precious mermaid

kas loves the water, thank goodness! i was hoping she would like it, and she is just a little fish, or frog, depending on her kicks! she sits in the baby floaty and mellows. then ill take her out and turn in circles with her and she gets so excited with loud yells and screaches. i love it. i even braved the "blow on their face and dunk them while they hold their breath for a second". it was pretty scary, but she came right back up and started screaching again. i was scared i would traumatize her, but mom said they did that with us and they still do that in baby lessons. marc has gone swimming with us once. i used to swim with my dad and he'd let us ride on his back while he went all over the pool. it was always something i looked forward to during the summer. i cant wait to have fun adventures as a family. here are some cute pics of our little mermaid/frog. haha! at hollys pool

watching daddy while drying off

sittin in the shade under the diving board

swimmin with daddy

so much fun!!

5 month pics

daddy & k
kas typing ( her favorite key is the space bar!)

i sit up on my own!! (only on the bed tho)

my new pj's (size 3-6 mo)

playing on my butterfly mat

i like it!!

eating cereal for the first time!

1st time in my highchair

by the sunflowers

in daddys garden

wearing uncle B's outfit he picked out!

watching her friend demmy

sitting on the couch with momma

5 months

kastyn turned 5 months on the last day of june. i continue to be amazed everyday by what she is learning and doing. her personality is blooming, and i must say, she is quite a firecracker! this is good/cute/funny at times, and other times, i have prayed for her not to get my temper because i can testify, it is not something that is fun to deal with on a daily basis. i have struggled in this category since i can remember, and what i cant remember, my amazing parents who got to deal with it can testify! it's not just hard for a parent to deal with, but it's hard to feel your anger get ahold of you before you can even tell yourself that it's not worth boiling over. anywho, we will see where God takes us with this. and we will continue praying!
kastyn is so funny. as i am typing this, she is in her saucer (that she loves) talking and spitting all over the place. her voice and noises are adorable and her spitting is hilarious because whoever is holding her at the time she decides to perform this talent, she blesses them in a complete shower of spit-drops. she doesnt actually giggle quite yet, but when is happy and excited, she pants loudly and screams/squeals even louder. this means even if we are in church, praying, weddings, and walking down aisles in stores. she definitely draws attention wherever we go! only God can take credit for her indescribable cuteness and funny personality! well, i guess on the cuteness area, marc can take quite a bit of credit, since she's a spitting image of daddy! haha! mom and i did figure out that she for sure has our cheeks and mouth. mom found a pic of her a toddler and her mouth looks just like kas! woohoo! we can claim a bit of this credit now!!
here is the list of kastyn facts, i gotta make it quick, she's tired of being in the saucer!!

~size 1 diapers, she will easily be in a 2 once we are thru with this box of 1's
~size 3-6 month clothes, 3 is perfect in onesies, 6 months is a little baggy
~size 1 shoe
~we guess her weight around 14 lbs. i will put the for sure weight after her 6 month appt.
~length around 23-24 inches we are guessing??
~her hair is still short but growing and getting thicker
~she has sat in her highchair and had cereal 3 times
~she LOVES fruit! she has had mango, watermelon, strawberry, cantaloupe, pineapple. she sucks them dry when we put a piece in her little net fruit holder.
~ she can roll over, but when im in the room with her, she won't very often. once i leave to go to the bathroom and come back, she's always on her back!
~she's very close to sitting up on her own
~she still loves to be outside. the world is well when she is outside.
~i still think her favorite person is grandaddy. she loves all of us, but he can get the quickest light up and smile from her
~she loves to watch demmy and fritz. they make her very happy!
~she drinks 6-8 oz per feeding
~she likes to drink water from someones cup
~she loves loves swimming
~she loves music, she gets upset until i turn in up in the car
~she reaches for everything and holds things with both hands
~she can put things to her mouth and take her paci out of her mouth(cant quite get it back in just yet)
~she loves to give big wet kisses. she holds both sides of my face and pulls it to her mouth
~she doesnt wake up crying, she lays in her bed and talks for about 15 mins before calling us in there
~she still doesnt take long naps. we get about 3 or 4 thirty min naps a day.
~she sleeps 9-12 hrs each nite!

girls just wanna have fun

kastyn and i had our first girls' playdate! it was with marie and remi, and trisha and carly. it was so fun to watch how similar yet different each baby girl is and it was interesting to compare and see different developments in each sister. example, kas holds her upper torso up off the ground completely in the mini push-up position, yet she wont roll over except of special occasion. however, carly wouldnt hold herself up but can easily roll over. not only can she roll over, but she can roll from back to front which is not the typical direction young ones learn first! they usually go from front to back first. carly and kastyn are 5 days apart. kas was 4 days early and carly was born the day after kastyn's due date. what good timing! lets not forget about miss remi, she was there too!! she is 9 weeks behind the girls, but she is doing quite well herself, smiling and talking! i loved every minute of it!! these playdates are gonna be a blast!!

she was getting a little upset at this point.


left to right: carly, remi, kastyn

here carly, eat my hand.

kastyn is showing off her new spitting abilities and carly is actin gangsta!

holding myself up so big!!

update on daddy's garden

daddy's garden is officially growing! woohoo!!! it's fun to watch how marc plants are sprouting right up! good job honey!!!

front yard bushes
dwarf red maple

these red flowers bloomed beautiful! they look tropical, but we dont know what they are!

our first tomatoes!

left row: tomatoes right row: multi-color bell peppers

snap peas

corn

our hot pink roses

sunflowers surrounding the rose plant

4 months big

Kastyn turned 4 months on may 31st. its so crazy how fast time is moving! i say that all the time, but it is SO true. kas is alot of fun right now, as usual. she is funny and she knows she is funny because she gives big grins all day long. she is really good at talking to objects and things, but when a human walks up to her, she goes very stoic. i can get smiles, but she really does play a good serious role! she loves to walk through stores and chew on my shoulder while squealing at a pretty good volume. she has the CUtest little girly voice! she is very dainty. she cracks me up and i am constantly in smiles with this girl. we had her 4 month check up last wednesday and daddy got to go this time. i love getting her measurements, but i hate the shot part. i know we are getting them for her protection, but the cry she lets out is one of a kind, and it is horrible. i now truly understand how all those parents felt when i gave their children shots a few years ago at the childrens clinic..im sorry people!! i run in and save her and smother her with kisses and 'im sorry's'. its a sad time for momma. daddy did fine, as long as he doesnt see any needles, or he'll be on the floor, passed out. lol. i kept her on a strict tylenol schedule this time and it worked wonders. she was wanting to be held the rest of the day but wasnt acting like she was hurting like last time. she slept really good that night, and we scooted up bedtime 1.5 ours early, by kastyn's choice. overall, a much better experience than the 2 month vaccines. so here is my list of kastyn facts:

*weight: 12.13 lbs (26%); height: 22.8 in (5%-such a cute shorty!)

*eating 5 oz every 3 hours

*sleeps 9-10 hours at nite

*size 1 diapers

*size 3 month clothes

*loves standing

*talks and squeals and yells excitedly at wall art/wall photos

*holds her stuffed frog and ariel doll with both hands

*trying to hold her bottle with both hands

*enjoys her jenny jump up

*sleeps on her side/swaddling from under her arms down at nite

*knows her bedtime schedule and lets you know if you are running behind

*nurses 2 times/day

*has rolled from tummy to back 6-7 times, but has stopped trying in the last 2 weeks. :(

*loves to watch and talk to demmy, so cute

*smacks her mouth and watches the food when i hold her while i eat(cereal here we come soon!)

*i dipped my finger into a bit of fresh banana and put it on her tongue. she made a funny face. i let her suck on a piece of a prune(as i held it) and she loved it!

*she LOVES to be outside.

*she liked her 1st encounter with the swimming pool! (post to follow later)

*she loves men and children (grandaddy is her favorite, he gets smiles and excitement when we have to fight for it!)

*she is quite spoiled. she loves to be held, ALL day long. we alternate different distractions of sitting and playing by herself or sitting by one of us in her chair, but it is for a short period of time! we are working on this daily. but she is really fun to hold! haha.

*the doctor says she is old enough to start letting her cry some when she lays down to go to sleep. this child will cry for 45 mins plus, and stay going strong! we have only allowed it for this long 2 times, and i am not comfortable with this long of a time at this young age. we will increase the time periods as we feel is appropriate for her age.

*tied to previous statement, i have never seen such a strong willed infant at such a young age!

*she doesnt nap during the day, which is why im guessing she sleeps so well at nite! we are lucky to get a few 30 minute naps in, with the occasional 1 hour(few and far between!)

here are kastyn's pics from her 4th month of life:

sitting out back with momma

i can hold my head up high!


sporting my outfit from aunt korri and my bow aunt britt made me!



sleeping after her shots and check up, she fell right to sleep when i laid so close to her face.

our friends

We are blessed to have LOTS of friends and family who love us! they have supported us before, during, and after kastyn was born. we love all of you guys! i do not have alot of pictures that i need of everyone. i will be working on the people who have not been pictured yet! line up everyone!!! :) anyways, kastyn will grow up with many people to look up to and get advice from. she is so lucky to have so many people who love her, and so are we! here are a few pics of some friends!!

E-beth and kas

demmy, of course ;)

jonna and parker

jerry

meag and rome

aunt korri

delinda

trent