Here Fishy, Fishy

This past week Kendall has discovered that she can put her face underwater in the bath. Did it scare her? Heck no! She continues to do it over and over again and then comes up laughing. I think it's time for swim classes. Hold up......Does that mean I have to be in my swimsuit in front of people also???
And her latest shenanigan was submerging her face in the dog's water bowl. For this one I have no picture because as soon as I caught her she took off running. It doesn't stop around here!!

Arm Candy

For about the past month Kendall has shown a great affinity for arm candy (purses). She MUST have a purse on her arm/shoulder at all times. And she has quite a selection to choose from! She likes to put items in her purse such as sunglasses, wallet, phones, etc. and then swing it up over her shoulder and precedes to walk around the house saying "byyyye, byyyye, byyyye". So here are some pictures taken over the course of the last month with her dear purses.

Here is a Dooney & Bourke purse from my sister, her first purse.

A purse given to her from Mimi and Pawpaw for her birthday.
A Macy's bag that she carried around all night. This one will get me in trouble though. (side note - I had hidden a Macy's bag in the closet so Rob wouldn't know. Well Rob and I were talking when Kendall comes walking up dragging the Macy's bag with my recent purchases, busted!)

And the mecca of all arm candy, a baby Louie, given to her on Vday from our friends Spike (works with Rob) and his daughter Savanna. What can I say? Like mother, like daughter.

12 Years

12 years ago today angels danced while we mourned the loss and life of my mother. 12 years ago today I felt as if I had lost someone so important to me that no one or thing mattered to me anymore because it felt as if I could never loose something again as great as her.

Kendall may not know my mother, but she has already inherited her eyes, stubbornness and love for people. "Grammy" as I call her to Kendall will however one day be very well known by Kendall. For it is my mother that has shown me how to love so deeply and care for my own child so intensely.This poem was read at my mom's funeral and could not be more true:

"God saw you were getting tired, and a cure was not to be; so he put His arms around you, and whispered, "Come with me." With tearful eyes we watched you suffer, and saw you fade away;Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands laid to rest; God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the Best!"

We love you and miss you!

Little Mama

I found Kendall "feeding" her baby doll the other day, but didn't have my phone (camera) on me. Today I was ready. Puppy was the hungriest, so he got to eat first. A quick little eater he is!

Of course we can't forget about baby who was also hungry. And a little more patient than puppy.Sometimes you have to adjust to find the most comfortable position. A boppy would have definitely been helpful in this situation!The act of her "feeding" her babies absolutely AMAZES me for the simple fact that I've never shown her this by pretending to feed her babies or prompted her to do so. Not to mention it M.E.L.T.S. my heart. A little mama in the making indeed!!!

Meet Puppy

"Puppy" was a birthday gift to Kendall from her Aunt Kris & Uncle Jeb. Kendall L.O.V.E.S. puppy. She is pointing at puppy wherever he is in her room when I get her out of her crib in the morning and squeals with delight when puppy starts barking and wagging his tail (he is voice activated). She very dearingly carries puppy in a headlock around the house with her or loves his neck while patting his back saying pupppeee. Puppy goes on car rides with us and has made appearances at playdates, church and the Dr.'s office. Keep in mind......puppy barks. So we have gotten some unusual glances when puppy is lucky enough to get out of the car with us.

Puppy was the lucky recipient of Kendall's kisses!

Last week puppy went to church with us while I attended bible study (2 hours). Kendall was holding puppy when I dropped her off at daycare. She was holding puppy when I checked on her halfway through and was STILL holding puppy when I picked her up. I asked them if she had been holding puppy the whole time. They said she put puppy down for a couple of minutes to play so they decided to put puppy on the shelf next to her diaper bag. That is until she noticed puppy had disappeared and stood under the shelf pointing at puppy until they got him down for her! And she still had a tight hold on puppy on the car ride home from church.
And of course puppy got to go the Dr. for Kendall's 1 year shots. Puppy measured in with Kendall. She's 31 1/2 in. tall, 95th % for height. Dr. is projecting her to be around 5"8-5"10 based on a chart where he inputs all of her data. She is still 23 1/2 lbs, 75th % for weight.
Kendall, Daddy and puppy waiting anxiously for the inevitable.....shots, yuck! Kendall tried talking puppy into taking one for the team.

Winter ONEderland

Birthday invitations created special by Rob (with my creativity and vision of course). The birthday outfit:Tutu made special by none other than me! The onesie was purchased off of Etsy from Four Sewing Sisters, http://www.etsy.com/shop/foursewingsisters. The leggings were purchased off of Etsy from Laina's Laundry, http://www.etsy.com/shop/LainasLaundry. The diaper cover was also purchased off of Etsy (my latest addiction) from Kennedi's Closet, http://www.etsy.com/shop/KennedisCloset.
Her 1 year pictures were of course taken by our superb photographer, Jennifer Zindler, from Haute Shot Photography. You can look at the all of the pictures here, http://www.smugmug.com/share/FU4mYDalMOlIw. The password is ashley in all lower case. You may also view her blog in the column on the right of my page.

The smash cake was from Krogers and can be custom ordered for only $3.99! That just blew me away. The snowflake cookies were made special by Aunt Lauren. They went so fast I had to hide one away to eat after the party. I do believe she is taking orders!Cupcakes made by GG and Aunt Ashley. The white chocolate snowflakes came from The Cake Stand in McKinney.The decorations:
There were snowflakes hanging throughout the house, one snowflake with a picture to represent each month of her life, and my homemade lollipop trees
Birthday girl's throne. Hot coco bar (go figure we hit a record high for the day)

Banners made by myself and Ashley. One said Happy Birthday Kendall and the other said Winter Onederland. These pictures don't do the banners justice if I do say so myself!

The party favors:
Snowflake crayons purchase off of Etsy from http://www.etsy.com/shop/taliesindesigns
I think Kendall really enjoyed her party..............we did anyways =) The birthday girl was ready to crash during presents though so we let Rob finish unwrapping her many wonderful gifts. We skipped the birthday cake altogether and went straight down for a nap. (she'd already had 2 smash cakes within the last month). Special thanks to my friend Kate that brought Jack's ball pit for the kids to play in. Even Rob enjoyed it. He's sure to embarrass Kendall in a couple of years!

The balloons were one of her favorite toys, go figure! And the precious hat she's wearing was made special by my friend Kate

Happy Birthday Precious Girl

Kendall,

Before you were conceived I prayed for a miracle, a blessing, YOU. I think I might have even loved you before I was pregnant with you. The moment I laid eyes on you was most definitely the greatest moment in my life. How God could have created something so perfect is beyond me? A mother's love for her child is the deepest love I've ever felt. A love so deep to my soul it almost hurts. I think I might now understand God's love for us, his children. I truly believe we were chosen specially to be YOUR parents and I am so honored. I pray a special thank you every day for his gift to us and thank him for your health and happiness.

You have captivated us with your charm, beauty and sense of humor. We love the way your eyes sparkle and almost completely close when you are smiling and the way your nose scrunches up when you are laughing. You love your mama and dada no doubt, but you also love meeting new people and being a social butterfly. In one year you've grown sooo much and I love the little person you've become. However, I do miss the little tiny baby that you were. I've cherished EVERY minute with you and let no time pass that I would regret.

As much as I couldn't wait to give birth to you and see your sweet face I missed not having you inutero and being attached to me every minute where I could completely protect you. I've learned about letting go and trusting in God for your safety. It was hard letting you sleep in your own room, leaving you with someone else to watch you, letting you eat solid food (afraid of you choking) and letting you be in the car with someone else driving. Your independence can be scary at times, but is also assurance of your feeling completely loved and secure and for this I'm grateful.The future is uncertain, but I'm sure God has big plans for you. I can't wait to see you continue to grow and bless those that you come in contact with. You are my greatest blessing and success and will always be my baby. Happy Birthday sweet baby girl. I will love you no matter what, always and forever!!!