Christmas Day

I was all prepared this year to take some good pictures during the holidays.  Well don’t you know, I didn’t really accomplish that.  We woke up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought for Kendall and of course I was really too concerned with her reaction and wanting to see it on my own, that I didn’t get the best pictures.  She was so excited, however to open everything! She kept saying, “Santa brought it.” Too cute!After a few presents at home, we headed up to Columbia to celebrate more of Christmas with my parents, sister and her family and my brother.  We had a nice meal followed by more presents.  Kendall was more interested in what Jack and Sam got from Santa then opening her own gifts. My sister took a lot more pictures then me (as usual), so please check out her blog. (excuse the blurriness of the tree).We packed up the gifts and then it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus! We will always celebrate the reason for the season! I think I need to make one of my New Year’s resolutions, to take more pictures.  

Santa Claus…

Was not Kendall’s favorite this year.  We headed to see the Christmas lights at Old Santee Canal State Park with the Gehlken’s.  Kendall loved the lights and was even happy to eat some marshmallows off a stick however Santa was a no go.  Last year was a piece of cake so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and see what picture we get next year.  Maybe having her little brother  sit next to her will make it all better. 

32 weeks

The countdown to the single digit weeks began last week but now with this blog post, it marks EIGHT weeks until we get to see Ethan’s sweet face.  I can definitely tell Ethan is growing and taking up every bit of space there is for him.  I become short of breath frequently, but not every day and sitting down is not my favorite thing.  I have to get in a comfortable position so that I don’t feel like everything is so crammed in.  He his constantly moving, mainly in the morning and night and occasionally I can feel a “part” although I can’t always tell what it is.  We are slowly preparing for his grand debut and preparing Kendall as well.  Can’t wait to meet him!!  Just for fun…my baby bump growth so far.                 16 weeks                           20 weeks                        24 weeks                            28 weeks

Christmas with the Grant’s

Family is so special to me and to spend time with multiple family members throughout the holiday season makes it always more enjoyable and that much more special.  We celebrated Christmas with the Grant’s, the Sunday before the big day.  There were presents and wrapping paper everywhere.  Emory got an American Doll from Lindy and Granddaddy. I think it was a hit with the big girls too.Uncle Earl and his new wife, Sylvia, joined us for Christmas this year bearing gifts for all. Kendall and Emory love to play on Lindy’s piano.  They tried their hands at some Christmas music. It sure doesn’t look like they got very far.  Guess they were learning the music.We had so much fun with everyone and enjoyed a great meal as well.  Merry Christmas to all!

Ice cream cone Christmas trees

My mom shared an old idea that she used to do as a kid with Kendall and Jack and they both had so much fun with it.  Cover an ice cream cone with green frosting and decorate with red and green M &M’s, how easy.  Kendall wasn’t sure what to do with the M&M’s to start with but it didn’t take long, after sampling a few, to figure it out. And then, oh my, she wanted another iced cone all to herself….to eat like corn on the cob. I was a little iffy due to the mess it would make but then I thought, “sure go ahead.”  It was a treat to watch her examine the cone and see how she could get the most icing off.  What a cutie!! Thanks for sharing your holiday craft with me Grandma! It was fun! The trees made a nice final touch to our first gingerbread house.

It’s Ethan…in 3D

We got to see our baby boy tonight on the big screen.  When I was 27 weeks pregnant with Kendall, we went to See Me 3D and enjoyed the experience so much, we went back this time at 30 weeks to see baby Ethan.  It was much more of an experience this time, as Kendall was able to come with us.  I brought the iPad, a toy and some Cheerios to keep her busy just in case she didn’t want to sit still.  She did so good and you almost didn’t know she was there.  I was so happy she was able to be a part of this event.

The picture on the left is a little smile and on the right, his eyes are open (kinda creepy).This one amazes me, you can see his eyelashes! These are all with his eyes closed and his hand and arm in front of his face.

Our FIRST gingerbread house

Oh, what fun did we have!! It was the first time for me making the house and Kendall even seeing one.  I didn’t exactly read the directions all the way through so I think these four gingerbread walls must have fell down and were put back together at least five times. Duh, you have to wait for it to dry before you try to decorate.  I will definitely remember this for the next time.  Kendall enjoyed playing with the candy and did add her personal touches.  I can’t wait to make one next year.  I’ll have four hands to help me!Notice the mouth full of candy (sorry for the grainy iPhone picture).And our final product…

Random fall photos

Soooo, since I missed posting our October fun, I’m doing it now…all at once. Enjoy!!

We went to the fair for the second year, and Kendall LOVED it.  She did not want to get off of the carousel and had so much fun petting ALL of the animals.  She even fed a few, by her choice. We rode an elephant and of course she had to touch it too.  She patted him nicely on his back.It was so much fun to experience the fair through my baby girl’s eyes.  She took it all in and I can’t wait to go back again next year.  Kendall also wanted her own bag of cotton candy before we left, although I should have said no being that she only ate some of the pink and was done. And here is lil’ miss in her Halloween outfit.  Not really a costume but good enough for this year. We tried just three times to take a picture with her witch mask she colored in school. LOVE IT! I almost forgot to add in our zoo trip.  I wanted to take Kendall to Boo at the Zoo but the timing didn’t work out to stay until the festivities began.  We made it there in time to see a few animals before all of the trick or treating started and we had a blast. I took some pictures of the animals we saw (monkeys, flamingos, koi) and some in the aquarium exhibit but they didn’t really turn out to be blog worthy.  Here are a  few that did. I’m hoping next time we make it to the zoo there will be more animals to see and I will have more camera participation from Miss Occupied.  Most of the animals were “sleeping” to prepare the zoo for all of the kiddos to trick or treat.

28 weeks

Twelve weeks to go until we meet our sweet baby boy! I think he knew I said he was a lazy baby and he has been kicking a lot more lately but still not as much as Kendall.  I passed my glucose tolerance test, which is great news and now we are looking forward to our 30 week ultrasound where they will measure him one more time before delivery time.  We also have a 3D ultrasound scheduled in the coming weeks and I can’t wait for that.  Pictures will follow. 

Twenty two months old

Do you see the focus in this twenty two month old? You can’t miss it. And all because of Dora. Kendall watches tv for a little bit after she gets home from day care and Dora is her most favorite right now. She can name Dora, Boots, Swiper , the map and the backpack without hesitation. Occasionally, she will say the Spanish words when the characters say to do so. Azul (blue) has been the most recent. I was surprised when I heard her say it. Future linguist?

Kendall has eleven teeth now but that has not added much to her list of foods she will eat (insert sad mommy face). I continue to try new things and reintroduce old but she is one picky eater, I tell ya. I keep hearing, “one day she’ll eat you out of house and home.” I beg to differ right now. She is showing signs of really wanting to start potty training however the classroom she is in does not help with that at her age so i don’t want to confuse her. We’ll start soon enough.

She continues to talk like crazy and is putting two to three words together. I love it. She is more in tune with my growing belly and knows that there is a baby inside. I’m working on teaching her to say brother and Ethan but those don’t come out so clear right now. In case anyone wonders, she does, to my dismay, still have the paci. I am thankful it’s just at night but still wish it was gone. I think I can! I think I can! That’s what I’ll have to tell myself in order to get rid of it.

We continue to be blessed with a healthy, happy, growing little girl who makes us smile every single day. She is so full of life and makes my heart bigger every day. Thank you sweet girl!

24 weeks

Six months!! Not much new to report. This pregnancy is a lot different then with Kendall in that I notice myself getting a little out of breath with sitting in different positions and sometimes walking.  Nothing that is too concerning just different.  It also seems as though Ethan is a lazy baby and just likes to hang out in his cozy home, for now.  He has just recently started kicking but not a lot and not near what Kendall did.  I know I have four months to go so we’ll see if he becomes more active or remains a lazy boy! Either way, I. LOVE. BABY KICKS (and punches).                                                                                                        (please excuse the blurry, flash photo)

I wanted to keep with the idea of taking the monthly picture in the same place and in the same type of clothing, however that has not worked out.  Here are my first three pictures as a comparison. I’ll try to be more photogenic in the next four months. UGH! That’s all I’ll say!

St. James Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin picking time again! St. James United Methodist Church is so close to home and always has such a variety of pumpkins to choose from.  They did not disappoint this year.  There were grey ones, white ones, tiny and large ones and even a few that were white with an orange lace look to it.  Very unique!This year, Kendall was even more obsessed with the pumpkins then last year.  She tried to pick a few up and she loved going up and down the aisles looking at all the different colors.  When she saw the pumpkins with discolorations and bumps, she would point and loudly say, “ewwww!” We walked over to the pile of hay, and oh boy, was it better than a toy any day.  Kendall decided to pick up handful after handful of hay and take it to “hide” the pumpkins.  She had a blast covering the pumpkins (even though the hay didn’t “hide” the pumpkins very long) and running through the hay.  She was so involved with the hay, I was lucky to get these pictures.  How cute is she? These are two of my favorites for sure! And, before we left, Kendall had to line up three mini pumpkins on the palette. Do you see the two closest together in the left picture? She has number three in her hands.  We also stopped to smell the flowers.  The pumpkin patch visits are going to become more and more fun each year. I already know it!  Next year, Ethan will join us!

Uh oh, Cheerio!

Soooo, today, I asked my helper to carry in the Cheerio box (yes, the packaging was already open) so that I could carry in two grocery bags and my empty lunch box.  Well, I barely had the bags up on the counter and I hear, “Mommy, help! Mommy, help!” Kendall wanted some Cheerios and was trying to open the box.  I’d say she didn’t need any help, wouldn’t you?

Apple

We were walking out of the door for work and school this morning and I was running out of hands to hold everything that I needed to put into the car.  I asked Kendall to hold my apple because I knew it was something she could hold in her little hands without dropping.  Little did I know she was going to start eating it AND loving it.  I had no clue her seven front teeth could do such a job on an apple much less that she knew what she was doing.  It cracked me up!

She worked on the apple from home to school which is about a seven minute ride.  When I took the apple from her, to have part of my breakfast, this is what I had left of the apple. Too funny!

West Farm

Kendall and I headed to the West Farm Corn Maze with some of my CharlestonMommies.com friends this year.  We had about 9 kids total plus mommies with kids of all age ranges from baby to big kid.  Kendall had a lot of fun running around with Stryker and pretty much doing her own thing.  Last year, she was mostly in our arms or in the stroller but she did touch her feet to the ground.  She was less then thrilled with taking pictures this year but thankfully I had the help of a friend to capture some shots that Kendall wasn’t so aware of.  Thanks, Rachel!The animals were Kendall’s favorite.  She called each one by name all by herself.  We saw chicken’s, goats (which were her favorite), a huge pig, cows and a horse. I was too busy keeping up with Kendall and where she would put her hands to take pictures of all of the animals. Oops! This is Maggie, the pig.  There was a long pole you could put food down for her to eat and boy, did she know how to make that thing shake.  I don’t think she walked more then a foot away from the pole or lifted her head very long to enjoy all of us watching her.  Guess she was hungry. We did not attempt the maze again this year, but the hayride was a hit for everyone.  I’m not sure what Kendall was saying in this picture but I promise she was having a good time.  There was so much corn to ride around.  She loved bouncing on the big balls too, with my help.   When the hayride was over, I wanted Kendall to be able to pick out a pumpkin and decorate it with the rest of the kids.  Well, she checked them out for a quick minute however, she had her own plans that consisted of going back to see the goats.  We did leave with a small “puck-in” but it does not have any special touches on it.  Maybe next year.  I hope next year. Stryker went with us last year too.  I’m happy that a tradition has been started during the fall season and that we can all be a part of it as families.  I can’t wait until next year to see how many kids we can add to the fun.   Aren’t they cute?