Like I promised...

Well.... I never really promised but we are back in action. I know the main reason most of you come to this page is to see all the pictures, and I have been depriving you all. Now that I am back in action with my free internet I can get back to putting pictures on here. Let me stop with all the talking and get right to the reason you are all here.

Here's Kayla with the most angelica look I have ever captured on film. She gives me this look a lot, but I just never have a camera on hand when she does.

You can't tell me she doesn't make those toes look yummy!

As if she could get any sweeter... here she is snoozing on my bed. It's rare that she takes a nap anywhere besides her bed. She usually whines and complains until you put her in her own bed.

Here we are on a cold morning getting ready to leave for daycare. OK... so it wasn't all that cold, but she was just so cute in her beenie and matching shoes... I couldn't help it.

This is another morning we were getting ready for daycare. Now... looking at that smile you would never guess it was 5am.

This wasn't such a happy day. This was the first time she got a really bad rash. It was horrible! I had to let her have a little naked time after daycare. She loved the air on her cute little bottom, and I couldn't help but grab the camera.

This is Makayla and our friend Maya. Maya is one of my favorite little people! Her mom was in my unit in the army, but is now out of the army, and getting ready to move to New York. It makes me sad cause I won't be able to watch Maya and her new baby sister grow up. I guess thats part of the military life.

Here's Maya again... being the sweety that she is. I love that girl.

Kaylie has more money than any other 8 month old I know. Every time I have a bunch of ones in my wallet I give some to her for her to look at. Then we make a trip to her piggy bank and drop them in there. Plus the money from my baby showers that was given to me by people who couldn't find a gift. That was about $120.00 alone.

Her and her purple ball. She loves this thing. Usually I put her on the couch or chair with pillows around her so the ball wont roll away.

And the green balloon. She had a blast with this thing!

"Look at that pretty girl in that mirror there!"

"What mirror where?"

"Who could that attractive girl be?"

OK... for those of you who don't watch old classic musicals, your probably thinking I have lost my mind. That song is from the movie "West Side Story." Me and my mom used to watch it all the time. Every time I see this pictures that's what I think about. I really wish my mom could have been here to experience being a grandma.

Here is Kayla and her Aunt Jessie. Jess loves this little girl so much. I know she missing her right now. Don't worry thought. X-mas will be here soon enough and we can swap babies again. By the way... there are a bunch of pictures of me, Duncan and Kayla on Adam's site along with a lot of the rest of the family. I think that site has more pictures of me than this one!

Look at this smilie baby! I can't get enough of that smile.

And finally a picture of the teeth. I had been trying to get this picture for the longest. I think we have another one of top trying to come in also.

Here's Makayla, her cousin Adam, Aunt Peggy and Great Grandma. I love how close Duncan's family is. Every Sunday they get together and have breakfast at Grat Grandma's house.

She has mastered picking up Cheerios and eating them. I would say she gets about 75% of them in her mouth now. It was funny watching her when I first gave her Cheerios. She would concentrate so hard on one, and when she got it in her hand she would still be looking at the tray with the most confussed look. It was like she was thinking "Now where did that thing go?"

Hey Cheerios... just a heads up... you could make a lot of money with this face on one of your advertisments!

That's it for the pictures tonight. And for those of you that don't get a call fron Duncan tonight I have to tell you. All day today She has been saying "da-da." It is so sweet. We were out shopping all day and every where we went she was saying it. Duncan came to the house from staff duty (24 hours sitting at a desk, with NO SLEEP) and I was trying to get her to say it. Of course for about 15 mins. she was just looking at us like we were crazy. Finally she gave in and made his day.

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend, and I hope your Monday is enjoyable.

8 months old

Today Makayla is 8 months old and life is getting interesting. She has been up to so much. She has changed her "danceing" from her one leg going up and down, to her whole body moving up and down. She also can get around the living room without a problem, but still is not crawling. She has 2 teeth that are completly in and I think she is working on another. She has also figured out how to "walk" around the house in her walker. Its wierd to be in the kitchen cooking something, and you look over and there she is! I think she likes her new freedom. I really have to baby proof the house now. I find my towels from the kitchen, in the livingroom, and find her under the dining room table pulling on the table cloth. She would be pulling out my files, and cords from the walls if her arms were a little longer.
She has figured out how to turn on and off her mobile. I laid her in her room yesterday and put her classical CD on for her. I went into my room to lay down and before I could get comfortable I heard a clicking and a different song coming from her room. I laid there confused for a while, then realized what it was. For the next 10 mins I listened to her turn her mobile on and off. She finally gave in and went to sleep. It was kind of weird because the day before I went into her room and started to change her diaper, but she was squirming everywhere. As I reached to turn the mobile on she watched my every move. I thought to myself "she is going to figure this thing out before I know it." Sure enough... I was right!
I recently went to Pennsilvania, with about 90% of my unit, for a conference and a Soldier of the quarter board. The conference was OK... there was just a lot of drama. I HATE drama! The board was good. Soldier of the quarter boards consist of Soldiers that all dress up in their Class A uniform (SO uncomfortable) and go infront of higher ranking Soldiers who ask questions to test your knowledge of different aspects of the military, as well as see how professional you can be under pressure. It is a competition. This time there were 9 of us. Some of us had been to boards before, while others (like myself) were experiencing it for the first time. We were all so stressed out and nervous. Here at Fort Knox we have been studing for about 2 months. It covered all kinds of areas like, leadership, M16A1/2, NBC, Counseling, current events, field sanitation, uniforms, NCOER's, the code of conduct, customs and courtesies, military justice, land navigation, first aid, and drill and ceremony. I think there are a couple of other sections, I just can't think of them right now. Althought I didn't see anyone else's performance, I think we all did very well. To my surprise I won! I was happy, but at the same time more stressed out. Winning just means I have to go to the Soldier of the YEAR board. I'm not really sure how I feel about that yet. At least this one will be here at Fort Knox, and I won't have to spend 4 days away from my baby.
The time away from Makayla was probably the hardest to deal with. I had 5 or 6 people asking me if I was OK. One person even went as far as to say "You really don't want to be in the army do you?" Usually that is a "smart ass" remark for a Soldier who has been getting in trouble a lot, so the first thing that came to my mind is "DAMN... what the hell did I do?" I had to explain over and over that I just missed my baby. My Interent is back up, so I am working on uploading some pictures. It's friday. I figure by Sunday we will be back in action, but no promises. :-)

$38.00!!!

I can't get over the gas prices. Driving home yesterday after work gas was $2.45 and people were literally wrapped around the block waiting in line. We even had MPs directing traffic. Of course seeing all those people made me panic, so I jumped in line, only to find out that they ran out of unleaded and only had premium for $2.81! Well, I turned around and decided to wait till morning. At 6am this morning it was $2.71, there was still no unleaded and the line was wrapped around the block again. I was running late (as usual) so I waited till lunch. At lunch the line was wrapped around the block again so I went off post. People have been saying that they waited in line for over 2 hours yesterday to get gas! I just paid $3.09 a gal which ended up being $38.00 for 12.263 gals. I have to call someone from Cali tonight and find out how it is out there. It usually ranges from 30 to 40 cent more than here! I don't know how you all do it. I don't know what I am going to do when I get back there. Honestly I might not be there for to long once I get out of the military. Other... CHEAPER states are starting to look a little more tempting!
At least my gas tank will stay full for the next 4 days. We have a 4 day weekend and Duncan, Kalie and I are flying to Virginia to visit his family. We are looking forward to it. Finally a break from Knox. I'm interested in seeing how well Makayla flys now. This will be her 4th plane trip. She is so much more active now and stays awake a lot longer, so we will see what happens. Wish us luck and enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Such an Angel

I don't think I can thank the good Lord above enough for blessing me with such a good baby. Let me tell you what a good daughter I have. The other night Duncan and I went to O'Charleys for dinner with my whole unit. There was maybe 25 of us all together. Everyone met around 6:30 but we ended up having to wait because there was a party of 20 before us. I'm sure you can all imagine that it was pretty late when we finally got out of there and on our way home. We got home around 9pm and Makayla got her second wind. She was laughing at everything. She was rolling around and screaming playfully. I laid her in her bed while I took a shower and when I got out she was still up, laughing and playing. I turned off all the lights and sat with her in her glider and finally she relaxed and was ready for bed. So I laid her in her bed, and she rolled over and went to sleep.
Well, Last night I guess she thought she was going to stay up late again but she was fed, bathed and ready for bed by 7:30. I read to her and put her to bed at 8:00. After an hour of CSI I went up stairs to check on her and there she was... just laying there playing with her pacifire and blanket quietly. I had the light in the bathroom on so she could see a little. We got ready for bed and half way through Coach Carter she was still awake, just playing quitely in her bed. It was around 9:45 when she finally drifted to sleep. I can't get over what a good baby she is. Aunty Louise was right when she said I wouldn't have anything to worry about.
Makayla has picked up a few new things. Not only does she roll none stop, but she can scoot forward to get something that she wants. She also loves the mirror and has learned to "dance." I stand her on my dresser in front of the mirror and say "dance-dance-dance" and she stomps her foot or bobs up and down. It is so cute! Sometimes she will do it without the mirror, but the mirror guarantees a dance for at least a few seconds. I have to figure out how to get video on here so you all can see it.
She has had a rash for the last few days so every chance I get I lay her on a blanket on the floor with no diaper and let her bottom "air-out." She loves it! I fan her bottom with a diaper and she just lays there with a look of relief. When I stop fanning she starts smiling and laughing.
Well, I have to get off the computer. I have to head to the hospital and make sure my shots are up to date. I think I need 2. YUK!

bye-bye toothless

The other night I was introducing Kayla to the sippy cup. While she was rolling it around with her tongue I noticed her gums looked really white in one spot. After hearing from numerous people that babies gums turn really white before the teeth pop out I stuck my finger in there thinking "I bet were getting close now!" We are pasted close... we are there! A tiny, but extremely sharp, white tooth has made its way through the gums. I was so excited I started clapping and saying "yeaaaah Kalie!!" She looked so happy, but confused at the same time. She was probably thinking "I don't know what I did, but I'm happy that you're happy!"
Makayla is becoming more and more determined to get what she wants. I lay her on my bed on her belly and lay things in front of her, but out of reach. She will get her knees under her, throw her face into the bed, and wave her arms all over the place. It is the funniest thing to watch. After a few tries of getting no where she starts rotating in a circle... probably looking for something closer that she can grab. She had become very good at scooting, rotating and even rolling from her back, to her stomach and back again. Sometimes when she is trying to roll from her tummy to her back she forgets to put her arm up and it prevents her from rolling. She will strain her neck in all directions looking for me. When she sees me she will huff and puff with a smile on her face as if telling me "I gave it my all... now help me out." She is just too cute!

Big Girl

I have been getting e-mail after e-mail asking why I haven't been on here to update. One excuse I can use is that I am cheap! With the school I have right now I get free Interent as long as I am enrolled in a class, but after a certain period of time with no classes, the Internet gets cut off. I haven't signed up for any classes, and just don't want to pay for Internet. I'm at work right now it case you are wondering.
We had Makayla's 6 month appointment at the beginning of this month, and we found out what we already knew. This girl is HUGE! She is 18.1 Lbs and 27.5 inches long. For her weight she is in the 90 percentile and she is off the chart for her height. I think somewhere around 105 percentile. I can't get over how big she is. She looks like shes 8 months old.
She had shoots at this appointment, as usual. I think they went a lot smoother than usual, but Duncan didn't think so. Poor daddy had to hold her down. (I will have nothing to do with that.) After the shots I took her (as usual) and she would not look at him ALL day. Poor Duncan. You can tell his feelings were hurt. I felt bad... but not bad enough to hold her next time. :-) She was extremely tired the rest of the day. I gave her a little snack of 5 ounches of milk around 5pm, and at 6pm she was out. I tried to wake her up for a bath and dinner, but she wouldn't hear it. I layed her in her bed and had the bottle of water and formula mix ready, thinking she would wake up some time during the night ready to eat. I was wrong. She slept all night and didn't want to wake up the next morning for daycare.
Since she can support her weight on those chunky legs (surprisingly) I figured it was time to get her a walker. I took her to the store to "test drive" one. Test driving was out of the questions. I was shocked to see that those long legs actually wern't long enough. She couldn't reach the ground! She just sat there playing with the toys and swinging her legs around. Since she's growing so fast I figured we would go back and try again in a couple weeks.
At six months old Makayla is trying harder to do certain things. She tries to sit up, but ends up belly down, kicking her legs around. She tries to scoot, but again... it's just those chunky legs flying every direction. I think because she is so big it is going to be harder for her to move and get up. Thats a lot of weight to get in motion.
She loves playing with her toys, but I think her pacifire on the Pooh attachment is her favorite. When all the other toys are to far out of reach, she always has her trusty binkie. Half the time she doesn't suck on the thing, she just holds the string and swings it around. I think when it comes time to break her of that it might be easier than I thought. I figure I will just take the binkie off the string and let her have at Pooh bear.
Her "speech" is changing so much every day. She started out taking a deep breath and spitting. That then turned into taking a deep breath and screaming at the top of her lungs. Now she huffs and puffs like a little puppy that is out of breath. It is really cute. When I do it back to her she cracks up.
Speaking of laughing... she does that ALL the time. Almost everything makes her laugh. I love listening to her laugh. I will do everything I can think of just to hear that giggle.
She has mastered grabbing things. She stretches her arms out as far as she can, and if you hold something she wants to far for her to reach she arches her back and kicks her leg up in the air. I guess she thinks she will be able to reach farther like that.
I have so many pictures to share, but I can't get those on my computer at work. I will get into some more classes soon and will be back in the swing of things.