Addison's 1st day of preschool

What a morning! I am amazed and thrilled! Addison had a great first day! No tears or even cares as her sister and I walked away from her classroom. I thought for sure we'd all have puffy red eyes as we said our goodbyes...I guess I didn't give her enough credit!=) It was so great to come back a few hours later and see her excitment when I picked her up. She talked about her morning at school the whole way home. Phew! This is going to be such a good experience for her(and me)!

My "baby" at 20 months!

Oh where does the time go? I was just playing around with the camera and took these few great photos of Kennedy. She is growing up so quickly, talking and singing all the time, she's so sweet and is SUPER lovey. Don't get me wrong though...she has her "moments" and fair share of time-outs too. The best moment is when she says "love you", pats her chest, makes a kissing smack sound and lays her head down for bed. Makes our hearts melt! Jason and I both think this age is one of our favorite stages (so far) in our girls lives!

Addison's 1st dental appointment

Addison survived her first trip to the dentist and was all smiles! I don't know who was more anxious about the visit, me or her. We did a lot of talking about the dentist experience prior to her actual visit which I feel helped a lot and even bought her a electric Dora toothbrush to get her used to the feeling of their cleaning tools. She did amazing job getting her teeth cleaned as well as getting all four views of xrays needed. The staff was great as well and made her feel at ease. I'm pretty sure she was laughing through the whole thing. And to top it off...no cavities! Only downside, it's looking like she is taking after me and my teeth issues and it looks like there will be some crowding with the permanent teeth on their way...most likely braces in her future. I was really hoping she would have her dads perfect teeth and no braces! Oh well, things could be a lot worse. You just can't beat her beautiful smile!!

First time in the dentist chair!


Waiting to have her xray pictures taken!


A great cleaning!

A visit to the Ft Wayne Children's Zoo

A few weeks back we stayed at Grammy and Poppy's house and made a visit to the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo. Along with Grammy, Poppy, G. Grandma, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Mandy, we enjoyed the day visiting with the animals and enjoying a picnic lunch in the park. What a great zoo! It was about double the size of our GR zoo and had an amazing new Africa exibit (It was such a nice zoo, it was one of the first times I didn't feel AS bad for the animals as they paced back and forth in their cages). A few of the girls favorites...Sea Lions, Monkeys, Zebras, and Giraffes. Here are just a few pictures to highlight the adventure.

They were able to feed the giraffe (named Lani...just like our dogs' name) a piece of lettuce. Can you say L-O-N-G tongues! Ick!




All tired out for the ride home!

Family Time at the Lake

(missing in photo...Josh's gfriend, Becky who's taking the photo...thanks again!)

Another great week was had at our cottage with Jason's side of the family. It was a beautiful and HOT week, got up to 90+ degree's...amazing for only being mid June. We had lots of fun keeping cool by splashing in the water, riding the Seadoo around the lake, or just quietly floating in the lake while the little girls took great naps...mom's favorite, dipping our toes in the cold hose filled kiddie pool, checking out the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan and the Little Sable Lighthouse, a couple trips to Whippy Dip for ice cream (thanks Poppy!), flying kites, blowing bubbles, short drives to Pentwater for a little shopping and lunch on the patios, and enjoying cooler evenings relaxing by the campfire, and just enjoying eachothers company! Here are just a few pictures of the good times had by all.

Just like "sissy"

Kennedy wants to be just like her big sister. It took Addison three years to fully learn, but I'm thinking (hoping) it's going to be much quicker for Kennedy! This is just one example of how Kennedy is always watching what Addison is doing. Love it!

Potty trained!

It's been almost a full month of dry pants, even through the night! Addison has been using the potty for over a year, but was never consistent. "They"(who ever that may be) say; when they're ready, they're ready...and how true it is. All of a sudden, after all the sticker charts, m&m rewards, potty dances, and anything else we could come up with, she just decided it was time. The final reward, a new bike! One down and one to go!
Here are a few pictures of Addison and her big achievement.

This is how I found Addison during one of her visits to the bathroom...

The new bike!

Baptism Blessing

This past Sunday, April 19,2009, we had the joy to have Addison and Kennedy baptized. It was a very special day for our family, as we had been wanting to have them baptized for a long time. The pastor presented the blessing very well and both the girls did great. We then invited our family to come back to our house after the service and celebrate with a light lunch and a special cake. As Addison would say "I had fun getting bapitized". Praise God for his endless blessings!

Easter Egg Hunting!

Happy Easter! We had the annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt in the Tot Lot this weekend. This was the girls first hunt and the girls had a blast once they figured out what they were supposed to do! Last year the fun was cancelled due to snow & ice as Easter was early, in late March. But this year it was a beautiful sunny day!! Watching them run around searching out eggs with a mass of kids was so fun to watch. The neighborhood social committee also provide cupcakes and drinks for the families afterwards.

Addison's 3rd Birthday!

We celebrated Addison's 3rd birthday on Saturday, April 4! We had a fun time with all of our family together(both sides)...yes, everyone was able to make it for this years celebration! It was so special to see the excitment in Addison's eyes and hear it in her voice from the moment she woke up this morning. You know she is getting older when she is now making a birthday wish list of things she would love to have. Some of her favorites this year...her first set of golf clubs, rollerskates, a hula hoop, bubbles, and of course, the basketball hoop from her dad(although, I don't know who was more excited ;))and so much more! Thanks to all of our family for making it such a special day! An added bonus to the day...Michigan State won, making them in the running for the championship final. Big State fans and grads in our family! Go Green!

A Snip-it's morning

I decided to take the girls to Snip-its this morning for much needed haircuts. Addison was very excited as she loves to see her stylist and to see what great things can be done to her lovely locks. As for Kennedy, this was her first trip to Snip-its and a professional haircut, (as my horrible attempt doesn't count) so she was less than thrilled to be there. All I can say is thank goodness for seatbelts on those chairs(Kennedy), Dum-Dum suckers and Tootsie Rolls. All in all, their haircuts turned out as cute as can be. An after thought...I wish I would have taken a picture after the haircuts on the way out the door...always an after thought! =) Here are just a few pics of our adventure at the "salon".

Daddy's Valentine's!

Today we celebrated the wonderful Hallmark Holiday, Valentine's Day! Actually, Jason started the Holiday off early and brought home flowers for all of us girls the evening before, a single pink rose for both Addison and Kennedy and a dozen red roses for me. And this morning, I had a heart shaped balloon and and goodie bag (filled with stickers, candy and a book) waiting for the girls tied to their chairs at the kitchen table. We then took to the kitchen and made heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast, Jason & Addison went out to play in the snow that decided to fall last night--crazy as how it was warm and green the last few days and then snows the next! Next, we'll be making valentines cookies together. What a great day!

1yr appt, curls & baby dolls

Kennedy had her one year appointment with Dr. Jane today. Here are her stats...
Height: 31" (95th%-tall girl)
Weight: 21#12 (70th%)
I also had to document Kennedy's curls (since I have yet to clip any off to save...sorry nana). They look really cute after a bath, but come a day or two later her hair straightens out and looks kind of mullet-like. So, I do believe it's time for her first real haircut. Stay tuned for that post in the coming weeks! And finally, how many babies do you think Kennedy would like to have in bed with her? Three...a set of twins and a third baby that she'll snuggle with. In fact, I found her sleeping on top of all three of them. While the "twins" heads were sticking out on either side of Kennedy's and I'm pretty sure the third baby was pretty much being smothered under her. At least we don't have to take all the babies with us every time we leave the house.

Happy New Year!

Wow...it's 2009! Jason and I celebrated New Years Eve with 6 other couples from our neighborhood (and a few other friends). It was an evening filled with LOTS of food, drinks, great conversation, shooting pool, darts & euchre. Pictured are just a few of those we enjoyed the evening with. Thanks to Grammie & Poppie for driving up and ringing in the New Year with the girls. May this year bring health, happiness and many more good times!