Kinley Lately

Kinley got a fun surprise a couple weeks ago....one that actually made me squeal out loud!

Her own special chair!!!

My sweet sister-in-law Linde sent Kinley a Happy Valentines Day, Happy early Easter, Happy "you're gonna be a big sister", Happy "just because I love you" gift.

Kinley's got a LOVE for books and climbs into her chair daily to have me read her some stories.

She's also started a new thing where when I try to take a picture and ask her to smile she tilts her head like this and says "HI!!!!"

Love it!!!  Thanks Linde for SUCH a great gift!  I love that I can finally post these pics with her Big Sis shirt too!

Sharing our Big News

Here's how we spread the news of our pregnancy!

I found out I was pregnant right before Christmas (the Wednesday before to be exact!).  Trent and I were exchanging gifts that Friday morning before a weekend and week long trip around Texas to see all our family.  I thought of a fun way to surprise with the news, but it meant having to wait a day-and-a-half to tell him...I just about died =)

So I went and made this shirt - don't be impressed, it's just an iron-on decal.  On our Christmas morning I saved it for the very end and told him it was something I thought he'd enjoy with Kinley (so that they would open it together)....heehee =)

(here's Kinley with her buddy Colton sporting her "big sister' shirt.)

Side note:  Colton is the son of the middle school pastor at our church and he's 10 weeks older than Kinley.  Funny enough this same couple is expecting again as well...8 weeks before us this time!

Second Side note:  Seeing as how Louisa (my pregnant friend/pastor-wife friend/just friend/mom of Colton) and I are both preggers and have double mommy-brain, the day we took this picture I sent it to her and our hubs and she posted it to Facebook...(mind you this is before we've told our 100+ high school kids at church)...I saw her post and actually approved the photo to post to my wall too all before thinking about the fact that Kinley had on this shirt!  Thankfully a good friend helped us see what we couldn't see and we got it down quick!

Needless to say, Trent was shocked...lots of "are you kidding??" "is this a joke?" "is this for real??"  I'd convinced him the day before that there was no chance I was pregnant =).

The great part was literally within days we got to see all of our family and tell them the fun news as well.  

Both times now we've told immediate family within days of finding out the news ourselves and made them keep the secret for a little while....they've been so sweet to oblige!  

We used the shirt again and had her make grand entrances to announce the news for us!

That's the story, we're just thrilled and blessed to have had a smooth and healthy pregnancy so far.  In just a few weeks, we'll find out if baby Thompson #2 is another precious girl, or if we're getting some more testosterone in the house.  I'm so very curious!!!

Thompson 4!!!

We are overwhelmed and excited that we're expecting another baby!!!  

Who we've dubbed our little peanut ;P  

Baby #2 is expected to arrive August 28th -- which just happens to be the day after my 30th birthday....that's some awesome birthday present if you ask me!!

13 week

So far this pregnancy has been a bit different that when I was pregnant with Kinley.  My symptoms have been different (maybe a boy??!) but I've also been a ton more fearful of loosing this precious life inside of me.  I think this is partly due to the fact that the second Kinley was born a whole new sin struggle came crashing into my world -- I like to call it Mommy Fear... 
 
I've had to cling to scripture like crazy, take my thoughts captive and seek that prayer and support of friends that the Lord would give me freedom from worrying about my precious Kinley and my sweet husband.  Sometimes it's terrible and I can't get through the day without imagining some of the most awful scenarios and other days it's not an issue at all.  I can definitely feel my weakness with this struggle and pray for freedom from it!

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:5

14 week

Also, I think after having Kinley I've read too many blogs and heard too many sweet friends' stories of tragic loss.  I fell into the trap too many times of reading of a mommy's terrible loss of a child and would end up in tears, pulling Kinley from her nap to just hold onto her as tightly as I possibly could.

Let's face it, we're not promised a rosy easy life hear on Earth, and I feel like I've seen the reality of that fact in all new ways over the past 15 months.

BUT...we are promised the Creator and Father who knows how best to carry us through every circumstance He allows in this life.  So I fully recognize I'm not promised anything as it comes to Kinley, Trent or this new life inside of me.  I have to continually trust Jesus with every single step in this process.

I'm grateful that this pregnancy is forcing me to be before the Lord in seeking His comfort and His peace.

15 weeks....yes I'm wearing the same shirt as last week =) Crazy how the bump appears so much earlier the second time around!

Good morning

It's been a little while...I wanted to share a fun little routine of Kinley's with you...

Most mornings, Kinley wakes up around 6:30 and ideally we'd love for her to sleep till 7.  So we've conviced her to sleep a little later if we bring her quietly into bed with us.

But not before she greets either one of us (usually Trent) with her favorite word...."DOG".  No, we don't own a dog, and she honestly doesn't see them that often, but if she hears one bark in the neighborhood or spots one in a book, she confidently says "dog" and signs it too!  So yes, this is how she wakes up most mornings.

Anyways, back to the little routine.  After telling us "DOG", we'll bring her in our bed and on a good morning she'll snuggle for a good 15-20 minutes longer.  This is one of my favorite parts of the day....snuggling with my baby and my man =)

When she's had enough snuggling, she'll sit up in our bed and sign and say "AHHH DAHHH" (interpretation = all done with hands twisting and shaking vigorously)

then promptly tell us what she wants next (and it's the same thing every day!)

"BAAA DAHHH" (interpretation = banana)

Makes me smile every day!

Hope you have a great day and go enjoy a BAH DAH =)

1 year old!

Wow....really?  I have a one-year-old??!!

To say this past year has flown by is the understatement of the century!  I've fallen more in love with our little Kinley Brooke every passing month!  It still amazes me on a very regular basis that our Lord and Savior would entrust Trent and I to raise Kinley.  What a privilege, honor, and serious task!  It's all beyond me, which keeps me going back to the Lord for strength, energy, trust, faith, and hope.  Guess that's how He planned it in the first place!

I'll post on Kinley's birthday later, but wanted to write down the usual developmental stuff and share some pictures as a way of reminding myself mostly!

Kinley's 12th month was a BUSY one -- with lots of trips and FIRSTS!

• Measurements:  We went to the pediatrician for Kinley's 1-year well check and found out (ok, it was really no surprise) that we have a tall skinny gal!

Weight: 20 lb 3 oz (25-50th percentile)

Height:31 1/2 in (95th percentile!)

• New Cousin!  My brother and sister-in-law had their second child on October 19th...Welcome to the world precious Lola Harper!  We've yet to get a good pictures of the cousins together (despite MANY efforts!)  Hope we can get a good one at Christmas!

 

• First extended time away from Trent and me:  Trent and I took an anniversary trip to Chicago which I posted about here.  Kinley spent 5 days with Trent's family...I did much better than I expected being away from her, but I absolutely couldn't wait to get back to her by the end of the trip!
  
• Halloween:  We're not huge Halloween fans, but it sure is fun to dress up a baby!  Thanks to an awesome loan from a friend, Kinley was a peacock for Halloween!  For whatever reason, this costume had an amazing effect on Kinley - the second we put it on her, she went into this super subdued state!  It was hilarious...I think this picture gives you somewhat of an idea of what she looked like 100% of the time that she wore it.  Chilled.out.

This one cracks me up -- so much for getting all the babies together for a cute picture -- needles to say they were ALL ready for bed!

• Baylor Homecoming:  We made it up to Waco for Baylor homecoming this year, I couldn't wait to see how Kinley would feel about the homecoming parade.  She was enamored and didn't take her eyes off the floats!

 

Waiting for the next float to come by!

• First words & Signing:  I've been showing Kinley "Baby Signing Time" videos to see if she might pick up a few signs and honestly, I thought she just wasn't interested.  Well I was wrong!  She's picked up a few signs and is loving it.  So far, she pretty much does the signs we ask her to do, but hopefully soon this will translate in her being able to tell us what she wants or needs.  Right now she'll sign All Done, More, Bye, Hi, and Eat.  She also started saying "AAAHH DAA" (all done) and BAH (bye) when she signs those two words.  So fun!

Here's our little girl at 1 year old!

Happy Birthday baby.  We love you soooo much!

11 Months Old

Ok seriously, this last month flew by -- i.e. came and went along with the 1 year marker and I've YET to blog about it!!!  Here's to catching up a bit!

Here's what happened in Kinley's 11th month:

• FIRST STEPS!:  This one was a HUGE shock to me...I mean our child just went from never having taken a single step in her entire life to walking (something she'll be doing for a very LONG time!).  It's just a little crazy (and awesome) how Kinley's precious little body and mind figured out how walk!  (I know I'm a mom and it's not that big of a deal to the rest of the world, but I'm just in awe once again at how the Lord has made our bodies to work!).  You can watch the video of her first few steps HERE.
• 2 More tooth! Kinley has 8 teeth now - 4 on top, and 4 on bottom.  I honestly didn't even realize she was teething till they popped through - this was by far the easiest "teething" experience we've had to date!  Praise the Lord!
• Lots of Kinleys =):  We had a youth event at the beginning of October called Glowball...picture capture the flag + football + freeze tag + pitch black room + glowsticks + techno music...that's glowball!  Anyways, for all our big events, every high school community group dresses up and competes for "best costume".  Long story short, but my senior girls decided to be babysitters and decided that each of their babies should actually be Kinley.  Here's a pic of all the Kinley's for the night!

• Into EVERYTHING: Kinley is mischevious and LOVES to find new places to explore.  Her favorite spots are cabinets, trash cans, and the dishwasher...lovely I know.

I PROMISE my floors were clean!

• First visit to see the Baylor Bear!:  As a Baylor Alum, this was fun for me, and my sweet husband was kind enough to oblige my desire to pull over on a trip back from Dallas to take a few pics =)

• Playing Peek-a boo:  Kinley learned this game and is hilarious to watch!

Here's a few of the regular shots so you can see how she's grown!

Chicago - Anniversary Trip!

Trent and I just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Chicago.  Kinley stayed with the Gram & Papa Jack (and Aunt Linde too!).  It was great time for her to spend family and great time for us to get away too!

Trent spent 3 years there while he was in seminary at Trinity, so he knew all the great places to show me around (it was my first time there).  Plus I got to meet some sweet friends from while he was there.  Here's some more about our trip via pictures =)

Day 1: 

We arrived right around lunchtime, had lunch with a friend from Trent's Chicago days (and our KIND and gracious host for the weekend -- THANKS Jim & Maria!!).  Then we went up to Trinity and walked around campus!

 

After looking around campus we drove around and Trent showed me Michael Jordan's front gate!

That night we went on an old-school traditional date -- dinner and a movie!  I can't remember the last time we did this now that we've got our little kbear around!

Day 2:  Into the city!!

We took the train into the city and had one of the most beautiful fall days -- clear crisp and not too cold for this Texas girl =)  After lunch at Macy's (they have the most amazing food court and dishes from famous local chef's!), we headed to Millineum park to see the famous "Bean" and walk around the Art Institute.  

 

Here's the bean....there literally are NO seems in this thing - it makes for such a great view of the city!

 

This is our reflection in the bean!

 

Apparantly this was being built while Trent was living up there.  He said it went WAY over budget and took tons longer than they had originally expected.  Locals thought it was a big waste, but now it's turned into a HUGE attraction.  It's sooo big!

This was from underneath/inside the bean...I'm the white jacket right in the middle.  Can you find me?!

I know...enough pictures of the bean already...I just can't get over how cool these shots turned out!

Last shot...you can see a good portion of the city in the reflection

More views from Millennium Park...

Lake Michigan - it seriously looks like an ocean!

Next we walked over to The Art Institute and saw lots of famous paintings and some really neat sculptures...I love how peaceful and relaxing museums can be!  Recognize this one?!

This is me being coerced by Trent into imitating the lion behind me.  Why is it that I can be 29 years old and still get embarrassed by what someone may think??  Maybe it didn't help that as I'm taking this picture a lady walked by and said "Don't worry, nobody is watching".....hmmm.....ironic?!

We spent the rest of the day walking around town and doing a little shopping.  Chicago is SUCH a beautiful city!!

That night we went to Trent's favorite pizza place - Giordano's (pronounced Jeer-u-don-O's)

We definitely enjoyed our deep-dish Chicago-style pizza =).  Here's the order from bottom to top:  Crust, toppings (we had sausage and bell peppers), LOTS of cheese, then the tomato sauce!

No pictures of our final stop, but it must be mentioned...after dinner we strolled by the Ghirardelli shop and I got liquid chocolate...not Hot Chocolate...literally liquid Ghirardelli chocolate.  

It. was. heavanly!! (and sooooooooo rich!)

Needless to say, we had a VERY full day =)

Day 3:

We slept in on our third day and then went for a walk in a beautiful forest preserve...I forgot to bring my camera, but just picture the most beautiful trees covered in a broad array of fall colors and you get the idea!  Then we met up with one of the guys Trent mentored while he lived in Chicago, Zach, and his wife Kaelee.  We had a blast spending the day with them!  That night, they took us to the greatest hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in south Chicago.  If you ever go to Chicago, you have to find this place!!!  It's called Gio's.  Another guy that Trent mentored came and met us for dinner as well!

Here was our dinner group

And a picture of my amazing dessert...cappuccino and cannoli's!!!  YUMM!  This picture makes my mouth water

Day 4:

On our last day in Chicago, we made every second count!  First we found a great church in Northwest Chicago called Park Community Church.  Then we basically walked the length and breadth of the city!  First we grabbed brunch at a place called Yolk (YUMMY!) and then walked south to Sear's Tower (actually called Willis Tower now).  Here's a pic of the tower:

We went up to the 103rd (yes....103rd) floor to the Sky deck to get this amazing view!

And found this crazy ridiculous glass floor deck...here's the view from the outside

And the crazy view from the inside....yes I squealed like a little girl!

After that, we headed west to the Navy Pier to go on a river architecture tour.  

The views were amazing from the water!  Here are a few

So pretty!!!

Our last stop on our trip was to visit the family Trent lived with for the last half of his time in Chicago.  I'm sooo greatful for their kindness to him and it was wonderful to finally meet them!

All-in-all, we had a fabulous trip!