Kinley's First Haircut

Just before we left for her first vacation, we took Kinley to get her first haircut. The only thing Kinley really needed was a little trim in the back since her hair had grown in a little uneven. We took her to Sheer Madness, which is just a few blocks away from our house. The salon was so cute and kid friendly! There were different cars for the kids to sit in while they got their hair cut and even tv's at each station so that they could watch their favorite shows. Kinley did pretty good at first, here she is checking out her purple wrangler...

And here she is when she realized what was about to happen.

Kinley's hair cutter was really flexible and this is how Kinley actually got her haircut for the first time...being held by mommy.

And now for the after pic. Kinley was happy as can be back in her purple wrangler as long as no one came near her with a pair of scissors. As you can see, not much of a change in looks from the front, but the back really does look a lot better all trimmed up.

A Couple Weeks Of Horrible Eating

I have been so pre-occupied with the Letters for CDH project, Kinley's first haircut and Kinley's first vacation (pics to come later) that I got a little behind on her blog. Lets go back to the beginning of July.

For the first couple weeks in July Kinley had a dramatic drop in appetite. She had been eating so well, and then just stopped. Kevin and I chalked it up to teething at first, but when it continued Kevin took her in to the pediatrician's office for a second opinion, and to see how long Kinley could go on like this without more intervention by us. Dr. S. said he could not see any teeth coming in, nor did Kinley have an ear infection or anything else that might hinder her appetite. I wanted an x-ray, but Dr. S. listened to Kinley's chest and said he didn't hear any bowel sounds or anything that might indicate she re-herniated, so his recommendation was to hold off on the x-ray and try to save Kinley from the exposure at this time. He weighed Kinley and she had gained a little over a pound from her 1 year check up, so Dr. S. was OK with her weight at this time also. Kinley weighed in at 20 lbs. Kevin and Kinley left the appointment without an answer to her feeding troubles, but at least we ruled out re-herniation.

Kevin and I were really getting stressed out and frustrated during feeding times. We were actually having several conversations a day about poop and wet diapers. It pretty much consumed us for those couple of weeks.

When the OT came for her visit we explained what was going on and she thinks Kinley was protesting us taking her bottles away. A couple of weeks or so before Kinley stopped eating we decided that she was drinking so well out of her sippy cups that she didn't need bottles after her meals anymore. I was thrilled about this because what we had been doing was giving Kinley breakfast for 30 minutes and then a bottle for 30 minutes. Same thing for lunch and dinner, and then just a bottle for 30 minutes before bedtime. Getting rid of the bottles after meals would cut feeding time in half and give us more time to get out and do stuff. (That is how we had time to get all the summer fun in.)

Well, we have since compromised with Kinley and now she gets breakfast with a bottle of whole milk afterwards, lunch, dinner, then a bottle of Pediasure at bedtime and it seems to be working well for everyone.

Thank You!

Kinley wanted me to tell everyone who sent in their blue envelopes THANK YOU!!

Kinley With Her Letters

Our letters are ready to go! Here is Kinley with the letters just before we drove to the post office to mail them.

Time to email Oprah.

Are Your Letters Ready?

Mine are not, but I am working on them and they will be ready to mail/email tomorrow.

This is just a reminder that tomorrow, July 15th is the date to mail your letters to Ellen and email Oprah for the Letters for CDH project. The website again is www.lettersforcdh.blogspot.com.

Thanks in advance for all who plan to help spread awareness for CDH!! I think Carter's Mom had a great idea with this project.

The Lucky Photographer

A while back we took Kinley to Ernie Miller Nature Center and met The Lucky Photographer there for Kinley's 1 year photo shoot. It was the first time Kinley had any professional pictures taken of her. Kinley did pretty well, but was not in a smiling mood. I was really impressed that The Lucky Photographer got any smiles out of Kinley. I added some of my favorite pics to the right side of the blog so that they will have a permanent spot. Hope you enjoy!

Summer Fun

When we first came home from the hospital it felt like all we did was prepare to feed Kinley, feed Kinley, then clean up from feeding which usually also meant cleaning up throw-up and replacing an NG tube. That was our life for a few months. Then it was cold and flu season and we were told to keep Kinley away from other kids and crowds to try and prevent her from getting sick. Now the weather is nice and Kinley is only eating four times a day at regular intervals. It is so nice to finally be able to take Kinley out and about and have her play with other kids!! In fact, we are actually being encouraged to get her out and experience new things in hopes that it might stimulate her to talk more. What a total 180. So, here are some of the fun things we have been up to lately.

We took Kinley to Barnes and Noble to play with other kids back in the children's section, but unfortunately we must have gone at the wrong time because Kinley was the only kid there. Oh well, she did get a couple of new books out of the deal.

Last Friday we went to the Lenexa BBQ and Kinley had a great time playing with her friend Chase even though the weather was a little warm when we got there. Chase had a nice blanket laid out on the grass for him and Kinley to play on (with a fan blowing their direction and everything), but Kinley had other plans. She was crawling all over the place and for some reason she didn't seem to mind crawling on grass or dirt like she normally does. She was a handful, but she was having such a good time it was fun to just watch her play.

On Monday night Kinley went to her second Royal's baseball game to see them play the Minnesota Twins. This time we went with Grandma and Grandpa Seep and Aunt Mary. Kinley got to ride the merry-go-round before the game and had a fun time cheering on the Royals from her seat. Well, at least I think she was cheering for the Royals. She had on a blue shirt for the Royals, but wore her hat from Outing, Minnesota. I think she was trying to be diplomatic since she has a lot of relatives up in Minnesota that were probably watching the game. And yes, I did say Kinley was cheering earlier. Every once in a while she would just let out a little yell. It was pretty cute and we are happy with any noise from Kinley at this point.

Kinley on her merry-go-round ride

Kinley cheering on the Royals (or Twins)

Wednesday was date night for Kevin and I, so Kinley got to play with Grandma Melcher. She always enjoys her time with Grandma.

Thursday Kinley had a play date at the pool with a couple friends. Kinley still enjoys the pool, but I think she had the most fun crawling around the pool. Ouch! The concrete didn't seem to bother her though. I am starting to think her high tolerance for pain might be getting her in trouble soon.

Friday night Kinley attended her friend Chase's First Birthday Party. Chase and Kinley played together for a little bit, but Chase was busy entertaining and Kinley was busy exploring, so I was not able to get any pics of the two together. It was a fun night out though and Chase got a lot of really cool toys!

Saturday we had some friends over who were in town from Texas. Kinley awoke from her nap to find 2 new people in the house. Kinley has been doing pretty well being around new people and was showing off by walking all around the house (with a little help). When Kinley awoke from her second nap of the day our friends had left and Grandma and Grandpa Seep had arrived. We hung around the house and Kinley played with Grandma and Grandpa. After that Kevin and I took her to the arboretum for some fresh air and exercise. It was beautiful and not too hot out by the time we went. Unfortunately for Kinley she was pooped and fell asleep before fireworks started, so she missed out this year. Maybe next year.

Sunday evening we had a family get together at Kevin's Aunt's house. It was really nice to be together as a family and we got to see some relatives that we haven't seen for a while. Kevin's Aunt also has goats and there were a couple baby goats born 2 days ago. Kinley has become quite fearless lately trying to get into everything...

Here she is trying to pet the baby goat.

As you can see, we have been doing our part to stay active and expose Kinley to new things as much as possible. I think she is having a great time! (It has to be better than just hanging out with mommy and daddy at home like we used to do.)