Milkshake Mustache

Just a little glimpse into the future if he is anything like his daddy.  Oreo cookie milkshakes apparently do a great job making faux facial hair.

Stripper

Kennedy has started taking her shirt off all the time.  I have to admit it was funny at first and now it is just plain vexing!  This is what she looks like at least twice in the night.  Not to mention that sometimes she gets her arms caught and she cries in her crib until we finally go up and rescue her.  I can't wait till it cools off so we can go to one piece jammies.  Hopefully she won't figure out zippers anytime soon.  If so I guess we'll be duct taping them on as someone I know once mentioned she had to do with her daughter.  I guess I can be grateful that so far it is mostly just her pajamas.  I have only seen her take her shirt off in the house a couple of times.  Lets hope that doesn't change or I really will have "that kid" that always strips.  

Emergency

So last week I was upstairs brushing my teeth when Carter came running up with the phone in his hand and tears in his eyes.  He urgently told me to hang up the phone because he didn't know how.  Obviously I was suspicious.  So I hung up the phone and low and behold two seconds later it was ringing.  Can you guess who it was?

Yep, my son has officially learned how to dial 911.  It was Campbell County dispatch.  The woman told me that they had received a call with a hang up.  They returned the call, were hung up on again and then I answered.  Needless to say I was sort of embarrassed and totally apologetic.  October is fire safety month and Carter had been to visit the Fire and Police Stations that week in preschool.  He was also able to practice on a 911 simulator at a safety fair a couple of weeks before that.

Carter ran into the bedroom in a complete melt down.  He certainly knew that what he had done was a big deal and he was upset about it for a good 20 minutes.  So upset in fact I felt no need to discipline him, he'd obviously learned his lesson.  We talked about what had happened later when he was calm.  All in all, it was rather comical.  I seem to remember doing something similar at some point in my childhood.

Preschool

Well, preschool started this week.  I think it is going to take some time to adjust to.  Carter goes M-Th's for 2 1/2 hours.  I think he was really needing something like this.  I love his teacher and they do some of the most cool and creative things.

The first two days were filled with tears as I dropped him off.  I had to run out the door so he didn't run back to the car.  But he seemed really happy when he came home.  Today, his 3rd day, he didn't cry at all!  I was so happy.  It may have had something to do with the fact that we've been bribing him into not crying.  I wonder how long that will last.  He is currently out with Daddy for his special treat for not crying today.

Overall, I am really proud of him and think he's going to love it.  I also enjoy having some one on one time with Kennedy (or myself if she is napping!).  I am now officially part of the mom's drop off and pick up club for the next 18 years.

Oh, and just to show what a bad mom I am, I didn't even manage to take a picture of his first day.  By the time I remembered he refused to have it taken.  Hopefully I'll get a picture at some point.

Proof

Okay, so this one is for the Fam.  This is proof that your 30 year old nail-biting sister/daughter/aunt has in fact been growing her own nails.  I've actually even had to cut and file them, which is a new and scary thing for me.  But all of my nail art is done on my natural nail with regular nail polish.  Who would have thought that I would finally let my nails grow out and start painting them like crazy?

Oh, and yes that is me, not a stand in of one of my friends ;)

Rockin'

This chair has been with us since before both of these kiddos were here.  It has made it through late night feedings and endless hours of TV browsing.  However, I am not sure it is going to make it through Kennedy.  She currently takes any opportunity she can to take the bottom cushion off and climb into it.  She loves to rock it all by herself.  The cushion is looking a little worse for wear with a few holes in the bottom.  I really need to sew it up so it will last through many more years of rough kiddos and TV browsing.

Nails

 Well here are a few examples of my new hobby.  These are the few I have managed to remember to take a picture of.  The blue nails are actually a friend's not mine, but the others are all me.  Toes close up just aren't that flattering, oh well.  I'm totally addicted and apparently I'm not the only one seeing as how I can spend hours looking at Nail Art on YouTube and other blogs.  There are worse hobbies, right?  I'm sure Kennedy will appreciate Mommy's hobby someday soon.  If anyone is interested in getting started with stamping, let me know.

Big Boy Fun!

Carter got a new toy that is not much of a toy at all.......his own bow & arrow. Here are a couple pictures from his first time shooting it with Daddy. Check out that form!!

My New Obsession

One Word:  Konad

I'm addicted

(if you want to know what it is, look it up on YouTube)

Pool partying

We've managed to spend quite a few summer days at the pool this year.  We are lucky enough to have friends and relatives that have them or have access to them.  Today we went with our friend Rachel to her pool and had a great time.  Kennedy has a love/hate relationship with the water.  Half the time she loves it and the other half of the time she doesn't want anything to do with it. She does like to wander around a lot which drives me crazy as she will just all of the sudden decide to walk into the pool.  Not the best age for swimming!    Thanks so much to Rachel for the pool and the extra set of eyes and hands.  Carter is loving the water and I think by next year he'll be a full fledged swimmer.  I can't wait.  Oh, and I noticed the smudge on the lens after I took all these pictures, Ugh!

Jump Zone

We went to Jump Zone (one of those inflatables places) with some friends a couple of weeks ago.  Fun was had by all.  The older kiddos entertained themselves going down the slides over and over together while the little ones played in the tiny tot area.  Kennedy thoroughly enjoyed herself and spent a good portion of the time running away from me.  That is when she wasn't in the cozy coupe!

Fun with Friends

Here are a couple of cute pics from my friend Erika's house while she was babysitting my kiddos for me.  Thanks Erika!  It nice to have such good friends close by.  Carter talks about Evan all the time.

My Two Little Suckers

Sharing their love of Dum-Dums!

New Doo's

My kids hair just keeps growing.  Kennedy's is finally long enough to get into a few tiny pony tails and Carter hasn't had a haircut in so long he's looking a bit like a beach bum.  But I love how blonde it has gotten.  I think that's probably the main reason I haven't insisted that it be cut.  That's one of the things that I love about hair, it is constantly changing so it doesn't really matter what you do with it.  I just can't wait until Kennedy's hair is thick enough to keep clips in it.

The Soloist

The first time I ever heard Carter sing this song was as we drove past the Nauvoo temple for the first time.  Nate and I were both totally touched by it.  I actually didn't even realize he knew all the words (hooray for primary).  On our trip home he was kind enough to do an encore performance that I managed to get on video.

Carthage

Here are a few pics from our visit to Carthage.  We were really glad that we took the time to visit although I'm not sure the kids enjoyed it too much.  It was interesting to see into the prophet Joseph Smith's last couple  days and hear so much church history.  There's Carter in the window that Joseph fell from after being shot.  He didn't really like it when Nate left him alone in one of the cells though.  Seeing Carthage and Nauvoo made me much more interested in the history of the church and made me realize how much I have been sadly lacking in knowledge of it.  It also made me super grateful that I live in the here and now!

Nauvoo

We had a great time visiting Nauvoo and seeing a bunch of my extended family.  We were able to see the pageant and go to Carthage.  The highlights for Carter were definitely the indoor swimming pool at the hotel and the games before the pageant.  For me, the hightlights were seeing all my family, especially my sister and brother who hadn't even met Kennedy yet.  For Nate, the best part was definitely the "Minute to Win It," competition at one of the family gatherings.  He and his assigned partner (my cousin's son, Matt) were by far the most competitive of the bunch.  They blew everyone else out of the water with their expertise in those silly games.  They took home a certificate and a gift card for all their hard work.  It was a blast.  Here they are in action in one of the easier tasks.

Granny and Grandpa's Visit

Boy, oh boy did we have fun with Granny and Grandpa here.  The highlights were Carter's first airplane ride in Grandpa's plane and a trip to the museum. Carter played in the sand and Granny helped him build a house out of blocks.  A grand time was had by all.  We'll sure miss Granny and Grandpa while they are in Korea!

Kennedy's Blessing

We went ahead and had Kennedy blessed in church while my parents were here visiting.  We were hoping to be able to have her sealed to us, but the timing didn't quite work out and my parents are off to a mission to Korea in a couple of weeks.  It turned out to be a really nice day.  Kennedy was an angel and sat in Nate's arms and sucked her thumb for the entire blessing, not to mention she looked so stinking cute in her white dress.  It was really special and we are so glad that family was there to share it with us.  We can't wait to take  have everything finalized so we can take her to the temple.

T-Ball

Carter is a little over half way finished with his first season of T-Ball.  It has been a lot of fun and a little frustrating too.  Nate decided to coach and has had his hands full with 9 three and four year olds.  The parents help, but it is hard to keep the kids focused.  The snack after each game seems to be a highlight.  These are pictures from one of Carter's first games.  He is definitely the star hitter for his team.  It was a really warm day and everyone was worn out when it was over.  Kennedy had a great time watching everything and even kept her hat on most of the time.

Look what I can do

Kennedy is finally starting to get closer to walking.  She can stand all by herself and will take a couple of steps.  It is so much fun and we can't wait to have her walking.

Happy Father's Day

We had a really nice Father's Day.  Carter was so excited about giving Nate his presents that he woke us up relatively early and we opened them in bed.  We got him the TV plug in Big Buck Hunter Pro game so he and
Carter can practice their shots at home.  Carter was so excited and the whole family had a great time playing after church.

Oh, and Carter was also pretty hilarious this morning.  He hoped into bed with us then turned to Dad and said, "I love you, Dad", then he turned to me and said, "I love you Mom.  Mom, are you pregnant?"  Nate and I both laughed out loud and then I asked him if he even knew what that meant.  He promptly answered no, so I proceeded to have an extremely "G" rated talk with him that also included the whole idea of adoption too.  I guess you never know when a good teaching moment will arise.

Too Cute

The other day while we were driving home from church Carter asked when Brother's day was.  We were somewhat confused by the question and asked him if he meant Father's Day (since it was just a week away).  He went ahead and informed us that he meant Brother's Day, since he is such a good big brother and all.  There was also some curiosity as to whether there is a sister's day too.  Adorable.  We may just have to start a new family tradition of having a Brother's and Sister's day just because the kid is so darn cute.

12 month check up

Kennedy's 12 month check up was a few weeks ago.  Here are her stats.

Weight 19 lbs. 14 oz.  30%
Height 30inches  80%

She seems to be tall and thin for her age.  I am starting to get lots of those comments about how she looks like she should be walking.  I know, I wish she was.  But she is starting to look a little more like a toddler and less like a baby since she is getting taller and thinner.  She also has little, narrow feet for her age which has made it difficult for me to find shoes that will stay on.

Oh, and yes I put her forward facing even though she wasn't quite 20 lbs.  I took her to the Dr. last week and am happy to report she was just over 20 lbs. so now it is official.  It sure is nice to have them both forward-facing.

More Birthday Pics

 Girlie presents--a necklace and purse, which were a huge hit!  Thanks Dollar Tree!

She loves to give big wet open mouthed kisses.

 Her favorite place to play at Mee-Ma's house is under her coffee table.  Here she is climbing through it.

Okay, so it's a little late, but I finally got around to posting the birthday pics from Kennedy's party at Mee-Ma's house.  They were on Nate's brother's phone so I had to get them from him.  We opened presents and had cupcakes and ice cream.   Kennedy really enjoyed the cupcake.  In fact she ate every last bite of it, and considering, didn't get too messy either.  It is still hard to believe she is over a year old now.  We love you so much baby girl!