Sunday, February 7, 2010

Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, & Bananas

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

The Smith Family is hoping for a Colts win.

Kassidy had her 6 month check-up on Thursday. She is 25.5 inches tall and weighs 14 pounds and 3.5 ounces. (just in case you wanted precise measurements!) She also had four shots, we have to go back in four weeks to finish up with them. She is a trooper when it comes to shots, screams like crazy for about 10 minutes. Then, back to smiling. We go back to Gillette March 9 to see when her next surgery will be scheduled, probably April. We are hoping they will hold off until June, as I don't have any more sick days to use. They base the surgeries on her development, so we'll see what they tell us.

We also found out in November that her hip joints are not aligning properly. Kassidy has been sleeping in a brace to help with this. Because she was breech for so long, her hips weren't able to form right. We are hoping for a good report in March, we don't want her to have to go through another surgery for them.

The weeks seem to be flying by. This past week was a busy one, Shannon had parent/teacher conferences Monday night and is tutoring Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Wayne doesn't get home from work until around 6:30/7:00, so our evening are jammed packed with family time.


Kassidy's first snow experience. Daddy made her a snow chair and she made her first snow angel.


The whole family sledding at Christmas time. Here we are after the Christmas Eve service at church.


She loves hanging out on her tummy. She's almost ready to be sitting by herself.


We started the baby food regimen. She started with sweet potatoes, loved them! Then, some green beans, also enjoyed. We added bananas too! She is also eating oatmeal cereal. Such a big girl!



She loves her toy doll and looking cute in her Down vest.



Daddy brought home some of his ice fishing catch. Here is Kassidy's first experience with a fish. She wasn't quite sure what to think, maybe it was "Daddy, why is this fish so little?"

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Smith's Are Back!!!

January 31, 2010

Whoa! October 3rd! Nice of me to send out Christmas cards saying to keep track of us, and then, well.......not update it! Sorry!
So, here we go! Our little monster is 6 months old now! We can hardly believe it. She is rolling over (one direction) like crazy and almost sitting by herself. Kassidy loves her exersaucer. She spends 30 - 45 minutes entertaining herself. It's the only way we can get anything done around here. The swing is just about old news, although, mom and dad are reluctant to take it down. She loves books and is feeling everything. What she isn't trying to feel, she is putting in her mouth to taste.

Speaking of tasting. We have been giving her graham crackers as a "keep quiet" treat. They are quite messy, but she loves them. Her first try of sweet potatoes went great. She also loves rice and oatmeal cereal. It still comes out her nose, as her palate is still open. It makes feeding her fun and messy!

Here are some quick highlights and pictures for the months I missed.
October:
Baptized October 11
Lip/Nose Surgery October 19
Shannon went back to work Ocotber 29
Kassidy's First Halloween October 31


Baptism Sponsors: Mike & Stacy Steffensen & Aaron Moerke


Grandpa & Grandma Dammer......Grandpa & Grandma Smith.....Grandpa & Grandma Sandbo


Getting Ready for Surgery.....After Surgery with Mom.....After Surgery with Dad


No More Hole in My Lip.....Going Home with My No-No's On (keeps my hands from hitting my face. We had to take them off every couple of hours to stretch her arms. She hated the No-No's)


I was a cute pumpkin, but I didn't like it one bit! I was much happier out of my costume! My friend Whitney came over, she was a cute giraffe.

November:
Started Rolling
Stayed In Hanover for Thanksgiving
No More Colic! Yeah!!!


One of my first rolls in action! Hanging out under my mobile. I love this thing!



Hanging out in my landry basket. Oh, she's drooling like crazy too!

December:
I found my toes, love them!
Tubes in ears are great! I can hear my voice too!
First Christmas


Grandpa & Grandma Dammer bought me my high chair. I love playing in it!

Cooking with Daddy! I have turned into such a happy baby!


Taking a family picture sure is a lot of fun! It's hard to get all four of us looking and smiling at the same time!


After bath time, the robe is a huge hit! Yup, I'm reading already! I'm advanced.


My pretty Christmas dress from Aunt Stacie and cousin Alayna. I really liked to suck on the bow in front.

We went to Cabelas to see Santa. I didn't hate it, but I didn't know what to think either. Good thing mom and dad weren't too far away.
Disclaimer...I need to finish uploading Christmas pictures. My goal is to post every weekend from now on. Don't hold your breath though! Thanks for following the Smith family. We are doing well and enjoying Miss Kassidy.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Whoa! 9 Weeks Old....October 3, 2009

Good Cold, Wet Saturday to Everyone!

Sorry for not updating our blog lately. Life in the Smith house has been kind of crazy. Our near perfect little girl developed colic from 7 p.m. to about 10 p.m. Conveniently, that is when Wayne comes home from work. She cries non-stop for those 3 hours, it is starting to get a little better, but man are those LONG hours.

She is growing like a weed, well a cute weed. Kassidy is 23 inches long and weighs 10.2 lbs. This is exciting because she has to be 10 pounds to have her first surgery. She loves to lay on the floor on her Baby Einstein mat and hit the rattles. She can't quite figure out how she does it though. In inadvertent hand waves and leg kicks get everything moving for her. Looking in the mirror, out the windows, and staring at the fan are her favorite things during the day. She is not a real good sleeper during the day. Someone told me that means she is gifted. Well, duh! I already knew that! Just teasing....kind of.

We continue to go to Gillette every Tuesday and other doctor appointments as needed in-between. Dr. Cermain has been changing her nose stint and mouth piece each week now. She is pushing Kassidy's nose up higher and is trying to bring her top gum line together. We clean her mouth piece twice a day and change her tape as needed. Kassidy is getting better and better with the mouth piece, the tape deal isn't her bag. She just looks cranky when that tape is on.

Many people have asked us, why the tape? It pulls the top two parts of her lip together, so when she has surgery, that top lip has more elasticity to it. This way, when she smiles, it won't pull so much. We try to keep tape on as much as we can. When it was humid, it was hard to keep on. The adhesive just wouldn't hold. When she screams, it doesn't hold up very well either. We just try our best with the good ole tape. Secretly, we can't wait until that part is over.

Kassidy had her 2 month check-up earlier this week. She is in the 50-75%tile for height; 25%tile for weight, and 50%tile for head size. Dr. Palmer, her pediatrician, says she is doing great developmentally. She is a strong little girl. Guess she gets that from her mom! (ha ha ha) She can pull her head up so her chest is off the floor when laying on her stomach and she loves to "stand" on my hands, while leaning on my shoulder. She is cooing like crazy and when she is in a good mood, she is the smiliest girl ever! Kassidy loves the singing at church, not such a fan of the sitting part though. Not enough movement for her! She loves music at the house too. I play her Baby Einstein cd in the car, she just loves it. She seems to sing along, well coo. Well, maybe I am just making this up in my head as her mother, bare with me!

Her first surgery is Monday, October 19. We will leave for Gillette Children's Hospital in the morning and will return home on Tuesday sometime. We'll send updates as we can, not sure what kind of recovery process we are in for. It's hard to believe she is going to have that top lip repaired already, it seems like just yesterday we found out about her cleft lip and palate. Any extra prayers and positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This isn't the end of her surgeries, but more of the beginning. She will have a total of 10-13 surgeries before everything is said and "done." This time they will fix her nose, close her top lip, and put tubes in her ears.

Enjoy the photos below. She such a little angel!

If only the Viking could play in the first half!
Man I like it when the Vikings win! The second half is always much better!
Mom and Dad got me a pacifier. I can't suck on it, I just gum it. So if their not holding it in, I guess I'll have to!

I actually like bath time. Although the temperature change sure makes things a lot colder!



Here I am being smile girl! It's fun to see mom and dad make crazy faces at me. If they only knew what I was thinking!





Here is Dr. Cermain and my station for my Tuesday appointments. I usually end of pooping through what ever outfit I have on. Mom finally figured out to just leave my pajamas on until after the appointment. It makes less laundry for her.

I love football! Mom and I spend Sunday afternoons watching football when Dad is helping the Moerke's with their new cabin.

I love sleeping in mom and dad's bed in the morning. I am a good sleeper in my own crib, but I love the extra hour of snuggle time with mom in the morning.

I especially like to be naked. Just take my clothes off and I am one happy girl! My dad thinks I should out-grow this quickly!

I love to fall asleep in my swing, but sometimes I have some goofy ways of keeping my head. Believe it or not, I find this most comfortable as I do it often!


Here I am playing on my Baby Einstein mat. I usually only last about 15 minutes, but mom thinks that's pretty good. I love that whale on the top.
Here I am hanging out, being happy...and cute!

Even though it's not Halloween yet, I got to wear my new pumpkin outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Sandbo.


This is how I play with my puppy Paige. I get to ride on mom and she throws the ball for Paige. Sometimes I even fall asleep! Fresh air wears me out.
When Mom and Dad eat, I lay on Mom's lap. Most of the time I just smile at her. She thinks that's pretty cool! Dad loves when I am smiley when he gets home instead of crabby too!