Kylee,

It has been an exciting few weeks since I have last blogged. We have been to the Houston Museum of Natural Science (the Dinosaur museum), NASA ( the space museum), the zoo, and the Health Museum. Then we went to Dallas for a weekend and then for the 4th of July we went to your friend Max's lake house. You had so much fun. You got to ride on the "boat" (the wave runner) with your daddy and you loved it. You also really enjoyed the hammock and the fireworks. I haven't been very good about writing but here are some funny things that you have been saying lately:

Last night you came up and sat down beside me and said very sweetly, "mama, I love you, but you have to mind me, okay?"

You have a mosquito bite on your foot and for some reason you think that God bit you. I keep reminding you that a mosquito bit you and God is going to make it better and then you say, Oh, yeah-a mosquito bit me!

Daddy is working in Dallas while we are living here until we sell the house. The other day Kenna was upset about something and you said very sweetly, "Kenna, it's okay. Daddy is working in Dallas but he is going to come back to get me!" I guess you were thinking about that and you just assumed Kenna was upset about it too. Mom and dad can't wait for this to be over. We are ready to be back as a family all of the time!

I am babysitting 3 little girls that we met at the preschool 2 days a week for extra money. Alexis is 5, Caroline is 3 and Emily is 15 months. It makes for a pretty full house of girls! You think that you are in charge of Emily and boss her around constantly! If she sees you coming towards her she starts running away so you won't take away whatever she is playing with! But for some reason you call her Femily. At first it was Family but know it sounds more like Femily. You run around calling "Femily, Femily" all the time when she is over. We went over to Katie and Mackenzie's apartment yesterday to swim and spent the afternoon with Aunt Katie. She said she really likes the name Emily if she has a little girl (in the future, not any time soon). Anyways, I hope that you can say Emily before that happens! Although hearing you say Femily is pretty funny.

Another thing that I love to hear you talk about is danaids. Whenever you get a bo-bo you ask for a danaid and you talk about it for several hours afterwards. It is so cute. You love your danaids!

You like to pretend that you are serving me with your little tea set that you got for Christmas. You come and ask me if I want some Ariel ink nilk (pink milk), some Jasmin coke, some Pocahontas apple juice, or Cinderella brown nilk. I don't know where this came from but any drink or food that you can think of has to be named after a princess. It gives you hours of entertainment. But I have learned that not being hungry or not being thirsty is not an option!

You still live in your gowns. We get a bath in the morning and you imediately run to your drawer to pick out a gown to put on. I make you put clothes on if we leave the house and it is a pretty major fit. But if we are at home you are always in a gown.

We watch "Booty and the Beast" at least once every day, usually more. You can sing part of most of the songs. I love to watch you twirl around in your gown when you sing like Belle.

You love to read your children's Bible. Especially the story of David and Goliath. You tend to be fascinated with the "mean" characters in any story. You tell us that Goliath is "so mean" and explain that he got a bo-bo on his forehead. You are so animated when you tell stories!

You add the word 'so' to most of your descriptions. You say Kenna is so tired, or she's so angry, or you're so hungy or the beast is so sad. Chloe Dunahoe did that too.

You run around the house with so much energy, you just prance around wherever you are going. But if we are outside and I am trying to get you to hurry up you walk incredibly slowly! When I ask you to hurry up, you say, "I can't, mama."

You are very helpful putting up the folded clothes. If I hand you the rags to put up you say, "in the rag drawer?" You know the answer but you always have to ask, whatever you have to put up. Pretty funny.

Well, that is quite a few but there are so many other things I want to remember about you as a 2 1/2 year old. You are so fun and I am so happy that you are mine!

Swimming with Daddy

Kenna,

You turned 9 months old this week! I can't believe it! You now have 2 bottom teeth and quite a bit more hair than your sister, Mallory or Lynlee had at this age. You stay pretty busy crawling around the house following me. When you get to where I am you sit up and suck on your fingers.

Last night Kylee got you giggling in the bath tub and you laughed for about 10 minutes. It was the great belly laugh that I love to hear. Afterwards you were pretty warn out.

You have recently learned to clap and you love it. You have always enjoyed making noise by banging toys together and now you can do it with your hands! It can entertain you in your car seat for quite a while. The other day we were driving and I thought you were sleeping but then you started clapping away. I could see your little hands in the rear view mirror. So cute.

You are really enjoying getting your sister in trouble. If she touches you, you just break down crying like she has just hurt you. We will instinctively get on to Kylee and the waterworks turn off right away so you can watch Kylee get in trouble. So now we are having to be a little more cautious about getting on to Kylee! We will see what this leads to later on.

You have gotten a new serious face lately that we see a lot. You will get very serious and watch Kylee or us. If you could talk I think you would be saying, "What are you doing? and why are you doing it like that?" You are really trying to figure things out.

We talked to Gran on the web cam today while Aunt Becky and Mallory were here. Kylee and Mallory ran over to the computer when they saw Gran and you were right behind them! You pushed yourself in between them to get the best view. It was really cute. You think you are as big as they are!

You love the keyboard on my laptop and you reach for the keys as soon as I open it. You removed the first shift key several months ago but last week you got the other one off. It makes typing pretty difficult! Just so you know, this may explain some of my bad spelling!

You are one sweet little girl, Kenna, and I am so glad you are mine!

Kenna swimming with Daddy

Fun Week

Kylee,
Gran had so much fun with you last week. You make everything even more fun because you react so dramatically. You are in that stage of life so full of imagination and pretend. I could sit for days and just watch you in whatever little world you are in at the moment. I have always loved to watch people's hands. You are so expressive with you hands when you are a princess, when you are the mommy, or when you are Kylee telling the grown-ups what you think. One cute habit you have with your hands is when you ever so often use them in a very dainty way to push your hair from your face. It is just precious. Then there is your princess in amasement look when you cup your face with both of your hands. You look just like Snow White. Of course...when you point that index finger firmly at your babies, it is hard not to laugh. You are so confident that you are in charge of those babies.

You were so cute at the zoo. I was concerned I would not be able to walk a lot and see everything you did. I am so thankful that the weather was good and I was able to take every step to see your response to the animals. It was fun to see you laughing and enjoying all the sights. It was funny when you growled at the lions and tigers...your low, raspy sounding growl. For some reason you only growled at the cats. You also enjoyed the Space Center. It was interesting that you mostly liked the science area. I think because it was dark with stars twinkling all around. You would climb up to get high to look into the space ships. We were not really paying attention to you in the gift shop. When we turned around we laughed when we saw you calmly sitting on a little ledge holding two, not one but two, hot pink beany babies bears that had NASA insignia on them. We did not have the heart to take them from you...so we bought them for you.

Kylee, Gran has the grandest times with you. You make the mornings happy wake up times, the evenings sweet sleepy times and the whole day fun. Love is like a circle...a circle big and round. Gran and Pops love you!

Kenna,
Hey, sweet girl! Gran so enjoyed last week with you. Now that you are full fledge crawling, there is no keeping you still. I loved watching you follow the last person out of the room. You are so happy as long as you are near others. You do get a little distracted by toys laying around, but you never forget which door your "goal" went out. So once you tire of the distraction, you resume your little journey. Sometimes the person you are following has returned to the room and passes by you. Then you slowly sit up...turn and continue following them in the new direction. I love this slow persistence you have to stay focused on your goal. Then there is that precious twinkle in your eyes as you reach your "person" and flash them your sweet smile. You warm the heart of the one you follow and lift your little arms to. You also love to pull up and stand. The determination as you think how to get where you want to go is so cute. It is like you make a plan of crawl, pull up, hold on and walk, crawl, pull up again, stand, and finally grab for the item you saw and wanted. Then you follow through with the plan.

Going to the zoo with you was wonderful fun. I am so thankful I was able to walk the whole way pushing you. People kept noticing you. They would go on and on about how cute you are. You were friendly to them all except for this one lady who got close and talked to you. You teared up and got the sadest face. Aunt Becky realized she had a diaper rag on her shoulder. She thought you might think the lady had your diaper rag and was taking it away. Your sweet aunt got your rag out of the bag and gave it to you...sure enough you returned to your happy self. You so quietly watch everything around you. It is funny though when you are watching something and it passes from your sight. You twist around almost to the point of falling out of the stroller to keep watching it. This happened when we walked to the park one day also. Several times I would look down and you were turned around, peeking out the side of the stroller and staring at me pushing. When you saw me looking at you, you would smile that big, cute smile of yours. You were so good at the Space Center even though there was not much there for you. You were content to watch all the people. Several times you did crane your neck to look up. I wondered if you were looking for balloons for some reason.

Kenna, Gran adores you! You are truly a bundle of joy for our family. A day with you is filled with gentle peace and happiness. Love is like circle...like the love of Jesus goes on eternally. Gran and Pops love you!

Kylee's Ariel Wig and Kenna's First Tooth

Kylee,

This last Friday I took you and Mallory and Kenna to the mall for some play time at the play place. This made me a little nervous because the potty training thing has not been going so well. But after about 30 minutes of playing I packed you all up and took you to the closest bathroom that happens to be in the Build a Bear store. Big mistake. Mom ended up spending way too much money before we left there. You, Mallory and Kenna all got a bear or dog with a Cinderella or Ariel outfit. Afterwards, we went home and played for a little while until Aunt Becky came to get Mallory. That is when you realized that the Ariel outfit that we bought for the bear looks better on you. Especially the bright red wig! You have worn that wig (and the shell bra) everywhere for the last 2 days. I knew it was going to be an issue on Friday night as you positioned yourself in the bed just right for your wig to look beautiful. I thought about making you take it off to go to sleep but honestly, you had to stay very still to keep it where you wanted so you went to sleep very easily. When you have it on you say over and over that you are, "so bootiful bootiful." You have worn it to IHOP, Target, Chili's and Wal-Mart and got plenty of laughs from everyone around. We did have to put our foot down about church this morning. You could not wear your red hair or your bra to church.

A friend of mine was writing in her blog this week that she must be a bad mother because when her little girl got her foot stuck in a toy she went to get the camera to take a picture before she helped her get the toy off of her foot. That reminded me of you getting your head stuck in your potty this week. I did get a picture of that before I took it off of you. But I am not brave enough to post that picture since you were completely naked (except for the potty ring aroung your neck).

Here are some other pictures that I wish I had gotten of you this week:

-sitting on the potty with your head leaning over against the wall (the potty was about a foot away from the wall so it was quite a lean)

-sitting on the potty (yes, again on the potty) with the potty seat (the cushion that you are supposed to sit on) sitting on your head like a crown

You are such a funny little girl! It is still hard for your dad and I to be stern with you. You cross your arms and pout so dramatically! And we always have to turn around and laugh. Lately you have started to tell me to "talk nicely" when I am getting on to you. Yesterday when I explained to you that I am the mommy and you are the little girl you looked very offended and said in your indignant tone, "I am not the little girl, I am Cinderella!" Then you turned and walked off like you had just won the battle. Dad overheard the conversation and had to come over and talk to you about that. You really don't understand that you are a child at all.

On another note: one of your very favorite things to do is sing. You love the song Daisy Daisy and can sing the whole song by yourself. It is too cute.

'Daisy, Daisy

give me your answer do.

I'm half crazy all for the love of you.

It won't be a stylish marriage,

I can't afford a carriage.

But you'll look sweet

upon the seat

of a bicycle built for two.'

You never seem to get tired of that song. But you do enjoy changing the lyrics up a little. You like to replace the "Daisy, Daisy" with whatever is on your mind at the time. And you ask me to sing your new song for you. I have sung different versions of this same song probably over a thousand times over the course of your life. Here are some of the versions that you like the most:

Kylee, Kylee

Kenna, Kenna

Ariel, Ariel

Cinderella, Cinderella

Mallory, Mallory

Lynlee, Lynlee

Ariel panties, Ariel panties

Car, Car

Trampoline, Trampoline

Sticker, Sticker

Puniner, Puniner (Computer, Computer)

TVD, TVD

Ariel bathing suit, Ariel bathing suit

Kylee's bed, Kylee's bed

and on and on and on.......

(I do feel silly proffesing my love for Ariel panties and stickers in song but it makes you so happy!)

Kenna,

You got your first tooth this week! You had a pretty fussy day and were not acting like yourself at all! I ended up taking you over to see my friend Patty at the clinic and she checked your ears to make sure that they weren't infected. But they were fine. Of course, I did consider the teething issue since any time you have been fussy in your life someone has told me that you are probably teething, but here you were at 8 months with no teeth. So, I wasn't convinced that was the issue. But it was! You first tooth is on the left side of your lower gum. You don't like anyone to touch it at all. I guess it really does hurt. But your fingers seem to help. Thank goodness for your fingers!

You have also started to throw little tantrums this week. I hope that this is related to the tooth! Whenever something isn't going your way you arch your back in protest and fuss, fuss, fuss! It is almost impossible to get you in your carseat right now. You are getting very strong and you really fight being buckled in. You also don't like the high chair. Pretty much anything restrictive. And a lot of times mom putting you down is worthy of a big fit!

But you are still so very happy most of the time. If we call your name you will stop and look back at us with a big smile. This morning you were crawling over by the comode and I called your name and said, "no, no Kenna." You looked back at me and flashed your smile and went back to what you were doing. Every time I called your name you did the same thing. You are so cute Kenna!

Weekend in Corpus Christi

Kylee,

This weekend dad was working in Corpus and since Sunday was Father's Day we decided to go with him. Saturday morning we went to the beach and played for several hours. You enjoyed going out into the waves with dad. You didn't want to go near the water without being held though, even just to let the waves hit your feet. But you eventually were able to sit at the edge of the water and let the waves come and clean off your hands after you would bury your feet or draw in the sand. Your hait got so curly in the water. I love your little curls. They are precious. After we left the beach we went back to take a nap and then drove out to the King's Inn for dinner. It was about an hour away but I wanted to take you and Kenna there. My Grandy and Granddad (Gran's mom and dad) used to take us there when I was little. They lived in Kingsville when I was a little girl so going to Corpus/Kingsville reminds me a lot of them. I wish you could have met them. They were very special people and I know they would be so in love with you.

Grandy's sister Aunt Valeda lives in Corpus near her 2 daughters Ann and Martha. So on Sunday we went to church with Martha and then went to visit Aunt Valeda. I was worried that you would be a little nervous around Aunt Valeda because she uses a wheelchair so I tried to prepare you by telling you that she has a special chair. But as soon as you saw her you were amazed and said, "That's her bicycle!" You were very warm to Valeda and I was so happy. You will probably never know how much your big hug and kiss meant to her. I know she enjoyed having you around playing in her house even for just a few hours. You and your sister made her day much happier just by being there. You also got to see a few pictures of Gran's sister Carol Jeanne, who you are named after. I never got to meet her but I know that she was a special person, and a wonderful sister to Gran. I pray that you and Kenna can be as close as Gran and Carol were, and your Aunt Becky and I am.

After dad got off of work we went back to the hotel to give him his Father's day present. You decorated the bag for him with markers and stickers. The card you picked out was a singing Tinkerbell card and you could not wait for him to open it so that you could play with it some more. You also made dad a tie in Sunday school. It was really cute.

Today wasn't nearly as fun. Daddy had to go on to another city to work and I drove you and Kenna back home. You had to sit in your car seat for the long trip and were not happy about it. We stopped and bought you some Cheetos at one point and that made you a little happier, but not for long. You wanted me to hand you the bag so you could pick out one chip and then hand the bag back. And then about 5 seconds later you would want the bag back again. After about the 5th time passing the bag back and forth I explained that you would have to hold on the bag if you wanted to eat the cheetos. You agreed, but changed your mind as soon as you picked out the chip you wanted and tried to hand the bag back to me. So I let you cry about it for a few minutes (which seemed like forever) and I thought you would give up and just hold the bag. But instead you handed the bag of chips to Kenna, who was in a rear-facing carseat that I could not reach. I could hear Kenna's delight instantly. By the time we stopped again Kenna had cheetos all over herself in her carseat and on the floor and was just as happy as she could be. But you were upset that she wouldn't give them back. It was a long trip! You were so happy to be home.

Another funny thing that you did tonight was that you got your head stuck in your potty chair. I don't know how it happened exactly but I don't think that it will happen again. You came into the kitchen with the seat around your neck asking for help. And after I helped get it off you kept saying that you shouldn't put your head in the potty. I guess that is a good lesson for a 2 year old!

We watched Beauty and the Beast tonight before I put you to bed and I was asking you questions to see if you understood the movie. At the end when the beast turns into the prince I asked you if that was the beast. You acted like that was a silly question and said, "No, mama, that is her grandmother." I don't know where you get these ideas!

Kenna,

This was an exciting weekend for you too! You are officially crawling. No more scooting on your belly. And what motivated you to crawl? Seaweed! When we were on the beach I kicked some seaweed away from you so that you would not eat it and you kept trying to get to it. So I kicked it a little farther and off you went. And you have been crawling ever since. I guess you just needed the right motivation. You really did enjoy the beach. I don't know how much sand you injested, but I think it was quite a bit. You wanted to taste it all! But you would get frustrated when you wanted to suck your fingers and they were all sandy. You were very cute out there crawling on the sand. But you got very dirty! And you were wiped out from being in the sun.

You were so sweet with Aunt Valeda. You let her hold you from the start and were never nervous about it. Although you still preferred mom. And you can crawl after me now when I walk away from you! At one point I had left the room to take Kylee potty and you started crawling down the hall after me. I could hear your sweet little voice echoing down the hall. When I came back to get you, Valeda had rolled up behind you and you had turned around and reached up for her to pick you up. I think you decided it was too far to crawl. But it made Valeda so happy. You are such a joy! Your precious little smile can brighten up anyone's day! And when you are sad it is so sad. When I put you in your carseat to head back to the hotel you were heartbroken! Aunt Valeda felt so badly for you and said, "Well, bless your little baby heart!" But it didn't take you long to get your little fingers and settle down. You took a little nap on the way to the hotel and were happy to play with daddy when he opened his present.

Today, you were so good in the car. Especially after you got your Cheetos! The only time you got sad was when we were in Houston and so close to being home and you were just fet up with being in that carseat. You cried for a minute and then I looked back and Kylee was looking over at you and very sweetly saying, "Shhhhh, shhhhhh, shhhhhh, don'y cry. Your gonna be okay." she just repeated that over and over and you just settled right down. You love your big sister. (Especially when she is buckled up and can't strangle you with her hugs!) I hope that you are always close, even if it is not always easy. That will be such a blessing to both of you later if you have a sister to turn to. You can always turn to me and your dad too, but there will be a time that you will need each other. I pray that I can teach you how important it is to love each other and always be there for each other.

Tonight, you got into Kylee's desk and crawled around with a little crayon sticking out of your mouth like a little cigarette. It was pretty funny. Not that I am encouraging you to smoke! Not at all. But it was cute. Well, you are always cute! No matter what you do. When I lay down with you and try to act like I am asleep so that you will settle down, you just lay there quietly and watch me. If I peek open my eyes you immediately smile, like that was what you were waiting for, and I can't help but smile back. It always delays bedtime a little bit, but you are just such a happy little girl and I love laying there playing with you. I love being your mother!

Well, you and Kylee are in there asleep in my bed. And I better get in there too and get some sleep so we can have another fun day tomorrow! I love you both so much!

Here are some pictures from this weekend.

My cuties at the beach....

What are you thinking, Kenna?

Kenna with Aunt Valeda

Daddy and his girls (great smile Kylee!)

Taking Care of Gran

Kylee, you are a treasure to Gran and Pops. My heart is full of precious memories while I was healing from my broken arm. I loved waking up to your soft little knock on my door as you called out "Gran, Gran." If I was not quick enough, the door knob would start twisting as you were anxious to come in and give me a hug. Then I love to watch you at night as you lay on my lap, on the couch next me or even on your Mom's lap going to sleep. The beautiful picture of you curled up next to your Mom and Kenna is vivid in my mind as the image of love. You entertain me by jumping on the bed laughing your happy laugh. It is fun to listen to you talk, because you talk so "grown up". I love to watch you talk because your face is so expressive in the cutest way. I love singing "Daisy, Daisy" with you. It is your favorite song. I can still hear you saying, "Gran, your booboo hurt? You sad?" Especially fun was when you (and sometimes Chloe) rubbed lotion on my legs. You were a grand caregiver so much like your Mom and your great aunt Carol Jeanne. Gran loves Kylee, Gran love Kylee, Gran loves Kylee, very, very much!

Kenna, you are a delight to Gran and Pops. You radiate joy wherever you are. Those wide, unblinking eyes sparkle with fun and zest for life. Not to be outdone by your sister, you are quite the babbler. You have even started singing with us. You do not even need words, because you make such an array of sounds that say when you are happy and when you are not. We definitely know how you feel about what is going on. Mostly you talk happy talk though. It is funny how you can get louder so you are heard over other noise. I love it when you put your ear right up to my mouth when I sing to you. It is so cuddly. You have the jolliest laugh that makes everyone happy around you. It is perfect to hold you all swaddled. When you are all still, quiet and covered up, I love to pick up the blanket draped over your head to see you. Often your eyes are looking right back at me and give me that special little-half-smile so much like your Mom's and your Great Granddad's (Gran's Dad). Gran loves Kenna, Gran loves Kenna, Gran loves Kenna, very, very much!

Kenna, you have the sweetest little wave. You reach your arm out and flip your little wrist from side to side. (I think it looks a little like a beauty contestant's wave) Always with a big smile. Last night we went to Wal-Mart and you sat in the basket waving at anyone and everything. You waved at all the groceries and the toys. And you were so excited about the singing Father's Day card that Kylee picked out for daddy. Your wave turned into a grab at that point. You can be pretty strong when you want something that Kylee has!

Kylee, you are doing so well at potty-training. But you have a hard time leaving the room to go potty if one of your movies is on. I have to turn it off so you will go to the bathroom. You know the terms DVD and TV but don't really understand exactly what they are. Last night you said you wanted to watch Belle on the TVD.

You fell and hit your head yesterday when you were playing with Mallory and Aunt Becky at the Children's Museum. I think you are going to have a black eye. But you are almost excited when you have a bo-bo. It gives you something to talk about.

Kylee, you had a rough night. You woke up crying (screaming really) with an ear-ache. We got up and gave you some Tylenol and put some ear drops in your ear. When we got back in bed and you were laying down quietly in my arm I said, "Kylee, is your ear feeling better?" You never opened your eyes or moved your head at all but replied quietly, "momma, I'm Cinderella."

Kenna, you are finally taking a little nap in my arms. You fought it off as long as possible but finally gave in. It's a good thing that you are a pretty hard sleeper because Kylee is not very quiet during your naps! I love getting to rock you through your naps. And you sleep much better this way. It's a nice morning break for both of us.