I Love my Aunties!!!!

Auntie Danielle and Kendall on the way over to see Auntie Nicole

Kendall cuddling on Auntie Danielles face

I love watching TV while my Aunt Nicole feeds me

She gives the best kisses

I missed her so much

Home sweet home

We are finally home after our little 5 day vacation. Kendall did so well today in the car for 11 hours. She had one fit for about 30 minutes cause she was tired and did not want to fall asleep in the carseat. She was getting all hot and sweaty and just didnt know what to do with herself. But once she had a little cat nap and we stopped for lunch she was much happier and took a longer 2 hour nap and was just content the rest of the way home. Here are a few pictures of our trip over and while we were there.

At the very start of the trip

After about an hour.

After she woke up.

We had a lot of fun while we are gone and are going to miss everyone so much, but we are definitely glad to be home.

Our wild adventures

Well the car ride went very well while Kendall was happy. Yesterday it took us about 4 hours to get to Bozeman which Kendall slept about 2 of and then she woke up and was happy for a while and just as we were about 30 miles outside of Bozeman she was getting crabby and hungry. We fed her while she was sitting in her car seat and she seemed to enjoy it. Once there we went straight to dinner at Taco Johns where she then spit up on my legs and the floor. We decided it was time to leave after that. We get to the hotel and are checking in and the lady looks at my dad and asks "You're Ron Murray? You're the customer of the day!" We got a free room upgrade and a little gift that had a water and crackers in it, very exciting. Kendall was so happy to be out of the car seat she was laying down on the bed just laughing, giggling and having a good time, but she was really tired and it was late so we all went to bed soon there after.

Today was a little different story. We got up around 5:30am and got ready and were on the road at the coffee shop, getting ready to head out of town. Kendall was awake for most of that and then about half hour later was back asleep. When we were outside of a town called Livingston there were flood warnings for water on the interstate and boy were they right. In 2 spots it looked like there was a river running right across the road and we had to drive through it, it was about a foot deep, just a little scary. Once we were past that it was smooth sailing or rather driving. Kendall woke up after about a 2 hour nap and she had a little morning snack, and then she was not happy. She did not want to be in her car seat, she was still tired and having a hard time getting back to sleep. We pulled over at a rest stop got her changed and I walked and rocked her a bit and she was back to sleep almost right away. We finally made it here with one other stop along the way and a fussy baby, for about the last 2 hours after she woke up.

She got in a good 2 and a half hour nap this afternoon and is currently all snuggled into bed for the night. Hopefully tomorrow she will be her happy normal self after a day of lounging at home.

Family Roadtrip

Today we are going to embark on a little family road trip across the great state of Montana to visit my older sister and her husband, oh and I guess my little brother too since he lives with them. It is an 11 hour car ride, which we are splitting up into 2 days. Tonight after work my mom, dad, little sister, Kendall and I will all hop into my moms new Dodge Charger and make our way to Bozeman, where we will be staying the night. Tomorrow morning we will get up super early and drive the rest of the way. The longest Kendall has been in the car is 1 hour up to Missoula. I am hoping she does really well. She used to hate the car and would cry the whole time up until she either fell asleep or you took her out of the car seat. If you can imagine listening to a screaming baby for that long its torture and very frustrating cause there is nothing you can do for them. I can only hope this evening and tomorrow she sleeps most of the time.

On to the next point....have you ever tried to pack for an infant for a 6 day trip with limited space??? It is extremely hard. I had to make a list and then I had to lay everything out on my bed to see it all and make sure there was enough of everything. Only in Montana in the end of May would you have to think to pack a sunhat, sunscreen and then also pack a beanie and warm winter clothes. Plus I think I have the pickiest child when it comes to what she wants to sleep with at night. She has 2 blankets she likes and a pillow. Ya ya it says not to let them sleep with pillows or blankets, but she will not sleep in her crib unless she sleeps propped up on her side with a pillow (which used to be mine, she stole it from me). So on top of all her clothes and necessities I have to pack a pillow.

I am really looking forward to our trip and being able to spend some time out in the middle of know where with my family (we are going to have a big apples to apples tournament) but packing has proved to be rather challenging. Also Jason isn't able to come with us, it will be the longest time we all have been apart from each other, we are going to miss him. To top it all off there is no cell phone service at her house...we will see how well all of us technology driven people deal with that.

An Unexpected Evening Alone

Last night was the very first night and the longest I have ever been away from my baby. We had plans to go to some friends for dinner and then stay at Jason's after his football game and Kendall was going to stay with us not a big deal. I had her port-a-crib all packed up and was getting ready to gather the rest of the things she was going to need for the whole night. My sister Danielle (who just moved back home yesterday), missed Kendall so much and didn't want me to take her away from her, asked if she could watch Kendall for the night. So I checked with my mom to make sure she was fine with it, cause I knew she would be the one doing most of the work, she agreed to it as long as Danielle was the one for sure going to get up with Kendall in the middle of the night (mind you, she only wakes up one time a night now around 2:30). I made 100% sure with everyone before I left that they were ok with her staying, I was perfectly fine with taking her with me, it was the plan all along. So I packed up myself and headed over to our friends for a nice taco dinner and then went back to Jasons when we were done.

It was so weird being away from her that long. Normally when I leave the house without her just to run to the store or something I always feel like I am forgetting something. I am not used to just being able to go do something without having to bring a diaper bag loaded with as much stuff possible anymore. Also throughout the night I think I woke up more times being away from her then when I am just a few feet away from her. All in all it was a good night and nice to have some alone time, but next time she is coming with me, I missed her to much.

Daddys Girl

Just about everyday during the week Jason watches Kendall for about an hour so i can go run errands or go to the gym, but mainly so i can take some time to myself. I love every minute with her but since she is with me all day long at work I need just a little time away to keep myself sane.

The first time I left her alone with him was so hard. I knew there would be no problems and he would do fine it was more her i was worried about. What was she going to do? How was she going to act? Well she cried almost the whole time i was gone, until she eventually fell asleep, and i was barely away for an hour. A couple days later i left her again and when i came back she was crying but only because she was starting to get hungry. The first week of leaving her was the hardest, now I leave her almost everyday. She has a great time and will sit with him in his lap and watch her favorite show Rob & Big or she will sit in her bouncey seat and just have a good ol' time. She is so calm when she is with him or even around him and as soon as i get back and she see's me she starts to wine to be held. She is very laid back around him and enjoys all her time with him. I can only imagine how much he is going to be wrapped around her fingers when she gets a little bit older and wants to follow him around everywhere and do everything with him.

Schedule

When Kendall was just a little baby it was very difficult to try and keep a routine, her schedule was constantly changing with her needs and it was hard to keep things consistent. Even worse it was a struggle to get her to go to sleep the first try, she would startle herself awake and you would have to get her calmed back down and relaxed enough to go back to sleep. Unfortunately you couldn't just put her in bed to fall asleep on her own, you had to hold her while rocking, bouncing, walking and patting her butt all at the same time and it would take about a half hour to get her to fall asleep, and then having to do it about 3 times a night is enough to make anyone a little crazy. To top it all off she didn't like pacifiers, so she was not able to soothe herself back to sleep. Within the last few weeks this all changed thanks to Grandpa Ron. Hallelujah!!! He found a pacifier she liked (who knew there were so many different styles). Since then she has been able to start a schedule and keep it consistent. Every night she gets a bath between 7-7:30, has an evening meal and is in bed between 8-8:30. I still have to rock, bounce, walk and pat but its for maybe 5 minutes and she is out cold. Very rarely will she wake back up and will sleep until about 2:30am when she wakes up to eat again and then falls right back to sleep until it's time to wake up. Even if we are out a little late one evening she knows what time it is and gets fussy and wants to go to sleep, you give her the pacifier wrap her up in her blanket, rock her for a minute and she is fast asleep.....Well tonight it has seemed to be impossible to get her to go to bed. Finally just a few minutes ago after an hour and a half of trying (i even put her in the swing which she loves to fall asleep in) she is fast asleep in her crib. She just didn't want to stay asleep tonight. It could have been the long nap this afternoon, but that has never been a problem before. Maybe she was thinking hey its the weekend i want to stay up late. Who knows. Being a mom has its ups and downs and is very frustrating at times, at the end of the day there is nothing more precious and rewarding then watching your baby sleep so peacefully.

First Entry

As I sit here typing my first entry, Kendall is asleep in her swing and has been for the last 2 hours. It wont last much longer, as soon as I sit down to dinner she will wake up. But the long nap was seriously needed, she was getting very crabby from being out and about today and not getting a good morning nap in didn't help.

I will try to post as often is possible, I have so many stories to tell about her, but she takes up all my free time when she is not sleeping. She likes to be held but i dont mind i enjoy the cuddling. There will be a day when she doesnt want to cuddle anymore so i am going to get as much in now as i possibly can.