7th month, the many faces of Kalea

Kalea's 7th month stats, done at home:

16.4 pounds

27 inches

She is growing like crazy, seeming to get bigger every day.  Her hair is coming in really quick and she is so close to having a tooth pop through on the bottom.  

Kalea loves our cats, sometimes squealing in delight when she catches a glimpse of one of them near her.  She has started to hold her own bottle part of the time when she is eating.  So far she has enjoyed all of the food we have introduced to her, and really enjoys eating it.  Her favorite seems to be sweet potatoes, but really everything she has enjoyed.

We keep watching her hang out on her belly as it seems like she is so close to crawling.  She gets up on her knees pretty well and can push herself up really well, but never at the same time.  She gets so mad sometimes when she is stuck on her belly since she hasn't quite mastered the concept of rolling from her  belly to her back, though she has done it a few times.

She is still going to work with me on a daily basis, but she now spends most of her time playing in an exercauser, hanging out in a bumbo seat, or napping.  She used to ride around with me a lot in a baby carrier, but that has gotten more difficult as she has gotten bigger and more wakeful.

We still have Kalea sleeping in her cradle in our room, more so because I am not ready yet to have her in another room.  Pretty soon she will be too long to sleep comfortably in it and will have to move to her crib.  She hasn't gotten so big in it that when ever she moves around her weight shifts and makes the cradle rock which wakes her up.  She gets tired sometime around 7:30 to 8:30 at night, and she definitely makes it known that she is ready for bed.  

As she becomes more and more interested in her surroundings, her personality shines through for everyone to enjoy.  It is so fun to watch as she enjoys taking in the world around her.  She especially loves to make it known that she has found her voice in the early morning hours.  She is a morning girl and usually wakes up very happy.

Looking through the pictures I took of her for her 7th month pics, I couldn't believe how many different looks I got out of her.  Please enjoy the wonderful blooming personality of our little love.

Family trip to Napa

The day after Father's Day in Napa, the boys went for a gold outing.  Us girls decided to do some wine tasting on our own.  Our first stop was the winery where my dad bought some special sparkling wine for our wedding toast.  Here is the front of the winery, Domaine Carneros.

My mom and Kalea waiting for us to walk up the stairs (they were dropped off before we parked.

Kalea wanted to gnaw on the glass as we were passing it around.  

A group shot of the girls

We had a wonderful picnic lunch later that day at Rutherford Hill Winery.  We had delicious salmon in addition to lots of other spreads for our lunch.  So delicious.

The view during our picnic.

The following day we went to a great winery where the owner shipped tons of authentic medieval stones from castles.  We went on a great tour and it was a nice change from the normal wine tastings.

Pat next to the "iron maiden" on the left.

Their wine cave that took almost 2 years to build!  

Pat and I during the tasting

After the castle, we went for our last picnic and I took a few pictures of Kalea.  I love this one.

Daddy and daughter taking it all in.

The last night we were in Napa, Pat and I went on a date to Santa Rosa.  Pat has been wanting to try a Guy Fieri restaurant for awhile now so we took the opportunity to try out "Tex Wasabi's."  We tried one of the "gringo sushi" appetizers which had pulled pork and french fries in it.  It was one of the weirdest things I have eaten in terms of taste expectations.  It was really good, but it completely messed with your head on what you were expecting it to taste like.

Pat in front of the restaurant when we were leaving.

We had a wonderful first family vacation.  Looking forward to many more!

Father's Day in Napa

We took our first family trip back in June over Father's Day weekend.  Yes, we have been to New Jersey to visit family, and Vegas for a Birthday weekend; but we have decided to count this as our first family trip.  We were very lucky to have both of our parents and my sister along on the trip as well.

The Saturday of Father's Day weekend we had quite a few wineries on the schedule in Sonoma Valley.  We first stopped in the town square and picked up some delicious cheese and meat to go with our sourdough bread and Temecula olive oil we had already picked up.   This day was the hottest of the entire trip, so it was nice when we were able to have our picnic lunch under some beautiful trees at Ledson winery (beautiful winery!!!).

Here is Daddy and Kalea relaxing in the shade before we eat.

So cute in her shades.

The last winery of the day was pretty far North and just happened to be Francis Ford Coppola's.  It was pretty neat to see all of his Oscars!

The best part of the weekend was celebrating my hubby's first Father's Day and also being able to spend it with both of our Dad's.  Pat really is the best Dad to our beautiful little girl.  I knew he would be a great dad, which is part of why I fell in love with him;  but seeing him with her he is better then I could have ever dreamed.  Kalea is definitely a daddy's girl, and I love watching them together every moment I can.

Here is Pat with one of his gifts from Kalea and I.  The top picture is from a Phillies game and the bottom one is Pat and Kalea the day after she was born.

Here is Pat's other gift.  I put together a shadow box which included pictures from Kalea's first baseball game ever, the scorecard Pat kept, a ticket from the game, and a certificate from the stadium for her first game.

Here are my two loves...

A smile caught on camera!  

After presents and breakfast, we went to a few wineries before dinner.  Kalea is wearing an adorable petal dress my mom made for her.

Cheers!  Here is our group, with Dale (Pat's Dad) behind the camera.

Mom Mom holding Kalea in her "Napa outfit" at dinner.  We ate at Mustards in Napa Valley...so good!

Kalea and Daddy.  This is how her hair looks after wearing her headband.  Cute rosy cheeks!  Happy first Father's Day to my wonderful husband, my Baby's Daddy!!!

Half a year

Kalea's 6 month Birthday came and went by so quickly, I haven't had a chance to look through my pictures until now.  She is changing every single day and it is difficult to keep up, but I am definitely trying.  This last month she has started eating solids, as I previously posted, sitting up with support (and then wobbling over to the side), laughing a lot more (big guttural laughs), "talking" up a storm, among other things.  I think as I write this post I will just add things she has been doing as I think of them.

Her 6 month stats:  

Weight: 15 pounds (25th%)

Height: 26.3" (75th %)

Head: 17" (75th %)

She has grown over 2 inches in two months and seems to get longer every day.  Her hair is really coming in quickly now and we still can't tell if she will be a blondie for a while or have brown hair.  

Kalea loves swimming so much, she spent well over an hour in the water yesterday.  She recently started enjoying being tossed in the air and grabbing our faces.  Anyone who wears glasses now needs to watch out or she will grab them off of your face.  

She loves sleeping on her side with her legs crossed and her arm crossed over her head.  She props her feet up against the side of her cradle when she is falling asleep and in the morning when she wakes up. One morning this last week she had her foot through the railing and she didn't mind at all.  She usually wakes up content and will just explore her fingers or talk to herself until she sees me peek at her or hears me moving around.  My favorite part of the morning is peeking over at her and saying good morning for the first big smile of the day. 

She has also had her first real photo session when we used a Groupon for a photography studio.  She is such a stinker as she doesn't like to smile for a camera and she loves to stick her arms out to the side.  The pictures turned out great regardless.

Our little love bug is the best part of our world and we can't wait to see what she does the second half of her first year.  Hopefully it will take a long time for it to happen but I know that won't be the case.  Our family has two weddings in the next 5 months so it will fly by.  I will do my best to keep things up-to-date on here.

Now on to what you really came here for.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from her 6 month photo shoot.