The Kraner Family

Retirement Party

2010-06-26T21:18:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrated my mom & dad's retirement! I am so happy for them both, they can now 'enjoy' life together without the stress of teaching. My parents are taking Kaiya one day a week to spend time with her, and they/her couldn't be happier! Now its time to travel and have fun!! Congrats mom & dad!!

Landscaping

2010-06-26T21:08:00.004-05:00

Well, we FINALLY have some curb appeal on the front of our house!!

Before....

During....

After....

We will survive...

2010-06-12T22:23:00.003-05:00

Well today we had a great day and a really shitty one, all in one! We started off the day at a Brewers Block party. We got a couple Brewers signatures. Kaiya and Mommy might be in the west allis paper on thursday too! Kaiya had a blast and was SO good at it.

She got to go down a big slide with mommy and I THINK I had a fun time! The slide was VERY fast!! mommy was scared she was gonna kill Kaiya at the end, like we would just run into the wall - but at the end when the tarp ran out, we stopped very quickly.

Then we got home and got some very bad news - Josh received a letter, yes a letter in the mail stating he was laid off from MPS. WOW, a HUGE shock. I'm not sure how Josh is doing with the news, he doesn't show emotion well - me on the other hand, I spent a lot of the day crying. We will be ok, we have to make some changes to budget for awhile but we will survive, in fact it might even bring us closer as a family. He may be recalled as a teacher but we aren't sure when that will even happen. My first thought was sell the house and get out of Milwakee - but we'll see - we aren't making any big changes right away...need to not do anything on being upset emotionally.

Landscaping/Remodeling

2010-06-05T18:14:00.011-05:00

We've been in our house for about 3-4 years now and are slowly starting to make improvements to it. We've installed laminate floors in the living room, that was WAY over due and I LOVE the new floors (especially now with a new puppy!!). We also installed all new windows to make our house much more energy efficient and allow us to open windows using one hand vs. force!

This year our goal is some sort of landscaping and possible a remodel of the downstairs laundry room and adding an egress window into a very nice room in the basement. The owners before us did NOTHING outside, and I don't have much of a green thumb....so its been a slow process. We are going to try to do some bushes/trees out front, I'll TRY to keep you updated on the progreess. So far Josh started to take these stones we had all around our house and put them out front to form a border - one way to save money - reuse!!

Next step, top soil delivered and installed and then bark and shrubs. Stay tuned!

May zoo trip

2010-06-05T17:55:00.005-05:00

Not that going to the zoo has ever NOT been fun, but with Kaiya getting older, it is becoming even more fun going to the zoo. She recognizes animals and is learning the sounds they make.

She signs elephant, birds, loves the giraffes, growls at the bears, lions, and anything that looks like a bear/lion and can make monkey sounds.

Our new thing was feeding the goats - she did this earlier in the week with a friend so we decided to try it with her and she loved it!! She is not afraid of any animal (which can be good and bad).

Daddy had to take her over to the petting station, as they had a snake out. Mommy is TERRIFIED of snakes, but I didn't want to let her know that - so daddy took her over. She was fearless, even grabbed onto it (she doesn't know what a snake is yet....but hopefully she doesn't lose her fearlesenss, just keeps it in check and is safe around animals).

Family Dells Trip

2010-06-05T17:06:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago Josh, Kaiya and I headed to the dells. Part of our trip was spent with Josh's softball girls at the Kalahari and then they left and the family spent one more night at the wilderness. We had a BLAST and will definitely be going back. Kaiya LOVED being with the girls, they kept her entertained and loved playing with her.

When we got to the Kalahari on Friday, there were cookies you could decorate in the lobby - so we decorated some very yummy sugar cookies. We also got to look at the lion cubs they have for you to take pictures with - to Kaiya they were 'doggies'. She got to touch one on Saturday, and loved it, they were very soft!

Kaiya and Mommy at the Kalahari

Hugging the rhino

Kaiya and daddy at the Kalahari

At the wilderness we got a two room suite, it was the best money ever spent! Kaiya had a room to sleep in and Josh and I could watch tv without bothering her. She has never slept so good, we wore her out every day!!

Of course we had to take the wagon ride at the Wilderness, as mommy LOVES horses!!

Kaiya wasn't too sure about the big doggies at first, but she warmed up to them a little bit....

While on our wagon ride, the driver spotted a baby deer laying in the woods!!! SO CUTE!!

After one more trip to the water park, we headed home sunday and she was passed out!! We had a great time and cannot wait to take another family trip!

First Hair cut (more a hair trim)

2010-06-05T16:58:00.003-05:00

Kaiya doesn't have a TON of hair on her head, which is kinda surprising to me, so she hasn't needed a full out hair cut yet. However, as I have been told, in order to help the hair grow, so that's what we've done...taken her in for her first hair trim. I also was told that girls hair grows slower....so weird! Anyway, she did really well, of course why woudln't you sit nice when Toy Story is playing on the TV and you are sitting in a pink jeep!

And just like that, we are done! Sporting my new pony tail! Now hopefully my hair will grow!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-14T21:20:00.007-05:00

We had a great Easter this past year. The Easter Bunny came to two houses for Kaiya this year again! However this year we didn't go sit on his lap this year as Kaiya has a big fear of mascots at the moment.

Basket #1

Basket #2

We went on an Easter Egg Hunt this year - it wasn't really a 'hunt' though. All the eggs were in plain sight. Kaiya had a BLAST! Although the weather didn't cooperate, cold and rainy - she absolutely LOVED it.

Doctor Visits, a girly girl and fun world

2010-03-08T21:31:00.005-06:00

Well, it was bound to come sooner or later - tonight we had to fill our first prescription for Kaiya. But I have to say at 19 months, I think we have done well!!

She has pink eye in her right eye. It came on VERY quickly and I'm worried it is spreading to her left eye as before she went to bed it had some discharge too. We think she got it at the YMCA where she goes to play with kids when mommy/daddy workout. On Friday there was a sign up stating a case was reported on Tuesday... We are hoping Mommy and Daddy don't get it, but I won't be surprised if we do!!

And NO, Mommy or Daddy didn't beat her up!!

This is our new look, little pig tails! We think she looks adorable!! What do you think!? Now she actually is starting to look like a girl!

Fun world! Mommy and Kaiya took a trip to Fun World in Germantown recently. They have games for kids/adults to play - kinda like a chuck e. cheese. They also have a mini bounce area for toddlers and a large and small indoor play area. Kaiya had a good time, not as fun as Big Backyard though. She wasn't too comfortable in the bounce house, falling down a lot.

She wanted to play on the big kids play house - so mommy went up with her - we had fun going down the slides together!

Independent is my name...

2010-02-19T19:47:00.002-06:00

Independent is Kaiya's new name - she has turned 18 months and all of a sudden she can do everything on her own! She doesn't like to be carried much anymore, likes to walk in the parking lot and into stores. She doesn't need help putting shoes on, gets mad if you try. She doesn't need help feeding herself, even is getting upset if her food is cut up while we eat full pieces of things.

She picks up on things SO quickly and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES helping. If you say, "Kai, can you help me do this..." she gets the BIGGEST smile on her face. Loves putting clothes in the hamper, loves putting shoes in the closet, loves emptying the dishwasher, loves putting clothes in and taking them out of the washer/dryer. She just wants to be doing what we are doing. Its very fun to watch her pick up on things so quickly - we don't even show her how, she just watches us and picks up on it (this is good and bad!!!).

Climbing is the latest thing, I mean, she has been climing on things for awhile but now its getting a little bit out of control! Moreso, I'm scared she is gonna fall and hurt herself. Tonight I was watching dishes and came into the living room and there she was in her high chair...but Josh, nor I put her in it. So of course I had to see what she did so I took her out and let her climb back in and I was amazed! So then of course I had to get it on tape so I took her out and let her do it again!! And now I don't want her to do it anymore!! I think it might be time for her to move to a booster seat or something at our table....or a different kind of chair...

Thankfully, knocking very hard on wood, she hasn't climbed out of her crib yet...and I'm HOPING this doesn't happen for a VERY long time, I like that I can put her in it and not have to worry about her getting out!!

So wait for the next adventure, what our little dare devil will be doing tomorrow....

18 month visit

2010-02-12T20:37:00.012-06:00

Kaiya had her 18 month doctor appointment today. All is well - growing as she should. She jumped up a bit in height percentage which is good, she won't be short and fat! lol Her current 'stats' are 32 1/2" tall (75%), 22lb 12 1/2 oz (25%) and head is 47 3/4 (80%). The doctor said she looks great and is progressing as she should, absolutely NO concerns! That makes a mom VERY happy. I have cried some tears today knowing she is 18 months, makes me sad to know she is growing up so quickly!!!

The doctor gave us some info on potty training, but also said she is probably still too little so don't push anything. We have bought a potty chair for her, she does sit on it but she also enjoys putting stuff in it including her foot. So right now it just sits in the bathroom and she is getting used to it. No pressure right now, she isn't ready.

Kai is exhibiting all the typical characteristics of an 18 month old troublemaker. She is big into hitting if she doesn't get her way - she packs a hard punch too!! If you tell her no, or take her away from something she wants she will throw herself on the ground and throw a mini tantrum. The doc today told me just wait until she is 3 and you want her back to 18 month and throwing a little tantrum vs. a big one!! So we try to ignore or distract her when she gets into her fits.

We are also attempting to wean her of her pacifier except at naps and bed time. She would get it sometimes while around the house (but rarely) and in the car. I was told it has to be gone by 24 months but I don't like kids WALKING with pacifiers in their mouths - so it needs to go away except she can still have it for sleeping. We are doing OK with it, at times there are fits cause she sees it and wants it - but we try our best to distract and not give in!!

She got her first fat lip Wednesday evening - the first of many big owies I can only imagine. She was trying to walk up the basement stairs and Rocco couldn't wait and sprinted up the steps and hit her - causing her bottom teeth to jab into her top lip :( Pictures below - so with the short bang cut I gave her and the fat lip - my daughter now looks like a boy! Wonderful!!

Kaiya Jo Update

2010-01-31T21:18:00.007-06:00

Alright, so I know I have slacked BIG time on our blog recently. Holidays are fun but very stressful!! I'll try to get back on track.

Kaiya is doing great, she is almost 18 months old and just a bundle of joy!! She is so observant, it just amazes me. Josh and I can do things, just everyday things that we aren't specifically showing to Kaiya and the next thing we know, she is mimmicing them. Just tonight the things I can point out. Josh and I were trying to move her HUGE dresser, so Josh was pushing it - next thing we know Kaiya is next to the dresser pushing and grunting like daddy did. TOO FUNNY. Or - she LOVES to unload the dishwasher with us (I told Josh tonight we need to get it on video so when she is older and says how much she hates doing it we can show her that at 18 months she LOVED helping mommy and daddy! His response was if we get it on tape she will demand back pay for all the help she did without an allowance!!) So tonight, after she got all the tupperware out of the dishwasher, she pushed the drawer back in, closed the dishwasher and then started to push the buttons on it as if to start it - and even went to the start button to push. Josh and I just stared in amazement, NEVER have we showed her how to do it, just saw us and figured out that was the next step!! One more example, I was dusting earlier - tonight Kai grabbed my rag I didn't put away and started dusting things as well.

She is such a little helper. She LOVES helping us whenver she can, unloading groceries is one of her favorites. She is a great gopher too - if we need to pass stuff to each other in different rooms Kai is up for the challenge! Can give her something and say, go give this to daddy or mommy and she is off! We can tell her to do things like to go put shoes away, or clothes in the hamper, or get my a book from under the chair, or go get her giraffe, or shoes, or milk, etc (pretty much ANYTHING) and she will do as we ask. I just am amazed at how much she understands.

I was just telling Tiffany how I was worried about Kaiya because other friends tell me how many words their 18 or so month olds know and I was saying that Kaiya didn't know many. However, I then sat down and wrote down all her words she knows AND signs and I felt MUCH better, as she is doing better than I thought!

Words she says: Bob, Doggie, Hungry, mommy, daddy, kitty, meow, woof, up, stop, tickle tickle

Signs she knows: bath, more, thank you, please, water, milk, elephant, eat, juice, bird

Body parts she points to: hair, tummy, toes, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, head

Actions she knows: kick in the water, splash hands in the water, blow bubbles in the water, clap hands, high five, touch down!, hugs and kisses when asked - and I'm sure I'm forgetting some - Josh is currently working on pound with her :)

She feeds herself now with spoons and forks, infact if you try to help her she pitches a fit! She is trying to put her own shoes on, usually can't get them but she tries. She does get her own slippers on and loves putting her hat on herself. She likes drinking water from a normal cup, we usually just put a little in as a lot does end up on her but she does get a good amount in her mouth too.

We bought her a potty - and really all we are doing right now is letting her sit on it while we go potty (more so mommy than daddy) and just get used to it and see it. There is no formal training going on.

She is constantly into everything - she LOVES to climb, climbs on our bay window all the time - even moves her chair over to the window to climb up on it. Will climb on our dinning room chairs or pull herself up onto our corner table/bench in the kitchen. She has NO fear. Here is her standing on her tippie toes on top of a heater exchange pulling herself up on the window to see mommy coming home.

She is a VERY independent little girl and is starting to test mommy and daddy's patience. If you tell her no or take something away from her, she lets you know she isn't happy. Will fall on the floor and start crying. I try not to laugh or smile because its cute - right now - until she does it in a store!! 18 months and throwing mini tantrums already - YIKES!!! We are gonna be in for a long 'terrible twos' considering they have started already!

But all in all she is a great child, we can go anywhere with her and she is very relaxed and just goes with the flow.

Brewers On Deck

2010-01-31T21:01:00.005-06:00

The Kraner Family headed to Brewers on Deck again this year. It is an event the brewers hold to get the fans excited for the upcoming season. They offer activities for kids and adults alike. They have autograph sessions (the main reason Josh likes going), photos with the brewers, grab bags full of bobbleheads, tickets, etc. Josh got down there at 6:30am even though the doors didn't open til 10!! It paid off, he got his Rickie Weeks autograph. Kaiya and mommy met him down there right around 10 and got right in thanks to the great position Josh had in line!!

Last year we got a picture with Jeff Suppan, this year the lines were WAY too long for pictures with any brewers so we skipped that. However, we did get our face painted! This was our first face painting - a simple heart. I wasn't sure how she was gonna do with it so we went easy, turns out she did GREAT, didn't move at all! So more complicated next time!

She also signed elephant for the first time today! The Kalahari had their mascot there, which is an elephant, so I said elephant and signed it and right after she did! And then when we saw him later she offered the sign without me having to show her first! I was shocked, and happy!

The Big Backyard

2010-01-31T20:19:00.008-06:00

Kaiya and Mommy went to play at an indoor play area called The Big Backyard. Basically its a rainbow play system and a smaller, plastic, toddler play area - inside. They have bikes and houses and balls for them to play with as well. It was the BEST $7 we have spent in a long time. I also love this place because parents don't have to pay to get in - which is a plus - I hate places for kids that also charge parents admission - but I'm not interacting with the exhibits!? This place was awesome and Kaiya had the time of her life! She was smiles the whole time.

GOAL!!

Playing House

15 month checkup

2009-11-06T19:51:00.002-06:00

We had our 15 month checkup today - still going strong! 21lb 14oz (50%), 30 1/2in (50%) - so we are a very average child!

She isn't talking much, just a couple words like BOB (Tiffany's cat), Mom, OP (stop at the dogs). I am a bit concerned however the doctor said not to worry. To continue reading, and showing her pictures and telling her animal sounds and singing alphabets in the car, etc.

I do have to say although she isn't talking, she understands A TON - you can ask her to do just about anything and she does - she just doesn't talk, but she DOES sign! She knows bird, bath, more, juice, milk, hi/bye. She seems to pick up on signs rather quickly - for instance, I have been trying to do juice with her for awhile and literally, just today I showed her milk and a juice box and asked her which she wanted - she pointed to the juice and I said can you say Juice - and she signed juice!! I was shocked and proud :) So we don't have verbal but we have sign! (now when I say we don't have verbal I just mean what we can understand, she talks a lot in her own language!)

Fall 2009

2009-10-24T21:08:00.005-05:00

We went to Basses Pumpkin Farm to pick out some pumpkins - we had to get pictures in the same cutouts as we did last year to compare!!

2009 Picture

2008 Picture

2009 Picture2008 Picture

We got to see some goats and llamas, she loved them!

She really wasn't sure what to do with the pumpkins...

Tiffany took some adorable pictures of her on a rare warm day in October...so cute!!

The pumpkins we carved!!

Our first birthday party

2009-08-09T20:58:00.006-05:00

So I'm a LOT late on this post - have so much going on here, no time to sit on the computer!! Kaiya's first birthday party was a HIT!! She had a blast and it was so great getting together with family, we don't do it often enough, though we still missed our out of town family.

Kaiya looked like a little princess in her VERY CUTE pink dress....

Her friend Lilah and her had a very cute hug!!

And then again later in the day...

Our decorations...

The cakes!!

Not sure what to think about it....

YUMMY!

Great Grandma Ryback and Kai

Great-Grandma being silly - that is one of kaiya's favorite toy though - her Roundy's bucket! Auntie Mary Jo holding her.

Present time!! Got lots of great gifts!

Playing in her ball pit with cousin, Peyton.

Kaiya got this purple chair for her birthday and she absolutely LOVES it - its perfect for her...just her size and did I mention she LOVES it!?

WE MADE IT A YEAR!!

2009-08-07T21:49:00.010-05:00

Well, we all survived Kaiya's first year, and what a great year it was!! I am knocking on wood but Kaiya was only sick a couple times and when she was, it was just a cold - we were only at the doctors office for well baby visits. She is growing and changing on a DAILY basis - its very fun to watch her discover new things and watch things click in her head. Its also sad, my baby is growing up, I just sat and orgainzed her baby clothes and my maternity clothing tonight, ugh looking at the clothes that fit her when she was a newborn just brought tears to my eyes. The hat she wore home from the hospital, how small it is. Awh the memories.

But here we are, a year later and many, many, many milestones later! Kaiya has 8 teeth with a 9th coming in - one of her year old molars is peeking through the back gums. She is walking like a champ, she started at 11 months. She eats all table food now (I wouldn't expect anything less with almost 9 teeth!!), drinks juice from a sippy cup, and tries to use forks herself. We are going to be working on transitioning her off bottles for her milk too, slowly but surely. She will be getting cows milk tomorrow!! I am so excited for her to try it. I am very proud of myself that I made it a full year of giving her mothers milk for her first year of life but let me tell you - I am happy to be done!! FREEDOM!!

She is growing good - 29" and 19lbs. 12oz - so 50% height and 25% weight. She has learned how to go down the one stair we have in our house without a gate on it - she now will go down on her tummy. What's funny about this is we were at Chuck E. Cheese for her first birthday and when she would go down the slide, she would go down on her tummy too - she would get up to the top then turn around and get on her belly like she does for the stairs - it was very cute.

She is into everyting, she is a very curios child. Has to see what is going on everywhere - some call her nosy. She loves my tupperware drawer, we find covers and tupperware all over the in many different spaces.

We will be going on our first airplane ride in September to head out to California to visit Uncle Brett and we couldn't be more excited!! We will get to go to disney (probably) and do some other fun stuff in California - Kaiya will be doing all this WAY before I ever did as a kid!! So we will be there about a week and we can't wait! Though mommy is not looking forward to the airplane ride with a one year old - gulp....

All in all we have a happy, healthy one year old. This past year was a blast, watching her grow and learn and we can't wait for what the rest of the years have in store for us!

More....

2009-07-18T08:50:00.004-05:00

I can't tell you how long we have been working on sign language with Kaiya - since before we should have even been cause she had no clue what we were doing!! And I am SO happy that she seems to have finally grasped one of the signs - MORE There are different variations of more - supposed to be your fingers hitting together or fists together, Kaiya has made it one fist hitting the palm of the other hand.

She also is trying to feed herself...when I put the spoon by her SHE has to grab it and feed herself, she doesn't like us doing it! Little miss independent

The Great Circus Parade

2009-07-16T20:44:00.004-05:00

The Great Circus Parade has been a tradition in my family ever since I can remember...I remember my dad and my Uncles going down the day before to stake out our spot underneath this bridge to ensure we were out of the elements, be it rain or shine. They would camp overnight to make sure we had the best spot!! I remember going down and having a port a potty in our suburban so that when we had to go to the bathroom we could go to the car and go (its the small things).

(Caption above pic: I have never seen this before in a parade - there were lots of babies accompanying what I can only guess to be their moms in the parade. Must be conditioning them to crowds and working?)

It was a great family tradition and I was very upset when it left town in 1993 and didn't come back. Now that I have a child I really want to pass the tradition down to her of going to the parade, but I'm not sure how long it will be here unfortunately. It was back this year and we went, but not sure about next year. Regardless, I will be taking my family every time it is in town and it is a tradition I want to pass on.

The only thing missing this year from the parade that I can remember was the 40 horse hitch. It was a spectacular sight, have to see it to believe it (and give it LOTS of room around the corners). I was disappointed not to see that - but seeing all the wagons brought back so many memories.

This year we went down with my friend Erin and her two sons and her brother and his child. She has a little boy, Micah who is 4 months younger than Kaiya - Kaiya was more interested in him than the parade, but I have the pictures to show her she was there!!

Cute pics

2009-07-11T20:38:00.002-05:00

Ok, is anyone else frustrated with moving pictures around on the blog? For me I am having NO luck! So here are two I wanted to put in my 4th of July post but I couldn't get them where I wanted them so I just decided to do a new post!!

WALKING

2009-07-11T20:31:00.010-05:00

Walking, walking, walking - its official, we have an 11 month old walker. She is still a little unsteady, and goes for crawling at times but for 11 months, she does well for walking! She was cruising for awhile but just these last couple of days, especially in Eagle River with my father telling her - NO, you walk - come on - you can do it - WALK....she is now walking multiple steps on her own with no help!! She is so darn cute to watch! (now, until she starts running away from us). Here are some videos I got of her today. Sorry, first one is sideways - rest should be good.

Notice the tongue out towards the end of this video.

4th of July

2009-07-11T20:04:00.008-05:00

I'm a little late on my blog, sorry, things have been hectic and I am without my laptop right now. Anywho - the family ventured Up North to our house in Eagle River for the 4th of July. I love it up there - its so peaceful.

We went to Watermelon fest, which is basically a bunch of art vendors - we went to the 4th of July parade in downtown Eagle River and Josh and I went to the Land 'O Lakes Fireworks by ourselves (very dissapointing fireworks I might add). Kaiya was interested in the parade for about 10 minutes - she would wave at the people and clap for them. She did love the ice pops that one of the floats was handing out. Then she wanted to get down and explore, enough waving at people!

We didn't get out on the boat at all, which is fine. The weather wasn't the best - it was a bit chilly. We did get to just relax and that is the most important part!

There was a rough part of the trip - Kaiya wasn't sleeping well up there. She would not nap (and when she did it was a struggle) and she didn't go down like her usual self, she woke up most of the nights as well which is not like her. So that part was stressful, but other than that we had a good time. Here she is in her 'toga' after she woke up from one of her naps.

My dad and I went fishing - he caught more than me but we had about 6-7 fish between us. I love fishing, I HATE touching the fish - they are slimey and nasty. My dad wanted to take a picture of me with one of my fishies I caught - he was trying to zoom and get the picture just right while I was holding the slimey fish!! So my expression in the picture was me telling him TAKE THE FRICKIN PICTURE ALREADY!

Can't walk on the grass!

2009-06-21T21:21:00.003-05:00

Josh had his end of the season party for softball. Here is a picture that Tiffany took of Kaiya and I at the party, this is one of my absolute favorites of her and I!

Kathy, the athletic director, took Kaiya and put her on the grass - which she never was on before as I would always have a blanket or mat down for her to play on. Kaiya had no clue what was going on! She didn't want to put her feet down on it - she was walking like a little hitler - sticking her foot way out in front of her and only putting it down when she had to in order to take her next step. It was so cute!

Happy Birthday to the Eagle River Children's Museum!

2009-06-21T20:55:00.006-05:00

Our recent trip to Eagle River was A) not long enough and B) resulted in a melt down over ice cream and C) landed us two snowmobiles for the winter!!

In Eagle River, WI, where my family has a house, there is a children's museum - have never been until just recently, as we had no reason to before! The museum has lots of areas, and it lets kids learn about things hands on. There is a shadow room, where you stand infront of a wall and a flash puts your shadow on the wall (it was SO cute, Josh and Kaiya were standing in front of the wall and the flash went off - the sillouette was of him holding her hand - I tried to get a picture but it didn't turn out). They have a shopping area to shop for fresh food (plastic of course).

A bird wall where you can push the different birds to hear their sounds, a water play area, a fake hospital room, etc, etc. A place where you can put yourself in a bubble.

We found out Kaiya is still a little too young for the museum, maybe in a couple months when she is walking it will be better. But anyway, it was their 11th year birthday party so we went to see the museum and participate in the party.

They had games for the kids to play, a person playing guitar for the kids. Kaiya enjoyed watching the other kids and listening to the music.

For their birthday cake, they had dilly bars. Josh and I got one but we didn't get one for Kaiya, she was going to share with me. So I bit into it and then let her take a bite - that was the end of it. OMG, she absolutely LOVED it, she started grabbing it with both hands and her eyes got wide and she just mowed down!! So then, after her and I shared it, it was gone - and that did not make Kaiya a happy camper as you can tell from the pictures below!!

It was seriously the cutest thing, the pout face over the ice cream being gone!!

Some fun Videos!

2009-05-29T21:13:00.011-05:00

Some random videos from the past few days. Kaiya feeding herself which she loves doing! And Kaiya playing with her toy where she puts the ball in.

Eating Mac & Cheese

Eating Banannas

Playing with Toys

Visit with Great Grandma

2009-05-22T15:38:00.006-05:00

Kaiya and I went to visit my Grandma (my mom's mom), she is in an assited living house as she has alzheimers. Its really sad going to visit her as she doesn't remember a thing, and she wont' even remember we were there - but it means something to me that Kaiya will have pictures of her Great Grandma Walker, even if she won't remember her at this time. Going there is hard, we get the same questions over and over - how old is she, what is her name - we (my aunt MJ and I) continue to tell her, as well as that is her great grandaughter. She has no clue who I am until we tell her (over and over) and each time the reaction is the same. I also get comments from her about Kaiya's name, why would I name her that? Its so weird? Would I like to have that name? Its hard to hear, I just brush it off (and thank god Kaiya doesn't understand right now). Its just Kaiya has a different name than those given "back in the day" - and I know she doesn't know any better, she can't help it.

But it is funny too - I have Kallie, who is my therapy dog and whom I have taken to nursing homes - and taking Kaiya into the assisted living place my Grandma is in, Kaiya acted as the 'therapy kid'. Everyone loved her, she brought smiles to their faces - it was great!! So there was multiple positives out of the day today.

9 month check up

2009-05-20T20:04:00.004-05:00

9 months, really!? Wow, time flies!! She has now been out in the world as long as she was in my tummy and man, is she growing fast!! She has gone down a couple percentiles with her weight (18lbs. 15 1/2 oz- 50%) and height (27" - 40%) but her head is still up there (80%)- so basically - she has a big head!

The doctor said she is advanced in a lot of things - eating, she has already eaten pieces of food herself and can now do a lot more!! Eggs, toast, melon, berries, etc!! Oh the possibilities!! Standing - Kaiya is getting very good at standing without holding onto things. She will even be at a sitting position and without having to grab onto a table, will get to standing on her two feet!! So yeah, walking is probably not too far behind. Here is a pic of her standing without holding onto anything - she doesn't even wobble when she stands on her own!!

Clap, clap, clap your hands!

2009-05-16T17:02:00.004-05:00

Kaiya's new trick is clapping, she just started doing this the other day! She also will take and clasp her hands together. The changes are happening so quickly!! I think she will be walking soon, which is scary as she is fast enough crawling!! She is starting to let go of things while standing, and she stays up for about 5 seconds before falling - OR - lowering herself to the ground with control. Lots of changes coming!!

Some more little friends...

2009-05-09T21:33:00.003-05:00

These cute little guys are white capped sparrows! I am so excited, I'm just getting a lot of different friends this year!! They are so cute!! Kaiya is taking after me, enjoying watching the birds we get at the feeders. We will sit in our picture window and just watch them fly by.

Little Visitors

2009-05-08T12:32:00.004-05:00

I've had some cool new (and some old) birds visiting my feeders today. One was a blue little finch like bird, whom Rocco scared away before I could take a picture of it :( And the other, so I'm told, is a red-breasted grosbeak! Very cool I think.

I also think I have a tenant for my one, lonely bird house I have 'for rent'!

Swimming

2009-04-18T21:20:00.005-05:00

Kaiya and I have been taking a parent/tot swim class at the WAC these past 7 weeks, Kaiya LOVES it! She loves the water, and she really does kick and try to swim! She also loves grabbing the toys and shoving them into her mouth - yummy pool water!!

She also goes under the water. I was a little unsure at first...a baby, under the water!! But the instructor showed us how to do it, and Kaiya doesn't mind it. She is the youngest in the class and she is unphased by going under (whereas some of the others freaked out). So, to get them under, you first blow hard in their face to get them to kinda take a breath in - then you quickly dunk em up and bring them up! (I'm really not drowning her!!)

She loves the teacher of the class, she likes to go with her, or splash her. This time when the teacher came over Kaiya started a splashing war with her! She was enjoying getting her all wet (and her mommy).

Kaiya kicking in the water, watch those little legs go!!

Kaiya jumping in the pool and splashing her mommy!

Kaiya's first trip to the zoo

2009-04-18T21:07:00.003-05:00

Kaiya's Grandpa Kraner got the family a zoo pass, so we can enjoy the zoo as much as we want this year!! I am so looking forward to spending much time there, even for an hour or two, which the zoo pass allows for and doesn't let us feel guilty about leaving so quickly!! She really enjoyed her first time at the zoo, she liked the fish the best I think. We only stayed about 2 hours as she needed to get home to take a nap, so we still have PLENTY to see!!

Trying to grab the fishies in the tank.

Watching the birds with daddy.

As soon as we got in the car, she crashed!! What a morning!

Easter 2009

2009-04-18T20:50:00.005-05:00

Kaiya had fun for her First Easter, the basket she got at her Grandma & Grandpa's she lovesd, she dove right in and started pulling the goodies out! I of course forgot my camera, so we used my moms and she has yet to give me the pictures!! So we only have pictures from the basket she got at our house.
We then headed over to my cousin's house for Easter lunch. Kaiya had fun playing with her cousin Peyton.

We are in trouble!

2009-04-14T21:27:00.005-05:00

Crawling, standing...need I say more!?

Josh's Handy Work

2009-04-13T16:33:00.004-05:00

We wanted to get a new stand for the TV and cable boxes, etc. We had a low one that left everything exposed - and with a little girl starting to explore her world - we thought it would be a LITTLE easier in the living room if the buttons were out of reach. However, we also don't have the money for a $800 entertainment center right now - so what do we do!? Well, we find a dresser for cheap and turn it into an entertainment center!! It works for us and saves us over $700!!

BEFORE......

AFTER....

Updates, updates....

2009-04-05T20:27:00.006-05:00

EASTER

Kaiya went to visit the Easter Bunny last Friday. She really could have cared less about the bunny - she was more interested in watching the other people at the mall. She wore an old outfit of mine - you can't really even see it as the bunny's hands are so large! But its still cute nonetheless!

FOOD
Kaiya has a great appetite and loves MOST of the food she has tried. She is not a fan of green veggies, she makes the wierdest face when we give her those. But she loves all the orange veggies she has had and cauliflower. I have made a couple recipies for her, one was carrots, cauliflower, tomato and cheese with basil - it was very yummy if I say so myself!! Just today she got some chicken, and really enjoyed that too. In the picture below she was eating blueberries and had a blueberry smile! We also have started giving her gerber puffs - basically cereal things that dissolve in their mouths - she really likes them and has started to put them in her mouth herself.

WALKING/CRAWLING
She isn't doing either just yet - well at least not forward. She kinda crawls backwards a bit - though I don't quite call it 'crawling' - she kinda pushes herself backwards. She is mastering going from her knees back up to a sitting position - and going from sitting to her tummy. She is getting better at both of those daily. She gets up on her knees and rocks a lot - so I can only imagine one time she will go forward and then it will be downhill from there! She also has started trying to pull herself up on her toys, her parents, her crib, etc, etc. She still needs a little help from mommy and daddy - but she can get to her knees with no problems - she can't get to her feet too easily - yet....

My mom has a walker at her house that Kaiya was in when we went to visit grandpa (who is finally out of the hopsital and at home!!!). Kaiya was again very proficient at pushing herself backwards - couldn't grasp the concept of pushing forward.

Kaiya had some help from her Grandpa moving forward in the video below.

Packers Fan Fest

2009-03-18T21:24:00.006-05:00

Last weekend the family travelled to Green Bay, WI for the 2009 Packers Fan Fest. It was Friday afternoon through Saturday.

We had a blast, it was very well organized and a well run event. Kaiya was, as usual (knocking on wood) a great baby and she enjoyed every minute of it. We got her a small pink helmet and she got 4 autographs on it!!

Josh received a meet & greet with James Jones, Kaiya was very interested in what he had to say!

We toured the locker room - when we were in the weight room, McCarthy came in for a bit!!

Kaiya did take a couple naps for me in her stroller. She had to have her foot up on the stroller tray, I would put it down and she would put it right back up - had to take a picture - too cute!!

The teeth

2009-03-07T19:32:00.003-06:00

Here is a new pic of Kaiya (with a funny smile) but you can see her two teeth on the bottom if you look really close! She used them on me the other day - NOT fun - I wanted to get out the bitter apple!!

Who's that baby?

2009-03-02T19:27:00.004-06:00

My mom founda picture of me when I was 6 months old - I think Kaiya and I look a lot alike at 6 months!!!

We found one we think of Josh as 6 months - some features I can see of his - but I think more so like me! What do you guys think?

Random Videos

2009-02-24T19:55:00.007-06:00

Kaiya has discovered a new musical instrument and she loves playing it since it makes such a unique noise.

She just mastered today (first time I saw her do it) rolling from her tummy to her back. If you remember from a previous post, I stated Kaiya first mastered rolling from her back to her tummy - so now she has it both ways! She is also on her way to crawling, she is getting frustrated I think when on her belly. In the video you will see her go up on her knees a bit (and my excitement cause I haven't seen her do that on her own!!). She is also coming up with her own way of moving - rolling to one side, bringing the leg up - rolling to the other side - bringing the leg up. She is SO FUN to watch and grow - she changes daily!

6-month Checkup

2009-02-17T07:58:00.004-06:00

Well, last week Friday we had our 6-month Checkup and all went really well!

Kaiya is still in the 70th Percentile for her height and weight, which she has been all along, and 80 for her head...apparently she has a big head!! Although if you ask my mom, she would disagree because most of the hats she has knitted for her don't fit her, they are too big! Though the one in the picture does fit her just right.

She is now 16lbs 7oz and 26" long. She is growing like a weed!! The doctor said she is advanced in her eating skills, just in the fact that she has eaten Stage 2 type foods already and is getting 3 feedings of cereal a day.

I have been pretty good about making food for Kaiya vs. using store bought food, much cheaper!! So far she has tasted Green Beans (hates them), Peas (hates them), Pears (likes them), Sweet Potatoes (likes them), Carrots (likes them) and Banannas (likes them). So, based on her likes and dislikes, I say we might have an orange child on our hands! I heard from my parents neighbor the other day that one of her kids liked squash, sweet potatoes and carrots so much that they actually turned orange!! Yikes!! Kaiya, you better start eating the green veggies to even out the skin tone!

She also has 2 teeth now!! She started getting her first tooth right around the 6th month mark and the second tooth came in right after the first one arrived! So she has two teeth on the bottom and really, not much crabbiness to show for it!! She took it like a champ, which she seems to do with a lot of things. She really isn't a fussy baby, her shots, she cried for all of 15 seconds and then was done. The nurse even said, "come on, is that all you got, most babies cry much more than that!" When her teeth were coming in, I didn't even know it until Tiffany pointed it out to us, there was no fussing, no crabbing, nothing! We have a tough little girl on our hands!

Photography

2009-02-07T19:22:00.003-06:00

Here is a link to a great new blog by a great photographer who has a great subject to take pictures of :) Enjoy the pictures!

Wiggle Wiggle Photography

The name comes from a dance move Kaiya has called the "Wiggle Wiggle"

The Many Faces of Kaiya Jo

2009-02-02T20:41:00.011-06:00

Kaiya is doing pretty good on solid foods - we have done rice cereal and just started oatmeal recently. This past week we also added some peas to her cereal (she was not a fan of them) and this week now doing banannas, she seems to like them more. Here are some faces of Kaiya eating her cereal and peas.

Kaiya had her friend Lilah over for a SuperBowl Party this weekend - she was very interested in the other baby in the house. Lilah is my friends baby, she is 2 months younger than Kaiya.

The cutest picture EVER

2009-01-29T19:14:00.002-06:00

I just realized I haven't posted this picture on our blog yet - I love this picture of Kaiya, taken by Tiffany. Could her smile GET any bigger!?

Updates

2009-01-24T19:56:00.007-06:00

Updates on Kaiya and Mommy

Well, I am knocking on wood as I type this, but Kaiya has been back to sleeping through the night!! Literally, the day Tiffany added a morning feeding of cereal (getting her to 3 a day) she slept through the night that night!! So we are at 3 feedings of rice cereal a day and 5 bottles - 2 bigger ones in the morning and evening and smaller during the day when she is getting the cereal and this seems to be the magic that was needed to get her back to sleeping at night. In a couple weeks we are going to start adding fruits/veggies to her meals!! I wanted to wait a full month of the rice cereal before starting the other options, we aren't in a rush. So until the next hurdle..teething probably...we are back to sleeping through the night and I couldn't be happier!

She is doing a wonderful job at sitting up on her own, she is a pro. We still have tumbles every once in awhile but she is pretty good for the most part, she sits and plays. She is also getting herself geared up for crawling!!!!! She will be on her tummy and rocking her pelvis up. She seems to do it more when she is naked, as I believe she can move easier than without a clunky diaper/pants. Here is a video of her, we have another one that has more but she is naked, and I didn't want to post that on the web. But you can see in this one her hip movement to try to get going with crawling...

Brewers on Deck

We really are lucky - Kaiya is a great baby, she rarely is fussy and when she is, there usually is a reason for it. Today, we went to Brewers on Deck at the Midwest Airlines Center downtown. It started off on a very rocky start (long, long, long lines) but after we actually got into the event, it went much better. Josh got some autographs, we got a family picture with Jeff Suppan (pitcher) and just walked around. Kaiya was GREAT, she slept for a lot of it, but when we did wake her up to get the picture then she was a smiley, happy baby! She loved looking at all the people and giving them big smiles!! She is a very smiley baby.

We have it - rolling over video!

2009-01-08T20:21:00.003-06:00

So as I said before, Kaiya likes to do things the hard way - she has mastered rolling from her back to her tummy - hasn't masterd from her tummy to her back. She is also doing pretty well sitting up on her own - still topples over but is getting better every day! Here is some video Josh and I got tonight of her rolling over and sitting up. We had to turn the light off on the camera as she would just stare at the light vs. roll over!! So the video is a little dark.

Christmas Present

2009-01-07T20:18:00.003-06:00

Kaiya got a new play center/bouncer for Christmas from her Grandma & Grandpa and she LOVES it - she loves bouncing. Here is a video of her in it tonight.

Accomplishments

2009-01-04T20:53:00.006-06:00

Kaiya has some new accomplishments she wants to share with you. She sits up on her own pretty good now. Sure, every once in awhile she will topple over, however she is doing pretty good. Here she is sitting on the couch, so she has some support, but she sits up on her own without support, I'll try to get some pics of that.

Here is a video of her sitting up...apparently I had the camera sideways - and I can't figure out how to flip the film, so tilt your head - lol

She also rolled over about 3 times from her back to her tummy - The 'Hard' way - but she doesn't do it consistently and we have yet to get it on film - But we are trying!! Here is a video of her just lying down...no rolling over...

Holidays - Family, Friends and Projects

2009-01-04T20:35:00.008-06:00

We had a very nice holiday season at the Kraner household. We got to see family and friends we haven't seen in awhile. Josh and I had a nice two weeks off together to hang out with Kaiya, family, friends and get some work done around the house. However, we are both sad our vacation ends tomorrow and we both have to head back to the real world...if only money grew on trees.

Friends from High School

Nikki, Holly & Reese, Becky & Peyton and Kaiya and I - the kids are all within a couple months of each other

Uncle Brett & Kaiya

Painting Project #2 - The Computer Room

(#1 isn't quite done yet...have to stencil in the hallway by the new picture frame you can see in the second picture)

Painting Project #3 - New Stencil in the Kitchen

Even the dogs were lazy...

Scooby?!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T09:48:00.004-06:00

Well, we had a great first Christmas with Kaiya and the family. Unfortunately Josh's mom couldn't make it as she just recently had surgery but Josh's dad came over and we got together with my whole family, even my brother was here! Kaiya had a blast, she actually opened her gifts. Next year will be even better, she may actually understand what she is doing- lol. I'll try to post some videos later, took many of them.

At my Parents House

We went to the Harley Museum on Friday, Kaiya enjoyed all the lights and sounds of the motorcycles. She did really good, but by the end she had passed out in my arms.

Grandpa Kraner & Kayia

Here is Kaiya with her second Cousin, Peyon. Peyton really likes 'Baby Kaiya'. Kaiya slept for about 3 hours while we were at my Grandma's house (which was great cause she wasn't sleeping much the days before) but Peyton was upset cause he didn't get to play much with her.

4 - month Checkup

2008-12-13T17:52:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I can't believe Kaiya is 4 months already! It seems like just yesterday we brought her home! And oh how she has grown. She is 14lbs 2oz, 25" long - She is in the 75% for height, 60% for weight and 70% for head size. So we are still pretty proportioned. Her first Christmas is coming up and we are looking forward to it to spend time with Family.

Our 1st picture with Santa!

2008-12-05T17:57:00.004-06:00

She was great! Didn't get a smile cause she was tired but no crying!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-01T20:37:00.009-06:00

Josh, Kaiya and I headed up to our house in Eagle River for the Thanksgiving weekend. Although no one else in our family could join us, we still went to just relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of our lives in Milwaukee. Kaiya and I literally sat around in pajamas most of the weekend while Josh sat outside all bundled up hunting deer. He saw about 5 doe but in our county up there, this year you had to shoot a buck, and he dind't see any of those. Maybe next year.

Kaiya is SSSOOO close to rolling over on her own (unless she has for Tiffany already and she is being very nice and not telling us!!). She was practicing a lot up north - her arm just keeps getting in the way!! Once she does I'll try to get it on video to post here.

She has found her voice and uses it a lot, I think its cute. Below is a video of her just talking away as well as one of her watching Baby Einstein - or 'Baby Crack' as Tiffany affectionally refers to it as. Kai loves the Baby Einstein videos.

Talking to Myself

Watching Baby Einstein

She also has figured out how to pull the cord on her bouncy seat to make the music play herself - a big accomplishment, only problem is now we hear the same song over, and over, and over, and over ;) So I tried to cut this video down a bit to spare you the same song over and over!

Playing the music on my bouncy seat

(yes, I sound like I"m praising a dog - lol)

Kai's first attempts at feeding herself...

Daddy - why are you paying more attention to the computer than me?

This picture was snapped at a bad time - she really isn't scared of the dogs!

Enjoy the Videos and Pictures!

The next Brett Ryback?

2008-11-24T19:23:00.004-06:00

My family has always been into music, I played the flute and very little piano - my mom a talented singer and my brother just gifted in every aspect of music that there is ;) So I wanted there to be music in Kaiya's life right from the beginning. I have some very simplistic kids sheet music that I have played to her ever since she was born (and we sing the songs too but I wasn't gonna sing on camera!). Well now she has started playing along with me!! She really seems to enjoy it, it may sound silly but whenever I start singing to her she will usually give me a big smile!!

Another Dog Show

2008-11-23T19:54:00.006-06:00

Well Kai has two dog shows under her belt now - my Mom, Kaiya and I were at an agility show this weekend. (Daddy was hunting so Kai had to tag along with Mom) Kaiya did pretty well!! She napped pretty good when we got her bouncy seat...And put a blanket and coat over it to help with the light and the dogs barking...Yes, she is under there somewhere and no, she was not suffocating!

Here I am!

Playing with my rattles...

My Mommy and Grandma with their winnings...

There is so much prepration that has to go into travelling with a little one - MAN!! Now our next adventure starts Wed as we head up to Eagle River for the weekend - We have a Dodge Ram Pickup extended cab and with all the stuff we have to take for her we are gonna be packed full!! LOL, its bad!

Play Center

2008-11-06T19:21:00.007-06:00

Josh got a really nice play center from a teacher at work (Thank you!) - Kaiya is still a little small for it, her feet don't quite touch the ground but that hasn't stopped her from enojoying it!

Tummy Time

2008-11-01T19:34:00.003-05:00

Kaiya is getting better about tummy time - don't get me wrong, the majority of it she is still screaming - but at some rare moments we get a good tummy time. Today was one of those times - here is a cute picture of her daddy doing tummy time with her.

Halloween

2008-11-01T19:22:00.005-05:00

I didn't think we were gonna be able to get out to a pumpkin farm this year because its been cold and windy and I didn't want to take Kaiya out in that just to subject her to pictures at the pumpkin farm. Then Halloween day rolled around and the weather pulled through for us!! Josh had off work cause of conventions and I had off and it was 70 degrees out so we went to the pumpkin farm! Kaiya didn't do much but we had fun nonetheless - she saw a goat, a train and many kids playing.

Kaiya in her pumpkin shirt

Kaiya trying to eat her hand

Kaiya almost 2 feet tall

So we picked out our pumpkin, brought it home and carved it.

Back to work

2008-11-01T19:21:00.003-05:00

I have to admit going back to work wasn't as hard as I thought it would be - Kaiya had fun at Tiffany's - I heard they read books and she likes bunnies! (picture in the book) But I was ok at work - I emailed Tiffany once and called once - I think that is pretty good - lol!! She goes back for a full week next week and I'm hoping it goes just as smooth as the one day this past week.

My last day...

2008-10-28T14:26:00.003-05:00

Well, today is my last day on Maternity Leave - getting tears just now as I write this blog :( It will be ok, I'll go back to work to help out our family and Kaiya will enjoy her time with Tiffany and then I can see her when I get home from work - but its gonna be hard, I'm gonna miss my little girl during the day! So what are we doing today? We had our last mom's chat at the hospital - it was a costume party - a nice way to end our weeks with the new friends we made. Here is Kaiya in her not original costume - a pumpkin (I"m not big into halloween).

Then after the party we stopped by Tiffany's to drop off some last minute things for her and for Kaiya. Nothing else really planned for today, she's taking a good nap right now, then we'll probably read or sing together at the piano, just hang out together. (ok, I realize this is sounding like the last time I will ever see her - lol) So yeah, I'm a little sad but I know she will be in good hands.

More Random Pictures...

2008-10-21T15:12:00.003-05:00

Random pictures of Kaiya - we took a walk today, nice day but cooler, so we put on her sweatshirt and purple hat - yeah, the hat doesn't match but it kept her warm!

Random Thoughts....

2008-10-20T21:23:00.011-05:00

Things have been going really well with the family. Kaiya is sleeping through the night!!!! (knock on wood, someone, really quickly) Last night we went from 8:30pm - 7:30am when Josh went in to make sure she was still alive!! We have ranged anywhere from waking up around 4:30 - 7:30 in the AM after going to bed anywhere between 7:00 and 9:00pm. Our naps have been hit and miss lately though - some days she takes really good ones and other days 45 min at a time. And its hard to get her down for her naps but at night, I lay her down awake and she fall asleep on her own!! Its awesome - not yet there on naps but hopefully.

So, I go back to wok next week Wednesday, not looking forward to it at all. Why do we need money - why can't we just win the lottery so I can stay home with my little girl - why!? I don't know how I'm gonna be, I am going to miss her terribly :( The only thing keeping me going is knowing I am only working 4 days a week so I will be with her for a 3 day weekend!! Yesterday we were looking at the faces board I made and playing with a rattle, that is her new big thing - she does grasp it and shake it, doesn't hold it for very long but she is getting the hang of grasping things. (The video is a quick time video - hopefully you can see it - trying to work on converting to a windows media player file...)

Then, Josh came home and threw on the baby bjorn to hang out with her - some pics of him and Kaiya.

To end the night, I will sometimes give her a massage (lucky baby, I wish someone would give me a massage at night). So last night was a massage night :)

My brother

2008-10-20T21:16:00.004-05:00

My Brother is currently on a web series on http://www.lg15.com/ called The Resitance (check it out, its a weird show if you ask me but I like it cause my brother is in it!) - they asked the cast of the resistance to paricipate in the get out and vote campaign - so check out his video below!

Kaiya's Big Day

2008-10-12T19:49:00.007-05:00

Today Kaiya got baptized, she got welcomed into God's Family. It was a gorgeous day here, we couldn't have asked for a better day. She wore a gown that my Great Aunt made for me, so to her it was made by her Great Great Aunt, it was very special. She had the hat, and booties to match! She didn't like the hat much so she didn't wear it a lot but she was cute!! (Ignore the dates on the photos - for some reason it is not printing the right ones!)

My brother and my cousin Amy are her Godparents, my brother unfotunately couldn't make it home so my dad stood in for him.

She didn't cry much today during it, didn't cry when she got the water on her head, only cried when the priest took her from me :)

We then had a party at our house after to celebrate, had lots of family and some friends over. Here is a generation picture, my grandma, my mom, me and Kaiya.

Tummy time with the dogs

2008-10-07T17:40:00.004-05:00

Today we were doing tummy time with Kaiya and the dogs decided they wanted to join in! (I just noticed that from the pictures it also appears Kallie was reading to Kaiya!)

Rocco checking her out more closely, but yet staying down on his tummy for his own tummy time!

We had our 2 month checkup yesterday - everything is looking good, she is growing good, in the 75th percentile for height and weight, we now weigh 11lbs. 14oz and are 22 7/8 inches long. She has good head control but has to work on her chest strength, so we need to do more tummy time, hence the tummy time today!! With the dogs helping, she'll be strong in no time ;)

Go Brewers Go!!

2008-10-01T11:43:00.003-05:00

Well, 26 years later and we finally made the playoffs again!! Here is Kaiya all ready waiting for the game today!

My OTHER baby...

2008-09-28T20:20:00.003-05:00

Kallie and I spent this weekend together at an agilitly trial - it was an ASCA trial (Australian Shepherd Club) - but any breed can enter. My friends were there doing herding so I thought, if we are gonna watch, might as well enter the agility part and have fun ourselves. So we did and we did GREAT. Kallie took 6 - 1st and 2 - 3rds!! She also was high in trial Novice dog on both days AND we got two new titles on her!! So, all in all it was a great weekend and we had fun spending time together, just the two of us (on Sunday as Kaiya was with us Saturday).

Brewers Game

2008-09-26T13:48:00.004-05:00

Kaiya went to her first Brewers Game yesterday - and what a game to go to!! Ryan Braun, grand slam home run to win it!! YEHAW!!

Anyway, back to Kaiya, she had a good time, she was mesmerized by the lights and the people. We had ear plugs in her ears to hopefully help dampen the sound of the 40 plus thousand people there. But she was really good too - didn't cry at all, just snuggled with her mommy and daddy , slept some and watched people. We must have wore her out though - she slept great last night and has been sleeping lot today! It was great, we created some great memories last night.

Jacket

2008-09-18T13:21:00.012-05:00

Apparently I have a lot to say today - lol. Rocco, Kallie, Kaiya and I try to go for walks on a daily basis - we go more in the late afternoons, evenings - well its getting a little chilly here in the evenings so I bought Kaiya this jacket. I bought it big because I wanted to use it for fall - so its a 3/6 month jacket - so she drowns a little in it - as I was bringing her in from her stroller today I thought she looked cute with her big hood on so I took some pics. Enjoy!

The Doctors Office

2008-09-18T13:21:00.008-05:00

We went to the doctor yesterday for her second Hepatitis B shot - we wanted to do it earlier than her 2 month checkup so she will only get 4 shots vs 5 at that appointment. I don't even like the idea of her getting 4 shots at once :( So anyway, she was 6 weeks old yesterday, she is weighing in at a whopping 10lbs 13oz, 22 1/4 inches long. She is in the 80th percentile for babies her age with those measurements (for those like me who don't know what that means it means she has 80 babies below her for her height and weight - so she is heavier and longer than 80 babies her age...) which isn't bad cause she is proportioned 80 for both vs. 80 for one and 50 for the other. So we are moving right along as we should be.

At the doctor I cried a little when she got her shot - she cried so hard it was hard not to get a little upset too!! Man, I don't know how this is going to go at her 2 month with 4 shots!!! But what was funny is I was talking to my mom and I said, 'you know, after the dogs get shots I give them a treat for being good - wonder if I should give Kaiya my boob after her shot as a reward' :) Well - after she got the shot the nurse said, now if you want to feed her to help settle her down, go for it! So, she did get my boob as a reward - lol

Here are some new pics of her - we have the bumbo which is great, it says she is too young for it but she has really good head control so we put her in it the other day- she liked it!! And then some pics in her grown up jean look :)

Play with Baby

2008-09-18T13:21:00.007-05:00

Kaiya and I attend a weekly mom's chat at the hospital where she was born - its GREAT - its a way for us to get out of the house and meet other mom's in our same situation - with kids - and know that we aren't alone in what we are going through and THINGS GET BETTER as everyone keeps telling me. Its a really great group - each week there are different topics that the leader discusses - this week it was play with baby and it was GREAT! I learned a lot of great ways to play with Kai, even at 6 weeks old. SO, today we went out and bought some bubbles and some poster board to make a collage of baby faces (they like looking at other babies) and we still need to get some picture books of kids faces and some black and white toys, and I have to find a locker mirror (or non-breakable mirror) for her crib...we got lots of good recommendations about books too. I can't wait to try these things out - I'll post pictures when we are using them!!

Another topic we discussed last week was baby sign language - I was already wanting to use it with Kaiya even before we discussed it at the chat, but talking about it there and seeing a video on it just solidified my believe in it. So Tiffany - get ready to learn sign language!!! :)

Picture for Kaiya

2008-09-04T19:41:00.002-05:00

Wanted to share the counted cross-stitch picture I created for Kaiya - just got it back from getting framed.

The many faces of Kaiya

2008-09-02T20:50:00.003-05:00

Some new pics of her in her boppy under her play gym...making all kinds of faces including a smile!

I think this is smile...she wasn't winding up for a cry!

My Brother

2008-09-01T21:57:00.001-05:00

He got a part on a webisode - its a tv series on the web - here is his first video blog (his characters video blog to help introduce him) - check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW8VDFwYuZQ

Baptism - October 12

2008-09-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

Kaiya is set to be baptised on October 12. We are planning on having a packer party/Open house that day after the baptism - so mark your calendars!

Rings in the swing

2008-08-28T11:43:00.008-05:00

So its not a huge milestone but today Kaiya grabbed the rings I have hanging in her travel swing - I thought it was cool so I took pics! Enjoy.

Doctor Visit

2008-08-28T11:43:00.003-05:00

We went to the doctor yesterday just for a weight check - she is doing good 8lbs 13oz, gaining weight as she should and the doctor said she looked really healthy. So we are moving along!

Chillin With Daddy

2008-08-24T20:58:00.004-05:00

Kaiya likes to just chill with her daddy ...

We went to a block party yesterday - we all got to meet some of our neighbors - but Kaiya was the hit of the party! Here she is in her car seat all ready to go! She was sitting indian style :)

1 week old

2008-08-14T15:06:00.006-05:00

Well Kaiya turned a week old yesterday, seems hard to believe she has been with us for a week already!! Man time flies. Things are going good, she wakes up two times at night and usually goes right back to bed, so I can get some sleep. Josh is a big help, he is getting good at changing diapers!! She is a pretty happy baby, she usually eats, sleeps and sometimes is awake to hang out with us.

Yesterday we went to a baptism class together and she did really well, we caught it in between feedings but she was up for the majority if the class and did great!

Here are some new pics of her.

Introducing Kaiya Kraner

2008-08-07T17:09:00.008-05:00

The newest member of the Kraner family came into the world yesterday, August 6, 2008 at 9:31pm. The delivery went so smoothly - I checked into the hospital at 6:00 and Kaiya was born at 9:30!! I pushed for 35 minutes, the doctor said that it was great for a first time mom. She was 7lbs 4 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Here are some pictures.

Updates

2008-08-05T09:04:00.002-05:00

Well, here we are - Tuesday, August 5th - almost 4 days after Baby Kraner's due date and still no baby...

My grandma had her surgery last friday and things couldn't have gone better. She came out of it with very little pain - she had robotic surgery with two small holes in her abdomen vs. being cut open - which I guess eliminated a lot of the pain. She is doing great - they think they got it all and she shouldn't need chemo or anything. She is to find out the results today but so far, the prognosis is great!! I couldn't be happier!!!

No, no baby...

2008-08-03T20:22:00.002-05:00

So here we are, almost 2 days past the due date and still no baby. :( She is starting to really hurt me under my ribs now and sleeping, well last night I did very little from back pain to rib pain. So I hope she comes soon - I guess I should watch what I wish for, I said earlier in the pregnancy it would be cool if she were born on 8-8-08 (which would be the day I get induced if she isn't here by then) but now...anytime will work little girl!!

Status Quo

2008-07-30T18:20:00.002-05:00

Went to the doctor today - still no change. However, she will be here by next weekend at the latest!! We setup a date next Friday to be induced if she isn't here yet - by then she would be a week late and if we went any longer without her here then I would have to go for a stress test two times a week til she gets here...so the doctor said instead of that weighing both risks and pros to inducing, she recommended we induce. SO - Baby Kraner, come before next friday!!

No Baby Yet...

2008-07-30T13:52:00.003-05:00

Everyone keeps asking, or stopping by at work saying - you're still here!? Well yes I'm still here, are you dissapointed!? I keep telling everyone, she isn't even supposed to be here til Friday...so she isn't late yet...now after Friday, THEN we can start talking about what is going on... :)

My Grandma

2008-07-25T09:08:00.005-05:00

So I found out the other day my Grandma has to have surgery - she is having surgery on August 1st, the day I'm due. I'm very upset about this...not about the fact that she is having surgery on the day I'm due but about the fact that she is having surgery at all. I don't want anything to happen to her, I want her to know and meet her Great Granddaughter and for her Great Granddaughter to know and meet her, and for my Grandma to be here for many, many more years. (Which yes, is why she has to have the surgery but still...it's surgery and I'm worried...)

So part of me wants the baby to come early so she can see her but the other part of me says, it doesn't matter Melissa, everything will go fine with the surgery and she can see her Great Granddaughter whenever she comes into the world, before or after the surgery.

Pregnancy Pictures - Oh so flattering

2008-07-25T07:49:00.006-05:00

So I didn't want to regret NOT having any pictures of me pregnant - since I have pretty much avoided the camera for the past 10 months. So last friday Josh took some pictures of me - very flattering they are... :) So I thought I would share them on here too, for all to see me in not my best moment. So here I am, 38 weeks pregnant - 2 more weeks to go in these pictures.

The Room is finally done!

2008-07-25T07:35:00.010-05:00

Well, last weekend Josh and I finally finished her room. It looks amazing, very girly and I can't wait for its occupant! We went with a butterfly theme, purple, pink, green, yellow, all different colors but the one common is butterflies. Josh did the painting, I did the curtains and we both hung up the art. The one picture below has some things blacked out cause its her name, and you can't know that yet!! But its getting harder and harder to keep it a secret, or not let it slip out when talking about her since Josh and I call her it at home! Soon enough you will know, soon enough...

Dr. Visit Today

2008-07-16T20:27:00.003-05:00

So I went to the doctor today for my weekly checkup - and I went from being zero centimeters to two in one week. What does that mean!? Really nothing :) They did an ultrasond today cause they had to check on something, all was good but they did confirm it still is a girl and the guesstimate is she will be between 7 and 8 lbs.

So, we sit and wait some more, but at least there is some progress.

Introducting The Kraner Family Blog

2008-07-15T08:06:00.001-05:00

My brother gave me this great idea, why not start a blog to post notes, info, pictures, etc on "Baby Kraner"! What an excellent idea I thought, so I took him up on it and here we have The Kraner Family blog!! (now I just have to remember to actually post stuff here).

"Baby Kraner" (as she is affectionately known as right now) is due in less than 3 weeks (August 1) and Josh and I couldn't be more excited to greet her! She does need to wait a little longer though as the house is still in a bit of a disarray. Her room has been painted thanks to her daddy but her mommy is still working on her curtains and we still need some finishing touches for her room, but we are waiting on good ole Babies 'R Us to send us our 'complete your registry' coupon to help save us some money. So she can wait just a little longer to join the world. Our kitchen is a bit destroyed right now too - again, daddy is busy trying to get it done this week (we have a bet, he thinks he will finish this week, I think not!). Josh has repainted all the cabinets and trim so far, next we (or I really should say JOSH) are doing the walls and putting down new floors. Once these projects are done, then she can come!! (Did you hear that "Baby Kraner"?)

So, I hope that you will enjoy this blog about our family and specifically "Baby Kraner", as I said before, I will do my best to try to keep it updated!!

Here are some pictures of her room - not done yet but getting there...