Hackmans!

Today we had a couple visitors. A friend of Brian's came to visit. This is Shaun and Jack. Jack is about 7 months old. Kezzie really enjoyed sharing her toys and seeing someone smaller than her! It's so cute how kids relate to other kids!

14 in all!

Kezzie's top eye teeth have started coming in now...that brings the total up to 14. She hasn't been very fussy with these, thankfully. She was up one night this week several times, but that's it! Maybe they get easier as they get older! Let's hope! They aren't very far through yet either so we'll see how she does as they start pushing through further! She will be chomping carrots in no time!

14 Months Old!!

Kezzie turned 14 months old today! I took these pictures in the morning after she woke up! She does have a calm side to her! In the first one she decided to play a little peek-a-boo...the second one she was thinking, 'Let's just get this over with so I can have breakfast!' She is so big! And so much fun to be around! We are having a blast building towers with blocks, figuring out shapes, playing in her pretend kitchen, reading lots of books, and chasing the dogs! She loves the dogs! There is never a dull moment when she is awake!

Kezzie is still nursing 3 times a day and still takes two naps a day. She is doing really well on solids but still hates whole milk. She has pretty much given up the rice cereal but still has it on occasion. She is growing like a weed...I can't believe she is growing up so fast.

And she is incredibly smart. Now, I know she's my daughter so I have to say that, but she is really smart! You can teach her just about anything and she gets it. She is saying so many things lately. She watches your mouth to see how you say it and then she will give it her best try. Sometimes it sounds nothing like it but you can tell she is eager to learn! A couple of her new words are 'cheese' and 'chicken', among many others. One really funny thing I have to make note of is that she is obsessed with baby wipes. Actually any kind of wipes. She pulls several at a time out of the dispenser and shoves them in her mouth as fast as she can before I can take them away. She sucks the liquid out of them and sniffs them. I don't intentionally let her do this, of course, but she does it every chance she gets. Even the sanitizing wipes. I use them to clean the tables and her high chair and occasionally her hands and she tries to eat them. Even with the biter nasty taste (yes I tested it to see what is so great about them) she still wants to suck on them. She's so sneaky, you really have to watch her!!

Kezzie and daddy have a fun game she loves to play...she grabs the remote and daddy chases her. She knows how much daddy hates it when she has the remote (and yes, sadly she knows exactly what to do with it) so she will 'run' as fast as she knows how and she giggles and screams until he catches her and then they giggle and scream together. It's so great to see her play with him! They have a lot of fun together and Brian is a great dad!

I know I say it every month and that still doesn't seem like it's enough but God has blessed us so greatly with the kids that we have. They are such an incredible gift to us. We are so thankful He has entrusted their lives to us. What an awesome responsibility!

Yeah! Kezzie can stand!

As you know, Kezzie has been walking for a while now. But as soon as she falls, she has to resort to crawling or walking on her knees until she can get near something to help her stand up...that is not the case anymore! Today she taught herself to stand up without anything to hold onto! I am so proud of her! And she is so proud of herself every time she does it. She plants one foot on the floor and you can see it in her eyes that she is concentrating on her balance as she lifts the other leg out from under her to a standing position! It's so adorable!

Weekend Fun!

It was a very busy but fun weekend. Originally we were just going to sit around and relax on Friday evening and thankfully we were doing just that when my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Perry and their four kids (plus a friend) showed up in their mini van that was having trouble. They live in MN so on their way to Cedar Falls, to celebrate the Smith family Christmas this weekend, they realized they were having some car trouble. It was a good thing they were in our town when it happened! We pulled it into the garage and he proceeded to find the problem only to find out the part he needed was in Cedar Falls. So my dad went and picked up the part and brought it to New Hampton. Him and my dad were able to get it fixed and they were all back on the road by about 9:30pm. I was really thankful for their misfortune because then I got to see them since Saturday we were unable to be at the Smith Christmas. We had plans of our own to drive to MN to attend Brady's first birthday party! It was a blast to hang out there and see Brady and Mat and Steph! Brady is getting so big...he is standing and walks while holding onto one hand. For his birthday he got some books, clothes and cute jammies. His Grandma Coyle brought over an old keyboard she had and Kezzie and Brady loved jamming out together! It was a short visit but a good time! We headed back home about 2:45pm and after battling the weather we arrived home about 6:15.

Austin was busy having a great time with the Smith's since my mom offered to watch him so he wouldn't miss out on the Christmas! My Aunt Jill always gets a hotel room when she comes to visit so that all the kids can go swimming together at the pool. Austin loves to swim so I am sure he was in heaven! Sunday morning Brian and I woke up to do our regular routine of church and then dinner at mom and dad's. We wanted to squeeze in some time to visit my Grandma Smith since she had just had surgery. So before going to church we stopped at her house! My grandma just adores Keziah and Keziah really loves playing catch with her dog!

Kezzie is going to be a piano player someday, I think (and I hope)! She right away saw Grandma Smith's piano and wanted to play it!

Sunday afternoon was different then usual. We headed back to the church because Kezzie and Bennett were getting dedicated at 3pm. There were several other kids being dedicated also! It was a special time for us to profess our faith and to commit ourselves to raising Kezzie to believe in Jesus and what he did for us on the cross. We are so blessed to have an awesome and loving God! I love the dress Kezzie wore because a friend of the family made that dress for me when I was Kezzie's age.

Goof Ball!

Kezzie found this hat in her closet yesterday (it was an old hat of Austin's) and absolutely loves it (and equally loves saying it). I guess that's not much of a surprise since she really likes her stocking cap.


This is Kezzie's new hang out when I am working in the office room. This is where the dogs sleep so I don't exactly love the idea of her playing in there but she has a blast and it keeps her busy. She loves to open and close the door and when she looks out the side she can see me sitting at the computer. When she wants me to look at her looking at me she sweetly says, "mama".

Kezzie is walking!

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Kezzie walks everywhere. She really started to walk a lot the week after Christmas. She is doing such a great job on her balance and can catch herself from almost any fall! She does still have one problem though...once she's fallen, she doesn't know how to stand back up if there isn't anything near by to assist her. This causes her to resort to walking on her knees...it's a pretty funny sight, but it gets her where she needs to go. At least until she can get near something that will help her get back on her feet! I still smile every time I see her waddling across the room...it's so precious!

Quite the look!

I don't know why, but Kezzie pulled these seat belt protectors out of her diaper bag and brought them to Austin. Austin strapped them on her arms and she loved it. She wears them often now. If you take them off she just wants them put back on. I now have them hidden since it has become a little bit of a problem!

Free Space!

Well, we have finally gotten all our Christmas decorations put away...where the tree once stood is an empty corner. There was a desk there that seemed to be a catch-all for mail and whatever else, but I'm not sure I want to put it back. I kind of like having the extra space for the kids to play in. I think I might move some of Kezzie's toys over there from the living room. She needs to become a little more independent! Plus, the living room is getting a little crowded with all her toys in there! For now, it's a fort and the kids are enjoying playing it in together! We'll have to see what else it becomes!

New Year's Eve/Day!

New Year's Eve Jamie and Keith came to hang out. We at a good meal of chicken cordon bleu together along with a lot of yummy sides. We got Kezzie to bed and soon after started playing games. Austin went with his dad just for the day, to celebrate Christmas with Linda's side of the family, so I was glad to have him back and celebrating with us. We played Sorry Sliders (Austin got it for Christmas), Rumis and Jamie's new Cranium Pop game. We had a lot of fun. Brian even played along and had a good time! Midnight was late...we watched the ball drop and then went straight to bed. Jamie and Keith ended up staying the night and although we had our flooding problem in November we were able to put the guest bed mattress on the basement floor for them to sleep comfortably. New Year's Day the Iowa Hawkeyes played in the Outback Bowl so Keith and Jamie stayed for that. It was great to have company and let the kids play with them. I think Kezzie and Austin enjoyed having them around! And so did I!