Baptism

Last Sunday we had the privilege of my dad baptizing Kendall. A few months back I was talking to a friend of mine who has a daughter two months younger than Kendall, and we thought it would be fun to get the two baptized together. Both our girls have a similar stories (difficult pregnancy, early arrivals, medical "issues", and both are cloth diaper babies) so why not share another special moment:) Andy and I had been discussing when we wanted Kendall baptized but never were able to set a date, so this was perfect! It was a wonderful, meaningful ceremony and we appreciated everyone who came to support and witness this special time in Kendall's life.

Here we are with Papa

I think we all felt like this by the end of the day;) Alley's new favorite thing to do..."look at me mommy!"

Trying to get a family photo with Papa
(I wont tell you how many shots we got with one or both kids looking the other way!)

Us with the godparents - Tom and LeeAnn
The Rasey's have been wonderful friends of ours for the past few years and we couldn't think of a better couple to join us and support our daughter during this time. They love our girls like their own and I must say, our girls are head over heels in love with them!! Thanks you two for the love and support you show all of us:)

The whole family

What a wonderful day was had by all!

New Trick

Look at that proud little girl:) She is finally sitting up on her own! She's been working on sitting up for a few weeks now, but always ends up licking the floor (or sucking her toes!). I'm still trying to figure out if she was doing it on purpose just so she could lick something;) That girl and that tongue!! I'm convinced my children only perform for Mimi (my mom). Mom came over one day when Alley was 5 months old and sat Alley up on the floor and, vola , Alley started sitting up! I had been working on that for days and Alley would just tip over! Same thing with Kendall, mom sat her up on a mat and, bam, Kendall thought it was fun and decided to stay like that. No tipping, no bending so far forward that she could suck her toes and lick the floor, no throwing herself backwards, just plain ol' sitting up straight. I guess we need to stay close to Mimi if I ever want my children to do anything;)

she got herself a book to read while practicing her new skill

or, maybe that book was to be used as her stand in blanket...sitting up is tiring business!

Speaking of new tricks, Alley is ALWAYS up to new tricks. One morning while we were playing, she decided to "hide". Her normal idea of hiding is to sit against the wall and close her eyes, sit under the table and proceed to tell you where she is, or sit next to the steps and answer you when you call out" I wonder where Alley is?", "I hidin at de stairs"...

This is what I found when I heard, "mommy, come find me!"

She actually hide under her stuffed animals in her bucket. This might be the beginning of "harder" hiding spots;)

Baking 101

Homemade, from scratch...yikes! Those words make me think of a messy kitchen, long hours over a hot stove, lots and lots of ingredients and an end result that doesn't taste delicious or look anything like the picture on the recipe! Now, there is no reason I should think like that. I come from a long line of amazing cooks. My mother makes "scratch" seem easy and so incredibly delicious. She always has something delectable to share with whomever drops by around the dinner hour. Mom, I'll be there by 5pm tonight, ok?! I also have no reason to "fear" homemade and scratch recipes. My grandmother taught me so much about cooking when I was younger and I have always loved helping out in the kitchen. So why, when I have a kitchen of my own, am I buying "meals-in-a-box"? I have great recipes, from great cooks, but I just felt like I didn't have the time or the energy. When we'd have guests over I would bring out those delicious recipes and we'd all eat yummy meals, but why not everyday? I'm famous for making casseroles that have everything you need for dinner in that one dish. Those are from scratch, but that's not the "from scratch" I'm talking about. Our desserts come from boxes, plastic containers, drive-thru windows and large tubs that somehow disappear faster then they are suppose to. So I set out this summer to prove to myself that, yes, I can make from scratch items and they will taste good...yikes! Since Andy surprised me last Christmas with a kitchen aid mixer, (was that a hint Mr. McPherson?! ) I decided I had no excuse. To my surprise, it's not as hard as I thought and I really enjoy myself. I've roped Alley into helping me as well since she looooves to hang out in the kitchen;) We have had a lot of fun and Alley is developing a love of cooking, not just eating! Alley and I enjoy this bonding time together and she is such a good little helper. She loves helping me make our bread each week and gets so excited when I tell her it's time to make our pizza dough. She's cute:) Today she helped me make brownies....from scratch;)

You can't help make brownies and not help clean up;)

yum, it must be so good! point for me;)

must. lick. every. bit. up...oh no, missed a spot;)

the clean up...it was everywhere!

she is so enthusiastic about cooking, maybe she will be that way about laundry - she got it all over her clothes!

Did mom leave any white chocolate chips behind?!! Oh, please, yes!!

I have conquered my laziness and found that I really enjoy "scratch" cooking and baking. Now if only I could find that enthusiasm about cleaning!;)

Sweet Baby K

My sweet sweet baby K. How can she already be 6.5 months?! Over the months she hasn't changed in her demeanor, still as sweet, laid back and happy as ever. It is rare that you catch her without a big ol' grin on her face. If you do, within seconds she replaces her curious stare with that famous contagious smile. She is now rolling over onto her stomach like crazy, but is still hesitant about rolling back on to her back from her stomach. She does it while she sleeps, but not while awake;) She is close to sitting up and has been for a month, but she gets too excited and throws her body backwards or to the side. She's a trip!
She has found her toes and is completely fascinated with them. Apparently they are quite delicious too! She has a wild tongue that is constantly moving around inside and outside of her mouth. Speaking of mouth, she produced her first tooth today! Yeah!! She has been a very calm teether, but quite a water faucet! We go through so many bibs and outfits every day and she still gets chapped from all that drool.
Kendall loves to watch Alley. Whenever Alley is in the room, forget trying to get Kendall's attention! She has eyes only for her. Alley loves to make her giggle, and the sound of both of them giggling together just melts my heart! How precious it is.
Kendall is still a wonderful sleeper, day and night:) (Praise the Lord!!) She sleeps around 14 hours each night and takes two 2-hour naps with maybe 1 or 2 short cat-naps each day. Can we say amazing;)
She will willingly go to anyone and just smile and coo at them like they hung the moon. If you have a bottle or food in your hands, she loves you even more;) Not only does she sleep like a champ, but she eats like one too. She loves jar food! I've been making her food and she has yet to turn down anything I give her. She loves to eat avocados, peaches, apples, green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, squash and berries. She trys to feed herself, which can make meal time challenging but fun.
She is in the 95% for height and weight (what can I say, we breed them big!) and is as squishy as can be:) Her eyes are still bright blue and her hair is blonde with some red highlights. And poor thing has my pale skin - can we say SPF 100?!! Kendall had surgery a week ago to remove what the doctor thought was a dermoid cyst. We noticed it when she was 3 months old but the surgeon wanted to wait until she was 6 months old to remove it because she'd have to go under general anesthesia. When the surgeon went in to remove it, he found out it was an enlarged lymph node. He stated that that was rare and he's not sure what caused it. It was sent off to be tested to see if it's benign and we're praying for good news! We go back tomorrow for her post-op appointment. Please keep Kendall in your prayers! She is such a trooper! The nurses loved her and said she smiled the whole time - that's my girl!!
We could not have asked or imagined a better younger sister for Alley. We have loved every second she has been with us:) We have been through a lot with her but she has been such a joy to be around.