kam turn's two!

so hard to believe my baby is two! kam had a great birthday! grammy and sarah drove up to help us celebrate! we started with a splashtime in the pool . . . kam spends more time filling up the buckets and dumping the water out of the pool than anything else! :) too cute. when she isn't dumping water out, she watches everything that ken and mck do and tries to get in on the fun! :)

after a short nap, we woke kam up to a decorated kitchen, balloons, and presents! i jokingly told her we were just going to look at the presents . . . that brought on the pouty face an lots of tears! we had to take a fruit snack break to cheer her up! :)

she had fun watching ken and mck open most of her gifts . . . she could have taken an hour, the girls flew through everything in a matter of minutes! she is in love with her new ballet gear (thanks aunt sarah!), her american girl baby to match ken and mck (thanks grammy!), new sprinkler and bath crayons (thanks to tim, missy, and baby sophia!), and the cherry blossom market too! :)

we headed to chick-fil-a (kam's birthday choice!) for a yummy dinner (who doesn't love chick-fil-a?) and some playtime! it was easy to convince the girls to leave and head home with the promise of cake! :) kam couldn't decide between princess and dora . . . so we had a dora cake and princess plates! she was pretty happy! she had the whole birthday routine down . . . the girls have b-day celebrations for each other on a regular basis when they're playing! . . . she blew her candles out without any help and ate most of the frosting off of her cake! :)

we celebrated again on sunday with a doughnut breakfast and lots of playtime (because we really have not had enough with the girls lately!) and a cookout for dinner! kam devoured her corn-on-the-cob!

so sad to think two years have already passed. she really isn't a baby anymore. :( she talks like a big kid, acts like a big kid, and sleeps in a big kid bed. where did my baby go?

heb field trip

we took a really cool field trip to heb! :) mck and kam had so much fun . . . sampling food, touring the store, meeting h.e. buddy, and just checking everything out! what a fun playgroup activity! :)

the girls loved seeing the lobster up close, checking out different fruits and veggies, and best of all . . . getting to go inside the giant cooler (we didn't last long!!!).

the girls got lots of goodies on our way out . . . including a color chart for eating fruits and veggies . . . it's been a huge hit! :)

the only thing that would have made it better would have been getting to do my grocery shopping at the same time! :)

moving . . .

so, after a few weeks of work . . . and LOTS of sweat, we had movers bring all of our big items to the house today! it was the best $400 we've spent in the whole house process . . . too many big items and some tricky stairs! :)

ken and mck were both at school . . . we had the girls rooms put together before they got home . . . they were thrilled to see all of their new bedding and to get to sleep in their new rooms! (we'd been counting down for quite awhile!) kam was excited to be in a big girl bed and to be sharing a room with mck!

we have a lot of unpacking left to do . . . and a lot of things left to finish, but it sure is nice to have so much more room and know that the baby will get to come home to a space of his own too! :)

ballet rehearsal/recital

rehearsal day . . .

in the midst of everything else we have going on . . . the girls' had their ballet recital! the whole family went to the rehearsal so that bailey could work at the house during the recital time on saturday (the girls had to go at 2 different times . . . one at 2 and one at 6, so it was literally a full day of ballet . . . don't know why bailey wanted to miss out on that!)

the girls were so excited . . . mck looked so stinking cute in her pink foofy outfit complete with rhinestone belt and matching bow . . . she did great dancing to her flamingo song . . . although my favorite part is when the girls' do their baby walk across the stage . . . priceless!
ken looked so grown up as a cheerleader . . . uhhh. i can sooooo wait for the teenage years! she did really well too . . . holy crow, they had a lot of steps to remember! (if either of the girls end up dancing they didn't get it from me!)

they had fun watching each other on the recital day and giving each other flowers! it was a great ending to a fun year of ballet!

recital day . .

releasing the butterflies

the butterflies last year were such an amazing experience, we had to do it again this year! we received 6 caterpillars . . . only 3 of which actually made it through the transformation . . . but thank goodness there were 3! one for each of the girls.

it was so cool how excited they were about it this year . . . even kam would check on them in the morning and throughout the day! we didn’t get to see any of them emerge . . . but caught each of them right after . . . SOOOOOO cool! we kept them for a few days and then each girl got to release one! ken was so careful and held her’s so gently – it didn’t want to leave, so she actually got to catch and release it a few times! mck was gentle. . . but more because she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to hold it or not! she let hers go very sweetly and quietly . . . and then there was kam . . . poor baby. She was trying to hold her’s gently, but just didn't know quite what “gentle’ means. she kind of tore it wing, but we assured her the butterfly just wanted to hang out on the ground for a little while!

such a cool experience. so worth the $30. this is a spring tradition for sure!

career day for ken

our little kinder kid had career day and was SOOOO excited. she came home the day the kids found out about it and started making things to go along with her chosen career! ken wants to be a teacher when she grows up . . . a first grade teacher "because that's what i've always dreamed about"! :) (actually, she LOVES helping other kids at school - and loves taking charge at home . . . teaching could be in her future!)

she dressed in a cute sweater dress, had her hair pulled into a bun, put on some dress-up glasses, and filled her teacher bag with lots of goodies . . . a book to share with her students, a workbook, folders and other fun trinkets!

she was so excited to tell me that she actually got to read the story to her friends at school! what a fun day!

overheard . . .

so i was in the study finishing the paint and listening in to the kids playing in the hall closet . . . really i was making sure they were being nice to each other because i had already broken up a few fights for the evening. . . here's what i hear:

ken: "okay, we have daddy, mommy, baby boy, kamy"
kam : repeating everything ken says
mck : "here's grammy and grampy!"
ken: repeats all of that and adds "hey, we forgot sarah!"
mck: "here she is!"

i am on the ladder thinking to myself, "what toys are in that closet?" all that comes to mind are a few odds and ends, the vhs movies, and a few ride-on toys.

then i hear ken say, "hey dad, you're a rollie-poly! how cool is that?"

oh my gosh . . . they had lined up a collection of DEAD bugs to make our family!

kam's first plane trip

kam took her first plane trip this weekend to boston. sadly, it was for my nana's funeral. i brought her along because 1. she flew for free, 2. most of my relatives have not met her, and 3. she is having a tough time with the baby coming, the new house, and just being number 3!

she did soooo well on the plane ride there. we even had an extra seat so she could make herself at home and spread out! :)

she had so much fun meeting the family and really helped to lighten up the mood. it's tough to be too down when kam's walking around with her beaming smile! :) she was wonderful too! sooo well behaved. i tried to tell relatives that "no, she really is not like this at home!" but i know they don't believe me! she was an angel . .. of course it helps that she was the only kid with more than 15 people constantly paying attention to her! :)

it was so cool to see her with my pop-pop . . . bonding over m&m's! :) we had to hide the m&m's from both of them! :)

the plane ride home was another story . . . 4 hours on a plane with her on my lap and my growing belly was not so much fun! reaching down to the floor to get treats and treasures from our bag was a task! :) the guy next to us was not so kid friendly and sprawled out with his laptop and legs spread wide . . . can't say i was too sad to get off the plane! :)

with the cost of airfare and our growing family, plane trips will be a rarity! ha! it'd cost us $100 just to check the bags on the plane! :) hopefully we'll get mck up in the air soon so at least they can all say they've flown . . . :)

an update . . .

we haven't been leading a boring life lately . . . just really, really busy with the house! :) here's an update . . .
bailey ripped out all of the downstairs flooring . . . carpet and tile and is currently laying tile in the breakfast area, kitchen, laundry room, and powder room. we will start laying the wood floors in the fmaily room, hall, and study next week!

ken's room is now a pretty celery green color (after more than 2 coats of paint and lots of work!) and mck and kam's room is a sweet shade of pink (again, after multiple coats and too much work!). the study is almost painted . . . "brown teepee" which will be the color throughout the house - it is almost a cafe ole color! :) we'll work on the rest of the paint this weekend.

we are working day and night (i am going during the day and then returning in the evening and bailey is working from when he gets off work into the wee hours of the morning!) we are exhausted, but hoping to see the payoff in the near future! :)

ken, mck, and kam have a tough time staying occupied for too long . . . i am trying to bring something new to keep them interested each time . . . tonight they played play doh and made a giant mess . . . so we got to throw it all away! :) poor kids. they have gotten so little attention lately. we will be making up for it as soon as we're settled! :)

#4 . . . MIA

well, while looking for the decorations for the pinkalicious cupcakes, the girls were eating some candy they found . . . ken bit a hard blue candy and . . . FINALLY, her other front tooth fell out! it has been hanging crooked in her mouth for at least 4 days, but didn't want to budge! she was soooo thrilled! :) we snapped some quick pictures and cleaned her up and went to look for her tooth pillow . . . which of course is missing!

so, after carrying the tooth around in her hand like a treasure, i told her she needed to leave it in a cup on the counter (so she wouldn't lose it!!!) until we could find her pillow . . . well, it was there for awhile, but at some point she put it in her pocket . . . at some point before she went outside to ride her bike, run around, and do donkey kicks in the grass . . .

needless to say, tooth #4 is MIA . . . lost somewhere outside. i was at work and got a call from bailey wanting to know what he should do . . .

well, what do you do? (i had already told her if she didn't have a tooth the fairy wouldn't come . . . do you stick to that?) so, i had ken write a note to the fairy explaining what happened and that she'd just have to wait and see . . . she also wrote another note with questions for the tooth fairy . . . here's the stumper . . . "what do you do with the teeth?" uhhhhh . . . i don't know! i looked for answers on-line and can't find anything good, so we're skipping that question . . . (great parenting technique, i know! i may use this one a lot in the years to come! if the question's too hard, we'll just skip it!)

poor baby was still in tears when we went to bed tonight. :(

pinkalicious cupcakes

the girls are in love with the book pinkalicious (and it's sequel purplicious!). i think mck chooses that for her story at least 3 times a week! :) we were reading it last night and decided that we should make our own pinkalicious cupcakes . . .

so this afternoon (a perfect afternoon for cooking!) ken, mck, and kam made their own pinkalicious cupcakes . . . complete with pink icing and goodies on top (we didn't have any cherries like it shows in the story, so we opted for a mix of what we could find in the pantry!) kam loves that she gets to be a part of things now, mck loves making anything that invlolves sweets, and ken was mostly concerned with whether or not the cupcakes were like the ones in the story . . . with cherries, that i didn't have! :)

the girls could hardly wait until they were done.

yummmmmy! :)

poppy festival . . . the bailey ballerinas 2009 debut

both ken and mck danced with their classes at the poppy festival this weekend.


mck was so stinking cute in her recital outfit . . . SOOOO adorable! i think she really felt like a princess! she was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing! but for her first performance on a stage, she did great! she smiled a little, stood a little, did a few moves. . . but most importantly there were NO tears! :)





ken did great . . . no fear for her. she smiled and did most of the moves to her "school" song! her class's outfits (cheerleaders!) aren't in yet, but she still looked cute in her pigtails (still wet from swimming lessons!) and tap shoes! :)



can't wait to watch their recital in a couple of weeks! :)

our little artist

ken came home from school last week with a paper about an art show and said that she would have a picture in the show . . . she was beyond excited! crafts, projects, and art are her thing right now! she loves her art class and really retains so much information about technique - it's cool!

the art show was for all the elementary schools . . . each school had a table set-up displaying 1-2 pieces of art form each grade level. ken's gingerbread painting was there framed by a black mat . . . a REAL artist! :) she used only primary colors for the painting and had to mix them herself to get different shades and colors . . . pretty cool! she was so proud of herself! :)

kk family picnic

mck was thrilled to have us come join her for lunch at her pre-school family picnic (although she didn't really act that excited to see us . . . more quiet and like she didn't care . . . but that's mck!). the weather was perfect and mck loved showing kam the playground (kam was in heaven because she got to play!) we ate a yummy lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, juice, chips, and oreo cookies watched the girls play for awhile, then headed home for naps! (okay, that was the plan . . . kam took a short nap and mck's "quiet time" was a 15 minute show . . . not quite what i had imagined!):)

we are soooooo lucky to have such an amazing pre-school so close to us! mck's teacher is so amazing. we're lucky to find a place that truly feels like family . . . our kids are happy and comfortable and look forward to laughing and learning with their friends! :)

well, it's official!

we closed on our house (friends camp) last wednesday and are officially "renting" from the new owner. we closed on our new house (shirley) today and will gradually start get our "stuff" over there! :)

the shirley house is almost 3000 sq. feet and has 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths on just over 2 acres . . . it will give us the room we need in a great setting for kids to grow up. it needs a lot of work, but it's something that through the years we'll be able to make our own . . .

we closed at 1 o'clock, but left without money and without keys! i was slightly in a state of depression. we just shelled out a TON of money and left to get back in our car and drive to the house we no longer own. . . it was a bummer! we did end up getting the keys later that day (at 5) because the old owners didn't close until 4. we had all the kids and headed to the new house to check things out before the work begins!

bailey and i looked at flooring samples and talked about changes (LOTS of changes . . . just 2 different categories . . . 1. change before we move in 2. wait until we have money again) and the girls ran like crazy through the house. they are excited . . . but i don't think the reality has totally set in . . . i don't know that they really understand we won't be coming back to friends camp after we move all of our stuff . . .

ken willingly gave up the room "with a view" that she had previously chosen and opted for one in the front of the house . . . kam and mck will start off sharing a room, although this may not last long, and will have the bigger of the 4 rooms with a view of the horses next door . . . our new little guy will have the room right off the playroom . . .

now we're ready to rip out some floors (yes, the longhorn in the entryway will be among the first things to be demoed!!!), lay some paint, mow some grass, and start moving in! :)

the infamous longhorn mosaic in the entry . . . yes, that will be going!

we have until may 24 to be officially "out of here", but lots of work to do at the new house to get things ready!

spring splash day

with the weather so nice and warm . . . nearly 90! . . . the girls needed a splash day! we pulled out the "pool" and their new sprinkler (SO cool!) and let them have some fun! :) ken had a friend over from school, so they had a blast running around with each other! mck had fun pouring watering cans of water over her and being the first to test out the sprinkler! and little kam loved just being with the big girls and hanging out in the water . . . she still a little too timid for the slide and isn't quite sure about splashing! :) we cannot wait for summer! :)

swimming lessons

ken and mck finished their first round of swimming lessons at the y! :) they did great . . . especially for not being in the water since last summer! :) i was soooo impressed with the y lessons . . . compared to the ones we've done in georgetown the kids made so much progress! :)

mck was in the eel class. poor kid. she was in the lap pool . . . the freezing cold lap pool! she turned blue as soon as she got wet! she was so quiet and shy and "to herself" until the last week of classes, that it was really hard to tell what she could do. she spent so much time trying to keep her body out of the water! :) she didn't complete all the requirements for the level, so she'll do this one again starting on saturday . . . but i am expecting she'll make great progress this time around!

ken did so well and is a little fish! lucky kid . . . she was in the warm water pool EVERYTIME! she kept telling mck that she was being a whimp and that the water wasn't that cold . . . that was until she jumped in the lap pool to do her swim test . . . she was in shock at how cold it was! :) she told mck that she was brave and that water "is the coldest ever!". ken is moving up to the next level . . .

one kid being able to swim independently will make this summer so much easier . . . and having mck gain some confidence in the water will be great too! the non-swimmers in the pool was a bit too much for me to handle last year! :)