Ice Storm 2009

This past week was not much fun for people living in Northwest Arkansas. We experienced a major ice storm that began on Monday afternoon and finally ended with a winter mix of snow on Wednesday. We still have remains of ice on the ground today. All schools were closed throughout the week. Luckily, Kennedy's day care opened late on Thursday and Friday. The storm caused much chaos throughout the area. Over 350,000 people and businesses were out of power. Luckily, we had power, but we did not have cable or the Internet for four days. Shelters starting popping up everywhere for the people who had no where else to go. Trent's brother lost his power on Tuesday, and he stayed with us along with his dog until his power came back on Saturday. Much of Northwest Arkansas looks like a war zone or a tornado flew through the area. Trees are down everywhere, and it will probably take weeks before everything gets back to normal. Although I did not get out much during the week because of the storm, many of my friends did and took pictures of the ice and some of the damage that the storm caused. Here are a few of the pictures that I borrowed from their Facebook pages.

Kennedy goes to a party!!!

Kennedy was so excited today because she went to a friend's 1 year birthday party. Addison had a rock star themed party, and Kennedy was fascinated by all the balloons. Obviously, we will have to have lots of balloons for her birthday in a couple of months. Addison was dressed adorable in her rock star birthday tutu that her mom made her. Of course, Kennedy was not dressed in theme for the party because I didn't even think about having a planned outfit. Plus, we were already running a little late for the party. Kennedy enjoyed planning with all the kids, and she was excited that she got invited. She also got a microphone party favor that she loves talking into. She is already looking forward to next Saturday where she gets to attend another birthday party for her cousin Jacy who is turning 3 years old. Some other big news is that Kennedy is going to be 10 months old tomorrow! Only two more months until she turns 1 year old!!!

30th Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was a great 30th birthday weekend. On Friday, my mom and brother came into town. Before dinner, I got to open some birthday gifts, and my family was extremely generous to me this year. Thank you to you all! We headed to PF Changs (per my request) where some of my friends tried to hide at the restaurant and surprise me, but they were unsuccessful. I knew that my husband knew better to invite some friends. Its not that I don't love my family on my birthday, but I would like to spend the evening with friends as well. The meal was excellent. Afterwards, Trent, James and I went out for a little while which resulted in a small headache the next morning at Kennedy's first Little Gym class. I survived the class, but I was ready to lay low that afternoon while the rest of the family headed to the Razorback basketball game. After the game, Trent's parents came over and joined my family for a late lunch of hamburgers around 3:00. I took full advantage of the grandparents in town for a nice long nap since there were plenty of babysitters around to watch Kennedy. Trent or maybe my mom (I still can't remember) woke me up around 6:00 p.m. so that I could get ready for dinner. However, no one was hungry because of our late lunch. We decided we wanted to do something different, and Tony wanted to go bowling. We all agreed, and we packed the car up and headed to Fast Lane Entertainment. Little did I know that I was about to walk into a big surprise. Trent had rented out the party room and the Cosmic bowling area for my 30th birthday and about 50 of my friends were waiting on me. I was completely shocked and overwhelmed. I had no clue. Trent had also got me an amazing 2-tier birthday cake from Rick's bakery that was completely awesome! The only detail that I was not completely found of was the invitation that he created. It was a pretty embarrassing picture taken of me probably when I was in about 6th grade, and it appeared as though I was picking my nose. However, I was not!!! Besides the invitation, I had an amazing time at the party. I still keep wondering how I had no clue! I was completely shocked! Even though I am getting old, thank you to my family and friends that were able to share in my celebration of turning 30. Trent did an amazing job with my 30th birthday weekend. I am so lucky to have him as a husband, and I love him so much!!! Here are a few pictures from the party at Fast Lane.

Kennedy's First Day at the Little Gym

Today, Kennedy went to her first day of class at the Little Gym. The 9:00 a.m. class came very early after the previous night out for my 30th birthday. For my birthday, we went to dinner and some of my friends tried to surprise me at the restaurant. We had a good night out! Now back to the details of Kennedy's first class. She was probably one of the youngest in the class, ans she was probably about one of three who was not walking yet. We did lots of developmental activities with music. Her favorite activities were probably playing with the balls, bells, and attempting to climb the rock climbing wall. She also enjoyed rolling down the elevated mat and doing the mommy assisted forward rolls and jumps. Kennedy will be going to the Little Gym every Saturday from now until May with either mommy or daddy. One of us has to participate in the class with her. We are looking forward to sharing all the new skills that she learns, but the early 9:00 a.m. mornings are going to be tough. More updates to come after next Saturday.

Wonderful news!

My friend Erin Box called today with some exciting news! She had just finished cutting Trent's hair when I got her call. She wanted to tell me herself before Trent could pass on the information. She is PREGNANT!!! I am thrilled for her. Her and her husband Burt have been trying to get pregnant for some time now. They are both wonderful people, and I know that they are looking forward to the arrival of their bundle of joy! Erin is going to make an amazing mother! Currently, she is 15 weeks pregnant, and she is due on July 12! We could be welcoming a Fourth of July baby like his/her mother Erin! Yeah!!!!!

Number 3!!!

Tonight as I was drying off Kennedy from her bath, I found a tooth bud on the top of her mouth! She is cutting her third tooth. No wonder she has been fussy some lately!

Dare Devil Baby!!!

With Kennedy crawling all over the place, she recently discovered the stairs to our upstairs bonus room. Our dogs are always laying in the sun by the front door. Since Kennedy seems to love her dogs and always wants to be around them, she likes to crawl into the entry way to join them. However, this crawling excursion always leads her past the stairs. She enjoys standing at the bottom of the stairs holding on to the banister bars.

This past weekend, she was more curious than usual. The brave little dare devil that she is decided that she wanted to tackle the obstacle of climbing the stairs. Now, I realize that it is time to babyproof them with a gate of some kind. However, her curious parents wanted to see just how far up the stairs she could get. Under our supervision, she made it up to around the fifth or sixth step before she got tired. We realize that we should not encourage her. We don't want her to try this unsupervised and get hurt, but it was rather amusing to watch her climb. We got a few pictures of her climbing accomplishment, but next time, we will try to get it on video.

Lunch with Friends

Today, my friend Amy came into town. We are college friends, and she married one of my high school friends named Shayne. They now live in Houston, Texas. Shayne had to take care of some business in NWA. So, Amy came along on the trip since she is still on maternity leave. Five weeks ago, she gave birth to a baby boy named Carter. I finally got to meet the little man today at lunch, and I was thrilled. April, Maramarie, and Sarah also joined us for lunch. I only wish that Kennedy could have met baby Carter. However, she was busy at daycare, and I only got a short visit since it was during my lunch break from work.
Carter was completely out numbered with all the girls present, but he didn't seem to mind. He slept the entire time during our visit. I still can't decide whether he looks more like Amy or Shayne. Either way! He is a handsome baby boy! I can't wait to see how much he has grown the next time that I see him! We got some great pictures of all of us during lunch!

baby CarterAmy & baby CarterSarah, Amy & AmandaApril & her daughter MaramarieAmanda & April

(not the most flattering picture of me)

No More Stubborn Crawler!

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about my little stubborn crawler. I guess that I spoke too soon because she is now crawling all over the place. She no longer has to have the keys, cell phone or TV remote for bribery. She just goes everywhere. From the living room, she will crawl to the entry way to play by the stairs. She also crawls to the kitchen, and today, I discovered that she crawled through the bathroom to my bedroom closet. It is officially time to baby proof the house! Currently, we have a few outlet covers scattered throughout the house, but now, it is time to begin working on the cabinets, drawers, doors, etc. Anything paper that includes a magazine, newspaper, articles of importance, she will destroy if she can. She seems to love to destroy paper products. Even though we now constantly have to monitor what she is doing, I love the fact that she is mischievous and enjoys exploring. She keeps us on our toes!

Kennedy has two new cousins!!!

For over a year now, our cousins Scott and Alison have been trying to adopt a child. It has been a long road of tiresome and emotional disappointment for them. However, this year, their Christmas wishes came true!! Not only are they going to be mommy and daddy to one little girl but two! They are thrilled!!! On Monday, they flew up to South Dakota where the girls are currently living with a foster mother. After long hours of paperwork for the first few days, they are now officially a family of four. The girls are named Sasha and Jasi. Sasha is 18 months old, and Jasi is 3. They are the sweetest little things in their pictures, and our family is excited about meeting them. This past week they hung out in South Dakota for a period of adjustment for the girls to get to know Scott and Alison. It has been an exciting week for them at a water park, the playground at the mall, and a trip to Mount Rushmore. They have already experienced some fun and amusing adventures. Today, the South Dakota DHS workers will be throwing the girls a going away party, and tomorrow, the family of four will all board a plane at 6:00 a.m. that is Arkansas bound! Scott and Alison are going to be amazing parents to these beautiful girls! We can't wait to meet our new cousins! Kennedy is ready to play! Welcome home you sweet little girls!

The Stubborn Crawler

Well, Kennedy is 9 1/2 months old, and we were starting to wonder if she was ever going to crawl. So many babies her age are crawling, and we don't understand why she will not. It is like she is just not interested in doing it. However, she is pulling herself up on everything, and she loves to try to walk. At her Leap Frog musical table, she will stand up and completely walk around it. She is always wanting mommy or daddy to hold her hands so that she can take steps. Also, she can still manage to get across the room by herself, but it is not by crawling. It is more like a knee shuffle combined with a few rolls and butt drags to get her where she wants to go.

Tonight, mommy and daddy decided to bribe her to crawl with her two favorite things which are the cell phone and TV remote control. She wanted these two things really bad, and she crawled right to them across the room!! We were thrilled! However, she was not. She pitched a fit while we teased her with bribery. She continued to pout while we managed to get her to continue to crawl from one side of the room to the other. Finally, we gave in, and she reached her goal and got her two favorite things. Throughout her crawling experience this evening, she would try to stand up versus crawl, but she couldn't manage to get her upper body above her legs resulting in her butt straight up in the air.

We learned this evening that she can crawl but just chooses not to crawl. She is a stubborn crawler! All she cares about is learning how to walk. Although we will continue to bribe her to keep up her crawling practice, it will be all right if learns to walk before she chooses to crawl.

9 Month Wellness Visit

Kennedy went to the doctor today for her 9 month wellness visit. She weighed 19.5 lbs, and she is 28 inches in length. These past 9 months have flown by so fast. While at our visit, the doctor confirmed that we are definitely not contagious anymore with RSV. Two days ago, she developed another running nose, but Dr. Averitt wrote a prescription that should dry it up quickly. Kennedy is constantly in to everything. She is pulling up all the time especially at her musical table, and she has even started taking steps to walk around it as she plays. She still does not crawl, but she loves to trying to walk with our help. She may be one of those babies who decides that they are going to walk rather than crawl. It is rather amazing though for a baby that will not crawl because she still manages to get across the room for something that she wants.

Is she the next da Vinci or maybe van Gogh? Who knows?

During art time at daycare, Kennedy created this marvelous masterpiece of art. It is her first creation that involved being stripped down wearing only her diaper to avoid paint from getting on her clothes. She went to town with the orange paint. After reviewing the final product, I could not imagine what she must have looked like once she was done painting. Luckily, her teachers had cleaned her up before mommy or daddy picked her up that day. Anyways, I have named her art masterpiece The Orange Blob.

Happy New Years!

Well, I thought that I would be clever and wish everyone a happy new years with Kennedy wearing a festive headband. However, she refused to keep it on long enough for me to take a picture. Oh well! I can't believe that 2008 is over! It has been the best year ever since Kennedy has joined our family. She may be tiring and exhausting at times, but she brings so much joy to our lives. Also, in only three months, she will be turning 1 year old!!! We love our little peanut!!!