in 10 days...

so your 10 days away from official being 9 months.thats a big deal! the other night we had our friends mitch and josh and andrew over while our friend rachel visited for the weekend. well, you went to bed at 5:00pm and didn't wake back up until 10:00am the next morning. it was really crazy. 17 hours through the night. then i had to go to target to get you some more diapers (my favorite are pampers swaddlers) and i figured you would be needing some of those swimmy diapers for when we take you to the pool and the beach so i went ahead and got those. then i had to just pop into the baby food isle to just look at some of the stuff i knew you could be having now. i love that we are able to make your food from fresh fruits and veggies that we already have but it is ALOT of extra work. so only every once in awhile i will get a jar of baby food here or there. this time i was like...hmmm, i wonder if she could handle those little puff bites that are like cheerios. so i got some of those too...the ones that supposedly have spinach and kale powder in them. turns out. it turns out, YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE EATING THOSE CUTE LITTLE PUFFS AND BEING ABLE TO FEED YOURSELF.

on sunday afternoon, your daddy and i took you to the YMCA pool for the first time ever. YOU LOVE YOUR BATHING SUITE AND THE POOL!!! we had such a great time with you there. your favorite thing is just watching all the other kids around you. like always, everywhere we go everyone comments on how happy and how beautiful you are. its true. stephen and i have a new favorite song to sing you now. we love just singing this bruno mars song to you! its so true. you are crawling on your knees more and eating a ton. this morning you and i went on a chilly 6 mile run on the greenway while daddy practiced soccer with his friends.
 tonight, and all monday nights i go over to the BAMA house to watch the bachelor and stephen has guy nights while i'm gone sometimes.

i love you.

dear kiah lily,
    its friday in february. cold wet damp. but spring is coming. march 20th to be exact. i am so excited about SPRING we might have to make a count down for it. but its early. you went to bed in a snap last night after taking a little adventure over to watch the urban eagles boys play indoor soccer across the street at the church. those tough high school boys even melt when your around. they all want to hold you but your FAVORITE is by far Girmay! they all say, "hi beautiful" when they see you and you just stare right back. for just being a little baby, you sure do crack me up more than i thought a baby could. like yesterday i was putting together some of those silly mustache, glasses, lips, masks on a stick that you use for photo booths, and you were laughing so hard at me when i would put them on. YOU KISS EVERYTHING.AND ITS SO ADORABLE! stuffed animals, pictures of animals in your books, mirrors, me and daddy. i'm positive its because we kiss you and each other so so so much. you have been loving the delicious combo of banana and avocado with a few drops of juice to make it smooth.
   this morning you woke up around 6:00 am so i was defiantly going to be putting you back to bed little early bird. after a long night of me not feeding you, i have a lot to offer, if you know what i mean. and so first thing in the morning there is always a chance of you throwing some back up on me. this morning, was one of those mornings. but i laid you back down, got out of my clothes and have been able to enjoy the early morning so far.

love.

gosh its february.

    great things are happening. VALENTINES DAY IS COMING SOON and im a sucker for any reason at all to celebrate something.   i'm planning to finally cook the HIS & HERS BRUNCH for stephen and i out of my beloved newlywed cook book. 

my favorite book to "read" lately. 

sugar & spice. because kiahs so nice.

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  this is just a little collage of pictures that i have found that will help be my inspiration for kiahs birthday in may. im pretty excited. stephen and i have decided that we will have it here in birchcroft. why not? it is our HOME. and its normal to have your child birthday party in your own yard. i guess its just not all that normal to share your yard with hundreds of other people but we totally consider ourselves blessed!!!  i love that kiah will grow up in such a rich community of people where we try to literally LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS and we love ourselves. i love that i usually have 8 other women outside who want to hold kiah while i unload groceries or have to pack or unpack the car. kiah loves it too. she loves all the nepali women jewelry so much. all the families in birchcroft are important to us so we want to include them in the celebration! and to be honest, i am not oblivious to the fact that that #1 kiah won't even know its her birthday, #2she doesn't care about what we do, or whose there or how pretty it is, and #3 these kind of parties are def more for everyone else. so, im looking at it more through the lens of having a big neighborhood block party with all our friends.  

i hope all our friends can come

i hope our family can come