Kailie's First Report Card

Today Kailie had her first big test and of course our little girlie passed with flying colors!! We had one of the nurses here in Bermuda come by for a visit this morning to do an assessment on her - not that we were really worried but it's a service available here in Bermuda and we thought it would be good for us to speak with one of the nurses about how Kailie is developing and what we can do to help with her development.

It was loads of fun and Kailie was a little star despite the fact her 'test' started right around the same time her nap should have started.

Below is her first report card - I hope they all continue to be this good all the way through her school years:)

The
NURSES'
Practice Ltd.

e d u c a t i o n & s u p p o r t

Child Development Assessment
Liz Boden RN, RSCN
Name Kailie Matthews Age almost 5 months

Sociability
Kailie welcomed me with a radiant smile. She makes excellent eye contact and enjoys a face-to-face conversation. She enjoys outings and is just beginning to show signs of separation anxiety; this shows that she is a secure happy child. She did however allow me to interact and play with her. She is cared for at home by a nanny while her parents work. She has settled well into the new routine.
Speech
Kailie was silent for much of my visit demonstrating a thoughtful baby. She can screech and squeal and is beginning to laugh.
Gross Motor Skills
Kailie has excellent tone and alignment. She has good head support while held in the sitting and standing position and also while lying on her tummy – although she does not enjoy this position much yet. She is reaching for toys even while lying on her tummy, however this is obviously causing some frustration. She is using both arms well and appears to favour her right hand. She is almost rolling independently. While held in the standing position her heels are well on the ground.
Fine Motor Skills
Kailie is using her hands well to discover toys and is taking things to her mouth for further exploration. She even managed to transfer one toy from her left to her right hand!
She is beginning to explore textures through touching and feeling.
Concentration
This was fairly difficult to assess as Kailie is very bright and responsive and very sensitive to everything that is going on around her. She looked at several books one after the other meanwhile checking to see Mom was still holding her. While following my pull-string bear she was distracted every time Mom moved! She did however remain interested for a long time. She was interested in each toy and particularly liked the ‘Sassy’‘Fascination Station’ and Sassy ball with a bell inside.
Conclusion
Kailie is a bright, responsive, secure baby making excellent progress in all areas. Do not underestimate this little girl. She is learning fast and understands far more than you would imagine. I shall be happy to follow her progress.

4 Month Dr. Appt

Just had to add a little update to Kailie's 4 month post . . . we had her 4 month doctors appointment on Friday and he only had great things to say about our sweet girl! She weighed in at 17.5 pounds which still puts her off the charts for her age but at least this time she came a bit closer to the charts!! She also was quite tall (I missed the exact height measurement b/c Kailie was screeching very loudly when he put her on the measuring tape!!) but when we were reviewing her stats at the end of the appointment she was at the very top end of the charts for her height which given her weight is great as that almost puts her weight and height in proportion! Her doctor also assured me that once she starts moving some of her chub will start to melt away . . . which will probably make me a bit sad when that day comes because I just love my chubby kid!! We then had another couple of shots to endure - and even before it was time for her shots Kailie was pretty worked up so I was a bit worried about how it might go - but she was a super-star!! I didn't even know he had given her the first shot and for the second one she cried for the amount of time it took me to pick her up and then she happy and all was good . . . so another couple shots over and done with:)

Here is a picture of Kailie just before we were heading off to church - it's not easy to catch her smiles all the time so I'm always so pleased when we do!

Hope all is well with everyone:)

Love, J&K&K

4 Months!

In the blink of an eye another month has flown by! Most days I wish for time to stand still but as she keeps growing I just get more and more excited to have this little angel in our lives!! Here are a few highlights of the past month:

We got to spend so much time with Kayt, Asia and Stefan as they were here for about a month. It was such a great time for Kayt and I to enjoy each other’s little ones for a while!

Kailie loves to smile and the smiles we used to have to coax out her we now see all the time!! And now in addition to these great smiles she has also started to giggle and laugh . . . it really is one of the sweetest sounds we’ve ever heard!

Kailie is proving to be a great cheerleader for Mom and Dad as we get back into running!! She ran her first race with us this past weekend and cheered us on the whole way (ok – ‘cheer’ might be a stretch but she stayed awake and had smiles for me the whole time)! Next week we have another race to run however this time it’s Dad’s turn to push the stroller . . . it might be on wheels but it’s still a lot of extra work!

At the beginning of this month I was video-taping Kailie as she learned to reach out and touch a few of her toys on her activity mat and over the last few days she’s practically hanging off her toys!! She loves to grab everything within her little arm’s reach – so now toys / rattles are added to the long list of baby gear that gets packed up with us when we go out of the house!

Kailie continues to be a superstar sleeper . . . I sometimes wonder if she sleeps too much!! She’s generally sleeps around 9-10 hours per night and that’s often with me waking her up to feed her in the morning and then she’ll often do a couple 3+ hour naps and one little hour long nap in the evening and then off to bed again . . . sometimes I wish she’d have more awake play time!! I don’t know how I’d manage work if she wasn’t such a great little sleeper:)

Grace Ann joined us from the Philippines to help look after Kailie while I go back to work and so far all is going very well – at least here at home . . . . at work it’s a whole other story!! It’s been pretty tough going back, a lot harder than I thought it was going to be but many of my working Mom girlfriends tell me it will get better with time – I’m just not sure I’m quite convinced!

We now look forward to Grama Phyllis coming for a visit this coming weekend and not long after her we’ll be seeing Uncle Parry and Aunt Carol then Grampa John and Grama Mary Ann and Papa soon after them . . . we’re so looking forward to all our guests and we know that you’ll love every minute you get to spend with Kailie as much as we do.

Finally – Kailie just got some great news from the Slemko family today – they welcomed their baby girl Georgia into the world and Kailie can’t wait to meet her newest friend!!

A few pictures below – all our love, J&K&K

3 Months!

It’s been another exciting month with our little angel – she continues to amaze us as we watch her grow and develop!

A few highlights this month have been seeing her smiles grow bigger and more frequent every day – she is such a happy kid who loves to smile!! Just over the last few days she has really figured out her thumb – it is SO adorable to see her so content and she makes all sorts of little smacking noises while she happily sucks away!! This has been especially nice as she has never really liked a soother . . . now she has her very own built-in pacifier and we’ll never have to get up in the middle of the night to find that one;-) Kailie also gave me her first laugh just a couple of days ago – I was giving her a little massage and when I got up to her chin and arms she just lost it!! It was just the most wonderful little sound and we can’t wait to hear it again. Kailie continues to sleep so great – she’s going to be earlier now (our record has been 8pm!) and sleeping anywhere from 8 to 11 hours. I think she knew I had to be getting back to work so she’s really been so great as far as her nights go:)

Of course the highlight of this month has been having Kayt and Asia here – with Joel just coming through a pretty busy time of year the extra company has been especially appreciated by Kailie and I! We are also looking forward to Stefan joining all of us here in about a week. Kayt and Stefan have been kind enough to agree to watch Kailie for a few days as I need to start back to work and our Nanny is still going to be a couple more weeks before arriving in Bermuda. It’s nice to start back to work knowing that Kailie is in such good handsJ

Hope all is well with everyone back home – Love, J&K&K

My new favorite thing to do:)

Super-Dad looking after Kailie and Asia while Mommy and Auntie played!

Daddy's GB gals!

I love just hanging out with my cousin!

A couple of cute bums!!!

A few pictures to share . . .

Just a few pictures of our little angel we wanted to share:)

January 24 - Mom & Dad's first night out together since Kailie was born.

Thanks for babysitting Marsha!!

Auntie Kayt & Asia!

We have been so lucky to have Kayt and Asia visiting us for the last week - Kailie has been enjoying getting to know her cousin and I have been enjoying the adult conversation during the day!!


Below are some pictures of our past week:)

Asia letting Kailie know who's older!

Some friendly time together on the playmat:)

Asia taking a break from all the excitment.

Kailie and Mom are having a great time with the extra company:)

Asia is so happy for some Bermuda sunshine!

Kailie and Aisa checking out the new mobile:)

Best buds!

Kayt and Asia getting ready for Asia's first swim

(Kailie slept through this entire outing)!

Auntie Kandis & Asia

First Shots!

This past week Kailie went for her 2 month doctors appointment which meant her first shots. I was much less calm than she was . . . I was praying that Kailie didn't get her Mom's phobia of needles and after seeing what a superstar she was it looks like she didn't (at least not yet)!! She had one shot in each leg and for the first one she hardly made a sound and the second one she cried for about 10 seconds . . . it was far more traumatic for me than for Kailie!!

They also gave her a good check-up and as her doctor said, our little girl is definitely 'thriving'!! She weighed in at 14.75 lbs which apparently is the average weight of a 5 month old (yikes)!! She is literally off the charts when it comes to her weight and in about the 90th percentile when it comes to her height. The doctor quickly reassured me that this wasn't unusual for breastfed babies and that she would eventually thin out but that for now she was doing great:)

We continue to love every day with her . . . more pictures to follow soon!

Two Months Old!

With Christmas behind us I look back on this last month as a total whirlwind!! But in the midst of this wonderful whirlwind we have had so much fun:)

Christmas at home was wonderful – as I had said in my last post it was such a joy to bring our little girl home to introduce her to her family! I was sad to cut my trip home a bit shorter than I had planned but once we got home and Kailie settled back in I knew it was for the best.

One of the most exciting things for us this past month has been that Kailie has started to smile! Every day she smiles a bit more and most of the time her smiles are accompanied by a whole lot of ‘cooing’! Joel is pretty sure she picked it up from Asia as Asia was just cooing and smiling non-stop when we were at home . . . whatever the reason I could listen to her and her ‘talking’ for hours . . . it’s just the cutest thing to see her looking so happy!!

Since we’ve been home from our holidays we’ve also been battling to get Kailie on the bottle. When she was first born we were pretty good at periodically giving her a bottle and she took it no problem . . . but a few weeks went by where she didn’t get a bottle at all and all of a sudden she absolutely refused anything to do with it (in other words she just screamed if we tried to give it to her) . . . this was getting very tiring for me as it meant that I couldn’t go anywhere as she is still eating quite often and somewhat irregularly. Anyway Joel and I (and our neighbors I’m sure!) have endured a whole lot of screaming over the last week or so and a couple days ago we finally had a breakthrough. It came at about 3am when I was at my wits end with her nursing on and off for a few hours and I think she was just too tired to fight . . . so we finally won the battle!!! Since then she’s taken a few more bottles with much less fight – so I’ve already started planning my spa date which will be the first time I’ve been away from my darling daughter in a very long time. Since she’s been born I’ve only been away from her for about 4 hours in total – so I’m ready for a break!!

(Christy – you should stop reading here . . . the next bit is about sleep and I know what a battle you’ve had with Grady . . . I think I’ve just got lucky for now with Kailie!!) The other great milestone that we have just recently had a couple of nights where Kailie has slept for 8 consecutive hours!!! The first time it happened we didn’t get the benefit of that stretch because we were both up checking on her to make sure she was ok . . . however we were ready the next time and it was great to finally get a nice long uninterrupted night of sleep . . . even Andy let me sleep right through!! Hopefully this will keep up as I look at having to go back to work all too soon.

Below are a few more pictures of our sweet girl and on the right I’ve put up her two month picture with her big Teddy Bear to give you an idea of how much she’s grown . . . she continues to amaze us every day!

Love to everyone back home, J&K&K

Thanks Darin for my adorable little outfit!

Daddy's little Green Bay fan!

Check out my sweet smile:)

I love my new Lion playmat from Elizabeth!

My first day FINALLY taking a soother . . . . oh yeah and check out Dad's shirt!!!

2 Cats, 1 Babe, 1 Dad . . . . where is Mom going to sleep . . . . ???

Dad & Kailie getting some post-Christmas R&R!!

How cute am I?!!!

Kailie's First Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with Kailie this year!! We feel so blessed to have Kailie in our lives and she made this past Christmas extra special!

Kailie was a spectacular little traveler – so many flights and so little fussing . . . with the exception of one meltdown in the Winnipeg airport (poor kid was hungry – I would have cried too) Kailie didn’t make a peep on the flights!!

The first part of our trip was to Winnipeg and then on to Birtle to spend the week with Dorelle, Tyler, Evan and Mae as well as Grandpa John and Gramm Phyllis – we enjoyed our visit so much and had loads of fun despite the miserable flu bug that the twins and Tyler were unlucky recipients of. It was pretty cold out (-48 with the wind chill one day!!!) but that didn’t dampen our Christmas spirits at all!! We just enjoyed each other’s company so much and the week flew by much too quickly. We sadly gave our last hugs and ‘knuckles’ to Mae and Evan and then headed for Alberta.

Once in Alberta we first headed to Canmore where we were fortunate enough to be a part of Asia’s Baby Dedication. It was such a pleasure to visit the Church where Kayt, Stefan and Asia attend and to see how much their Church family loves and supports the Mahons! After a few days in Canmore we headed to Ponoka where Papa Mark and Grama MaryAnn finally got to meet Kailie! We spent Christmas with the Robertson’s and McLean’s where we enjoyed lots of great food, games and great company! This Christmas was also made extra special as we all were celebrating the engagement of Keli and Chris – which also meant some wedding dress shopping for the girls which we all thoroughly enjoyed!

Then on Boxing Day we opted out of the crazy shopping crowds and headed to Edmonton so Gramie Kim could meet Kailie and we had a lovely afternoon spent eating yet more great food while having a great visit!

Joel and I had such a great time introducing Kailie to all our friends and family back home. Unfortunately we quickly found that traveling with a young babe really slowed us down and there were many friends and family we didn’t get to see that we really would have liked too – we hope that those of you who we missed will understand and we look forward to our next trip when Kailie is maybe a bit older and getting around might be a bit easier!

Of course with any holiday back home the good-byes were the hardest part of the trip. We can’t believe how fast Kailie is growing and changing so it’s hard for us to be away from all our family as we watch our little girl grow – but we look forward to many more visits home and hopefully some visitors to Bermuda in 2009!

Wishing all our friends and family a Happy New Year from the Matthew’s!!

Below are some pictures of our trip.

After all the fun opening my Christmas presents - I was wiped!!!

Uncle Joel and Evan

Smilie Evan - always saying 'cheese' when the cameras come out!

Uncle Tyler and Kailie (still working on sitting up straight)!

Grampa John singing Kailie to sleep - Mom has tried the lullaby but doesn't have as much luck!

Gramm Phyllis hanging out with Kailie at the Fultons!

Gramm reading to Mae

Kailie with Dad one early morning:)

Smilie Evan again!

Kailie showing off her cute little overalls

Christmas at the Fultons!!

Asia's Baby Dedication in Banff

The Mahon's - our fist time meeting beautiful little Asia!

Auntie Kayt and Asia at Silvertip!

Finally - both babies awake at the same time!! What cuties!!

Kailie was pretty enthralled with Gramie Kim!

The newly engaged couple sporting their fancy mits that keep them close!!

Papa Mark and Kailie

The best Christmas Present Ever!!!

How adorable are we?!

Best buds already:)

Christmas morning - a picture of the grandbabies for Papa and Grama

More time with Papa!

Working on my wave!

Kailie meeting GG for the first time:)

Our wonderful little family - we are so blessed!!

Christmas with the Robertsons / McLeans