A Very Merry White Christmas!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas spending time with our family! Plus, we woke up Christmas morning with a wonderful white surprise of snow. Kennedy got the hang of opening presents up this year. However, it took forever because she had to play with every gift that she opened. We let her open a few gifts from Uncle Tony on Christmas Eve, and she still had gifts to open on Christmas night. She opened gifts the entire day. Maybe next year, she will get a little faster. Her face was priceless when she came out of her room on Christmas morning to find all the presents. She was screaming with excitement when she saw her slide and kitchen. After our Christmas morning breakfast, we got Kennedy all bundled up to play in the snow. She was a little unsure about it, but she did run around in it. However, she did not like getting snow on her gloves. The day after Christmas, Trent went to the doctor before we left town for Warren and Hot Springs. He had not been feeling good the day before, and he was starting to break out in a rash around his neck. This visit did not bring him good news. He was diagnosed with a swollen lymph node on his head and shingles! He was prescribed some powerful medicine, but his illness resulted in canceling our trip to Warren. We did not want Trent's grandparents to have any chance of catching the shingles. We did make it to Hot Springs to spend time with Trent's parents and my dad and stepmom. It was a good visit! Of course, there was more Christmas presents for Kennedy at there house too. We also spent some time down in Little Rock to celebrate my Mom's birthday! Now we are finally back at home for one week! We fly out this weekend for some rest and relaxation in Turks & Caicos!

School Christmas Party

It is hard to believe that it is Kennedy's 2nd Christmas already. She is growing up fast! Our house is completely decorated for Christmas with a total of four trees including one in Kennedy's room. Our house is lit with the highest quality of LED lights decorated by Christmas Decor or Northwest Arkansas. We also have our Elf on the Shelf sent by Santa Claus that she looks for everyday. Lastly, we have now attended Kennedy's 2nd school Christmas program and party. This year, she was an angel. I made a big mistake as Kennedy was walking down the center aisle to reach the stage. I really wanted to get a picture of her, and I called out her name. Her big singing performance turned to crying for her mommy. Oh well! I have learned my lesson for the next time. After the program, we all went back to her classroom so that she could enjoy her party with her friends and teachers. She had a great time!

Kennedy's 1st Haircut

Last Friday, while in Little Rock, we took a trip to Pigtails & Crew Cuts. It was Kennedy's 1st haircut. Up until this point, she has not had much hair, and it has taken all of 20 months to get what she has on her head. She needed a little trim just to make sure that she didn't start to get a mullet. The ladies at the kid's salon were great with Kennedy. She had her choice to sit in a variety of chairs, but she chose the red airplane for her first cut. She wasn't so sure what was going on, but we were so proud of her for remaining calm. After her first trim, we got a souvenir picture along with some of her hair that we are going to put in her baby book. Hopefully, her second haircut will go as well as her first.

Thanksgiving 2009

It was a quick trip to Little Rock and Warren this year for Thanksgiving since we have been extremely busy with our Christmas Decor season. Christmas Decor has been going nonstop since November 1 with hardly a break. Thankfully, we got to break away from the busy schedule to spend time with our family. On Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday), we had dinner at my mom's house. She cooked up a feast, and we spent time visiting with my brother, cousin, and aunt and uncle. On Thursday, we got up bright and early and headed down to Warren for breakfast at Papa Bill's house (Trent's grandfather). Kennedy got to play with her cousin Landon. Last Christmas, Kennedy missed him because she was diagnosed with RSV, and she could not be around him. They had a blast playing the piano together. In the afternoon, we went out to Uncle Don and Aunt Patsy's house to see the chickens, cows, and horses. Just a few days earlier, lots of baby chicks were delivered to the chicken house. Kennedy loved seeing all the animals, but she especially loved getting to climb onto the tractor with her daddy. She ran loose like a wild animal out on the farm and played in all the freshly cut hay. That evening, we got together with some more of Trent's family for a big dinner. His dad's family has grown so large in number over the past few years that we had to reserve the church fellowship hall to hold all of us. Grandma Betty's house is just not big enough for the 25 of us to all eat. Kennedy had a ball playing with her five cousins. Even though she is the youngest, she still managed to keep up with all of them. We headed back home on Friday after a few hours of shopping some sales. We had to get back to the working grind of Christmas light installs and quotes for Saturday.

Trick or Treat!

Kennedy had the best time during Halloween weekend. On Friday, she went to a party at the Little Gym. She played with all her friends and enjoyed punch and cookies. On Saturday, we all skipped the Razorback football game since Kennedy was going to be venturing off down the street to a few of our neighbors. Her costume was a black kitty, but it was ofter mistaken as a black lamb. Mommy forgot to add her whiskers and nose. Oops! She still was absolutely adorable in her costume! One amusing situation that happened to her was when another child took some candy out of her bag. She had no clue what was going on, but she did give the girl a look like she was crazy. After touring the street, we all came back to the house where she helped hand out candy to all the trick or treaters. We have now found that she has a new love for Smarties candy. Kennedy would dig around in the candy bowl in search of a Smarties and run to her Poppy to open it for her. Since Halloween, we can't leave out candy in the house anywhere in fear that she will see it and throw a fit if she can't have a piece. The candy is now hidden out of site!

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday, we took Kennedy to the McGarrah Farms pumpkin patch in Pea Ridge. The weather was great, and Kennedy loved it! We all went on a hayride on the farm property, and Kennedy and I rode on a barrel train. The barrel train ride was a little nerve racking for me, but not for Kennedy. She thought it was exciting! She smiled and laugh the entire ride while I was hoping that the train would not fall apart. We got some great pictures from the trip along with some pumpkins! Kennedy loves her baby pumpkin, and she is still carrying it around everywhere! Trent and I are starting a new family tradition by taking a trip to the pumpkin patch every year!

Then and Now at the Little Gym

My baby girl is officially 18 months old!!!!! It is hard to believe that Kennedy has been going to the Little Gym since she was 10 months old. She was only crawling when she started last January. Now, at 18 months, she runs around that place like a mad woman. She has come along well in her developmental skills. Her favorite things to do is hang on the uneven bars and run across the balance beam. We went to her 18 month wellness visit on Monday. She is still a shorty at 31 inches (25% percentile), and her weight is 24lbs 8oz (50% percentile). Hopefully, we will get a growth spurt soon!

Lunch with the girls!

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Morgan and and Sara Beth came into town, and we met up for lunch at Tim's Pizza on the Square. I have not seen either one in forever. Morgan's daughter Gabriella is only two weeks younger than Kennedy. It was fun getting the two girls together, and I got caught up with all the latest news with my friends! The highlight of the lunch was Sara Beth's big announcement that she is expecting a baby next April. I am thrilled for her! Now, it is time to plan a baby shower once we find out in November whether she is having a boy or girl.

Arkansas versus Georgia

Despite Kennedy being much more mobile this year than last year. We attempted to take her with us to the Arkansas/Georgia football game. This year the tailgating was cut short because we wanted to make sure that she got a long nap before her big night out. Surprisingly, she was fantastic, and she seemed to love being at the game. We got her all dressed up in her Razorback cheer uniform! She helped us cheer on the hogs, but unfortunately, we did not cheer loud enough. Even though we lost the game, we all enjoyed being at the game to cheer on our favorite football team.