Princess Vera

Jackie received this puppet for her birthday(Thanks Burley's!) and it has become quite the hit for her lately....almost like an "imaginary friend."  Only thing is, I'm the imaginary friend...because well, the puppet needs someone to talk for it.  I'm not sure if she realizes that it's actually me...since she typically asks Princess Vera to come out and play while I have Gwen in one arm and doing something else with the other arm.  Leaving me no arms for Princess Vera.  So anyway, Princess Vera has become a household name for us lately.  Jackie especially likes it when she sneezes and dances! 

Smooch

Seven Months Old

Happy 7 months to our little Gwendolyn Grace today!  She is such a happy baby.  She still loves her baby food. She is eating 3 meals a day and has 3 full bottles and sometimes a little snack before bedtime.  She has never really been into a bottle right before bed, so I guess we won't really have to worry about taking that away from her.  She loves to sit and can move from the sitting position to her tummy.  She doesn't mind her tummy, but gets frustrated after awhile because she can't go forward.  She loves to sit in her hippo chair hooked onto the breakfast bar.  We usually have a bar stool underneath and she loves to stand up on it!  She started babbling about a week ago and has the "dadada" and "yayaya" down.  She loves to play patty cake with her big sister and will even start to clap her hands a little when we sing it to her.  She loves to shake her head "no"..although, I don't think she is actually shaking it "no."  She's just imitating how people usually talk to her.  She started sleeping through the night really well at 6 months...going to bed at 630-7pm and sleeping until 630-7pm.  She's had a few rough nights since then when she was sick.  She is down to 2 or 3 naps during the day, depending on our running around or schedule that day.  I'm pretty sure she is starting to work on a few teeth, as her gums on the bottom are starting to get puffy...but ask me again in a couple of months, and she still might not have any yet.  All in all, she is just a normal, happy baby!  Happy 7 months sweet girl!

Happy!

I just love this picture. This truly shows Gwen's most favorite expression.  She loves to smile and she smiles with her entire face and body.  Thanks Mom K for this picture and for this great memory we will always have! 

God Bless You

  Not only did we celebrate a birthday this weekend, but we also celebrated Gwen's baptism. We feel truly blessed to have members of both sides of our family with us this weekend to help celebrate both of our girls.

Celebrate Good Times

This weekend we celebrated!  We celebrated the birth of our three year old and she is definitely worth celebrating.  Out of nowhere she became very into the Disney Princesses and so we had a princess party.  Jackie had the time of her life and that's all that mattered to me.  Thank you to her Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who made her weekend and all her princess dreams come true!

Secrets

Jackie likes to tell Gwen "secrets."  Sometimes it's "I love you to the moon and back," or "Gweny, you are my best friend."  The other night when John and I went out on a date, she reassured Gwen, "It's OK, they'll be back."  I love it.  I love that she totally loves her sister and already feels she can "confide" in her.  Now, it's not all peaches and cream.  There's a bit of experimental hitting and once a biting.  But, I just love at the end of the day..they already know they have each other. 

Flip-Flop Weather

Three of the four Kennedy's are ready for flip-flop weather in this household!  I'm not sure John's toes are ever ready for flip-flop weather..but guys can get away with a lot more than the ladies can :)  We had a nail painting extravaganza at our house today.  Even Gwen got in the mix.  Let's just say, hers aren't exactly perfect...but it's tricky painting itty-bitty toes that are constantly on the move!  Even so, they are pretty darn cute, if you ask me.

Now, I wouldn't normally go so BOLD with my nail color..but I played along today.  Plus, it's the only Insta-dry nail polish I had.  That's important when painting little nails, belonging to preschoolers and infants.

Don't you just want to eat these toes right up?  It doesn't get much cuter than this folks....

Day of 3's

Sunday was the day of the 3's.  Jackie turned 3 and well, I turned 33.  We had a nice day and as a bonus, it was actually really nice outside.  We just hung out at home on Sunday, as the girls are still recovering from some sickness...but it was nice and we are gearing up for more celebrating this coming weekend. 

On Saturday, Jackie and I went to the Valentine's Party at our church.  It was fun having some Jackie-Mommy time.  Unfortunately we came home to a pretty sick Gwen.  A trip to Urgent Care, the pharmacy, and not a lot of sleep that night...she was showing signs of recovery the next day. 

Jackie was so cute about her birthday.  We told her on Saturday night that when she woke up the next morning she would turn "3."  She was so concerned about what was going to happen to her.  She literally thought she was going to "turn" something, or feel different.  We explained to her that when it's your birthday you get to open a few gifts and have some cake.  Then she was under the impression a birthday, was something like Christmas.  She thought, some birthday "Santa" was going to come while she was sleeping and leave gifts.  On Sunday, when she woke up she was excited, yet a little anxious just not knowing what to all expect.  After awhile, we kind of just went on with our day like normal and she was much better.  Above is a picture of her and daddy blowing up her Princess Hopper.

You can't have a birthday without cake, right?  Jackie and I made this cake on Sunday, together.  She decorated it and as you can tell...might have sneaked a little frosting!

After naps, we lit the candles and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of Jackie.  This shows her while we were singing to her.  She loved it and I love how happy and proud she looks.

The night before Jackie turned 3, I taught her how to blow bubbles for the first time.  I was so proud of her.  It's one of those things that she'll know how to do forever now.  She was also able to blow out her candles on her cake this year!

She also got the hang of the Princess Hopper pretty fast.  Here she is while watching a show on Monday morning.  At least she's getting a little exercise while watching TV, right?

Happy Valentine's Day!!

It's a busy time of year for us...birthdays, valentine's day, throw some sickness in the mix.  So I'm a little behind on my posts for the last couple of days.  In the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day!  Enjoy the pictures of our littlest Valentines.

If this pictures doesn't say "Don't touch my sister, or I'll make you pay for it." I don't know what does.....

Can you say goof-ball?  Someone is feeling a little better today....



Yes, that is air between the tummy and the ground.  The little stinker has been flirting with pushing up on her hands and knees lately.  I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet, or not.

Another failed attempt at getting Jackie to look at the camera.  However, Gwen has a great little smile and I love how she's holding on to Jackie's arm.

Jackie's Valentine's for KDO tomorrow.  Not bad, for procrastinating and throwing something together with what we had at home....

Sisters

Daydreaming...

Sometimes you just have to daydream.  These pictures are from our honeymoon, almost FOUR years ago.  Wow, a lot has changed since then!  Two job changes, two kids and a different house later.....

I keep getting these spam emails that scream say "HAWAII DEALS."  Oh to be able to go there again someday....*sigh.*  I know it's just spring fever getting to me, and it will pass as soon as I'm able to spend some quality time with Mother Nature.  Don't get me wrong...if someone offered me an all expense paid trip, I'd probably figure out a way to go.  But, for now..I'm happy right where I'm at.  We can always daydream though. 

Guinea Pig

So, I'm starting to have a little fun with the whole making baby food thing.  First thing, I don't know what I thought was going to be so hard about this when Jackie was a baby that I didn't try it.  It's like the easiest thing EVER.  The best part is that I'm not constantly running to the store to pick up more baby food.  Now, if we travel and Gwen is still eating purees, I can see where jarred food is a little more convenient.  We have enough to take along when we travel, we don't need an extra cooler for baby food.  But anyway, back to my point.....

So Gwen has become somewhat of my puree guinea pig.  I'm starting to branch out a bit and get all crazy with some foods that I don't normally buy or prepare.  Not because I think it's going to turn her into a better eater, because I think that's mostly up to your kid.  But, because I'm getting a kick out of figuring out how to peel, prepare, and cook different kinds of foods.  Which in turn..is just going to make me a more knowledgeable cook!  So, I am doing this for her because it's healthy, cheaper....but selfishly, I'm doing it for me too :)  I just whipped up a batch of beets yesterday.  Did not know the color of beets was SO..well, RED and stains well!  And a batch of nectarines today.  Also, did not know that a nectarine and a peach are the same exact thing..minus the fuzz!  So there, a few little fun tidbits of information that you might have already known..or not.

And because I'm rambling a bit anyway..a few things about the picture above.  First, this picture looks just like John.  Second, obviously I need to do some nail trimming...poor nose!  Third, seriously can you just not get enough of that wide-eyed, gummy, little smile?