The Blizzard of Oz

Winter storm "Q," aka The Blizzard of Oz, has made itself quite at home here in the plains over the last 24 hours!  So much so that the Governor announced that all Executive Branch State offices would be closed Thursday, February 21st and declared emergency for all 105 Kansas Counties.  In addition, all State DCF Offices closed for the day.  That meant that my office closed at 4:15 on Wednesday, and our 25 minute commute lasted a bit closer to 40 minutes.  Jon was released from school at noon Wednesday, so he and Kincaid had a great time playing Wednesday afternoon.  

As of 1:30pm, we had 14 inches of snow in our yard, and locals report that they haven't had this significant of a snow fall since 1987.  

 

the table measured 

We've spent the day reading, relaxing, 

making crunchy chocolate granola wedges 

Shoveling (4 times and counting) & playing in the snow

   

And watching our backyard birds

  

Bad aim even after a few attempts haha!

While we've had a great day staying at home and reminiscing about many a snowy day in Michigan, we do realize that many Kansans are out in this brutal weather feeding and caring for livestock, looking after new born calves, clearing roadways, delivering mail, and responding to emergencies!  Prayers for all of those who don't get a snow day and have to be out on the roadways!

Kaidster turns 8 mths!

It's hard to believe our fella is now 8 months old!  Doesn't he look big and mischievous! 

In his 8th month, Kincaid's milestones are as follows:

• Chompers: He cut his 3rd tooth days after turning 8 months and had 5 by the end of the month.  They are sharp and he isn't afraid to use them on fingers, shoulders or any other available surface!
• Crawling:  we captured him on tape his first time - don't mind his dorky parents in the video below!  He can crawl more quickly each day, and has made a game of escaping from whatever area of the house we happen to be in!  

• Standing & Cruising: continued to grower stronger and more confident in pulling himself to a standing position, and also started cruising along furniture, though at a sluggish pace.  I'll be quite happy if he only crawls for several more months!
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• Eating:  Kincaid continues to eat new foods each week though he is also more of a grazer when it comes to big boy food!  Rarely does he eat more than 1 oz at a time, but we're working up to two :)  He's had many new foods this month, so here are some that I can remember:  squash, carrots, guacamole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, black beans, chicken, avocados, pickles, and lemon.
• Swimming: Kincaid went for his first swim at one of our family Christmas events!  He seemed to enjoy it, and we wish there was a pool closer to home!  We'll have to look into lessons sometime!

Snow and Ice and Blizzards...Oh My!

Dec 20, 2012:

We hunkered down yesterday and survived our first KS blizzard since moving here!  While we didn't get mounds of snow (just a couple of inches) we did get loads of wind!  

Kincaid was already safely home playing with Grandpa C, and Jon was released from school at 1pm Wednesday!  I worked until 5 and then made the icky drive home - thankfully it wasn't slick yet and just had to deal with blowing snow!  Jon has his first full snow day today, and Grandpa C is stuck with us at least for awhile yet this morning as the road home is snow/ice packed.  I'm hoping my 10am work delay turns into a full day, so we can just hang out in our pjs all day and get ready for our trip to the Mitten tomorrow!

We took advantage of some of our extra time together and let Kincaid have his first experience with snow!  He didn't really dig it :) but here are a few pictures of moments we captured!

Grace sure misses bounding through the snow!  It was so fun to watch her enjoying these few inches!

Until we meet again....

One of the big changes for us in December was Kincaid transitioning from being at work with me each day to childcare.  He has done an awesome job moving into the real world :) and lights up, at least according to Jon, every day when he sees his providers (Lana or Ashley)!  

On his last day at the office, we snapped a few fuzzy photos of the just some of the ladies from work and one of the dudes he got to know between 2 - 6 months old!

Mike and Caid were fellow dudes!  Kincaid was fascinated by Mike's wheels!

  

Kincaid always had snuggles and hugs for MaryEllen!

Tamra is on the road a lot for work, so we didn't see a lot of her!  BUT, Kincaid always loved hanging out helping her "work" when she was in or taking a stroll around the office with her!

Grandma Red, aka Janet, taught Caid how to type!  He loved to visit her because he got to bang away on the keyboard - a no no with mom!

  

Office playmates and future classmates - Corbyn and Caid

 Joyce and Kincaid - she sits next to me in the office, so Caid got a lot of love and attention from her!

  

Misty & Staci - these two keep things lively at the office and keep everybody laughing

Julie - momma to Corbyn

They miss Caid and Corbyn at the office, and many of my coworkers aren't pictured here but were extremely helpful and supportive while Caid spent 4 months with us at the office!

We're back!

Sorry to our faithful followers!  I've been neglecting the blog, but I'm ready to bring you all up to speed on the last month!  I don't have the time or energy to do that right now, but will be intentional about covering our trip to Michigan, our three Christmas adventures, and more!

Let me get started though by sharing about our big 7 month (before he turns 8 months in 3 days!!).

The picture is a little fuzzy because I just quick snapped a few shots with the iPad.  But he sure has grown and it was hard to get a shot where he wasn't moving!

In his 7th month, Kincaid reached some big milestones that we loved celebrating with him and that have since kept us on our toes!  Gone are the days of plopping him in one place and expecting him to stay stationary for longer than 5 seconds!  We are constantly reminded of what a difference a day/week makes when it comes to a kiddo's development and how fleeting these moments are!

Here are a few highlights from his 7th month:

• intrigued by everything!  This has been one of our favorites!  How amazing it is to watch your baby's fascination with the seemingly mundane and also the obviously exciting moments in life!  What a gift to slow down and see the world through a baby's eyes!
• Eating solids:  started eating rice cereal a week or so before turning 6 months, but started to eat solids twice a day.  Pretty resistant to eating much more than an ounce at a time, if that, but still very interested in real food and what we had on our plates!  Kincaid loved bananas and rice from the get go, but wasn't quite so sure about the avocados or pear-apple sauce.  
• started clapping: Caid clapping for Uncle Jason
• pushed himself into a sitting position on his own
• began pulling himself into a standing position in his crib (Daddy had to drop the mattress) and when playing with a wooden play box.  
• entered the world of childcare - we have two great providers who shower Kincaid with love and attention

It's hard to believe this all happened in just a matter of weeks!  Kincaid started out his 8th month with a number of big milestones again - so check back later this week for some pictures/videos and highlights from this month!