Curly Q's

As Jackie was admiring herself in the mirror, I grabbed these pictures of her curly q's. Her hair has been growing quite a bit lately...and ya gotta just love these little curly q's.

On another totally unrelated note....we ironically located the sippy cup from over two weeks ago yesterday. Guess all I needed to do was talk about it and it magically appeared laying on the floor of John's closet behind his dress pants. Let me tell you....chunky milk does not smell good!

Random

I haven't had a whole lot of blog-worthy events going on this week....so I will provide some random bullet points to keep my readers happy!



*New Lawnmower----Is this heaven? We never knew how bad our old one really was, until we started using the new dream machine! We used to poke fun of the neighbors who seemed to mow their lawn every other day, now we might just have to join the group. Who knew mowing could be so fun?


*Jackie has been into "hiding" things lately. For instance: the guest bedroom alarm clock, I found in her bedroom closet. My hairdryer, I found behind the TV. A pair of her socks, I found under her bed. And, there is the sippy cup from over two weeks ago, that I still have not located!

*One 1-yr molar to go! The first three came in all the same time...Jackie was miserable. Now she is getting the last one and is the same drooling, nose running, eye-watering, red-blotchy faced mess. Poor thing.

*Our backyard went from bare trees to this lush, green jungle in less than a week. I can't get over how fast the leaves grew. It's nice to look out the back windows and not see everything the neighbors are doing, and vice versa.

*Baby boom! Starting in June, I know 11 people who are having babies this year....and I'm sure I forgot a couple or haven't heard about some yet.

Well, that's all I got for now. ...adios!

Weekend Fun

Our fishing date on Saturday morning was a success! In the total fish caught competition: Jolyn=5 John=3. The weather was absolutely perfect and it was a nice little get-a-way, even if it was just down the road for a couple of hours!




Sunday morning, we loaded Team Kennedy into the truck and headed to the Trolley Run. On the way there, we jammed out to "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child of Mine," to get John pumped up for the race. Jackie thought it was a really good time as she was dancing in her car seat. We dropped John off at the starting line and then headed to the Plaza to stroll around until it was time to see him cross the finish line.

Having a wholesome breakfast of Apple Jacks while we waited for John to cross the finish line.

He made it! Lots of people, food, music and as you can see...lots of sweat!

It's Friday and I'm a Fair Weather Fan

First, let's talk weather...it's been absolutely gorgeous here this week. Jackie and I have been pretty much outside most of week. By the end of the day, she needs a bath and I need a shower because we've been having fun playing in the sand, mud, etc, etc. Another great thing about the weather, is grilling! We've grilled out three times this week. This makes John very happy, as he is a man that likes to do manly grilling. Only downside of the weather....I don't get anything accomplished inside the house. That's ok though...I can always keep pushing dry on the dryer until we've used half the clothes and there are less to fold!!!

So it's Friday and we have a fun-filled weekend planned:

*I'm going out to eat tonight with my friend, Michelle, and John and Jackie will have some father-daughter bonding time!

*John and I have a "date" tomorrow morning. We are getting a babysitter and going fishing. We haven't been able to do this in awhile, so we are very excited.

*We are going to get a new lawnmower this weekend. The old one, just isn't cutting it anymore...literally!

*Sunday, John is running in the Trolley Run, a 4-mile race. Jackie and I are going to shuttle him to the starting line and then cheer him on as he crosses the finish line.

*Sunday evening, is a spaghetti dinner at church. Being I just finished RCIA, we get a free dinner. Can't pass that up!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend!

Baby Jacob

Yesterday, Jackie and I went to visit our friends, Seanna, Will and new little baby Jacob! He is just two weeks old and just the tiniest thing I've ever seen. Will and Jackie had fun playing as, Seanna and I caught up.

Baby Jacob and Seanna

Jackie and Will were two peas in a pod. It was hilarious watching them interact with each other.

New Kicks

Check out my new kicks! My daddy picked them out for me. Now I can go really fast and they don't keep falling off my feet like my old shoes used to.

Baby Colby

Teresa and the guest of honor, Colby

On Saturday we made a quick trip up to Des Moines for the day to see the newest addition to the family...Baby Colby. He joined Jeremy, Teresa and Big Sister, Maddy on February 16th. The ladies had a little luncheon together and then we hung out with the rest of the family, until it was time to head back home. The weather ended up being nice out in the afternoon, so we even got to spend some time outdoors playing with the cousins.

Big Sister, Maddy


Cousin, Cara....they must have been talking to each other on the phone!

Cousin, Jordyn

Kids playing outside

Jackie, watching Mason on the tire swing

Exploring

Brennan, Jordyn and John...Jordyn didn't want any part of this picture


Mason and Jackie were having a nice cousin moment, until Jackie saw me with the camera...then she was on the move!

Jackie practicing her contortionist moves in the car seat on the way home

Lake Lenexa

On Tuesday, John took the day off and we had a "family fun" day. We headed to a new lake about 20 min. from us called Lake Lenexa. The lake and park were very impressive. There were nice trails, a playground area and an awesome dam. The lake opens for fishing on May 1st and we will definitely be back to try it out.

Easter

Easter weekend was a busy, but fun weekend! Mom and Dad Kennedy arrived on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, Jackie came down with an ear infection on Friday morning, so she wasn't in the greatest spirits when they arrived. About 24hrs after the antibiotics started, she was feeling much better and the weekend was saved! We spent a lot of time hanging out and playing outside, because it was so nice out.

Here Jackie shows Grandma how she can put the coins in the piggy bank.

Jackie loved to tease Grandpa.

Saturday night was my big night, as I officially became Catholic at the Easter Vigil. It was a beautiful ceremony. I went through 8 months of RCIA classes with my sponsor(John) and learned so much. I feel truly blessed to be where I am today on my faith journey.

Easter morning we had breakfast and spent most of the day watching the Masters. Here Jackie is going through her Easter basket with Grandma.

2nd Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful Hubby, best friend and soul mate!! (ok, I know that's a little mushy) Sometimes I can't believe it's been two years, and then on the other hand...I can't believe it's only been two years. I don't really remember what life was like without John in my life. I'm so lucky to have him.

We celebrated last night with a night out on the town. We went out for dinner and then made our annual stop at the Cheesecake Factory for cheesecake and a nightcap! We also decided to be total dorks and take some pictures at the fountain on the Plaza. See below...

To many more years of bliss!

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

I typically don't post twice in one day...but it's been one of those days and well, I just felt like it. The day started out with me waking up at 4am for no apparent reason, never to return to my slumber. No big deal...nothing an extra cup of coffee can't handle! The morning was uneventful..nap for Jackie, playgroup, blah, blah. Returned home from playgroup and Jackie seemed to be in rare form. Somewhere in between making lunch and eating lunch, Jackie decides it would be fun to splash around in the toilet water. Ummm, gross! Ok, no big deal...I washed her hands and that was that. After lunch, I was changing her diaper on the floor in her bedroom. The little rascal got away...bottomless! Before I could get up and get to her she was squatting in the corner of her bedroom, peeing all over the floor. That wasn't it!! Before she was through, she had managed to poop all over the floor as well!! I got her cleaned up, got a diaper on her finally and then tackled the real mess on the floor. It cleaned up surprisingly well...Jackie even waved bye-bye to it as it went down the toilet.

So this brings me to our grocery trip. As we were leaving the store...cart full of groceries, Jackie sitting in the cart, wind blowing like CRAZY...all of the sudden a runaway cart comes out of nowhere! The cart was heading straight toward a car parked right in front of me. Right before impact, the cart veers off and is now heading straight for us! Let me remind you, it was really windy and this cart was going fast! As I looked up, a truck was coming toward me in the parking lot and I braced for impact as the runaway cart came to a halt in the side of my cart. Luckily I had saved the runaway cart from hitting the truck! Now if you don't already know, one of my biggest pet-peeves is when a shopping cart is not returned to the shopping cart corral. This is just another reason why they should be! So after impact, I was stuck in the middle of the parking lot with my full cart of groceries and Jackie (weighing at least 100lbs!) and the empty runaway cart, as the wind was blowing 30 mph. My hair was blown across my face and I couldn't see anything, as I was trying to steer both carts through the parking lot. Just then, the passenger of the truck hopped out, grabbed the empty cart and returned it to it's proper place. He was the silver lining in my cloudy day. Thank you, Mr. Truck Passenger guy!! Who I tried to say thank you to, but realized he didn't speak English....so I gave him several nice waves and smiles!

Pearlies

Jackie has become quite the tooth brusher lately! She likes to stand on her stool, admire herself in the mirror, and do it "like a big girl." She used to not let me come near her mouth, but all it took was an extra toothbrush and some yummy tasting baby toothpaste. Now she can't get enough of it. She can hold her own toothbrush, while mommy scrubs away and gets her teeth pearly white with the other one!

Brush, brush, brush

The toothbrush must feel pretty good on the teeth that are coming in...she likes to chew on the end.

Mmm, tasty!

She Likes to Move it, Move it...

One thing we can't get enough of, is Jackie's stellar dance moves! She loves to dance and can pretty much find a rhythm in anything..even the dishwasher and washing machine. We like to have frequent dance parties at our house! John got this video last night of her "getting down" to some music on the TV.

Hoppity Hop

On Saturday, our neighborhood hosted an Easter Egg Hunt. We joined in the fun...for all of 30 min because the weather was a bit windy and cold. Jackie did get a few eggs and we saw lots of our neighbors...so, worth it.

Posing by the Easter Bunny...Jackie thought it was a dog and kept barking at it. She had no desire to get too close!

Here she was waving at the Easter Bunny...the "big dog" was ok from a distance.

"Hmmm, what do I do with this??"


Chit-chatting with the new neighbors

Speaking of Cereal...

This is what Jackie decided to do while I wasn't looking this morning. Looks like we need another box of Golden Grahams!

She even sat down and started eating it off the floor....less to pick up and since I just mopped the floors last night, I figured it was safe :) To make up for it, we actually won a $5 gift card inside the Golden Graham box....which will pay for the next box of cereal!

Intervention

John has this habit and I'm thinking it's time for an intervention. You see, most people eat cereal in the morning for breakfast. Not my hubby...he eats a bowl of cereal pretty much every night before bed. We go through a box of cereal in like 4 days. I'm not talking the healthy stuff either. Golden Grahams and Cinnamon Toast Crunch are typically what fills our cupboards. Sometimes I think he'd rather skip dinner and just go straight to the cereal. He says it "makes him happy." Those seem to the be the words of an addict to me!

Ok, so I'm being a little facetious here. Not on the cereal part, that's all true..but on the addict part. I just think it's a funny habit of his. I guess it's better than a slice of triple chocolate cake every night before bed!

It's Never Too Early...

One thing I remember doing as a child was baking with my mom and sisters and to this day, I still enjoy to bake. Although, John would probably like me to do more of it! This morning I needed to bake some cookies for church and so I decided it wasn't too early to get Jackie involved in the baking tradition.

She loved standing on the chair and feeling like she was helping out.

Very serious about her baking..notice the flour on the face, that was all her!

Putting measuring cups in the bowl was very entertaining.