I can hardly believe that my sweet Kalena Jane is a year old already! It feels like not so long ago she was just a squishy little newborn. You can read my first blog post about Kalena if you go HERE. It took me an extra month or so, but I did enjoy writing out Lena's birth story that you can read HERE. My goal was to get this post about Kalena up before Jett's birthday. I have two days to spare ;)
Even though Kalena Jane will always be my "baby girl," all the signs are showing, she IS growing up! She entered our world on March 17th, 2012. There were many babies born into our 'sphere' last year and Lena was one of the first, so in some ways, she's seemed a little 'grown up' for awhile.
Day 1
She may look like she's screaming in the above pic, but sweet Lena Jane really did NOT scream much OR loudly in her first days. (Nothing like the noise I remember her older brother producing)
Our family of FOUR. The million dollar family. SOOO blessed.
Once at home, our Baby Bjorn carrier got a workout! Having a newborn in the same house as a toddler is an adjustment, to be sure. Keeping baby Lena close to my chest meant that I knew she was safe from the whirlwind named Jett that could blow by unexpectedly ;) AND my hands were free!
I enjoy picking out cute outfits for Jett to wear, but it is not nearly as fun as dressing a little girl!!! I know that one day, she will likely not want me to choose her attire, so I've been savouring every moment of putting Kalena in the cutest little dresses and outfits. I think she dresses better than I do! I love the cute little headbands, especially since hair is not something my children grow quickly. Usually, though, the headbands don't stay on for long.
Love. Love. Love.
In this above pic, a very pregnant Aunty Carrie is holding Lena. I love this pic. I think Kalena is trying to give her cousin Lucy a pep talk to convince her that life on the "outside" is pretty grand. ;)
Daddy and his little princess. Kalena has a very 'mellowing' effect on her daddy. He adores her and I believe the feeling is mutual.
Jett loves his little sister, and while it's been a process as he learns to be gentle, they care for each other greatly, which melts my heart often.
Cousin Lucy was born June 6th and these pictures are actually from the beginning of August when we had both girls dedicated during a joint church service with Dalmeny Community Church and Dalmeny Bible Church. (When your dad pastors the one church, but you attend the other, you appreciate the 'joint' services!!)
We enjoyed taking our kiddos to our place at Candle Lake during the summer. Just like her brother, Lena seems to LOVE the beach and the water! She fits in with our clan perfectly ;)
Kalena became increasingly mobile very early on. I wish that I had been better about recording the actual times when she rolled, crawled, etc. These pictures were taken in around Sept. (6 months old)and Lena was good at sitting on her own, rolling all over the floor, and pulling herself around the floor with her arms. (I don't know if it could be called an actual 'crawl' yet though).
I remember we thought it was fun introducing Lena to snow back in early October...
Nearly 7 months later, the novelty has completely worn off!!! She now needs to know what green grass is!
This is the same little bee costume that Jett wore for his first halloween. I had a little blog entry comparing the two, you can check it out HERE. See if you can tell my two little bees apart.
Galveston, Texas - Nov. 2012
We went to Texas in November (Blog post: HERE) to visit family and a highlight for sure, was introducing Kalena to her sweet cousin, Annie Austen! Lena was born less than 3 weeks after her cousin, and it was SO much fun watching these two interact. They both have busy older brothers (Jett and Cooper sure love playing together, too!), so they needed to team up to look out for each other ;)
I love this picture below, where Annie Austen has Lena's soother. We have a very similar pic of Jett and Cooper when they were around that age.
Time with Uncle Carson, Aunty Hilary, Cousin Cooper and Annie Austen is incredibly precious to us. I sure wish we all lived closer and could watch our kids grow up together.
Back in the 'Great White North', we enjoyed a weekend with friends out at Redberry. Kalena was scooting all over the place and walking around any piece of furniture she could pull herself up on. Keeping track of two busy little ones is not so easy! (But it is fun... usually)
Kalena would walk while she held our fingers, or while she pushed a toy around a room for quite awhile before she ventured on her own. (She is about 9 months here)
My shopping buddies ;)
We took the kiddos to Temple Gardens in Moose Jaw for a night before the Christmas rush. They loved it! We have to brave little water babies.
Cousin Bella Mae was born in October, and we had a lot of fun dressing these three princesses up and lining them up. Lena looks GINORMOUS! I love these three little girls. How fun to have cousins so close in age! I see many tea parties in our future. ;)
Christmas was fun, busy, tiring, and wonderful with two sweet kiddos this year. I love watching all of Kalena's "firsts" :)
A little help from her 'friend' ;)
She loves to see herself! (So vain ;)
Kalena doesn't have much fear. She loves to be thrown up in the air! Her giggles and squeals of delight are marvellous.
If you just mention the word, "bath", Kalena will hurry to the bathroom door and pound on it. She LOVES her baths. (And she doesn't even seem to mind our ghetto-bath conditions ;)
The oven drawer has been a favourite spot of both of my children. Jett had long forgotten his love of the warming drawer, but when Kalena started frequenting it, he became reacquainted. I don't think that drawer will ever be used for it's intended purpose.
In early January, Kalena was standing independently and taking steps on her own.
We love snuggles with cousin Bella.
We went to Cancun, Mexico at the end of January and Kalena loved the tropics as much as her mama. She loves the sand and the water. She also fine tuned her walking skills while we were there. By the time we headed home, she had almost completely transitioned from crawling, totally over to walking.
Kalena is a good little eater. She has a healthy appetite and eats most of the foods presented to her. Especially, if her brother feeds her. ;)
Officially a walker. 10 1/2 months-ish.
Kalena poked out her first two teeth at 6 months and by a year, she had 8 teeth! These help her in the eating department, but they are also her line of defence against a brother who doesn't always know boundaries.
Lena spent much more time outside than I'm sure the average baby does, simply out of necessity while appeasing a busy older brother and a mama who would go stir-crazy in the house with said brother ;)
Lena had cake a couple of times around her birthday, but we have yet to throw her a big shindig. (Like we did for her brother.) I still plan to when the snow melts. We'll be a little late ;)
We went for a birthday swim with the cousins. :)
Me and my girl.
My two mischief makers.
Loving her over-sized Disney princesses rubber boots.
A little farm girl. Kalena LOVES to ride in the bobcat or tractor with daddy. She's made that very clear. I do think it's getting a little crowded in there.
Go away snow!!!
I am incredibly thankful for this little miss, and for all of the joy she has added to our lives. She is spirited, sweet, cuddly, strong-willed, persistant, busy and SO much fun. I look forward to a lifetime of memories.
