the rogers family life as 3 ...

Back-Blogging ... again!

2012-01-05T22:04:00.001-06:00

I am very excited to announce that I will be working on posts this weekend and doing some of my famous Back-Blogging ... so I can finally get this little blog caught.back.up ... at least for a little while! Daddy & Kendall will be busy enjoying time together while Mommy meets up with one of my besties for a special {and free} Bed & Breakfast & Scrapbooking/Blogging retreat at the Norris home ... yippppeeee! I told Ash I was so far behind, I just might need to do this once a month, ha!

I'll update a list below & put the link in to the posts as I get them completed ...
under September:
While Daddy was away ...

under October:
Pumpkin Carving
Minnie goes to school
Pop's comes home!
Halloween 2011

under November:

under December:
a year of "nastics"
Santa Claus has come to town

For anyone who is even still reading this ... thanks for sticking with me and this little blog of our's!

our "Christmas Eve"

2011-12-28T21:39:00.000-06:00

Due to being in Abilene for Christmas this year and the difficulties we had with transporting the type of item that Kendall asked Santa to bring her, we decided to have our "Christmas Eve / Christmas morning with Santa presents" after we returned home. It worked out to have it with Ashley's parents once they arrived ... tonight. Since Kendall is only 2.5 this year, we figured we could get away with it this year ... but possibly not next year!

So, for our "Christmas Eve" on Dec. 28th, we started a couple of family traditions this year, now that Kendall is able to participate a bit more ...

We sprinkled out "reindeer feed" on our front lawn. Uncle T went to Alaska on a recent mission and visited the North Pole while he was there. He brought back reindeer dust for his niece & nephews. We covered our lawn with their feed ... to help the reindeer find our home and enjoy a little snack on their long journey! Kendall loved sprinkling it everywhere ...

We decorated {more} cookies for Santa ... and put them on our new plate, along with a nice cold glass of milk, with a note, for our special visitor. {She really wanted to eat the star she had decorated but was finally convinced that Santa could have it. However, she did suggest that "he just eat a little bit and share with me later" ... and she was very serious about it. Luckily, Santa was willing to do just that!}

We read {or should say, we listened to} a book called the Very First Christmas, which is a recordable book that Huni & GranGran gave Kendall last year and we have enjoyed throughout the year! I know we'll add more story traditions as she gets older, but this was a good start for this year.

And then, Little Miss went off to bed ... knowing Santa was coming over to leave her a present after Mommy & Daddy and Kendall were all in bed and asleep.

And then it was time for Daddy to get to work ... being Santa's little elf to put together her new kitchen. 21 instructional steps and a power tool or 2 later, it was time for Mommy's job of adding on all the sticker-decals ... and then it was finally complete!

Looking forward to a fun Christmas morning with our sweet 2 year old in the morning! Not only will Santa have left her a present, but Huni & GranGran will be at our house as well ... she will be quite surprised!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:07:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas

from our family to yours!

our Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-19T23:30:00.000-06:00

I am soooo behind on posting plenty of events & things for ... well, since September when preschool started up for us, I suppose. I will be doing some of my famous "back-blogging" soon, so beware! I've gotten several "mean calls" and reminders that I'm waaaaay behind on our blog ... and I'm going to be catching up soon!

In the meantime ... and the real reason for this particular post ... we have a finished Christmas card for 2011 ... woohoo! This is really thanks mainly to, {and despite that I am NOT her easiest client, so I've heard ... from her, nonetheless ... ha!} my sister, Estee ... aka Auntie E ... who has spent just a few hours on her own working on this card ... then {maybe} a few more hours on skype with me also working on it. {She told she was done with it, whether I thought it was done or not! So I guess it's done ... And I do like how it turned out!} The pictures on the card are all of her photography handiwork as well ... we're happy that our Little Miss was happy to participate an impromptu photo shoot with Auntie E ... and the mere outtakes alone from Little Miss deserve it's own post, so that is soon to come! She is a 2 year old with many faces that is for sure!

I LOOOOOOVE getting Christmas cards in the mail ... I mean LOOOOOOVE it! I LOVE going to the mailbox each and every day after Thanksgiving - New Year's-ish to look to see what came in ... (and this year Kendall started to get that "lovin' feeling" too ... it was a fun activity each day to watch our mailman arrive with our mail!) ... and then opening up each one & admiring their card and saving them and seeing how each family changes year after year ... I simply LOVE IT! It is one of my most favorite things and traditions on my VERY long list of favorites about Christmas. This year we have hung up all of the cards along our built-in bookshelves in our living room ... I've enjoyed seeing them hanging up there. {I heard of a fun new (to me) way to display the cards that we might try out next year ... hanging them as ornaments on a tree, so you'd just have a small tree of card ornaments. The one I'd seen looked really cute, so that might be a little decorative addition that we add to our home next year ... we'll see!}

Since the cards are finally created, printed, stuffed, labeled and mailed out ...
for record-keeping sake, here is our family Christmas Card for 2011 ...

We wish you the wonderful JOY of the season and God's continuous BLESSINGS in 2012!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Santa Claus has come to town

2011-12-17T21:39:00.001-06:00

and this year, Kendall has taken notice! We have had several opportunities this December to see the jolly man in the red suit & white beard ...

12.04.2011 The 1st time she saw Santa Claus was at our North Pole Express train adventure in Grapevine. It was there that she realized and said aloud (as we saw him from across the room) "He a man." I guess until then, to her, Santa was just a cartoon character on tv, or in books that we've read ... I didn't realize she didn't understand that he was a guy. (Throughout the rest of December, Daddy & I took several opportunities to talk to her about what a nice guy he was, that he loved children, that he made toys for children.) But, she saw him that night, for the 1st time (that she could remember) in the train station's general store ... couldn't say a word to him and especially didn't want to sit on his lap ... but decided she could go see him with us all together. So hand in hand, that's what we did ...

Later that night, when Santa arrived on our North Pole Express train car, she did talk to him ... she quietly told him that she wanted a kitchen for Christmas ... and said thank you when he gave her a special bell ... all from the comfort of her Pops' safe lap.

12.06.2011 A few days later, Santa & Mrs. Claus made a special appearance at our preschool. Each class came out to see them. My little class was just finishing up our visit, when Kendall's class came out for their turn. She was first in line (which I was hesitant about since I thought she'd do better after she saw several of her classmates do it & be just fine) ... but once they arrived in line, her sweet (and very brave, confident) little friend Haley, just kept on walking (out of line, by this time) right on up to the sleigh Santa & Mrs. Claus were sitting in. Haley reached up for Santa to put her on his lap and started talking a mile a minute about what she wanted him to bring her ... she was fantastic! Kendall & I stood there watching Haley chat away to Santa ... I encouraged her to go see them just like Haley was doing ... and then it was Kendall's turn. She did sit on his lap easily ... she did answer his questions and (quietly) tell him what she wanted for Christmas ... her Christmas wish list: a kitchen (which we've been priming her for), a baby doll and a juice box (the last 2 items she added in herself). However, she would not smile for a picture.

12.10.2011 Daddy's company had a "Breakfast with Santa" this year as their company holiday party. Their CEO dressed up as Santa ... Kendall was a little hesitant to see him up close at first (maybe because Santa's beard was a little off ?), but she did sit on his lap for a few pictures ... although she kept her serious face.

12.14.2011 We've had Pops staying with us each week, while he is working in DFW. He had a random mid-week day off, so the 3 of us visited his favorite stores Cabella's and Bass Pro Shop. At Bass Pro, there were several fun games and a craft area set up ... and a {free} Reindeer Carousal and a {free} picture with Santa. This time, we walked right up to Santa, sat on his lap and told him what she wanted, quietly.

12.17.2011 Our final encounter with Santa was at the North East Mall ... Today. She was all dressed up in her Christmas dress, well rested and fed and we headed to the mall. After a small debrief, she was repeating the instructions about seeing Santa ... see Santa, sit on his lap, smile, get candy, yeah! Yes, we did give her a small bribe of a starburst if she would sit on his lap and actually smile at the camera ... for just. one. picture! With the excitement of candy, she did just that ... amazing! We were very thankful that the line wasn't too long (only 6 other families in front of us) and we were next to the indoor fountain, which Kendall loved looking at. (For the record, she also happily talked to him, and told him the 3 things she wanted ... a kitchen, a baby doll and a juice box.) So, we bought the digital image! Here's Kendall (in the best Santa picture she's had) at 2.5 years old ...

We really didn't know how she would react to going to see Santa this year ...we just keep expecting a screaming cry picture experience, but it didn't happen this year, either. Here's Little Miss with Santa ... the previous two years ... where has the time gone?

at 7 months, 2009:

and at 19 months, 2010:

a year of "nastics"

2011-12-07T15:04:00.000-06:00

otherwise, known as gymnastics ... for those who don't necessarily speak 2 year old-Kendall-English. This nastics is a major highlight for her each week! She is so sad when our gymnastics class goes on breaks in between sessions. Especially lately, while we are at home, she often gets all dressed up, grabs her purse, sunglasses, several necklaces and announces "bye-bye. see you later. I'm going to nastics." or "I've got errands." Oh, dear ... help me! This 2 year old is such a hoot!

She's {we've} been in the Mommy & Me Tumbling Tots class at our city's rec center for one year now ... and she has graduated to the next class, that starts in January. This new class is a smaller group of {young} kids & Coach Tammy ... and no Mommys! This Mommy is very excited about Kendall getting to start this class and being in class without me ... she is ready and I can't wait to get to watch her!

a Flashback look at Kendall's debut in gymnastics (with her precious Coach Tammy) last January ... at 20 months ... oh, what a difference a year makes!

And, here is Little Miss Gymnast a year later ... at our last class in December! It's been a big year of growing & developing ... a year of growing in confidence ... a year of loving running around & playing on all the equipment. She has loved our circle time of singing, stretching and parachute fun ... and really LOVES swinging on the bars, walking the balance beams (there are several different heights & widths she does each time) and doing the vault (she will tell you exactly how to do it "ready. set. runnnnnn. jump, jump, jump, jump. arms up and jump off. Ta-Da!").

Hope she loves her new class as much as she's loved this past year!

We will soon see ... her new class starts up January 11!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween ...
and Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet niece / cousin Kylie Jayne!

We had a fun Halloween evening ... starting with Kendall getting dressed up as Minnie Mouse, for the 4th time ... perfecting the phrase "trick or treat" and holding out her pumpkin pail ... oohhhing & ahhhing over every piece of candy that was received ... and just enjoying a fun family evening together!

We visited our close neighbors a little early in the evening ... before it even got dark. We went to a church's Trunk or Treat that was across the street ... Kendall had a great time playing more games & getting more candy!

We wanted to get back to our house for some trick-or-treaters before it was too late ... and Kendall was so excited about "kids coming" to our house ... and her big job as treat distributor this year! She could not wait for our doorbell to ring! She was so sad when we told her it was over ... that we were turning out our porch light and that all the "kids going night-night" (as she put it.) There's always next year, Little Miss!

Happy Halloween!

Pops comes home!

2011-10-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

Friday morning, Kendall & I made a quick trip into Abilene to see Pops (my dad)! He has been out of town doing insurance adjusting since just before Easter, so it’s been a long 6 months since we’d seen him. This was a happy reunion for all of us!

Kendall loves spending time with Pops and Grams. She felt right at home in Grams' kitchen and helped herself to the step ladder so she could "help Grams" in the kitchen. Apparently she was on the step ladder a lot, helping out Grams in the kitchen, while she was there & we were in Hawaii. (She was a little leary heading into Abilene this time though and wanted Mommy to stay with her, since it was only a couple of weeks earlier, we had left her there. Once I reassured her and continued to reassure her that I was not going to leave her, she was thrilled to visit Abilene again! Sweet Girl! Hopefully she's not scarred for life!)

While we were in town, we had to visit a favorite family attraction … the big Abilene Zoo! We loved spending the time with Grams & Pops, Aunt Rachel, Mason and Tucker! (Kendall had to keep asking about where Uncle Mike was ... this girl looooves herself some Uncle Mike! And he is soooo sweet with her ... she knows she is special to him! He was in Dallas at flight school for a few weeks to learn all about their new huge airplane. She was sooo happy to hear that she was going to see him later on that day at the pumpkin farm. More on that in the next post.)

Although this Abilene zoo is a bit small, there is plenty of fun to be had by our family! You can easily see all the animals within an hour or stay as long as you'd like! There are also 2 main attractions at the zoo for our family ... the choo-choo train, which is a must-ride if you ask any of these 3 cousins!

The 2nd big attraction at this zoo for our family ... feeding the 2 giraffes! And although it is a bit of a slimy job, these 3 cousins LOVE it! And I haven't heard these 2 giraffes complain about it, either!

After we visited the zoo, Kendall & Mommy had to say good-bye to Pops and Grams and start our road trip back home to Daddy. Aunt Rachel and the boys were right behind us ... next event: Hall's Pumpkin Farm and a farm hay ride!

Minnie goes to school

2011-10-27T23:30:00.000-05:00

Today was our Dress Up Day at preschool ...
Kendall was Minnie Mouse (for the 2nd time this fall season) and Mommy dressed up as Minnie's cat Figaro (from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tv show). We took a few pictures together before school started. Kendall got to trick or treat with her class through the church office and then enjoyed a halloween party that afternoon. She had a fun day all dressed up!

Happy Thursday! Love, Figaro and Minnie Mouse

Gateway's Fall Carnival

2011-10-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight we experienced our 1st Fall Carnival at Gateway church … and it was a hit with our family! It will be a fun tradition we are adding to our fall events to continue each year. My co-teacher, Mrs. Darlene, attends Gateway and had told me about this huge event and it did not disappoint! I got Kendall dressed up in her Halloween costume “Minnie Mouse” (the ears were quickly removed because Little Miss said “these ears are hurting my ears!) and we met up with Daddy at the Dragon stadium … we rode on a free charter bus over to the carnival (to earn free admission inside) … and met a couple thousand of our newest friends. It was crowded but because it was so huge and so well organized & staffed, it was fine and we never wasted much time in lines.

They had booth after booth set up … of food vendors (Dickey’s bbq, Papa Johns pizza, Chick Fil A and many others) {the only cost involved}, carnival games, rides, every bounce house/slide/rock wall you can imagine, a petting zoo, pony rides and candy prizes … it was all out and so much fun! Kendall rode her 1st carnival/fair ride … the little red cars.

On our way out, we saw the Disney characters of Beauty & the Beast ... one of Kendall's favorites! We had to stop and say Hi to all of them ... (normal) Belle and Princess Belle were both soooo sweet and complimentary to Kendall. She was a little cautious at first but quickly warmed up, especially after she admired Princess Belle's fancy dress and touched it. They asked if they could take a picture with her ... and she said yes! (A bit for the future, but I couldn't help but think about how much she is going to love Disney World when we take her ... I can hardly wait!)

As we were waiting for the charter bus to pick us back up, we checked out the Southlake Firetruck ... Kendall loved seeing the big truck and even sat inside of it ... our 1st time in a firetruck.

A great fall night for our family!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-23T13:37:00.002-05:00

This afternoon we carved our 1st pumpkin as a family ... it was the big pumpkin we bought at the pumpkin patch last night and Kendall was VERY excited to give her pumpkin a "smiling face". She was eager to begin her special job as the big spoon operator ... after Daddy cut the pumpkin open. But as the job went on, it was clearly not what she had anticipated, and she quickly found herself new roles for the task as wet wipe dispense manager and overall supervisor. Once Daddy was finished cleaning out the pumpkin, she was happy to help design it's smiling face ... choosing triangles for the eyes and also for the nose and a smiling mouth ... Daddy gave our pumpkin a special surprise by adding ears ... and lighting a candle to give it a nice glow. Thanks to Daddy, our family pumpkin was all cleaned out, carved and proudly displayed on our front porch. (Please disregard the shocking lack of clothing on Little Miss ... she decided this was a dirty job that required minimal amount of coverage, once she got a speck of pumpkin on her dress.)

Happy Fall! Happy Pumpkin Carving!

While Daddy was away ...

2011-09-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

These past 4 days have been a new experience for Kendall & I ... Ash went away on a business trip to a medical conference in Orlando, FL for 4 days ... and the 2 of us had lots of "girl time" together!

I knew we (and especially Kendall, since Daddy has never been away from us that long) would miss him ... she would ask about him, "where is 'im?", or "Oh, Daddy. I miss him." (in the sweetest, saddest little voice) ... so I wanted to try to keep us pretty busy with fun things for us to do ... to keep her mind off of it as best as possible, which if you know Kendall, you know she loooooves her Daddy & her Daddy-time each night!

We started off our first day with Daddy coming to Kendall's Gymnastics class, for the 1st time! She was so excited to have Daddy there and have him watch her do all of the different routines, songs, exercises and drills. She loves gymnastics so it was great to have him there with us.

Then we had to take Daddy to the airport ... that was a very sad task! We helped him with his luggage, helped him get checked in, gave lots of hugs & kisses ... and had to watch Daddy go through security ... until we could see him no more.

To help cheer us up, we had a fun activity planed ... Next stop for Kendall and Mommy ... the Sea Life Aquarium, lunch & a ride on the carousel at Grapevine Mills Mall. This girl loves this aquarium (and the horseies, anytime she can)!

The next day was preschool for us ... so we were busy all day! We did find a little extra time to play on the playground there, though. She loooooves to play here!

Friday we had more big plans ... a day at the Fort Worth Zoo! We saw tons of animals, enjoyed lunch there, a carousel ride and a train ride. We had a fun time and enjoyed being outside in this slightly cooler weather, although I didn't get very many happy face pictures, apparently.

On Saturday, we celebrated Lyndon's 1st birthday at their home. It was a fun football theme/tailgate party and Kendall had a blast playing with Ryllie & Lyndon. After a nap, it was time to pick up Daddy from the airport ... and it was a happy, happy reunion! Kendall quickly re-introduced Daddy to all-things girly ... soon he was wearing a tutu on each leg (because none of Kendall's tutus fit on hit waist), carrying a purse and wearing a few necklaces ... that's an awesome Daddy to this Little Miss girly-girl! Daddy brought her home a couple of treats he had picked up in Orlando, home of her favorite characters (really, the only characters she even watches). She is always happy to open a present ...

It's always great to have Daddy back at home with us! We love you, Daddy!

Rangers on a whim ... and a win!

2011-09-10T23:39:00.000-05:00

Friday at 5p last night, I got a call from Christi asking if we'd like to join her at the 7:05p Rangers baseball game ... and we said YES! (Her brother & fam got sick so they had 3 extra tickets!) Since we had no hot date planned for our big Friday night, this was definitely a fun way to spend the evening ...

We got our stuff together quickly ... Rangers gear, Kendall's snacks, lots of water, Kendall's huge foam #1 finger ... and headed out to the ballpark. We had awesome seats (nearly had 1 ball caught that landed in the hall you can see in the picture below, seriously, ask Ash! & 3 others that came near our section) ... watched a fun 13 run (by the Rangers) baseball game (that's a lot of hitting, running & cheering in a game) ... enjoyed a cooler summer evening ... got to catch up with sweet old friends ... and watched a great fireworks show after the game ... with 36,700+ of our newest Rangers friends ... it was a fun family night!

Carol "Noni" (Christi's mom) and Christi
Jon (Christi's dad) was also there, but he was getting food
when I was taking pictures, so I missed him.

We treated ourselves to a Lemon Chill ... this is one thing that I would get at a ball game when I was younger ... this was Kendall 1st Lemon Chill experience and she loved it! This girl looks like her Daddy but she's got some of me inside her, somewhere!

Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics ("the A's") ... 13 to 4 ... Colby Lewis (the Rangers' #2 pitcher) pitched an outstanding game. We loved all the scoring action by the Rangers ... Kendall loves to cheer & chant with the crowd throughout the game, and this game was full of that! She had a great time at the game ... sitting in her own chair or on our laps ... actually watching the game & telling us about what she was watching. It's funny, she really does understand a lot of the game, especially the fundamentals, even at 2 ... she'll tell you: "Goooooo Rangers!" (complete with her arm & fist pump!) ... "baseball. throw it. hit it. run! run! run! fall down (slide)." (She'll tell you all about football too, if you ask her. Someone likes to hang out with her Daddy!) After the game, the Rangers threw a great FIREWORKS show. It was really late, but Kendall stayed wide awake to watch it ... her most favorite part of the whole night! (This girl only brings up the topic of fireworks about twice a week (since July 4th) ... she'll ask or tell me, Ashley & complete strangers we see while we are out & about all about the fireworks & how she wants to see more! She loves fireworks and we were so happy we could accommodate her request of "more fireworks up high in sky" before the next July 4th!)

Thank you Norris fam for a fun family Friday night out! Gooooo Rangers!

Friday Park fun

2011-09-09T17:05:00.000-05:00

Today, Kendall & I met the Gorsline family at a park for a fun mid-morning outing ... to celebrate this bit of cooler weather we've been enjoying! It's only been in the high 80's (instead of over 100 each day this summer ... the hottest record-breaking Texas summer!)The kids had a great time sliding, climbing the rock walls and checking out the turtles in the near-by pond.

London

Avyn & Kendall ... little friends & preschool class buddies this year!

This wall is really huge ... I was so proud of Kendall because she really isn't a climber, but the other two kidos are ... and she just worked her best to climb up there, just as they were doing. She ended up climbing up 3 different times, each time having an easier time with it.

It was so nice to get out & play at the park ... we have missed the park this summer. It's just been waaaay too hot, even by 9am. Sad, really. Oh, we are soooooo looking forward to a beautiful and cool FALL ... we are ready!

1st Day of Preschool 2011

2011-09-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today was our 1st day of preschool, at our new school!

We both had a good 1st day ... Kendall was very excited ... I was very nervous, for Kendall and for my own class.She was so excited to get dressed and wear her ladybug outfit (that her Auntie E had given her at Christmas) ... to pack her food into her "sparkly lunchbox" and wear her "pack-pack" ... she was all smiles & ready for school! Little Miss Big Girl!

She started to get a little unsure when I left her in her classroom ... being a teacher's kid, she was the 1st one to arrive. (She is very quiet when going to Bible class at church, or just meeting new kids ... she likes to observe for a while, but she eventually warms up.) She saw me as her sweet little class was coming in to Chapel & then leaving, but I just waved to her & said she was doing good ... she was a little sad & wanted to see me, but she stayed in her line, and did not cray, so that was good.

After school, she came in to my room, all smiles & ran to me. I asked her what she did today ... "I paint hands", "I craft" (she really pronounces it by leaving off the "ft" & ending it with a "p", but we are working that!), "I play blocks, stack tall tower", "I playground, I slide down on playground", "climb steps, fall down" (not real sure about this one), "I nap mat" (but apparently, she did NOT nap on it!), "I read books", "I song", "I lunchbox"! I asked her if she had fun today, and she said "Yes!" ... and apparently she did ... and I think she covered about all that they did, too!

Hope our 2nd day goes just as good, or better (actually taking a nap would be awesome!)!

Meet the Teacher - 2's class Edition

2011-09-07T13:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Kendall's and my Meet the Teacher event at our new preschool for the new school year!

{Side Note ... about our new preschool: Kendall & I will be at a different school this year. It's a bitter sweet decision for us, but it is definitely the right decision for our family, as God moved us very quickly in this direction. A couple of weeks ago, I found out that I would be teaching a combined 2's/3's class at our old school, due to a low enrollment ... which would put Kendall as a student in my class. Since one of the major reasons of Kendall going to preschool is to be taught by someone else (since I'm at home with her, teaching her the other days), this was a big issue for us. We also didn't want to withhold her from being in a class on her own and missing out on that. I had just heard from a friend the day before how her kids loved this particular preschool, which happened to be just a few blocks away from us. I immediately called Ash at work and told them the news about our school. Before mentioning this other school I was thinking of, he said I should call them (that same school). I looked up the websites of 2 well-known Christian preschools in our area to check them out ... then made phone calls. I called our new school first, the one both Ash & I had mentioned. I had to leave a message at both schools, so we had to wait, and we prayed about it.

The Director (of the 1st school) called me back the next day. It "just so happened" that they had 1 spot open in the 2's class ... so we got Kendall enrolled there. I was really excited about that ... at least I had a great place for her! I was still debating over whether I should try to teach again this year, or just fill in as a sub, but I did ask if they happened to have any teaching/staff positions available, this late in the summer (just knowing that there was no way that they would) ... and she said yes, she had 1, actually! I interviewed & toured the school on Thursday and found out Friday evening that I got the teaching job. It was whirlwind of a week, but we know this was the best move for our family, at this time. There are several positives about this school, and even more that we are finding out about now. We are so thankful that God moved us to our new school, had everything worked out for us, just in the right time ... He is God, that loves you so much, that He takes care of where a sweet little 2 year old girl will go to preschool 2 days a week! Little things ... Big things ... He takes care of it all!}

Kendall is in the "young 2's class" this year. (We love that there are at least 2 classes of each age-level at this school ... this is really good for me as a teacher, so that whatever age I'm teaching or if I happen to teach her age next year, she will be able to be in a separate class.) She has 2 super-sweet teachers ... Mrs. Joe and Mrs. Amber. (I happen to teach next door to them, with a bathroom separating our rooms.) They are both really fun & love kids ... and have been at this school for a while. I'm counting on Kendall to have a GREAT year!

Our school's theme this year is "We are going BUGGY for Jesus!" ... so most of the classrooms are decorated in butterflies, bugs, dragonflies, caterpillars, bees, lady bugs. Kendall's classroom is so cute & creative ... including the huge 3D tree & clouds on one wall and the multi-colored ball caterpillar hanging from the ceiling.

Kendall hung out in her new classroom during Meet the Teacher so that I could have a chance to meet all of my new little students & their parents. She is very excited about starting school and making new friends and taking her new backpack, lunch box and special nap mat ("that Grams fixed") with her! This 2 year old is ready for school! Excuse me, when did you get to be such a big girl?!?

Labor Day weekend 2011

2011-09-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Labor Day!

We spent our 3 day weekend in Lubbock & Abilene, visiting Ashley's MaMaw and Aunt Judie & Uncle Mike ... and then Grams, "Rachel" (Aunt Rach), Mason & Tucker in Abilene. We had a busy weekend of driving back & forth, but we had lots of fun visiting family & friends! (It had been a loooong time since we'd been back in Lubbock ... Kendall was only 6 months old ... wowzers!)

We got to Abilene on Friday night ... spent the night at my parents', left Cassie there & drove to Lubbock Saturday morning. We stayed at Aunt Judie & Uncle Mike's home while we were there ... Aunt Judie is an awesome Nana to many grandchildren (and 3 great-grandchildren), so she had everything a little 2 year old girl loves ... including a tea set, dress up clothes, and a baby doll & their accessories! We arrived at lunch time and met them at one of their favorite burger joints (and apparently, a favorite of all of Lubbock, as it stays packed around the clock!) ... and it was indeed, "mmmmm, delicious" as Kendall said, with nearly each bite!

We picked up MaMaw at her room at her assisted-living-home and brought her over to Judie & Mike's for the afternoon & dinner. Our afternoon entertainment included lots of playtime with Kendall being the center of attention and just being with MaMaw. Kendall was in fine form and was truly herself right away ... she had a wonderful time playing, playing and more playing!

Kendall LOOOOVED this special Tea Party ... her 1st real tea party, complete with "lemon flavored water" as the tea and several special treats (she got to try for the 1st time ever!) ... marshmallows, honey nut Cheerios and animal crackers (not new to her). I think she pretty much drank the entire bottle of water, thru her tea cup ... with 55 or so refills ... saying, "mmmm. some more, please!" And the sweet hostess Aunt Judie was more than happy to serve!

She also took quite a liking to Uncle Mike ... real fast! She curled up in his lap several times to snuggle or read books, or watch Finding Nemo together. If he dared leave the room, she would notice right away and start to look for him and ask "where he go?" several times until he finally came back. She was keeping tabs on this guy! And he was the sweetest thing to her! Uncle Mike is a sweet man and we are blessed to have him in the family!

Sunday, we met Russell & his family ... we went with them to their church & enjoyed the afternoon at their home eating lunch together and playing. (Saturday night, just before going to bed, a cold front blew in, causing the temperatures to drop to the 50's ... and I found us, once again, not having the appropriate clothing for Kendall ... a theme in packing for Abilene & Lubbock. It's been in the high 90's, if not 100's, all summer, with no end in sight ... I actually thought about bringing her a sweater, or a jacket, or jeans, but Ash laughed at the idea, so I decided not to "over-pack" as I'm known for doing ... and wouldn't you know it, we could have actually used it on Sunday! Luckily, Alison was able to find a hoodie that Kendall borrowed for the afternoon of fun in their backyard! It was in the 70's by the afternoon & windy ... not really cold, just cool. And we were lovin' it!) I didn't take many pictures of the kids and none of the adults ... we just were too busy with all 4 kids and trying to catch up with each other. It had been nearly 2 years since we'd seen them! Grant (Russell's oldest ... who is a lot like Russell, very smart & witty) enjoyed playing with Kendall ... and was saying "we are best friends" before the afternoon was over ... ha! It was fun to watch them together ... maybe one day they'll be best friends, as Russell and I were in our college & younger days. (Their 2nd son Colt is a sweetheart ... he is 5 months younger than Kendall. Their 3rd son Jett is 5 months old & loved hanging out in the midst of all the action! He napped a good part of the time we were there and I didn't get a picture of him.)

Sunday afternoon we left for Abilene ... dinner at my parents' with Rae & the boys, too. Kendall loves her Grams so she was happy to be there with her again. We played all evening until bedtime ... the cousins had lots of fun together!

This morning, Labor Day, we had a yummy Chick-Fil-A breakfast picnic at the Mall's childrens' indoor playscape ... and played the morning away with Mason & Tucker!

We had a busy Labor Day weekend but are so happy to have been able to travel & see our family for these past few days!

Let's All Go to the Movies ...

2011-08-27T16:24:00.001-05:00

We've had a great Saturday family day ...one that must be captured for our memory book!

We slept in til 8am (woohoo! thank you, Kendall!) ...
enjoyed our breakfast poolside as a backyard picnic ...
worked in the backyard pulling up weeds & lots of our plants and flowers that are dead from this extreme heat of a summer (despite Ash's dedication to consistent watering & extra watering each day!) ...
decided we were hot enough at 9:30am to take a swim in the pool to cool off, after our yard work ...
and got ready for today's big event ...

We ate a yummy lunch at Chick-Fil-A and hurried to the Movie Theater ... for Kendall's 1st movie theater experience!

When we saw the previews for Disney's Winnie the Pooh movie to come out this summer, we knew we wanted Kendall to see it. As the summer went on & she began to enjoy a few Disney movies at home, we thought we might get adventurous and take her to see it at the Theater. She is only 2, so we really didn't know if this was a good idea, but we thought we'd try it! We decided to wait until it was showing at our local $1 Movie Theater ... and today, it finally arrived! (It's perfect timing ... this is an unusual quiet weekend (our 1st this summer!), next weekend is Labor Day, and the next weekend after that starts Ashley's 8 week football season ... so today was the day to go!)

To prepare her for Pooh Bear & his friends, Kendall & I checked out an old Winnie the Pooh movie from our library during one of our weekly visits at the beginning of the summer ... it was a little slow (it was an old movie), but she did like the characters. During part of the movie, Tigger is sad because he has to give up bouncing (his favorite thing) ... Kendall is such a sensitive & caring soul, so she has brought up that in several conversations this summer ... and again today, as we told her that we were going to the movies to see Pooh Bear on a big screen! She also wanted to see fireworks ... this girl has quite a memory we are realizing! She LOVED the fireworks from the 4th of July, and STILL talks about them and asks to see more fireworks, on a weekly basis. She loves to look for them at the start of Disney movies (above Cinderella's castle) ... so I told her she would see them at the movies. She was really excited about this as well! (We told her we'd get popcorn, too, to which she said "I excited" ... and had she known what popcorn was, she really would have been excited about that, too! ha!)

We got to the Theater ... bought our 3 tickets ... Kendall gave all of our tickets to the ticket guy ... walked through the hall to find our theater ... and found our 3 seats!

Kendall was perfect throughout the movie & had a fun time ... she only moved seats 3 times (to sit on Mommy's lap, Daddy's lap & her own seat), which for this 2 year old who is normally moving around constantly at home, we thought was really good! Daddy treated us to a bag of popcorn (which we never do normally!) but you only take your daughter to her 1st movie ONCE! She also loved the popcorn ... of course.

The movie was cute and funny ... she laughed at several parts too ... and it was only 69 minutes ... just long enough! We had a great 1st movie experience ... we might just do this again, sometime! The Lion King is coming out in a few weeks for a special 2-week only showing in 3D & digitally restored ... we have the original one at home and it's one of Kendall's favorites, so we might try to see that in the Theater ... we'll see!

Here is our own Priceless moment ...
3 Tickets to Winnie the Pooh ... $3.75
1 bag of Popcorn (& 1 Drink for Mommy & Daddy to share) ... $10.25 (Ash would say "that is highway robbery!" ... and he is right!)
Spending a Saturday afternoon together, watching your daughter experience a movie at the Theater for the 1st time ... PRICELESS!

the FW Muesum with friends

2011-08-25T19:46:00.000-05:00

This summer Ryllie & Lyndon Caton have been coming over on Tuesdays & Thursdays (8:30-2:30) while Angela (better known as "Angel" says Kendall) works. There have been some days that her hospital cancels her shift ... this has been mostly in August ... sometimes she'll still bring them over so she can get other things done, but sometimes she'll keep them with her. Today was our last day for them to come over & Angela was canceled again ... so we decided to take the kids to the Fort Worth Museum of Science & Natural History. (They've got a family season pass & were able to get Kendall & I in on their pass, so that was awesome!)

The kids had a blast ... and since summer is over & this was the first week of school, it was pretty empty ... double awesome!

you see a movie on the wall, you are beckoned to
lay down to watch it ... where ever you are, I guess!

Before heading home, we decided to stop in at the museum next door ... the National Cowgirl Museum ... which we got into for free, thanks to their season pass! It's all things cowgirls ... the west ... horses ... and fun! They loved playing in the camp grounds area ...

and then we were off to ride a buckin' bronco ... yee haw! Ryllie took her turn first ... she's a veteran of this buckin' bronco ... and it video records your ride & then displays it as a movie! Too fun! They loved watching each other on the movies!

Kendall was a little unsure of this buckin' bronco, but she did fine and had fun ... despite looking a little serious in this photo!

We had another fun experience at the Museum and we are definitely getting a family season pass! She loves this place ... and it's a really fun way to spend the day!

We've had a fun summer with Ryllie and Lyndon playing at our house each week ... Kendall will be most sad to not see Ryllie at least twice or three times a week, now that the summer is over and we're all starting preschool in a few weeks! There is a little friendship that formed this summer ... over sharing her toys, watching movies & Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, playing "dress-ups" (as she calls it) and eating lunch & snacks together. Ryllie picked out a special present to give to Kendall ... she gave it to her today ... she gave her a Princess Aurora ballerina barbie doll ... and she is already greatly loved by Kendall! She has also LOVED helping me with Lyndon, who despite being 16 months younger than Kendall & being bigger than her, she still insists on helping change his diapers & feeding him his bottles, and helping him with anything she possible can. (She is such a sweet little Mommy!)

"I Hair cut!"

2011-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

Today, Kendall got her 1st hair cut!

I had talked to her about getting a hair cut a couple of times in the past 2 days, building it up as a fun experience ... not knowing how she would do ... but hoping for the best! She'd mentioned it a few times on her own in the past couple of day and several times today saying "I hair cut!" (She easily interchanges "I" for "my" or "me" at times ... I love to hear this 2 year old talk!) This morning, she even told our Children's minister at church, Mrs. Patti, "When I wake up {from her afternoon nap}, I {will get my} hair cut!" ... she has been very excited about it. So much so, she took over an hour to finally fall asleep for nap time and we had to wake her up from her nap, so we could get to her appointment. But she was in a great mood, nonetheless.

We made her an appointment at a little salon called "Sweet & Sassy!" And boy was it ever! It was decorated and decked out in all-things GIRLS ... Girly-Girls! It's a salon & spa, and apparently, a very popular birthday party spot, as well! While we waited 20 minutes for our appointment (our hair stylist was having to fix someone else's little client's hair ... yikes!), Kendall amused herself with all the goodies & treats in the shop ... a little girl's haven ... all things glitter, stuffed animals, girly decor, jewelry, hair bows & headbands, nail polish, lip gloss and super cute boutique outfits ... a lot to get her hands on and that is just what she did, with me right behind her telling her to put it back. They offer lots of different services, including mini-manicures & mini-pedicures, facials, special hair up-dos, and anything else you can think of that is girly! I think I can see our little girly-girl wanting to visit this place again ... in the future!

Kendall was way over due for her 1st haircut ... but we just didn't want to loose all of her curls. As it has grown longer, her hair is growing out straighter, with a little body to it, so the curls will be gone eventually. Sad. I was really worried how she would do sitting still, or even having someone mess with her hair ... fixing her hair (not so much the fixing it, as she LOVES to wear the bows, seriously!, but the brushing it) is a daily fit/cry/scream-fest, with the tangles. I think a little girl bob is really cute, but we didn't want to loose all her curls, so we were just wanting a trim ... get all the dead ends & even it out a bit.

Here she is BEFORE ...

And this is her hair stylist ... Ashley ... she was very good with Kendall and did a great job! Kendall is sooooo serious in these pictures ... she was a little unsure of the whole process, the huge cape, seeing her hair on the cape, watching Ashley with her scissors & comb, but she sat VERY still and just watched it all in the huge mirror!

At Sweet & Sassy, they finish off the experience by doing a big up-do of some sort, a little glitter spray in their hair, a sweet little face painting and letting you pick out a special lollipop ... Kendall LOVED it all! Ashley did a small braid in the front(Kendall was getting restless by this time, and she didn't think she would sit through much of an up-do!) and we opted out of the face painting this time (she was ready to be done with sitting there & Ashley said she would just keep touching it) ... but Kendall did pick out her own lollipop and loved every lick of it!

Here she is AFTER ...

Another milestone for our sweet Kendall Grace! She's just getting sooo big! One day we will be back for more girly-fun!

Aloha, Auntieeee

2011-08-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

We've enjoyed our last few days of summer break ... especially because my sister, aka Auntie E, (or as Kendall calls her "Auntieeeee") has been staying with us the past 8 days! My brother-in-law got his new orders to Hawaii and left a couple of weeks ago, but my sister stayed behind to finish up the last minute things and flew out of DFW.

Kendall ADORES Auntie E ... she loves all of her Aunts and attaches herself to everyone who visits or we visit ... and these last few days with E was no exception! They played dress up (those pictures are on E's camera, so I will have to get those from her!) ... and played with every toy or activity Kendall owns ... we went swimming (Kendall even got E to jump off the diving board, which she does NOT do. Ever. But Kendall was very convincing, apparently!) ... we went shopping, shopping & shopping some more ... we ate some great food, food that E didn't get in Florida where they have been the past 4 year, and food she won't be getting in Hawaii ... we spent a few days in Abilene visiting our mom, sister & fam ... and stayed up waaaaaay too late talking & laughing!

Kendall owes Auntie E big ... because of her she got to eat ice cream (for the 2nd time in her life) and have donuts for the 1st time (for the baby book record, it was 2 donut holes) ... to which she LOVED and with EVERY bite she said "Mmmmm! Yummy!" (We used to have to be very careful about what Kendall ate, since it was so little ... Now that she eats better & is gaining weight more normally, we are able to let her try special treats every once in a while.)

Our last night together with E was full of packing up all of E's stuff, laughing ... and a 45 minute pedicure (Ash stayed home with Kendall) ... BLISS.

We got up early Friday morning to get all of E's baggage loaded up and headed to the airport. A very bitter sweet drive to the airport.

We helped E through the airport with all of her bags ... got her checked in for her flight ... and said our tearful good-byes. It was very emotional for all of us. Kendall was VERY sad ... she kept saying "I miss her. I sad." We hugged and kissed Auntie E, a couple of times ... our sweet pea is quite the hugger and kisser these days! We stayed behind security and watched E go through the security checkpoint ... and walk off to find her gate. Kendall was very sad ... it was heart-breaking to see her so sad & listen to her talk about missing E.

We do miss her but we are excited about her new adventure in Hawaii! And, Ash & I will get to see them in October ... we are taking a Hawaiian cruise for our 10 year anniversary (already planned before we found out they were going to be there) and will be staying 3 extra days to see them ... and we are sooo excited!

Aloha, E! Thanks for spending time with us before you left ... and we can't wait to see you in Hawaii!

our 1st FW Museum outing

2011-07-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

Today, Kendall & I met up with the Gorsline fam for a day out at the Fort Worth Museum of Science & Natural History ... in downtown Fort Worth. We'd never been before and all the kids had earned a "free admission" ticket to the museum as part of the prizes for the Library's summer reading program. Everyone had a great time and I think this is a place that we will be getting a Family Season Pass to ... we will definitely be coming back!

We spent several hours there and still missed several exhibits (that we will have to go back to see) ... they also have an IMAX theater (4D movies) and a Planetarium that we'd love to check out. We spent most of our time in the Children's Museum and the Dinosaur exhibits. It was so much fun ... and educational ... and indoors in air conditioning. Awesome!

Inside the Children's area, there are several different stations ... a Hospital/Baby/Ambulance area, a Grocery store, a Railroad Train, a Construction site, an old Trolley with a movie showing, puzzles, dominoes, an outdoor hydro station, and a Natural Science area. They had a blast checking out each station ...

Avyn

Fisher & Kendall checking out their groceries

the Gorsline fam ... Feydra, Fisher, Avyn and London

Kendall with the turtle ... she asked for her picture to be taken with it ...
can't you tell ... Little Miss Cheeeese!

inside the Children's area entrance ... you walk through a huge
alligator's mouth ... too cool! We were trying to get a picture of
Kendall & I but everyone wanted to join in ... the more the merrier!

inside a Dinosaur's footprint

this seemed like just as good place as any for resting, I suppose.
she was past ready for a nap, but she did great ... my happy little 2 year old!

the Dino dig ... this great area was set up outside for digging ...
and we found some HUGE dino bones!

We ate lunch at their food court and spent a few more hours checking the other exhibits out before heading home. We had a great 1st experience at the Museum and we will be back ... soon!

Sea Life Aquarium

2011-07-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

Today after church, we headed to Grapevine for a VIP pre-opening of the brand-new Sea Life Aquarium!

It officially opens on Tuesday, but annual pass holders got to preview it today ... and it was pretty cool! We were hoping it would be less crowded now than later on when more people hear about it. (Kendall loved the Vancouver Aquarium we went to last summer while we were in Canada ... and although we weren't expecting it to be like that one, we've been excited about getting one here ... it cost 15 million to build ... it's 45,000 square feet ... with more than 5,000 sea creatures in it, so we hoped it would be pretty decent!) We'd decided to pre-buy annual passes earlier this summer ... Kendall is free until she turns 3, so we just needed 2 passes ... about 2 visits pays for the pass ... and I'm planning on taking Kendall during the weekdays periodically this summer (especially), as a fun, indoor, air conditioned and educational thing to do ... we'll definitely get our money's worth out of it.

We ate lunch at the mall and stood in line to get into the Aquarium ... apparently, several other families had the same idea about getting annual passes, so they were also invited to this VIP event, and we ended up waiting in line for 55 minutes before we got our annual passes all processed ... at least that part is finished so we'll just be able to go right in from now on. Kendall did great in line ... she met Sharky, their mascot who walked around greeting all the visitors ... she told us "I scared" "Tendall scared" when she got up close to him ... but she still gave him a high-five. Once he was gone, she decided she wanted to see him again ... and take a picture with him, but the line was moving so we didn't get another chance to do that ... maybe next time. We did get a few pictures with their sea life walls while in line ...

We got inside ... everything was so nice, new & clean ... and there were fish everywhere! Kendall ooooohhhed and aaaaawwwwed and wowwwed at everything ... she loved it all! It was not crowded at all ... we barely saw any other people in there, so it was really nice to go at our own pace & check everything out ... letting Kendall just explore around with us & not worry about holding hands the whole time or being lost in the crowd.

They had several of these tanks set up where you could crawl under to look up under the glass bubble with fishes swimming right around you ... fun! (Kendall is saying "Hi Daddy!" in this picture.)

We loved the 360 Underwater Ocean Tunnel ... it's one of the main attractions Sea Life Aquariums are known for ... it was really amazing! We tried to get some good pictures in the tunnel, but you aren't allowed to use a flash, so some didn't turn out as good as we'd hoped ... but it was really cool to see the rays & sharks and other fish swimming right over you.

We checked out the Interactive Rockpool ... getting to touch starfish, coral & sea urchin ... and seeing shrimp & crabs up close in the touch pool. Kendall loves to play in water, so she really loved this attraction! She'd been asking to "swim in there" and "open" the tanks most of the time we were there, so this was perfect for her!

They even have a little playscape inside ... and Kendall enjoyed playing in that, too!

The only attraction that wasn't open for us was the "Shark Walk" ... we will be returning soon for another visit and to check that out! All in all, it was a fun family outing for the afternoon.

party at the ballpark

2011-07-09T22:06:00.001-05:00

Today we got to be at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for our friend, Fisher's 6th birthday party! Kendall loves the 3 Gorsline kids ... Fisher, London (who was in my preschool class this past year) and Avyn (who is 2 months younger than Kendall), so we were really happy to be able to celebrate Fisher's big day! It was a really fun party ... we dressed up in our Texas Rangers gear and headed to the ballpark ... Kendall decided to nap on the drive over, so she was really to play when we got there! It was pretty hot (over 100 today ... happy July in Texas!), but we spent time both indoors & outside so we were able to cool off. We ate hotdogs & got cotton candy (as Fisher's "birthday cake"), played t-ball with a wiffle ball on the cute little kids field inside the ballpark, and got a 1-hour Rangers Ballpark tour ... and cool party favors from Fisher & the Texas Rangers!

Kendall & Daddy with the birthday boy, Fisher

Kendall, London & Mommy

Ready to play T-Ball

1st up to bat ... Fisher

Fisher running the bases

Daddy, London & Fisher in the outfield ... and Kendall got the ball

London's turn at bat

Avyn's turn to bat

Kendall's turn ... she loooooved batting!

she hit it (thanks to a bit of help from Daddy) ...
I love the look on Fisher's face here!

"I running! I running!" she said as she ran around the bases

After our T-Ball game, we ate hotdogs & sang Happy Birthday to Fisher ... then it was time for our Tour! We got to go to the Press Box and check out the press's area & their view of the game ...

Kendall overlooking the field in the Press Box

We got to check out the Suites that companies use ... very nice!

And we got to see where the Rangers work out & have batting practice ...

Loved all the encouraging words & scripture that was on their walls.

We got a quick glimpse inside the Rangers' Clubhouse (their lockeroom) when the doors opened for someone else to go in ... that was one area we were not allowed to go. We got to see where they hold their Press Conferences ... and Kendall & Daddy got behind the table, where Josh Hamilton & the other Rangers sit ...

Then we got to check out the Rangers' dugout and be right out on the field! Awesome!

Fisher & Feydra in the hallway leading to the dugout

London sitting in the dugout ... in the seat that the
General Manager, Ron Washington, sits

Daddy & Kendall in the Rangers dugout

Mommy & Kendall in the dugout

all the birthday party kids in the Rangers dugout

sitting on the steps of the dugout ... out to the field

sweet little friends ... Avyn & Kendall

Kendall got a soft Rangers baseball as a party
favor from Fisher, along with cotton candy
(which she will get to try, for the 1st time, per
her Daddy). The Rangers gave her a red foam
finger, which she also loves!

Happy Birthday, Fisher!
Thanks for inviting us to your awesome 6th birthday party! We loved celebrating you!

happy 4th of July

2011-07-05T19:07:00.022-05:00

We had a very happy 4th of July ... Independence Day 2011! Happy Birthday, America! We just enjoyed the day as a family, taking advantage of the 3-day weekend & having Daddy home on Monday with us ... which is always a treat!

On Sunday evening, Kendall & I had picked up Grams from the DFW airport (after spending a few days with Pops on his job-site in NC) ... she spent the night with us and left for home the next morning (the 4th). We worked in the yard & around the house, trying to make some sort of progress in several projects that we have going on at the moment.

We had lunch at our favorite sub place ... Firehouse Subs ... it was delicious! Kendall gave us several different faces/smiles for the camera ... our "All-American Sweetheart" has been "cheeeessseeeee-ing" up her face lately. She also looooooves to wipe her own hands with a napkin(s) throughout her meals ... she constantly looks at her hands between each bite to see if she needs to wipe them (and her face) ... she loooves to be clean! Please pardon her disheveled hair ... her pigtails had already been through several hours of fun by the time lunch had rolled around ... apparently!

checking to see if her hands are dirty ...

and of course, they were ... napkin time!

We spent the afternoon swimming & playing ... Kendall took a late afternoon nap, so she would be bright & chipper for the night's fireworks at 9:30p! Since she doesn't like loud sounds, we weren't really sure how she would be with the fireworks, but we wanted to try to them this year. We decided to go to Bedford's display ... we got there by 8p to get parked & walk into the park ... found a great location to settle down for the next few hours. With sun going down, the heat wasn't too bad ... it was bearable, so we were happy about that. I had packed several things for Kendall to do while we waited for the fireworks show to start ... she had a fun time coloring with markers, sewing her lacing cards, reading books, drinking from a water bottle, and watching all the people & dogs. The time past by pretty fast and we were ready for the fireworks to start!

Fireworks got started at 10p ... it was a great show ... Kendall loooooved them! We were in a great spot and they weren't too loud. She only got scared one time because of the boom. She just kept oooohhhing & woooowwwing at each of them. At one point, after several were going off at the same time, she said "it's sunny. on my eyes" ... and it was very bright at that time. She was tired, but she enjoyed watching everything and all the colors that lit up the dark sky.

Walking back to our car, Kendall was very sad the fireworks were over ... she kept saying "fireworks. oh no. all gone. more! more! fireworks! again! again!" We just couldn't get her to understand it was over ... until next year. We made it to our car and Kendall was sound asleep in moments ...
(Periodically today she has talked about the fireworks & being sad that they went away. She is our sweet, compassionate, sensitive girl ... with a crazy memory ... and will probably be bringing it back up randomly for 6 more months! ha!)
Hope everyone had a happy & safe & thankful Independence Day!

I swimmin'

2011-07-01T23:12:00.021-05:00

Kendall is officially a little fish! She loooooooves swimming, which is good, since we like to be in the pool all summer!

She's "I fast" or "I running" or "I tired" or "I hungry" or "I tall" ... it's always "I something (fill in the blank)" ... and these past 2 weeks, it's been " I swimmin' swimmin' swimmin' ". Her swimming lessons at Chisholm Park have gone great ... today was our final, 10th, lesson ... and it was "show-off day". I took some pictures but we also had our video camera so lots of our time is on that ... including her jumping off the big diving board and going down the big white slide with her swim instructor, Rachel ... and lovin' every minute of it! She loves to jump off the side of the pool ... she's great with splashing & being splashed ... holds her breath when dunked under water & is fine with going under water (thankfully!) ... loves to kick her legs & scoop her hands ... and has also learned how to blow bubbles with her mouth. She is very comfortable in and around the pool and loves swimmin' with us. These 2 weeks were a good intro class for her (and us) and she got a swimming certificate of completion for her scrapbook. WooHoo, Kendall!

Kendall with her swim instructor, Rachel

I will try to get some video of her jumping off the diving board and sliding down the big white slide ... Daddy will have to help me with that ... so stay tuned for more water fun!

AND Today is July 1st ... so, Happy Canada Day ... to our nieces & nephews, Kendall's aunts & uncles and our friends in Vancouver!

birthday party weekend

2011-06-27T22:16:00.016-05:00

Kendall, so in association "WE", had a busy birthday party schedule for the weekend ... she was invited to 5 parties for this weekend, but we could only attend 3 of them! I know kids are born all year long, but this was a busy weekend.

Saturday morning, we drove to Ridgemar Mall for Tyler's 3rd birthday ... it was a train theme and Kendall had a blast! We enjoyed the awesome playscape & fun train rides through the mall. Chick Fil A nuggets & fruit was served for lunch, along with a train birthday cake ... which Kendall sampled & loved.

Kendall with the birthday boy Tyler

the Odom sisters ... "girl-Ashleigh", Kaelynn and Rylie ...

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet Tyler! We were so happy to join your celebration!

Sunday, we partied all day long with 2 birthday swim parties! After church, we went swimming in our own pool with Grams (who was visiting us for the weekend) before she had to go back home ... Kendall had to skip her afternoon nap (which actually worked out just fine), so we could attend (girl-)Ashleigh's 8th birthday party ... at Keller Pointe. It was a great swim party ... it's a great facility with lots to do for all ages ... indoor pools & slides and outdoor ones, too. Although we don't love running around in our swim suits, Fritzie & I had a great time riding all the slides with several other moms, too. We stayed an extra 1.5 hours after the party for more swimming ... with the Odoms.

Daddy "boy-Ashley", Kendall & the birthday
girl ... Ashleigh. With 2 Ashley/Ashleigh's in
the family, we had to start distinguishing
between them, so boy- and girl- have stuck.

Happy 8th Birthday, Ashleigh! We can't believe you are already 8 years old and so grown up! Thanks for inviting us to your awesome party!

Then, we had just enough time for Kendall to take a nap in the car and eat dinner before heading to our final birthday party of the weekend ... Sarah's 4th ... at Bedford Splash! They had rented out the park after hours and had a huge, double party for her & her brother Jacob. Sarah was in my preschool class this past year and Kendall loved playing with her! There were lots of families there but we had the whole thing to our party, so it was awesome! They have several different swim areas/pools/slides so there was lots to do.

These orange slides were one of Kendall's favorite things ... she slid 100 times in our 2 hours we were there ... sometimes by herself, sometimes with Daddy or Mommy, sometimes with one of my former students ... she loved it!

There were several kids from our preschool there ... and several girls from our class ... here is Leslie, Sarah and Keira (with Kendall) ... with several attempts for a good picture.

Happy Birthday, Sarah! Thanks for inviting us to your big party! We had a great time splashin' around!

We had a fun weekend ... with Grams here visiting us on Saturday and 3 fun parties!

Now, we are getting ready for more fun with company ... Huni & GranGran arrive on Wednesday for a quick visit before flying back to the Ukraine on Friday ... this will be our last time to see them until January!

Today ... 2 years ago

2011-06-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

2 years today, we finally ... after spending 8 weeks in the NICU ... got to bring our sweet baby girl HOME with us! That was a VERY special day ... as we got checked out of the hospital, loaded up everything in our SUV and arrived home, for the 1st time, as a family of 3!

In 2 short years, she's gone from THIS ... 5.3 lb ... 38 week (gestational) old ... sweet baby girl

to THIS ... 22.5 lb ... 25.5 month old ... sweet little girl

and we are soooo beyond thankful for God's miraculous gift to us ... and what He has brought her through to grow her body & develop her into this funny, caring, smart, sweet, (maybe a little) dramatic, talkative, sensitive, loving little girl! We are overjoyed to be her parents & to get to be with her every day!

Swimming Lessons 2011

2011-06-20T22:53:00.001-05:00

Today, Kendall started swimming lessons ... her 1st session. We signed her up for a "Mommy, Daddy & Me" class ... it's 2 weeks Monday - Friday ... 10 30-minute sessions. We weren't supposed to take pictures today, but it's her 1st day of her 1st swimming lessons ... so I took just a couple ... I was far away, so they aren't that great, but at least I got something. Her swim instructor is Rachel and the swim assistant is Thom ... they are both really sweet (and young).

Kendall looooooves swimming and she's already made great progress from her 1st time into the pool this season on Memorial Day weekend ... where she only wanted to sit on the step! We're not sure how much we'll get out of these lessons, but I'm excited about learning some techniques to get her comfortable in the water & start to hold her breath under water ... maybe?

Happy Daddy's Day 2011

2011-06-19T22:11:00.061-05:00

HAPPY

DADDY's

DAY!

from your girls that LOVE YOU very, very much!

Today we celebrated Father's Day! We hope all you Dad's had a very happy Father's Day! I also want to wish my Dad "Pops" and my father-in-law "GranGran" a very happy Father's Day ... for being great Dads to their children, amazing grandfathers to their grandchildren, and faithful, providing, serving husbands to their wives, our moms. They have both been awesome family leaders & followers of Christ ... and continue to leave us a wonderful legacy to follow in! We love you both, so very much!

We had a great service at church this morning and Kendall made special footprints for Daddy in her Bible Class. (I feel the same way about her footprints as I do about her handprints at Mother's Day ... to see what she came from at 2 lbs 6 oz, these footprints, 2 years later, are huge! It is amazing how much God has grown her once very tiny body into this 2 year old "big girl", as she likes to call herself! We are so thankful & amazed at what God has done and continues to do in Kendall & in our family!)

After church, we enjoyed lunch out at Daddy's choice ... Logan's ... and we just had the best time with Kendall! In the afternoon we went swimming and just enjoyed family time at home ... the 3 of us!

Happy Father's Day, baby! We hope you had a fun day ... we sure enjoy celebrating you on this special day! We are so grateful for your hard work ethic in providing for us & spending as much as time together as a family, as possible. You always put us first, before you & your own needs. We love all the time you spend with us ... and being here & present with us. You are the BEST Daddy to our Kendall and it just keeps getting more fun, at each stage that she grows into! Thank you for all that you do for your family! Love you more!

Summer Spectacular 2011

2011-06-17T22:51:00.033-05:00

Post Warning ... Loooong post with Lots of pictures!

This week was our church's summer Vacation Bible School "VBS" ... as it was called as I was growing up. Our church calls it Summer Spectacular ... and spectacular it was!

Ash & I have helped with SS before, but it's been a few years. This was Kendall's 1st Summer Spectacular & our 1st one as a family ... and it was awesome! They say to "expect the spectacular" and it really was spectacular! The church building is totally transformed from ceiling to floor in the theme's decor ... this year it was Noah: God Keeps His Promises ... so there was the ark, animals, a rainbow decor. As you are welcomed in by happy greeters to direct you, you see a huge floor-to-ceiling end of the ark ... and in the inside of the building, there are pairs of animals {stuffed, manikin-type, and real ones too!} everywhere! Kendall was in hog-heaven with all the animals everywhere and enjoyed calling out their names &/or sounds that each of them make ... she loved it all!

In the Early Childhood wing ... these were our decorated walls ...

some of the EC staff ... Kamalynn, Tiffany
& MaryAnne

We'd signed up to help out in Kendall's 2's class and it went really well ... I wasn't sure just how she'd be with us in her class room, helping her & other kids, but she really did good. Summer Spectacular has gotten so big, there are now 2 sessions of 3 nights each. We were there for all 6 nights, so Kendall should really know the story of Noah, now ... ha!

We had one hour of Bible class time ... signing songs, learning the story of Noah, doing 3 centers/craft projects & enjoying a snack, before the kids were picked back up. Some of Kendall's little friends were in class with her (some were in different classes, they had to split the 2's up into several classes) and she made some new friends, too ...

Dre Reed (Gracie's son), Carter (in the back table) ...
and Kendall sipping on her water

James Bankes & Kendall ... sweet James is 9 days younger than Kendall
and he is such a cutie-pie!

Kendall with Walker Unterbrink ... his mom Emily & I knew each other
growing up from Turnpike CofC ... they named him her maiden name, Walker.
I love last names as first names! He is 2 months older than Kendall and
is the sweetest thing! They had fun their 3 nights together in class.

(Just a side note here ... for my own record-keeping purposes ... This was Kendall's 1st time to wear her hair in a ponytail ... it's probably been long enough for a little ponytail for a while, but we tried it out this week for the first time. I like it but I think it just makes her look like a big girl ... I guess she is becoming a big girl ... being 2 and all, now!)

Then each of the 3 nights, everyone went to the auditorium for the 3-night/act Musical production of Noah ... it was unbelievable and Kendall LOOOVED it! We got to see a special VIP showing of it before SS began ... to check it out, click here. It was nice to not have to stay each night for the Musical, so we could get home & Kendall ready for bed pretty close to her normal bedtime.

The 2nd & 3rd nights of both sessions, there was a nice-sized petting zoo inside the church building ... of course, Kendall LOOOVED that, too! Unfortunately it wasn't open to walk through until after the Musical act was over (after we had already left), so she just got to see the animals through the fencing ... but she still got to pet most of them (thanks to her Daddy) ... and we took a few pictures! She really wanted to pet the bunny rabbit, chickens and goat ... and she got to, so she was really happy about that.

We all had a great week at Summer Spectacular and can't wait to help out in the next one!

Noah: The Musical

2011-06-12T16:30:00.009-05:00

Our church puts on an incredible VBS (Vacation Bible School) each year that is called ... Summer Spectacular. It is waaaay more than VBS used to be when I was growing up. We are very blessed to be involved with a church that puts so much into loving & teaching children ... and we know so much more about it now that we have Kendall in the children's programs.

This Summer Spectacular's theme was Noah: God Keeps His Promises ... and it was amazing! This was Kendall's 1st SS and our 1st SS as a family. (We didn't get to do SS last year as we were on vacation, so we were really excited about being involved this time.) We signed up to help in Kendall's 2 year old class. Since SS has grown so much over the years, they've added a 2nd session ... so they have 3 nights (Sun-Tues) for session 1 and then a repeat of 3 nights (Wed-Fri) for session 2. They needed volunteers for both sessions, so we helped in the 2's all 6 nights. Each night, we had class time for 1 hour, then the parents would pick up their kids & go to the auditorium for the night's act of the Musical ... a complete Broadway-style musical, telling the story of Noah & His ark, all set to popular music with lyrics re-written, an accompanying band, choreography, costumes & a stage set! It truly is amazing how much planning, writing, work and rehearsal goes into making the Musical each summer. It is Spectacular!

The Musical is broken up into 3 Acts, one for each night ... but we, as volunteers, got invited to the VIP showing ... all 3 Acts in one night, Saturday. (It was really nice to see the Musical all in one night, so that the 6 nights of SS we could go home by 8, to start Kendall's night-time routine.) This was their official dress rehearsal & they did great! As a pre-SS thank you, all the volunteers enjoyed a pizza dinner, then the show. Even though it started at 7p and ended at 10:45p, Kendall LOVED every second of it! When a song would end, she would say "more! more!" The animals (and their costumes) were amazing and very entertaining for Kendall.

Noah & Mrs. Noah with some of the animals on the ark

Mrs. Noah & one of her daughter-in-laws

God's promise ... the rainbow!

After the Musical, all the animals & cast of Noah & his family were out in the lobby to greet everyone & sign autographs. Since it was 10:45p (a little past Kendall's bedtime!), Kendall & Daddy stayed to see a few of the animals, before heading home ... I stayed to take more pictures & get all the autographs of the 8 main cast members on Kendall's shirt (which is the popular thing to do among the kids).

our friend, Gracie, as a skunk (Left) ... we had her sweet son, Dre, in our
2's class with us during session 1

Charlie Taylor as a tiger

the hot pink flamingos

one of Kendall's sweet nursery teachers, Sarah
as an elephant ... she also works with Upwards
sports with Ash so we get to see her there too

the monarch butterflies

the zebras

the giraffes ... Kendall's favorite animal at the time

the ladybugs

Next up ... our 6 nights of 2 year olds ... oh my!

Chisholm Aquatics Center

2011-06-12T15:08:00.056-05:00

Today we had some family summer fun in the sun at Chisholm Aquatics Center! Our city has 2 pretty neat Aquatics Centers ... and the price for admission is even better ... $2 a person (ages 1-64)! We've only been to Chisholm since it's really near our home & has plenty of fun for us. (This is where Kendall will be taking her 1st swimming lessons later on this month.) It has several different pool areas, diving boards, pool lanes, big slides & kid's areas for all ages ... we mainly spend our time in the zero-depth entry kid's playscape ... this is Kendall's favorite! The deepest water is 18 inches, so this summer, Kendall is able to walk through it much easier & maintain her balance through all the waterfalls, sprinklers, downpours, tunnels and stairs this playscape offers.

the enclosed tan slide is Kendall's favorite slide ... she will slide,
come out to say "again!", walk around to the stairs to climb back up to
slide again ... over and over and over again!

She has recently discovered "jumping" ... well, she calls it jumping, anyway ... she gets in the jumping position, as if she's about to launch herself up 10 feet, but when she jumps usually 1 or maybe neither foot/feet actually leave the floor ... but she'll do it over & over again ... one day she'll have it down! She decided she would jump off the stairs at the pool ... she's working on it ...

All the swimming & playing makes this cute little thing hungry! She took a break for a quick snack & was back in the water as soon as possible. (Side note ... I love her little pigtails all wet and curling up into 1 skinny clump.)

The only way to beat the heat here in Texas is to stay wet all summer! Happy Summer!

Splash Park FUN

2011-06-10T22:13:00.002-05:00

Today, Kendall & I met the Gorsline family at the Euless Splash Park for some summer fun in the sun & water! Feydra & I have gotten to know each other a bit better as her son, London, was in my preschool class this past year ... and she substituted at our preschool ... and her youngest Avyn & Kendall are about 2 months apart, so they had been getting to know each other in preschool ... and are becoming sweet little friends.

Kendall was a little unsure about the Splash Park at first, but she looooved watching the other kids running around having fun and she did get pretty soaked by the end!

enjoying her water from Sonic ... this girl looooves
drinking water out of a big cup with a straw!

After playing in the water, we walked over to the school's playground ... Kendall saw the slides as soon as we pulled up to the water park so she was really wanting to try them out.

Avyn

Fisher (nearly 6) and London (nearly 4) ...
they are just a few weeks away from their birthdays!

We had a fun time together ... they are a really sweet family and I've enjoyed getting to know them better this year. We also have been meeting them at the Euless Library each week on Wednesdays for the weekly "StoryTime", then eating lunch out & letting the kids play. Kendall & I are enjoying our summer and doing lots of fun little things throughout the week!

10

2011-06-02T20:43:00.001-05:00

Today, Ashley & I are celebrating TEN ... 10 years of marriage ... to my best friend ... to the best husband ... to the best Daddy! For me, these 10 years have flown by as I think "wow, we've been married for 10 years already" ... but it's also as if we've been together forever ... I loved this man on our wedding day 10 years ago ... and I never thought I'd be able to love him anymore than I did then, but oh I do ... I don't know how your heart continues to grow in more love for a husband, and add in a daughter, but I do & it does. I can't wait to spend the next 10 ... 20 ... 30 ... 40 ... 50 ... 60 years with him!

Ash took the day off of work, so that was a super mid-week treat for Kendall & I. We had a nice day together ... swimming, napping & relaxing ... and having a family dinner at Macaroni Grill. (Kendall is a really good natured and does well when we are out (usually) and she was just the sweetest thing the entire dinner! We don't go out to eat very often, so it's really nice when it goes really well, too!) We loved drawing colorful masterpieces on the paper tablecloth and this girl found a new love for my favorite dish at Mac Grill ... the Pasta Milano ... and I was all too happy to share with her!

Happy 10 year anniversary, Babe! I thank God daily for bringing you to Richland Hills that 1st weekend & putting you in my life. Thank you for choosing me to spend your life with! You are a fantastic husband ... loving, serving, providing & protecting our family ... and an amazing daddy to our sweet Kendall Grace ... I love watching you with her and watching her with you! My heart is so full of love and joy for this family that God has created with the two, and now three, of us! I am sooo excited about celebrating these 10 years together in Hawaii this October!

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-05-30T08:52:00.030-05:00

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!

2011-05-16T19:25:00.186-05:00

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!

2011-05-15T19:20:00.063-05:00

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

2011-05-09T19:15:00.149-05:00

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

NICU Reunion ... 2nd edition

2011-05-08T22:45:00.003-05:00

Saturday we excitedly attended the 2nd annual Baylor Grapevine NICU Reunion! I really was very excited when this postcard arrived in the mail a few weeks ago ... I immediately added the event to our calendar ... this is something we would not miss! We had a great time at the last NICU Reunion ... which was about 18 months ago ... so we were really excited to see everyone again!

Little Miss Kendall is here & doing well because of God & His Mighty Work He has done in her ... and we are also so thankful for the nurses & doctors that God used to grow, heal & prevent further health issues while Kendall was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 8 weeks! We loooooove the staff at Baylor Grapevine & they will always hold a VERY special place in our hearts!

This year's reunion was held at the historic Nash Farm in Grapevine ... which is a fun (& educational) place to go ... and then they brought in some other really fun things for the kids & families, so it was a fun afternoon! We arrived a bit late, due to Kendall's nap & Daddy at soccer, but we got there in plenty of time to do everything Kendall wanted to do! They had bounce houses, a pony & sheep, a tractor-train ride, fun games, pizza & other fun food and drink ... and the NICU nurses & doctors!

We didn't take a ton of pictures, but we did get a few with some of the nurses & doctors ...

Nurse Gina

Tiffany (an account rep for Abbott, maker of Similac formula ...
which Kendall was on for 15 months ... Tiffany hooked us up a few times
with the speciality formula Kendall had to be on ... that was quite
a blessing! Tiffany's husband works with Ashley ... and they have a
daughter who is 1 month younger than Kendall.)

Nurse Kim

checking out a pony ... for the 1st time!

Dr. Kaplar ... Kendall's Neonatal Specialist ... she is awe.some! She immediately remembered us and was so sweet to Kendall. She said she & Mark (another doctor there at Baylor) wonder about Kendall often, since she was such a "little one" and was there for quite some time. Dr. Kaplar asked if I would be willing to come up to the NICU to talk with the moms that are there ... about our experience, about mommy/baby bonding, how we felt at that time, how things are different getting home & now (more normal) & getting through such a rough situation ... I said I would LOVE to! So hopefully I'll have an update about that sometime soon.

Dr. Kaplar

Kendall even wanted Dr. Kaplar to hold her

getting ready for the train ride

We had a fun afternoon visiting with everyone ... can't wait until next year ... Kendall will be 3 then, oh dear!

Birthday Party ... preschool edition

2011-04-28T19:35:00.043-05:00

Today we celebrated Kendall's {very-near} 2nd happy birthday at our preschool! We brought Kendall & her little friends in the 2's class birthday cookies and the rest of the school some birthday cupcakes.

Little Miss with her nursery teacher, Ms. Dee

sweet friends in the 2's class ... Ayvn & Aubrina

My 3's class wanted Kendall to come in so they could sing Happy Birthday to her ... sweet of them! They were sooo excited Kendall was having a birthday (just like them, as one of them put it!) and they got even more excited when I told them that she had brought them cupcakes to enjoy, too! My class ... Sammy, Bryson, Ellis, Keira, London and Leslie. {I love how Kendall is looking up at London in this picture ... she adores him!}

Happy Birthday, Little Miss!
Mommy thinks you are THE cutest & sweetest little 2 year old she's ever seen! {And Daddy thinks so, too!} We LOVE you ... to the moon & back!

School picture ... spring edition

2011-04-27T09:22:00.006-05:00

We just had our spring pictures taken for our preschool this month. We got them delivered to us this week, so here is Kendall's 1st year of preschool picture ... the spring edition. (Kendall's Huni is dying to see it ... from the Ukraine!) I liked the background that was chosen for the individual pictures and her sweet little pink sundress that she's wearing. I had intended on her being barefoot ... crossing her ankles, like she sits often, but I wasn't out there when her picture was being taken, so her cowgirl boots were left on ... which is fine ... it's very her these days ... this girl loooooves her "BOOTS!", she'll say. I love that she's holding her hands ... apparently my grandmother MawMaw also did that when she was a little girl.

Here is our {practically ... two weeks away from turning} 2 year old ...

And here is Kendall's class picture! You will notice that it is only Kendall and her teacher, Miss Dee. Kendall's class had 3 kids in it ... a boy named Noah, who moved to Austin 2 days before the picture was taken ... and a baby named Kendal, who is nearly 1 now, but was out sick the day of the picture due to pink eye ... so our Kendall was the only one there for the picture! I think the "class picture" turned out pretty cute, anyway!

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-04-25T23:21:00.084-05:00

{More for our records & memory ... but here is more about our Easter weekend, than the initial posting on Easter Sunday.}

We spent a short weekend ... about 24 hours, really ... in Abilene for Easter this year. It might have been a short time, but we packed in all the fun we could! {We definitely missed my dad "Pops" or "Papa" as Kendall is currently calling him ... he is in North Carolina doing insurance adjusting for the next couple of months.}

We arrived in Abilene after Ash finished his soccer commitments ... just in time for his {late} birthday dinner my mom had prepared. MawMaw, my sister, bro-in-law & 2 nephews also joined us. We skyped with E & Taris {who JUST returned back home after a 1+ air force assignment ... we are all soooo thankful for his service & his safe return home}! Then we went over to MawMaw's house for birthday cake (Ash's request ... MawMaw's special recipe carrot cake!) and a BIG egg hunt! There were over 50 eggs for the 3 kids and they all had a great time hunting and collecting!

Picture Posting WARNING ... LOTS of egg hunting pictures to follow ...

and they're OFF!

Finding her 1st egg of this year's hunt!

our super-sweet nephew Tucker finding his
1st egg ... EVER! He is such a sweet boy &
will be 1 year old in a few weeks!

She had to hold her bucket like she carries
a purse the whole time! She loves purses!

My brother-in-law Michael and Tucker ... Tucker was very satisfied
with the 3 eggs he found! He enjoyed watching his brother &
cousin run around the yard hunting eggs!

I really didn't get many pictures of Mason or Tucker ... Kendall was busy running all over the yard this year (what a difference a year makes!) and Mason was running in the opposite direction! But we did manage to get them all seated together for a picture or two ...

the 3 cousins ... Tucker {nearly 1}, Kendall {nearly 2} and Mason {3.5}
Mason loooooves Kendall ... and Kendall looooooves Tucker!

sweet cousins!

sweet brothers ... in the Easter plaid!

she would be saying "CHEEEESE" here ...
she just started saying cheese & scrunching
up her nose with her huge smile.

I'm going on record saying this outfit Kendall is wearing is one of my most favorite outfits ... EVER! I just think it is sooooo cute & she is wears it well. It is a pain to iron & white for a 2 year old just spells MESS, but I don't care ... it's worth it! It's so adorable and spring-like. My sister, Estee aka Auntie E got this super-cute boutique outfit for Kendall and I LOVE it! {If the neck of the shirt wasn't so tight fitting over her head, which causes a bit of a meltdown when putting it on, I'd have her wear it every week! Her meltdown is over once the shirt is over her head ... it's just the getting-on process that is a bit tight ... don't worry, mom.}

Easter morning ... Kendall awoke to a basket {bucket} of goodies ... she went right over to her bucket and looked through everything. First thing she pulled out was 2 little baby doll bottles of milk & juice (she LOVES baby dolls & everything to do with babies right now!). She also got a Bible Songs sing-along/press the buttons book, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse coloring book, a waterpaint book, Little People go the Zoo lift-a-flap book, a soft white bunny rabbit (which she calls "hop") and the new Veggie Tales DVD "Twas the Night Before Easter". She is so funny ... she oooooh's & aaaaahhhh's over everything ... not matter how big or small, she loves it all!

We tried to get a few family pictures before church, but Kendall was not havin' it! {In fact, she wasn't givin' out any smiles in pictures at all on Easter Sunday & then it rained after church, so I'm glad we got a few shots in before church.}

my mom "Grams" and my grandmother MawMaw and Kendall {and "Baby"
Bear, who HAD to be in the picture, if Kendall was going to be in it!}

For Easter, Grams gave Kendall a sweet little pink purse with a beaded handle and a cute little yellow chick that chirps in your hand ... Kendall LOVES them both and had to take her new purse to church {and everywhere} with her!

After church, we went to my parents' house for a big Easter Sunday dinner with MawMaw, Aunt Shanny and Sarah. We were planning on having another fun little egg hunt for Kendall, but it rained so we just enjoyed some family time indoors. Kendall opened her 2nd birthday present from MawMaw, who wasn't going to be able to come to her party the next weekend. {For super cute pictures on that sweet event between a great-grandmother & her great-granddaughter, click here!}

Then we loaded up & drove back home ... a quick 24 hours with some oh-so-special memories!

Happy Easter ... from our family to your's!

Birthday Fun with MawMaw

2011-04-25T20:51:00.000-05:00

While we were in Abilene for Easter, MawMaw {Kendall's great-grandmother ... and Kendall says "MawMaw" so perfectly sweet ... it's too cute!} wanted to give Kendall her birthday gift from her, because she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it to DFW for her party on Saturday.

Kendall and MawMaw were so sweet to watch enteracting ... a memory I will always cherish! Growing up, my sisters and I collected Precious Moments figuires ... the one thing none of us ever started was the "birthday train" ... we were already older when we started. I can remember always liking the birthday train and thinking once I had my own kids, they would collect the birthday train. So, when I was pregant with Kendall, for part of my baby shower gift MawMaw gave me the 1st piece to her very own Precious Moments birthday train. Last year, MawMaw added the #1 piece ... a sweet little lamb.

And Kendall opened up MawMaw's personalize homemade card & birthday train animal #2 on Sunday ... a seal balancing a ball on his nose ...

Thank you, MawMaw! We cherish this birthday train from you!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

I am sooooo behind on posting all the goings-on of our family ... and one day, I will get caught up ... I just know it! But until that day ... Happy Easter!

Jesus died ... was buried ... AND ROSE AGAIN! He is alive and we are saved! To GOD be the Glory ... GREAT Things HE has Done!

Happy Easter from our family!

(Unfortunately, Kendall was not in the mood to have any more pictures taken by the time we got to taking a family photo ... she said "Done. All Done." ... and she was ... and so was "Baby" bear (her lovey)! So this is the best we got ...)

We had a fun 24 hours in Abilene for our Easter weekend ... I will post about that VERY soon!

2nd Birthday Party Invite

2011-04-20T16:40:00.001-05:00

Here is Little Miss Birthday Girl's party invitation ...
for her 2nd birthday {snif. snif.}

I am really having a hard time saying that she is about to be a 2 year old ... it is going by soooo fast and I feel like this past year went by quicker than her 1st year! It is truly amazing to look back at how God brought Kendall into this world as a 2lb 6oz tiny little baby and be able to remember & feel how all of that felt at the time ... how God changed our lives ... our faith ... our family ... forever! And then to compare where she was and where we were at that time ... to where she is now ... this perfectly healthy, hilarious, talkative, smart & sweet little girl ... who will be turning 2 in just a few days! God has done a mighty work in her body & in our lives ... and we are eternally grateful! We truly do not have the words to express our joy & thankfulness of getting to be Kendall's parents ... and me getting to be a stay-at-home Mommy to her!

(Sorry, but I've blurred out some of the details on the invitation ... never can be to careful these days ... sad, isn't?!?)

We are excited about celebrating her 2nd birthday with many friends & family! We are praying for beautiful spring {no rain} weather & lots of birthday fun!

I have to give a HUGE thank you shout to my sister ... aka Auntie E ... who designed & created Kendall's invite (and several other coordinating items that will be at the party)! And we are soooo excited you & Uncle T will be at the party ... all the way from Florida!

Valentine's Day weekend

2011-02-15T23:17:00.049-06:00

We've had a great Valentine's Day weekend ... we really don't do a lot on this holiday, but we did enjoy a DATE NIGHT this year! Our sweet friends the Rocha family came over to babysit Kendall while we went out ... and since we were in such a rush to exit, we didn't get a picture of us on our date nor of Kendall with her babysitters Mrs Leesa and Erin (their 6 year daughter ... aka Kendall's 1st babysitter, as I have overheard her tell some of her friends ... sooo precious!). We even forgot our camera, so we didn't get one picture, but we had a great night out, just the 2 of us! We went to Southlake Town Center and had dinner reservations at Brio Tuscany Grill (soooo yummy!) and watched True Grit at the movie theater (Academy Award Nominated for Best Picture (and many other nominations, as well). It's a western re-make, which we did not know at the time, but it's a really good movie and we both liked it ... definitely not a "romantic comedy" type movie most people normally pick on a Valentine's date, but it was good, nonetheless!

On Monday ... Valentine's Day ... Kendall & I received a phone call from my sister/her Auntie E ... asking if we would be home today ... that something was being delivered to Kendall. We were spending the day at home and we did receive a delivery ... we opened it after Daddy came home ...

Kendall's 1st Valentine's Day cookie bouquet ... from her Auntie E & Uncle T

Kendall also opened her little Valentine's present from us ... a plush pink dog (with a pull string as it's tail) that plays a lullaby, a music CD of fun preschool songs (which we LOVE to rock out to!), and some much needed big girl sippy cups (with straws!), plates & bowls ...

sweet hug for pink dog

figuring out the tail pull-string

our sweet pea

new sippy cups, plates & bowls

Happy Valentine's Day 2011 from our family to your's!

cookie decorating par-ty!

2011-02-12T23:10:00.048-06:00

On Friday, Kendall & I attended our 1st Valentine's cookie & mini-cupcake decorating party ... hosted by the Ridgell family! (Jamie hosts her Vday party for all the kids for the past 4-5 years, but this is our 1st time to attend, since Kendall is just now getting a little older to participate.)

Mommy with my little love bug!

It was a house full of Mommys & their kids ... 18 kids, to be exact ... all 5 years old & under ... and we had a great time, we really did ... even though, I know it sounds like a crazy time! We had delicious chicken salads (with homemade Italian dressing) and the kids had chicken nuggets & tons of fruit ...

Kendall & her little friend Emerson chowing down

and then the main event ... it was time to decorate heart-shaped sugar cookies & strawberry pink mini-cupcakes! And yes, for this special occasion, even Kendall got to join in the fun ...

She hasn't had any kind of dessert like this since her 1st birthday cupcake experience ... nearly a year ago ... so this was a special occasion, indeed! She enjoyed the few bites of her cookie that she ate ... she was more concerned over the pink icing that was on her fingers & would not come off ... she does enjoy being clean! Ahhh, I do LOVE this girl!

I am so happy to be able to be a stay-at-home mommy and participate in fun little events like this with her! (That's an extra special THANK YOU to Kendall's Daddy, who works so hard to provide for his little family, so that we can enjoy being at home together! I sooooo totally Double HEART him!) Happy Valentine's Day!

it's Super Sunday, baby!

2011-02-06T22:52:00.003-06:00

Super Bowl XLV is here in Dallas this year ... too bad the Dallas Cowboys aren't playing in the Super Bowl this year ... or even Ash's favorite team the San Francisco 49ers ... or the Indianapolis Colts (with my favorite Peyton Manning) ... or (my list could go on) ...

This year, for Super Bowl XLV in Dallas ... it's the Green Bay Packers vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers! And although neither of these teams get too many of our cheers (especially the Steelers, from me! I don't know what it is, but I just don't like the Steelers ... but I know a lot of folks do ... I just don't.), we did watch and have a little Super Bowl party for the 3 of us! Ash really enjoys watching the Super Bowl ... the game and the commercials, so once it's on, he likes to focus on that. Of course, it's a little different watching experience with Kendall in our family now ... and he amends his Super Bowl rules for her ... thank goodness! ha!

I was cheering for the Packers ... and Ash was cheering for the Steelers (he said he'd had them for his defense on his Fantasy Football teams the past couple of years and he'd always done well by them!) ... Kendall was cheering for football, period. She really does enjoy the game ... calls it "BOOM" (because of all the tackling) ... will say "Ohhhh NO!" at times she deems are appropriate ... and always claps loudly when we do or the crowd on tv cheers ... So let the game begin!

literally seconds from the game starting ... it's showtime, Baby!

hangin' out with Daddy ... this girl got the best
seat in the house!

Kendall reacting to the game ... oh, how she
makes her Daddy so proud!

Packers did pretty well the whole game, I must report ... scoring right from the start ... and although the Steelers did a lot to come back, the Packers held them off ... and with a final score of 31-25, the Green Bay Packers are this year's World Champions! Go Pac Go!

and the snow days just keep comin'

2011-02-04T19:16:00.052-06:00

We are history in the makin' around here in Texas! We've been setting record low temperatures, like 4 days of below freezing temperatures ... 4 days! And school closings on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday ... and now today (Friday), too ... that is 4 days straight ... c.ra.zy!

So, we are now officially on Day 4 of these snow/ice/sleet days ... it is amazing that we've had this kind of weather for the past 3 days and today it's just been snowing & snowing all day! It is sooo pretty ... and snow flakes are huge and it's accumulating fast. I truly love the snow ... probably because we don't get it or get to see it very often ...

But ... after these 4 days of Kendall & I being in the house & all of our activities of the week canceled due to the terrible road conditions ... we are getting a little (really, alot!) stir-crazy! I totally LOVE being a stay-at-home mommy to our sweet Kendall, but we enjoy being out of the house & going or doing ... and we both like people! We didn't have our preschool on Tuesday or Thursday (which are the big events for us each week) and I don't think I have ever missed preschool so much! I can't imagine how we'd be doing if I hadn't accepted their teaching job this year, instead of waiting another year, like I had originally planned to!

I am not complaining about this snow ... I do enjoy the cold weather (since we can stay warm) & the fact that we are actually experiencing winter weather here in the winter season ... this snow & ice will soon melt away and we will be enduring 7-8 months of intense heat all to quickly ... I just like to be out & about a little, if we please.

Now we will enjoy our weekend with Daddy home ... we will definitely be getting out of this house ... the weather is supposed to let up a bit for the weekend ... but more snow & ice is supposedly coming again next week!

With Super Bowl XLV (that's # 45) being here in the metroplex at Cowboys Stadium, this weather has certainly made things interesting as they prepare the stadium & all the hoopla events that are supposed to be happening all this week ... but the show must go on ... and come Sunday, it's Super Bowl time! We will be watching it from the warm comfort of our home ... this year. (GO PAC GO!)

it's a snow day

2011-02-01T19:13:00.024-06:00

Today ... February 1st ... Kendall is 21 months old today! And as a special treat, we woke this morning to find a beautiful white blanket of snow covered everything outside ... I just LOVE snow ... this is our 1st snow of 2011 ... Daddy's work closed down & our preschool closed & everything else was closed due to the snow, ice & sleet, so we enjoyed our snow day together at home! We had several snow days last year, but this is Kendall's 1st snow day where she got to explore & check it out on her own ... she loved it and did NOT want to come back inside, even though she was freezing and her little nose was bright red!

We got all bundled up ... it was 15 degrees outside ... and since it was just 63 degrees the day before, that was quite a change in temperature ... gotta love Texas weather! Kendall wore her mittens (and left them on) for the 1st time ... she was not too happy about it at first, but she did decide it was better to have them on! So, out we went ... to brave the cold and play in the snow ...

getting her 1st look & taking her 1st steps in snow

happy snow girl!

checking out the snow that was on her boots ...
she was quite concerned it wasn't coming off!
She may look exactly like her Daddy, but she's
got at least a little of her Mommy in her!

Cassie was NOT to be left out of our family adventure out in the snow!

She really wanted to swing "wweee-wweee" ... but found herself all
bundled up to be a little challenging ... ha!

It's not warmed up past 18 degrees all day today ... the roads are still really bad out ... nearly all the school districts have already announced they will be closed again tomorrow ... so we're gearing up for another day inside!
Happy 21 months old, Kendall Grace! These have been the best 21 months of our lives!

big girl pig tails

2011-01-27T23:47:00.002-06:00

Today was school-shirt day at our preschool ... and it was also Kendall's 1st big girl pig tails day! She has worn little pig tails a couple of times before, but her hair has grown so much over these past few months that today I was able to get ALL of her hair up in 2 pig tails for the 1st time ... Daddy says this is his favorite hairstyle on her ... although I love it too, it makes her look much more "toddler-ish" than "baby-ish" to me ... but that's just me, having to come to grips with our sweet little baby growing up ... all.to.fast!

Kendall and her big girl pig tails ... at 20.5 months ... Jan 27.

Oh, how I looooove my sweet Kendall Grace!

Little Miss 20 lbs!

2011-01-25T15:54:00.059-06:00

our Kendall at 20 months (and just for historical sake, will be 21 months in 7 more days) now weighs 20 lbs!

(We could tell she was having a bit of a growth spurt and decided to weigh her at home ... fresh out of a bath, with a clean dry diaper on & footed fleece sleeper ... she stood on the scale & it read 20.2 lbs! (In the last 2 months, she has gained a little over 1.5 lbs! Way to go, Kendall!) Although it isn't the official doctor's office scale we've used since she was discharged from the NICU we are thrilled she's hit the 20 lb mark! We aren't scheduled for a doctor visit with her pedi until 24 months, unless she gets sick before then ... so far so good ... so we are willing to wait until May!)

Although this milestone of hitting 20 lbs isn't really a big deal for most children, it is for Kendall! These days, most kids are 20 lbs by the time they turn 1 ... and many are 20 lbs before they even turn 1. There is also the children's car seat law ... using a rear-facing baby car seat until they are 1 year and 20 lbs. Kendall has been riding in her little original baby carrier since we brought her home from the NICU at 8 weeks old ... but we have finally given it up! Daddy replaced it with her new car seat and now she is riding front-facing ... and loooooovin' it!

Monday night ... Kendall's 1st ride in her new big girl car seat ... on the way to eat dinner with Huni & GranGran (on their last night with us before flying back to the Ukraine) ... (We had to wake her up from her nap so she wasn't all smiles for the camera on her 1st trip)

On our way to preschool on Tuesday ... her 2nd ride ... she loooved seeing everything and talked about everything she saw the entire ride to & from school!

Excuse me, but when did you get so big? I can't believe you will be 2 years old in only 3 short months! You are our precious sweet girl & still can't believe that God allowed us to be your parents! We love you, Kendall Lou-Who!

Little Miss Gymnast

2011-01-13T22:12:00.088-06:00

On Wednesday, Kendall officially became a little gymnast ... at the ripe old age of 20 months!

We got our city's recreational center's class schedule in the mail for their spring classes ... I'll admit I've looked through previous ones in the past, thinking about the day that Kendall will be able to take one of their little classes, but most of them require the kids be 2 years old.

Kendall is now old enough for the (FREE) Mommy & Me "Toddler Time" class at the Library each week on Mondays for 30 minutes ... where the children's librarian reads several books & has several activities for the kids to do, for a particular theme each week. We were able to go for the 1st time in December and she really enjoyed that. Now that the holidays are over, I'm hoping we'll be able to go more regularly.

I saw the Mommy & Me "Tot Tumbling" class for 16 months - 3 years in the gymnastics programs list ... and signed us up! Her class is 8 weeks long ... 30 minutes once a week ... for a low, low price of $22 ... I just couldn't pass it up!

I never took gymnastics, so I really wasn't sure what to expect of a class with this young of kids, but we were excited! I got her all bundled up (since we're actually having winter-like weather right now ... it was in the 20's in the morning of our class!) ... and with "Baby" in one hand and "Blanket" in the other ... we were off & ready to go!

It took us a little longer to get there then I'd anticipated ... and you know how much I hate to be late to something ... especially when it's on the 1st day! We got into the gym and all the other little kids & their Mommys were circled up and had already begun. Her gymnastics teacher, Ms. Tammy, is super sweet & really good with all the kids ... I'm hoping to get a picture of her next week!

During circle time, we did our stretches, played with a parachute, hopped on the tumbling floor mat ... and then we were off to the obstacle course and the uneven bars with Ms. Tammy. Kendall had such a great time! The 1st and 2nd somersault, she was a little unsure of, but that's about all it took ... I've even seen her try to do it all by herself after we came home & today as well, ha! She loved the obstacle course and giggled & squealed with delight nearly the entire time ... she was such a hoot! She is a bit small, so several of the obstacles were very challenging for her, due to her lack of leg length at this point, but she didn't let that stop her ... she just kept on trying ... she did so good!

crawl inside and then back out of the donut

going under

going through

going over (this one was especially tricky!)

jump onto each color (she also enjoyed running onto each color)

hop!

looking at her stamp she got from Ms. Tammy

She was having so much fun, she didn't want to go! She just kept saying and signing (at the same time) "more, more, more". She loved running around the big bouncy tumbling mat. I think she's going to like this gymnastics stuff! (We took one picture together ... she isn't too happy because we are about to leave & she wanted to stay and play!)

As we were getting all of our stuff together, the next little class of 3's & 4's (and no Mommys!) came in ... they were soooo adorable! We stayed to watch them for a few minutes ... Kendall's eyes were glued!

I think these will be a fun 8 weeks!

catching up

2011-01-11T17:14:00.000-06:00

whew ... I am waaaaay behind on blogging but I am determined to get myself caught back up ... too much fun & memorable stuff (well, at least for our own scrapbook's sake) not to get caught up on ... I've got a list and yes, I will be back-blogging (you know me ... I have to have this stuff in all in order!) ... I'll add a link to the blog posts below as I get them posted ... so please check back!

finishing up for 2010:
Mommy's bday
our Christmas card
random December fun
visiting Santa
Christmas in Abilene
Christmas with the Rogers
our 2010 in Review

2011:
Movin' on Up

Well, that's my list ... at least for now!

if you're happy & you know it ...

2011-01-09T21:49:00.005-06:00

Kendall LOOOOOOVES music ... I mean, really LOVES it ... all types of music! She loves to listen to music, dance to it, and now she's started singing along & doing the motions to certain songs (especially the ones she sings at preschool and in her Bible classes at our church).

Ashley put this little video together of Kendall singing her (current) favorite song ... "If you're happy & you know it" ... she calls this song "Amen" but says it like "A mean" ... we can be anywhere, doing anything, when she's gets the notion to sing this song ... and once we've sung it (with the motions, of course) one time, she'll say "again" or "more" repeatedly ... singing it one time through is never enough for her!

Since she really only sings a few words of this song, at this point, I'm singing along too ... please forgive my singing! Here's our Kendall ... at 20 months ... in her music video debut ...

Thanks for preserving our precious memories of our precious girl, Daddy!

our Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-22T23:34:00.001-06:00

after lots of planning ... big visions ... great intentions ... for a fantastic, amazing, creative, custom Christmas card this year, I found myself completely out of time to get a card put together! I FINALLY got our Christmas cards created, ordered, picked up, stuffed, addressed, stamped & delivered to the post office on December 23 ... but at least they made it out before Christmas Day!

Here is our family's Christmas Card for 2010 ...