Memorial Day Weekend 2011

We had a family-fun weekend ... we always enjoy a 3-day weekend & having an extra day with Daddy at home. We are very thankful for the opportunity to celebrate Memorial Day ... to live in a free country ... for all the men & women, who are husbands, wives, Daddys, Mommys, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, who have fought for our freedom and fight for us to stay a free country ... their sacrifice is huge, and we cannot thank them enough!

My sister Estee "Auntie E" and brother-in-law Taris "Uncle T" (who is an Air Force pilot) came to stay with us over the weekend. They were coming back from their exciting trip to Japan and stopped here for a few days before heading to Abilene to visit more family. (They are being transferred to Hawaii in a couple of months, so it will be a while until we get to see them again ... well, until Kendall sees them again ... since Ash & I are going to Hawaii this October to celebrate our 10 year anniversary ... but that's another post!)

We had a great time with them here Friday-Sunday ... hearing about all their travels, viewing all their pictures, going shopping, staying up way to late talking & laughing ... that's what sisters do! We enjoyed our time together but didn't take any pictures until Sunday after church. I love Kendall's red, white & blue dress ... her Auntie E gave it to her at Christmas time and I think she looks so cute in it.

 

Sunday afternoon we went to Ash's cousin Lane & Barbara's home for a Memorial Day party ... and it was fun to be with Ash's family.



Daddy & Kendall, Ashleigh and Audrey

The girls had fun in & out of the pool ... sidewalk chalk is always a hit with Kendall!



Rylie & Kendall ... 2nd cousins ... Rylie is 4 months than Kendall. 
They had a great time playing with the chalk together.



Happy Memorial Day!

Go Rangers Go!

On Sunday, Kendall attended her 1st Major League Baseball Game ... the Texas Rangers vs. the LA Angels.

We couldn't have asked for a better 1st experience to the Ballpark in Arlington for my family of 3 (I don't think the ballpark is officially called "the Ballpark in Arlington anymore, but it's what it was named when it was built when I was a kid, so that's what I go with!) ...
the weather was bea-u-ti-ful (sunny in the 70's!) ...
our seats were amazing (row 22 on the 1st baseline!) ...
the Ranger fans sitting next to us were fantastic (my sister, brother-in-law & 2 nephews from Abilene) ...
the game was spectacular, even without our favorite, Josh Hamilton, who was still out with a broken arm (pitching from the #1 rated Rangers' pitcher CJ Wilson, 2 home run hits, complete with fireworks & music from The Natural, and a big WIN) ...
and 3 happy kids for THE ENTIRE GAME ... un.be.liev.able, I know ... but it's true! 
(Give Kendall some music to dance to, a reason to cheer & clap (even if no one else deems it worry to cheer or clap about), and water in a water bottle, and she's usually pretty good to go these days ... despite our rather close quarters & having to sit in Daddy's or my lap for 3 hours!)

We arrived the same time as 48,000+ of our newest friends, but we got through security & to our seats in time to still see the team warming-up on the field.  I have been to lots of games over the years, and I have NEVER seen the stadium so full ... it was awesome atmosphere & everyone was into the game ... and the entire stadium did the wave!  We were so happy we all had such a great experience ... we can't wait to take Kendall to another game!

We took a few pictures of our time together with the Rangers ...

one happy little Rangers fan ... eating lunch
on the way to game

Kendall (and Daddy's baseball glove) & Daddy ...
with the Ballpark in Arlington

Kendall's preferred method of transportation

our seats ... with someone saying "cheeeeeese" to the camera,
while workin' on those 2 year molars, so it's hands-in-mouth time again
(oh, when will the teething ever end?)

watching the team warm-up on the field

(About warm-ups ... we were watching the players on the field ... stretch, run sprints, just warm-up for the game ... and we keep hearing Kendall saying "oh no! oh no!" ... which she says A LOT, so we were trying to figure out which of the 48,000 people she was watching, do something "wrong" or have something happen to them, that was causing her concern ... she finally said "fall! fall!" "he fall!" and pointed to the players on the field ... who were on the ground, stretching.  We finally convinced her that everyone was okay.  Our sweet girl ... she is so compassionate & has such a sweet heart ... she is always, so concerned for people!)

#5 Ian Kinsler (far left) ... # 7 David Murphy (far right) 

#10 Michael Young ... the shirt Kendall wears

 

our 1st Rangers game as a family of 3

My brother-in-law & sister, Michael & Rachel, and 2 nephews
Mason (3.5) and Tucker (1) ... this was also Tucker's 1st game!

the 1st pitch

FINAL game info ... Rangers won 5-4 ... woohoo!

Tucker's 1st birthday party!

Kendall & I drove to Abilene for Tucker's 1st birthday party on Saturday!  It was a whirlwind of a Saturday ... 3 hours driving to Abilene ... 3.5 hours at the party (for helping with set up, attending the party, and helping with clean up) ... then 3 hours driving back home ... but it was worth every minute of it!  Tucker is the sweetest thing ... one little glimpse of his sweet toothy smile will melt your heart away ... and Kendall loooooves him, too, so we wouldn't have missed it!  (Ash had to stay behind due to soccer commitments, but he got to see him the next day ... more on that in the next post ... so stay tuned!)

They had his party at the church playground, which was a big hit with the kids and served lunch & cupcakes ... Rae had it decorated really cute in airplanes ... our other sister (who couldn't be there since she is visiting friends in Japan!), "Auntie E" designed some of the same types of things as she did for Kendall's party ... the party invitation, cupcake picks, water bottle labels, party favor tags ... and everything came out so cute!

sweet birthday boy!

Tucker's smash cake

Kendall getting some MawMaw time at the party

ready to slide ... Kendall loved spending time
with "Nonnie" (Mason's other grandmother) 

Uncle Mike and Tucker

Uncle Mike stayed busy taking turns sliding with
Tucker and Kendall ... and they loved it!

Aunt Rach with her sweet boy

"Nonnie and Popi" (Uncle Mike's parents) ... Lois & Leroy Perkins

slide train ... Mallory & Austin with Mason

Happy 1st Birthday, sweet Tucker Alan!

Mother's Day weekend 2011

Happy Mother's Day!  I am so grateful for the mother and the mother-in-law ... and the grandmothers ... that I have & have had in my life.  I never fully (unknowingly) started to appreciate their job as "mother" until I became one 2 short years ago ... and it's only just begun for me!  I know there is a long road of Mothering lessons that I'll be learning the rest of my life!  Kendall told me "happy. mommy's. day." today ... and it was just the sweetest thing ... one for the memories!

We had a full weekend this Mother's Day weekend ... a date night on Friday night ... soccer, our NICU reunion & babysitting on Saturday ... and family time on Mother's Day!

We have been trading off babysitting/date nights with the Rocha family a few times now and we just so happened to pick Friday night as our date night. Ash & I went to dinner & a movie and enjoyed our alone time together. (It's just always so weird for me to be out without Kendall, since I get to stay at home with her, she is {nearly} always with me.) Leesa & Erin came over to babysit Kendall while we were out for a few hours and took a few pictures for us of their time together ... Kendall and her very 1st babysitter, Erin ... age 7 ... under her mommy's care, as well.  (As you can see from the pictures, I don't think Kendall had any fun at all while we were gone!)

Saturday we spent time on the soccer field ... while Kendall & I were driving there to meet Daddy, she kept saying "Daddy. Soccer. Kick it. Goal. Yeahhhhh!" over and over again. This girl loves being outside ... loves being with her Daddy ... loves playing with a ball ... and loves being out on the soccer fields with her Daddy! She'd be out on the fields running around to play soccer games, if we'd let her! We had to leave before Daddy's team was done with their game (which they ended up winning) and she did not want to leave ... but she & I came home so she could have a fast nap until Ash was finished with soccer ... and then it was time for our NICU Reunion, which we were all very excited about attending!

We got to see several of the nurses that took such great care of our sweet tiny baby Kendall for the first 8 weeks of her life and we are eternally grateful for their time, love, encouragement & care for all 3 of us! We also got to see Kendall's awesome Neonatal Specialist Doctor ... Dr. Kaplar. She is just Awe.Some! This special annual event deserves it's own proper post, so that is coming very soon!

After the reunion, we came home to meet the Rocha kids ... we babysat Luke & Erin while their parents had a date night. We played games, played baby dolls & puzzles, played XBOX 360 & some soccer ... ate pizza ... and had a fun few hours just hanging out together!

Sunday ... Mother's Day ... we went to church & class ... Kendall made me a special Mother's Day handprint card in her little Bible class. 

Kendall's handprint artwork ... May 2011 ... age 2

Kendall's handprint is one of the most priceless things I cherish ... 2 years ago, I delivered Kendall at 29.5 weeks (10.5 weeks early) via emergency c-section on May 1st ... so when she was 10 days old, I was having my 1st (and unexpected) Mother's Day (in the NICU, with a tiny baby who was fighting to stay alive) ... and when I walked in to the NICU to see my sweet baby girl that morning, we found a special surprise ... the overnight NICU nurses had helped Kendall make her 1st Mother's Day gift to me ... her sweet little (tiny) handprint in baked-clay, shaped in a heart ... and it will be treasured always!  So last year, Kendall made handprints in her little Bible class ... and it was so fun to compare the 1st one to that one ... you can check it out here!  And now, we have this one from the weekend ... so I love it!

We ended up coming home for Kendall to take a nap and then going back out for a late, late lunch/early dinner at a place we haven't been to in over a year ... Babe's ... and it was ohhhh sooooo yummy!  It was still packed full of families, although we were seated immediately ... and the families just kept coming in the entire time we were there ... this is one happenin' place in Roanoke!  Kendall was in a GREAT mood and we just had the best time together, as a family of 3!  

this girl has a new love ... water out of a straw!

 

oh how I loooooooove this girl!

To my sweet Kendall Grace ... I am so thankful that God made me a Mommy because He made you ... and gave you to Daddy & I to be your Mommy & Daddy!  You are the sweetest thing and the love we  feel for you is so strong, there are never words enough to express our love for you!  I loooooove being your Mommy and getting to spend my days at home with you!  (And I'm so thankful to Daddy for that!)  This past year has been so much fun & I can't wait to see what this next year holds for you! 

I love you more!  Mommy