Keziah is 4 years + 11 months!

 

Isn't she stinkin' adorable?

 I don't want to write, I just want to show her off!  Maybe I will write more some other time!

Keziah is 4 years + 9 months!!

My beautiful Keziah!   She got herself dressed today!  Pretty good, huh?  She insisted on the pink shiny belt!  She will wear pretty much anything that sparkles!  She is my glamor girl!  But refuses to ever have anything done with her hair.  She is extremely strong-willed but like my Aunt always says, "the world needs people like that too!"  She's right and I try not to squelch that personality!  Keziah loves to play with mommy.  I can't believe how much she follows me around just begging me to play with her.  I love her to death and try to remember that someday she will be grown up and won't want to play anymore!  She is so sweet but sometimes her persistence is exhausting!  With school starting tomorrow I keep thinking her teacher has no idea what is coming to her!  Something tells me that her teacher is going to love her though!!  Keziah is pretty excited about this new adventure in her life and is already asking if she can stay full days instead of just half!  For now we are going to keep her at MWF half days.  I'm sure I won't be able to resist letting her stay all day especially if she is really enjoying it.  Keziah is super smart too and the afternoon is when they do more school type stuff like math and science.  We went a couple days ago for a 'meet the teacher' type thing and Keziah insisted on bringing her walkie talkies that she made out of colored pencils and duct tape (she laid them all out on the floor in the shape of a walkie talkie and then just started taping)!  Her teacher was really impressed with her creativity!  She is a creative one, that's for sure!

I can't believe my baby is getting so big and already ready for school!  She has a few great Christian friends that will be in class with her and I am so looking forward to seeing her shine!  God has great things in store for her, I can't wait to see what the school year brings!  I pray that she puts that leadership personality to good use for the glory of our Heavenly Father!  What better place then in the classroom!!

Keziah is 4yrs. + 1 Month!

Just pictures this month...life is just a little too busy right now to do anything more!  I will make sure to say a lot next month...hopefully!!

Keziah is FOUR YEARS OLD!!!

Keziah is already four!  I can't believe how fast time goes by!  Look at how beautiful she is.  The top one was pictures I took 2 days before her birthday.  She got her hair cut and styled so I just had to take pictures!  The next group is of her on her birthday!  That morning we woke up and she got to open one gift-a dress up magnetic doll set.  She got to eat a special egg/toast breakfast, and later in the morning Grandma Uglum came and painted her nails a glittery silver and even used a nail dryer.  She felt pretty special to get her nails done!!  For lunch we went to McDonald's (her choice of course) and ate and played.  That night Grandma and Grandpa Uglum came over for some homemade pizzas (per Kezzie's request), sugar cookies, and of course a couple more presents!  Some clothes from g-ma and pa and her owl towel for her new owl bathroom!  She wore it everywhere the whole night!  She had a great birthday but I think she will be even more excited when she has more family and friends for her big birthday party!

Keziah has such a sweet personality but is really very sneaky in a lot of ways.  She is persuasive and kniving too!  I often have to remind her that Jesus doesn't like it when we lie!  She is such a love bug and still likes to cuddle me.  I hope that never ends!  She thrives on one on one attention and usually will request to read a book or do a craft during our alone time.  She loves her daddy a lot but I would say she still prefers her mom!  Keziah recently counted past 100 (with a little prompting on the next tens digit after 39-40, 50, 60, etc).  She knows how to spell her name and Adah's name and thinks she is spelling a lot of other things too.  Everything usually starts with a 'T' and ends in a 'Y'.  I just pretend like I don't know how to spell everything she knows how to spell and ask her what she is spelling.  I do correct her sometimes too so she can learn how things are really spelled.  She really has no interest in learning how to write things but does point out letters she has written while she is drawing.  She still has a very loud voice and has started talking a lot about cheer leading someday!  I guess she would be perfect for it!  She even spent some of her early birthday money on a megaphone and pom poms!!  I was never a cheerleader but we have had fun coming up with some fake cheers for the Chickasaws and Hawks!  She's really good at saying, "Go Red!"

Here is a picture of me at 4 years old...resemblance?  I don't think she looks like me too much, but I do see this look on her face sometimes!

Happy Birthday to my 'baby' girl!!!

UPDATE:  Keziah had her four year old well child visit today (12/8/11).  She weighed in at 36.7 lbs. and 41.5" tall.   She didn't have to have any shots today...whew!!!

Keziah is 47 MONTHS!!

My sweet Keziah!!!  What else could you expect but a lot of silly faces?!  She is a character!  She will often make Adah laugh at the dinner table with all her silliness!
Keziah has become increasingly interested in letters.  She tries to put letters together and then ask me what it spells.  After supper Austin will sometimes ask if he can have a t-r-e-a-t.  She knows what he is asking so she tries to do the same.  She has caught on to the first three letters but everything after that doesn't make sense.  I love that she is trying though.  She is so smart!  We have a workbook that we do when I think about it and she loves to identify words that start with different letters but hates to try to write her letters.  I have successfully gotten her to write A!  That is seriously as far as we've gotten. A lot of times though she will be coloring/drawing and she will bring me her paper with excitement of a letter she has written.  She's funny!
We got her a new hat and belts this month.  She is pretty happy about both!  She wears her hat everywhere but the convenience of not wearing a belt (and letting her pants fall) takes priority over the style of it.  She wore one that coordinated with every outfit for about 2 weeks and then decided it wasn't worth it!  I agreed since she is so good about taking herself potty and a belt requires help!  Keziah has gotten really good about putting her hair behind her ears by herself.  This might seem silly to take note of, but as a girl who refuses to most of the time let me put anything in her hair to keep it out of her face, this is a big deal!
At night Keziah continues to suck her paci (oh the shame) and still needs a pull up.  She will wake dry some mornings but we wouldn't want to chance going without it.  We used to wake her at night and take her potty and she would have more dry pull-ups that way but it just wasn't worth waking her and it didn't seem like it was really training her to do it herself.  She will get there on her own someday!  She also requires quite the array of animals/blankies in her bed.  She has a row of small stuffed animals that sleep head to toe in a row down the side of her bed (opposite of the wall) and then they get covered up by a blanket so they don't fall out...then she has two little square taggie blankets.  One goes under her head (it is pink/green) and the other she rubs (red/blue).  She also has a chick and a horse (both small stuffed animals) that she holds onto while she sleeps.  She has the whole corner of her bed that is against the wall covered in other animals.  I have to clean it out every so often because she sneaks other ones in there.  When we go stay other places like in a hotel or at my parents or friends, she doesn't require all of that though (thank goodness).  She is happy to have the basics: her red blankie, pink blankie, horse and chick!  Another thing Keziah requires at night is pants.  She has several nightgowns that she loves but she refuses to wear them without pants.
I love my big girl so much and can't wait to see what this next month and year are going to bring for her.  Soon she will be a big FOUR years old!!!

Keziah is 46 months!!

Here is my Kezzie...so sweet and silly!
Keziah's current favorite color is back to blue and her favorite tv show is Wild Kratts.  Kezzie loves making silly faces (can you tell?)!  She loves to make her sister laugh.  She has a teaching personality so anytime she can tell Adah is learning something from her, it makes her do it more (sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good!).  I am sure I have said this before but Keziah really likes to organize/categorize things.  Recently we bought some beads that you can snap together to make jewelry.  There are several of each type of bead.  The container holds 500 beads and she sorted them all out by color and shape, etc.  We also recently got out a memory game we have.  She has had fun categorizing the different pictures into animals, food, etc.  She does this with her kitchen food also!  She puts them into fruits and veggies and sweets (she's not always right with this!).
Keziah is still doing a great job with her chores.  I have seen some great improvement with remembering to do them herself without being asked.  One of the chores she has trouble remembering is to make her bed.  It's hard when she is sleepy when she wakes up and is focused on coming downstairs to find me.  She gets two chances a day though since she still takes naps.  If she doesn't get it done in the morning then she can still do it after her nap is over.  I don't know if this is a good, bad or doesn't really matter idea!  It's working for now and I think that little bit of leniency is helping her work into that responsibility!  She gets it done on most days!  And those are the days she gets stickers!
As for the calendar I told you to hold me to...I haven't gotten that done.  I guess she heard me talking about it because she doesn't do it as bad anymore.  Either that or I am getting better at giving her a heads up of what is coming.  I think it helps that we are in a pretty good routine now with Austin in school too.
One personality problem we are having with Keziah is she secretly thinks she is the boss (pretty typical, I'm sure). Although if you ask her she will correctly respond saying, "mommy and daddy are the bosses", she thinks she can tell us 'no' when she doesn't want to do something we tell her to do. This gets her in so much trouble lately.  Usually she gets sent to time out to which she typically responds yelling 'NO' and then she has to go directly to her room.  I don't know how to better handle a child who is flat out choosing to disrespect/disobey by saying no.  Any pointers would be strongly considered!!
I went through a bunch of clothes, that used to be Austin's, for my nephew and found a few that were too small for him but actually would fit Keziah.  I didn't think she would care too much for all the boy clothes I found but when I showed them to her, she was ecstatic.  They are all pretty boyish.  Mostly just jammies.  But she loves them all.  She of course had to try everything on!  There is one pair in particular that has a bunch of different sports balls all over it.  She came running to me saying, 'look mom, this one has a pocket even.'  She was so excited.  When she got over to me she had her hand in the little boy hole in the FRONT of the pants!  Pretty funny stuff!!  I didn't know what else to tell her except the truth!

Well, not much else to write. It won't be too long and I will be planning a duel birthday party! My girls are getting so big!

Keziah is 45 MONTHS!

Keziah is so much fun to be around.  I have to be careful to not treat her too much like my friend because I feel so lucky to get to hang out with her every day.  She makes me laugh with her silliness, she amazes me with her opinionated-ness, she makes me look at her in awe with how awesomely blessed I am.  I am so thankful every day that God blessed me with her. 
Some of the things she says/does that make me laugh:
Adah made a frustrated grunting noise/sigh and Keziah goes, "I feel the same way Adah!"
She always requires 2 hugs, a regular kiss, an eskimo kiss and a butterfly kiss before nap and bed.
While at the river she had a few funny comments:
Keziah really wanted to go on the dock by herself (with a life jacket on) and I told her she couldn't be down there alone because nobody would know it if she fell in even with a life jacket on.  In a very irritated and 'duh mom' kind of voice she replied, "I won't be by myself, mom, because Jesus is always with me."  I honestly didn't know what else to say after that, except that the answer was still no!  She continued on to say something about him being in her heart and going wherever she goes.  So sweet and totally caught me off guard.
One of the days at the river I took Keziah on the dock to catch some fish.  We baited her hook and she cast it in.  She caught a keeper within just a few minutes and was very excited.  Later in the day she was down on the dock fishing with my cousin and she caught a little fish (not a keeper) and brought it to me to take off the hook.  When I got it off I didn't even give it any thought before throwing it back in the river without an explanation.  She immediately responded saying, "Hey, I was going to eat that."  I told her something about how it wasn't big enough to eat and that she should try for a bigger one.  She said, "yeah, you are right.  Someday it will grow into a mom or a dad so he needs to grow some more."

I can't even remember all the things she says that crack me up.  Most of the time she isn't even trying to be silly it's just the way her brain thinks!

Unlike many kids her age, Kezzie isn't starting pre-school this year.  Personally, I think it's a waste of money and frankly I'm not ready for her to be that involved in the school system yet!  She's got many years of school ahead of her and she isn't old enough to go to Kindergarten next year so why not wait at least one more year!  I wanted to have some sort of structure though for her age and so I went on my quest to see what a stay-at-home mom should do with a pre-schooler.  I learned that ever since she was born she has basically been in pre-school.  There isn't anything we don't do on a daily basis that doesn't teach her something.  Keziah is incredibly smart and could actually do very well in kindergarten right now according to the things she needs to know to be ready!  Keziah can easily count to 39 without any help and beyond that as long as I say 40, 50, etc. to get her started.  Kezzie knows her ABCs and can easily recognize each letter and the sound they make.  Keziah can say her first, middle and last name and can spell her first without even thinking about it!
Since I learned there isn't much 'structural' pre-school type teaching I need to do, I decided to work on just daily skills.  So this month we went a bit further with her listening chart and made it a reward chart also.  She has five chores that need to be done throughout the day.  I took a picture of each chore and printed it, laminated it and put it in an envelope labeled 'to do'.  There is another envelope labeled 'done'.  At the end of the day if she has all five pictures in the 'done' envelope then she gets a sticker on her chart.  She still earns stickers for listening, helping when asked, being kind to Adah in tough situations, etc.  And when she earns 10 stickers then she gets to pick a new book (I bought several books from the bargain store on B&N).  She can also still lose stickers though too.  I have a marker that I put an X over one of her stickers and she has to place another sticker on top of it before continuing on toward her 10 stickers.  So far, this has immensely improved her actions.  I still need to work on remembering to reward her and making sure to pay attention when she deserves to be rewarded.  I also need to be more diligent to catch her when she is whining and give her an X right away if needed (she gets one warning before the X goes on)!
Another thing we are starting to work on is Bible verse memorization.  I found a list of good verses on the internet for pre-school age children and Kezzie is doing great.  She is such a whip at memorizing things, she is going to continue to do well at this!  The bible says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11.   Another bible verse I like about verse memorization is, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 2:14-17.  I feel this really strongly on my heart for Keziah and am excited to see how God uses this in her life.  Another reason why I am so blessed to be home with my kids!
One thing I am hoping to get going sometime this next month is a calendar for Keziah.  One of the biggest challenges/annoyances I face with Kezzie is her always wanting to know what is coming next.  The next hour, the next morning, the next whatever.  I get frustrated because she asks it so frequently throughout the day.  I think if I had a daily/weekly calendar for her to look at she could see what is coming and maybe be more settled.  I think it's normal for her age but I also think it is a big part of her personality to need to always know what to expect...so this is a goal of mine and you can hold me to it in her next month post!
Until next time...

Keziah is 44 MONTHS!!

Not much to speak of except that Keziah is such a beautiful little girl.  Is that anything new though?  I guess maybe next  month I will have something to report...for now some pictures will have to do!

Keziah is 43 MONTHS!

Here she is...another month older!  She is so hilarious and getting so big!  She is becoming more interested in playing with Adah.  She doesn't treat her so much like a baby anymore and instead considers her a friend and playmate!  Sometimes she will try to get her to do things that Adah really doesn't want to do and that's when she gets herself into trouble, but for the most part they are playing really well together!  Kezzie has taken an increase interest in her babies these days too!  She plays with them for longer periods of time, feeding them and putting them to bed.  She will also strap them into her baby backpack and carry them around.  It's nice to see her being so caring and gentle!
I only have one funny quote that I can remember from this month: Kezzie was sitting at the dinner table eating breakfast and I was putting her hair up and she very matter-of-factly said, "Mom, my magic wand is right over there if you want to change me into a beautiful girl!"  The conversation continued from there (as if that wasn't cute enough)...I said, "I don't need that, you are already a beautiful girl!"  To which she responded saying, "you are too, mom!"  I love our little conversations!
Something strange/funny I discovered about Kezzie this month is that she talks and moves A LOT in her sleep.  Earlier this month she woke me in the middle of the night screaming STOP, STOP, STOP!  I didn't go check on her because she was quiet after that, but a little later she said something to the same effect but with more words and whining.  It sounded just like a fight she daily has with her brother! I'm pretty sure he must have been tickling her to death in her dream or something!  Another instance was when I was at my parents' house and was sharing a room with her and Adah.  I was extra in tune to the noise around me because I didn't want them waking each other up.  Keziah was seriously lifting and dropping her legs up and down and it was loud.  She was also talking gibberish.  I went over to her bed to see what the problem was and there was no response, she was out cold!  Adah never woke up either!  The plan is to someday soon have Kezzie and Adah sharing a room so I hope this isn't ever a problem.  One more thing I wanted to mention about Kezzie is her love for picking her silverware at mealtime.  I don't even get her utensils anymore.  I just instruct her to come pick her own out because every time I do I get the wrong ones.  The only time I can get it right is when a certain set is clean.  The set that you get free from Gerber when you have a baby!  They are tiny and she loves them.  If those are dirty then she has to see it for herself and will usually pick the next smallest ones she can find.  Just a little strange fact about her!!
There was a day this month (the last week) that I really felt like Kezzie got bigger.  She just woke up acting more mature, looking bigger, listening more, and just plain seemed bigger.  I think I looked at her funny the whole day because she was just different.  I saw my sister a couple of days later and she said the same thing!  I am so blessed to have this sweet girl in my life and love watching her learn every day!  What a big girl she is becoming!

Keziah is 42 months!

Keziah is an amazing little girl.  She is so sweet and learning so much about how to be a better daughter, sister and person!  She is learning to listen and be kind on a daily basis and challenges these things quite often. 

Some things about Kezzie:
-She is starting to get into organizing.  If I ask her what she is doing sometimes she will tell me "I'm orcanizing!"  It's so cute!
-I love how she analyzes things.  Today (5/8/11)  She was watching Nemo on the way to church.  The mom got eaten by a shark and she asked as series of questions: What happens when she gets in his teeth?  What happens when she gets in his throat?  What happens when she gets into his belly?  What happens after she is in his belly?  She is such a thinker and analyzer!
-Kezzie likes to read books she is familiar with to Adah.  Adah loves it and adores her big sister and her smartness!
-After recently seeing Leora (my cousin, Kezzie's second cousin) she has become a master at story-telling!  The day they were together Leora was teaching her how to write her story out on paper (only they were using napkins) and then presented their stories to the rest of us!  Kezzie's story on her napkin was only readable by her and consisted of many drawings only she could explain!
-We instilled a listening chart to help with listening and a couple different one on one times with mommy each day to cut down on whining.  The listening chart is an idea I got from my sister.  If Kezzie listens to our words on the first try then she gets a sticker.  When she gets 10 stickers she gets 1/2 hour on the computer.  This might seem kind of easy but truthfully she rarely earns one sticker in a day.  I think I need to find more instances where she is listening (maybe I am just used to it and not realizing it) so that she will get the concept a little more.  It's a training process for me too!  The other thing is she can lose stickers for certain things.  I don't like to do this too often but I have done it a couple times for when I am at a loss for anything else.  As for the one on one time, I have been putting Adah down for a nap at least a half hour before Kezzie so she and I can have time to do something together and I put Adah to bed a half hour early at night so Kezzie and I can read books or play something on the iPad together.  I do think this is helping eliminate some whining and complaining about being bored, etc.
-A recent conversation between Kezzie and I (as Adah is flipping off the top of the couch).  Me: Kezzie did you just show Adah how to do that? (this is a problem and Kezzie has been told umpteen times not to flip off the couch) Kezzie: slowly shaking her head no.  Me: Keziah, I am going to give you one more chance to tell me the truth, did you just flip off the couch?  Kezzie: slowly shaking her head yes she says, 'if I tell you the truth I will be set free, but if I lie it will trap me'.  We have a bookmark that we use in her devotional and it is Larryboy from the Veggietales and on the back it quotes, "A lie will trap you but the truth will set you free." (from the verse John 8:32).  Kezzie has a bit of trouble with telling the truth so this is something we talk about frequently!
We love you Kezzie and can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Keziah is 40 & 41 MONTHS!

My sweet Kezzie is another month older and another month older (I'm a little behind)!!  Here she is at 40 months old with her 'buga buga friend' (boxelder bug).  She insisted that he be in the picture with her.  She loves these things...if she sees one crawling around the house she will get really excited and play with it/let it crawl on her until she kills it or it flies away.  She really likes bugs! 

She is so grown up and such a sweetie!  She is so smart too...I am AMAZED!  She knows all her letters by recognition and the sound they make.  This makes things easier sometimes.  For example: when it's time to take her vitamin for the day I just tell her what letters to look for on her pill box pertaining to the day it is and she finds it!  This has also sparked an interest in the days of the week and months.  She has known her colors for probably a year but only recently she has become interested in them again.  She likes games that ask her to match colors, puzzles having to do with colors, etc.  She also knows her numbers, I'm not sure how high she can count though.  I know she understands the concept of counting but I haven't ever had her count really high.  I am also unsure of how many numbers she can actually recognize.  I know she knows up to 10 for sure.  She recently learned how to spell her name too.  For a while she knew the first three letters but recently got it all down (mid April)!  Keziah is getting really good at praying at dinner.  She sometimes requires help but for the most part makes it up herself.  One thing she is sure to say every time is 'thank-you for our bodies'.   So sweet! One last thing I want to mention is that she talks about death...excessively.  I don't think it's anything to worry about I just think it's strange.  She's just so curious!  Brian's great Aunt Mable died not too long ago (and within a year or so before that she had been to two other funerals also) and she tells everybody her 'great grandma Nable died'.  Kezzie has a lot of questions pertaining to death and Mable specifically (she saw her in the casket and asks things like: what happened to her legs, why were her hands on her chest, why did she have glasses on if she is dead, etc).  One thing I want her to be sure to understand is that when you die you get to go to a wonderful place called Heaven and live with Jesus only if you have Jesus in your heart.  She repeats this information a lot when talking to me or others.  The other day (4/20/11) we were having our tenth conversation about death that day and it was like something new just clicked.  She stopped to think for a minute and then asked me, "Well, what if you don't have Jesus in your heart?  Where do you go then?"  I thought that was such a grown-up kind of question that requires deep thought for a 3 year old.  I of course answered her with no sugar coating.  I said, 'Well, people who don't have Jesus in their hearts unfortunately go to hell'.  She asked what hell was and I told her it was a horrible place where a bad bad angle called the devil lives.  She went around saying 'hell is a berry berry bad place' the rest of the day!  She had many more questions about hell like: who is in hell?  are there ghosts in hell? where is hell?  what is hell like?  I cherish these sweet learning moments and am so thankful that she is learning the Truth about Jesus' love for us!  Here is our Kez at 41 months old!  Cute little pig tails.  I'm not sure the last time I put her hair up but she really loves it!

We love you sweet Kezzie!

Keziah is 39 MONTHS!

My beautiful, beautiful girl is another month older!  I can't believe how big she is getting!  Everyday she seems older and more mature and she's definitely getting more of a sense of humor!  I think she is learning well from her brother!!
Not much has changed from last month...Kezzie changed her favorite color!  This was a big deal because she has loved blue for as long as I can remember!  February 8th she got my attention because she had something important to say, she no longer liked blue, she loves purple!  And just like that she requested everything to be in purple!  Purple plate for supper, purple bowl for breakfast, purple cup, etc.!
Kezzie found a love for legos this month.  She got some for Christmas from my sister and she plays with them at least a couple times a day.  She likes to make towers but gets so frustrated when they fall over.  She also likes to make stairs for her little people to climb up.  Her favorite thing to make is a castle.  This, of course, requires help from mommy but when it's all done, she plays with it for a long time with her little people.  When she is done with it she lets Adah crash it and Adah loves this!
Keziah also spends a lot of her time playing basketball in the house.  This is a favorite for her and Austin to do together.  She is really quite good at it too.  She is going to be like her daddy and love basketball!  She hasn't exactly perfected a dribble, but she won't give up trying!  I love her persistence!
On Feb. 12 Keziah and I sat down and did a work sheet from her work book.  It was kind of an overview of the alphabet.  We work on letters but I haven't ever gone through the whole alphabet in one sitting with her.  She was able to match a sticker with a picture on it with each letter of the alphabet.  She did every letter except U (the picture was of an arrow pointing up).  I was AMAZED!
Kezzie is still in love with the Wiggles.  She frequently asks if we can go see them.  She will say, "it would be so cool if we could go see the Wiggles" (in a sad kind of voice).  I tell her it would cost a lot of money to go see the Wiggles because they live really far away!  She says, "I can go get my piggy bank!"  I tell her it would cost a lot more than that because we would have to get on a plane to go where they live.  She said, "I could shake my piggy bank and then there would be enough."  I wish that would work!  She is so sweet!
Kezzie gets to watch TV when she wakes up until I can get her breakfast.  She used to pick Dora to watch but lately she doesn't want anything to do with Dora and instead watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Dora has been her favorite for a really long time but just like that she was done with her.  She will still watch it if there isn't anything better, but it isn't her top pick!
Keziah still has a great love for books.  We have story time at our house around 1:15.  Kezzie gets to pick two books and Adah also gets to pick two.  They both sit very well for each other's books.  Kezzie also loves books on our iPad.  She knows how to find what she's looking for all on her own but sometimes I will still sit down with her and 'watch' the books be read to her.  There is an app on the iPad that gives a free book every day that you use it.  Kezzie looks forward to this every morning.  I am so glad she likes to read so much!  She is even still happy with babyish books!
Keziah is doing great sleeping at night and staying dry.  She had a set-back last month where she was having several accidents so we put her in a pull up every night.  I think we are getting close to trusting her again!  There's nothing worse than changing sheets in the middle of the night!  I don't think I have mentioned before that we gave Kezzie her paci back, yet again...hear me out...the dentist said she is doing a lot of damage by sucking her finger and that we should give her paci back.  Kezzie is a very serious finger sucker so in an attempt to get her mind off her finger a little I thought by giving her paci back, only while she is sleeping, that might help.  It seems to help a little.  She doesn't really suck it unless she is watching TV.  I don't know what to do anymore, honestly.  It's pretty exhausting but I need to remember that it is unlikely that she will still be sucking it when she is 20, so maybe I just need to relax on the matter!
She is waking around 6:30 every morning and still naps around 1:30/2-3:30/4.  She goes to bed around 8pm.  I think she must be growing because she is eating like a champ and complains that her legs hurt quite often.
OLD NEWS:  I forgot to put a couple things in Kezzie's last month post.  We removed her bedrail last month (1/18/11).  She hasn't fallen out of bed even once and was actually really excited to have it taken off.  It's just easier access to give hugs and kisses and much easier to make the bed (especially while changing all those sheets!).  Kezzie also stopped using the potty seat that sits on the big potty all on her own.  She thinks she is such a big girl and so proud of herself.  It grosses me out because she has to put her hands on the seat to get up and balance herself but she is getting good at washing her hands after she goes!  If there is anybody around that hasn't seen her get on the potty all by herself she will beg and beg for somebody, anybody to come see how big she is at getting on the big potty!  It is so sweet!  She does this with spitting out her big girl toothpaste too.  Sometime in the last month or three she started using toothpaste with fluoride which means she has to spit, she knows this is a big step in becoming a big girl and still asks if people (aka-anyone other than mommy) wants to come watch her spit.  It's so much fun growing up...that is until you are a grown up of course!  : )
I can't get enough of Kezzie's giggles and smiles.  She truly brightens my day!  I am always excited to see what the next day will bring!

Keziah is 38 MONTHS!

My beautiful big girl!  She is so much fun to be around!  So energetic and bubbly!  She daily sports the side pony as we continue to grow out her bangs.  I love it when she gets out of the bath and her bangs hang so far down her face and then I pull them over to the side to put the ponytail in, I just smile at her and say, 'there's my beautiful girl'.  She smiles back at me and will often give me a big hug or kiss!  I have many special moments with Keziah and I pray I continue to have these opportunities as she grows.  I pray she will always know how special she is! 
Some things we are struggling with right now are listening skills, repeated disobediences, bedtime potty accidents, screaming (either happy or mad screams), and the list goes on!  While these things are hard and very emotionally exhausting, there are many wonderful things going on too.  I watch her light up as she learns something new like her letters or a new number, or finally doesn't skip the numbers 16 and 17 on her way to 20, or as she spells the first three letters of her first name!  I watch her daily get excited to see Adah wake up in the morning.  I watch her share with Adah and be helpful when Adah needs it.  I watch her pretend like she is a mommy and most of all I watch her watch me the way that Adah watches her.  I am so blessed to have her learning from her mommy everyday and being able to have a hand in how she learns.  But I daily have to pray that my actions are what I would want her to learn...that is the trick!
Keziah has really started getting into board games and card games.  Some of the most recent ones are Don't Wake Daddy, Pop the Pig, Go Fish, Old Maid and Guess Who.  It's fun to have an activity to do together that I don't get totally bored at!  Kezzie has also started singing everything she says.  She will usually say it normal at first and then get something stuck in her head and just start singing it.  I don't even know if she notices she is doing it!
We love you Keziah and thank God for blessing our lives so richly by giving us you!

Keziah is 37 MONTHS!

I am doing quite well just to get pictures up this month with Christmas right around the corner.  I hope this will suffice until next month when I will have more time to write about her growth!  Isn't she such a cutie?!!

Family Pictures!

We decided to get family pictures taken this year by a professional photographer!  I love her work, she always does such a great job!  Thanks Ashley for the great work you do and how well you worked with my three kiddos!  Everyone please take a peak and leave a comment too.  If I get 25 comments in one week then I get a surprise and if I get 50 comments I get an even better one, so help me out!  I would love to hear what you have to say too!  Here is the link: http://ashleyschrage.blogspot.com/2010/12/whole-family.html

And if you want to view the full gallery of photos, follow this link:  http://www.ashleyschragephotography.com/, click on client viewing at the bottom right, then personal galleries, and then Uglum family.
the email address is: mybabadj@yahoo.com
the password is: AKA3

Let me know your favorites by emailing me to help me have an easier time choosing!  I would really appreciate it!  It's going to be pretty tough!

Keziah is 35 MONTHS!

Here she is...my almost THREE year old!  I can't believe it!  She is starting to love the camera even more and insisted on me taking her picture in these different poses.  She is so beautiful!  She is lacking in clothes that actually fit her so in a trip to target I let her pick one shirt.  I gave her two choices and she of course picked the blue one (this has been her favorite color for a while now).  So this is the shirt she picked and I think it looks so good with her hair/eye color.
Keziah is officially fully potty trained!  It's amazing that almost a year and a half ago Kezzie was mastering staying dry during the day and now, finally, I can say even at night she is staying dry!  Ever since she was sick in early October she has been staying dry at night.  Around the same time she really started to complain about not wanting to wear a diaper at night.  She just didn't like the way they felt.  When she started feeling better she had a little hiccup and wet the bed three nights in a row.  As much as I hated changing/washing bedding I was determined to not give up!  And Kezzie was determined not to go back to diapers (I even asked her).  I decided to try a different idea...no fluids after 6:30pm and I wake her to go potty before I go to bed around 10 (sidenote: I don't want to forget something Brian said...partly because he was the one that said it but also because it is so true.  One night when I went to bed early Brian volunteered to take Kezzie to the potty.  When he came to bed after taking her potty he said something like 'she looks so peaceful when you tuck her back in, almost as if she is smiling she is so warm and cozy and happy to be back in her bed' and it's so true.  She looks so precious).  She hasn't had an accident since!  In the beginning she was waking in the morning between 5 and 6AM because she had to pee so bad and then she wouldn't go back to bed.  During this time she would run down to our room to get us up to help her go, but then we changed some things to allow her more independence.  For instance, she has to have pants on that are tight around the ankles so they won't fall off when her legs are hanging from the toilet.  If we forget this, she will wake us in her sleepiness yelling from the upstairs bathroom.  She has even woke Adah doing this-not an experience I really want to re-live! Also on the same note of how she is dressed-she literally only has her jammies on.  If she has undies on she will have the same frustration/yelling when she tries to pull them up.  She is tired and doesn't want to deal with them bunching up and getting rolled so we just eliminate them altogether.  Requirement #2...she has to have lights.  Lights are key!  When she goes potty by herself she has to have the light on.  In order for her to turn the light on there has to be a second stool in the bathroom (see requirement #3) to allow her to reach on her own.  And also she has to have the potty all set up-meaning she needs her potty seat on the toilet and a stool up next to the toilet.  It seems like a lot more work then it is.  And it is so worth it if she isn't waking me to do something she has been doing so well by herself during the day for the last year and  half!  I sometimes even hear her get up at 3AM to take herself potty and then head back to bed.  What a big girl!  I am so proud of her!
Kezzie has become a SUPER picky eater.  This makes for a very annoyed mommy and a lot of drama at the dinner table.  I mean A LOT!  Any tips in this area are encouraged!  I honestly can't tell you anything I am for sure she will eat.  Her reaction is different from time to time of making the same thing!  I think it is her age because she has also become very demanding.  ie: 'I WANT TO WATCH DORA!' (while hitting her fist on the couch), 'GET ME SOME KETCHUP' (with a very pouty face).  The list goes on!  Let's just say she is taking a lot of deep breaths, taking a lot of time outs, and giving out a lot of apologies!
One of Keziah's favorite things to do with Adah is play on beds or in Adah's crib.  Almost every day when Adah wakes from her nap Kezzie will ask, "Please open Adah's door?"  In a nutshell she is asking me if it is ok to go in Adah's room, put hundreds of toys in her crib, proceed to climb into her crib and then have tons of fun with Adah laughing and giggling and squealing!  I listen to them over the monitor and just smile at how much their relationship is growing!  I eventually go in there to break up the fun and to discover exactly how many toys/stuffed animals Kezzie has carted from her room into Adah's crib and then promptly help Kezzie put all the animals and toys back where they belong so the crib is ready for its next use!  Adah equally enjoys joining Kezzie in her bed.  There is a step stool next to Kezzie's bed that Adah has become a pro at climbing.  She will go straight for it every chance she gets.  You really have to watch her on Kezzie's bed because the only thing keeping her from falling off is a bed rail.  The two of them get pretty wild up there hiding under the covers and plopping on their backs saying 'whoa' (Adah says this with her eyes!).  They have so much fun together!  Keziah equally loves Austin's company.  She is enjoying following his lead and doing pretty much anything she is asked.  He is her favorite wrestling opponent and breakfast buddy and the one person she loves to fight with the most!  And secretly she is all those things for him too!
Keziah is doing excellent with her letters.  She can recognize almost all of them and has recently started to try writing some of the more simple ones (i and l, o, t, etc.)  And she continues to get more confident with counting.  She has even started counting backwards from 10 missing a couple until she reaches 5 and then it's smooth sailing!  Good-bye until next month...it will be here before we know it!

Keziah is 34 MONTHS!

(The big blob on the side of Kezzie's face is a princess tattoo, in case you are wondering!)
I am in total shock as I start to think about planning Keziah's 3rd birthday party!  I can't believe my baby is getting so big.  And you can see in these pictures she has an attitude to go with it!  She is loving life and enjoying every day God gives to her!

Keziah is 33 MONTHS!

This girl is nothing but fun! Just look at her personality in the pictures! I'm not sure what that new smile is all about though (top left corner)! And she really likes tilting her head to the side! I am seeing that more and more these days! There are a lot of things about her that crack me up or impress me about her but I am so horrible at keeping track of these things. Here are a few of the many...
She has discovered that she can use her fingers to show an amount (ie: she shows two fingers for her age, or if she wants to read three books she holds up three fingers!). It seems like she purposely finds reasons to do this!
She is really getting into letters (this goes in spurts). Lately her favorite game is Boggle Jr. And when she completes an image she always wants a high five...so cute! She can tell and show me many letters of the alphabet. We have a book with all the letters in it and I can ask her to point to a certain letter on the page and she can do this with almost all the letters. She can also tell me what most of them are. This is a little more difficult! She is also really starting to recognize a few words in books and can read me almost word for word/page by page a book she is familiar with. And when she just knows what is happening on each page she will tell it in her own words. I love hearing the things she picks up on.
She loves the camera right now...not necessarily having her picture taken, but taking pictures! If I forget she has the camera, she can rack up 50 pictures without me even knowing it...until I go to clear the memory card!
Kezzie is having a really hard time having her door closed all the way. This might have something to do with staying at the Thilges house when Alanna was born. I never closed the door all the way and she got really used to that.
Kezzie's absolute favorite color is blue right now. Everything she picks HAS to be blue. She will boldly state 'blue is my favorite color, what is your favorite color, but it isn't blue.' I guess she is the only one allowed to like blue!
Keziah loves to gargle. This is her new thing she has learned this month. I have had to tell her it isn't allowed at the dinner table because it is rude otherwise she will do it every time she takes a drink!
One of my favorite things Kezzie says right now is 'I love you, mom'. She will sometimes get mad if I respond with 'I love you too' because she just wants me to accept her compliment and just take it for what it is and not always respond. She does this with hugs too. Sometimes she will give me a hug and tell me not to hug her back because 'I just want to give you a hug, mom'. I was always wondering why she sometimes wouldn't hug me back she just kind of leans in to me and lets me hug her!
Keziah has been fighting with Adah a lot more. She takes everything Adah tries to play with and will put it across the room or up where Adah can't reach. She doesn't even keep it for herself. Just ornery! And now that Adah is pulling herself up to things (8/11) she gets stuck because she can't get back down. So although Kezzie thinks she is just helping, she will release Adah's hands from whatever is supporting her causing Adah to fall to the floor, sometimes flat on her back. Poor girl!
Brian and I have noticed that Kezzie's voice seems hoarse. It could be allergies but it's been going on for a while now and even before allergy season started. We are wondering if her voice is changing a little. It sounds different. Like not so babyish!
Kezzie has been going down for nap with undies on and waking in the night to go pee which allows her to wake in the morning dry. I really think we are on our way to fully being potty trained!
Kezzie wakes in the morning around 7 and really could take or leave breakfast but she LOVES her fluids. It is a must that she have something to drink upon waking up! She gets hungry for lunch by noon and lays down for an hour to hour and a half nap around 1:30. She always wants something to drink when she gets up and almost always wants a snack. It is rare that she will wake up happy from her nap too. She is ready for supper between 5 and 6 and almost always wants a dessert or treat of some kind afterwards! I don't mind as long as she eats all her supper. She gets to read two books and a devotional before going to bed by 8. We compromise on the door situation which means the door stays open during her nap but has to be closed at bed (which means she can't get out of her room without being let out). In the morning she lets us know she is awake by saying 'mom, I'm awake' and then she is allowed to get up and play or read books until I come up to let her out. She does really well with this most of the time. Sometimes if she clearly got up on the wrong side of the bed she will just yell that same phrase over and over like a broken record...this makes for a mom who gets up on the wrong side of the bed so if she does this she doesn't get to watch her episode of Dora in the morning. I don't think we have had that problem in a while!
Well, I know this is a long one, but don't ever feel obligated to read all the mumble jumble...it's just for me so I can remember these precious moments forever!

Keziah is 32 MONTHS!

My photographer suggested to try different angles so that is what I did this month and I was suprised at how I liked them. I am definitely far from being a photographer but at least there's a little variety!

Keziah is growing up so much. I love her personality and yet some days it's really hard to deal with! She is so outgoing and persistent and a go-getter. That's the best and nicest way to put it! We are working hard on listening before we have to discipline. And the whining...it's almost unbearable. Do all girls whine or just mine? We have decided now that it is time to leave the blankie in bed only since that was causing a whole nother list of problems. She was becoming super attached to it, chewing and sucking on it, etc.

Kezzie's day is still pretty much the same as usual. She goes to bed by 8/8:30 and wakes up by 7/7:30. She still takes an afternoon nap (thank the Lord) whenever Adah is ready for hers between 1 and 2. Her days consist of swimming, TV (around an hour a day-sometimes more sometimes less), books-lots of books, pestering her brother and loving on her little sister. Life would be so empty without her. She brings so much laughter into our lives...here are a couple funnies from Kezzie:
We had plans to go out with some friends for ice cream in CF...I went in to wake Kez up from her nap so we could go and when I walked into the room where she was sleeping (we were at my parents') we had a conversation that went something like this:
Me: Hi sweetie, do you want to go get ice cream with Levi and Naomi and Isaiah?
Kezzie-while still laying down shrugged her shoulders and said: Well, I'd love to but...I have to go to school. Maybe me go next time! And shrugged her shoulders again.
She must have been dreaming about something!

Another funny story is: every time we are on a walk at the river we walk by a cabin that has various holiday decor out (strange, I know). One of the things in a tree is a Santa. For the longest time Kezzie would boldly state as we walked by "Look mom, there's Noah" (like Noah from Noah's Ark-because of the beard I guess!). I didn't even think to set her straight on the concept until we were on a walk with my sister and she asked me if I ever told her who it really was. I always thought it was so cute that she thought it was Noah that I never told her any different! I think Kezzie knows who it is now!

There are so many conversations that Kezzie and I have with each other, I wish I could have a recorder on her all the time. She is hilarious and can carry on such a long conversation with you. It's so much fun!

Keziah is 31 MONTHS!

I can't believe it either...she is another month older! How does this happen? Time is going by so quickly and the saying is true "Time flies when you are having fun" and nothing describes life better with the kids God has given me!

Kezzie is getting smarter, of course! She has been able to count to 10 for a long time now but this month learned how to make it to 20. Just recently she started to count beyond 20. If you help her get started she can usually continue on to 30. She will frequently miss a number here and there though! Still, very impressive! Another thing she is doing is she is 'measuring things'. She will stretch out a toy or piece of string and say 'twenty pounds' as if to say its length. So cute! She says the same thing when she is weighing herself too. I suppose the doctor's office is where she is getting the idea from!

Every morning Kezzie gets the farm animals out of her barn and lines them up. They can't ever be lined up on the floor though, they must be standing on some kind of pedestal. She gets frustrated if she can't find something to stand one of them on. She pretty much leaves them to sit there for the rest of the day until clean up and then she does it all over again the next day. She has recently even started lining up the animals from her Little People Noah's Ark set.

She isn't doing the greatest at listening these days. I am sure it is her age but I feel like I am failing miserably as a parent...any tips on getting her to do better with this would be great!

Kezzie is starting to say the funniest things-some that make sense and some that I can see how she would think they make sense. I will be starting to record these so I can share them with you and keep them for my own records! She makes me laugh so much by her goofiness! I just love this girl!

Still her favorite thing, by far, is the Wiggles. However, Dora is coming in a very close second. I think she struggles with who she wants to watch between the two every time we get in the car for a long ride.

Kezzie has really taken an interest in Adah lately. She loves to make her laugh and smile. She will copy things that I do to get Adah to smile (ie: if I pretend laugh uncontrollably to Adah she will laugh hysterically-Kezzie will do this at random times, sometimes it works!). She is also a very big helper when I need a burp clothe or Adah's paci. I have also caught her rubbing Adah's head to soothe her when she is crying. And very often Kezzie is quick to show Adah off to people at the grocery store or wherever we venture out to. You better believe that there is also another extreme to this relationship! Kezzie HATES to share (so abnormal, huh?) and will pretty much do whatever it takes to get her toys away from Adah. I have witnessed some brutal behavior coming from such a tiny person! She will shove her, poke her and just plain yank a toy right out of her mouth/hands if she doesn't want her to have it. Kezzie will always claim that it isn't safe for Adah to have and that's why she is taking it away. What a great Love/Hate relationship!

I can't express enough how incredibly blessed we are. God has given me an enormous job and responsibility. It is a great journey that He is leading me on!