Being A Big Sister

As I mentioned in the last post, life has not been too different for Taelyn now that she is a big sister since Kaelia sleeps most of the day, but there certainly are sister moments. Taelyn loves when we ask her to point to specific body parts, and now there is a tiny body to compare to. She will sometimes run over to the baby, point, and yell "Bah" for baby. Then she will point to Kaelia's nose, eyes, mouth, fingers and toes. Her favorite body part, though, is a belly button, and Taelyn is fascinated by Kaelia's stump where a belly button should be!

Justin was able to capture some of Taelyn's pointing on camera, so here is a quick look at Kaelia and mommy's noses.

Kaelia's Nose

Mommy's Nose

Meet Baby Kaelia!

About six months ago, Justin and I were invited to our good friends, Jason and Erin's, wedding set for June 12th. From the start, we committed to the wedding and joked that we would definitely both be there unless the baby came that day. Well wouldn't you know that our little Kaelia decided to make her appearance in to this world on just that day!

It started the day before when we drove up to Denver to attend a pre-wedding BBQ at Jason's house. It took about three hours to get there through Denver traffic when it should have taken only an hour and a half. As we left our house, I felt a few contractions but nothing major. About halfway through the drive, I realized that I was in labor... but I knew after Taelyn's birth that I still had some time. So we still went to the BBQ, had some food, and talked with friends for a while.

We made it home, took a little nap, and I woke up at 12:30 am in active labor. Everything went by fairly quickly after that. Our friends, Leah and Steve, came by at 3:45 am to watch Taelyn so we could get to the hospital. We arrived there a little after 4:00, and Kaelia Elizabeth was born at 5:06 am. She was quickly measured at 7 lbs, 2 oz and 19 inches long and then went through a medical exam where she checked out perfectly healthy.

Since Kaelia's birth, we have been adjusting very smoothly as a family of four. Taelyn doesn't notice the baby too much since Kaelia sleeps most of the day. From time to time, though, Taelyn will bring little presents over to her baby sister and set them in her lap - Kaelia's baby hats and socks and some of Taelyn's toys like blocks and rubber ducky. Taelyn also likes to point to her sister's nose, eyes, mouth, etc., but we are working with her to point gently which doesn't always happen.

Thank you to all that have been thinking of us lately. We can't wait for you to meet our little Kaelia!

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No Baby Yet

I am now at 38 weeks and still no baby! Taelyn had already arrived by this time during her pregnancy, and my doctor thought that this new little one would have by now too. At my doctor's appointment today, I found that I am not much different than last week: 2.5 cm dilated and still 75% effaced. And I haven't really had any contractions the last several days - unlike Memorial weekend where I thought the baby might arrive before June. I guess our baby just wants to hang on in there a little bit longer!

Wildlife Walk

Last night, we decided to go for a little walk down the street to take Taelyn to the playground. As we were walking out the door, I quickly grabbed our little camera and threw it in the stroller just in case there were some candid moments at the playground. When Justin saw this, he thought I was silly and asked if I expected to see a bear on the walk. Ironically, after making it about 400 meters down the road, we did actually see a bear! A momma bear and two little cubs were hanging out in someone's yard on our street and had apparently been doing so since about 10:30 that morning. We did not get too close because we were only walking and not in a car, but we could still see how massive the mother was. And of course I had my camera. Justin took a few pictures from a distance. I tried to crop the best one to zoom in a bit; it's are not real clear, but you get the picture.

After encountering the bear, we continued on to the playground and saw three deer as well. So we took some more pictures. Justin was even able to climb up on a rock within 10 meters of the deer to take a picture, and they are so docile and familiar with humans that they didn't move at all.

We obviously had quite the wildlife experience in just the short half mile walk to the playground!

Any Day Now!

I am now 37 weeks pregnant and officially full term! At my doctor's appointment last week, I was about 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced, and now I am 2 cm and 75 % based on this week's appointment. The doctor has predicted that the baby will come within the week. We are hoping that this is the case and that we are not just going on false hope, but only our little girl really knows when the time will come to enter in to the world. We are just excited to meet her!

Taelyn - 15 Months

Taelyn had her 15 month check-up at the doctor today. She is now 23 lbs., 31 inches long, and has a head circumference of 18.3 inches. Her weight is average for her age, and her length and head are just above average. Our healthy little girl is also a great eater, feeding herself each meal to just about anything we put in front of her: various veggies and fruits, cereal, sandwiches, chili, chicken, etc. She no longer drinks from a bottle during the day, either.

Developmentally, Taelyn has grown quite a bit during the last few months. Her receptive vocabulary is very high. We can ask her to go get a toy and bring it to us or to point to a specific object and she will complete the task with no problem. One of my favorites is asking her where mommy's baby is, and she will point to my belly. Taelyn will also "help" us out quite a bit by closing the door when we get home, closing the dishwasher door, or bringing us the TV remote. Of course, she is usually the one who tries to get in to the dishwasher first and takes the remote to begin with, but at least she is quick to "help" out afterward.

Walking is now a very big part of Taelyn's life. If she is awake by time Justin goes to work in the morning, she likes to "walk daddy to work" by walking with him to the end of the hall of our apartment complex. And when we leave to go somewhere, Taelyn must walk by herself and push the elevator door to get downstairs. Shopping for groceries has obviously been a little tough these days because she only wants to walk and will constantly try to stand up and get out of the cart!

Music is still one of Taelyn's passions as well as reading her books. She loves to sing along with songs that she knows, and she still is a dancer. She now dances by swaying back and forth from foot to foot, sometimes accompanied by stomping. And she enjoys jumping too! While playing with a mini piano/music station that she got for Christmas, Taelyn will play a song, hit the drum button, and sing in the microphone. She also likes to hand the microphone to me so we can take turns singing. It's pretty cute. And Taelyn is often found with a book in her hand. She will go to her room to read her books by herself. When she wants to read a book with us, she will then bring one out to the living room and hand it to us to read to her. She is very good at pointing to whatever picture we specify. She particularly likes reading about and pointing to: Curious George, Clifford, Walle, balloons, babies, ducks, teddy bears, and balls.

It has been such a joy watching Taelyn learn and grow throughout these last few months. She is such a happy little girl. Here are a few pictures we have captured during this time.

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Congratulations Dr. Walker!

After six long years of hard work, Justin just graduated from his doctoral program at the University of Northern Colorado. The ceremony was this past weekend where Justin was called up on stage as "Dr. Walker" and was formerly "hooded." It was a very special moment. And to help celebrate the accomplishment, Justin's dad came out for the ceremony.

Here are a few pics of the day, including some precious Taelyn time with her Grandpa Walker.