K's half-birthday

Miss Kenley is 6 months old today! Happy half-birthday to our little lady. Highlights this month:

Kenley took her first airplane ride from Anchorage to Seattle to meet the family. She got to spend some quality time with her Grandma and Grandpa Hamlin, Aunt Amy and Uncle Chris, and little cousin Cameron Michael. She met all sorts of great aunts and uncles, and second cousins on her Dad's side of the family, too. It was a whirlwind weekend getaway, but boy was it fun!

Proud Grandma and Grandpa Hamlin with their grandbabies, Kenley Ella and Cameron Michael.

Rice cereal! Yum, yum, yum. Next we embark on an adventure in solids! 

Kenley has started "scooching" around on the floor, dragging herself around with her arms. This means Mom and Dad must start baby-proofing the abode in the very near future. She no longer stays in one place when we lay her down on the floor. Pretty soon she'll be crawling and lifting herself up on things, and getting into all sorts of fun and exciting things, I'm sure.

Nannie came home from Grand Junction for a little over a week to get a "grandbaby fix." She was able to watch Kenley for a couple of days while Mom and Dad went to work, and Jess and Kenley got to spend a whole weekend at "home" in Eagle River. 

Six months is a great age. Kenley is really starting to turn into a little person. Her giggles are the best, and we can now see the lightbulb turn on as she figures out the amazing things that her little hands can actually do! It sure is fun being parents and we're looking forward to what the next six month (and beyond!) brings our way. 

Alaska Grown

Last weekend our little family took an afternoon drive to Hatcher Pass, about an hour north of Anchorage. It was a blue-bird day, not a cloud in the sky. After an entire winter of being cooped up in the garage, our snowshoes finally got some fresh air.

Beautiful Hatcher Pass

Kenley's first snowshoeing adventure

Skagit the wonder dog

The pups got a good workout trudging through the deep snow. All they wanted to do was run, run, run, but they weren't able to go as fast as they would have liked.

Alaska girl

We're having a great time showing Kenley Alaska, and we're excited for all of the adventures that lie ahead.

Five Months

Kenley is five months old! Unbelievable how time flies. At five months, Kenley weighs in at 13 lbs. 2.5 oz. We like to call her "tumbleweed," because she's rolling around all over the place. We'll put her down in one spot and before we know it, she's on the other side of the room. It won't be long now until she's crawling! Her favorite thing right now is her feet, and all she wants to do is put them in her mouth. Yum!

Late February/Early March is Fur Rondy and Iditarod season in Alaska. We were able to get out and enjoy some of the festivities this year. Mark and his buddies participated in the first-ever Yukigassen snowball fight in the U.S.--they had a blast! "Bert the Conquerer," the host of a Travel Channel show, came and played on the Northern Trailblazers team with Mark and his friends. They'll all be featured on an upcoming episode of the show sometime in April. How cool is that? We also enjoyed the Native Arts Market, which features dozens of Alaska Native vendors from across Alaska--mukluks, parkas, ulus, baleen, furs and ivory carvings galore. Many of these folks come to Anchorage from far away rural villages just to show off their beautiful ware.

The Northern Trailblazers Yukigassen Team

Luke, Rob and Mark ready for battle

We took Kenley to her first Iditarod on March 5, 2011. Each year, there's a ceremonial start to the Iditarod race held in downtown Anchorage; the actual race begins the next day in Willow, about two hours north of town. We met up with Steve, Stephanie and Katelin Walker at a great spot that allowed us to be within hand-slapping distance from the dog teams and mushers. It's such a cool experience and it never gets old.

Here's Kenley and I with four-time Iditarod champ Lance Mackey in the background. Can you imagine what these guys (and gals) go through on the 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome? 

Lance Mackey's dog team. Like the pink booties?

The Hamlin Family, Iditarod 2011

We also went downtown to peruse the Fur Rondy snow sculptures. Most of them were pretty melted by the time we made our visit, but they were still neat to see. 

Kenley the snow queen (and her Dad).

Quatro

Four months. Kenley continues to astound us with her cuteness and fun personality. It sounds so cliche, but she's the center of our universe, and we're loving every minute.

She's starting to roll over now, and has a hard time sitting still when we're trying to change her britches. We think she's in the early stages of teething, too, because she's constantly drooling over everything and she puts everything, especially her hands, in her mouth. And the smiles? Ohhh, the smiles. They get us every time.

I returned to work full-time on Jan. 31 after a nice, long, blissful maternity leave, which was very, very, very, very (did I mention very?) hard. I'm still not completely adjusted, and I'm not sure I ever will be. BUT, during the week we take Kenley to a great woman named Betsy who runs a small at-home daycare. So even though I'm not with Kenley every minute of every day, I know that she's in good hands while I'm on the clock. And once we establish a routine, things will get easier and easier... Right?!?

Kenley caught her first cold last week, which led to her first ear infection. Talk about an inconsolable crying fit! She took a "sick day" and went to see Dr. McArthur, who prescribed her some Amoxicillin to help rid the infection. It's hard to see your baby in pain, not knowing what's wrong, and especially not being able to comfort her.

Kenley's Nannie and Pappy Dobson (Jess's parents) left Alaska on Jan. 21 to travel down the Alcan Highway to their "snowbird" destination, Grand Junction, CO. With a dog and a cat in tow (yes, a cat), they made it safely to the red rocks in record time -- only five days.

SO. Here's to four months, and continuing to enjoy watching Kenley grow into a lovely young lady. Cheers!

Grandma & Grandpa Hamlin come to Alaska

Kenley's Grandma and Grandpa Hamlin came to Alaska last weekend, Jan. 21-24, for a quick visit. We had a great time with them, and they got to spend some quality time with their new granddaughter. She definitely charmed them! Here are a few pictures from their visit.

Baby Mark

As promised, here are some photos of Mark as a baby. Baldy!

Like mother, like daughter?

We thought it'd be fun to share a few photos of Jess when she was a baby. A lot of people think Kenley looks like Mark, and we agree, but we can definitely see the resemblance between Baby Jess and Kenley. We are working on gathering some photos of Mark as a baby. Stay tuned for more comparisons.