. :)

She's also become quite the little climber. She's been climbing on couches and boxes over the past couple of months...but more recently has really gotten good at climbing up stairs. As we follow her up the stairs she scurries up them quite quickly!!! We were pretty impressed the other day...as she actually stopped and began slithering down the steps.

Each day she learns something new and I'm so thankful to be with her each day and be able to witness it. What a blessing that has been!!!

Kaelyn's First Snow Experience

Last year I remember wishing that we could take Kaelyn out in the snow. However, realizing that she was only a couple of months old...we figured it would be best to wait until this winter to give her that first "winter" experience. Over the week/weekend we accumulated quite a bit of snow...so this morning we thought it was the perfect opportunity. It wasn't too cold, and we had piles and piles of snow!

Scott got her all ready to go....the snow pants, winter coat, mittens, boots, and of course...we couldn't forget her bunny hat. :) It was comical to see our little "snow bunny" try and move around in all of those clothes.

She was very excited when we got outside and sat her on the steps. She just stared at the snow around her and took it all in with a smile. She just melts our hearts! :)

When we sat her in it, she really liked it and went crawling around to explore. It was a little difficult to crawl in, let alone stand, so Daddy helped her out a lot. With his help she even made her first snow angel.

Kaelyn's Snow Angel

The time came when the cold and snow had become enough and she was ready to go inside where it was warm. Mommy was definitely ok with that....I prefer the warmth too.

I'm glad we had the chance to take her out before the temperatures dropped too low. We've decided that next time we are going to try and take her sledding with us down the hill in our backyard. Knowing our adventurous little girl...this will be very enjoyable. Pictures to come....

Our Social Butterfly

Kaelyn has sure become a little talker lately! She's always enjoyed jabbering, but recently we're beginning to hear more and more words! It's the cutest thing to hear a toddler finding their words and adding to their vocabulary. I was thinking the other day about all the words she can say...and it's right up around 15 or so. It shows how kids are like little sponges...soaking every thing up and modeling the words and behaviors they see around them.

It seems that each week she has a new favorite word to say. One that has always stuck around since she first began talking though....is "baby". She has associated that word with herself...as well as other babies she sees and the toys she owns. It's fun to see her making those connections. She'll point to a baby and say it, or will point to herself and say "baby". Her favorite time to say it is when she's watching all of her pictures roll across the screensaver on the computer. She was doing this one day and I finally caught it on video. I thought it was pretty cute. :)

A second word of the week has been "tree", or in Kaelyn's words "chee". ;) She has become fasicnated with the Christmas tree and will point at it continually as she says "chee". She will even sit there for long periods of time just staring at all of the ornaments and colors. At first I wasn't sure what she meant by "chee", but after time I noticed that she was saying it when she pointed to the Christmas tree, a vase of flowers I had (she associates flowers with trees), and when she'd see the palm tree pictures we have all over our bathroom.

Kaelyn sitting by the Christmas "chee"

Staring at the tree....she enjoys seeing herself in the bulbs and saying "baby" :)

I know over the next few months her vocabulary will continue to amaze us. Each and every new word is so fun to hear.

A Little Girl Who Makes Us Smile!

There's nothing better than watching a baby dance!! It started out when Kaelyn was quite young...she'd bob her head and get all excited when she'd hear music of any kind. Now, she's older and has started to stand out in the middle of the room, bobbing her head, turning her hips and bouncing her legs to all kinds of music....a tune she hears on the TV, the songs her toys play, etc. It's pretty adorable if you ask me!! :) No matter what kind of day I'm having...I always enjoy Kaelyn's dancing. She can bring a smile to my face in an instant...what a joy she is! I happened to capture her dancing last night as she played with a "Guitar Hero" toy from the cereal box. Isn't it something that something as simple as a cheap toy from Kellogg could provide endless fun for a one year old??! :)

Here she is....our little dancer!!

The Sweetest Husband

I have one of the sweetest husband's in the world!! He is so thoughtful and does many things to let me know how much he appreciates me and loves me each and every day! This past weekend for instance....he went out to run a few errands for me, and when he returned he greeted me with flowers. There was no reason, other than to tell me he loved me! :) Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most when you least expect them. I am so thankful to have found such a wonderful person to spend the rest of my life with!! I am truly blessed!!

Finally bought a....

...Wii!! For a few months now Scott and I have talked about getting a Nintendo Wii. The more we played it with friends and family, the more interested we became. Yesterday, my parents came up to visit and bought a Wii of their own. We played it for a few hours at least and by the end of the day you could say we were more than sold on buying one!! It was just so much fun!! They are going fast with Christmas around the corner, but Scott called around and found us one at a great price. We not only got it because it's a lot of fun and something we can do together, but also because waking up sore this morning and feeling like I did an extensive workout, tells us both that it's great exercise as well. I know some people who play don't move around much, but when you choose to really get into the game you're playing it can be a great way to exercise. There have actually been people to lose weight when implementing better eating habits and daily Wii activity that I've heard of. I'm very excited to keep playing for the fun of it and for the healthy aspect it will bring to our lives. Of course I am also looking forward to getting better at each of the games too! Who wouldn't like to have fun while exercising?? I know I do!!

I think it will also be a fun thing to do over the holidays with all of our family around. Many pictures to come I'm sure!! :)

A Fun Filled Day

Yesterday we had an eventful day. It was cold, but with Christmas right around the corner we decided to venture out into the winter weather and finish our Christmas shopping and grocery shopping. It took much of the day, but I'm glad we did it, as now I can relax knowing that everything is ready for the holidays. What a great feeling!!

A couple pics of Kaelyn before we left to shop and venture the cold

The rest of the evening we enjoyed our time spent at home with each other. Kaelyn surprised us by beginning to say "Ella". We are dogsitting "Ella" for a few days, and Kaelyn caught onto her name. She now says "Ella" or "Lala" whenever she sees here. It's too cute. She's quite the talker and seems to learn a new word every week. It's fun to see her learning and understanding the world around her. :) As any parent knows...it's not always easy to catch a young child doing something on video...so we were excited when we finally caught her doing it and had it on film. She says it three times in the video...the last one being the clearest. Most times her word for kittys and puppies is "pukitty" (a mix between the two words) so that's the other word she's saying in the video.

Our New Hang Out Spot

Growing up I remember having a great playroom to play in. It had all of our toys and was a place we could play for hours. Knowing how much I appreciated a kid friendly environment like this, I decided it was something I wanted for our kids too! When Kaelyn was first born our basement was not finished, and many of her toys were in our upstairs family room where we spent much of our time. As she got older though, her toys multiplied, leaving us no other option but to finish her playroom downstairs to keep all of her things and give her a more fun place to play.

Last summer Scott began working hard and with the help of our Dad's he finished the bedroom, family room and playroom down there in August !

Finished Family Room

Finished Playroom








Finished Bedroom

It's a wonderful place to spend time, and Kaelyn sure has enjoyed her new play place. Over the last few months I've worked on getting things organized down there so it's as easy for her to access all of her things as possible. With the shelves up and filled that we bought last weekend I finally feel like the playroom is complete and a great place to house her toys and for her to play. Its fun to see her enjoying this space Daddy has created and all of the toys she's already accumulated at the young age of 1! :) We still keep toys in other parts of the house, but this is becoming the new "hang out spot" for the Gaskill's lately!