Kindi is 10 Months Old

 So I'm sure there are some of you out there wondering if All is Still Wells.  Well let me put your minds at ease.  Yes we are still here.  And everyone is doing well, for the most part.  We all went through this nasty bug that's been roaming around.  Kaden got it first and I spent most of the night up with him while he threw up.  Poor little man.  Is there anything worse than watching your babies suffer, when they want so desperately for you to fix it and there is nothing you can do?  Kindi had it a few days later.  She only spit up hard a couple of times one morning, but then she developed a nasty nighttime cough that kept us up most of the night for several days.  I got it next and had to miss church to make an appointment with my toilet.  Yuck!  Gosh I hate being sick, and the whole day I felt like I had terrible morning sickness only I'm not pregnant.  It stinks to feel that way even when it is for a good cause, but when it's for nothing...  GRRRR  Jeremy had the most mild version I think, but his also lasted the longest.  Today though I think we are all better, maybe a lingering cough or two here and there, but the kids have been doing a great job playing together in their rooms most of day without the excessive whining that had been permeating my home.  Ahhhh I even had time to get Kindi's pictures posted.  WOW!

 Stop to smell the roses.  (Alright so she is really eating it, but it's still precious.)

 How did my baby get into the double digits already?!  Look at her looking like a big girl.

Kindi Kae is totally getting into giving kisses these days.  The only problem is that there really isn't anything pleasant about them.  If you have spent anytime around Kindi you would see that she is always drooling.  Not just a little bit, but a constant stream, maybe even a waterfall, is running down her face at all times.  Now pair that with the classic wide mouth baby kiss...  Yeah, it's kinda nasty.  And she not only kisses she is practicing her french techniques.  She plants a big slobbery one on me (I try to deflect her to my cheek, but she prefers my lips) and then waggles her tongue around too.  When she is done I need a bath towel to wipe up the slime!  And yet even in the midst of all that unpleasantness...  I love each and everyone of those kisses!

 She has enough hair for a ponytail!  Isn't it stinkin' adorable!

 Kindi is walking.  I have mixed emotions about this.  It's so exciting to see her reach that milestone (2-3 weeks ahead of Kaden) but she is my last baby and she is growing up so fast.  She definitely isn't proficient in the walking department, averaging 4 steps or so, but she is getting there and on occasion can walk all the way across a room.  Most of the time she finds crawling to be more efficient still though.

 My children adore each other!  They are the best of friends.  If one wakes up before the other they anxiously wait for the other.  Kaden begs for 'My sissy.'  And Kindi points and stares at Kaden's door with anticipatory squeals.  You can just hear her begging him to wake up.

We've had our ups and downs just like any other normal family, but let me tell you...

I wouldn't trade this crazy, busy life I have for anything in the world.

Here We Go Again.

So does anybody remember this?

My little Kindi girl has a cradles cap problem just like her brother did and I tried the Cradles Cap Care stuff again.  Although I must admit, I did it partly so I could take this picture!  :)  It is amazing how much more hair Kaden had then she does, but at least she has some!  If you weren't reading my blog when Kaden was a wee one be sure to check out the above link.  It is crazy how much Kindi looks like her brother!

I haven't tried the baking soda method on Kindi yet, but I did try baby oil.  It is hard to tell in this picture but her poor little head is slathered and shimmering.

It didn't seem to bother her though.

It didn't seem to help much either.

Thankfully hers isn't as bad, it seems to be slowly disappearing each time I bath her.  I haven't felt the need to try the baking soda on her yet!

Big Boy Haircut

Kaden's hair was getting so long it was almost in his eyes, we had started calling him our hippy boy... although I suppose he was totally stylin' since that seems to be how the boys wear their hair these days!  Usually we put him on somebody's lap to cut his hair, but Jeremy was busy at the moment I was ready to start so I sat him on the chair to see if he would let me cut it.

We gave him a cup of chocolate milk and I went to work.  The only problem seemed to be that my cutter seemed to be running out of batteries... it doesn't have batteries.  It was only cutting a little bit of his hair at a time, if any.

He sat quietly for along time while I tried to accomplish something with my dull, tired blades.

I only made it about half way before he was tired of this game and wanted to leave.

Please let me go Mom!

So sadly my son now runs around with half of a haircut although unless you are looking close you don't notice too much!  Maybe I will get new clippers soon, or maybe Jeni will just get really fast and I will let her do it!  (My sister is in cosmetology college.)

Bits and Pieces of Our Lives

So since I am trying to catch up I will just share several pictures and short stories to get you up to date!

Kaden has a tendency to have wild hair anyways, but if you play peek-a-boo with a fleece blanket... Wild Thing!

These pictures are just because I think he is stinkin' cute! He has my dimples.

Kaden now has 9 teeth and is working on his second premolar (at least I think that is what they are called, he skipped his eye teeth). How do I know he is working on another tooth? Because if he can find my bare toes he will nibble on them. Yeah, I know, that is strange (Julie try not to faint at the idea!), but nevertheless, that is what he does. He doesn't actually bite them, he just kind of rubs his teeth on my toes. It actually tickles pretty badly. I may have told you this before, but I couldn't remember and it is definitely something worth sharing! I personally have never heard of a stranger teething habit.

As I was trying to put linens and things away Kaden took advantage of my back being turned to pull out the extra blankets and put himself away!

He climbs on everything and is so proud of himself when he succeeds.

Kaden had another Dr. appointment yesterday. He is up to 25.4 lbs now! That means that he has put on 4 pounds in 2 months. I thought he was growing, but that is a lot! Of course he got to stand on the big boy scale for the first time, so some of that is his clothing I suppose.

His TSH levels went back up again (that's the one that tells his body to make more thyroid, only it can't), so now we are doing 75 micrograms a day. We will check again in 2 months and see if we have stabilized yet, but with as fast as he is growing right now he will probably need more yet again. :)

When Kaden gets tired he finds a binky and a blankie, a silky blankie that is. If he is fighting being tired he will pull the coats on the floor then lay down on them. Otherwise he brings me his blankie for some snuggle time!

27 weeks

Sorry, this picture is pretty old, I need to go take a new one. It is just so hard to find time these days when Jeremy is home to man the camera for me!

So it was pointed out to me that I haven't given any updates lately on our little Kindi. She is doing great! We are 32 weeks now so only a couple of months to go. I limp around a lot these days, but that is just part of being pregnant, she seems to be pinching my right hip somehow. She is a busy little one and is going to be strong like her big brother. At her last appointment her heart rate was 145 and she is measuring right on track still, so hopefully she won't be quite as big as her brother was!

I have also been asked how we decided on her name. I was looking up name meanings one day and ran across Kendi, which means 'The Loved One'. I really liked the name so we just changed the spelling and there you have it, our sweet Kindi Kae. (Kae is my mother-in-laws middle name.) It actually works out well too because Amanda means 'Beloved'.

Not Just a Trim

Before

Kaden received his first full haircut yesterday.  I had trimmed the front and sides in February, but this time he got the electric clippers.  It was a little bit tragic for me.  My baby looks more like a little boy now, and it totally changed his appearance.  It is crazy!  He did so well though.  He sucked on my finger for awhile, and watched Daddy take pictures for awhile.  But he didn't fuss or cry at all.  My mom cut it for me this first time while I held him as we were not sure how he would handle the clippers.  His cousin Malaki hates them with a passion.  He didn't have enough hair to start with them as early.  So hopefully Kaden won't despise getting his hair cut when he his Malaki's age.  

We used the longest attachment and cut it all the same length to make it easy.  You can see one of his first locks of hair on my arm.  We cut 1 - 2 inches off.

He is such a good little trouper.  The pictures don't show it very well, but cutting his hair shorter made his bald spots fade.  He seems to be growing some hair back, but it is short and very light.  Having the long dark hair cut off makes his little head look much more uniform.  He doesn't have that comb over look anymore.  His hair looks almost blonde now.  So now we will really have to wait and see what it turns out like.  I'm still hoping he will keep some of the red.

What are you doing to me Grandma?

I couldn't believe we cut off that much hair!!!  And there was more on the floor!

He was getting a little bit tired of being still...ish.

We finished up with a little bit of scissor work.  I am still working on some scissor trimming today.  He was wanting to look at the scissors and bounce again.  So we let him off the hook.  He looks so different!

I think his cheeks look even bigger now... if that is possible!

Visitors

Kaden is growing up so fast.  And it is torture to his Grandma and Papa Wells not to see him everyday.  So they made the long journey (7 1/2 hours since they were pulling a trailer) to come visit Kaden.  (Jeremy and I know they are not here to see us!)  :)  Emma got to come with them on this trip also.  We had a wonderful time.  Next time it is our turn to go see them.  I guess we will see how Kaden does in the car when it is a LONG trip.

Papa discovered a new 'toy'.  He took a flashlight that has one of those red laser lights, then he shone it on his hand.  Kaden was mesmerized!

Grandma getting her Kaden fix.  While Emma hovers... hoping she will get him next, and soon!

Something special about Papa fingers...  Kaden likes to gnaw on both of his Papas.  As you can see in this picture, Papa is hating it too!  :)

Yay!  Emma gets her turn!  This was before the 'fish oil' incident.

So I have quite the fun little tale to tell you.  Jeremy and Emma decided to do a little science experiment Sunday night.  Jeremy gathered up all of his vitamins that had spilled out of bottles that he wouldn't use, then they put them in a glass of vinegar to see how long it takes them to be absorbed.  Well 10 minutes go by and none of the capsules have popped open... a few more minutes go by... maybe one has dissolved.  So Jeremy decides to pop one of them.  Emma then took over.  She was quite enthralled with this little experiment until she was done and realized that the fish oil pills had exploded on her clothes and in her hair.  Who wants to go to bed smelling like fish?  Yuck!  So she borrowed a shirt from me and washed her hair...  it didn't help.  So she washed it again... still stinks.  My turn to step in, we sent Grandma and Papa back to their trailer to go to bed (They were just waiting for Emma) and I had Emma put shampoo in and wrap her hair in a towel for awhile to let it soak.  It still smelled like fish.  Then we brought in the big guns... the Internet!  I did a little bit of searching and found a couple of methods, baking soda and lemon juice.  Well since it was late and everyone wanted to go to bed we did both!  I dumped baking soda on her head in the kitchen and rubbed it in, then went to the bathroom and dumped lemon juice in her hair.  Have you ever made a volcano with baking soda and vinegar?  Lemon juice works too!  Her head started foaming and fizzing!  But after she shampooed and conditioned it one last time, she was free from the fish smell.  Hooray!  Next time I will know what to do the first time!

This little 'Chicks Dig Me' shirt came from Kaden's 3 'chick' cousins.  So 'he' decided to show it off for Emma.

Baldy

Well, I am so sad to say that my son is already going bald.  Not on top like his daddy, but on both sides.  As you can see this is how he likes to sleep, so I am assuming that is why he is going bald in two patches, one on each side.  I'm sure most of you are saying, 'You should be glad he has hair at all.' and I am.  But it is so sad to see it going away.  Especially since it has been turning so red lately!  At least he is keeping it on top, that is where it is the thickest, and if I work at it I can almost pull off a modified comb over to cover his head!  :)  So there is my sad tale of woe.  He is still adorable though... even if he is going bald before he is even a year old!

And the Cradles Cap Saga Concludes...

So just in case you were wondering... the baking soda seemed to do the trick.  It didn't appear to be gone right afterwards, but I was looking at him today and there are just a few tiny little flakes hanging out.  Yay for Amy and her beauty tips!

First Hair Cut

Before I started

Kaden is one of those lucky babies that was born with a lot of hair... and kept it.  The only problem that I have found with this is that he is only 10 weeks old and his hair covers his ears and is just barely above his eyes.  So... I braved my fear of cutting him, and gave him his first hair cut on February 28th.  

I was hoping to do this while he was asleep, but right as I was getting ready to start his eyes popped open and he looked up at me.  So much for that plan.

I had lots of help.  My sister, Jeni, was taking pictures for me (the only reason I hadn't cut his hair earlier was because I needed someone there to take pictures of this monumental moment!).  Lillie, my niece, supervised and tried to keep his attention with 'her bears'.

Are you sure you know what you're doing Mom?

Kaden behaved wonderfully while I cut around his left ear and only squirmed a little bit when I cut his bangs.

Then came the right ear... by this time he had had enough!  So I picked him up and tried to cuddle him close and keep him still, while my mom cut around his right ear.  We completed the job, just don't look too closely at him!  It is definitely not a very even hair cut.  

He looks older with his new hair cut.

Bad Hair Day (Part Two)

Okay, so I had no luck with the Cradles Cap Care.  One of my best friends is a hair dresser and she suggested Baking Soda...  Yeah, it sounded strange to me too.  :)  She said she tried it on their foster son and it worked great.  You make a paste out of it and put it on their head for awhile then wash it out.  Well we tried it for the first time today. 

Mom what in the world are you doing to me?

I think you might be crazy

Yep!  You are definitely crazy!

Well... I think it helped some, but it definitely is not gone.  Amy said she had to do it twice to her son.  So I guess I will try it again Saturday.  I think I will give him a break tomorrow since we will be headed up to the Doctor.   He sure has been a trooper though!  

Bad Hair Day

So I don't know if any of you have ever had a baby that has cradles cap, and a lot of hair...  It is proving to be quite the experience.  I wanted to relieve my son of these unsightly scales on his head, so I bought some Cradle Cap Care.  It says right on the bottle, 'Light and Non-Greasy'.  You are supposed to apply a small amount to the affected area...  I tried a small amount and it wouldn't get through all of that hair to his scalp.  So I tried a little bit more, and a little bit more, and it took a LOT.  Then they say brush it with a soft brush... well I don't have a brush for Kaden, but another book I had read said to use a washcloth.  That did absolutely nothing that I could tell, so I proceeded to wash it out (Like it says in the directions).  I shampooed his little head and rinsed it out, but it felt a little bit sticky, so I rinsed it again, and again, and again until my little son was well fed up with me.  Guess it must be good enough...  WRONG!  As I combed through his hair after his bath sure enough a few scales came out, but something much more interesting happened...So if for some reason you ever need to make your childs hair stand on end...  Buy some Cradles Cap Care.  It works better than gel and isn't crunchy!  His hair was still standing up after sleeping all night!