Happy Halloween!

Kennedy enjoyed her first Halloween! We went trick or treating at the great grandmothers and then went to the fall carnival at the church. She had a good time and is currently fast asleep, dreaming of all the crazy things she saw today I am sure!

This wonderful life....

Today is Kennedy's 10 month birthday! She was so cute this morning in her church outfit that I had to take a few pics before church and it made me late for church!

Today is also a day that I want to reminisce a little. October 28th was my very first due date with my first baby. The first year that this day came and went I was very sad. It was a bad day. I still wasn't pregnant again and I was stuck in that waiting phase. Then another year came and went and this day was upon me again. I really don't remember what I did last year. I was so consumed about being pregnant and getting Kennedy here. Then yet another year has come and gone and October 28th is upon me yet again. It is not a day that makes me sad anymore. Today I woke up and thought about how thankful I am. My mom and dad were here yesterday and she kept saying she has never seen me happier. And I think she is right. I have really never been happier.

Stewart preached about waiting today. He said we are all waiting for something and God uses those times to teach us things. Teachable moments. I looked at Greg and asked him what it was we were waiting on right now and I really cannot name one thing. I can think back on how long we waited for Kennedy and all we went through and the things I learned. Back then I wondered why. I know why now. Not just the fact that I have Kennedy and I wouldn't had her had all this not happened, but there is so much more. I have had so many friends go through the same thing since that year. I know what to say. More importantly I know what to pray. I know that God only gives us what we can handle. I am thankful for what my first 9 weeks of being a mother taught me. I am thankful for all the days that followed, the good and the bad.

When storms are upon us we turn to God. We turn to Him for comfort and refuge. I have a whole new outlook on life. I have an unusual appreciation for life. I don't have storms raging right now and for that I am so thankful. I cannot name one thing I would change about my life right now. Not big things at least, I would love for someone to come over and clean! :) I know that everyday is precious and what you love the most can be taken in an instant. I know to cherish every smile and kiss and that is what I spend my life doing. I cherish each moment. It is hard not to living with this sweet baby God has given me!

Greg and I were blessed with the journey we have taken. We were chosen as were a lot of you. We hold our hold-it babies or wait for them to get here and keep cooking them(Sarah) and we know why. I could not wait to hold Kennedy and tell her all about the life before her. I wanted her to know how much I wanted her. She knows. So as this year passes and Kennedy grows and October 28 comes upon me once again, I'll smile knowing that God chose my journey to motherhood to begin differently than He does others, and for that I will eternally be thankful.

Yay for MeMe and Pops.....and Uncle Patrick!

Well the parental units came down this weekend to celebrate Uncle Patrick's big 21st birthday. I really cannot believe he is that old. I remember when he was born! It seems like yesterday! I don't want Kennedy to grow up that fast! Here are a few pics. My mom brought Kennedy a bow in every shade you can imagine so I will be posting lots of bow pictures! Look forward to them! :)

Do we look alike at all? Everyone in this photo looks like their daddy! People might not know we are related!

Kennedy loves her Pops and MeMe!

And her uncle Patrick....

Kennedy's words...

My precious Kennedy is taking after her mommy and daddy and talking all the time already. She doesn't have a long list but I would like to share it so you can see the problem.

1. Bye Bye: this was her first word. She is an expert at it now. It even is joined with a nice wave.

2. Dog: She will say this about every dog she sees. I don't really understand how she knows dogs come in different shapes and sizes. I bet if she saw an elephant she would think it was a dog. Ha ha...

3. Hi: This also is joined with a wave. Very cute.

4. Dew: This is short for Drew, which today at Miss Michelle's I sat down with her and she pointed to Drew and said Dew.

Ok, now look at my list again please. Do you see mama or dada anywhere in my list? Of course not!! She said Drew before she said our names! So tonight, as she ate her spinach bisquit, which she loved by the way, I said where is mommy? She looked at me and laughed. Then I said where is daddy, and she looked at Greg and laughed. She is getting a kick out of this I think. She can say mama and dada all day but will not say it in our direction. Crazy baby! She probally laughs about it behind our backs. Or just tells Drew all about it....

Party!

Today was the Beta family cookout and all the kids wore their costumes. Kennedy had a big time! She rode around in a little car and danced to the music! I love this picture, just because it describes Drew and Kennedy perfectly. Drew is not so fond of sitting on the ground and his face says it all. Kennedy is oblivious and just looking around. I am sure they will LOVE to look back on these pictures! :)

The bow....again...

I know I am overdoing the bow thing, but just to prove how truly cute it is I am posting this pic. Kennedy was busy helping Greg baby proof the kitchen Saturday. He got one cabinet done and stopped. It was the important cabinet so I will give him props for going that far. I guess it will take 10 weekends to finish the project since i have ten cabinets in the kitchen!!

Oh, and Cindy, do you recognize the clothes? She is in all Lexie wear.... except the socks and bow! :)

Life is pretty good isn't it?

Can you imagine getting this excited over anything? Maybe winning a million dollars. Not for Kennedy, she was just smiling at Jennifer!

FOOTBALL TIME!!

I am fully aware that football season has been in full swing for a while now. Kennedy and I have spent the week going to her first football games so we are officially announcing football season is in full swing! Wednesday we went to the LCMS game to watch the cheerleaders. I haven't been this year because it has rained every game. She LOVED it! She clapped and danced with the band, clapped with the cheerleaders and loved every minute of it. I think she might have noticed football was going on too! :) Too bad it was the last game for the devils. They did win, but it was the last game of the season. Oh well, more middle school football next year!

So to continue with our football obsession we decided to take her to the SHS homecoming game last night. It started around her bed time, but she was very distracted with the people and band. She had a good time. I will say that I think she enjoyed the middle school game a little more. We got to sit really close and she could clap with the cheerleaders better. The high school stadium is too big!

Here are a few pics from last night. Check out her new hairstyle! I put a bow in the mohawk and her hair spiked up behhind it. It was so cute!!! The pictures don't do it justice. It was flapping in the wind behind that bow! We are on our way to crazy hair!

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall! It is a little cold here today! What a wonderful thing! In honor, I am posting a pic of little K and I in front of my fall scene. I love this weather......

My little butterfly

I have always hated Halloween. I had a complex as a child that I would be the only one dressed up every year. I also never really got into my costumes very much. Maybe I should blame it on Phyllis. One year I was a ballerina and the next I wore the same costume, added a wand and she called me a tooth fairy! I don't think I cared much. I like my costumes to be simple. As an adult I really hate to be invited to Halloween parties because I really still have that dress up in a costume complex. All this to say, this year I think I am going to enjoy Halloween. Kennedy is going to be a butterfly and it makes me laugh so hard! Drew is going to be a turtle and it is hilarious because he crawls so fast and has that shell on his back. I will have to take a video and share it. It will make your day! Jen and I decided that it is so funny to dress them up because they have no clue at all. They just smile at you. Enjoy the pics! :)

Lazy Dog Days...

Aaahh to be a dog! Those of you who know Riley know that she was my first baby. I never expected the change in our relationship after Kennedy was born. I have been told that I need to spend more time with my sweet Riley. So to prove all of you wrong, I am posting this pic. Does this look like a neglected dog? I think she is coping just fine....

It is so rare to get Kennedy and Riley to sit still long enough to take their pictures. I sat Kennedy by the window in her room this afternoon so we could enjoy the outside from the inside. Riley of course, jumps up on the bed and joins us. She was making sure she didn't miss anything. And we were on her bed, she thinks it is her bed at least. I took a few pictures. Precious..... I love to be on vacation......

The Fair!

Here are a few pictures from today. She LOVED the parade! :)

She got a new football and LOVED that too!

She LOVES her SuSu!

And her Daddy!

We didn't ride any rides. Just looked. Maybe next year!!...

Small Town Life...

I loved growing up in a small town. There is just something nice about everyone knowing everyone. Even though we often found out way too much about everyone! One of the reasons I liked Georgia Southern so much was that it wasn't in a huge town. All this to say that I really love the small town life I have right now. It is full of things you just don't find in those big cities.

Today is the beginning of the fair. I would like to make a few statements before I tell my story. Growing up Cindy and Anna loved the fair. I enjoyed it too, but they were crazy about it. I got dragged on every ride and cried on some. Threw up after a few too. I blame it all on them. Well in good old Statesboro we begin the fair with the Fair Parade. When I first heard of this I thought these people were stupid. A fair parade? We always had a Christmas Parade, but a parade for the fair? Wasn't the fair enough? I have actually been in the parade a few times when I worked for the recreation department. I have never attended the parade. I just couldn't understand why people would go to a fair parade.

Fast forward to today. I decided it would be a great idea to take Kennedy. I LOVE to watch her see something new. It is so neat to watch the world through her eyes. So Greg, Poppa, SuSu and I trecked out to main street and watched the good old fair parade. And to my surprise it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Much like that Christmas Parade of my childhood. Kennedy loved it. She was fascinated with the whole thing. I hope that she enjoys the small town life Greg and I are giving her. Fair Parades and so much more....!!

NO! NO!

This weekend Kennedy also learned no, no. She did not learn to say it,but she learned to shake her head. No one taught her this skill, I think it was just learned by observing. She shakes her head back and forth, but she she shakes it the wrong way. Very funny! She now shakes her head no, no when I am trying to feed her vegetables. She is turing into me very quickly! I think I have my hands full already!

So photogenic....

I took some pictures of her in one of her new outfits. She is getting her 9 month pictures taken in this on Saturday. She's a good sport taking all these pictures!

Don't be decieved about the following photo. One might think she can pull up by looking at it. I simply placed her there and took the pic. She can hold onto something, but is still working on the pulling up. She can't get past her knees!

Fun with MeMe and Pops

I have a lot of posting to do today. It has been too long since I posted. We spent the weekend with MeMe and Pops. Greg spent the weekend in Statesboro having time to himself. I think he was really happy to have us gone! He says that he missed us and is glad to have us back. Believe what you want!

We had a nice time. Kennedy and I went shopping with MeMe all day and had a nice lunch at Spanky's. We also found some great buys at Bailey Boys. I will post some pictures tomorrow. Kennedy is wearing her new outfit to the fair tomorrow. She is very excited about it. Kennedy enjoyed playing with Pops and MeMe that she went on a nap boycot. Hopefully we will be able to get on a better schedule tomorrow. My mom got her a little cell phone. She loved it!

Rocky Top Tennessee!

I will be brief with my gloating.

Rocky Top you'll always be

home sweet home to me!

Good old Rocky Top

Rocky Top Tennessee!

GO VOLS! I do love when we beat Georgia. Such a nice feeling. Kennedy enjoyed the game! She was crawling around the whole time! :)

Dinner on the Veranda

I talked Greg into eating dinner outside tonight. It was about to rain, but we made it through without getting too wet! Kennedy enjoyed it. I know I am obsessive about taking pictures, but I took some cute ones tonight. It was Kennedy's first dinner on the deck. I had to document. I am posting these pics in order. She was really tickled I would like to restate that I love Greg's new job. Not working at night is so nice!

I would laugh at that face too! :)

Days of Fall

The one thing I miss most about living in South Georgia is Fall. They really think they have Fall here when it gets to 70 everyday. I miss the cool brisk air and actually seeing leaves change colors and fall. We have been getting a break from the 90's lately and evenings have been a little cooler. I'll take what I can get I guess!

Drew got a swingset for his birthday. We took some time to enjoy it yesterday. It was so nice of Chad and Jen to get us a swingset! We are going to get an extra baby swing and put it in their yard. No need in buying a whole swingset over here! Kennedy loved it! She just cackled when I put her in!

Have a GREAT week!

Hi MeMe!

I am posting this for MeMe. I couldn't quite capture the moment like I wanted to but this will have to do! Everytime Kennedy talks to MeMe on the phone she gets this huge smile on her face. If you look closely in the video you'll see her face before you push play. That is the smile I was trying to capture. She also waved at her through the phone! Hi MeMe! We love you!