kam's first haircut

okay, so kam's hair wasn't exactly in need of a cut, but by the age of two, i figured it was time we got a little trim . . . to even things out and make that hair GROW! :) kam watched ken and mck get their hair cut by our friend kim, then it was her turn. she sat so still and did great! she was so excited to finally get her haircut! :) she couldn't wait to tell daddy on the phone that night (he was traveling!). it really made her hair look neater . . . and a little curlier . . . now we just need to see some growth! :)

ALL DONE! :)

seeing joe . . .

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yes, that is the port-a-potty right behind us! :)

well, after a very long wait in the hot texas sun, the girls got to see one of their favorite children's artist perform at the kickoff for the library's summer reading program! we arrived for the start of the events . . . a long line for a donut hole and a drink and i quickly convinced the kids that looking at the animals was more fun!

we saw several rodeo events, looked at the calves and the horses, hung out with our playgroup friends, and waited a very long, very hot 2 hours to see joe perform right next to a port-a-potty (does it get any better than that?)

joe mcdermott was the last "event" of the morning and performed most of the kids favorite sogns! :) the girls had fun dancing and doing the motions to the songs . . . kam joined in at the end! it was worth the wait to see joe!! :)

summer kickoff

the girls were excited to wake up this morning . . . the first day of summer! :) it was sooooo wonderful to hang out in our p.j.'s for most of the morning! the girls woke up to summer goodies on the table and a purplicious breakfast of grapes, raspberries, purple frosted cinnamon bites, and purple juice! :)

we had lots of fun just hanging out in the playroom and playing together . . . we really have just not had enough down time lately . . . and i haven't been able to just enjoy the girls! it was really nice! we even made "watermelon" cupcakes . . . pink cupcakes with green icing and watermelon slices on top! :)

we had the perfect opportunity to try out our new summer fun toys because the van was in the shop (AGAIN!)! a great excuse to stay home! :) the girls had a blast and didn't want to come inside! :) we ate popsicles and got wet and just enjoyed having no where to be! :)

first visit to the splash park

we headed to the splash park after kam woke up from her nap to really get the summer started off quickly (can you tell i've been waiting to just have fun with the girls?)! i was really keeping my fingers crossed that all 3 girls would have fun at the splash park this year because i know it is one "safe" thing for me to do with them in the summer heat when the baby arrives!

well, i couldn't have been happier! ken loved running around on her own, mck switched between playing with kam and playing with ken, and kam was just happy trying to fill up buckets with water, only to pour them out again! (we're still working on the idea of putting the bucket at the bottom of the spray . . . rather than the top or the middle!)

it was so nice to see them all enjoying something and knowing that i can do this when our little guy arrives soon!

ken's kinder graduation

uhhhh. another milestone that's come way too quickly! miss ken finshed kindergarten and is now officially a first grader! for the week preceding the event work from the year was coming home . . . her collection of art work (quite impressive for first grade . . . especially when she went into the techniques used in some of them!), her science journal (holy crow, beyond impressive!), her journal (wow . . . what amazing growth!), and her shared writing where we wrote something together each month (a wonderful keepsake!).

it really was crazy to see how she entered kinder as this shy little girl and came through the year with lots of friends, reading like crazy, and LOVING school! i could not have asked for a better year for her! she was so lucky to have an amazing teacher . . . AMAZING! (ken's first grade teacher has a lot to live up to!!!) ken really loves learning . . . LOVES IT! she was actually sad it was time for summer . . . because she thought she should stay and "learn more at school"! (we call her our little nerd . . . don't know where she gets the nerdiness from!?!?!?)

cooper elementary had a great morning planned for the graduation! we watched ken walk up on stage and shake both the principal's hand and her teacher's and receive her diploma . . . while the announcer told everyone that ken wants to be a teacher when she grows up! we had cake, gathered her belongings, gave a last hug to her teacher, and headed out the doors of cooper for the last time . . .

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! :)