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2011-12-20T02:56:00.001-06:00

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2011-11-10T18:29:00.001-06:00

Guilty Pleasures
Snacking and shopping. Girl after my own heart!

Fall 2011

2011-11-09T20:19:00.002-06:00

We had family pictures done by my friend Lindsay Smith along with Kieryn's 6 month pics. Check them out and tell me your favorite. www.lindsaysmithphoto.com/2011/11/01/the-laymon-family/

2011-11-08T07:58:00.001-06:00

Laying Around

These girls are just like their mama. God help Rob!

2011-11-07T12:56:00.001-06:00

Sea World Part 2

We went to SA for a wedding Saturday and wrapped up the trip with a sea world visit Sunday afternoon. My Dad, robs mom and my sister and her family joined us. Kendall went on her first roller coaster and loved every bit of it. My favorite part was feeding the dolphins, awesome! We had so much fun again and can't wait for our next trip back.

2011-11-02T05:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

I was stumped on costumes this year, no inspiration. I already had Kieryns costume that I bought while still pregnant. And then all of a sudden it hit me what Kendall would be (more like a friends suggestion). So meet strawberry shortcake and her very own strawberry!

We had a wonderful night of trick or treating around our neighborhood (which I really love). Kendall was strictly business with "trick or treat" and "thank you". Kieryn was a good sport for being out past her bedtime. After a neighborhood hayride we wrapped up the night with unwrapping a "few" pieces of candy!

2011-11-02T04:57:00.001-05:00

Disney Live

Last week we took Kendall and her friend Maci to see Disney Live (compliments of Toyota). My friend Britney had the great idea of letting the girls dress up as princesses since we were going to see Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast. Call me a bad mom if you must, but this was the first time Kendall had ever seen/heard about any of these characters. She had a great time (with the exception of when she thought they had killed Snow White. Which we've never talked about death/dying/kill before, but now have thanks to Disney). I had so much fun watching the girls embrace their inner princesses!

2011-10-19T19:34:00.001-05:00

Time For Bed

I wish you could smell this freshly bathed, lotioned baby through the pics - one of my favorite smells! And this is one of our favorite bedtime books by Mem Fox, Time For Bed. Kendall has it memorized so I read the first part and she finishes the sentences. What's your favorite bedtime book?

2011-10-18T02:41:00.001-05:00

Pumpkins Are In!

We headed to the Arboretum with my mommy group for the annual pumpkin patch. We enjoyed pumpkins, face painting, petting zoo, picnic, music and friends. It was a beautiful day!

2011-10-18T02:37:00.001-05:00

Sea World

We headed to SA my birthday weekend. It was Kieryns first trip (and might be her last :). I had a dr appt for my thyroid, we wanted to take Kendall to Sea World and we got to meet our new niece, Alexandria Gayle, Rob's sister's baby. We got season passes for Sea World and hope to be back soon!

2011-09-28T14:54:00.001-05:00

Kendall's Room

Because if you're nosey like me, I like to know how people decorate their houses.

Bedding & lamp - TJ Max home goods
Mirrors - hobby lobby
Kendall letters - Me
Mural - Traci Broach Duty, you can find her on my FB friends if you're interested in her work
Art hanger - my friend Ashley

Inspiration came from the bedding. I still need a bedskirt and curtains to complete the room. Tomorrow I'll show you Kieryn's room ( need to clean it first!)

2011-09-25T15:10:00.001-05:00

Gone Fishin'

Rob came home with a shiny, pink Barbie fishing pole for Kendall on Friday. They practiced casting and reeling in all night inside our house with a plastic fish on the end. Saturday they headed to lake Texoma with our friend from collge, Justin and his daughter Kayla. From the phone calls and pictures it sounds like they had a great time and even caught a few!

Rob called on the way home to tell me he was cleaning up the boat and packing to come home when Kendall picked up the fishing pole (after being told to leave it alone), proceeded to cast it out, catch a fish, reel it in all without rob knowing. He said he heard her saying,"daddy, daddy, daddy" when he looked over and realized what had just happened.

I would say she's a natural fisherman except when I asked if she caught a big fish, she held her pointer finger and thumb about an inch apart and said, "no, it was really small like this"!!!

*the last picture is the fish she caught by herself

2011-09-22T22:07:00.001-05:00

Last Swing!

Kieryn has outgrown the swing. Sad down in our house! I let her have one last hoorah before lending it to an expecting friend today. The swing will probably find a forever home at out church nursery since I'm parting with all baby items no longer being used. This doesn't confirm that we won't have anymore babies, just that I'll have to buy new stuff!

2011-09-11T15:33:00.001-05:00

5 Months Old

Our sweet baby girl is 5 months old and continues to be such an easy, laid back happy baby. Luckily no dr appt and shots this month. Which also means no stats for the month. Kieryn is wearing a Sz 3 diaper, wears 3-6 months, and drinks about 30-40 oz a day. Feeding times are 7:30, 11, 2, 5, 7:30. She continues to sleep a full 12 hours through the night without waking up! She's still not a huge fan of being on her stomach so guess it's a good thing she can roll both ways. At the same time, she can travel (via rolling) quite a distance in 5 mins. Biggest news however, is that her 2 front bottom teeth came in 2 days after she turned 5 months. Check out the close up picture and you'll see them!

2011-09-08T20:17:00.001-05:00

Back in Session!

Kendall started back to "school" or MDO (mother's day out) today. It's only 2 days a week from 9-2, but that is more than enough! She has a great time and so do I.

It's amazing how much difference a year makes. She's now completely potty trained, knows her ABC's, counts to 10, knows her shapes and colors and the first 2 letters of her name. I'm excited to see what all she will learn this year!

2011-09-06T10:24:00.001-05:00

Sisters!

I think the pictures of these two speak more than my words can.

And I found this adorable sign I want to purchase and put in the hallway between their rooms. I broke it up into 3 pictures so you can read it, but it measures about 3 ft. tall.

2011-09-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

Weekend Away!

Rob and I took a much needed quick vacation to Chicago to visit our good friends, Chris & Lauren. Sans kids! Our last getaway without kids was when Kendall was 6 months old. It was so peaceful and we had a BLAST! From the pictures via text messages that we received from back home our girls had a good weekend too. Kendall stayed with her friend Sydney and my MIL Gayle and her friend Kathy kept Kieryn at our house.

2011-08-15T13:25:00.001-05:00

Smoking Gun
This is what I found after a 1 minute trip to the bathroom. Kendall was holding the smoking gun while Kieryn was slathered up in Desitin (there are worse things I guess). And by the look on my face Kendall determined this wasn't a good thing so she tried to smooth things over by saying, "look mom, she's smiling at you!". I don't think Kieryn was smiling about it, but it took all I had to not laugh! FYI-Kieryn was naked after a long streak of not going #2 and then finally having a blowout. That onesie has seen better days!

2011-08-11T20:28:00.001-05:00

Firsts

Kieryn tried cereal for the first time Saturday while Rob was at the lake with Kendall and the house was nice and quiet. I think she managed to spit it all out. I'll wait a week or two before trying again.

She also rolled over for the first time from her back to stomach on Wednesday night. She couldn't have picked a better time to show off her bloomers that I embroidered!

Artsy Fartsy!

2011-08-10T18:09:00.002-05:00

Kendall finished her last art class today at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. My faithful readers probably remember what a hot mess I was after Kendalls art classes last year. I'm happy to announce that this year was much smoother, peaceful and even enjoyable!

We will display her canvas masterpiece that she added to each week in her bedroom along with her masterpiece from last year.

And I just ordered this fun book, "When Pigasso Met Mootisse"! We "studied" both of those artists in her class.

Til next summer.....

Tidbits

2011-08-09T18:36:00.002-05:00

Here's Kendall's "uneven sunblock application" face!

My baby girl passed out for her morning nap.

Kieryns teething toy, Sophie! (Photo taken by Kendall!)

All the flower arrangements I made after spending $7.00 on flowers at the grocery store.

And Kieryn hanging out in the baby Bjorn before her bedtime.

Big sister Kendall going on the big girl potty. No accidents today!

Happy Tuesday to ya!

New Kid On The Block

2011-08-06T22:17:00.002-05:00

We welcomed Ryland Jax, my best friend Ashley and her husband Seans baby on July 31st! He was scheduled to be delivered by c section on the 1st because he was breach, but couldn't wait 12 extra hours to come out.

I feel partly responsible for him since Rob and I introduced his parents to eachother 6 years ago. Rob and I were also in their wedding. Needless to say they are very near and dear to our hearts.

Kieryn and Ryland met for the first time tonight Are pre-arranged marriages legal in the US?!

2011-08-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

Empty Nest

We moved Kieryn to her own room and crib last night. Kieryn and Rob have been ready for awhile. Me not so much. I could've kept her with me longer. It was much more difficult this time than with Kendall because she *may* be our last. I feel like my children have just left for college and I have an empty nest. Don't get me wrong, I will enjoy late night baths again, talking to rob in bed, watching tv and having the lights on past 8:00. Luckily, we have a fantastic baby monitor that we just ordered from Amazon. It's a Mobi and allows me to watch BOTH girls on the screen at once. I can talk to them through the cameras in their rooms, the monitor is light weight and portable, and we can purchase an Internet application where we can watch them by simply logging online when we are away from home. I figure it was a good investment since the cameras will stay in the girls rooms until they leave for college, ha!

2011-08-02T13:37:00.001-05:00

Keurig Tutorial

4 Months!

2011-07-31T23:14:00.007-05:00

Sweet baby girl, you are growing way too quickly. I cherish all of our quiet moments alone because they are too few and far between(your big sister is high maintenance!). You're quite possibly the happiest baby I've ever met. One of your smiles with your tongue hanging out and adorable dimples melts my heart every time. You sleep soundly through the night and wake quietly in the morning by sucking your thumb. In fact, this is the only way I know you're awake because you've yet to wake up crying. And you immediately light up when I come to pick you up. You LOVE being nursed to bed every night and will refuse the bottle. For this reason your father has boob envy. You are a spitting image of your father and I do believe you have a more sensitive, calm spirit like him. You are still not rolling over, but I'm not in any rush. You don't enjoy tummy time so I hardly ever put you on your stomach. Your big sister wants to hold you and kiss you all the time. Almost every day she asks me if you are big yet so that y'all can play together. You will one day be the best of friends! At your 4 month Dr. appt. you weighed in at 14 lbs 14 oz. - 81 %, 25 3/4 in long - 94%. And you got your ears pierced! Dad held you while I left the room like a coward because I couldn't stand to see you cry. The 2 shots you had to get afterwards added insult to injury.

2011-07-30T09:53:00.001-05:00

Barista At Your Service
Adding to her list of skills is now brewing her own coffee. She successfully removed an old k cup from my keurig coffee maker, replaced it with a new one, placed a cup underneath and pushed the button. All while I was changing kieryns diaper. I've never taught her this, nor had any idea she knew how to do this so you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the living room and smelled coffee.

Ps- todays flavor of choice was German chocolate cake! Sure makes it difficult to be mad when your Barista is so dang cute and works for free!

2011-07-27T13:24:00.001-05:00

Wednesday What-nots

Kendall greeted me this morning with her blanky, several stuffed animals and a drumstick ice cream cone. And NO, I didn't let her have it which resulted in a temper tantrum.

We had a playdate with 6 mamas and 12 kids. Kieryn napped and missed the whole thing! Have I mentioned what a dream baby she is?!

Kendall brewed a cup of coffee all by herself while I was changing Kieryns diaper. So proud of her we should be, NOT! She took out the old k cup, put a new one in and placed a cup underneath and pushed the button. Another temper tantrum because I wouldn't let her have the coffee!

She then decided to take some pictures of Kieryn and brush up on her photography in case the whole entomologist gig doesn't pan out. Kieryn loves watching Kendall move about and Kendall loves talking to and kissing Kieryn!

This is all by 12 noon. I'm exhausted, it's going to be a long day!

2011-07-26T14:28:00.001-05:00

Buggin'

Chief entomologist Kendall strikes again! The latest specimen was collected en route to the mailbox. We are taking it with us to Maddies check up vet appt this afternoon to find out what it is (after I've been letting her play with it all afternoon! don't worry he was a goner when we found him).

2011-07-22T16:37:00.000-05:00

Maddie Girl

Kendall went with me to take Maddie to the vet yesterday. We worked on saying "vet" the night before because she kept saying "bet". *side note-see if your little one can make the "v" sound*. Anyhow, Kendall was so excited and kept squealing on the way to the vet and even said "I'm so excited mama!". We switched vets because the last place was charging us an arm and a leg every visit and Maddie's eye wasn't getting better. This was our first trip to the new one. We didn't know the fun we were in for. They have an animal room for children like a mini zoo. Here's the roll call:
15 snakes
2 lizards
3 scorpions
2 birds
Snapping turtle
And lots of fish!

Kendall was in heaven and I'm "betting" she may one day become a "vet".
We got out of there only $100 lighter and hopefully Maddie will be better soon!

2011-07-21T14:15:00.001-05:00

I Heart Zulilly!

This was just delivered on my doorstep from www.Zulilly.com (my latest addiction). Is this not the cutest/coolest contraption?! Drink on top, snack on bottom. All in one with an initial on the cup for personalization. And a cute bib for sister til she can use her sippy/snack cup too.

I love it and can't wait for my other purchase that should be delivered tomorrow. If your initials are RCL II and you are reading this please disregard the last sentence or the whole post for that matter. I still love you more than I love Zulilly! And that's a lot!

2011-07-20T18:21:00.001-05:00

Giggly!

Kieryn has been laughing for about 2 weeks, but as soon as I pull out the camera she gets stage fright. Today there was no holding back. Please excuse my annoying baby talk!

2011-07-18T17:43:00.001-05:00

Light Cleaning
Kendall is going to make some man very happy one day if she continues to clean the house barely clothed in high heels. Her own Dad would not know this happiness, heck I don't even enjoy cleaning and I'm not nearly this cute doing it!

2011-07-17T20:54:00.001-05:00

Catching On!
Yesterday was the first time I saw Kieryn intentionally reach out to grab something. Funny how something so simple seems so amazing. It's just a matter of time before her and Kendall are fighting over toys!

2011-07-17T16:45:00.001-05:00

Never Wake A Sleeping Baby!
There is just something peaceful about watching a baby sleep that makes everything in the world seem right!

Cheap Fun!

2011-07-14T23:11:00.009-05:00

I picked up a $15 plastic pool at Walmart for Kendall. Yeah, so I splurged a little, but the $10 pool was a little too cheap for us =) Lisa and her family stopped back in for a night on their way back to SA. So Kendall got to enjoy more time with her cousin.

This one's for everyone who has gone on a beach vacation this summer and posts pictures of their feet in the sand. Eat your heart out!
Who needs a vacation anyways when you have a swim up bar with all you can drink juiceboxes and all you can eat watermelon?!?These 2 cousins stayed cool inside, but next year can trade in their bouncy seats for floaties!

PS - I'm still very happy with my $15 pool purchase. It has kept Kendall entertained for at least an hour 5 more times since then!

Cousins

2011-07-14T22:33:00.009-05:00

My sister and her family stopped by for a night on their way to Kansas to visit my Grandmother. It was my first time to meet her son, Noah, born a month before Kieryn. And her first time to meet Kieryn.

Picture taken by Kendall of me and Lisa

We had a great time watching Kendall and Naomi play. They adore each other and Naomi wants to be just like Kendall.

2011-07-09T12:53:00.001-05:00

Aw shucks!

While shucking fresh corn from my grandmas farm we came across some worms, acck! I am not a bug lover myself, but have tried to allow Kendall to take up her own interests. Unfortunately, bugs is one of them. It was love at first sight and they are sure to be lifelong friends (at least until they get squished to death). They have been inseparable since they met. If she needs her hands to do something she let's them hang out on her shirt til she can hold them again. Again, accck!I've been trying to get her to leave them in this bug catcher that my friend Natalie got for Kendall as a big sister gift. So far unsuccessful. I might have to make them "accidentally"disappear for the health and safety of the other members in this house ;)

2011-07-06T14:08:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a little summer fun with Pawpaw and Mimi at the Frank Buck Zoo today. It was hot!We cooled down with a train ride around the park before eating lunch and heading home. And to think it's going to get hotter before it gets cooler!

3 Months!

2011-07-06T08:54:00.002-05:00

Gulp! I don't want Kieryn to keep growing so quickly!
Here is a comparison picture of both girls at 3 months. I don't think they look anything alike!

She is the happiest, easiest going baby so far, such a dream! She loves smiling and cooing. You may think I'm crazy, but she can repeat "hi" back to us in baby coo. She hardly ever cries unless she is hungry or sleepy. She doesn't have a dr. appt this month so I weighed her on our scale at about 14 lbs. She sleeps through the night and has been for at least the last 2 weeks (8:30 pm - 7:30 am). She has found her thumb and sucks it to soothe herself to sleep. I have tried to replace her thumb with a pacifier and it's no use. She knows what she wants and it's not the pacifier. And she has just found her toes!

After reading my blog post about Kendall and her 3 month stats I realized that Kendall had already had tummy time and rolled from tummy to back. So we had her first tummy time yesterday too! She didn't mind too bad, but she wants to scoot instead of just laying there. You can really see how much she looks like Rob in this picture without a bow!

And of course, big sister Kendall thought she needed to participate in tummy time too!

When Kendall was a baby everyone warned us that not all babies were that good and not to expect the same from our next baby. And I truly believed them. I was prepared for a baby with colic that never slept and cried all the time. Somehow we managed to have a second baby just as sweet. We are blessed indeed!

Test

2011-07-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

This is a test!

Sent from my iPhone

Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T08:44:00.010-05:00

From the Laymons
We did a little shopping during the day while we waited for Dad to get off work. We didn't buy this lipstick because it wasn't her shade!

Then went to dinner with some friends and headed to a friends house to watch the McKinney fireworks. Kendall was occupied by her new bubble gun that lights up (6.99 @ BB&B!) I think it's safe to say everyone had a "bubble bath" last night =)

We are proud to be American!

Ahoy!

2011-06-30T15:42:00.009-05:00

If you know me, you know I love ALL things nautical, especially clothing! So here are my 2 nautical cuties: Kieryn's outfit is a hand me down from Kendall that was given to us from my friend Laurie. It's fun to look at pictures of the girls when they are the same age and see how different they are.

And Kendall's dress was done by none other than ME!

Another example of this child's brilliance-conversation between us this morning while getting dressed.

Me: Kendall I made this dress for you, it has your name on it.

Kendall: What is that decoration?

Me: It's called an anchor.

Kendall: Is it for a boat?

She's so stinking smart!

Now I just need something to match them..........ok, maybe that's a bit overboard! Get it?! HAHA

Newborn Photo Shoot

2011-06-29T22:25:00.008-05:00

We met up with our trusty photographer, Jen Zindler, for the first time in about a year. I must admit, I missed her and missed taking pictures! She made us as happy as ever with her great photog skills. She really had to pull out all the stops this time trying to get Kendall to be an active participant in our shoot. My child who normally asks me to take pictures of her didn't want her picture taken at all. Red flag! We took her to the Dr. the next day (for other symptoms also!) and found out she had strep. Poor baby =( We still managed to get some good pictures. And no one else got sick, thank goodness!

Here are a few of our favorites, but you are welcome to see them all by clicking on the link below.

Kieryn's Newborn Photo Shoot

The password is "ashley" in all lower case.

We already have our 6 month photo shoot on the books!

Introducing...........

2011-05-25T22:12:00.014-05:00

The littlest Laymon; Kieryn Elizabeth
Born April 8th @ 8:07 am. 8 lbs 11 oz, 22 in

We checked into the hospital that morning for a scheduled c-section at 5:30. After no sleep the night before because I was packing my bag til about 1:00 in the morning. Not to mention I was so excited to meet our sweet baby girl and let's face it, sleeping at 39 weeks pregnant isn't easy to do anyhow.
The delivery was very smooth and I was actually able to enjoy it this time, not having labored for 16 hours beforehand. There were tears of joy as Kieryn entered this world and I heard her sweet cry for the first time. A sound a mother never forgets. Check out the cheeks!

From the moment she was born, her and Kendall have been completely different people as I'm sure they will most likely always be. I'm excited that they will be different people with different personalities, likes and dislikes. Special in their own way!
I noticed immediately that she looked like Rob and his mom has since said that she is a spitting image of Rob as a baby. She has blue eyes just like her sister, but so far has had blondish/light brown hair. She is just perfect!!And now we are a family of 4, which feels very complete. Things are a lot busier now, but I will do my best to stay updated so that I will remember these precious days of her as a baby that will fly by way too fast!

I've Opened Up Shop!

2011-02-24T15:08:00.005-06:00

For those of you that don't know, Rob bought me an embroidering machine for my birthday and a sewing machine for Christmas. I wanted these more than anything to do stuff for my own girls, but now that I'm kinda good at it (and with some encouragement from Rob) I've decided to start my own business selling my craftiness. Here is the 1st shirt I made modeled by the love of my life and the inspiration for my store!

I am definitely new to this and know there will be some learning curves along the way, but here goes!

My own personal website is:

http://www.klovecreations.com/

Rob just started it up for me, but as soon as our free time (few and far between) collides, we will spiff up the website so I can actually take orders and receive payment from there.

I have also started an etsy shop where you can make purchases now:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/klovecreations.com

My friend Natalie is making matching hair clips to match the shirts for an additional $5. I am very open to customizing something special that you may have in mind that isn't on my website. And last, but not least dear friends and family PLEASE spread the word!

Happiest 2 Years!

2011-01-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

My sweet baby girl turned 2 Sunday. I am nothing short of amazed by her absolute existence every single day. We have been blessed!

She spent all day Monday in her jammies recovering. Notice she is passed out with a chapstick in her hand. Have I mentioned she likes make-up?

She also got to take cookies to school last Wednesday to celebrate her birthday. Another outfit made by my friend Brandy.

We finished up the last of her celebrations with a playdate from my mommy group with more cookies.

**2 year stats** Height - 91%, Weight - 57% Thank goodness no more shots til 3!

Party!!!

2011-01-17T21:46:00.022-06:00

Once again, my vision and Rob's talent collided to create Kendall's birthday invitations. I loved them!

The birthday outfit made special by my friend Brandy. I found them on Etsy by a different seller and asked Brandy if she could make them (already knowing she was more than capable). She is crafty indeed. While she won't take any orders for overalls like these because they were a pain to make you can check out her other deisgns at her Etsy shop.

Getting ready for the big day with a little hair gel to keep those curls in place!

Meeting Cherokee the pony for the first time. She was besides herself! And wanted to ride him immediately.
Now meet Elijah the goat. We were supposed to have an entire petting zoo, but weather did not permit. As it was, we had to move Cherokee and Elijah into our garage.
After about 30 minutes of riding Cherokee, Kendall walked into the house and up the stairs saying "cowboys" very adamantly. I followed her to see what she was after. Duh? Every cowgirl needs her cowgirl hat! I don't know how she made the connection, but her brain never ceases to amaze me!Most of her friends were a little intimidated by Cherokee and opted to not ride him. While Jack did not want to ride Cherokee, he was interested in leading him by the reins. Jack cautiously checked over his shoulder every couple of seconds to make sure Cherokee wasn't getting too close.

I'm pretty sure Kendall referred to Cherokee as "her" pony the entire party. Which worried me about when it would be time for Cherokee to leave.

Party favors

The party was perfect despite not turning out perfectly. We appreciated all of our friends and family that came to help celebrate Kendall's special day. She is very loved, adored and cherished by many!

Celebrity Look Alike

2011-01-17T21:32:00.005-06:00

We had a celebrity look alike sighting in our house early this morning. Kendall was in the bathroom while Rob was getting ready for work. He claimed to have turned his back for 1 minute! And this my friends is the result.........

Notice, she still has the mascara in hand. Albeit, I think my mini-Tammy Faye Baker look alike is much cuter than the real thing! And I am impressed that she managed to keep the mascara in the eye region. She just might have a future with MAC!

Snow Day

2011-01-10T08:16:00.005-06:00

We got our first snow of 2011! McKinney got a total of 5 inches and it looks like there's still a good 3 inches on the ground today. It was so pretty to watch.

All bundled up to go play outsideEnjoying an evening stroll through the snow with Dad
And of course, school has been canceled today for Kendall, boo! I'm just hoping all of this snow and rain are gone by next weekend for her birthday party.

Christmas photo shoot

2011-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

I asked my dear friend Natalie to snap some quick pictures of us so I could use one in our Christmas cards. She invited us out to her house which sits on a nice little chunk of land with some wooded tree areas and a pond. The backdrop was perfect for the pictures, the weather - a tad bit chilly, somewhere in the 30's, brrrrrr! Like I said, it was quick, probably no more than 15 minutes.

Weekend with the Perrys

2011-01-01T10:02:00.000-06:00

The Perrys traveled down from OK the first weekend in December to kick off the Christmas season with some festive activities. We had a blast and definitely think this needs to be an annual tradition!

Saturday night we rode the North Pole Express Train in Grapevine. The kids in their jammies!

All Aboard!

Sunday we went to the Gaylord Texan Hotel, after a quick Mexican lunch for our Texas transplant friends who aren't getting the "whole enchilada" in OK! We did the ICE exhibit which was Charlie Brown themed this year.

Stopped for pictures with the man in red.Then returned home to our jammies and a night in the media room watching Charlie Brown Christmas. We were sad to see them go and Emma wanted to be adopted into our family so she could stay with Kendall. Her only request being that she doesn't have to sleep as much as Kendall!

Dickens of a Christmas

2010-12-31T10:10:00.000-06:00

An annual tradition in downtown McKinney held the weekend after Thanksgiving. We enjoyed food, decorations, music, a petting zoo, carousel and a train. What a great way to get in the spirit!Then we came home and put up our Christmas tree, lit the fire, drank hot coco and played Christmas music! Seeing the tree lit for the first time!

Helping decorate the tree

Happy Fall!

2010-11-16T17:00:00.000-06:00

The past couple of weeks have been treading water mode. Between nausea, a picky appetite and no energy Kendall and I haven't been getting out much. In retrospect, I feel like a bad mom for not taking Kendall to a pumpkin patch, a hayride or the arboretum. We did however venture out one day with our dear friends Natalie, Lily and Morgan to a little nursery that we considered a pumpkin patch. And thanks to Natalie I have my only Fall pictures of Kendall!

Caught!

2010-11-10T22:40:00.004-06:00

This little girl is on the move and looking for something to get into! Here are just a few things I caught her doing TODAY.....

Moved her highchair over to the candy jar and climbed up to the counter so she could have a pallet pleaser.

I caught her dumping a bag of pretzels in Maddie's food bowl and emptying her juice box into Maddie's water bowl. I discovered this when I heard her telling Maddie to "eat up Maddie girl"! No pictures for this one as I was a little frustrated cleaning up the mess.

And then re-booting my computer. It isn't good enough to just push buttons on my computer. Nope. My little smartie pants knows exactly which button is the power button and it's the one she goes straight for.

Now, what I need you to understand is that I'm not abandoning her to go take a bubble bath or catch up on tv shows. Nope this all happens in the matter of me turning around to open mail or while loading the dishwasher. She is fast and mischevious!

New Doo

2010-11-10T22:31:00.004-06:00

Kendall's hair needed some help as it was getting very stringy in some areas and frizzy in others. So we decided a family hair cut was in order. Tuesday Kendall got her first hair cut! More like a trim to just even out the long pieces. Hardly any hair was actually cut, but it looks alot shorter because the curls just tightened up even more. We also got some "product" to keep her curls from becoming a frizz ball by the end of the day.

So check out the new doo! Too cute! I say she looks like a little old lady that just got a perm!

A++

2010-11-10T22:18:00.005-06:00

Or at least that's the grade I'd like to think God gave us as parents since he decided to bless us with one more miracle! Baby Laymon #2 is due to arrive some time around April 16th. We have our suspicions about the sex of the baby based on our last ultrasound, but will find out for sure next Wednesday. We couldn't be happier!

Oh Baby!

2010-11-10T11:30:00.000-06:00

Once Kendall found out she was going to be a big sister she decided it was time to brush up on her babysitting skills.

She told her baby, "hold on baby!"

She told her baby, "stand UP baby!" In a very stern voice I might add. She needed to show the baby she wasn't messing around.

Rocking her baby while saying, "shh, shh, shh"

She was giving her baby a bath
She passed with flying colors, I think she will be a great BIG sister!

First Day of School

2010-09-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

Kendall started MDO(mother's day out), AKA Mommy's break =) A very much needed break since Rob pretty much only has Sunday off from work. Aside from Sunday he only gets to see Kendall Monday and Tuesday night. Other than that he is gone before she wakes up and she's asleep before he gets home. Daddy works hard and so does Mommy trying to keep up with an almost 2 year old.

Kendall and Maddie trying out the new nap mat for school!

Her new backpack and lunch boxMDO has been a Godsend! I get some time to myself to grocery shop, pay bills, shop, get nails done or just lay in bed watching tv or the best is going to the restroom by myself and eating lunch in pure silence! Kendall also really likes going to "school" and interacting with other kids. The way I see it, it's a win-win situation!

Under The Weather

2010-09-23T11:30:00.008-05:00

*This is an old post, just catching up. LONG overdue!

Kendall and I both had the sniffles and I chalked it up to allergies until Kendall came down with a fever and I felt too bad to get out of bed. Daddy to the rescue! He took off work to take Kendall to the Dr. Diagnosis: Pneumonia and Upper respiratory infection

The next day Rob took off work again to take Kendall back to the Dr. for a check-up. And I tagged along for a Dr. visit of my own. Kendall's breathing was better, but she was going to have breathing treatments. I only had an upper respiratory infection, that was more than enough! Trying to take care of a sick child while not feeling well myself was miserable!

That junk took awhile to kick and I'm too old to be getting sick like that,boo. Plus, Rob has given me strict orders that I'm not allowed to get sick anymore!

Dallas Cowgirls

2010-09-23T11:13:00.010-05:00

Another old post that I'm kind of embarrassed to post considering how bad the Cowboys have been performing. Oh, what do I really care, I don't watch football. We toured the Dallas Cowboy Stadium with my sister and her family.

Cousins

Hardeman Family

Running long

Tackled!

Cowboys locker room

Holding a press conference

Oklahoma or Bust!

2010-09-23T10:24:00.015-05:00

This summer we also made a trip to Oklahoma to see our friends, The Perry's! We had a great time and will definitely be back (if we didn't wear out our welcome ;)

Erin bought matching jammies for the girls. Too cute!

Emma gets her night time drink in a shot glass. This cracked me up and reminded of days gone by.What goes best with a night cap? Well a bedtime story of course!
While the kids slept we had business to take care of. You see, Erin and I took a trip to Italy when we were in college. I'm not sure how we funded this trip that was merely for pleasure. Or why we felt the need to travel the world while most college students go to SPI to get drunk. Nope, not us. I digress. So we fell in love with some wine there and brought back about 6 bottles each. 10 years later I have one very special bottle of wine saved just for this moment! Then we rested up for the busy days of non-stop going ahead. We went to the waterpark, went shopping, played at the house, went to the amusement park and went to the lake.

We had so much fun and thank ya'll for such a great time! Til next time!

Blueberry Picking

2010-09-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is an old post. From the end of July to be exact when my sister and her family were visiting, but some of the pictures are too darn cute not to post. We went to a "pick your own" blueberry patch. Kendall got her own bucket and they gave us a marker to write her name on it.
The girl went straight to picking like it was all she had done her whole life.

Pick a few. Eat a few!She wouldn't let me hold the bucket for her and she was so focused on the task at hand.
We finished up with some blueberry lemonade and will definitely be back next year!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

2010-08-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Tickets to the Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers' Circus = $25

Souvenir light up toy = $18 Cotton Candy = $12Enjoying my baby girls excitement while watching the Lions, horses, elephants and dogs = PRICELESS!

18 Months.....Going on 18

2010-08-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Where has my baby gone? The one I carried for 9 months. That once weighed 9 lbs. That fell asleep on my chest on the couch. And was rocked to sleep with a bottle before waking a couple of hours later for a midnight meeting.
My baby now thinks she needs a bra.
And needs to put on make up (which she will actually ask me for "make mup" or "ipstick") or wear deodorant.I braved her 18 month shots by myself since Rob had to work. Turned out not so bad. She didn't cry or shed a tear. Sometimes I think she's missing pain receptors (this a true medical condition I saw on Medical Mysteries, I really need to stop watching these shows).

She weighed in at 25.4 lbs - 63%

She measured up to 33 1/2 in. - 92%

Kendall is still not a big eater and can be very picky at times.

She wants to feed herself most of the time and will eat better for anyone other than me.

She is for the first time ever starting to really be a mama's girl and not want me to leave her. The girl is stubborn and is really testing boundaries and sometimes is just down right naughty(which she can say).

She loves singing and reading and anything involving water.

She talks. ALOT. And can repeat anything we say. I love being her mama and knowing exactly what it is she says when someone asks me to decode for them.

She wants to walk on her own everywhere and not be held. =(

She walk up to me or Rob and give us unsolicited kisses out of the blue. These are the moments I live for!

How to Train a Couch Potato

2010-07-26T14:48:00.013-05:00

I am not a big tv watcher. In fact, you will hardly ever walk in my house and find the tv on because I seldom ever turn it on during the day. I can't stand the background noise from it and will only turn it on to watch a show and then turn it off as soon as the show is over. Which I don't even do that anymore with the greatest invention ever of DVR. I now watch any recorded shows in bed at night before going to sleep. So there you have it, my child doesn't like tv because she hardly ever gets to see it. She has the attention span of, well...an 18 month old. Thus, Operation How to Train a Couch Potato is in full affect. Almost every day I've made the conscious effort to turn the tv on and sit next to Kendall to try and get her to watch cartoons. At the present time her favorite shows are Wonder Pets and Dora. We've made some progress.........My ultimate goal is to be able to get her to lay in bed with me and watch a movie! With a little more training we should be good to go.

Rainy with a Chance of Happiness

2010-07-26T14:48:00.008-05:00

Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass

BUT

Learning how to dance in the rain.....

Don't forget to dance!

Green Eggs and Ham

2010-07-26T14:32:00.009-05:00

Today we hosted a Green Eggs and Ham playdate for my Mommy group. There were 10 kids altogether including Kendall. The kids ate breakfast with none other than green eggs and ham of course (and fruit).

And then played while the mommies chatted and had coffee.Kendall was worn out by the time our guests left. She actually walked upstairs to her room and told me night-night!

E-I-E-I-O

2010-07-26T14:28:00.003-05:00

One of Kendall's favorite summer reads has been "Old Macdonald Has a Barn". It is often the book she chooses to take to bed with her for nap. She has also been practicing her singing voice!

All American

2010-07-21T10:09:00.010-05:00

Once again, my post is way overdue, but here goes.........Happy 4th of July!

Our little town was recently voted 5th best place to live in America. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL4845744.html

And I couldn't agree more. It is so family friendly, quaint and very welcoming. We spent 4th of tJuly at the 3rd annual Red, White and Boom celebration where Rob was also putting on a car show for his dealership. We didn't get to spend the majority of the day with Rob since he was working, but we did get to play a bit, eat carnival food and watch fireworks together.

Picasso Impersonator

2010-07-21T08:00:00.006-05:00

With only 3 art classes left, Kendall has become quite the artist. At this point it's pretty difficult to distinguish her artwork from the originals which she draws her inspiration from. See if you can guess which pictures were painted by Kendall and which belong to Picasso.

If you guessed that Kendall painted the pictures on the right, you're wrong! Don't be too hard on yourself, I told you it would be difficult.

Getting the Point

2010-07-01T13:32:00.007-05:00

Last week in Art Kendall was introduced to pointillism. If we're being completely honest, it was my first introduction as well. This kid is so cultured beyond her months!

I wouldn't necessarily say this week was better than last, but more like we had new battles this time. Specifically being that she didn't want to sit and listen to the story before we started painting. I can't completely blame her as the teacher was going way too slow and wasn't animated at all. Point being that mommy is a way better book reader. After that melt down we were able to move on and paint great pieces of art.

This is not her art project she is supposed to be working on for the day. These easels are set up for kids to do whatever they wish. Problem being that my child would rather do this than her art project. Art project #1 created by using basically the equivalent of a bingo dabber and sponge circles.
Art project #2 created with toilet paper rolls. I really liked this one!

One of the mom's in the class brings her nanny to help out with her little boy during art class. However, her little boy is much better behaved or manageable than Kendall anyways and I feel that her nanny could be better used with Kendall. I'll propose this idea to her next week. Sometimes I have good ideas and sometimes I have great ideas. This is one of my better ideas!

Fountains of Youth

2010-06-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

On Rob's day off we decided to hit up a splash pad near our house. This was Kendall's first experience with a splash pad. Here's the stand off between Kendall and the fountains.

Testing the waters.

"See Daddy, you don't have anything to be scared of, it's just water." Sheer joy! I couldn't stop smiling or laughing just watching her. Nothing like the innocence of a child!
Date night with Dad ended with a milkshake. Now that's what I call a fun day!

Van Gogh?

2010-06-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Or newest member of the Blue Man Group.

Kendall is going to art camp this summer, Scribbles and Dribbles, at the Dallas Museum of Science and Nature. I don't know why, but for some odd reason, in my head I pictured cute little tables with children sitting nicely working on their oh-so cute art projects. I was awakened from this nice little dream by the reality of our first day at art class.3 times I had to remove Kendall from the water tub(intended for hand washing) where she was ready to take her clothes off and swim. The scene was horrendous. Imagine if you will; me picking up my child who is kicking, screaming, scratching and trying to bite me. It took all I had to not beat her little behind right in front of theses mommies that were already staring at us like I had the worst behaved child in the world. At that very moment I did. We were at some point between the water tub and the meltdowns able to complete her art project. Her very first art piece!A better look at the lion's face so you can see exactly what kind of art genes I'm passing down to Kendall. That alone should've had us kicked out of the class. Sometimes Kendall looks at the picture and says, "meow", because well let's "face" it, I drew a cat face!

I'm mentally preparing for tomorrow and secretly wishing there won't be any water tubs. We also are going early to let her play in the kids museum to get some energy out before class. I don't mind you laughing at me as long as you also send up a prayer that tomorrow goes better!

Blueberries for Kendall

2010-06-19T10:30:00.009-05:00

adapted from Blueberries for Sal

Rob's family was coming in town for Father's Day weekend so I decided to make some homemade blackberry/blueberry muffins with my produce from farmer's market. I found a recipe online and went with it.

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat germ (I didn't use any, just added a bit more whole wheat flour)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups half-and-half
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh blueberries

Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter muffin pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together half and half and eggs. Stir wet ingredients into dry, mixing just to combine. Fold in berries. Scoop batter into muffin pan cups. If there are any empty cups, fill those halfway with water.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until done.

Kendall sampling the batter.

The finished product
The judging panel. I think it passed the test as she's looking to make sure I used enough "bu-berries"!

New Kids on The Block

2010-06-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

My friend Erin (from high school, also a blogger friend), along with her husband and 2 children visited us last weekend.

It was so nice to see them; Sam is a new walker and just turned 1, Emma is a thinker and was perplexed by our new house and Kendall was thrilled to have playmates. The kids played in our backyard rinky dink pool and Rob grilled some burgers and fresh corn from farmers market.

Rob getting some kisses from Sam. It might be time for another one =)Then we put all 3 in the tub and got them squeaky clean for bed.
Ahh, peace at last! Erin and I stayed up really late (10:00) catching up and Travis and Rob talked cars, technology and watched a movie (til Rob passed out). Good times! We look forward to another Perry slumber party!

My Little Pretty

2010-06-16T15:07:00.009-05:00

Kendall loves watching me get ready in the mornings and of course wants to do everything I do. This includes brushing her teeth(or Maddie) with my toothbrush. Brushing her hair. And putting on make-up. I let her use a makeup brush til I thought she was going to poke her out "putting on eye shadow". She calls my makeup and jewelry "prettys". She was asking for pretty, so I gave her a tube of lipstick that had been used completely down and she couldn't actually get any lipstick.

Or so I thought!

With a Moo Moo Here.....

2010-06-12T22:28:00.016-05:00

And a moo moo there.

We went to Kansas to visit my Grandma and her husband Don(Grandpa). Kendall was obsessed with the cows. We had to spell out the word cow so she wouldn't know what we were talking about or she would keep saying the word cow nonstop.

Here she is crying to go see the cows. Pretty sad sight wouldn't you say?!?!

She got her way. Of course. Grandpa took us out to the fields to see the cows. Look how close the cow came to the window. And notice the calf nursing in the back. Kendall tried climbing out of the truck window to get back to the cows as we started driving off.And here she is trying to make a mad dash for the cows out in the field. Several times someone had to retrieve her from going to visit the cows.
Grandpa doing his "chores".Another trip to go see the cows on Grandpa's 4wheeler.Taking advantage of the wide open! This is the only picture I got of my grandma on my camera, boo. Luckily, she took some pictures on her camera. She'd probably not like this picture very much, but she doesn't have Internet so I can get away with posting it =)Enjoying the simple life!Her beloved Pawpaw and Mimi!
We had a wonderful visit as we don't hardly get to see them enough. We enjoyed yummy home cooked meals, a trip to see the Amish, shopping, visiting relatives and just good company. I think Kendall kept everyone entertained!

That's a Croc!

2010-06-11T14:47:00.009-05:00

Kendall trying out her new crocs from Canton.

Not sure they are all that they are "croced" up to be! Higher rating when she realized how fast they make her run.

Overall, we give them 2 feet up!

*Editor's Note- I strongly dislike crocs when not used properly. ie: should only be used by boaters, children, or professionals such as doctors/nurses. Please do not use crocs outside from their intended purpose. Thanks!

Canton

2010-06-11T14:04:00.012-05:00

Kendall and I headed to Canton Trade Days with our friends Kate and Jack. The place is huge and couldn't possible be tackled in an entire weekend(with or without babes in towe). This was my first visit back since having Kendall and it proved to be much more difficult to shop. Nonetheless, we had fun.

Kendall "tackled" Jack every time he stood up in the wagon.

She loves playing with his hair. And he doesn't seem to mind.

Hot, tired and ready to go home.

Somewhere along the way Kendall chunked one of her brand new sandals from Janie and Jack out of the wagon. We retraced our steps, but didn't find it. So if you find this shoe, please return to sender! I wasn't too terribly disappointed as the shoe was having a constant battle with her cankles.After a long sweaty day of corn dogs, lemonade, dipping dots and Kate and I saying "sit down"we finally made a purchase(new blog to follow). Some crocs for our babes. I only bought one pair not sure how they would fit/wear, but I LOVE them and plan on going back for some more! Mimi is coming up in July and we plan on making a trip out there. Maybe, huge maybe, I will get to go without Kendall (hint, hint Rob!) and really shop. You know like do some damage shopping! Here is another really cute boutique that sells stuff there, Tiny Turtles. The outfit Kendall wore home from the hospital was a gift from there. You can order online if interested.

Mum's the Word

2010-06-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

This post got left behind and forgotten about because Rob had the pictures on his phone, but here goes.

Happy Mother's Day 2010!

When Kendall woke in the morning, Rob brought her down to our bed and presented me with a picture book he'd made for me compiled of pictures of Kendall. Very sweet and thoughtful! Then I got a gift that Rob didn't even realize he was giving me; going to the restroom in silence WITH the door closed. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon of enjoying each other's company, unpacking, lunch out with some friends. Here comes the part where I'm confused........all of a sudden I found myself standing in Best Buy. Is it Father's Day or Mother's Day???? I loathe the place. The trip didn't turn out too bad since I left with a new washer/dryer and refrigerator. The new t.v's I could care less about. And yes, you heard me, Rob got more t.v's(ughhhh)! Our night finished with a dinner at Olive Garden(moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips).

Somewhere during the day our friends Chris and Lauren came over to see our new house. Lauren had a gift bag in hand.
Rewind:
Friday night- Lauren and I hung out and I mentioned that Rob hadn't asked if there was anything I wanted, but if he had I would have said a Wusthof knife.
Saturday-Lauren sends me a text with a picture of a knife and the price asking if that was good. I replied back,"huh??" and the she replied back saying the text was meant for her uncle. I'm so dense, I didn't even catch on.
So, I think you are probably smarter than me and can figure out that the gift bag Lauren brought over was a knife for me that she had picked out for Rob. And that she didn't mean to send the text to me or her uncle, but Rob.

Memorial Day

2010-06-02T06:54:00.015-05:00

Was spent touring Texas.

We headed down to New Braunfels late Thursday night and stayed with my friend Laurie. Rob left Friday morning for Lake Travis where he would spend the weekend at a friend's bachelor party. Kendall and I stayed another night with Laurie, Tom and Cade.

Saturday morning Pawpaw and Mimi picked us up in NB and we headed to Burnet where my parents have a house near Lake Buchanan. We stopped at the Arnosky Flower Farm along the way. There were no workers as it was based on the honor system. What a neat place!

Stopping to "mell" the flowers

Hey, it's a holiday weekend, everyone fends for themselves!

We spent Saturday and Sunday at the lake swimming, eating, shopping, visiting Perissos winery, roasting marshmallows and enjoying the wildlife. This deer was hanging out in the yard when we woke up one morning. According to Kendall, deer make a noise that is a cross between a bear and a lion. Kendall missed her daddy and kept pointing to him in a picture she found. Then she started kissing his picture! My sister and her family came and spent the day with us Sunday. Look how much Naomi has grown. She just turned 3 months old and was full of smiles! This was the first time Kendall had "baby jealousy" of me holding another baby.Monday Rob picked us up and we headed to Salado where we spent the afternoon at Laurie's parents house hanging poolside. We left from there when Kendall was ready for bed and our drive wasn't too bad, only 3 hours. It was a fun filled weekend, but like always it is good to be home!

Lake Time!

2010-05-24T15:22:00.010-05:00

When I'm running on the treadmill (took a 6 month vacation, but when it does happen) I am motivated by thinking about Texas summers on the lake. My favorite time of year! If there happens to be some Texas country music playing and a cold one in my hand I'm the happiest girl in the world. Sunday we kicked off lake season at Lake Texoma on our friend Tony's boat. Kendall had a blast which made us all the happier to know she will be enjoying what we love to do every summer! We have a lot of unpacking, organizing and decorating to do, but everyone needs some play time so that will have to wait.............

Kendall splashed in the water and played in the sand with a smile that wouldn't leave her face.
We headed to one of the restaurants on the lake for lunch then stopped to gas the boat up. The gas attendant gave Kendall a ring pop and she thought she was the coolest thing since sliced bread! What a wonderful day all around!

Our Week

2010-05-20T22:08:00.008-05:00

Random pics of our week, not worthy enough of a stand alone blog, but worthy enough to be shared!

Shopping at Target with Dad. We (me, and Kendall went with Rob) in separate directions. I purchased essentials like food, sunblock, diapers, etc. Rob came back with his basket full of toys like pool, ball, lawn chair. And this is why I don't trust Rob to shop by himself.

Napping with the baby Louie. We were on the way out the door for a playdate when she ran back inside and came back with her purse on her arm. Priceless!

Playing it cool

What? You think it's all play, no work around here? Yeah right, Kendall pulls her weight by helping move furniture!

In other news - I took her night time bottle away, no more bottles(for the last 2 nights). And I'm sad. I'm sure I could have done it way sooner, but our lives have been a bit crazy with moving. So this weekend I'm packing up her bottles, bibs and burp cloths. All reminders of how quickly she is growing. Stay tuned for what I have planned to do with her bibs and burp cloths......

Abbu Babbu

2010-05-18T21:45:00.008-05:00

This is what Kendall has been saying for about 2 weeks. I've been stumped. Up until now I've prided myself by understanding everything she says. She doesn't just babble for fun. Nope, when she talks it has meaning and I usually understand what she is saying. Last night Rob unlocked the mystery............

I blow bubble.
She made a sentence. My 16 month old baby girl made a sentence. I always knew she was the smartest baby alive! I told you the girl loves bubbles. So some bubble blowing we did!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

2010-05-16T23:08:00.011-05:00

So we headed to the Dallas Arboretum with our friends Kate and Jack to enjoy all of the flowers. We decided to go ahead and get a membership since we know we will for sure be back for the Pumpkin patch in the Fall, bunny pics in the Spring and maybe some family pics in the Winter for Christmas cards. We were there for about 3 hours before we even realized how much time had passed and already have another playdate planned there this coming week. We can bring 1 guest for free each visit so let me know if you're interested in joining us!

The current theme is set up with Peter Rabbit Cottages.
Kendall was really interested in pushing her stroller.
Note to self for next playdate:

1. Bring more than 1 bottle of bubbles. Learning to share is not an easy thing. Especially when it's your FAVORITE thing in the world to do.

2. Bring more than 1 juicebox. Refer to above about sharing.

3. Bring Kendall's wagon so her and Jack will stop trying to get in other peoples' wagons.

4. Bring towel and change of clothes for Kendall to play in the splash pad area.

We then headed back to Kate and Jack's house for some more fun. Jack has a bubble machine!
Kendall had a great time and didn't want to leave!

We've Moved!!!

2010-05-14T12:40:00.007-05:00

After 6 weeks of being homeless, we now have a house to call a home! We closed on our house May 5th and began moving in May 6th. The process has been slow since Rob has been recovering from ear surgery, but it just feels so good to have our own space again and have all of our "things" back together!

Rob gets lots of props for picking the house out all by himself. Yep, you heard me! I was in San Antonio when Rob found our house. He called me to tell me about it and I said, "Go for it!", with nothing but his word and a couple of pictures he sent me. He did a great job as I am completely in love with it! *More pictures to come as we get unpacked and decorated.

We've already met several neighbors who offered water or toilet paper while we were moving and have welcomed us into their homes while we chatted. HUGE improvement from our last neighborhood where we lived for almost 3 years and no one even came to congratulate us with "It's a Girl" signs in the front yard after having Kendall. We are looking forward to making friendships for ourselves and Kendall and are excited about this next chapter in our lives.

Last, but not least, COME VISIT US!

Playing It By Ear

2010-05-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

Rob had ear surgery on May 3rd. This was actually his 3rd surgery after falling off a jet ski about 5 years ago and puncturing his ear drum. Obviously the other surgeries haven't been successful or we wouldn't be doing this again. Rob currently has close to 0% hearing in his left ear. Some of you may be thinking "Oh no!". However, I think he has enjoyed only hearing me "half" the time =) Kendall and I took Rob to the hospital early May 3rd and waited til he was prepped for surgery. Then I took Kendall to a friend's house(thanks a million Courtney, you were a life saver) and I returned to the hospital to be there when Rob woke from anesthesia. The surgery he had is called a stapedectomy. So far, Rob has already recovered some hearing and we are waiting for packing to fall out to see exactly how successful the surgery was. Fingers crossed!

Story Time

2010-05-10T14:25:00.009-05:00

I captured a very rare moment on camera........Rob reading to Kendall.

Rob is not so much a reader you could say. I guess he couldn't say no to Kendall.

I on the other hand love reading as many of you already know. So I am beyond thrilled that my baby girl has recently shown much more of an interest in "reading". She brings a book to me and sits on my lap and actually lets me read each page to the end of the book. One of her favorites at the moments is Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle.

And to anyone in cyber space that is interested I just finished House Rules by Jodi Piccult, good read and am starting The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Rob just purchased an iPad and I must admit, I'm a huge fan of reading books on it despite my inital feelings toward it. I'm open to any book suggestions for myself or Kendall.

Sassy Pants

2010-05-10T09:10:00.006-05:00

*Disclaimer: Although cute, I did not teach Kendall these next tricks!

While sitting down at lunch on a Saturday afternoon, my all of 15 months sassy pants, going on 15, started crossing her arms. And after each bite her arms would be crossed again.

God help me! My mom always said I'd be paid back in full with my own children!

Snack Time?

2010-04-30T12:40:00.004-05:00

I didn't think it was, but apparently Kendall did. And this is how I found her in the pantry, helping herself to a "nack" as she calls it.

Friendship........ (in a nutshell)

2010-04-20T00:31:00.007-05:00

Finding a good shopping buddy...

Means finding a good friend.....And that is something to be TrEaSuReD!!!

Where's the Money At???

2010-04-13T23:11:00.010-05:00

In a fitting room at the mall today, Kendall decided to look through my wallet. She got a little discouraged you see; she couldn't find any money. You and me both kid! So I sent this first picture to Rob in a text that said, "Kendall has a problem. She can't find any money in my wallet and she would like for you to replenish my supply". Rob sent me a text back that said, "HAHA".

But as you can see this is no laughing matter. In fact Kendall had to sit down to better evaluate the situation.Ok, let's start over and carefully look from the front.....

All the way to the back.
There's really NONE in here!!!
***Readers side note - Rob and I got this little dress for Kendall in Cancun last summer. Isn't it adorable on her? And very much in the Fiesta spirit!

Trip Down Memory Lane

2010-04-13T14:31:00.012-05:00

If you are from San Antonio than you more than likely visited the Kiddie Park as a child and have very fond memories there. If you are not from San Antonio, it's a little park devoted to carnival rides for tiny tots. When I was in kindergarten, back when it was half days, my father took care of me after school. I was in the morning class and my dad worked nights at the time. So after school my Dad prepared a hearty/healthy lunch for me that consisted of had boiled eggs and chocolate chips (we saved the grapes to throw at the gorillas at the zoo), then headed to the zoo or the kiddie park. Sometimes both in the same day. Those were the days! Well the park was recently renovated and I stepped back in time as I took Kendall to the Kiddie Park this week with her Aunt Kris. The first ride was a bit bumpy and we weren't quite sure if she'd want to ride anything else by the look on her face. Her cheeks were shaking and she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. But once the ride stopped she quickly walked to another ride wanting to get on.

This was actually her first time on a carousel, such a sheltered life she leads!

My Dad was very upset when he found out we'd gone without him so no doubt we will be back soon!

Hippity, Hoppity....

2010-04-12T22:56:00.017-05:00

Easter came and went.....

We started the day with some praise and worship to the man upstairs. Kendall napped. Then the festivities began! Here is Kendall checking out her goodies from the Easter Bunny.

Went to my cousin Debbie's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. Swinging, not one of her favorite activities because it requires her to sit still, she managed a smile for the camera.
Kendall with her 2nd cousins. Sizing up her competition for the Easter egg hunt.Let the hunt begin! Looks like a good egg to me!
Not bad for a first time egg hunter!

Two IS better than one!

Can't talk now, eggs to hunt for. Oh, who are we kidding? She was content after 2 eggs. In fact she started putting her eggs in the other kids baskets. She got distracted, One word - bubbles
The only family pic we got for the day (Rob wasn't feeling well. He found out the next day he had pneumonia) Then on to dinner with Rob's parents and sister. Whew, what an exhausting day. I can only imagine how tired the Easter bunny is!

That's What I Like About Texas!

2010-04-09T15:23:00.013-05:00

Bluebonnets!

You won't find them growing wild in any other state than the Lone Star State. I'd like to think of them as Texas' own little gem. This photo shoot with Aunt Kris was a last minute impromptu, but we do plan on going back out at appropriate photographer time (sunup or sundown) to get some more snapshots.

For several of the bluebonnets, my butt met their demise =(

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh my!

2010-04-04T23:11:00.014-05:00

We set out for the San Antonio zoo early Saturday morning with Pawpaw, Aunt Lisa, Elisha and Naomi to beat the heat and the crowds. The zoo is really becoming fun now that Kendall recognizes more animals, can say their names and the sounds they make.

Aunt Lisa with cousin Naomi
Feeding the Lories nectar
To my Dad's dismay, we missed the elephant show. The next best thing is sitting on an elephant statue. I remember as a kid taking rides on the elephants. You know back before they started mauling people to death.

Kendall checking on Cousin Naomi to see how she likes the zoo.

The sights are much better from Pawpaw's shoulders. I wish someone would have let me ride on their shoulders too!

Feeding the goats at the petting zoo. Anyone know what sound the goat makes???? This isn't a trick, I'm really at a loss.

They had brushes for the kids to pet the goats. I'm pretty sure every goat in that place(about 10) got a good brushing from Kendall. She was not scared in the least bit and could have stayed there all day. Apparently, like mother like daughter....my dad has a story about me at this same petting zoo as a kid walking around and picking up the goats.

We ended our zoo trip with a 20 min. train ride around Brackenridge park. Have you ever tried to keep a 1 year old sitting down for 20 minutes without a seatbealt? That was fun!

Green Thumb?

2010-04-02T23:27:00.008-05:00

Mimi enlisted the help of Kendall today with her Spring gardening.
Kendall wasn't sure about the "durt" at first, but soon decided it wasn't too bad.
Not sure how much help she provided as she preferred throwing her dirt in the air.
And once again, her famous "what happened" face. Or maybe this was her reaction to Pawpaw giving the plants a lifespan of no more than 3 months. Green thumb or not? Time will tell.

Hiatus

2010-04-02T23:04:00.003-05:00

I've been absent from the blog world for quite awhile and feel the need to get a little caught up. We've had a roller coaster of a month with many ups and downs.

As most of you already know, we had to put Sable to sleep March 10th. It was and IS still very difficult for me. I am still not OK to talk about her with a complete melt down. She was one of my babies and was a major part of the last 10 years of our lives. I have started a blog entry dedicated just to Sable, but have had to stop for a bit because it was emotionally draining(it will finally get posted one day). I understand many people will "not get" my heartbreak over the loss of a pet, but the important thing is that I "did get it". And for those of you that "don't get it", I'm sorry.
Rob turned 30 March 12th
Rob and I both got super sick with some bug and were out of commission for a good 3 days. Luckily, Kendall never got it. It was super difficult taking care of Kendall with 2 sick parents. Let's just say if you are the least sick out of the 2 parents it's like drawing the shorter straw.
Amid the sickness we were suppose to be packing and moved out. We got an extension for the closing. The move was brutal with Rob working 12 hour days, only off on Sunday and me trying to pack with Kendall by my side. I cried like a baby when we left our house for the last time. The 2 1/2 years that we made that house a home we did a lot of living. The most bittersweet memories for me are bringing home Kendall there and raising her for the first year of her life along with spending the last days of Sable's life there.
Needless to say, we haven't had time to really focus on finding a house so at the present time Rob is staying with a friend in McKinney while Kendall and I are in San Antonio with family and friends.We already miss Rob terribly and are ready to be in a new home as a family. This last month has been difficult, but we have survived! Prayers for the next month wouldn't hurt either.

Setting the Bar

2010-03-10T13:38:00.008-06:00

Kendall and I went to the park yesterday with our friends Diane and her son Brett. Brett is about 6 months older than Kendall. Well needless to say Mr. Brett is the prefect gentleman and has really raised the bar for anyone interested in courting Kendall in the future.

Hunting for the perfect flower to pick. It's all about the hunt!

Ahhh, this picture is priceless, it shoud be in a hallmark card

Retrieving more flowers for Kendall while she relaxes and eats her snacks.

Enjoying her fresh cut flowers!

The weather yesterday was gorgeous and today hasn't turned out so bad either. Bring on the sun!

Puddin' Face

2010-03-09T12:32:00.008-06:00

Who can resist a puddin' face? Not me!

Ok, so she was hamming it up a bit for the camera!
This is her notorious, "What happened?" look

With all of her molars coming in, she's been very picky about eating. However, jello and pudding always go down smoothly. Tonight I'm trying Arroz con leche from Smitten Kitchen. I'm lying to myself and saying it's for Kendall. Turns out I'm a pretty good liar cause I've convinced myself it's true!