HAPPY 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY KAYLEE!!!

**Chelsea and Kaylee**

** And She Sits!!!**

**Mummy and Kaylee**

**Big Smiles!**

**Aww My girl**

**Kaylee gets a ride around the park in her new favorite thing- The little red wagon. Jada and Makenzie take her around.**

**The Princess Chair**

**Aunt Jackie and Kaylee**

**Kisses**

**Too cute**

**Jackie and Andrew**

**Playin in the pool with Aunt Jackie**

**Cute**

**Must be tough to be beautiful! ha ha!**

**Melanie and I**

WOW!!! 6 months have come and gone. I remember thinking in the first few weeks of Kaylee"s life, that it was exhuasting and I couldn't wait for things to start moving faster like everyone says they do. The beginning was a long 8 weeks, now, here I am, Kaylee is 6 months old and I am wondering how on earth it happened so fast.

She is such a little person now! She is developing, learning, growing each and everyday. Yesterday she was sitting in the kitchen and suddenly she was sitting up on her own. As if it were the most normal thing she had ever done! When you hold her fingers she is now taking steps around the house. Although she doesn't have the balance, she has enough strength and I know that as soon as she does find her balance she is off!

So I have not been keeping up with my blog because I spent a few extra days up north at the trailer and with no internet it is hard to keep up. I have however taken 173 photos since lats Thursday! LOL.

I want to get as many pictures as I can so we can look back at our time with our family and enjoy it.

Well, our time up north was wonderful! The weather was amazing and Kaylee was happy. She has not been sleeping all that great since we have been here, for obvious reasons- new places, new people, no sleeping space, new time frames. Regardless, the last few days she has begun sleeping much better.

Kaylee has also been trying so hard to crawl. She gets up on all fours and rocks before her legs eventually give out. She has been getting so incredibly frusterated as she knows she wants to move but can't quite figure out move one hand forward then follow through with the rest of her limbs.

She has also been experiencing the wonderful world of a baby pool in what we have coined "the princess chair". She sits in it like she is the queen!

In other news, it has been 3 weeks since we have seen her Daddy- Jordon. I know I speak for both Kaylee and I when I say we miss him. For the first week away, it was great! I enjoyed having a whole bed to myself, no one snoring, being busy. Now that the time has passed, it seems I really miss sharing my bed, and even the snoring if it means I know he is there at the end of the day. We pick Jordon up at the airport Friday evening and I can't wait! I know he is missing Kaylee like crazy and really feeling as if he is missing huge steps in her life. I have assured him that while he has missed some time, she has been busy, spoiled and loved.

Over the last week I have seen a few great friends from childhood and highschool. We saw Rich last week as I think I mentioned, but we also saw my very longtime friend Melanie. She came over one evening and we just hung out, caught up and enjoyed each others company.

Last night we saw a friend of mine Chelsea. I met her a few years ago at a party and we have been friend since. She stopped by to see Kaylee and then we ventured over to her house for some wine and socializing. I had a great time last night, and once again my Mom was awesome and watched Kaylee for me! This morning my head was a little stuffy however we are well on the mend after my Dad brought me home a Timmy's tea! Yum.

This afternoon we are going to have another visit with Aunt Fern, then back off to Aunt Cheryl and JR's where we will see Grampi- Jordon's Dad. The last time we saw him was Easter, so it will be a big change for him!

Well, I suppose that is all for today, I know I had a million things I wanted to get in here, but I am going to get ready for my day and just post all kinds of pictures!

Nanna!

Over the last year or so, I have truly come to realize what being a Mom is about and how incredibly hard, rewarding and challenging it can be. For that reason I want to write a little blog today about what an incredible Mom I have.

My Mom has always been someone who was there for me, listened to me and supported me. Even living 1850km away from her, she still does her fair share of listening when I call after a bad day and need to vent. Being here at home and spending time with her, seeing what an incredible Nanna she has also become and being able to hug her at the end of the day has really opened my eyes.

I always knew that she was an awesome Mom but she has now become so much more. I can clearly remember when Kaylee was just a few weeks old, Mom had returned home after her visit to Halifax and I was having an extremely hard time with Kaylee. I called her in tears saying that being a mother was too hard, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be and that she had to return to Halifax immediately and take care of Kaylee for me. Mom was wonderful, listening while I got it all out and then calming me down and reassuring me (probably a thousand times) that I could do it, that I was strong enough and that I was a great Mom already.

At that point in my life she probably couldn't have said anything better. Knowing I had her support and I could call her whenever I needed was so important to me. Would I have preferred to be able to stop by her house whenever I was having a crappy day instead? Of course, but we work with what we have.

My Mom, Kaylee's Nanna- Lee-Ann Doole is an incredible woman. She not only plays an important role in my life but she also takes care of her family here. My sister, her boyfriend, and my Dad all have the joy of being able to be spoiled by Mum all the time. I am jealous but also know that it has made our relationship stronger by enduring the distance between us and holding value in the time we do get to spend together.

My Mom is a beautiful woman and I say this not only because she is my Mother but because it is plain for anyone to see. I am lucky to have her and will enjoy all the moments we have together.

So this is a special thanks to my Mom for always being there, always loving me and always supporting me (even when I was/am a royal pain in the butt).

I love you!!! xoxoxox

Busy Beavers!

Well the last couple of days have been just as busy as the first week! Monday morning Kaylee and I woke up, after the best sleep she's had since we have been here which was amazing, and took it easy for the morning before our busy afternoon ahead.

That afternoon Poppa Bear came home and hung out with us for a little while and played with Kaylee. He even brought her up to his office to "help with invoices"! LOL I must say it was quite adorable. I don't remember my Dad ever being such a sook!

Later that afternoon, we loaded ourselves back into the car for what seems like the 1000th time. Kaylee doesn't even fuss going into the carseat anymore.

We arrived at Cheryl and JR's for the evening and enjoyed a great supper and great company. Auntie Cheryl is now expecting her own little bundle of joy and we should expect his or her arrival this fall. We can't wait Kaylee to have a cousin less then a year younger then her. Very exciting news!

Anyway, Kaylee played with Cher, flirted with JR and then started to get fussy. We headed home and she was alseep before I was halfway home. We pulled in the driveway and PoppaBear was standing in the driveway waiting to see "his baby". He took her out, kissed her, got smiles and giggles out of her then read her a story before finally putting the very tired little girl to bed.

I did not remember to take any photos when we were visiting Cheryl and JR but we have lots of time and I will be sure to get some next time.

Yesterday morning we went for a walk in the muggy weather but I just wanted to get out of the house and enjoy being outdoors. That afternoon we went to visit Jordon's Aunt Fern and Aunt Helen. It was exciting for Kaylee to meet her great aunts and they were very happy to meet her!

After spending some time with them, we headed home, sitting in this wonderful Toronto traffic which I still dread.

Finally we arrived home and Mom was busy at work cleaning up and making sure everything was in order. I needed to do some running around to get Kaylee's formula, diapers, bottle liners and cookies and Mom offered to watch Kaylee so I could just quickly get it done.

WELL!!!! Let me tell you! Going shopping and being able to take my time and putter around was awesome. Generally any shopping that gets done now a days is with Kaylee and I have a limited amount of time before she becomes bored and wants to get up and see everything. I took my time and even tried on a pair of jeans! Geez, life is good! LOL. Its the little things that make it good.

I went home to get ready for my evening out with a great friend of mine Richard. Mom was more then happy to watch Kaylee for hte evening which is amazing! I have not been able to go out leaving Kaylee at home much at all. Knowing she was safe and sound at home with Mum was so nice.Thanks again Mom, your amazing!!!! I know Kaylee loved hanging out with her Nanna!!!During highschool Rich was a always there and we have still kept in touch over the years. He stopped by and we went out for a drink and supper, then headed to his house which him and his wife Tiffany recently purchased. We all sat and chatted for a while and I also was introduced to their very new, very tiny, very adorable new puppy Romeo. He is a maltipoo and I think he is about the size of Toby's snout. LOL.

Speaking of, my goodness I miss my furr kids. I miss Jordon too and of course I miss everything else that goes along with home. That being said, I cannot explain to you you incredible it is to be spending time with family. Kaylee is enjoying being spoiled by my Mom who is head over heels in love with her and really isn't fond of putting her down, Dad is carting her around to work in his office to enjoy her little giggles, Jackie is happy to finally meet her neice, Kaylee is meeting family she hasn't had the opportunity to yet. I know she wont remember this but it feels important to me to be doing it, to be allowing her the chance to have them love her and let all her family have the chance to see what a precious little girl she is.

So while I may be missing the simple routines we have at home in Nova Scotia, it is worth it and more to be enjoying family.

On that note I will end todays blog. We are going to be meeting up with a few more of my friends from school over the next couple days and if Jordon's father arrives here in Toronto then we will certainly be seeing him as well.

Here are a few pictures from the last few days!

Have a great one!!!!!!!!!!

Part 4- Boat, Bathed by Nanna and Sleep!

Ok, I know you are probably getting sick of this blog never ending about just 1 week so I will try and keep part 4 short.

I had to throw in a little blurb about Kaylee's first "boat" ride. I say this in quotations because I am smiling while I say it.The boat she was in was non other then my very first paddle boat which I loved and spent more hours in then I can tell you.

This morning Kaylee woke up at 5:20 and I knew everyone (myself NOT included- I was a good girl), had stayed up late around the fire having drinks. I didn't want Kaylee making too much noise and waking up my parents and other people throughout the park, so I grabbed the life jacket and headed for the lake. At this time of morning, the water was glass, the sun was coming up and all you could hear was the gorgeous nature sounds that people drive up north just to hear. It was pretty incredible.

I put Kaylee's life jacket on, which she was very unhappy about I might mention and headed out on the lake. During our little tour of the bay, we saw a HUGE snapping turtle. When I say huge, I mean about 25lbs huge! Man it was crazy. We also saw a lot of geese, a lot of mallards and a lot of turtles. We spent about an hour out an about before she began to fuss and we headed in. It was now 6:30 and I still wanted to stay clear of the trailer so we went for a walk down the old rocky road, did a couple laps around the trailer park, searched for the soother we had lost somewhere in our travels and then made our way back to the trailer around 8am. I was hoping she was starting to get tired with everything going on and tried laying her down for a nap... No luck, just a cranky baby and I couldn't let her fuss as everyone was still sleeping.

At this point I kind of snapped. When I am home in Halifax, if she is fussing and simply because she is tired or being a fuss pot, I put her in her crib with a couple toys and let her cry it out. I don't let her cry for extended periods of time but generally speaking she seems to doze of to sleep or just simmer down as she realizes I am not going to come running as soon as she makes a peep.

Up north with everyone and even at Mum and Dad's, it is very difficult to let her cry. Either everyone is sleeping and I don't want to disturb the house/the nearby trailers or my parents, OR someone just walks along and picks her right up.

For instance. The other night Kaylee was fussing at the house. It was about 12 and I was downstairs. I came to give her a soother and found my Mom changing her bum. Now, one rule I have made after reading it countless times is that once she is down for the night I don't pick her up. It wakes her right out of her sleep and the chance of getting her down quickly and easily goes down dramatically. Of course there are exceptions- soaking through diapers or a poopy bum. But the little pee Mom changed wasn't necessary. I scolded Mum, she giggled and said she would be fine and so I headed back downstairs.

30 minutes later I come up and Dad is "burping" her. Talk about blood boiling.

Anyway, today after tip toe'ing around (and I know my parents wouldn't be upset should I let her cry but they also probably wouldn't let the crying go on very long. I decided I was going to head back to the city before everyone else for some down time. I simply needed some quiet me time and if that meant putting Kaylee down when she was fussing and letting her cry then so be it. I hate knowing I could be starting some bad habits.

Anyway, after her having a long nap, me having a long shower and spending an afternoon without anyone around, just the 2 of us, I was beginning to feel normal again.

Its not Sunday night, the entire house is pooped from the weekend and in bed early. Kaylee and I are in our beds, and ready to now get back to company. After all that's why we are here, I guess I just needed some quiet me time.

In news from home Jordon had his laser eye surgery and is having a lot of pain. We called today and he spoke to Kaylee on speakerphone. She grabbed the phone and smiled. Whether or not she recognized his voice I am not sure but it was quite cute.

Tomorrow we are going to visit Auntie Cheryl and Uncle JR. We haven't seen them since Easter and Kaylee has certainly become a different little girl in that time so it should be fun.

Here are a few pics of our "boat" ride, Nanna giving Kaylee a bath at the trailer and just how tuckered out she is.

I will try and post more often so there are not novels to follow when I do decide to take the time and write.

Have a great day, thanks for reading and leave me a comment ;)

PART 3- Meeting my Aunt and kind of Uncle....

After a few days in the city, with this incredible heat wave that was going on, I decided to head to the trailer a day early. After all, my little sister, also known as Auntie Jackie has yet to meet her neice.

I once again, loaded up the car, loaded up Kaylee and hit the road. At this point, Kaylee is so darn sick of that carseat but being such a wonderful little fart. She fussed for the first couple minutes and then played before she dozed off to sleep. I made it up north and heard the thunder rolling, but no rain. There was a trail of kids behind my sister, so while she went crazy over her first time meeting her neice, I had all the kids put to work and help me unload the car. We had everything in the trailer before the anticipated rain, hoping it would take the humidity out of the air, however the rain never came. It thundered all around us but we never actually got the storm.

Anyway, Jackie and I enjoyed a quiet night with a little catching up and simply enjoying each others company. She is spending the summer up north babysitting another trailer goer's 2 children. It works out for everyone as the kids and Jackie get to enjoy the summer at the trailer, on the lake while the kids Dad knows where they are and that they are very well taken car of.

Kaylee did not sleep very well that first night. Who could really blame her. It was hot, humid, the third place she had slept in 5 days and there has been so much going on, I think she was simply overwhelmed.

Early the next morning the thunder began to rumble the trailer, lightening was flashing and finally, the rain poured. I thought it was going to wash out the roads! What a wicked storm to sit and watch from the trailer. Kaylee and I sat inside and played, read books and ate veggies.

Later that afternoon, the sky cleared, Mom and Dad arrived and we enjoyed sitting in the sun while chatting amoungst each other.

Throughout the weekend Kaylee was fantastic, overwhelmed and exhuasted. With so much going on, I never really knew what I was going to get out of her.

She did get to meet her "kinda uncle" Andrew. My sisters boyfriend Andrew is great with kids and enjoyed playing with Kaylee in the grass. It was nice to see her have the male interaction with Jordon so far away. We have established over this weekend that Kaylee is also quite a flirt. She pulled on beards, smiled and giggled and almost every man she saw and sat and played with Andrew for about an hour.

Auntie Jackie also took Kaylee for her first beach trip! Now that Kaylee has experienced a pool, we wanted to cool her down at the beach this weekend. Jackie spent about an hour with Kaylee laughing and giggling and watching everyone swim, putting her feet in the sand and splashing her feet. It was incredibly adorable.

So Kaylee has now met not only her her Aunt Jackie but she has met my extended trailer family who all also adored her. She is doing quite well with all of the new faces.

This is the end of part 3... One more part to follow to tie up our first week away from home!

Part 2- TORONTO, THE POOL & MARLEY

Mom walked in Tuesday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch, and Kaylee was on her play mat... I don't think Mom noticed me for about 10 minutes. She swooped Kaylee up and kissed her from head to toe. It was pretty adorable.

When we arrived it was 36 degrees plus the humidity putting it around 44 according to the radio. It was unreal, and all I have to say is thank goodness for air conditioning.

Mom's close friend Denise who is also my good friend Krystal's Mom, has a beautiful home with an incredible pool. I am sure you know where I am going with this! LOL.

Krystal and Denise were kind enough to lend me a lot of baby gear to allow me the luxury of not having to cart it all down from Halifax. So while we went to pick up the baby gear, we also went for a swim and a glass of wine.

Krystal and I spent many of our summers together growing up... So for us now to both have babies and be in an entirely different stage in our lives together is awesome. I find it is really nice to be able to hang out with other Mom's who have an understanding of why you are crazy, chubby and just trying to get through the days sometimes.

Kaylee went in the pool with my Mum and while it did take quite some time to get used to the idea of water, that is not the water in her bath tub, by the end I think she quite enjoyed it.

We spent a few hours enjoying the water but it was our first day in yet another city and Kaylee was tired, not used to the heat and getting very irritable.

We headed home to try and get some sleep in yet another sleeping space.

Oh I forgot to mention... Our night at Nanny's we laid Kaylee on the bed with pillows around her and I laid on the bed with her. I would like to mention, at home I sleep on a King size bed, and have arms length between me and anything... Kaylee has only ever slept in her crib... Sleeping together on a double bed was.... TOUGH. LOL.

Anyway, once we got the playpen set up at Mom's house, I put Kaylee down thinking she would just crash as it was after 8pm and with the time difference that would put it over 2 hours past her regular bedtime. I guess she must have been overtired as she would not go to sleep for the life of her. She was awake for another hour and a half. Now if your thinking this must have helped her sleep in the next day, you are very much mistaken. I have come to the conclusion that putting her to bed later does not mean she sleep later in the morning. It seems her internal alarm clock is set for 6am (Halifax time) and therefore 5am has been coming very early over the last week.

With all the gear we received from Krystal and Denise, Kaylee is set. We have 2 strollers- one for here and one for the trailer. 1 exersaucer thing that is AWESOME, the playpen, a rocking seat and probably more that I can't even think of right now. Needless to say we are set!

Krystal's little girl Marley is possibly one of the most adorable little girls I have ever seen (next to Kaylee of course). Marley is now starting try and walk and holding herself up on everything while moving along. She stared at Kaylee and wanted to simply touch her. This resulted in a few rough pats on the head but it was absolutely adorable.

Anyway, that's all for part 2. Part 3 is soon to come! Enjoy the pictures!!

P.S. LEAVE ME COMMENTS!!!!!!!! :)