Dear Kacey: Month 2- November 2015

My dear Kacey,

Month 2 with you went so fast but Daddy and I loved every minute we spent with you!  In November, your days and nights have gotten better and you were able to start sleeping better over night.  Most nights we still have to feed you every 3-4 hours, but at times, you have slept up to 6 hours for one portion of the night.  Daddy and I have been a great team overnight taking turns feeding you.  Overall, I feel like in month 2 we have a much better routine on how to best care for you.  In month 2, you were much more alert than month 1 and you seemed to be trying to focus your eyes more.  You also seemed to enjoy sounds that you recognize, like our voices when we sing or talk to you, as well as music that plays on some of your toys.

Here you are on November 5th in your one month photo at the start of November!

You still like and need to sleep a lot and I think you are adorable when you sleep with your little head up in the air or your hands under your cheeks.



We've also been playing with you with your newborn toys like rings and rattles.  We like to see if you can grab on to your toys.  We also try to have you do tummy time (even though you still don't love it) and you would rather play on your mats on your back.  I think that is because you like to look at everything around you now.





 We were also so lucky that the weather was so warm in November, because you still can't really go to indoor places.  Daddy and I took you to the Shrine in Manorville where we got engaged.  We loved walking you by all of the statues and we bought you a little lamb.  We also bought Indy a St. Francis of Assisi medal to wear on his collar.  It was a really special day.

Another trip our little family took was to the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank.  This is where I always took my kindergarten classes on field trips and I loved taking you and Daddy there.  We had so much fun showing you the animals and carrying you around on another warm fall day.  Daddy loved having you "drive" all the tractors!  I know we will be making a lot of memories at this farm through the years!

We also had some fun visits with Stevi and Juliet!  Juliet loves to say how little you are and listen to your baby sneezes.  Juliet has been having fun out on the East End with us, trying out our beaches and playgrounds! I am so glad that my daughter is going to be friends with my best friend's daughter!  I love them both so much!

 

We also celebrated your first Thanksgiving!  We went to your Aunt and Uncle's house and had a delicious meal.  Grandpa and Grandad were also there.  Your two big cousins did a Christmas craft with me and everyone wanted to hold you as much as they could.  You had a really cute turkey outfit and turkey bib to wear for the day.  I cooked a cornbread casserole, homemade cranberries from our favorite farm Helen's, a pumpkin pie, and I made apple butter for the first time using a recipe from Stevi.  Even Indy had his own Thanksgiving dinner in a can!You are definitely what we are most thankful for this Thanksgiving and every day.

 Cornbread casserole recipe I used

 The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Southold Historical Society tree lighting, a tradition we have been doing for the past few years.  Even though you couldn't go inside the buildings, we did push you in the stroller outside.

 Your Daddy surprised us both with red Christmas coats.  I told Daddy that I always wanted a
red Christmas coat just like the girls in all the Christmas movies we like to watch always seem to have.  He came home with matching coats for us the next day!  I want to buy you one in every size so we can always match!

Your Daddy and I also planted you a baby blue spruce Christmas tree.  We always wanted to have one of these trees on our front lawn, so we decided to buy a tiny one for you to grow up with.  We plan on taking your picture by it every Christmas!

As we get ready for the Christmas season, we also want to teach you about giving back.  Operation Christmas child is a program that I have been enjoying with Grandad since I was little.  We filled a shoebox with toys and hygiene items to sponsor a little girl who is between the ages of 2-4 and dropped it off to Grandad at his church.  We are glad that this is something we can do with you each year so you can give back to others.  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

We also started decorating our house for Christmas early because we have so many decorations and your Daddy and I love Christmas so much, we didn't want to wait until December.  In the loft, we set up our artificial Christmas tree with our country themed ornaments.  We also set up our Christmas village which is so special to us.  Daddy gave me my first building our first Christmas together when we met back in 2009.  Now we have so many buildings and accessories as we have built our village together as we enter our 7th Christmas season together.  I am also working on your Christmas stocking still and trying to get it done before Santa comes!

 We also went to Santa's Christmas Tree Farm in Cutchogue for another Christmas tradition we have which is cutting down our own Christmas tree.  Daddy sawed the perfect tree for us, we put it in Daddy's truck and took it home.  On our way home we stopped at Hallockville where I have my Crochet and Crafting for a Cure Sale.  They were having a Christmas sale, so we bought you this little gingerbread doll, since I have been reading you all of my gingerbread books from Kindergarten. When we set up our tree, I found a ladybug in it which I felt in my heart was a visit from Grandma Phyllis.  My  neighbor Ellen had just left from visiting us, and she was very close with Grandma Phyllis so I am positive this was a kiss from heaven for us! http://www.santaschristmastreefarm.com//

You holding K.C.'s ornament

Grandma Phyllis' ladybug

Grandma Phyllis always said to put a red ball at the very top of the tree for a year of good luck to come!

 We have also had so much fun dressing you!  In November, you wore your first pair of jeans, sweatpants and any time you wear patterned pants, Daddy laughs and calls them your lululemons.  Having a girl to dress sure is fun!  

 

 All in all my Kacey girl, the writing on your onesie in the last photo says it all.  I love you, more than I even thought possible.  You and your Daddy mean the world to me, and I am so in love with you and our little family that we have become!