Sunday, December 6, 2009

Watch Me Grow - Kennedy - 1 Year

1 Year - Nov 2009 11 Mon - Oct 2009
1 Week - Nov 2008
As I sit here and write my final Duck/Watch Me Grow post for Kennedy I can't help but think what a precious little girl I have and how many precious memories have been made over the last year! It seems so strange to watch her walking around the house and doing all the things toddlers do, she is still my baby after all! :) No matter how much or how fast she grows we sure do love Missy K a tremendous amount!
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On to accomplishments for the month...
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While Kennedy took her first tentative steps the beginning of August she still primarily preferred to crawl. About a week or maybe two before her birthday she really figured out how to walk and now zooms everywhere. At times she even appears to be running! lol :) This girl is definitely in a hurry to get places and see new things! To steal a phrase from Aunt Dorothy regarding Heidi I think Kennedy may not only have ants in her pants but a few elephants too! lol :)
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Kennedy is working hard on those teeth! While the official tooth count on her birthday was only 2 bottom teeth her 4 front top teeth are making serious efforts to break through (two now have). She is such a slow teether. Sometimes I look at her gums and wonder how they could possibly swell anymore without those teeth breaking through. Bless her heart! I know it's not comfortable and it's made for some long nights for Mommy and Daddy as well...
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Speaking of sleep... Kennedy, much like Reagan, started out as an excellent sleeper. She got worse as she got older and I think the worst of it was between 6-9 months or so when she was getting up as much as 5-6 times per night. We have made it through that stage, thank goodness, but Kennedy still gets up 2-3 times per night. After going to bed between 8:00-9:00 she usually makes it to 2:00-3:00 before waking up the first time so we do get a good chunk of sleep to begin with. Mommy and Daddy would be wise to take advantage of this time by going to bed with Kennedy! Thankfully Kennedy is a good napper and takes a 2 - 2 1/2 hour nap every afternoon. So if it's been a long night Mommy is at least able to catch up on some sleep then. In the meantime we're hoping that once we get through these 4 top teeth coming in we'll slide into a sleeping all night routine. If there are going to be more Lueker children in this house, it would probably be good for Mommy and Daddy to have the opportunity to forget what sleepless nights are like...
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Missy K is such a climber! She is a monkey if there ever was one. Between that and her persistence she is unstopable! This month she discovered she has the ability to climb up both the front and back of her highchair. She would also really appreciate it if we would leave her alone and let her walk up and down the stairs like a big girl!
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Speaking of stairs... One day I had to run downstairs to grab a diaper. I came back up and Kennedy was literally hanging from our stair banister with her feet not touching the steps. She had started walking down the steps using the banister and when the wall started I guess the little goofball decided to stick with the banister and hanging vs keeping her feet on the floor. She was perfectly content and had I not surprised her by coming around the corner when I did I'm sure she'd still be happily hanging there! :)
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Kennedy's love of books continues to grow. She has started bringing us books she wants us to read to her. I love it!!! Her favorite books are small board books that she can easily hold in her hands. She has quite a few in her bed and one evening when Katie was baby-sitting she asked if Kennedy actually slept with the number of books she has in her crib. :) When she woke up this morning I couldn't get her to get out of bed because she was so busy with 3 of her favorite books that involve colors, shapes and sizes. :) Having said that, she also loves to play with adult books carefully (for the most part) flipping through the pages. We're continuing to watch and play with the "Your Baby Can Read" series but haven't had any major break throughs since she originally recognized "Arms Up" a couple of months ago. She is definitely beginning to recognize words regarding body parts and animals and I expect will be reading by this time next year. Most of all we all truly enjoy sharing special snuggle and reading time together. We are most definitely a family that loves to read and find good new books! So if anyone has suggestions of books that are must haves, we're all ears!
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Snuggle is a great word for Kennedy! She is such an affectionate baby and loves to get hugs and put her head on your shoulder. She also loves to love her baby doll and stuffed animals. She is such a little sweetheart!
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Kennedy is also beginning to show signs of a temper... I don't know why our girls have such tempers but boy oh boy do they ever! Maybe we'll be a little more successful in dealing with this situation the second time around but from the glimpses we've seen thus far I have a feeling we may have only thought we'd seen tantrums with Reagan... Any thoughts, opinions, or advice on this front would also be greatly appreciated!
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Missy K's favorite food would most definitely be scrambled eggs. You've never seen a baby knock down eggs like this girl can! I'm not exactly sure how she got so hooked on them this month but she can easily eat two eggs with a piece of toast (with Great Aunt Pat's home made raspberry jam) in no time flat for breakfast! :) And watch out, if you're not done with your eggs by the time she's finished with hers she'll most likely be finishing them for you! lol :)
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Kennedy continues to pick up more basic words. One of her newest words is what we understand as water but she has also been hard at work at animal sounds this month. Her most consistent four animal sounds are a dog, cat, monkey and my personal favorite an owl. Way too cute! :) While she doesn't say any Spanish words yet, she definitely understands the phrases we use from our evening class with cousin Pauline. I don't know how successful our little experiment on that front will be, but if what we're doing makes it even a little easier and more natural for the girls to pick up a second language it's a completely worthwhile endeavor!
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Missy K we're having so much fun watching you grow and your little, or more aptly big, personality develop! You are an amazing little girl and we love you more than we could ever possibly show or tell you! Happy 1st Birthday Kennedy Ellen!

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