Giggle

Kaylene will laugh if we are pushing her in her stroller and stomping on the ground at the same time. We have no idea why she laughs at this. Perhaps, she thinks we are tripping or she likes the way our her hair falls on our faces. Regardless, she laughs and we love it.

MmmMMerrry Christmmmmas AaaMmmmAAaa

Merry Christmas 2009 as said by a six month old Kaylene!

Fat Feet

This will be a special Christmas for the Jr. Kidney's. Why? because we have Kaykes! As I told my wife earlier tonight, I never thought that this "being a parent thing" was going to be so much fun. Thank you Jesus for all the wonderful things you have done for our family - and will continue to do!

Way too cute

With almost every Sunday that I post I try to give you something warm and snuggly to start your week. What could be more warm and snuggly than a little girl in a bear outfit?

Workin on a roll over

We are hoping within the next month our daughter will roll from her tummy to her back. Kaylene and I practice this on a daily basis, however, what you see above is what she does really well, she is so advanced.

Test Run 720p

For my birthday I received money to purchase a camcorder, I choose to go with a mini HD recorder. Its smaller than an iphone and very simple to use, but I realize I am going to need more light, always a difficult thing to do this time of year.

First Ornament

Just like Kaylene's cousin this was a week of firsts, although we choose to steer clear of Mr. Claus. Instead we went to hallmark and selected her first ornament. Clearly this was a big hit for her parents and her aunt but quite puzzling when you are five months old.

Please smile Kaykes

She giggles, we have seen it and heard it, however when the camera is on, nothing. Please forgive the video game "Mario" accent, recently, Jolene and I picked up a copy of the crazy Italian plumber game and the characters are infectious. Unfortunately for Kaykes this means and she gets extra heaps of her parents bad humor, "Hey, itsa me Mario!"

Grandpa Kidney and Kaylene

Sunday evening is a time for reflection, the calm before the weekly storm. Take a quiet moment and reflect on all the good things, because we really have quite a few. Happy Sunday and get ready for another exciting holiday season. I just realized, Kaylene will be viewing her first Christmas tree, so cool! Wait! Double cool, Augie will be viewing his first tree too.

They may be brown...

The ongoing question in our house has been, "what color are those eyes?" We may be getting closer to that answer.

First Halloween

Yeah! Kaylene's first Halloween was a great success. She enjoyed pumpkins, family, dress up and candy - well, maybe not candy. Maybe next year, maybe never.

Start them young

Kaylene's cousin has been captivated by Baseball (noooooo!) - this was cause for much concern in the Kidney household. As you know this is a Sc-Fi house and I needed to be sure Kaylene was going to be raised in the proper fashion. No worries! apparently Captain Kirk is cool at any age OR could it be all those silly colors...hmmmm.

Finding Kaylene

Kaylene played her first game of hide and seek today. She doesn’t quite have the nuances down, however given time I guessing she will become a master. She is also very good at finding her feet, opening her mouth and Dad’s all time favorite – screaming at the top of her lungs. Enjoy the peaceful moments.

Cute!

Eat your heart out!

Hmmmm Finger

I have feared from the start that Kaylene would be a thumb sucker; little did I know you can also be an pointer sucker. Jolene quickly rushed me up the stairs yesterday to see this new and most soothing behavior. Human invention never ceases in the Kidney household.

Kaylene finds a hand

Starting with a new Tuesday tradition Kaylene and I went to visit Grandma. As you can tell she is very preoccupied with stuffing her hand into her mouth, which at times can be quite disturbing OR amusing. Regardless, Kaylene is always entertaining.

She Smiles, Finally!

This child has simply refused to smile for the camera - but I caught her off guard today. I had bundled her up and placed her in her car seat. For some reason she thought this was funny, so I quickly grabbed a camera and behold!

Another one for Jolene

Because we know its hard being away from Kay.

At Home Dad

Today marks the first day of my stay-at-home parenting responsibilities, so far so go. Kaylene has succeeded at going through her first morning cycle, she slept, she went pee pee, she drank a full bottle of milk and spit up on her father. But we both agree; we miss mommy.

Welcome to the Family

Today I became an Uncle! We are so excited to have Augie Holt join our family. His picture is already hanging on the refrigerator door. Congratulations Martha and Zach, he is a handsome little boy!!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Kidney!

I special serenade by my two favorite girls.

The Fair

We took Kaykes to her first fair, not that she will remember it, but good none the less. The Puyallup fair is famous for its scones and Jolene and I had our share, and next year so will Kaylene.

Gem Lake

Steph and I hiked up to Gem lake this past weekend, I think they altitude caught us both by surprise, because we were a little more winded than usual. Regardless, if you look close at the bottom picture you can see the moon, it was an awesome day.

View from the top

Dad and I took a hike over the past weekend and we bit off a little more than we could chew. Basically, we took a very steep turn up a mountain. As much as I hate switch backs, they are always better than straight up the mountain!

A trip to Spokane!

This past weekend we packed up the car and headed for Spokane! We had many things on the agenda; family reunions, hiking, sight seeing and general fun. We accomplished them all. Kaylene continues to experince new things like a nature walk and we also had fun relaxing at the hotel.

Looking forward to the weekend

Yes, we are all looking forward to the baby dedication this weekend. It will be a blast showing Kaylene off to friends and family and we are especially looking forward to Kayke’s meeting her Auntie M. (and possibly Uncle Zach, fingers crossed).

and a Kaylene outake

First Bottle

Well a new corner was taken today, Kaylene has graduated to a bottle (give that boob a rest).

Five Weeks

It has been a very short 5 weeks and she is changing fast. It was mentioned that the majority of Kaylene’s pictures are very serious (she is a very serious little girl), however I spotted the lighter side of our sprout today and grabbed a camera. I personally think she is looking more and more like Jolene, however Jolene believes it is still too early to call.

When ya can't get enough of Kaylene

I have the early morning shift with Kaylene. This is exclusive Dad and daughter time soooo why not get some up close and personal shots.

and Cranky Baby

Sorry, I lead people to believe that the shot below was taken before church. Actually these shots were taken while we waited for the doctor. She got an excellent clean bill of health, she is on the way to becoming the perfect baby – everybody loves the squishy face.

Flower Dress

Everybody loves a girl in a pink flower dress!

We Slept!

Now as most of you know I am not a big fan of sleep but lately even the few hours I use to get have been taken away by the “Gnome”. The Gnome is the endearing name I have given my daughter when she has become unruly and unreasonable. However, last night, we all slept. I don’t expect it to last long but it was nice to have it. I can’t believe it has already been 12 days (Mom and Todd you are both so right –> it is happening fast).

Bathtime

I wish I could say that Kaylene enjoyed her first bath at home - but she really didn't. Anyway, she is clean, warm and safe now. Check out the chin quiver this kid has some lungs. Well Martha this is something to look forward too.

What color are those eyes?

Boy! I wish I could tell you; green, brown or gray it’s difficult to say.

Looking around

There was a request for a video blog, well here it is!

Tummy full

Believe it or not keeping Kaylene happy has been pretty easy, feed this kid some milk and she is counting sheep. She really likes to sleep with her hands in the air like she just don't care.

Dave! my water broke!

That was the beginning of my Friday July the 3rd. Kaylene was coming and she was coming fast, from water breaking and actual birth she arrived in under ten hours. They told us it was a textbook birth, and really, it was. Both mother and baby are fine and we are now relaxing at home, everybody is a little tired. Okay, I need to get back to poking, kissing and squeezing.

Take Off!

Dad, Chava, the guys from CBC and I climbed to the top of Issaquah’s famous Poo Poo Point. If you have ever looked to the sky in Issaquah and seen these sky drifters, this is where they originate from. It was incredible to watch them approach the cliff side and catch a drift just right to vault themselves into the atmosphere. Dad, we must bring Zach here!

I blew it!

Dad, Chris, Steph and others I should have dragged you all kicking and screaming up Granite Mountain today. Because today was a miracle!

Yup, still waiting...

Kaylene’s room is complete and we eagerly await her arrival. Kaylene proceeds to get larger within Jolene and has caused quite a few sleepless nights for the both of us. This 3rd trimester is not so easy.

Time for an Update

Been awhile for an update much less a video update, so I think its time! So baby Kaylene should be here soon and we are both very excited. According to Jolene she feels like the baby has "dropped" meaning Kaylene is moving her way down, could be weeks or days now. Anyway enjoy the video (taken from this Tuesdays hike with Dad and friends) and expect a few more updates to come.

Apple Pie, Dad and I

Yeah, another good week! And to top it off - I have a nephew on the way!

Busy

Yeah, it’s been a busy week – which is a good thing. Started the week with a hike with Dad and ended with the traditional return of the Yearly Lucky Snake! However the best part was the creation of my first turkey pot pie. Yes indeed, I made my own crust. My next attempt will be apple pie!

First

This is going to sound very odd but in my entire history of waiting in line for any movie I have never been first in line. Yesterday, it happened. We showed up two hours before the start of the new Star Trek movie (it was playing at the Boeing IMAX theater downtown) and we were the first geeks to be there! As you can see I am holding my position. Oh, and yes, I LOVED the new Star Trek movie - please JJ make 124 more.

Test Run

Yes, it’s time to change the blog; Zach got way to much playtime. In my new life as a house-husband I have enjoyed making meals and hosting my friends on the fly. Here we are enjoying a steak, chicken and macaroni and cheese meal. Above, Aliya took a test sit on Kaylene's new bench, she approved.