Friday, April 13, 2012

The Wedding Day! (or the day I got a new brother)

Getting beautiful (as if she needed any help!)

                                                
my turn

big day for Ella too!

Bridesmaids

Interesting experience getting make-up done---FOR AN HOUR! Set things back just a bit---Riss held it together and was very patient with Helga and her passion for dramatic eyebrows.


Surprise! You've been heart attacked :) There aren't enough paper hearts in the world to show you how much I love you Riss!
Hair: check, make-up: check, dress on: check

Driving to the wedding

Must be time for some pictures...

 Marissa has some incredible friends who were so much fun to play with all weekend!

Hilarious Elizabeth

Sweet Amy

Inside joke

 Possibly the only pic of Kendall actually smiling all day!



OH WOW
Pretty great to have BOTH of us caught looking awesome!
Okay, that's a little better

The Kendall wrangler (aka super Dad!)

New in-laws
 Newlyweds!

and a few more super cold pictures :)


Sunday, April 8, 2012

Getting ready for the big day

The day before the wedding there were still a few important things to get done...
First, we had to touch up our nails at Famous Nails


and then fuel up on Starbucks

so we could efficiently set up and decorate the wedding venue.
before
after




I wish I had taken more pics of all the projects Riss did to make the wedding feel like theirs---the venue was a blank canvas so every single detail was something she bought or created!

Finally it was time to rehearse



and celebrate the couple with family and close friends!

The silly little flower girl---we weren't sure after the rehearsal if she'd do her duty or kick the flower ball around and yell "Chase You!"



Time for bed...tomorrow will be a long day for this little munchkin.


Saturday, April 7, 2012

Love & Luck


Valentine love for "Baby"

Trying a little photo shoot for a Valentine's Day card




On Valentine's Day 

Reading over all of Mommy's cards from her students

Maybe too many treats today!?!

One month later...
Our little leprechaun 


Celebrating Riss

'
In preparation for Marissa and Luke's wedding we had lots of celebrating (and crafting) to do! First we threw a shower for Riss, with all of her favorite girls, and several special touches that were just for her.
One of her favorite quotes is "Keep Calm and Carry On" so I found one that said "Marry On" and I changed it to her wedding colors. I think she liked how it turned out! I tried to have all the little touches match that sign. I found the cute gray felt baskets at Target and filled them with favors (purple and gray bow pins) and games (scratch tickets and address drawing), and scattered throughout were little gray chevron tags labeling everything. Amy also made a really cute bucket where all the guests could write a little note of encouragement or marriage advice. 

Mom helped me out by bringing over some pictures of Riss through the years. They were a cute way to see who she has become---LUKE'S WIFE!!! 
Peppermint bark cupcakes with a "He Put A Ring On It" mini banner I found on the internet.
Then a big "She Said Yes!" banner :) I

The guest of honor before she dug into her massive load of gifts! It's fun to get showered!!! I kept wishing that she'd have extras of the cool kitchen gadgets that were nonreturnable so I'd get them---no such luck! Guess it's time Keith and I renew our vows and re-register. It was such a sweet day and I loved putting lots of love and details into the party. I know she doesn't love to be the center of attention but she deserved to get spoiled and I hope she felt all the love.

Then a few weeks later it was Julie's turn to host another Marissa celebration :) We started the day helping Riss finished up some wedding projects so she could actually relax and enjoy her special day.

It's a well known fact that to really relax and feel spoiled is to head over to Famous Nails for a pedi and chair massage!

We took our cowgirl to Nordy's to pick out some wedding night apparel...the boa, hat, boots, and special Texas buckle was a nice start :)

Then to dinner at Twigs for gifts and giggles thanks to some totally inappropriate dinner conversations!

We wrapped up the night at Gibliano Bros. Although the crowd was more fit for our parents, that didn't take away from all sorts of excitement (including, but not limited to, a lesbian vs. drunk man fight, a large man falling off the stage, somewhere in there we discovered blood on the dance floor and someone even wet their pants from all the wild dancing!) and Marissa even got called up to sit on the piano for a special few songs---she was such a great sport while getting teased by the piano players.

All in all, I think Marissa enjoyed all the parties in her honor marking her new adventure of becoming a wife! I love you Riss and so do all your friends and family who came to love on you!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Toddler-ville

Does this pic just scream SASSY?
Oh boy---we are FOR SURE in toddler land now! Our sweet little 18 month old has developed some sass, and a new head butting technique she uses on us when she doesn't like what we are asking her to do, are holding her too long, or when she gets really hyper (one resulting in me getting a fat lip right before I left for work!). Oh, and today she uttered "Mine do it" when I was trying to help her not spill her sippy cup. Yep, we have an independent toddler on our hands. However, that hasn't deterred us from seeing her as the most precious little girl on earth! Besides, those flare-ups of independent sassiness are part of learning and growing up---and, at times, they are still kinda cute (but don't tell Kendall that!). Don't get me wrong, most of the time she is GREAT and continues to amaze us with her sense of humor, imaginative play, sweet hugs, helpful nature, and ability to pick up on new words (and usually the correct meaning, too)!
Playing in the cat house...she wishes she was a cat some days as she LOVES them.

Looking like such a big girl! 

And now for the jumbled list of Kendall stats and memories---that we just don't want to forget!

Kendall's favorite activities these days include putting her baby "nigh nigh," coloring, taking baths and singing. Her "Baby" takes about 874, thirty second naps throughout the day, and we are constantly hearing "shhh shhh shhh, nigh nigh" as she shoves the poor baby into her various napping spots. Then Kendall will instantly pick her back up and start the nap routines again. Many of her stuffed animals, as well as Aslan, have also partaken in a game of "nigh nigh." In addition to her baby doll, Kendall also received a Color Wonder set for Christmas and she asks to "kah-wa" all the time, but spends most of the time grunting to get the caps off or focusing to put them back on. Although color wonder is mess-free she does still need a bath from time to time. We're going to have to start spelling out B-A-T-H here soon, as Kendall gets over the top excited when she knows it's bath time. She loves to "swim" on her tummy and pour water over her own head. And the singing, oh the sweet, beautiful singing! We love it!!!! She sings when she wakes up and she sings when she's going to sleep, she sings while she plays, she sings about her food, and of course she sings to her baby. Although she has quite a song repertoire (Itsy bitsy spider, Twinkle Twinkle, I Love You (Barney style), Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, The Wheels on the Bus, and Jesus Love Me), she usually is singing in her own little language. 
Climbing in to her baby's bed---so silly!
Kendall continues to be open to eating just about anything. Her favorite food right now is the small Satsuma oranges. She called them "greens" and we have no clue where that started---maybe she just knows she's being funny? She is pretty funny! 
Sneaking a piece of candy cane!
She loves to play hide and seek with her cousins and now yells "Hide!" to let us know we need to come find her. She continues to thrive at her many different babysitters! Learning so much from her cousins and friends. We hear she loves the story lady and getting a stamp at the end.
running down the hall
One of the milestones "we've" experienced in the last 3 months is a set of molars, and the a new set starting to poke through---making for a rough night now and again. Usually Kendall is a great sleeper going down between 7:30 and 8:30 and waking up between 6:30 and 7. On weekends we try to give her a bottle and trick her into thinking it's still night time and get an extra hour out of her! When that doesn't work we let her snuggle with us in bed and watch a cartoon (Caillou is a favorite!)---we love our weekends! 

first taste of snow.
At her 18 month doctors appointment she weighed in at 20 pounds 1oz (under 5% still) and 30.25 inches tall (10%). Still a little pipsqueak! She is currently wearing a mix of 12 and 18 month size  clothes, and sometimes helps to choose her own outfit. She loves to request bows for her hair, too (although she doesn't usually keep them in for long). That's right, she has enough hair for bows! 

Attempting to dress herself and needing "mo bow!"

We think we are getting closer to potty training season as she is very interested in the potty, announces when she is going, and recently learned how to take her pants off. We are also hoping to be done with binkies (which are just at bedtime now) and bottles here soon. We've been wanting to wean from the bottle for months now but due to her petite size didn't want to take away the only way she actually drinks milk. 
A visit to Cat Tales to see the "Big Titty"
To Keith's delight, she loves to count! For a while if we ever said "how many" in any context we'd hear her shout out "2", now if we say 1 she'll keep counting (sort of!). Loves to repeat 3, and knows that 9 comes after 8. And after we say 10 she claps for herself. The rest are hit or miss right now but Keith is in heaven none-the-less. 

Play date with some of her forever friends

of course still in love with the cats!

And there you have it! See you in a few months for the next Kendall update :) Oh, I've included a few videos at the bottom ...