Sunday, February 19, 2017

Celebrating our Little Sweetheart!

Last weekend we celebrated Miss Kennedy's big first year with family.  Given her birthday is February 9th, it was too easy not to go with a heart theme for our little love.  I envision many more of those in her future!
 The best we could get with this mover and totally failed at getting a family picture. #whoops

 We love this 1 year old more than you can imagine!

Come on in!  

First up, lunch!  This girl can destroy some Chic-fil-a nuggets so we did just that, a big platter of nuggets and some other goodies.  Super easy.  Delicious.  For your next party, I highly suggest doing the same.  It's a big hit for little kids, big kids, and really big kids.




 Love this Smith trio.  Celebrating birthdays with cousins is the best.




  For each birthday, I get a book for the guests to sign that goes along with the theme.  I hope when they grow up and have kids of their own, they cherish these books and share them with their kids.


Miss K and Aunt Ashley

After lunch, it was presents.  K wasn't really into opening.  She got easily distracted but I assure you, big sister was right there to help out.




 Kennedy got a little taste of cake, okay... a lot of taste of cake, on her actual birthday and again for her party.  Paying a lot of money for a smash cake just isn't my thing so I made her a little cake that was all hers to destroy.  It wasn't perfect but it was made with love. I'm not sure what she likes better... the cake or the icing.  This one has a sweet tooth!





We enjoyed the day with our family so much. It was perfect.  I love a full home.  I cannot get enough of the fellowship and laughs and love.  Not to mention it was 80 degrees in February!!  I mean, that made it over the top perfect.
Cousin Grace and Addison 

This profile gets me every time. 

Outfit change... did I mention it was 80 degrees!?  Those lips though....

Oh, this boy.... Cousin Beckham.  K and Beck will be the best of friends. I love him so and all the boy he is.  He reminds me so much of Luke at his age.
 
  I LOVE this picture of Kennedy and Nana (my mom).  


And just like that our baby is one and thinks she is a big girl kissing other babies and all.

Party favors for the kids..."Sip, sip, hooray!  Thank you for celebrating my big day!"

Shout out to my MIL for making that super cute heart banner...the perfect touch!

We are so grateful our family came together to celebrate.... from near and far.  Sweet, sweet memories made for our little love.  Happy 1st birthday, sweetheart!  

Monday, February 13, 2017

Kennedy Isabelle: 1 year!

Oh, sweet girl.  One whole year has gone by since we heard your cry for the first time and got to kiss your sweet little cheeks.  It feels like yesterday that we welcomed you to this world and you completed our family.  You bring SO much joy to our lives.  Your wide smile and constant happiness is contagious.   The miracle of life takes my breathe away everyday when I look at you and your sister and brother.  Oh what miracles you are!

Here is what you are up to at 1 years old:

- pull up on everything and can stand on your own once you are up.
- walk while holding onto furniture or someone's hands.  Not quite ready to go free but you are close!
- love to pull things out of their home like Kleenex out of their box, clothes out of your drawers, sandwich baggies out one by one... it makes this very OCD Momma a little crazy but you won't be little forever, right!?
- are a blanket girl.  You really won't sleep unless one hand is one your blanket and the other's thumb in your mouth.   And it can't be just any blanket.  It has to be the thin Aden and Anais muslin swaddle blanket. I think it is pretty precious.  You are our one and only attached to a blanket and our one and only thumb sucker.  
- crawl everywhere and fast
- like to climb our stairs as of the last week.  Holy moly.
- love Little People toys.  In a room full of toys, you will find a Little People person and hold on to it for dear life. 


- don't love the car.  You don't hate it but you don't love it either.  If you are tired and I forgot your blanket, you really hate it.
- take 2 naps a day usually.  A morning nap from 10-12ish and an afternoon nap from 3-5ish.  If you only get one nap in a day, its usually from 11am - 2pm.
- are a great sleeper at home.  You LOVE your crib and you know when you aren't sleeping in it.  
- are in bed by 7 every night and I have to wake you at 8 am to start our day and get brother off to school.
- for the past month you have been only having a bottle first thing in the morning and one before bed.  I think both will be easy to drop as you have a great appetite and are doing great with a straw sippy cup.  You have been having half whole milk and half formula this whole month and are ready for all milk once the formula is gone.  We introduced formula to you around 6 months and started mixing it with breastmilk.  You had a split of formula and breastmilk up to 9 months and then exclusively formula for a couple months.
- love big people food like chicken nuggets, waffles, pears, veggie sticks, graham crackers, cheerios, baby goldfish... you also love fruit and veggie squeezies.  We haven't bought baby food in a month.  
- you give kisses and I pretty much melt. 



- you are talking more and more everyday.  your favorite words are "no-no", "night night", "bye bye" and "all done".   You say those in the right context usually after hearing it said to you.  "No-no" was first mimicking Mommy telling you no-no.  You also say "da-da" and "mamamama" but not in the right context yet.
- you get angry when you want something and can't get it like if a toy is stuck in something or for a while you couldn't get your snacks out of your snack cup on your own and would get so angry about it.
- recently starting waving hello and bye-bye
- like to dance
- are overall so easy going and mild-mannered.  You are the happiest baby unless you are teething.  That is really the only time you are fussy and it is pretty short lived.
- like to play "i'm going to get you" and race around crawling
- like "twinkle twinkle little star" and "you are my sunshine"
- like orange things...orange cars, orange people,  orange clothes.  Not sure what that means.
- have 6 teeth, 4 on bottom and your top 2.  You are teething right now as 2 more top teeth cut thru.
- love to be outside


- like to snuggle in the morning when you first wake up.  Aside from that, you like to be down and moving on your own.  At night, you reach for your crib and snuggles are few and far between.
- have only been left with your Nana, Aunt Ashley and Mimi.
- most people say you look just like Addison and on some random days we get that you look like Luke
- you love your bath.  Oh my heavens, I can't wait to get you to the pool this summer.
- you are smaller than your siblings were at 1 year.  You wear all of Addison's hand-me-downs even though A was a May baby and you a February baby.
- don't like juice.  It's cold water or milk.


- like to play in the bucket of shoes in our mud room.  You will play for 20 minutes easy.
- have been very healthy. Thank you Lord!  We deal with a runny nose when you are teething but I think your whole first year we went to the doctor once for a fever/virus outside your well-checks.
- your sister calls you "Miss K".  I will tell Luke to do something for "sissy" and he usually asks "which one, the big one or the little one?"  
- overall, your siblings adjusted so well to you joining our family.  Addison adores you and really just wants to be able to carry you on her hip like Mommy.



You had your 1 year checkup on your birthday (mean Mommy) and you got an A+!
20 pounds, 3 ounces
12-18 mos clothes
size 3 diapers
size 2/3 shoes.

This birthday seems so monumental for our family.  We won't have another 1st birthday in our house and I am having a Momma-Moment over it.   I want to bottle up all of these special moments, big and small.  I want to always remember how you you fit in my lap just perfectly.  How tiny yet yummy your little legs are.  And all your baby rolls!  I want to remember how happy you are first thing in the morning when I walk into your room.  You jump up and down in your crib with so much excitement.  I want to remember the way you give kisses.  How you lean in with your mouth a little bit open and share your slobber in the best of ways.  I want to always remember how dependent you are on others at this stage of your life and never forget that you blink and that time is over.  I want to remember your face as you make new discoveries like those strange little things at the end of your arms called fingers.  I want to always find a reason to celebrate whether its drinking from a sippy cup all by yourself or one day learning to tie your shoe.  

Good gracious, parenthood is the best.  I am so grateful God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy.  Happy 1st Birthday Kennedy Isabelle!  Year one was remarkable.  Let's see what year 2 brings!