Major Milestones...

Sorry I haven't blogged very much lately. Between my Bible study homework and becoming an Arbonne consultant I've found myself a very busy woman... and loving every minute of it. As a new Arbonne consultant I've met some wonderful new people and have fallen in love with the product all over again. But enough about me.... I know you all read this to hear about Katelyn. =) I thought it would be fun to list some of her major milestones as of late.

1. Katelyn said "dada" on Valentine's Day

2. She said "nanananana" 2 days later, but we're still waiting for the "mama." She's so close!

3. Katelyn is able to pull herself up onto the couch by herself.

4. She now cruises along the furniture.

5. She can go from the couch to the glider ottoman to the coffee table and back. It takes her a while, but mostly because she keep stopping to make sure I'm watching her.

6. Katelyn's new favorite food is Cheerios. I'm pretty sure she'd eat them all day long if she could.

7. Katelyn can wave hello and goodbye

8. It's not a milestone but her top 2 teeth are going to make an appearance any day now. Can't wait, all the snot and drool is kinda gross!

Well that's all for now....

Love, Alissa

Baby Bidwell

Last night Bidwell kicked off their "Too Fine to be Unsigned" tour at Chain Reaction in Anaheim. I haven't been to a show in a while and was excited to hear the new music played live. When Katelyn was 6 weeks old we took her to Palm Springs for a Bidwell show, but I ended up hanging outside the venue the whole night because the little ear plugs didn't work in her ears. This time I was prepared. I ordered Peltor Kids hot pink headphones, the same ones that Gweneth Paltrow got Apple so that Katelyn could come with me to the show. I also took one of the Bidwell shirt designs and made Katelyn her own little Bidwell tee. Katelyn had so much fun at the show and the headphones worked great. I put Katelyn in the Ergo Carrier my Mom got for us. It's awesome! I love it so much more than the Bjorn because it's more comfortable for the baby and I can put her on my hip. She kicked her feet and raised her hands in the air during the set. Everyone thought she was so adorable! I have to say, I agree, she is pretty darn cute!!

Baby Bidwell Tee

Showing off the Baby Bidwell tee

"I'm a Baby Bidwell Rocker"

Before the show

Family picture after the show

Katelyn selling merch

Katelyn's the new Crunk girl

"check me out, I'm a rocker!"

brusha, brusha, brusha

My baby book says that when your baby's teeth come in and they are eating solid foods throughout the day it's important to brush their teeth. Who knew?! So I headed to Target to take a look at infant/toddler toothbrushes since Katelyn has her 2 bottom teeth in and we should be seeing the top 2 poke through any day now. I was amazed by the selection. I had no idea that they made toothbrushes for babies as young as 4 months old. I didn't find any toothpaste though, but I think I can hold off on that for a little while longer. Well, this morning while Kyle and I were brushing our teeth we thought we'd let Katelyn try out her new toothbrush. She loved it!! So much so that she decided she was a "big girl" and could do it herself. We had to get a couple of pictures for her memory book.

Katelyn's 8 Months Old

This afternoon Katelyn and I headed to Picture People to have Katelyn's 8 month old pictures taken. She battling a little bit of a cold, but that didn't stop her from flashing her beautiful smile for the camera. I went with a Valentine's Day theme this month.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well it's been a great morning so far, Katelyn said "dada" for the first time. Since we clap for her every time she does it, of course, she's repeating it over and over! What a wonderful Valentine's Day gift.

In other news, Katelyn is still trying to crawl up on everything. It wouldn't surprise me if she walked early, although when she does start walking I know Kyle and I are going to be constantly running after her. She's starting to look like a big girl and I think somedays she considers herself one too. Her top two teeth are about to poke through any day and she'll have 4 teeth!! Yikes! I have a feeling that the season of nursing might be coming to a close depending on how she does with 4 teeth.

Today Kyle and I are going to check out a craftsman style home in Orange we found. It's so ironic that we wanted to move to Tennessee and buy a craftsman style home and yet we found one here. It's amazing how God works. No promises that this house is for us, but it's always fun to look. Plus is always fun to get out of the house and spend time as a family.

Much love to all our friends and family today! You all mean the world to us!!

Love, Kyle, Alissa & Katelyn

Happy 1st Valentine's Day

On Tuesday at MOPS they did a Valentine's Day theme so of course I had to dress up Katelyn for the occasion. She looked so adorable in red... 

Click, Click, Click

Katelyn loves to type on my computer and as she gets bigger I've been worried that she will break the keys or crack the casing so I've been trying to keep it away from her. When my mom was here she found a little, pink Vtech laptop at Walmart and she bought it for Katelyn. She loves to bang on the keys and then she shuts the laptop and looks up at us and smiles. So adorable! I always say, "Katelyn, what does daddy do?" and she types on the computer keys while smiling and talking to herself. She's been playing with it a lot lately so I had to get some pictures so her grandma can see her enjoying her new gadget. Thanks Mom, it's been so much fun watching her play with the computer.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Katelyn is obsessed with mirrors lately. She loves to talk, look, smile, laugh and kiss herself in the mirror. The other night I had to get a few pictures of Katelyn hanging out in front of her bedroom mirror.

Mommy, look what I can do...

and so the mobility begins....

Katelyn's Baby Dedication

Last night we had Katelyn's Baby Dedication at Mariner's Church. Kyle and I felt blessed to have been joined by our family and many of our closest in pray as we dedicated Katelyn to her Papa God. It is so important to Kyle and I that we raise Katelyn knowing that her God loves her with all His heart and will love her and protect her always. We want her to seek God always and make wise choices with her life. Kyle and I picked a Bible verse for her that we hope she will always keep close to her heart:

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

After the service all our family and friends headed down to Kyle's parents house in Corona del Mar for a "Sundae Celebration." We thought that Sundaes were a great idea because it would be passed dinner time after the service. It was so great to catch up with everyone and hear what God is doing in their lives. Plus everyone got a kick out of watching "Katelyn's crawl." That's what we call the worm-like movement she does. It's too funny. As always Katelyn loves to be the life of the party and it was only after the last of our guests left at 12:45 a.m., that she passed out in the car on the way home. Needless to say we all took long naps today. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to the dedication, it meant so much to us!!

My Mom was able to get a great deal on a Jet Blue and flew out for the weekend to be here for Katelyn's dedication. She came in on Thursday night and left this morning. We had so much fun having a mommy, daughter and grand-daughter shopping day on Friday and even found some cute new outfits. Katelyn had so much fun cuddling with her grandma.