Side by side

So every once in awhile I like to look back and see how Khloe looks at a certain age compared to Kayla at that same age. EVERYONE says how much Khloe looks EXACTLY like Kayla so sometimes I go back just to see if maybe I can recognize it or see what everyone else does that I can't. Here are Kayla and Khloe photos from four months old. Is there resemblance?

4 months - almost 4 1/2 months!

Four and a half months? Details, details. Yes, I know but hours, days, weeks matter at this age. The latest? We've been meaning to start her on rice cereal but the last three days have gotten away from us, so I expect we'll start that this week (solid food already?!?!); her 4-month check up is at the end of this week (Yea! Love those), and she did hit a huge achievement (on my birthday no less!) sleeping 14 hours and only getting up once! It's what we've been waiting for! Thank you for the best birthday gift EVER Khloe! And she did do that again the following night so we're hoping she's turning a corner to getting better sleep at night.

Otherwise, here's Khloe doing what she does best, chilling.





Okay, enough! I'm done now Mommy!

Rockin' the Rivers

It's our annual "every Thursday night in the month of August" tradition - Rockin' the Rivers on the St. Clair River. It's one of the coolest things Port Huron does every summer. I don't think in the three years since this annual event started it has ever been anything less than absolutely perfect weather every time, and the same holds true for this year too. Each Thursday is a different theme of music; we've had 80's, Oldie's, Jimmy Buffet and this week - the last week - is Rock. It's very simple: there's food, (beer!), live music, inflatables and crafts for the kids, and lots of open space for chairs, blankets, and strollers. The event has grown from a few hundred people to a few thousand people in just a few years. I don't even think I saw Kayla almost the entire night last week. We walked through the gates and she took off for the inflatables. I think I finally saw her when it got dark. That's 2 hours of straight jumping, climbing and bouncing! Can you imagine if we all got excercise like that every week?! We'd bounce ourselves to being in shape!

This was Khloe's first season of Rockin' the Rivers. As with everything else in her life, she loved it, chilled and just hung out. Even slept through the music. We blew right through her bedtime by almost two hours and I was worried that she would be fussy. Nope! Not Khloe. Not our Khloward. Not our Khloe Mee-maid.

 (From Grandpa F's camera)

Mackinac Island

What a wonderful, relaxing, fun trip! I have to admit I was a little leary about going on a 5-day vacation with a 15-week old. You are still a little unpredictable, which makes life a little unpredicatable, so I hoped that you adjusted to life in a home away from home. I didn't want to bring any unnessecary stress on you, or me, or anyone else. Thankfully - and I am truly thankful - I had nothing to worry about - you were chill all weekend. Between me, Kayla and Molly you had plenty of motherly care. Your favorite parts of the trip were the horse and carriage rides and shopping downtown when Daddy carried you in the Baby Bjorn. Oh, and riding the ferry over to the island was your first boat ride!!!

 Getting ready to board the ferry

Your first boat ride! Yea!

 View from the ferry dock, arriving on the island.
To see our home, the Crow's Nest, look at the top of the photo at the row of cottages at the top of the hill. The Crow's Nest is tucked in the trees directly to the left of the last brown one on the left.

 View from the front yard of the Crow's Nest

 It was a beautiful sunny day of shopping downtown,
and apprarently a long day for you. That's a big yawn!

 The Crow's Nest - an historic cottage built on East Bluff in 1900.
We spent most of our time just hanging out on the beautiful porch.

4 months

You hit a milestone benchmark last week as we were vacationing on Mackinac Island - you're rolling over now! Day one, you were trying to roll over by craning your neck so far around that sometimes it would get stuck in that position and you'd get very upset and start cyring. Day two, you got over from your back to your tummy 1 out of every 4 attempts. Day three, we couldn't keep you on your back any longer. Now, the second we lay you down on the floor on your back, you flip right over. Problem is, and I remember this too with Kayla, that once you get on your tummy you're not sure what to do and you quickly get bored.

But we can finally see that your quickly turning into the beginnings of a little person now - getting excited to hold your toys, talking more and more, tyring to hold your bottle, rolling over... each new phase is so exciting.

Oh, and laughing.... let me tell you about your laughs. You save them for only the most exciting moments in your life, which only seem to happen when your with your sister. For me, I've only gotten you to laugh out loud twice, maybe three times. Your dad, the same. But Kayla? At least several times a day. From corners of the house wherever you and Kayla are, we'll hear Kayla yell "She just laughed!" or "Khloe just laughed again!" And wouldn't you know it, she's right. So, its from these reports from Kayla that we know that you can laugh. Smiles you hand out left and right, its just the laughs that you share freely with your sister.

And that is something I hope you two share for a lifetime.

15 weeks

Khloe, you are such a go-with-the-flow type of girl! You could take two naps in the morning, or you could not. You could take a 4 hour nap in the afternoon, or 1 hour and either is just fine with you. You're happy either way. Whereas Kayla lived her life with a strict routine, you live your life in generalities. Generally you take two naps in the morning. Generally you take one nap in the afternoon. Generally you're happy. Generally you're easy to please. Routine schmoutine. You prefer to party it up whenever you have the opportunity.

We are still trying to figure out your nighttime sleep schedule. Sometimes you sleep 8 or 9 hours straight through, and other times its only 3 or 4 hours. Sometimes you get up just once in the night, other times its three - either are too many. Just when we try a new tactic and you cooperate and we think we've succeeded and celebrate, you go and throw that out the window and we're left scratching our heads (in between yawns). But next week you will be 16 weeks old and what we tried this week will be sooooooo 15-weeks.

I did take you to the Power Boat Races last Sunday. Daddy was out of town and I said "we're not just going to sit around and do nothing!" I thought this could either go really really well or really really bad; I wasn't sure how you were going to react to the extra loud engines racing within yards of the shoreline where our seats were. I'm pretty sure the crowd thought I was an insane mom to even attempt bringing an infant to the race. However, you chewed on your toys as if it was all no big deal. In fact, after you were bored with your toys - and the race - you took a nap and slept. Tractor pulls and power boat races. The louder the better. No Big Deal. Start em' young, eh?

From sun-up to sun-down, your life consists of being smothered with hugs, kisses and attention from your sister. Smothered is an understatement. Kayla has never once demonstrated any jealously, in fact, what's the opposite of jealous? We thought the novelty of having a newborn and a sibling in the house would wear off, but that is not the case. It's not an exaggeration that your sister says "Let me see Khloe!" at least 40 times a day, even if she just saw you 3 seconds ago she wants to see you again. That means that she'll cover you with kisses, squeeze your neck in a bear hug and talk in a high-pitched sweet voice to entertain you. You smile. At dinner, Kayla pulls you over in your seat next to her seat so that she can sit Right. Next. To. You. She has to be touching you. She has to be sitting by you. She wants to hold you. She has to be looking right at you. At. All. Times. In fact, we had to start telling Kayla that we were going to take you out of the dining room while we're eating so that she will eat and not be distracted by you.

Then, sometimes, you make your sister cry, but you can't help it. Kayla puts her face right into yours and all that hair hanging down in front of you is just too tempting! You grab hold, give a good yank and are left holding chunks of hair in between your little fingers. Kayla has learned not to complain too much about this; she knows to keep her hair away from your hands. She just chooses not to, the desire to give you hugs outweighs the chance that her hair might get pulled. She's learned to live with it. Then, the other day, you reached up and scratched your sister's chin! The horror! This caused Kayla to run crying and tattling that you hurt her on purpose. Then the tears stopped 4 seconds later and she was back to talking in her high-pitched voice to you. You smiled.

You're growing. You're long - that's everyone's first comment about you (right after they say you look just like your Daddy). We pulled out the 6 months clothes from the back of the closet, some of which fit you nicely. And while its fun to pull out new clothes this makes me sad to realize that you are not a little squishy tiny newborn anymore and never will be again! Time is flying by. I can't believe you'll be 4 months old next week. You prefer to sit straight up in the big stroller, you hold toys in your hands really well now, you blow bubbles, you drool and soak your outfits! you've found your toes (my favorite!). You get bored if we look away from you for a second and get our attention by talking loudly to us. No! We didn't forget you were there!

Life's just grand with you, little Khloe Jean!

Still a fan

Tikky is often glued to Khloe's side when Khloe is playing on the floor.
Khloe hits Tikky in the face, pulls her hair and Tikky doesn't mind. She purrs louder. I think she's just thankful to have someone pay her a little attention.

Like father, like daughter

Do you agree with most of the world who says at the first sight of Khloe that she looks just like her Daddy?

And then there's Mommy...

Not many people say we look alike, but that doesn't mean I don't love to cuddle with you any less! You're my precious little angel who loves to be my cuddle bug!