David, Lisa, Kayla, Isaac & Annika

1. Kayla took her first steps this weekend! David was helping her stand up and had his hand on the small of her back, and she took 2-3 steps towards me (before falling). She has done this several times since! Also, several times now I have seen her walking around some piece of furniture... let go... and take 1-2 steps on her own to reach the next piece of furniture. So, we certainly aren't walking yet. But first steps, check!!!

2. We had an "operation rescue mission" moment in our house this week. We got locked out of Kayla's room. We've had trouble with her door before (before she was born), but tightened the lock and haven't had any issues since. So, the other night I was nursing her and laying her down to bed.... and I couldn't get out. I stompted on the floor (our cue if I need David) so he came up and was easily able to open the door. In hindsight, I'm not sure why we then closed the door. But we did. And then we couldn't open it again. Thankfully Kayla was asleep and didn't need attention. And thankfully we thought to try to open it right then, and not in the middle of the night if she woke up upset, or in the morning after David was gone! However, David spent the next HOUR AND A HALF trying to get into the room. In the process, we tore open the trim and completely destroyed the door. We were talking about using a sawzall (yeah, like that wouldn't scare poor Kayla to death).... or David throwing his body weight against it and breaking through (um, yeah, that was his idea)... however he was able to cut the (hollow) door open with a knife and chissel out the lock. Praise the Lord that she was able to sleep through a ton of banging.... I would have felt horrible if we woke her up and then couldn't get to her and comfort her. So, now we have a new project: replace all upstairs doors. I say all, because we had looked at replacing the hardware last year when we had issues with it previously (also have issues with the guest room door). We bought new hardware, but our doors are so old that new hardware won't fit in it. So, we ended up being able to fix (so we thought) the door and we just pretended everything was ok. Now we obviously need to replace Kayla's lock and door, and the guest room lock and door (since that already had issues), and David broke the lock to our room trying to understand how the lock worked as he was trying to get into Kayla's room. So, if we replace 3 out of the 4 doors, we might as well replace all 4. But where does this end? Do we replace the doors to the closets in those rooms? Do we replace the doors in the downstairs too? And, of course, they prime the doors white, but you still have to paint them... so we'll have to paint them. But the white paint we use won't match the trim. So, do we paint the trim? And if we do, we might as well just paint the hallway which I have been wanting to paint for some time now! But before we paint, we should really patch drywall over the laundry shoot... since we used it to house electrical wires from the bathroom project! Oh - and I should mention that the doors are an unusual height, meaning where either spend a ton of money on a special order, or we have to cut the door several inches, and then glue back on the strip of wood that goes on the bottom. Where does it end? I'm overwhelemed just thinking about it.

3. I remember being pregnant and thinking, "Hey, when I'm home with Kayla, maybe I can paint the hallways while she's taking a nap?!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...... I clearly did not have realistic expectations!

4. Speaking of unrealistic expectations... one of my good friends was pregnant for the 2nd time while I was pregnant. We'd complain about aches and pains and such, and she'd always say, "Well, they're (kids) a heck of a lot easier to take care of on the inside than on the outside!" And I didn't believe her! HAHAHAHAHA

5. I have been saying for at least 6 weeks that I'm either pregnant or PMSing. My emotions had been swinging more than normal, and I seem to be extremely emotional for no good reason (crying at commercials, at songs on the radio, etc!). I kept saying this, and then got to thinking, what if I am pregnant? How would I even know? How far along would I be before I found out? So, after several weeks of this, I decided it was time to face the music and take a pregnancy test. It came back negative. However, those strong emotions were still there, and I continued to say, "I think I'm pregnant!". Well, this week, I got all weepy over nothing, my back started hurting, and boom... I got a God given negative pregnancy test. Can't say I'm missed this monthly reminder, seeing as how it's been like a year and a half. But at least now I know! :) The thought of being pregnant, let alone having a second child right now, is exhausting!

6. Kayla got her 2nd molar this weekend, making 10 teeth total. The bottom 2 molars are huge bulges under the gums, so I expect them to pop through any day now. I can tell she is in pain, which is sad. And she'll knaw on just about anything to get that counterpressure! Thank goodness for children's Motrin. That seems to allow her to sleep in peace.

7. Kayla wakes up cuddly. She's usually really happy, but setting her on the ground, even if it's to change her diaper, makes her think she's being abandon! So, we snuggle until she's ok to be on her own, and then she's good to go. Sometimes it's only a minute or two... occasionally she's clingy all day!!

8. Kayla has a hair swirl on the top/back of her head. So super cute!

9. She has learned to open drawers in the kitchen. She's completely fascintated with the dishwasher, and wants to climb in any time I open it. She would love nothing more than to investigate the pantry. And the refrigerator. I have to be quick about anything I do and try to open and close things without her noticing.

10. We heard Kayla banging around on something in the kitchen the other day so we went to check on it. Yup - she was lifting up and dropping the toilet seat in the bathroom. AWESOME. And the child-proofing lessons continue.

11. I feel like at the end of May I should not ever be seeing the number 43 on the outside thermometer, or need to wear a fleece and bundle Kayla up for a walk.

12. I hate children's clothing sizes. Scratch that, I hate women and children's clothing sizes, as it's really not any different for me. I hate that Kayla can still fit into a few 0-3 month onsies, yet has outgrown most of her 3-6 month stuff, yet hasn't grown into all of her 6-9 month stuff. I have a bunch of clothes that we pre-bought of 12 month stuff for the summer and 18 month stuff for the winter.... I seriously hope that stuff is going to fit. I suppose things being too big is better than being too small... however, several pairs of her 9 months pants literally fall off as she crawls! At least she is mostly right on track for dresses and shirts... it's just the pants! Oy, the pants.... she has this tiny bootie that nothing fits!

13. I bought the cutest dress EVER for Kayla's 9 month pictures that I'm having taken at Target next week!! Hope it fits!!!