This week we arrived back in Sydney and Kenzie is happy to be back in a familiar environment. I’ve forgotten just how many mirrors my parents place has and Kenzie adores looking at herself, slapping the mirror and squealing as she stops her feet watching her every move in the mirror.
So far, here is her tally:
Nappy Changes: 50
Sleep: 95 hours
Feeds: 91
Kenzie hasn’t seen my parents in 2 weeks as they were in the Philippines tending to my Aunty before she passed away. At first she was hesitant to see my mom again and refused to be held by her but after a few laughs, she recognised her grandma! It was so good to know she remembers people! Unfortunately, mom has gone back to the Philippines for a week and will have to part from Kenzie again for a few days. My dad was a different story and is going to take some time for her to recognise him again. But wow she was spoiled! She has enough clothes to last her through to past a year old!
I took her to the pools this week as she absolutely loved the pool in Brisbane and she is definitely a water baby! She was screaming with glee, splashing about in the water, kicking and floating. She enjoys being in the water so much that it’s almost a must to have a backyard pool when we look for our forever home. I found it very difficult to find a swimming pool nearby. There are a handful of swim schools but hardly any leisure centres (only one in a 20km radius! If you Google Map our area, it seems like every single house has a pool but ours). I was advised by a friend that it wasn’t worth signing up to classes yet and to wait till she is a bit older. Since she loved it so much, this week we went twice! What a lucky girl.
She’s had her 6 month checkup and vaccination this week. I braved it and went alone this time without Ramon and Kenzie is much easier to handle. I armed myself with a dummy and “I Love You” by Barney on repeat. It was as if she didn’t feel the first needle and the second needle was only met with very little tears. She is one heck of a trooper! A very healthy and heavy trooper. She now weighs 7.72kgs and is 67cm tall. She’s grown so much since she was born!
This week Kenzie has been refusing to sit on laps and would rather sit in her own in the floor or standing up against the back of a chair, sofa or table. She’s becoming the strong and independent women we’ve dreamed for her already! It won’t be long till she’s able to stand on her own two feet on her own. She’s been walking while assisted and can hold herself up for one full second before falling back into sitting position. Ramon has bought her a walker to help with her development but she hasn’t quite figured out she is able to move it yet and just stands there stationary. She has once gone from lying on her back to sitting position but hasn’t been able to do it again since. She tries so hard so we know it’s not too far off too! By the looks of it she may skip crawling altogether as she would rather leapfrog and face plant than to use her arms to hold herself up. She has been moving a lot more, endlessly rolling back an forth and trying to pull herself up to standing from sitting position. One minute she’s on one side of the bed and the next she’s all the way on the other side. She’s growing so fast! We’ve also discovered the amazing multi-use of a laundry basket! Kenzie absolutely loves sitting in a clothes basket. I don’t know what her fascination with the basket is, but she enjoys herself while inside with the biggest grin on her face. She’s started to pull herself up onto her feet trying to climb over.
Everyday I read her Slinky Malinky and My Cat Maisie in addition to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, all thoughtfully gifted by her godmother and Aunty, Angela. She still adores The Very Hungry Caterpillar and smiles and squeals at the ending. She has also taken to That’s Not My Unicorn and loves her number flashcards. The alphabet is a whole different story!
This week, Kenzie has taken to solids very well. I now understand why you shouldn’t rush and wait till your baby is sitting, is 6 months old and shows interest in food. It’s so much easier and you will not fight with your baby to have her eat solids. Kenzie was very open to trying all sorts of food and loves savoury over sweets. When we first started, I found it difficult to feed Kenzie more than one teaspoon of food in a day, now she will happily take 2 teaspoons of food per meal time. We definitely should of waited but you learn and move on. She loves potato, rice, sweet potato, melon, watermelon, banana, muffins, beef, chicken, bread and I can’t stress enough how much she loves potato! She still hates her baby food packets but will eat everything else. After trying a few flavours, I feel it is too sour and not even I can eat it without feeling like it’s too sour.
As we’ve increased her solid intake, her bowel movements have changed to a thicker consistency which has become so much easier to clean but the poop smell has now arrived! Oh the joys to look forward to!
Kenzie now laughs more than she did before and got longer runs and over the most silliest things! I would pretend to be a monster or tiger and make animal noises and she adores it so much she will giggle so hard it’s contagious. She has become so ticklish, especially in her arms and her armpits and she loves being chased around as she’s being carried. A baby’s laugh is such a beautiful sound and everyday I try and get at least one chuckle out of her.
This year for lent, I have decided to give up swearing. I have a big potty-mouth and I wanted to clean it up and remove foul language. It will also help me think before I speak and Kenzie will not be able to pick up this bad habit of mine. It’s more difficult than I thought and hoping I’ll be able to kick this habit.
Next week, Kenzie will be 28 weeks and I wonder what surprises she’ll bring to us. No two days are ever the same and she sure does know how to keep us on our toes!