party weekend. yes, please.

Our little girl is getting so big! Just yesterday, we noticed her saying "yes, please" every time she said yes. Isn't that just sooo sweet? And she is really into hugs and kisses. And when she yanks your hair out so hard that you wince, she gently pats your arm and says, "I sorry." And proceeds to the next hair. And I LOVE her for it:)

This weekend was the first in a while when we didn't have much going on. So, we just hung around at home - super fun! And totally recommended:) Saturday, K and I played with play-doh for the first time. It says 2+ and maybe for a reason. She just wanted to eat it. Oh, well. At least I got the little tubs and we can save the unopened ones for a while...

And then, while I went and ran some errands in the afternoon, Daddy was hanging out with Kennedy. They heard the Peppy's ice cream truck coming up the road, so off they ran! A bomb pop for K and a oreo ice cream cookie for Daddy. What happened? K tried to eat the stick on the popsicle and threw it on the ground after seeing the ice cream cookie. Daddy gladly shared half with her (on the deck - good job! and WITH camera! Bonus!). I don't think there is a question as to whether she liked it, do you?

Nice job, Daddy - use a bowl!

mmmmmmnnnn.

Cheese!

Sunday morning, the coloring started early in our house. K whipped out her blue green crayon and began working on a coloring book she received for Easter. You see what happens with these lovely things they call "washable" crayons. They don't mention just how water soluable they really are. Add a little bit of saliva and this is what you get. I'd say we have a masterpiece. But you can be the judge....

Read on. Read on.

So, I didn't know how to post all of the pix I have taken lately, so instead of adding all to one post, I did it in sections. So, Read on. Read on. And Enjoy!!!!!

the cake that Rachael made.....

This is the coolest and most delish cake ever! I think everyone needs to make it and eat it all up. Rach found the idea online and decided to make it; I think all of my family would agree - it was a big hit!

This is one half of it. So cool, huh? It's just a white cake, divided into 6 bowls and colored w/ vibrant gel food coloring. Pile one color on top of the next, it spreads out like this on its own...

This is the second half. Reverse order...

Then bake it and frost it w/ 16oz of Cool Whip and a package of vanilla pudding and ta-da! THEN EAT and enjoy! Delish!

I'm pretty sure I need some of this cake right now. Yes, I am certain of it. Where is Rachael when you need her??????

The (Live) Bunny?

Now, I know that I read the signs posted at Sycamore Mall correctly. They said, "Live Easter Bunnies from Petland....from 10-12, bring your cameras..." That is what we did. I guess. We stopped at the mall on our way out of town on Saturday morning before Easter. And as we walked up to the place where the live bunnies were supposed to be, out came this...

Not what we expected, but still cool all the same. K wasn't really scared of the bunny, she did clutch on a little tighter to me, but she agreed to sit with the bunny. Looking a little wary at first, she actually laughed and pointed at him, she really thought he was funny...

Easter Bunny? How about Carousel Bunny...

We got an early start to Easter weekend - Jon and I were off at 3 on Friday! So, we took K to Coralridge Mall to get a picture w/ the Easter Bunny. Except there wasn't one. Stupid huh? No biggie, we decided to go on our very first carousel ride! And we found bunny that was perfect! K was a little antsy getting ready for the ride to start, but once it got going, she was in love! Thanks to Kathryn for the free ride tickets. Now we will have to do it everytime we go, I bet.

In motion - I think she LOVES it!

candy free for all.

Easter started a week early for us in North Liberty. There was an Easter hunt on the Saturday prior to Easter and all kids under 10 were invited. Well, if you know North Liberty, you know that what appears to be the vast majority of the population is under 10 years old. Needless to say, it was a fairly chilly morning and even so, there were gobs of kids. Luckily, the "under 5" kids got to pick candy from the Babe Ruth outfield. Kennedy only picked up the shiny pieces of candy, and only after I directed her to look in that direction. Mostly, she just wanted to run, so I let her.

So I Caved...

K needed a trike. She needed it bad. I bought this awesome Dora trike, with bells and horns and music and all other delightful sound effects. Have we used it yet? No. It snowed 2 days after I bought the thing. So, lucky us, we get to play around the house with it. Actually, she is able to scoot around on it (can't reach the peddles, but I didn't expect that yet) but mostly she watches TV on it. With her helmet.

A few updates:

1- we have started potty training. K goes everyday on the big potty at Lorie's after lunch (#1 and #2!), so I dedicated this past weekend to "potty training". Bought some training pants and set the timer starting at 30 min intervals. She did great - went every time she sat on the potty. But, I came to the conclusion that she just isn't ready quite yet. She doesn't know NOT to go in the pants. So, Saturday, w/ the timer, it was great, but, Sunday, w/o the timer - we had 3 accidents before noon. So, we will keep trying. She will get it soon!

2- Kennedy is starting to repeat sentences - you may not hear it at first take, but if I tell you what she is saying, you will be like, "Oh, yeah, that is EXACTLY what she said!". For example, when she falls, she will look up at you and say, "I'm okay!". Or if she is hiding under her blanket, she will say, "Where'd she go? Hmmmm?" and then she pulls the blanket down and says, "There it is!" She is also really big on "Hi, Daddy!" She says this all the time. Most of the time, it doesn't matter who walks in the garage door and you hear a "Hi, Daddy!" and she will come running from the kitchen to the top of the stairs to greet you. Super cute! Oh, and she LOVES Barney. Loves him! If you say, "Kennedy, do you love me?" She will reply, "Yeah, I love Barney!" And if you try to correct her, she will scream, "Nooooooo, I love BARNEY!" Precious:)

3- She is no longer afraid of actually having a live person on the other end of the phone. Kennedy has always had a HUGE fascination with phones. She turns everything into a phone; her hand, a card, a Maggie toy - ANYTHING. And she will ramble on and on to whoever is on the "other" end - until there is a sound on the other end and she clams up. Until today. She heard her daddy on the other end of the phone on his way home from work. She said, "Hi Daddy." He must have asked how she was, because the next thing I know was, I heard a "good" and then a series of "yes", "uh-huh", "mm..hmmm" and "Yah!" 's. So, then we called Papa Brian and Grandma Julie and talked to them.

She is just growing up so quickly, I am so thankful to have such a precious little pumpkin biscut! LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!