Happy Birthday Kevin!

Today is Kevin's birthday! Yay!  He is celebrating by playing golf today and then tonight, we're having a very special birthday "cake".

This was Kevin's request.  Instead of birthday cake, we ordered THREE deep dish pizzas from Giordano's in Chicago.  Kevin has been to Chicago and had the real thing and loved it.  He's been wanting one of these for a WHILE so we finally decided to just do it.  Happy birthday! :) 

We're having a few people over and cooking 2 of these tonight.  And we're saving the 3rd for another night.  Shipping was the same price regardless of how many you bought, so it just made sense to get an extra. 

Anyway, today is a special day so we're celebrating a very special person!  I'm so lucky to have Kevin as my husband, and Kate is a very lucky little girl to have such a great daddy.  He takes such good care of her.  He is the one who gets up with her in the morning, feeds her, changes her diaper, and takes her to her Nana's house for the day.  He is the one who picks her up and brings her home each evening.  He is the one who has worked for 5 years on our yard, and has it looking better than it ever has.  He's a great leader for our family, and we both love him so much.  I'm sure Kate would tell him if she could, but for now she'll have to tell him with her smiles and laughs.

Happy birthday, Kevin!

Fun In Charleston- Part 3

I promise, this is the last of the weekend-recap pictures! I took SO many though!  After Kate got tired of the splash park area, we took her over to the playground.  It was hot so we didn't stay too long but she loved, LOVED the slide. Although, she couldn't really figure out how it worked.  She kept trying to go UP the slide, and was actually doing a pretty good job of it.

On a totally different note, college football is finally back! So, I'm going to get back to watching South Carolina and Vanderbilt play, and get off of the computer. :)  Go Vandy! 

Fun in Charleston- Part 2

Saturday afternoon, while visiting my grandmother, we decided to head over to the James Island park. The park is about 5 minutes from my grandmother's house and apparently my mom would take me and my sister there when we were little.  I didn't really remember it, but it was great.  It cost $1 per adult to get in, and Kate was free.  Definitely worth it.

First we went to the little splash park area.  I was thinking this would be a lot smaller than it was.  In my mind I was thinking about little squirts of water shooting up from the ground.  You know, the kind that you can go step on.  This was MUCH bigger, but it was still fun. Kate had a blast, and met a little friend. And, in typical fashion, I took a million pictures.  I guess I'm now "that mom".

Fun in Charleston- Part 1

This past weekend, Kate and I took a trip with my mom and sister to visit my grandmother, Mitzi, in Charleston.  We had so much fun.  I don't get down there as much as I would like, but we have a great time when we do.  This time was no exception!

I left work about 3 on Friday so I could get home, back up the car, pick up Kate and then get back to Kristi's apartment to pick her up by 4:15.  We actually got to Kristi's apartment about 5 minutes before she did. Kate caught up on her reading while we waited.

After we picked up Kristi, we drove to pick up my mom.  She met us in a town that was on the way for both of us.  Then we were FINALLY on our way to Charleston.  We ended up having to stop when we were about an hour away from Mitzi's house.  She was sick of being in the car (so were we) and hungry.  So we stopped at a McDonalds and she ate a little bit of a cheeseburger and some applesauce. By the time we got there around 8:30pm, she was deliriously tired.  She hadn't napped all day. Surprisingly, she wasn't fussy.  I think it's so funny that sometimes when she gets so overtired, she thinks everything is hilarious.  Much better than the alternative! :)

Kate woke up around 7am on Saturday.  She went back to sleep just long enough for us to shower and get ready, and then she was ready to go!  We decided to take her to the mall to walk around, and of course we didn't mind shopping. The Citadel Mall had a Merry-Go-Round and we let Kate ride it for the very first time.

She loved it and was NOT happy when the ride was over.  However, I was extremely happy because I had to walk around the outside of that thing in a circle about a million times. 

We walked around a bit, and then we found another kid thing for Kate.  I'd never seen one of these before, but it was like a screen on the floor that kids could walk on.  There was a projector overhead shooting down images, but somehow it knew where you stepped.  In the picture below, there were dolphins swimming around and everywhere you stepped there would be bubbles.  They also had a sky and everywhere you stepped were fireworks.  Then it changed to a soccer field and you could "pass" the ball around.  Next it was a swimming pool and your steps were big splashes.  It was really neat.  I think I had as much fun as Kate.  She just liked to watch.

After the mall, we went back to Mitzi's place to eat lunch.  Kate particularly liked the ice cream. :) 

We took the scenic route back to Mitzi's apartment and walked around the complex, stopping to take some pictures along the way, of course. 

Kate had to take a nap when we got back to Mitzi's apartment, but later that afternoon we went over to James Island's park and played at the splash park and playground.  Lots more pictures but I'll save them for tomorrow's post!

My Cutie Pie

My mom and I went to the big Switcharoos consignment sale that takes place in our area about twice a year.  I got some great fall stuff for Kate, but my mom also got this cute dress for her to wear now.  She wore it to church last Sunday and I took some pictures in the yard when we got home.

Kate is definitely an outside girl.  She loves it. We have clover growing all over our yard, and she likes to pick the white "flowers" that grow in the clover. 

... We Let Kate Eat Cake

I'm just guessing, but I would say Kate's favorite party of her party wasn't the presents, or the family and friends, or even the lunch (although I'm sure she enjoyed all of those things).  No, I'd guess that her favorite part of her party was the CAKE.  

After lunch and presents, we headed outside to let Kate dig in.  I put the dogs in the back of Kevin's truck and they watched along with the rest of us. 

She went slowly at first.  I don't think she realized what it was... until she had a few bites. 

Then she figured out EXACTLY what it was, and loved it!

Can't you tell she enjoyed it?

She even loved her bath afterward. :)

And that was it! Kate's first birthday party was a lot of fun, and we're so glad that so much of our family could be there, including Kate's birth family.  Kate is such a special little girl, and she is very lucky to have SO many people involved in her life who love her so much.  I'm in no hurry for a 2nd birthday yet though!  No more party planning for me for another 12 months!