Making progress

Hopefully I am not jinxing anything, but Kelsey has finally taken to the baby food! Yesterday she ate 1/2 a jar of squash, today she ate sweet potatoes at daycare, and tonight she ate squash and bananas. Yippee! It was very strange to actually have her open her mouth for the spoon, rather than turning her head in the opposite direction or piercing her lips as tight as she can. Hopefully she keeps up the good eating. Now if we can just get her to sleep through the night. One step at a time, right?

Smith Family Weekend

Our niece and nephew, Lauryn and Soren, turned five this past week. My dad and Chris came to Minnesota so we could celebrate their birthdays. They arrived at my brother Brian's house on Friday night. Kelsey and I also got to Brian's on Friday. Matt was not with us because he was attending a football clinic in the cities. Friday night we spent most of the night just catching up with each other. We also searched through my mom's old cookbooks to find her paczki (pronounced punch-key) recipe. Paczki are a traditional Polish doughnut. My mom always made them every year for Fat Tuesday before Lent. Then she would invite our family over to eat them. We have tried to keep up with this tradition. Luckily, we found the recipe! The previous years we have used an online recipe because we could not find the cookbook. on Saturday, we celebrated the birthdays, made paczki and went bowling. Matt was able to join us as well. We had not seen my dad and Chris since January 4, so it was so good to just spend time together. When we get together, we always try to plan ahead so we know when we will see each other again. It was amazing how busy everyone's calendars are already. It was exciting to realize the next time we are all together Brian and Molly will have their new baby! Can't wait for Baby Smith to join our crazy family!

Happy Valentine's Day

It seems that February is flying by. We have been busy here in the Skala household,so I am sure that is why it feels this way. First of all, we are happy to report that Matt and Stacey made it home safely from Germany. They brought us back a very neat wood ornament, a bracelet, German beer and liquor and an adorable shirt for Kelsey. Thank you! While they were gone, we went to Matt's parents house one night to help out. Nate was also in town, so here is Uncle Na-Na with Kelsey. Grandma also took time to read Kelsey a book. It was actually a book that Matt got from his grandparents when he was little.


We have moved on from rice cereal to veggies. Kelsey has not really taken to either. She sees the spoon coming and turns her head as far away as possible. Matt and I have to try to make her laugh to get her to open her mouth. I am hoping she gives in soon and decides it is not so bad. I guess she is happy with how things are and is not ready to make the switch yet. Alright all you moms out there, how do I get her to like rice cereal and veggies? Here are the first pictures of her trying sweet potatoes.

For Kelsey's first Valentine's Day, she took Mickey Mouse Clubhouse valentines (Daddy picked them out) to share at her daycare party. Our daycare provider is very good about having celebrations for all the holidays. Of course she had to wear red and pink.

On Saturday night, Matt and I went to a baseball fundraiser. The team is going to Florida this spring, so the funds raised will help the players with costs. It was a very nice evening! Grandma and Grandpa watched Kelsey so we could have dinner and stay for the dance. We hope your Valetine's Day was just as sweet.

Hi Aunt Stacey and Uncle Matt!

Aunt Stacey and Uncle Matt are in Germany right now because Matt had a trade show to attend for work. Stacey was fortunate enough to be able to go along. Last night we were able to talk with them through skype at Dave and Vickie's house. It was pretty neat. Since I know Stacey is checking the internet over there, we thought we would wish them a safe trip back. We miss you and can't wait to hear all the stories when you return!

6 Month Photos

6 month update

Kelsey had her six month check-up on Monday. She weighs 16lbs. and is 27 inches long. She is 55% for weight and 90% for height. She is still following the tall and skinny pattern. Kelsey had another round of shots and is set with them until her 12 month check-up. When we were there we found out she has an ear infection. She has been battling a cough for about 2 weeks now, and I had actually taken her in a week prior to her check-up to see what was going on. They put her on amoxicillin, but it didn't work. We took her back to the doctor today because after 3 days on the meds, her cough had actually gotten worse. It turns out so had the ear infection. Now they have her on a new antibiotic. I hope it works. She has not really been fussy through all of this. She just coughs like crazy. It is amazing that such a little body can produce such a hefty cough. We have been running the humidifier and having her sleep in her car seat to try to help her. Daddy was wonderful and spent the afternoon with her today so she could be home and try to rest there. Let's hope by the next blog post she has improved!
In other news, she is now getting up on all fours and starting to scoot. She is also fully capable of turning her body in the complete other direction by rolling and scooting. She grabs for things and is even able to put her own nuk in her mouth now after she pulls it out.
As for Matt and I, school and master's work take up a lot of our time. Actually, my current class has a very manageable amount of work, while Matt's classes are more demanding. Matt is also running the intermural basketball league which requires him to be gone a few hours each week. Plus, baseball is sneaking up on us. He is currently running camps for elementary students. Practice and games will be here before we know it and then life gets a little more busy. Busy is good though, right?
We have been in the middle of another arctic weather pattern lately and I am sure ready for a warm up. Is it spring yet? I am not sure I can take another day of indoor recess at school. The kiddos are starting to go stir crazy. I think it is a record of how many days they have been inside this winter. Bring on the heat!
I will post pictures this weekend! Be sure to check them out :)