Monday, August 26, 2013

Tiny Dancer

A few weeks ago Kate went to a trial ballet class, just so I could see if she liked it. A nearby studio opened one Saturday for anyone who wanted a test-run.  Kate loved it, but it was really hard to tell how she would do because the free class was for ages 2-6.  That's a big age range.  And there ended up being 20+ kids show up.  So in addition to the kids being on such different developmental levels, there were also a TON of them.  But, Kate cried when it was time to leave so I assumed that meant she liked it, and I signed her up for the real thing.  This past Thursday was her very first class.



Again, she loved it.  This was when she was actually paying attention...


Can you tell she played hard?  Her hair was in a pony tail to begin with, but ended up a complete mess by the end of the class.  


She definitely had fun but let's just say her personality is 100% different from every other little girl in her class.  I think it's pretty funny (and fitting) that when I went to Target to get her leotard, they were out of the light pink in her size.  So she wore black, which was completely acceptable under the dress code, but every single other little girl in her class had on light pink. So here are 5-6 little girls dressed in light pink, and Kate in her black.  And while all the other little girls were shy and timid, to the point of tears and some not even going in the room without their moms, Kate is running around, pulling out the hulu hoops, messing with the teacher's CD player, not sitting still, etc.  Typical preacher's kid, and it's definitely not from lack of discipline. 


I guess we'll see how she does on Thursday for her second ballet class.




Tuesday, August 20, 2013

This Kid...

This kid keeps me on my toes.  Never stops moving.  Never stops talking.  Never slows down. NEVER stops going.


BUT, there's never a dull moment.  Lots of laughing.  Lots of smiles. Lots of fun.


So thankful that I'm her mommy.  Can't believe it's been 2 years (and 1 day) since I shared this post.



Friday, August 16, 2013

Party Details & Pictures

Well Kate's 2nd birthday has come and gone, so I thought I'd share some of the details from her day.  We did a much smaller scale birthday party this year (just family that lives in the area) but we still made it special for Kate. Here are some party details, and then pictures from Kate's big day.

The Invitation:
For obvious reasons, I blurred out any of the identifying information.  These were designed by Ashley, from PaperDime Designs.  She was so easy to work with and I loved how they turned out.  She sent me the digital file and then I had them printed at CVS.  Note to self- I'll be using Walgreen's in the future.  I've used Walgreen's for almost everything until this.  CVS took for-ev-er to ship these to me.



Theme:
I think from above, you can tell that we did a picnic/BBQ theme.  Pretty basic. Checkered tablecloths, burlap table runner on the food table, and lots of food.  I did dress up some Mason's jars for the cups.



For our mantle, I made a banner and a chalk "stat" board.  


Food:
In keeping with the picnic/backyard BBQ theme, we had BBQ sandwiches, fruit salad with cream cheese dip, chips, veggies and dip, pickles, and sliced tomatoes.  


And one of our friends made Kate's super cute birthday cake, complete with ladybugs and ants marching to the picnic.  We also had cinnamon bun flavored cupcakes, which are my most favorite cupcakes ever! Delicious.


Party Pictures:













Sunday, August 11, 2013

Six

Six- As of today, that's how many years Kevin and I have been married.  When you first get married, six years seems like a long time, but just like it has been with Kate's first 2 years, the last 6 with Kevin have flown by.  Although we have lived in the same house for all 6 years, we have been through a lot together.  We bought our house (right before we got married).  We did a complete yard overhaul after moving in, including cutting down 30+ trees and grading the entire yard.  I passed the CPA exam.  Kevin got his doctorate degree.  We added more members to our family; first Max (lab #1), then Cooper (lab #2), then Kate.  I changed jobs.  We bought new cars.  We traveled.  We decided to adopt, again.

We have laughed, and we've cried. (Well, maybe not me. I'm not much of a crier.)  In all honesty, there have been ups and downs, but the one constant through everything is that we know we're in this together.


Sometimes life can be crazy, but it's fun when you get to share it with the person you love and I'm so thankful that I found that person.  I have a great husband, who loves the Lord and is an awesome Daddy.  Who can ask for more?  Happy anniversary, Kevin!  




Saturday, August 10, 2013

Kate is Two!

No way!  It's not true, right?  How is it that I have a two-year-old!?  Whether I want to believe it or not, today Kate is two and we're spending today celebrating that fact.  The past year sure has been FUN and flown by in the blink of an eye.  It's hard to believe Kate has grown from this sweet little baby (newborn pictures)...



To a sweet little toddler (1 year pictures)...



To this sweet little girl...


It's fun (and sad) to see how much she's grown and changed in just 2 short years.  And as much as I use this blog to document our life in pictures, it's also fun to go back and read about all of Kate's "firsts" and read what she is doing at each specific age.  So, you might be bored, but this is for me.  Here are just a few of the things Kate is up to right now at TWO years old...

1. She can count to eleven on her own.  I don't think she likes the number "8" because every now and then she'll skip it, but she's got the rest down pretty well.


2. She loves to sing and knows the words to lots of songs, including:
  • He's Got the Whole World In His Hands
  • Down In My Heart
  • Jesus Loves the Little Children (Can almost sing this one all by herself)
  • The Wise Man Build His House Upon a Rock
  • Deep and Wide
  • ABC's (and surprisingly, she knows a LOT of the letters)
  • Oh, and we can't forget her first favorite- Never, Ever by Taylor Swift
3. She can say just about anything and knows tons of people by name. To name a few, she knows lots of family (Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Papa, Gigi, Pick, Aunt Kristi, Davis, Ken, Angela, Grandma Betty, Ben, Catbird) and her church friends (Jamie, Mia, Kaylee, CONNOR, Sarah) and even lots of church grown ups (Carrie, Jimmy, Joey, Leah, Bev, Joe) and more!


4. She knows more sounds that animals make than I do.  Seriously. Who knows what sound and elephant REALLY makes?  Well, Kate does. We can thank the iPhone for that.

5. Speaking of iPhone, she knows how to flip through the screens, go to the folder with her games and open up the one she wants to play.

6. And she loves FaceTime.  She'll go get my iPad and say "iPad! Gigi! Pick! Aunt Kristi!".


7.  We are constantly hearing a few phrases over and over again.  One is "I do it!" and the other is "No, can't."

8.  She is learning her colors and is pretty good at identifying red and pink.  We're still working on the others. :)

9.  She is definitely a dramatic little girl.


10. She thinks she can read and will open up a book and say "Mary, Mary...." She started saying this one after we read "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?"

11. Bedtime ALWAYS ends with us sitting in her rocking chair and reading David and Goliath and then Daniel in the Lion's Den.  Always.


12. We are just about to start potty training again.  We tried a while back and she just wasn't ready so we put it on hold.  I think Kate's totally ready for it now though.  I am not.  Diapers are just so easy, but we can't and shouldn't keep our kids little forever.  She's to the point where she tells us when she needs her diaper changed.  She's also started taking off her pajamas and diaper in the middle of the night. I'm pretty sure she realizes she's wet and doesn't want to lay in it all night.  And just yesterday, she was in the living room and wet her diaper so she took off her pants and diaper.  Uh!  Definitely need to start the potty training.  I hope she catches on quickly!

13.  She is SO funny- full of expressions and personality. She makes us laugh each and every day with the things she says, the faces she make, or her ways of doing things.


And of course there is TONS more that I will want to say and remember, but that's all I can think of for now.  All I know is that Kate is such a blessing to our family and we are forever thankful that her birth parents chose us to be her parents.  So if you two are reading this now- THANK YOU!!

Happy birthday to my little big girl!  We love you!




Friday, August 9, 2013

Five on Friday

Yep- I'm joining up again and you should too.  Head on over to  AprilChristina, Natasha or Darci's blogs to check out all of the other people linking up.

ONE: BIRTHDAY GIRL
This kid will be TWO YEARS OLD tomorrow. Enough said.


TWO: BIG GIRL ROOM PROGRESS
Her birthday present from us is her big girl room, so since tomorrow is her birthday, I figured I better make at least a little progress this week.  Monday and Wednesday evenings, I taped up most of the room and then Thursday I stayed up way past my bedtime and painted about 85% of the room.  I still need to paint the wall that the bed is on, but I couldn't move it by myself so I'll have to do that wall later.  Still need to find some curtains but we are getting there!

THREE: LION KING AND CINDERELLA
Somehow, Kate has turned into a Disney kid- and at this point all she's seen is The Lion King and Cinderella.  She LOVES them.  And I love letting her watch the "old" Disney movies (which don't have all of the adult connotations mixed in).


FOUR: KEVIN IS BACK HOME
Kevin has been out of town all this week, on a mission trip with our church, and he gets home today- thank goodness!  Kate and I have both missed him.


FIVE: I NEED A VACATION
Kevin out of town. Getting ready for a birthday party. Painting a bedroom.  Plus all of the other "normal" life stuff- work, housework, etc.  OK, so technically I don't NEED a vacation, I just WANT a vacation, but this looks pretty good to me...




Monday, August 5, 2013

I-Ceam

I know I shared one of these pictures yesterday, but they just make me laugh so I have to share a few more from mine and Kate's Dairy Queen date.  We got a regular to split and Kate had to have eaten half of it.   Like I said, she loves her "i-ceam".  



A few days ago, we were driving down the road, and out of nowhere I hear her voice from the back seat saying "I-ceam! Yummy! Taste good!".  


We were both a sticky mess when we left, but hey, she had fun!


Okay- those are the last ones.  I promise. :) But now they're here for me to remember for always. 


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