Dear Silvia: 5 Months

Dear Silvia,

Happy very, very, very belated 5 months! Sorry we're so delayed in writing this post.

This past month has been another great month for you (well, for all three of us)!
Some highlights:
-We went to 2 weddings and got to dress up in fancy clothes. Speaking of, you wore shoes for the first time at these weddings...fancy, new gold shoes!
-We spent one Saturday at Grandma & Grandpa Sticha's picking corn with your cousins.
-We had a breakfast play date with "The Sticha Mamas" and your 2nd cousins, Garin & Carter.
-We celebrated your cousin Joey's 6th birthday!
-We also celebrated your Dad's 35th birthday (whoah, that's old, huh?) by going out to dinner. It was a fun day!
-We attended the annual Horejsi family reunion and you got to meet you new 2nd cousin, Charlee. She's just 4 weeks younger than you.
-My good college friends Traci & Krista stopped by for a visit and we learned that Krista is expecting a baby next spring - yeah for little friends!
-We had family photos taken by our friend/doula, Erika. It's so fun that we're still friends with her, especially since she was with us during one of the most special days of our lives...the day you were born!

You have your first tooth, but you didn't get that until this month (so, more on that in the next post). You're working really hard on tooth #2 and constantly have your hands in your mouth. Our always-happy girl now gets a little case of the fussies from time to time, though you're still such a happy little girl overall.

Daycare continues to love having you there and you still smile when we drop you off...so that's great! The other day your daycare mom said to you: "Silvia, are you even a real baby? You must be a doll. Real babies aren't this good." We think you're such a good baby, but its alwasy nice to hear it from someone else.

You talk and talk and talk. You have a lot to say and you stop talking only to flash a big, gummy smile. Bathtime is still a lot of fun for you although you're so long your whole body stretches the length of your little tub....perhaps time for a longer one?

Bedtime is going great. You had a couple rough nights due to teething but overall you're still sleeping like a champ. You've started to flip yourself onto your stomach and you sleep great that way with your little bootie in the air...it's so cute.

We keep practicing sitting up and you're getting the hang of it, though without our help you flop to one side or the other. When we put you in your Bumbo seat, you lean really far back and pop yourself right out of it. You little stinker. You also like being in your car/exersaucer since it allows you to stand and use those strong legs of yours.

You'll be 6 months old in no time...this coming Sunday, actually!! We cannot believe how fast time is going. We'll start you on solids this coming weekend and we're certain you'll love it. More on that to come!

You brighten our days and bring so much joy to our lives! Honestly, what did we do before you?!?

We love you so much,
Mama & Dad

Dear Silvia: 4 Months

Dear Silvia,

Another month has flown by - and you've changed so much! We just now took down the "Welcome Baby" banner we hung before you were born!

You sure didn't wear your 3 month outfits long as we've already moved you entirely into your 6 month clothing! You are seriously such a long gal...and I know your 9 month outfits aren't far away.

Your Dad and I took you in for your 4 month appointment. You had to get a couple shots and some icky medicine in a dropper. The first shot went in and you just sat there....no tears. The second shot went in and good golly, you opened the flood gates. It was so sad. You're such a good girl, I'm not sure we've ever seen you cry actual tears before this. The doctor said you're a healthy, growing girl and gave us the ok to give you solids whenever we think you're ready. We'll likely wait until you're a little closer to 6 months to go down that road though.
Here are your 4 month stats:
Weight: 75% (14lbs)
Length: 99% (26.5")
Head: 60%

I started back at work full-time this month and its been going pretty well. Of course, I miss you like crazy all day long but I know you're having a blast at daycare with all of your new friends. Your daycare mom and dad have said often that you're such a good, "easy" baby....smiling, kicking, laughing the days away. You don't nap much at daycare but they said they don't mind since you never really get fussy. Keep up the good work, girlie!

You continue to be a smiley, content girl for us too. We're so fortunate for that and we soak up every minute of your slobbery smiles and squeals of delight. I keep saying that you're being such a good girl to try to convince us that having more is a good idea. (Like we needed the convincing!) Auntie Lynn says we should be worried about what #2 will bring since you've been simply too good! Ha! I guess we'll see.

This past month you've really started to become vocal. You practice making all sorts of noises and love to talk to everyone (or yourself, in the mirror!) You're also getting better and better at bedtime. You are usually in your crib asleep between 7:30-9:30 each night and only wake up once to eat. You do get up bright and early (4-5am) in the morning but I'm usually getting up by then anyway. I feed you again and then you either snooze a bit longer while I get ready for work or play in your crib, watching the mobile. When you get up in the middle of the night to eat, you've started "calling for us" in a new way. You still holler making a noise like "Wa-uh" but now you also pick your legs up as high as you can and then drop them to the mattress so it makes a loud thud. When we come in to get you, you have a BIG smile on your face. You're lucky you're so cute! :)

You're doing a lot of rolling and kicking and really want to sit up and stand (with our help). I think sitting up is right around the corner for you. You still absolutely love ceiling fans and lamps. Your Dad and I joke that your favorite things (in order) are: Ceiling fans, lamps, Mom and Dad. Yes, we know how we rate and its ok...ceiling fans and lamps are pretty darn amazing.

You LOVE when we sing to you. We always joke that we don't want Uncle Jeff (with a good voice) to sing to you so that you learn what that sounds like. Dad and I may not be the best singers but we make up WAY better lyrics than Uncle Jeff every will! :) "Lou, Lou -- Silvia Lou" (tune of Skip to my Lou) or "Standing baby, you're the one" (tune of Rubby Ducky) are pretty big hits around our house!

This past month you attended quite a few family get togethers and birthday parties. You were able to see your first parade at Dozinky Days in New Prague and you got to meet your Great Aunt Barb and Uncle Mark from Illinois!

We had some more house projects done - the kitchen has seen a complete transformation - since we're planning to put our house on the market in the coming months. We love our little, old house. It has seen some of the best times of our lives together - including the day we welcomed you into our world, Silvia - but we know its only a matter of time before this little, old house becomes too small for our growing family. Change can be hard, but we look forward to our next house on a quieter street with a little more fresh air and some extra room to stretch our legs.

Before we know it, you'll be 5 months. Slow down, little one! :)

We love you so much,
Mama and Dad

2 weeks (or so) to go!

So many of the last posts have included only photos of me and Baby...so I thought I'd post a picture with the man who made it all possible! :)

This picture was taken at our baby shower a couple weeks ago. Thanks to all our friends and family who were able to make it!

I finished my last week of grad school last week (insert sigh of relief) and now all eyes are on the prize (Baby)! We're just 2 weeks from our due date and very much looking forward to meeting our

"Little Ras-cal"!

Stay tuned,

K+P+Baby

Ready to pop?

Maybe not yet, but we're getting pretty close!

Baby Ras & I attended a friend's baby shower last Sunday (she's having twins about a month after me!) and they had these adorable popcorn bags for all the guests. We just had to snap a couple photos...

33 weeks!

Excuse my extra chin(s)!

As of today, we've got just about 6 1/2 weeks until our due date! We're wrapping up some more house projects and I'm trying to wrap up my last 4 weeks of school...then Baby, we're ready to roll! (Fingers crossed that Baby is also working on OUR timeline!)

Take care,

K+P+Baby

30 Day Challenge: Day 1

30 Day Blogging Challenge? Good joke, Kendra. You haven't blogged since July 1st. Whoops! The summer has been a bit too busy and completely gotten away on me. A friend and fellow blogger has encouraged me to participate...and in life, and in general, I'm a participator. So, here goes...

Best/Worst Blogging Experience

I like writing and have ever since I was little. I prefer to write like I talk (go ahead, say it..."non-stop!") in non-sensical ramblings. When I first started this blog, almost 2 years ago to share our wedding plans, I struggled with what I'd say, how I'd say it, who'd be reading, and what they'd think. Sometimes these thoughts still creep into my mind, but I think my best blogging experience, so far, has been realizing that these concerns are unimportant. I consider this blog to be an online scrapbook of our life. Blogging forces me to take more pictures and jot down random happenings so that one day, we can lift our spectacles, scratch our bums and say to eachother "Hey, you...remember when we were fun?" or "Oh gosh, I looked good without wrinkles." I think I especially look forward to letting our (future) kids get a peek into what our life was like "back when".

I can just imagine...

"See kids...we were so NOT lame. Now, go to bed so I can watch Hoarders in peace."

I've really enjoyed blogging and look forward to looking back at how our words, thoughts and concerns change over the years. For the time being, we'll continue documenting our travels, happy hours, family events and wonderful friendships.

Thanks for being a part of the experience!
K+P

A sweep-over in Milwaukee.

Last weekend, we joined a group of friends for a long weekend trip to Milwaukee to watch the Twins vs. Brewers games. This kind of trip is normal for us. Paul will go ANYWHERE there is baseball, especially the Twins. I, on the other hand, will go straight-up ANYWHERE....no reason needed. I'm addicted to traveling.

And yes, Wisconsin counts as a vaction, thank you very much! (Right, Bri?)

It was a bummer that the Twins didn't win a single game, but we still had fun...

so definitely not a wasted trip!

Pre-game happy hour at Moe's Irish Pub.

Our good friends, The Berndts.

The original "Burnt Brat Tailgaters"!

Yes, we set up pre-game tailgating in the handicap section of the Super 8 Motel.

We're classy like that.

Later, tailgating moved to a more appropriate location: Miller Stadium.

Look who else caught the game? Our favorite fastfood characters! "I'm lovin' it!"

Go Team,

K+P

Everyone's back...

Backstreet, us, this blog, everyone really.

Sorry for the delay...but there's been a whole lotta fun goin' on around here! A couple weeks back, I went on a trip to Chicago for work and then ended up staying, meeting up with some friends and going to the New Kids on the Block & Backstreet Boys concert! (Did you just puke?)

The weekend was so fun for us girls AND I'm sure Paul appreciated having a weekend alone. Well, either that or he missed me dearly. I prefer the latter.

It was a GREAT concert and a really fun weekend.

I'm a Donnie fan!

NKOTBSB cd? A poster? Really? Yes, really.

Segway tour of Chicago - so much fun!

All of us girls at Kingston Mines, a really awesome Jazz club.

Chat soon,

K+P

Movie Date Night

Last Saturday, we had Movie Date Night with our good friends, The Treds. As usual, it was a blast!

Here, Paul & Amber discuss their "book club" (NERDS!)
We tried out a new place - Rojo, a Mexican restaurant in the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. It was really good! After dinner, we went to the movie "Bridesmaids" - HILARIOUS! Go see it!

After the movie, we walked over to the patio at Crave for dessert and...

...a nightcap!

" Cheers" to a great night!

Thanks Treds!
K+P

The Sweetest Day to be Married!

On May 29th, our good friends Ellen & Adam got hitched! They had a beautiful outdoor wedding at Centennial Lakes Park in Edina. (Thankfully, no rain!) It was short & sweet and as expected, perfectly put together!

Check out that dessert table!

Seriously? Amazing attention to details! Ellen is a designer and about as talented and creative as they come. (jealous!) She helped us create A LOT of stuff for our wedding...so if you liked anything about our wedding...she probably had a hand in it!

Every table, was slightly different but equally cute!

Yep...she designed that!

Oh, and she made her hair clip and added the pink accents to her dress. She's spunky!

Thanks for inviting us, Ellen & Adam! It was a great way to start out the day...

That day, was also my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and my sister & brother-in-law's 12th wedding anniversary. Good work, people! Keep up the love!

K+P