Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Lake Play Date




The weather was finally nice enough, so we had our first lake play date the other day...and our first drowning scare with Abby. A bunch of my friends came over with their kids for crafts and then we went out to play at the lake. The kids were playing at the edge of the lake, and we had told them not to go in past their knees. Apparently, Abigail was trying to fish something out of the water and lost her footing. Thank God we were all right there and that someone heard the splash because it just as easily could have been silent. The image of Abigail struggling under the water is one I will never forget. I ran down into the water to pull her out. She was crying and said she couldn't breath. I held her for a long time. I just am so thankful that the results were good and that we got this helpful reminder about how quickly things can happen...even if you're right there. Life jackets are being worn even down on the beach now. If we have a crowd, we're going to have a parent on lifeguard rotation. Abby is now signed up for private swim lesson.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Brushing Teeth

This is Abigail's evening ritual as she brushes her teeth.

Morning Jumping

Abigail loves to wake Kenzie up in the morning. She then crawls into the crib with her, and they jump. I love this morning ritual. It is normally accompanied by a morning hug and kiss.

Here's a pretty good video of Kenzie and a bunch of her current words.

First Haircut


Kenzie received her first haircut, thanks to Abigail. We were in our room talking and realized there was prolonged quiet with our two girls in the bathroom. I asked what was going on, and Abby said, "I'm cutting Kenzie's hair." Well, she was. She had found our toe nail scissors and was snipping her sisters hair up. I guess it is inevitable. My sister did it to me, and I did it to my little sister. Luckily, it wasn't a horrible haircut. It wasn't so extremly noticeable.

The Weather

I'll use this beautiful picture to talk about the crazy weather we have been having. This is one of the only clear days we have had this spring. It has been dumping rain constantly, and I am so ready for spring to come. The other day as we were walking to the house in the wind and rain, Abigail said, "It's fall." Although I tried to convince her that it was actually spring, she never was convinced.

Amazing Rainbows

We didn't get the camera as quickly as we wanted, but this was the most brilliant rainbow. It acutally had two rainbows shooting up brightly from the same location. It was gorgeous.

Dressing Herself

Abigail has an opinion about clothes. Other moms encouraged me to let her dress herself. Here is evidence of why I don't have her dress herself very often. She has actually been really into dresses lately - it's all she wants to wear. She will sacrifice comfort for what she wants to wear. She changes clothes constantly throughout the day....constantly. Any mirror or reflection in windows, ovens, etc. deserves a stop and glance at her current attire. She often stops to sing and dance in whatever princess thing she has on. She convinces herself that whatever she is wearing at the moment is her favorite color..."Oh, I have on pink and green. Pink and green are my favorite colors." She also likes to match other people. "Kenzie is wearing kopa-dots (polka dots). I want to wear kopa-dots." Accessories are very important too. She also loves to put on Kenzie's clothes, especially her pajamas, even though they are too small. Picking out Kenzie's pajamas is another favorite thing. There's been a little bit of a battle lately because we'll be ready to go, and she'll disappear and then show up naked trying to pick out something else and getting upset by how something is fitting or that it's not what she really wants or that it's highly inappropriate. She just loves clothes.

First Annual Daddy Daughter Camping Trip






It was Abby's first time camping, and she loved it. They went with my brother-in-law, Ross, and Abby's cousins, Emma & Elena. The first picture is of them camping in the back yard to prepare for the weekend events. They went to Penrose Point State Park. Fishing was on the agenda, and Abby likes to inform me that she caught sea weed. They ate Smores, and Abby wanted to eat each part separately. They all slept well despite the rain beginning to dump at 2 in the morning. They left early because of the rain and went to the Andersons for breakfast.

Grandpa's First Race of 2010



Unfortunately, I was sick and missed it, but Jeremy took the girls to Dan's first race of the year. Abby always has to have an outfit for everything, and for a while this has been her self-proclaimed "race car outfit." She put it on immediately when she found out that watching grandpa drive was on the agenda. They love this event.

Mother's Day 2010






This year was our family Mother's Day tradition of going to the horse races. We were there with my familyand the Durrs decided to join us this year as well. It was a beautiful day, and the girls loved riding the ponies and Abby liked being up close and personal with the big horses. I think my dad was the big winner this year, although for us small betters, that doesn't mean much. It was a great day followed by our annual trip to the ice cream restaurant, Trotters.

Our Little One







Kenzie is an adorable girl. She is bright eyed and loves to laugh and get involved in any way she can. She is a strong kid who knows what she wants and sometimes fusses when she doesn't get it. She has recently been better at saying please ("Bah") to switch off the whining or not do the whining at all. That has been a nice change. She is a goofy eater. She will not put certain things in her mouth. We've tricked her a couple times by sneaking chicken into her mouth, but she's spit it out and never puts it in vountarily. Other things she will not try include: eggs, peanut butter and jelly, tortilla and cheese, steamed vegis, rice, salmon, hamburger, potatoes, hot dog...a number of things....won't even put them in her mouth. Only recently have I convinced her to try pancakes and toast, whe she did like. She will eat pureed anything. She enjoys all kinds of fruit, pasta, yogurt, cheese, oatmeal, pizza and anything sweet. Ironically, she won't put a lot of food in her mouth but will put dirt and rocks in there easily. She adores her sister who can always make her smile. She is a pretty tough little kid. She is particular. She has been good at obeying lately. She is curious and likes to open things and see how they work. Books, shape sorting, having someone chase after her, being outdoors, putting things in her mouth, being tickled and buzzed, climbing, being spun around, bubbles dancing and music are among her favorite things. She also likes anything she doesn't have in her possession at the moment, begging "bah." She loves to run to dad when he comes home. Communicating comes easy to her, and she understands a lot. Some of her words (most in her own language) include please (bah), thank you (take ooo), Peek-a-Boo (peek-e), hi, bye, ma ma, da da, up (uch), hot, more (mo), uh-oh, ball (bah) and bath (ba). Today she did animal sounds for the first time. Giving kisses are one of our favorites. We did squirt guns today, and she loved that and always seems to enjoy the water. Her smile brings us joy.

Ethan's Birthday Cake

I made Ethan Miller's 3rd birthday party...pirate theme!