Keepin' up with Kenya

This picture was taken today! Our littler girl is growing up. We have gotten several comments lately about how she seems to be changing. She is looking more grown up and her face is changing, but she still is the prettiest baby I have ever seen! Just last night grandma noticed that Kenya is doing patty cake all by herself. When she patty cakes, she even talks saying it in her own words with a similar tune. At the beginning of this last week she has started to wave hello and goodbye too! We will try to catch these amazing feats on video, but only babies and animals won't perform for the camera.

Mmmmm... She loves food! In the next pictures she has an apple off of great grandpa's tree; as well as a lollipop she shared with me; and then sharing dinner out of the kettle with a giant spoon!



These are pictures visiting great grandpa! What a great guy. He gave Kenya $10 when we left. He was so proud of her and loved to show her off to all the nurses.






We went to a friends house and went horse back riding. It was a lot of fun. Kenya's first horse ride. Kenya's first time falling off a horse too. That is right, we fell/got bucked off. All is well though. I got some nice bruises and sore back, but Kenya seemed untouched. We watched her closely for the next 48 hours and she is doing great!

We found That....

...but not how we would have liked too. After nearly two weeks of searching I found That's body. It was lying next to an anthill. It had been quite decomposed so it was difficult to tell the cause of death. So she is no longer with us. I decided that we needed to give her a proper goodbye and immediately began making preparations for a memorial service. Here is a poster I made to remember her.


Not many people understand how special our cats are. That will be missed. Here are some photos that show a little of why we loved her so much!



Here she is loving on me. She was truly was a cuddle cat. When we first got That she was pretty skiddish. It took a couple of days for her to warm up to Lois, but took a lot longer for her to warm up to me. But once she did she never looked back. She showed the same kind of love for me as she did for Lois.

Her and This cuddled each other too! Sisters who love each other the way only a sister knows.



I made a coffin for her body, but the body was taken the night before the service! I also made a tombstone, a placard, and dug a grave.






It sucks that That is gone because now people won't quite understand why we have one cat named This. They'd say something like, "Wow! Your cat's name is This? Well that's weird!". We'd then say, "No, That's dead and she wasn't too weird." We'd then have to go on to explain that we had two cats that were sisters named This and That and so on.

Well, that's that on That!
(You don't even know how confusing it was to write correctly)

We miss That!

We came home from Spokane on Saturday last weekend to an very unpleasant surprise. No one had seen That! So, we waited and even prayed for her to come home and that she was safe. After a very hard week I think I must admit That is gone! I am so sad and have shed several tears over That. No one has seen her since either. She really meant a lot to us. It is not as cool to tell people that you have A cat named This. I am still thankful we have This, but there is something missing without That! We have walked up and down the street and even talked to a few neighbors, but no luck. I am still praying that she will find her way home one day and then I will not let her out of my sight again. Our family is down to 4 now! SO SAD!!!!
Seriously, I feel like I lost a part of my family. It has been rough!

A little late.... sorry.

Here are the rest of the pictures from August. Below is Kenya with Liv Norris. We took my sister to the airport in Spokane and hung out with Jon and Ronae for a few days. It was lots of fun. I can't believe the difference in just six weeks. Liv is almost exactly 6 weeks younger than Kenya and yet there were so many differences between them. Liv, is a sweet adorable baby!

This one is at the Spokane Temple. This is where Robert and I were sealed. Kira babysat while Robert and I got to go through a session. Thanks again!
Kenya was sleeping as we enjoyed the temple grounds. What a beauty she is!!

Kenya has began making this face a little more than a week ago. It is so cute!! We think it came from Uncle Chris making noises with his mouth and her trying to copy him.


Grandpa was playing with Kenya at the lake. These are some really cool floating docks just above the Libby Dam on the Koocanusa. We went there because it was Chris's birthday. He caught a lot of fish that evening.


Here is Kenya on all fours getting ready to crawl. What a girl!!
This is the video of her army crawling. She has done it quite a bit since then too!



As of today Kenya is 12lbs 6oz and 24 inches long!

Coming Soon

Well, last night I was able to catch Kenya army crawling on our camera. I will wait until later tonight to upload it, but she is offically on the move. Last Friday is when I will offically call her an army crawler, however she has been doing it every so often or a month or so. My girl is growing up. I will post pictures of our trip to Spokane this last week too.

Look what we have done.

We have moved! We are in Montana with my parents while Robert is looking for a job. We are loving life here. We moved our stuff here on July 31, and spent a week vacationing. It was tons of fun. Then we went back to Rexburg or a week while Robert finished working at FedEx Ground. Now we are staying at my parents and enjoying the family. We have been to 3 different lakes and the creek that runs through the back of the property. Everyday I look outside and just enjoy the green and beauty! Robert, is looking for a job just about anywhere and my parents were kind enough to take us in and put up with us. No, really I think we have all been enjoyig it.
Kenya has really put up with a lot. She hasn't really had a home since we moved out at the end of July. We were somewhere different every week. She was/is a real trooper! And amongst the midst of all this she has continued to develope. She now sits completely on her own when set sitting up. She started doind that when we were staying the Hagen's in RExburg. I think it was Tuesday, Aug 10 she started that. She is definately teething now. A few days of fussiness and nothing up ice (or Otter pops) will make her happy. She loves the outdoors. Each time we want to go to the lake or somthing I stop and think, if she is fussy should I take her? I end up going because I want to go and she does not complain a bit! As you can see in the picture below. This is at Howard Lake just on Wednesday. Kenya has also gotten up on to all fours and stayed there for a few seconds a couple of times this week. It sure has been a long time coming, but she will crawl.

Familt shot a Howards Lake! Kenya just dips her toes in. The water was just a slightly too cold. We will get her in one of these days when it is just too hot! (Like yesterday!)

What a trooper. This is in the car on our way back to Montana last week! She has an amazing smile! I love those dimples.


These two are at the Hagen's house in Rexburg! THANKS AGAIN!!! We sure had a fun time with them! Kenya really enjoyed that carrot! What a great teether it was too!

Just things that Kenya is enjoying right now!
Grandpa's quack quack!! and his beard.
Aunt Kira's mouth movements!
Grandma's peaches or anyother fruit she has to share.
Uncle Chris's time. (He plays a lot with her and she really has taken a liking to him).
Daddy's name. The other day she said dada. (Not knowing what it was, but she repeated it after Robert said is over and over.)
FOOD!!! ANYTHING THAT I WILL LET HER EAT!!!
Keep growing baby, we all love you!

Extry! Extry! Kenya outgrows cousin Harmon*

For all you nay-sayers and worry warts, Kenya is now 2 feet long and weighs 11lbs 4oz! Still growin' healthy and strong! As a matter of fact here are some pictures to show just how grown up she is! Enjoy! She gains about a pound and just under an inch each month.


















*=Harmon's birth height and weight

Posted by Robert

Kenya on the move.

Here is my baby! She scoots around and so strong. She is a good mover, but of coarse once I got the camera out she stopped moving around. When we leave her on the floor to play often times she will turn more than 360 degrees and scoots off of her blanket. Watch out world here she comes!

Kenya plays with Hannah Hildebrandt.

We were at our friends house and our girls were been so cute together. Kenya has now developed a little yell/scream when other babies are around that are bigger than her. It is kind of a warning system when they get to close to her. She gets unsure about other babies now. I am sure she will learn to love them as see gets more confidence.

The latest at the Draper home.

Yesterday evening I discovered that Kenya was go from the sitting to standing position with out anything up my hand for balance. Not that she can stand on her own, but if she is sitting on my lab and she is just holding onto my hands she can up herself to a standing position. Really, at 4 1/2 months. Kenya!!

These are pictures of Kenya when she was asleep in her bed. Robert just thought she was so cute he had to take a couple pictures.

This is Kenya chewing on her new toys that go everywhere with her. She loves her feet!! She plays and sucks on them whenever she gets a chance. So cute! I love that girl!

Our friends the Johnson came to visit!! YEAH!! We hadn't seen them in a long time. They got to meet Kenya and we all went to Applebees. As you can see Kenya thinks she can drink form a straw and in the next photo she was ordering from the menu. What a smart baby she is!!

I put Kenya in a shopping cart one day and she did rather well. At least for about 10 minutes. This is the first and only time that I have tried it!
This was at the Melaleuca Summer Picnic. It was hotter than Hades!! I am pretty sure it was the hottest day of the summer so far! Kenya enjoyed 2 snow cones with me to keep cool. The picnic was great and I got to eat all the cotton candy that I wanted! and boy did I!

This is a ward camping trip that we had on July 10. We had fun! Kenya's second camping trip.

Kenya Loves the Hooch!

The following are pictures of Kenya enjoying some, of what Robert calls, Hooch! Okay, not really, but she was having a good time with the jug!

Update on Kenya.

Over the past few weeks she has been developing a ton. She rolls over both ways. Goes to sleep on her own, some nights. She loves anything that is frozen so she can put it in her month (we think she is in the beginning stages of teething). She can scoot her way around a little bit, she gets off of her blanket often when on the floor and we have to strap her in her chair because she will turn over in it we don't. In just the past week she has begun to discover her feet. She holds them, but they have not gone in her mouth yet, at least from what I have seen. All in all, she is a health baby and developing just fine. She loves to play with both Robert and I. She is reaching, grabbing, and moving towards toys, and of coarse anything she gets her hands on or is near her goes straight into her mouth. She started to pull on my hair a it too, this is one habit I wont let form. What a great baby! We love her, we do!