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BREASTFEEDING MOMMAS: check out the end of my post – I need ya! 

We have a SMOOCHER! Kensie was handing out kisses like candy today! It’s extremely cute but make sure you’re ready to commit if you ask for one. She’ll grab your face and plant it on…and she hasn’t quite mastered keeping her tongue in her mouth so you may get some slobber. 😂

Kensie had a fun weekend full of teething and football! She cheered on the Gators and UCF with daddy on Saturday and rooted for the Jags and Packers on Sunday. Home girl was 3 for 4 with the WINS! 

And now WP is saying I don’t have room to upload any more photos sooooo I’ll have to figure that out tomorrow. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Get it together WordPress, we only have 12 more days to finish off our year! (😳😭)

Kens grew up again this weekend. She’s started saying “all done” instead of just signing it. It sounds more like “ah don don” but the sign language clarifies it for us. Haha! She also took her brush after bath and tried to brush her own hair. 

Today I started to attempt weaning K from breastfeeding. I can’t believe we’ve made it the whole year!!! My original goal was only 6 months, so I’m extremely proud of us and thankful for making it this far! However, I’m going into this “weaning” process with no manual. So, mamas that have been there, advice is welcomed!!! 

The last 2 weeks I started stretching out her feedings. She goes 3-5 hours between nursing depending on the time of day. I give her real food in between to hold her over. Today, I tried to completely replace a feeding (mid morning) with breakfast. The hardest part was getting her to actually eat. It took 3 separate attempts but she finally downed some turkey and yogurt. 

I have no intentions of going cold turkey and still plan to nurse her before bed or in the mornings  until around the New Year, then have her completely weaned by March. So, we have some time to ease into it! 

I’m half looking forward to having my body back to myself and half sad that this stage went by so quickly. I’ve said before I was completely indifferent about breastfeeding. Having gone through it, I’m now amazed by it. The fact that one thing, provided by one person, can grow another human’s bones, muscles, organs, etc is mind blowing. Anyways, I’ll stop going off on rabbit trails now. If any mommas have some weaning tips and tricks that worked for you, please send ‘em my way! 

It was not a fun Thursday night in the Hall household. Kensie woke up every 2.5 hours last night screaming. The first time I thought it was a bad dream. Second time maybe she was hungry. The 3rd or 4th time she woke up (don’t judge me, it’s a blur) I realized something had to be wrong. She didn’t have a fever and I couldn’t feel any teeth (not that it means they aren’t there).  Around 3am I gave her some Motrin and she went back to sleep until 6, ate, and went back down for another 90 minutes. 

To top it off, I had a super sore throat and got put on a Z-pack today so waking up to a screaming child every few hours last night was less than pleasurable. Cherry on top? Last time I was on antibiotics it gave K a yeast infection. So, this weekend is looking promising. Lol 

Kensie was off and on between happy and losing her shit all day long. 

Kensie hung out at Titi Char’s house while I went to the doctor this morning and helped her work. 

I think the multiple wake ups last night got to K today because she seemed like she wanted to play but she was tired so like her momma, she had no patience and kept flipping the switch to clingy/cranky. 

She cheered up when we got to the gym and had so much fun walking around with Robin while I coached!

While at the gym, Murii also solved our mystery: when she was tossing Kensie up and down she got a perfect view of the top of her mouth. Looks like we have a top tooth trying to break through! 

While my class was doing the workout, a few people were across the gym playing with Kens. I started hearing her crack up and looked over to see her newest skill. Throwing balls! Which is apparently hilarious. And I’m pretty sure we have a lefty! 

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I gave Kensie more Motrin before bed tonight so I am hoping the poor babe doesn’t wake up in pain. To all of you that have babes that weren’t phased by teething: I am extremely jealous. That is all. 

If I could have bottled Kensie’s energy today and sold it, I’d be a millionaire. I know that’s probably true for most kids, but damn. Someone spiked her milk today, and it wasn’t me. 

Along with her energy came some sweet dance moves. I’ll attempt to capture a video but oh my goodness this girl was cracking me up! 

I coached a morning class today and K would not stop moving. She was standing with her hands on a bench and I turned the music on for the class to start the work out and K went crazy popping her leg. She’s done it before but I didn’t realize it was connected to music. It resembles the stanky leg and it is hilarious to witness. 

The last few weeks I’ve been spacing out Kensie’s feedings in hopes of starting to wean her shortly after her birthday. It’s been going well and she’ll go 4-5 hours between feedings but it’s still been hit or miss with the food. 

In order to skip what used to be a breastfeeding, I’ll give her table food. Sometimes she’ll eat it, but most of the time she plays with it. When she’s done playing, she throws it on the floor. Then she will go about 30-60 minutes and start shoving her head into me so I’ll feed her. 🙄

I know it’ll be a long process and I’m completely fine taking our time to get there – but what can I do to make this babe more interested in actually eating “real” food? 

Kensie was super happy all day (except when I wouldn’t set her down and let her speed crawl across the gym) but she wore me OUT. I don’t think I’ve ever had to chase her so much. Also, I’d like for everyone to know I carried Kensie and 4 grocery bags into the house all at once these evening. Pretty sure I’ve officially made it as a mom now. Mad skills. 

One final note: typing day 350 in the title gave me a mild heart attack. Almost ONE! BUT HOW?! 😭 

Today, I’m thankful for Amber necklaces. I don’t care if you think they’re B.S. They’re like magic in Kensie’s world!

Kensie has a fussy, clingy morning. It’s like she knew I had a lot to get done so she spent every second attached to my legs, asking for “up” or fussing. She wanted anything that wasn’t hers and to be anywhere she wasn’t supposed to be. 

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Of course I gave in multiple times and sat there and held her; sometimes that wasn’t even what she wanted. I wasn’t to sure what she wanted. 

I walked out of her playroom and didn’t shut the gate completely. KB was out of my sight for maybe 20 seconds and I hear a splashing noise. 🤦🏼‍♀️

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Oye vey.

After K’s nap she was still a crank. I remembered a few weeks ago she dropped her Amber necklace behind her dresser. I got it out and put that baby on. Y’all. 20 minutes later…I swear I had a new child! 

The rest of the day went much better than it started off. 😅

Chris got home early and K gave him her excited squeal when he walked in! 

Kensie wasn’t in any sort of mood to entertain herself, but she was happy at the gym today as long as she wasn’t in baby jail. 

When Kens was ready to go, she was sure to let me know. 😂

She’s been crawling into her car seat lately when she’s tired and I find it hilarious. K took it one step further today and decided to turn it into a balance board so that game had to end. (At least until she gets a helmet). 😜

You better believe that necklace is going back on first thing in the morning! 

2 hours. 2 long, sweet, quiet, peaceful, productive hours while Kensie napped this morning! Had I known I would have so much free time I would have made a fresh coffee, kicked my feet up and caught up on some TV shows. 😜 Instead, the mom in me rushed to get every little productive thing done that I could thinking she would wake up any second. 

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Kensie was the ultimate ham today. She provided some serious entertainment on this otherwise very mundane Tuesday! 

After her 2 hour nap that I might have already briefly mentioned, we ran some errands and one of those errands just happened to be at our favorite store. 

To the target employee that found a chunk of banana bread on the floor somewhere: I am sorry. I try to be respectful but I didn’t see when she threw it and I was unable to locate it afterward. 🤦🏼‍♀️

KB had a blast “picking out” clothes. …or holding the clothes I picked out. Same thing. 

Cat & Jack finally realeased some new clothes and we found GOLD SPARKLE PANTS WITH A BOW ON THE BUTT.

Sleeping beauty was sure to let me know when she was ready for her afternoon nap. The drama with her is unreal sometimes. 

Like, are you even really my daughter with that attitude?! 😜

After a solid afternoon nap we headed up to the gym. Today was a special day at the gym because it was Kalleigh’s First birthday! Kensie practiced giving and it went pretty well. K took the bow off the present, but then she handed it to Kalleigh so that makes it okay. 😉

Once the birthday excitement was over, K got her workout in. 

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That wasn’t the only working out she did. Kensie figured out how to climb on the couch (the tall part) as well as a stool at the gym today. The climbing isn’t so bad. It’s the getting down that gives me a mini heart attack. If someone would like to get her a helmet for her birthday, we will definitely put it to good use. 

K escaped after her bath tonight and decided she needed to take an evening stroll in her towel. It was super cute so I didn’t stop her. Thankfully she didn’t pee on the floor this time. 

Today I’m going to end with one of my favorite videos, basically ever, of Kensie waving “hi” on demand. If you follow Bows of Kensington on Facebook or Instagram…or saw my IG story today then you may have already seen this. Yeah, I might have put it everywhere. 🤷🏼‍♀️😍

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Fellow mamas: half PSA, half question. I was told  today a law went into effect saying babies have to stay rear facing in car seats until they’re 2. I couldn’t find it via google sooo anyone that can confirm this? 

I mentioned car seats the other day when I ordered one for Kensie and a few people have asked me what I went with. We chose the Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit. 

After spending some time reading ratings and reviews, I was between the Britax and Graco 4Ever; first concern being safety, second being comfort. The Britax is 30lb so a pretty heavy car seat if you plan to move it between cars. The other thing that sold me on the Graco was the literal “4Ever” portion. If we went with the Britax, there’s a potential we would have to buy a forward facing backed booster at 65lb and those were another $300. This seemed to be a long term solution and still offer safety and comfort! I also went with the Extend2Fit since K has long legs and I’ve heard it’s a huge reason it starts to get uncomfortable facing backwards. Not sure how practical it will be yet, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. 

On to the good stuff: photos of Kensie. My new phone came today so I will no longer get “storage full” notifications and I have a WAY better camera to take photos of K with, now! 😉

And videos, because the front camera is also great and mainly because when she’s 16 I want to annoy the mess out of her with how many baby videos I took. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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Kensie got a little banged up today working on her Ninja Warrior skills. Her 10th attempt at getting to the dogs food and water bowls was a success and she made it there before I could stop her. The result was water all over the floor and a metal bowl to the face (she literally picked it up and smacked it into her own face). 

I had to wash one of the couch cushion covers so the cushion wasn’t on the bottom, which meant the couch was low enough for K to climb on. She had gone up and down multiple times throughout the day with no problem. Right before we had to leave for the gym she misjudged the distance, took a roll and hit her head on the ground. 🤦🏼‍♀️😢

We had some hard crying and real tears but she was a champ and over it pretty quickly. (And I checked her eyes because I’m terrified of her getting a concussion). 

Kensie was all smiles and no falls once we got to be gym. She even got to see her friend Kalleigh which they both seemed pretty happy about!

If y’all thought I was out of control before with how many photos I take of Kensie, it’s about to go to a whole different level with this new iPhone camera! I might need to keep this blog going past a year just so I have somewhere to post all these photos…😜

IT’S BIRTHDAY MONTH! Ah! (And my favorite quarter of the year…🎄) Kensie had an eventful weekend and spent every second growing up right before my eyes. 

K walks (no longer crawls) out of her baby gate, gives kisses on demand (well, it’s hit or miss), had her first “own meal” at a restaurant, went tailgating, watched the Knights win and closed out the weekend with her one year photo shoot! 

It was suspiciously quiet in her playroom Sunday afternoon so I went to check on her. Safe to say K was worn out from her late night at the football game. It was the first time Kensie has ever just put herself down on the floor for a nap. 

Saturday we went out to grab lunch and ordered Kensie her very own burger. It was more of a toy than a meal, but at least she was entertained!

Kensie was sure to have food in both hands at all times. When she didn’t have a third hand for the (previously sucked on) fry she attempted to eat it off the table. 🤦🏼‍♀️ (I did wipe it down before she sat there) She also tried to share her meal with everyone that walked by…

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Saturday night Kensie cheered on the UCF Knights and even got to see her friend Jake!

The game started at her bedtime so we weren’t too sure how it would go. Homegirl held out for about 2 hours and finally gave in around 9 and went to sleep in her stroller. 

Sunday was mostly spent recovering from her messed up nap schedule and late bedtime on Saturday in hopes she’d be in good spirits for her one year photos!

We lucked out in many ways. Kensie was a super happy girl and loved taking photos!  She cooperated for all of them except the one I wanted for her party. 🙄 I’m hoping Briana worked her magic like usual and captured one for us! (If anyone in Orlando needs an amazing photographer check out Briana Lugo Photography – she did Kensie’s Newborn photos as well and we love her!)

The weather wasn’t looking too promising either. Shortly before we thought we may have to reschedule. We’re thankful she took the chance! We did our best to crank through the photos and got them all in just before the sky opened up and poured down on us. We were walking to the car when the clouds let loose. SAFE!!!

Now the count is on to Kensie’s actual birthday and party. I really can’t believe October is already here! I vividly remember last October and being so excited that K was due.

Fair warning: these posts may or may not get sappier and sappier as these next 2.5 weeks go on…

Kensie got a mug shot today!! Or a passport photo. They’re all too similar. 😂

Today was a great day in the life of KB. Also, this girl has officially figured out how to WORK IT. When I tell Kensie no and take her away from something, like the speaker and wires at the gym, she immediately gives me a kiss and tries to get back down. 😂 She started doing it a few days ago here and there and I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or not. Today confirmed, she definitely does it when she wants something. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Kensie was a sleeping beauty today! Of course, the day I have to coach early and we have an appointment to be at she decides to sleep in and take a super long nap. 

Ah. Sleeping baby. Such a beautiful sight. Having to wake your child is the absolute worst. I just sit there and cringe over the extra moments of peace and quiet I’m ripping out from under myself . 

K had to have breakfast on the go this morning (since she slept in) and we had 2 pouches that she needed to finish so she got to double fist. 

Speaking of food – my friend told me about these frozen pouches a while ago and I had forgotten about them!! I found them at target today and got them along with a few meals for her to try!

While I’d love to make all of her food all of the time, we are on the go so much that it isn’t always realistic for us. The frozen pouches have ZERO preservatives! It’s the same as if I made them at home. Boom!

The left 3 “HappyBaby” brand are not frozen and you can get them in the baby section. Kensie loves those as well (some flavors) but they do have a small amount of preservatives in them. They save us when we are running late to the gym though! (Basically always.) The “yummy spoonfuls” brand is pure fruit/veggies blended together and frozen! 

Erin got these super cute photos of Kens when we got to the gym this morning. We didn’t put a bow on because she couldn’t wear it in her passport photo and I didn’t want a line in her hair. Priorities. 

 

This afternoon K had a blast at the gym. One of the girls played ball with her (K thought the rolling back and forth was hilarious) and Brenna came in for a visit from NYC!!!

This evening Kens and Chris were solo so I could go to my hair appointment. They both seemed pretty content when I left. 

Hoping this booger has the same desire for sleep tomorrow since we don’t have anywhere to be in the morning! Though, with my luck this week it’ll probably be a 6am wake up. 🤦🏼‍♀️