happy Father's Day weekend!

This Father's Day weekend was a busy one ... but the 3 of us had some great little family time!

On Saturday, Kendall had 2 different birthday parties she'd been invited to ... both were for 2 year old boys ... Mich (a little friend from RHCC) and Nicholas (the son of work friend of Ash's) ... both parties were at different times of the day, with a little break in between, so that worked out well for Kendall's napping schedule!

Mich's party was at a nice secluded park & they rented the pavilion ... although it was pretty hot out, this park had lots of shade and we got to hang out with several friends during the celebration!  They brought everything to the park to grill hamburgers & hotdogs and yummy corn on the cob (and all the fixin's) for lunch.  Kendall enjoyed sliding down the slide & swinging on the swings ... and playing & talking with some of her little friends ... Mich, Landon, Spencer, Ella and baby Madeline (Mich's baby sister who's now 5 months old).  Here are a few shots that we took of Kendall having some fun at the party ...

the Michener boys ... the birthday
boy, Mich & his Dad, Scott

Kendall LOVEd being with baby
Madeline (Mich's sister) ... she told her
all kinds of stories & kept wanting
to go back over to see her and touch her. 
(Our "soft touches" training for Cassie
our dog has worked great for touching
babies, too ... she was very gentle with
Madeline & kept patting her ...
luckily, Madeline enjoyed it & was
all smiles for us!  I think these 2 girls will
be fast little friends!

Landon (14 months) & Kendall ... he was not so sure
about her, probably because she kept eyeing his football!

Kendall with the birthday boy

Mich came in for a KISS ... Kendall's 1st kiss ... I think I'm
going to have to keep my eye out on this guy!  ha!  (Actually,
I hope she & Mich become very good friends ... he is a
sweet boy with super parents that we love spending time with!)

We got home, had time to cool off & relax a bit in the pool while Kendall took a nice, long nap ... and then we were off to the next party ... Nicholas' party was at this fun kids' activity/obstacle course/jump place called "Going Bonkers" in Lewisville. Kendall was too little to do any of the fun stations, but we got to visit with a couple of friends from Ashley's work & their families ... including our friends Deanna & Drew and their sweet daughter Brooke (who's 15 months). Here are some pictures of our time together ...

Nicholas the birthday boy & his Dad, Jesse

Kendall & I with Deanna & sweet Brooke

work buddies with their kids ... Ash & K, Todd &
his 11 mo old son Quinn, and Jesse & Nicholas

After the party, we went to Chisolm park for Kendall's first duck-feeding experience ... which went pretty good, actually. She posed by the water for a few pictures and loved seeing the ducks and listening to them "quack" and watching them eat our bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, at church during Kendall's Bible class, she made him a precious little painted footprint craft ... we were both amazed to see how big her footprint was (it's not that her foot is huge ... it's actually quite small for her age ... she wears a size 2 shoe, which is still a bit big on her, which is a to 3-6 month size) ... but compared to her last year's when she was in the NICU, she has really grown! Here's her Father's Day craft and a side by side comparison of last year's with this year's ...

After church, we went out to eat at Fuzzy's Taco Shop ... Daddy's pick! (We both actually LOVE Fuzzy's ... it's a terrible/hilarious name and we made fun of the restaurant for several months, before we found out our friends actually eat there and LOVE it ... and went there with them ... and we LOVE it too!) After lunch, Kendall took a nap, Ash played his current favorite XBOX 360 video game and I worked on our blog a bit (still trying to get us all caught up here!) & getting us ready for our vacation ... once Kendall got up, we hit the pool & just enjoyed the afternoon together with some family time! (Much like this Mother's Day as compared to last year's, we so enjoyed our time together and are so thankful that we have our Kendall home with us, doing so well and are not spending the days in the NICU as we were last year!)

 

yummy Fuzzy's fish tacos!

all lathered up with sunscreen &
ready to jump in!

Happy Father's Day ... to my best friend & sweet husband of 9 years ... to Kendall's Daddy ... the BEST Daddy to our sweet Kendall! I always knew he'd be a great Dad to our children (one of the many great qualities I saw in him when checking him out on my "husband must-have list") ... but it's even better than I'd ever been able to imagine! Over this past year, I've gotten to experience him at our most broken-hearted & at our restored & joyful ... and he has helped me in ways I can never truly express in this lifetime ... I really don't think I could have made it through this past year without him right there along side of me. This past year brought us even more together ... made us stronger & even more bonded than we were ... and more in love ... which I still really don't know how that's possible, but it's true. I absolutely LOVE watching him with her and it's super-sweet seeing her adore him ... moments that melt my heart! I know the bond that Kendall & I between Mother & Daughter is special, but the bond that Kendall has with her Daddy is unique and special in a different way ... it's just amazing the way God made us all, in these different relationships! We are two blessed girls to have him in our life and I don't want one day to go by taking this precious time we have together for granted!  Thank you for being a fantastic husband & incredible father ... Happy Father's Day!

a new Hairdo & her "Doe"

So it was time ... time for me to do something with Kendall's hair ... don't get me wrong, here ... I LOVE Kendall's hair ... 1st, I love that she even has hair!  She had quite a bit of hair when she was born, but within a few weeks after being home, it fell out ... and for several months she stayed pretty bald ... and then she started growing some hair ... and it's grown in cute & curly ... and is still growing!  2nd, I love that her hair is curly ... although it truly puzzles me how to keep it from not looking "messy" all the time!  Since this girl will not keep a bow or flower in her hair for more than a few seconds and her hair/bangs are constantly in her face (driving me crazy ... and you'd think it would drive her crazy, too, but she doesn't seem to care!) ... it was time to do something.  I really didn't want to get her bangs cut yet, so this is our solution ... Kendall's new hairdo!  (This was the 1st time I'd ever fixed it this way, so as the week's gone by, I've gotten better at managing her moving little head!)  It's definitely a new look for our Little Miss ... I think it makes her look "older" (which I'm not so thrilled about as I'm still having a hard time saying that I have a 1 year old!) ... but, at least all her hair is out of her face (which I do LOVE)!  So, we're trying this out for a while ... eventually, as it gets longer, I'd like to pull it over to the side more ... but at least it's out of her face now!

This girl LOVES this dog ... truly, the feeling is mutual!  I know Kendall's Huni will HATE to read this part of this post & see the following pictures, but now that Huni has witnessed it with her own eyes while they were here visiting, as much as she hates it & can't understand it, even she knows it's true!  (Sorry, Huni!)  So, this week, Kendall started petting Cassie softly ... we call it "soft touches" ... and have been working on this with Kendall for months now.  She loves to touch Cassie's fur ... crawl over Cassie while she's lying down, grab her big soft ears, or her huge pointed teeth, or poke her eyes & nose ... really whatever interests Kendall at the time, she goes for it!  Obviously, we are working with her on being sweet to Cassie and petting her softly ... and this week, all of her own, she did it ... over and over and over again.  The first time, she had crawled over to Cassie, who was lying down very near her ... Kendall got up on her knees (using Cassie as support) and began petting her ever so softly ... then she looked over at me ... and I clapped & cheered for her (we clap and cheer a lot around here!) ... I just love it when Kendall shows us that she "gets it"!  This activity has continued several times a day, each day since ... Kendall either sits next to her, or sits up on her knees, or stands up next to her ... it's so sweet!  So, here are a few (totally un-staged, I promise!) pictures of our girl lovin' our dog ... or as Kendall says "doe!" ...

Stuck inside after Daddy went into the backyard to work on the pool, both Kendall & Cassie got over to the back door as quickly as possible ... to wait for his return! As he made his way back and forth behind the fence to the pool equipment and to the pool, Kendall let out a squeal of delight when she could see him ... she LOVES her Daddy!

No pictures of this, but for our records, I want to remember that this week Kendall has made some additional progress in the "walking" area ... she's taken 2 or 3 steps all on her own several times throughout each day and cruises or crawls the majority of the time.  She's getting braver & more confident each day as she gains more stability & balance.  She's walking with our fingers holding her hands very quickly now ... and has been walking holding onto one hand ... she loves walking around! 
Happy weekend ... better yet, Happy Father's Day weekend!

our Busy Little Bee

Wowzers! I am just falling further and further behind on posting things on our blog ... I just can't seem to get caught up ... and if I do happen to get caught up with one thing, I can't stay caught up for long! This Little Miss is keepin' this Mommy bussssyy! (I know, I know ... and it's only just begun! I mean she hasn't even officially started walking yet ... I'm a bit scared of my future! ha!)

So, here's a big o' post ... with lots of pictures (for her Grandparents & such) ... catching up on all the goings-on over the past few weeks of June ... so keep scrollin'! We are continually amazed at the changes & developmental progress that is happening weekly in Kendall ... and are so thankful that God just continues to grow her & develop her!

Finger Foods ROCK! ... she's been doing great with Cheerios, Puffs & Yogurt Melts for over a month now (as directed by her therapist), so we are happily adding in more finger foods. First up ... bananas (sliced, then quartered) ... and she's loving them ... we've also tried others ... peas, carrots, pears, sweet potatoes & squash so far.  She's also been cutting more teeth ... on May 31st, 2 of her top teeth cut through ... and on June 10th, her other front top tooth cut through ... it's been a busy 10 days of teething around here ... and nothing is safe from being nawed & chewed on ... nothing!

 

Mommy's Little Helper ... Kendall LOVES to get into anything & everything ... things she's allowed to ... things she's not allowed to ... that's how it goes, right? This past month or so I feel like my role as Kendall's Mommy has changed ... ramped up a bit in keeping up with her ... having to say the word "No" to Kendall & then re-direct her about 763 times a day, as she explores our home. I know this is part of our job as parents, but it is really exhausting at times and I look forward to the days when she knows & obeys her boundaries!  One of her favorite things to do lately is play in her laundry (that's her dirty or clean laundry ... she really has no preference, although I really prefer her playing in her dirty, since I'm trying to fold (or then, re-fold) her clean when she's wanting to get into it!)  When it's laundry day(s), I move her laundry bag into the living room to treat any stains before it gets into the washer and she immediately stops what she's doing to crawl over to me to help ... pulling every article of her clothing from her laundry bag ... she gets so excited & squeals with delight and laughs at it and talks to each piece (oh, I do wish I could speak "kendall" ... she always has sooo much to say to everything & everybody!)  ... I think she must enjoy making a mess ... piles of her clothes all around her ... I don't know if this makes me a bad mom to allow their child to play in dirty laundry, but this is one easy mess to clean up, so I just let her (all before the stain remover has been added, of course).

On the GO! ... We got her this little pink vehicle for her birthday and she has been just using it as a rocker, but she loves to pull up to it and just stand by it even more than rocking in it ... and over the past week, we took the "rocker" part off and now she LOVES to ride it in!  She & I walked/rode around our street delivering our thank you cards from her birthday party to our neighbors.  She loves rides around our house, as well.  But she LOVES to ride out to our cul-de-sac for a front row seat to watch her beloved Cassie catching her frisbee ... she watches her intently and cheers & claps for her ... it's great entertainment for her (and for us)!  Kendall started waving "bye-bye" on June 4th (for our records) & she says "bye-bye", too ... You may also catch her waving "bye-bye" for "hi/hello" ... on command and on her own, as well!  Yay, Kendall!

Huni & GranGran ... they were here with us for a few days early June, then they made a trip to Lubbock to visit more family for a few days, and came back to our house on June 11 to spend the night & fly out to Portland the next day. It was a quick 24 hours with them, but we managed to get in lots of playing with Kendall, a fun evening of dinner & family time at Ash's cousins' fam (Aron & Fritzie Odom & their 3 girls and "Aunt DeeDee" who was visiting them for the week ... Dee Ann & Huni are sisters so if they are in town together, we all get together!), and some swimming before we had to take them to the airport. Here's Kendall with her Huni & GranGran ... we will see them again soon on our vacation in Canada!

Busy Little Girl ... she is moving from one thing to the next ... all day long ... talking & chatting (sometimes rather loudly) with every toy, object, person (oh, how this girl can tell you a story!) ... and by the end of the day, this mommy is tired (and she is tired too)! She keeps herself (and me) plenty busy these days!  (a little side note:  I love this little sundress Kendall is wearing in the pictures below ... it's Old Navy ... with smocking (one of my favorite things!) ... size 3-6months!  When my sister "Auntie E" got this for Kendall last summer when she was born, I thought it was so cute, but I was afraid she'd never be able to wear it because by the time she was in 3-6mo clothing it would be the wrong season ... but oh, no, it's now the next summer & Kendall can wear it ... and it fits her just perfectly, still plenty of room in it, not at all snug ... and I love it!)  All of these pictures below were taken within a few minutes of each other ... she likes to see & go ... fast!

Gettin' Around ... this girl is definitely gettin' around plenty these days ... between her turbo-speed-crawling, cruising all over the place & now walking with our help or using her walkers, if you look away for a moment, you may not know where she's moved to next! Since Memorial Day weekend, she has continued to be more balanced & standing momentarily without holding on ... each day she's gotten better & braver and LOVES to stand all on her own for several minutes, or reach out for an object to hold in both hands while she continues to stand. She's even taken 2 steps on her own on a couple of different occasions over this past week. She LOVES to walk with her Vtech Walker and her pink vehicle and is sooo proud of herself ... and we are sooo proud of her, too!

Our sweet Kendall is definitely growin' up ... she's now 11 months adjusted age today (and that's 13 1/2 months old officially) and is just cruisin' along ... just as happy as can be!