Christmas

I was determined to get a picture of our family this Christmas.  It was difficult and it took many attempts but here it is.  At least we are all looking at the camera.  It is amazing how hard that it is with two little ones.  Especially since Carter has to be bribed to pose for pictures. 

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  The kids are at such a fun age to appreciate the magic of Christmas and how fun it is to get so many presents.  A few highlights for Carter was Santa bringing him an Art Thing (Easel) and the huge remote control tractor that his grandparents gave him.  Kennedy's favorite things have been all the ribbons and bows lying around and any paper or plastic she can get her hands on.  She is keeping us on our toes.  At least we did a great job cleaning up all the mess quickly this year and have already taken down the Christmas tree. 

Oh, Christmas is so much fun, but exhausting too, and I think Nate and I are both relieved to finally have it over.  Now we can spend the week enjoying all the new stuff.  We are so lucky to live near so much family and be able to spend these special holidays with them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

The Jumper

This was a hit with Carter and is now loved by Kennedy.  It is also a great place to put her to keep her happy while I get a few things done.  Plus, what a workout!

I've had my camera for a few years now and am just finally learning how do fun stuff on it.  I look forward to more interesting photos in the future. Here are my two adorable children.  Need I say more.

The Many Faces of Kennedy

Here are some fun pictures taken with Carter's camera.  They are not the best quality but they sure are fun. Why don't adult cameras have all these silly options.  Here is a regular photo so you can compare.  Obviously the real thing is the cutest!

A Tooth

It's official.  Kennedy cut her first tooth yesterday.  That puts her a couple months ahead of Carter, who got his first tooth at 8 1/2 months.  I can't believe she is already almost 7 months old.  She has gotten so big and is in constant motion.  I can't wait until she's walking!

Currently Kennedy likes to put everything in her mouth, especially crinkly plastic and cloth stuff.  She also loves to bang things over and over on the table or floor.  She is super happy and smiley most of the time and wants to be constantly moving.  Diaper changes are a battle these days.  She is still army crawling but is getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth lots.  She still spits up a bunch, which is not fun, but we have her on reflux medicine and special formula that is at least helping with that.  Hopefully she'll grow out of that soon.  Other than that she is still a super good sleeper and we are so lucky to have her in our family.  Have I mentioned lately that adoption is the coolest thing ever!

Let it Snow

We had our first decent snow today.  After purchasing snow boots for Carter a couple of days ago he has been itching to play in the snow ever since.  Luckily the two inches we got ended up being enough to play in even though it probably won't be around tomorrow.  Nate and Carter had a great time.  Here's the proof.  Notice all the grass that is peeking through the snow.    I guess that is one advantage of living on a hill--great for sledding.

Trimming the Tree

We got out the tree pretty early this year.  I knew I had several advent things that started Dec. 1st so I thought we'd go ahead and put up the tree for Family Home Evening a couple of days before.  This is our new pre-lit tree that we got after Christmas last year.  With all the trimmings included it probably only cost us $15.  It looks a little like Christmas meets Vegas (especially with the colored lights turned on), but it is fun anyway and Carter had a blast putting it together.  All the ornaments are glass so we figured we probably wouldn't be able to put it up next year when Kennedy will be into everything.  Now I just need to finish putting up the rest of the Christmas decorations. 

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a nice thanksgiving this year.  It is a little crazy going to two places and eating two turkey dinners--but it is so nice to see all of Nate's family.  Some of them hadn't even met Kennedy yet.  The best part is of course dressing up Kennedy in such cute clothes for everyone to admire.  Isn't she adorable.  Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of the outfit, but you can fill in the missing pieces.  Thanks granny for such a cute skirt and sweater. 

Fun around the House

We've been hanging around the house quite a bit lately now that Kennedy is getting a little older.  It seems like life is a little easier if she gets decent naps.  We also have spent several of these days never getting out of our pajamas.  But it has also made for some fun times around the house.  Now that she is a little less fragile Carter is enjoying being able to play with her a bit more.  I can't wait till she is 3 and he has a playmate!

The Campout

Well, here is Nate and Carter in the living room with the new tent all ready for a campout.  Carter was so excited to put up the tent and sleep with Daddy in it.  Unfortunately, the story doesn't have the best ending seeing as how Carter couldn't ever fall asleep so he was finally forced to go up to his bed, and the tent was all alone in the living room overnight.  I guess he's not quite ready for scouts yet. 

I couldn't help myself.  I had to add these couple of pictures.  This was at Granny's house.  I went in to check on Kennedy and found her as you see in the first picture.  I thought it was so cute that she was holding onto the bumper and resting her mouth on it ( I think she had actually been sucking on it) that I had to go get the camera and snap a picture.  And wouldn't you know the second I snapped the picture and the flash went off she opened her eyes and smiled.  Adorable.  I took the second picture right after the first.  Could she be any cuter?

On the Move

Kennedy is on the move.  In the two weeks we were in California she figured out the army crawl.  She can get pretty much anywhere she wants to now.  I must admit to not being exactly ready for this much mobility.  She is only 5 1/2 months afterall.  No signs of sitting up all by herself yet though.  In fact she really doesn't like to sit.  She can't get herself anywhere that way.  Daddy was sure surprised when he saw her.  Carter and I had kept it a secret so he could see it for himself when we got back.  Oh, Babyproofing--here I come. 

Granny's House

Well we had a great time at Granny and Grandpa's house.  Here are a few highlights.  You'll have to bear with me since we did a ton of stuff while we were there.  These are a few of my favorite pics.

The Sleepover

 The Park

 The Blessing

Fairytale Town

 The Airplane

The Cuties

The Costumes

The Tree

The Tub

The Treasure Hunt

What a Cutie!

We finally got out the Johnny Jumper.  Kennedy is having fun with it.  She hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet, but she loves the freeedom that it gives her to move around at will.  Plus, Carter loves spinning her around in it. 

Catch Up

I thought I'd try to catch up on some of the things we've done lately.  Here we are at our annual trip to Kings Island (amusement park) with Nate's work.  It is always a ton of fun.  Kennedy pretty much just got to ride around in the stroller though.  The boys had the most fun I think.   

Here are my adorable kids chillin' on our new couch.

The boys headed to the Red's game this week.  The team is acutally doing really good right now and have made it into the post season for the first time in 15 years.  They had a really fun time being at the stadium and pigging out on junk food.

This picture is a little shout out to Kennedy's birth fam.  The Penguins are a Pittsburgh hockey team.  They got this for her in the hospital when they visited after her birth.  She certainly looks like she'll be a fan.  

And it has arrived--Baby Food.  You know it is so exciting with the first kid and pretty much just one more chore that you don't have time for with the second.  My doctor felt that I needed to start Kennedy on baby food at four months since she is a formula baby.  I haven't been super consistent but I pretty much got out of the first week or so since she was sick.  She seems to like the rice cereal and we'll see if I even get around to adding anything else before heading to California.  My goal at this point is just to try and remember to fit it in once a day. 

Our trip to Children's

Well, here she is in her carseat on our way to the hospital.  For those of you who hadn't heard about it, I had to take Kennedy to the ER a few weeks ago.  She had a cold and then the right side of her face started swelling up.  They believed the culprit was an infected tear duct (which is really quite rare).  I took her to the Dr. and they put her on some oral antibiotics.  But she continued to get worse so they sent us to Children's for a few rounds of IV antibiotics.  They don't mess around when infections are that close to the eye.  But we were in and out in less than 24 hours and the only traumatic part was getting her IV started.  They had to try four times!  It was awful.  Luckily I have lots of experience with needles and was able to be strong for Kennedy.  I'm not sure if they picture really captures how bad she looked. 

Update

Well, for some reason I just haven't found the time to post lately.  But we are all doing well.  The camera is currently with Nate and Carter at the Reds game so I'll have to put up some pics later.

The weather has finally decided to cool off so we can actually head outside and play.  Carter sure loves being outdoors.  Kennedy is doing great.  She is still a super easy baby and does well being dragged around town and not getting scheduled naps.  She is also all over the place.  This morning I ran upstairs to the bathroom and when I came back down she was about five feet from where I had left her.  Instead of being satisfied with her own toys she had made her way (via rolling) over to Carter's trio blocks.  She sure was proud of herself too.  She is usually content and really likes to sing-song scream right now, it is adorable.  She also likes to be tickled. 

We got new couches yesterday, Hooray!  I finally feel like our furniture looks like it was on purpose, not just college couches.  Some of the pillows need a little stuffing, but overall I am very happy with them.  If only I had more space in my house!  I'll put up pictures sometime if I think of it. 

That is about all that is going on here in Kentucky.  I can't wait to head to California in a couple of weeks to visit my fam.  I am a little nervous about the whole two kids in the airport all by myself though.  Wish me luck.  Too bad Kennedy has a horrible tendency to have major blowouts.  Let's just hope that doesn't happen in flight!  Carter will do fabulously I'm sure.  He absolutely loves flying and asks to do it regularly.  I may have a little pilot in the making, following in the footsteps of my dad and brother. 

Our little Worker!

Carter is quite the worker.  The other day we spent the afternoon outside Nate's parents house fixing up the yard.  Carter helped us clean the siding, trim the bushes, and spread some mulch.  He was so determined that he continued pruning the bushes for about an hour after we were all finished.  We kept trying to get him to stop and come in the house be he just kept on working.  If only he could put that motivation into cleaning our house! hee, hee

Kennedy is all over the place now.  Here she is rolling over.  She rolls over both directions and scoots around on her back a bit too.  I can't believe how fast she is growing!

Jammie Time

Kennedy is "praying" all the time now.  It's really cute.  If her hands aren't in her mouth then they are holding each other.  I even tried separating them repeatedly and she just kept putting them back together again. 

Could her little smiling face be any cuter?

Well, this is Kennedy's favorite song.  She always smiles and coo's when I sing it, even if I'm singing it to Carter.  Sorry about the slightly annoying rendition by me, but hey, I'm singing to a baby. 

She is becoming really vocal and is always making herself heard when we are sitting around the house.  She is also becoming somewhat mobile too.  She never seems to be in the same place that you set her down at.  This is new for me since Carter was never a scooter.  I can't believe how big she is.  I'll be starting baby food in just a few weeks.  Crazy! 

More Updates

Carter loves his little sister.  He is always hugging on her.  He has started to get really rough, which makes Nate and I nervous, but doesn't seem to bother her at all.  Kennedy loves bathtime.  In fact she cries whenever we take her out of the bath because she is so unhappy to leave the water.  I think she is going to be a little water baby.  She doesn't even seem to mind when she gets water in her face, let's hope it stays that way.

Kennedy is so smiley all the time now, we love it.  She is such a happy baby.  She has been such a joy, and so easy.  Except for a little excess spit up, she is pretty much an angel.  It is so fun to have a little girl. 

Updates

We finally have a working camera again!  So I'm trying to play catch up.  This first picture is from the children's museum.  What is it with kid's and shopping carts.  Not to mention that they all fight over the metal ones rather than use the plastic variety that is also available.  But Carter loves it there and I am so glad that we have a membership! 

This picture may seem a bit odd, but makes sense when you realize that Carter had his first trip to the dentist this past week.  I was so nervous.  He is such a pill about having his teeth brushed and people that he doesn't know touching him that I was worried that it would be a disaster.  We read some kid's books about going to the dentist for a couple days before and he kept saying he didn't want to go.  But once he got there, to my relief (and amazement) he actually did great.  He even let the dentist actually clean his teeth, which he doesn't usually do on the first visit unless the kids are really calm.  Now granted, he was on my lap, but the dental assistant said that he did much better than a ten year old they had in that same morning.  I was so proud of him.  We went to the museum as a special treat and I let him pick where ever he wanted to go to eat.  He picked Gold Star, of course, and has been quoting their slogan, "Gold Star Chili, it's Cincinnati's favorite" for the last several days.