Adventures of Kailie and Kolton Matthews: Half Way To A Year!!!

Wow - can't believe we're already here!! Despite my best efforts I have not figured out how to freeze time . . . and as a result my little angel is now 6 months old!

It's been an exciting month - a few of the highlights have been:

- Teeth – Kailie has two bottom front teeth, they look pretty cute but did not come without their fair share of aches and pains. Kailie is such a happy kid so it’s easy to tell when something is bothering her and in addition to a few more tears than usual teething also involves wake ups in the middle of the night. When the first two came in we had a stretch of about a week of 4am wake ups which Mom and Dad don’t deal with very well! We’re pretty sure we must have another one or two teeth ready to make an appearance as we have had another few days stretch of 4am wake ups, some fiery red cheeks and just a bit more fussiness than usual – so we’ll see!

- Food – It’s no surprise really, but Kailie is turning out to be a terrific eater! We’re only up to about 4 different foods but so far apples and pears are by far her favorite with carrots coming in third and squash a very very distant fourth - I know my parents are smiling right now thinking ‘payback’!! I know I need to get her onto a few more vegetables but can you blame the kid for loving her fruit ;-)

- Visits – Kailie is loving all the family that is coming to visit. After Gramm Phyllis was here we had Uncle Parry and Aunt Carol come for their Bermuda holiday and we had a great time with them! Kailie immediately took to Aunt Carol and after spending a bit of time getting used to Uncle Parry she was happy to go to him as well. We had a great time with them and hope they’ll come back again:) Right now we have Grampa John here and in just a few days Pappa Mark and Grama MaryAnn will be arriving as well – Kailie is so lucky to have so many Grandparents coming to visit!

- Talking – It’s become pretty clear what Kailie’s first words will be . . . all we hear all day long is Da-Da-Da-Da-Da . . . . regardless of how much I say “Ma-Ma-Ma”!! It’s still pretty cute and irresistible – especially to see ‘Dada’ come running every time his little girlie calls ;-)

- Sleeping – We have officially started ‘sleep training’ for Kailie and so far it’s been everyone’s least favorite activity. Up until now we have pretty much done whatever Kailie wants to help put her to sleep (this usually means nursing her until she’s asleep!) however we’ve now decided she’s big enough to handle a few tears and sooner or later she needs to learn to put herself to sleep (and Mom needs a bit of relief!!). We’ve had a few rough nights – but thanks to some major support from a few friends and their stories (thanks Grady!!!) we are making progress:) Naps are no problem – it usually takes her just a minute or two to find her little thumb and the crys are halted . . . but for whatever reason bedtime is a much bigger battle!! We’ve had a couple of record short nights (27 seconds of crying) and some record long nights (lets just say it wasn’t just Kailie crying . . . ). She can get pretty worked up but she seems be figuring it out – so hopefully we are trending in the right direction to have fewer and fewer tears before bed! I must say – seeing her big smile in the morning is always such a relief on those tough nights when I’m sure she’s going to wake up and be so mad at me for what we’ve put her through!

Ok – I’m sure I could keep going but I can’t imagine many would keep reading! So for those of you still reading you will now be rewarded with some pretty cute pictures to follow!

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mom’s out there – I know I’m going to treasure every moment of my first Mother’s Day:)

Love, J&K&K