Sunday, September 13, 2009

Kendall - 16 Months Old

From September October 2009


Kendall's language and expression has really taken off over the past month or so! I realized today that I need to start writing these things down, or I will forget all of her first little words. Many of them probably aren't super clear to most people, but Mom, Kevin and I (and probably Haley, too) understand alot of what she's saying :)

Mama
Dada
up
uh oh (when she first started saying this there was an exagerated pause between the uh and the oh)
eyes
ears
nose
Bear (sounds like Bah)
milk (sounds kind of like malk; - she calls all drinks milk)
snack (pronounced nak)
baby
bow (which she promptly pulls out of her hair)
all done
night night (nah nah)
fish (pronouced like fis - for actual fish, sometimes for goldfish)
bye bye

Kendall knows where her tongue is (she sticks it out for you if you ask). She can point to her eyes, nose, ears, teeth, feet, and just over the past few days, her knees (she initially got this mixed up with nose). She has known the correct response to 'what does the puppy dog say' for awhile now. She also often responds correctly when asked what the cow or horse says.

When asked how old she is, she will hold up her index finger. She sometimes says 'one,' but sometimes she just shows us her little finger.

The past few days, I've noticed that in her books she can point out babies, flowers, fish, sometimes trucks. She somtimes (though not yet consistently) will point to the correct animal.

She loves her books - loves, loves, loves them. If you ask her to go to her room and bring you a book, she is delighted to do so.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Late Summer Beach Trip

We headed to the beach this year in late August/early September. It was nice to go at a time when there weren't too many other families vacationing and the beaches weren't crowded. Unfortunatley, we had alot of rain, but we still enjoyed our trip.

We didn't spend much time outside on our first day - we didn't want to get too much sun. Little did we know this would be our first of only 2 or 3 days on the beach. Here's Kendall getting excited about her wagon ride to the beach. The pigtails are courtesy of Marynell.

From September October 2009


On one of our rainy days, we hit the aquarium. The girls both enjoyed it.

From September October 2009


From September October 2009


Before Kevin arrived, the 5 of us could fit in Marynell's car. Here's O hanging out in the back seat with the girls...sporting some really cool glasses.

From September October 2009


On another rainy day, I pulled out a tea set painting kit Haley got for her birthday. She really enjoyed it and was very serious about decorating each piece.

From September October 2009


Kendall was very serious about collecting sea shells. She loved loading her bucket down, and Mom and I got a good laugh out of watching her try to carry it as it got heavier and heavier.

From September October 2009


In an attempt to find a new hairstyle for Kendall, Mom rolled her hair up (what are these little clips called?;)

From September October 2009


Here are the results...yes, we got some more body in that girl's hair, but it lasted all of about 30 seconds.

From September October 2009


Walking buddies...

From September October 2009


Fun with Daddy.

From September October 2009


The Phillips family joined us on our last full day at the beach. Here are Haley and Miley - Miley's such a big girl. She started kindergarten this year!

From September October 2009


Summar and I challenged the kids to pull the wagon back to the house. They didn't get too far, but their team work effort was commendable.

From September October 2009


What beats pizza after a hard days work on the beach?

From September October 2009


Kendall's response to 'Where's your tongue?'

From September October 2009


Summar thought it would be fun to let the kids play in Kevin's car. For some reason, Summar and I were very entertained by this...

From September October 2009


Maynee's a great reader...

From September October 2009


Another summer comes to an end! Next summer will be our last before Haley starts school. I can't believe she'll be in kindergarten next year; time flies.

From September October 2009

Friday, August 28, 2009

Play date with Jasmyn and Abigail

Haley, Kendall and I got to spend a day with Haley's friends Jasmyn and Abigail Claire a few Fridays ago when I was off work. We left Kendall at home with Miss Jessika while the big girls went to bounce. They had a ball.

From July August 2009


From July August 2009


At home, the girls colored, played dress up, and watched a movie. Kendall got to dress up, too ;)

From July August 2009


From July August 2009


I am proud to say that Jasmyn was so tired after her day with Haley that she fell asleep before she ate dinner that night :) As Kevin pointed out to me, though, it wasn't my doing - it's spending time with HALEY that can wear anyone out.

Haley got to spend the following Saturday with Jasmyn at a church function, and she had a blast.

BJ and Johnny, Stacey and Jason and fam had dinner with us that Saturday night. Stacey and I played dress up with our baby girls ;)

From July August 2009



I am sad to say that this is my last Friday at home before Haley starts school back. I enjoyed having both girls at home with me this morning.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Chocolate Declair Cake

Kendall is more and more insistent these days on feeding herself with a spoon or fork. She doesn't mind finger food, but if she sees you trying to feed her with a utensil, she refuses to eat until you hand it over to her. Tonight, she only had a few bites of the chocolate desert Maynee made before she began refusing the forkfulls Kevin was trying to feed her. Kevin had no problem cutting off the rest of her desert, but Maynee objected. So Kevin made a deal with Maynee: He would allow her to feed herself if she would bathe Kendall. Maynee agreed, and here is the messy baby she ended up with:

From July August 2009


From July August 2009


From July August 2009

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Haley's Swim Lessons

Haley had her first swim lessons this week. She took 4 lessons, and it's amazing how far she came in this short time. Haley fell into a pool not long ago, and she's been very afraid of the water since. Our goals were to get her past her fears and make sure she could swim to the side of a pool, if necessary.

Mom took her each day; I came on day 4 to check out the progress and watch how her instructor worked with her.



From July August 2009




Even on day 4, Haley was terrified to get in the water. She did not enjoy swimming her laps, but she had no choice - she had to do it.



From July August 2009



From July August 2009



I did not see a single smile on her face at her lesson today. When we got to the pool tonight, she was apprehensive and didn't want to get in the water. But once she warmed up, she started enjoying it! We saw lots of smiles tonight. By the end of the evening, she was driving us crazy - she wanted to get back in the pool as soon as dinner was over, and she did not want to leave at the end of the night - even though she was so cold she was shaking. She was proud to show O and Kevin what she had learned.

Here is Haley swimming her little 'laps' at her last lesson. She had already done several little laps when I started the video, and her instructor was not kidding when she told her she had 48 left to go.



I've been very slack with videos this year...I will try to catch up soon. There are a few more swim lesson videos on the 2009 playlist, and a few videos from Haley's end of the year preschool concert.

Haley and Kendall's 2009 Videos

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Mommy's Birthday

I celebrated my birthday this year not at the beach but at home. Since I couldn't be sitting in front of the ocean on my birthday, I opted for the pool. I took the day off of work and spent it with Haley, Kendall, and Mom.

Kendall loves the water.

From July August 2009


Haley's not so sure of the water these days. She spent most of the day sitting on the steps.

From July August 2009


Here are Maynee and her baby grands.

From July August 2009


Kendall thinks she's a big girl...she loves to climb up in the chairs.

From July August 2009


Mom made me spaghetti for dinner (my favorite) and a yellow cake with chocolate icing. Kendall might have enjoyed my birthday dinner as much as I did.

From July August 2009


Haley's not a big spaghetti fan, but the cake provided the necessary motivation to get her to eat her dinner.

From July August 2009


I was so happy to spend my birthday with my girls!

From July August 2009

For Aunt Summar

Hi, Aunt Summar! We love you and hope that you and your family have settled into your new (temporary) home. We are ready for a Carowinds day...please come and see us soon.

From July August 2009


From July August 2009


From July August 2009


From July August 2009