At the park with Jack

We usually go to Middleton Park when Jack is in town but today we decided to head to Wannamaker County Park.  It is a lot bigger and boy, was it packed.  Kendall didn’t know where do begin and almost had this, “wow, I’ve never seen so many people!” look on her face.She tried out any and everything she could, that was at her level.  She didn’t want much help from her mommy today.  How can that be? She’s just 14 1/2 months old, she’s supposed to need me to hold her hand still.  Well, she does, she just didn’t at the park.  She wanted to be a big girl!There are two sections of the park as well as a big hill that all the kids like to take a piece of cardboard to the top of and slide down.  Jack was all over the place and him and Grandpa even made it to the top of the hill a few times, only to look, not to slide.  When they were standing still long enough, these are the pictures I got of the sweet cousins.Look at these baby faces!  They are growing so fast and I could just kiss their cheeks all day.Jack found a big stick and in the blink of an eye it was a golf club, a sword and a gun.  Such an imagination on my sweet nephew.  He wasn’t happy when we had to say bye to the stick but Grandpa quickly saved the day with a visit to the climbing wall where Jack took a quick break.My sweet girl had so much fun at the park and even more so with this super size plastic cup.  She could fill it up with stones, dump it out and repeat a time or two before she got bored with it.  Jack was doing it first and of course Kendall followed behind, monkey see, monkey do!   We are so glad you could come to the park with us Jack! It was so much fun.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Over the weekend….

We had lots of fun!  Friday we headed to Mt. Pleasant to celebrate Emory’s birthday.  We didn’t make it to the party with all of the kids because it was during Kendall’s nap time but we did enjoy dinner afterward with all of the family. Saturday, after I ran my first 5K with my friends Rachel and Sabrina, we headed over for a play date.  The weather was beautiful and Stryker has a lot of fun outside toys to play with.  Kendall enjoyed jumping in the trampoline as long as she was the only one jumping.  It took her a little bit longer to get used to it if Stryker jumped too.  She just laughed and laughed when she was inside! When we were done playing, we headed out to the annual, Old North Charleston block party for a St. Patty’s day celebration.  This was our second year, as a group, heading out to the festivities.  Last year we got rained out and by time we made it to the car, the rain was gone however, we headed home anyway.  This year Kendall and Stryker enjoyed cookies, listening to the bands, dancing and watching all of the crazy adults dressed in green! It was a lot of fun this year and we definitely look forward to next years celebration.  Such a fun tradition!Sunday, we hung out around the house, played outside, went to the park, went to the grocery store and had an extra long bath…..lazy day.  Sorry, no pictures on that day.  I was too busy running after her and being somewhat sore after the run that photos weren’t on my list of priority.  

Fourteen months old

So of course I have been slack, again with taking pictures but I will try to do better…again.  There isn’t much new to report with lil’ miss.  She’s another month older and silly and sweet as ever.  She walks runs all over the place and is ever so fearless.  She has learned how to get up on the couch and the coffee table with ease.  She still has just two teeth but eats well.  A few new words she has picked up on are “oh no,” “night night,” “uh oh,” and “bubble.”  There are many times she’ll just look at you like “don’t you know what I’m saying to you?”  She is quite the talker.  A few times, I feel as if she has said “what’s that?” as she points to different things.  I’m excited to hear her first few sentences one day.  Below is one of her newest tricks.  She sniffs her nose when she does this too.  So cute!

Kendall-

Thank you for being such a sweet, happy girl! You have quite the personality these days and I look forward to every minute we spend together.  You always make me laugh.  We are so lucky to be your parents and to be able to watch you grow into the toddler you have become.  You are a very good listener and seem to really understand what we say to you.   You continue to love the outdoors and watching you explore everything you find is quite entertaining.   You are growing daily and it seems as though in a blink of an eye you are tall enough to reach into drawers you once could barely see into.  You remain in good health and we are so thankful for that.  Thank you for being you, sweet pea!

We love you,

Mommy and Daddy 

Jack turns TWO!

We buckled our seatbelts and made our way to Columbia for Jack’s second birthday party.  Michelle made this sign last year and it will be posted at each of his parties….love it! The party theme this year…airplanes. And boy, did everything come together perfectly.There was a gate number to welcome all of Jack’s guests, baggage tags…And of course lots of yummy, handmade goodies. The propeller pops were very tasty.I think Jack’s cake was one of the only things Michelle didn’t make.  She’s so talented and crafty.  Jack was ALL OVER the place and it was really hard to get a picture of him. I think I got two. Last year, Jack wasn’t too sure about the Happy Birthday song or his cake, but this year proved to be different.  He was so excited to hear everyone sing to him and was quite the pro at blowing out the candles.  He was even able to do blow them out twice for all of the pictures.Kendall had an absolute blast at the party.  She played in the wagon off and on and wanted to be in the swing for as long as we would let her. We had to remind her to give the other kids a turn.Daddy had a very proud moment at one point.  Kendall went to her first basketball game (her cousin, Sullivan) the night before the party. She played with a basketball during the game and watched the kids run up and down the court.  Ryan gave Kendall the ball at the party and told her to go put it in the basket.  Other than him pointing at the basket, which she clearly wasn’t even looking at, she knew right where to go with the ball.  It was a slam dunk!  She (and daddy) was so proud of making the basket and even dunked a few more times.Balloons kept a few of the kids occupied, until they let them go high in the sky.  At the end of the party, when all of the bigger kids were done jumping, I let Kendall try the jump castle. I hopped in to supervise. It took a little bit of warming up and then she didn’t want to get out. There were white beach balls inside the castle that Kendall enjoyed kicking around.Grandpa even stuck his head in, which she thought was pretty funny.  Proud grandpa! Love my girl!As we departed, we picked up our goodie from Jack, a wooden airplane. Thanks buddy!  We always have such a good time in Columbia and look forward to our next visit.  We hope you had a great birthday party, Jack. We sure did enjoy celebrating with you! We hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow when you really turn TWO!

Applesauce

I haven’t been giving Kendall applesauce lately because she eats diced fruits that she is able to pick up with her fingers.  Well, we tried applesauce the other night and she had so much fun with it.  Although I tried not to laugh because it is not funny to spit your food out, I couldn’t hold back.  She was trying to make funny noises with the applesauce in her mouth.  I let her do it for about a minute and then decided she had made enough mess.  Her laugh is so contagious!

Thirteen months old

Another month has arrived but not much new to update about.  Kendall is faster then ever, it seems and enjoys running from room to room.  We have to remind her to slow down sometimes.  She enjoys her playroom and on most days it looks like she has played with every toy in the room.  She still just has two teeth but that doesn’t slow her down too much.  Her favorite right now is fruit.  She has learned where her belly is and if you ask her to find her nose, she’ll get yours first and think about finding hers.  I love watching her play and often wonder what is going on in her mind as she is picking up the toys. The faces she makes are priceless. Kendall-

You continue to light up mine and your daddy’s lives.  You always make us smile and are starting to become so cuddly and affectionate.  You really like to give hugs and kiss mommy all the time.  I think daddy’s facial hair is prickly on your soft skin so you don’t give daddy kisses yet but you’re working on it.  You’re a great sleeper and know your nap and bedtime routines like the back of your hand.  You love to look at books when mommy reads to you and are really starting to have your favorites.  This past month, you weaned yourself from nursing. Once your bedtime story is over, we rock and say prayers and then it’s into your crib without a peep.  You also no longer use a bottle.  We started whole milk from a sippy cup the day after your 12 month visit and you transitioned without any fight.  We are so proud of you sweet girl and you continue to grow and develop so quickly.  I am cherishing each and every moment with you at every age and it just keeps getting better.

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy