Kellah "celebrated" the 11 month milestone on Saturday, but we were out of town for the final weekend of deer hunting. Well, Daddy was hunting, and us girls were spending time with Grandma Sherry in the house.
How my baby girl is growing up so fast is beyond me. I can still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. And now she's walking all over the place! Watching her make her way around the house is somewhat hilarious because she's so tiny (comfortably fitting in 3-6 months clothes). Plus, she sometimes does the "Frankenstein Walk" as she sticks her hands out for balance and then toddles wherever she wants to go.
And boy can she get where she wants. Today, I left her in Coralyn's bedroom to go put something away and came back just seconds later to find Kellah up on Coralyn's bed. Kellah was sitting quite contentedly and gave me a huge smile, proud of herself for climbing onto the bed all by herself. She then proceeded to stand up on the bed and bounce like she sees her sister doing (even though she's not supposed to!).
Kellah is quite the observer, apparently. On Saturday morning, Kellah and I were in the kitchen by ourselves. Lawrence and Coralyn had gone down to Sedalia the night before, but I had to stay behind to teach a childbirth class. Anyway...while I was fixing our breakfast, Kellah comes over to the sink and grabs the two towels hanging on a pair of hooks. She then carries the towels over to the corner and plops down to play with them. She has watched Coralyn lug random stuff into that corner and play make-believe in that corner day after day. I guess she felt the need to make up for Coralyn's absence that morning and continue the tradition of playing in the corner, which she did for quite some time.
I love that Coralyn and Kellah get along and play well together, for the most part. Every now and then, I will hear Lawrence telling Coralyn, "Don't step on your sister," or ,"You can't pull your sister across the room." I was delighted when the two girls played together for TWO HOURS in Coralyn's Dora tent, without any problems whatsoever. Granted, the Dora tent was upside down and looked more like a hot air balloon than a tent. Plus, it was full of all sorts of toys and empty containers and blankets and stuffed animals. The important thing: the girls had fun AND I got a lot done while they were busy playing!
You would think that with all the moving and playing Kellah does throughout the day that she would be plum tired out at night and sleep for a solid 8 hours. Nope. Apparently, Kellah doesn't think sleep is necessary to a fun-filled day. I disagree and am trying my best to communicate this to my youngest child. Slowly but surely, she is catching on. She regularly sleeping 4-6 hours straight, for which I am extremely thankful!
Lately, Kellah has been carrying around her little "bear blanket" and when I put her down for a nap, she grabs it and cuddles it while she sleeps. Precious! Again, she got this from watching Coralyn take her beloved purple blanket and bear blanket (a small bear holding a blanket) everywhere she goes. I like that she has a "lovely" thought and am hoping this will help the sleep-through-the-night process continue to improve.
Kellah eats like a pro, chowing down on almost everything I give her -- carrots, broccoli, squash, asparagus, cheese, bananas, apples, pears, celery, chicken, fish, beef, deer, cottage cheese, yogurt, blueberries, and anything else she can get her hands on. Like the container of grapes she managed to dump all over the kitchen floor while I was busy putting away groceries. Or the bowl of tropical fruit I had fixed for supper and set on the bottom shelf, right where both girls could all too easily reach in and grab handful after handful of mango, pineapple, and kiwi...again while I was putting away the groceries.
My dad would have a heart attack if he saw that I let them "play" in the fridge, just so they would stay busy and out of my way, while I work in the kitchen. I know it wastes electricity and energy and all that, but when I need a minute or two free of whiny, clingy kiddos, all I have to do is open the door to the fridge. Or the cabinet where all the tupperware containers and lids are stored. That right there can typically guarantee me a good five minutes of peace and quiet. Followed by 10 minutes of trying to round up all the containers and lids to put them away until I need "me time" again.
Funny how Kellah can be tired and cranky and rubbing her eyes, but then I set her down in front of something she can "destroy" and all of a sudden she is full of energy and ready to go for another half hour, or as long as it takes her to empty everything onto the floor, chew on each item, and then get bored with that activity as it obviously wasn't entertaining enough. Or she realized I wasn't telling her to stop.
Lately, her curiosity has led her to wanting to play with the electrical outlets. She knows this is a big NO-NO. After redirecting her numerous times the other day, she walked right back over to the electrical outlet in Coralyn's room, looked back at me with a mischievious grin, and proceeded to try to pull the night light out of the socket yet again. It's a good thing Kellah's so cute, or else she would be in a world of trouble!
What can I say though? I love my Kellah Bear with all my heart. Every day I fall deeper in love with my baby girl who isn't really that much of a baby anymore. If a blink too many more times, I am going to be walking her down the hall to her kindergarten classroom. Coralyn, evidently, can't wait to grow up and go to school as she informed me this morning, "Mommy, I'm going to school. I'm in kindergarten now!" Wow, slow down, stop the train! Be my little girls for just a bit longer :) I want to soak up every precious moment!
At the same time, I am praying for both Coralyn and Kellah to grow up to be bold in their faith, to stand up for what's right when no one else is, to show kindness to the kids no one else will play with at recess, to be Jesus to those around them. The world isn't getting any nicer, and I feel like my little lambs are going to face the wolves far sooner than I would like. I will protect them to the best of my ability, but I have to pray over and over again that they will be "innocent as doves and wise as serpents." Better yet, Jesus can come back any time now!
Until He does, I will enjoy every day He gives me with my girlies. I pray we will create countless memories together. Like this morning on the trampoline, as they played in the leaves and Coralyn sang bits and pieces of songs...some she had heard in church or from me and others she was making up on the spot. Kellah will be joining her soon as she is saying a few words -- Mama being her favorite :) For now, Kellah is content to laugh and giggle while she listens to her big sister's songs and stories.
Oh, I am blessed. Blessed beyond words.
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