go fly a kite

so, this time i'm about 3 days behind on this particular post.

saturday was a windy day, to say the least, in gypsum - especially in the afternoon.

kennedie got a kite for her birthday from her friend calvin....

daddy helped her to get started (many times!!) but she liked flying it solo once it got going :)

that's what we do on windy days :)

guess that's going to be our new every afternoon thing - since we live in windy gypsum ;)

nap time

kennedie had a break through this week at school (yes - i call her day care school b/c she has learned so much - she is not only getting cared for, but taught as well!) - she slept on her very own nap mat :) to some, this may not seem monumental - but to her mommy (& her teacher i'm sure) it is! no more  hauling out the pack-n-play at naptime for her!

 kennedie still sleeps in her crib at night (i'm probably going to regret saying this next part) b/c she has yet to try to escape it - i.e. climb out. she has also always napped in her crib when we are home...until yesterday. she kept saying something & i couldn't for the life of me figure it out until she drug her sleeping bag out to the living room and said it again - it was 'nap mat'. so, we took her sleeping bag into her room & put it out on her carpet. she got her blankies, snuggled right in and told me to "close the door." i thought, yeah right, there's no way she's going to sleep in there with her books, toys & dresser drawers that are just waiting to be emptied ;) but to my suprise, when i peeked in about 15 mintues later - afraid of how quiet it was in there - there she was, fast asleep, sprawled out with two babies tucked in beside her (she must've gotten up to get them after i closed the door).

though it may be short lived, she asked to nap on her nap mat (aka sleeping bag) again today. she asked for her babies before i left the room, so i tucked everyone in & closed the door. as i walked away, i heard some talking but went to unpack the groceries and give her some time to fall asleep. when i was finished, i leaned close to the door but couldn't hear a sound. again, being the photo crazed mommy that i am, i crept in for another shot. not only was she asleep with her babies, but the talking i had heard must have been her reading stories to her babies before naps, as there were a couple books beside the 'nap mat' that weren't there when i had tucked everyone in :)

jam session :)

one of kennedie's new favorite activities - jammin with daddy :)

talents & grammy's visit:)

so, i'm not doing a super-spectacular job at keeping up with the blogging, but i think i've had at least one per week :) with my mom visiting, things got busy pretty quick & with the warm weather, we were outside more than inside (near my computer). but i digress...

many of kennedie's talents came out during grammy's visit. my mom got to spend a week and a half with us, which was awesome! she got in lots of quality kennedie time & mommy got a clean house :) how grammy does it, i don't know - i think one day she did 12 loads of laundry (let it be known that we still had pleanty of clean clothes to wear w/o the laundry being done!), cleaned the kitchen & the windows -  she's superwoman! at any rate, kennedie enjoyed her time with grammy very much and shared with her just how smart she is!

sorting her letters by color

all done!

kennedie loves letters - i think it's because her mom is a kindergarten teacher :) she got this leap frog phonics magnet set for valentines day & adores it - and any other version a friend may have at his or her house! on this particular day though, she was all about sorting the letters by color! 

 

kennedie's most recent accomplishment (i think) is learning to pedal her tricycle :) kennedie & grammy ventured out at least once a day to get a ride in, sometimes twice!

musical talent also runs in the family - well on daddy's side anyway :) and kennedie was showing her stuff with her ukulele as she sung & played along with playground music! 

kennedie is also a master puzzler - grammy got this abc puzzle for her (52 small pieces to misplace, lose, suck-up in the vaccuum) for being such a good girl one day! she loves it & can focus on it for all of about 5 minutes, placing pieces correctly, before throwing them all over the place - but that's what 2 year olds do - right?

grammy shared her green thumb with kennedie while she was here too (hopefully her's is greener than mommy's). we should have sunflowers sprouting soon! 

stories are a big hit with kennedie anytime, but especially before bed. her new favorites are a set of curious george books i got from our school book fair! she loves his adventures & pretty much knows all 6 by heart. grammy enjoyed doing the bedtime routine while she was here. they also read lots of books - or rather a couple books lots of times each - every day. kennedie also enjoys reading herself - first it's mommy's (or daddy's or grammy's) turn, then it's kennedie's turn! she begins each page "once time" (for once upon a time) and then proceeds to talk about the pictures - tonight it was p1 "once time, a little dolphin," p2 "once time a little fish," p3 "once time a little sun, a big sun," p4 "once time a little moon, a little dophin, good night" - that's pretty much the jist of the story anyway :)

we had a wonderful visit with grammy & are so thankful that she got to see so much of kennedie!  miss her bunches already!

 

bike rides & birthdays :)

kennedie is still not psyched about the 'strider' bike, but is pedaling like a pro on her tricycle! 

we thought we would just ride over to the brummer's house this morning to help them celebrate cayle's 2nd birthday...good idea right? especially since it was a bike birthday party!

however, we got about a block & a half from our house, & it began to rain :( luckily, we were near the park that happens to have a covered area for eating/parties, which worked much like a track for kennedie to continue her biking. she rode, chasing daddy, round & round the picnic tables again & again & again! we thought we'd wait it out, but it never blew over. so daddy went back to get the car, kennedie had a little snack, then we were on our way again :)

watching the rain

daddy chasing kennedie

having a snack :)

once we made it to the party, kennedie had a great time - we all did! kennedie played a little basketball, drove around cayle's car, found & adopted a baby (which she fed, rocked, swung, and put to bed), had lunch & helped mommy decorate her bike! once her bike was ready to go, she got on & pedaled along while her friends cruised on their striders :) she loved being on her bike & even kept going once the ride/parade was concluded & it was time for cake!!

with cayle - the birthday boy!

chatting with charlee - it was her b-day too!

with macklin

the whole crew!

after we made it home from the party - all that bike riding took its toll! kennedie took a 3 1/2 hour nap & mommy had a little nap too :) we look forward to lots of biking fun with our friends this summer :)

happy graduation

kennedie & i made our way through the blizzard last weekend to help my sister & brother-in-law celebrate their graduation (i know, i'm like a week behind in blogging - remember my reservations about being able to keep up!). they both graduated with honors from denver seminary with their master's degrees in counseling. the ceremony was saturday morning and was followed by a bbq & party in their honor. we are so proud of auntie t.t. & uncle matt :)

almost getting a great picture w/the proud graduates

funny poses :)

sisters :) so proud of her!!

practice makes perfect...

'too big' that what she thinks of her pedal-less bike

cruising while pushing with her feet

pedaling :)

kennedie has a birthday party to go to this coming saturday - it's her friend cayle's birthday & he's a biker! so everyone is invited to bring their bikes..which meant that we had to get her out on hers! she's been riding around the house since christmas, but has only ridden outside to the park a time or two. 

we began by trying to convince her that her red bike was not too big for her - since she got it for her birthday, she's been saying that she's too big  - meaning that the bike is too big of course :) my little shorty (wait, isn't she in the 85% for her height?) could barely reach the ground with her toes...we found out we could lower the seat even more, but she was/is still very apprehensive about the red bike. i think she likes the stability of the tricycle - like being able to sit on it by herself. so we may end up taking a tricycle to the party & she may be the only one on one of those...but we're not going to give up on the red bike - and one day she'll be ready to make her leap!

mommy's obsession

for those who know me, it's no secret...i'm obsessed with pinterest :) 

thought i'd share some of my pinterest accomplishments - wish i had time to do many, many more!

these were all quick & easy - check my boards for the links b/c i don't know how to attach them :)

1. homemade finger paints - turned out a bit gloppy

2. scarf hanger :)

3. homemade crayons = valentine gifts for my kinders & kennedie's friends

4. frozen yogurt bites (i've also made them in letter form!

5. bath paints = shaving cream + food coloring

most recent - colored pencil vase = teacher appreciation gift for k's teacher

since summer comes with more time, i'm sure i'll have lots more of my pinning obsession to share :)

sleep?

thought i'd share a litte about miss kennedie's sleep habits because they baffle me.  don't get me wrong, she sleeps well. i just can't understand how she sleeps in her crib with everything but the kitchen sink!

everything my daughter sleeps with

5 blankies, 1 dog blanket that mommy rolls into a pillow, 1 ladybug pillow, 3 elephants, 1 dolphin, 1 chicken, 1 bunny & 1 baby monkey :)

doesn't she look cozy :)

she keeps adding to her collection. she loves to be covered up and snuggles in close with as much as she can get her hands on!

flashback

August 6, 2010 - kennedie's first golf outing 

driving the cart with daddy

first golf lesson

 these 2 picts were taken the first time we took kennedie out golfing with us :) she was almost 5 months old - just a peanut! she spent 1/2 the time napping in her carseat on the floor of the golf cart & the other half being juggled between mommy & daddy as they took turns playing. 

                         

 July 5, 2011

got her own set of clubs :)

there was no napping in the cart last year - since she was walking, she was in & out of the cart at every stop (makes for a much longer 9 holes that normal). she enjoyed snacking in the cart & using her new clubs ;) the set came with her own balls too - which are much easier to hit that the real ones. notice that the lessons in year one & two were on the greens - working on her putting skills!

May 3, 2012

driving the cart with daddy

the golf lessons continue

on the way out the door, i grabbed the camera - as you may have noticed, i take a large amount of photos :) once i downloaded these i thought that they looked eerily familiar, so i went back in iphoto and found the picts above - crazy how i am always taking the same types of photos year after year!

in year 3, since she's 2 years old now, daddy figured it was time to bring out the driver ;) teeing off is a bit more difficult than putting, but kennedie did a great job! and again - no napping for miss kennedie this year, she was climbing in & out of the cart, toting her own tee, ball (real one this year) & club around the tee boxes, fairways & greens. she was also very helpful, making sure to tell mommy & daddy when they missed a shot - "oops, missed it daddy". by the last 2 holes, she'd had enough of using her clubs & was experimenting with daddy's hybrid & mommy's irons!

we are looking forward to many more rounds with her this year :)

where did she go??

last week, we had a sweet, playful, goofy little girl in our midst...she has since disappeared and been replaced by a crabby, whiny, grouchy, cry-baby of a toddler! 

has anyone seen the former - we'd really like to have her back!! 

ever since her two year appointment, which just happened to coincide with our return from spring break, kennedie has seemed to have a new demeanor (& not one we are particularly fond of!). she has been super needy, cries at the drop of a pin, changes her mind instantly and can not be kept happy for more than minutes at a time. granted, by the time we were back and unpacked, her & i seemed to be coming down with a little cold..& then she got her shots on top of that - but really - a week, that seems like a bit long to still be having side-effects from any of that. the doc did say that she is beginning to work on her upper 2-year molars (why she couldn't work on all of them at once is beyond me), which i suppose could be the reason for the dramatic change in attitude - if they are bothering her. perhaps she is just using that as an excuse, 

"hey, i heard the doctor tell mommy that my molars are coming in & that they can take months & be really tough. i think i'll take advantage...muhahaha!"

but in all reality, i'd love to know what is going on with her - so that i could help her to feel better (or at the very least avoid what makes her so moody) & because she is really trying my patience right now (as well as her daddy's & her daycare teacher's too!). my hopes are that this is just a phase, and that it is one that is not long-lived. we do get glimpses here & there of our sweet little girl - like tonight, after about 1 1/2 hrs of whining & crying for all sorts of insane reasons (i took off her dress b/c she wanted to change, i made the chicken nuggets she asked for, i got her both ketchup & ranch - per her request - yes those all get crying &/or whining apparently) she finally calmed down, ate up her nuggets & then played 'super kennedie' :) she's pretty darn lucky she's so irresistibly cute!!