date day

daddy was busy today so kennedie & i had a special mommy-daughter date day!

we began by going to paint pottery. kennedie chose to paint a plate & guess what color she wanted to paint it...yep - green!

 next, ms. jen helped us with a handprint. then kennedie got to add dots big & small - she chose purple & pink & did a very good job of not getting the dots on her 'hand'.

 finished product...the green is bright, the purple is dark & the pink is more of a magenta - it looks great & she loves eating off of it!!

 our date day continued with lunch at moe's - my favorite & she likes it too!!

after nap, it was so nice outside that we went down to the park at the end of the street. kennedie rode her tricycle there & back :) mommy wishes she would ride her strider bike more...but it's not up to me anymore - it's up to one very opinionated toddler!

looking forward to many more of these mommy-daughter date days in the future (especially since daddy will be taking classes this summer)

visiting cousin lily

kennedie & i took off for the weekend to visit grandpa, auntie t.t., uncle matt & cousin lily. i can't believe how fast she's growing (oh wait yes i can, i have a 3 yr old - how did that happen?) i also can't believe how much i think lily looks like tina. i know nothing about that you see, because my little princess was the spitting image of her father at birth. 

kennedie loves her cousin lily - she also happens to be indifferent to her most of the time. she's used to being around babies, because of daycare, but i also think she's become used to avoiding them since there isn't much they can do as far as playing the way kennedie likes to play. but she is also very good with them for the most part, gentle & helpful. so once kennedie did want to interact with lily, she did very well - i'm anxious & nervous to see how this goes with baby brother when the time comes. 

 helping - playing & giving lily her paci

 cutest cousin ever :)

 trying to get both of the girls to smile - look how big lily's eyes when cousin kennedie is in her face

holding(ish) baby lily w/a cheese face instead of a smile

mid-winter break

we were lucky enough to spend our february break in sunny florida with nany & poppy.

it's so nice to have somewhere to go to get away! getting to see family is a double bonus!!

as soon as we arrived, kennedie started asking for the pool - she is a water baby through & through - the pool, the beach, the sprinkler, puddles, rain, baths - you name it, she's in it. even though it was a balmy 55 degrees, she & daddy (mommy needs much higher temperatures to take a dip in an outdoor pool) put on their suits & jumped in! 

our first trip to the beach was an evening one, and not quite warm enough to be in suits. but kennedie & daddy had fun taking a walk. this was the trip where unfortunately it was mommy's turn to get sick. in december when we were down, though you couldn't tell by looking at her, kennedie got to visit urgent care on christmas day & ended up having strep (tommy's turn comes in april). so i guess it was my turn this time - i had a wicked stomach bug that instead of lasting 24 hrs it lasted 3 days :( it put a damper on my vacation, but luckily daddy, nanny & poppy could take care of miss kennedie & i got lots of rest - just too bad it was on the couch instead of out in the sun. the real bummer of me being sick was that we missed out on our trip to go see my grandfather. we were supposed to go to my aunts house thursday to visit, but i still was a bit under the weather & i definitely didn't want to get my 100 yr old grandpa sick. (lucky for us we get to see him in april!) 

by friday, i was feeling better & it just so happened to be perfect beach weather that day. we packed up & headed to st. pete's beach to enjoy an afternoon at the beach. one of the funniest things happened while we were eating lunch & kennedie still talks about it. while she was eating her sandwich - under an umbrella, in her chair, with me sitting close behind - a seagull flew up & snatched her sandwich right out of her hand...poor baby, was confused, sad & mad once she realized what had happened. needless to say, nanny & i stood guard while she finished the rest of her lunch & luckily we had the other 1/2 of her sandwich in the cooler!

 

so excited to be at the beach

 building sandcastles & going for walks

getting buried in the sand - it's tradition :)

we also learned a new game while we were there - of course, tommy & i have played the bar version, but hadn't ever played actual shuffle board. kennedie wanted to play too :) 

valentine's day

valentine's day was a school day - so i packed my special young lady a valentine lunch. 

a heart shaped sandwich, mangoes & strawberries cut in heart shapes, heart shaped pretzels & vanilla yogurt with sprinkles were in her lunch box to surprise her at lunch time :) 

she had a cute new outfit to wear today too - a hello kitty shirt & skirt with hearts all over. we put together a special valentine for her teacher with some items she could put to use - sharpie pens, pencils, a starbucks gift card & of course some yummy chocolates.

happy belated valentines day :)

back to blogging

after reading some friends' blogs, i've gotten re-inspired to get back to blogging. admittedly, i've just been lazy. but no more - i'm back to blogging.

where to start...apparently i can go back & set a set & time, so let's try that...i left off in january - so i'll pick up in february

not to confuse anyone - today's date is April 26 - but i will post this one in january & try to get a couple posts per month done until we're caught up...here we go!!

vacation guests

we were lucky enough to celebrate the holidays & share our vacation with some great friends. 

the vingo's were able to join us in florida for part of our 2 week stay - which was fun for everyone! jon & bre have 2 little ones - evan just about 2 1/2 & reese almost 8 months. bre is a friend of mine from college & her hubby jon & tommy get along a little too well (just kidding), let's just say it's probably a good thing we don't live too close - they have way too much fun together :) 

while they were here - we got to do lots of fun things...

indian rocks beach

 

 love this shot :)

lowry park zoo & zoo lights

 

all the kids lined up to go in!!

 fun lights & frosty blowing snow!!

 carousel ride

 pretending to be a reindeer & petting sting rays

children's museum 

 so much to explore - dress up & cool exhibits

 seaworld

 (day after christmas - note to self - never again - way too crowded this time of year!)

 checking out the sharks!

 taking in the shamoo show & some flamingos

st pete's beach

 pals hanging at the beach

 using the frisbee to shield from the rain

rainy beach = ice cream!!

tarpon springs - sponge docks

we had a great time & hope they did too! can't wait to vaca with the vingo's again!!