Kennedy is 11 months old!

 

 Sick at home with Daddy on her 11 month birthday but still managed a smile for pictures!

 

I am linking up today with Kristin at Busy Bee for "Baby Talk Tuesday." Kennedy turned 11 months old yesterday. I can't believe she is less than a month away from being one. My pregnancy seemed to go by soooo slow but once she got here, everything went by soooo fast.

 

What has Kennedy been up to this month?

*Walking a few small steps here and there, still not completely on the go. Unless she is pushing her little shopping buggy, then boy can she move!

*Eating a lot of new foods! She had her first cupcake at Jackie's shower and loved it! She also is a huge pasta fan like her Mommy.

*Waves and says hi to almost everyone she sees! She is very friendly!

*Loves her babydoll!

*Loves to play in the playpen at school with her best buddy, Emerson.

*Cutting her top two teeth!

*Very clingy to Mommy the past couple of weeks.

*Favorite book right now is The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.

*Favorite tv show is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

 

In just two weeks, we will be taking her 1 year old pictures. My friend Valerie that took my maternity pictures will be taking them. She does a great job. I can't wait! It's hard to believe this was a year ago.....

 

 

Have a great rest of your week! :)

Boo at the Zoo!

 We had a blast at Boo at the Zoo! Kennedy was one adorable Snow White! :) They had a lot of lights and some of the animals were out. I didn't get a good picture but we actually saw one of the kangaroos hopping around which was crazy because usually the kangaroos are sleeping when you go during the day. They also had a bunch of candy stops but we didn't get any candy for Kennedy because obviously she is not old enough to eat it. My MIL kept telling me we should get some and just eat it ourselves but I think that's kinda tacky. I always get annoyed when adults come to our house on Halloween and trick or treat.

It was really fun looking at everyone's costumes. We saw quite a lot of other Snow White's. My SIL Gretchen and I got a huge kick out of a mom and dad that were dressed as Teletubbies and their son was a lion...seemed very random to us. We told Nick and his brother Ben that next year we thought they should go as Teletubbies, hahahaha.  They weren't having it. Nick did like all the Duck Dynasty costumes! :)

Kennedy with her cousins, Lexie, Tabatha and Marley. We tried to get pictures of the cousins and this was about the best we could get. Kennedy is cutting her top two teeth so she was not in the best mood and Marley kept trying to escape!

 Our first Halloween as a family of 3. :)  I think next year Kennedy will enjoy it a little more because she will be almost 2! Can't believe she will be 11 months tomorrow! :)

How was your weekend???

That awful feeling!

When Kennedy was a newborn, I could not do the whole "sleep when she sleeps" thing. As soon as she fell asleep, I was up washing bottles, cleaning up, doing laundry etc...By the time Nick got home from work, I was a zombie. Too tired to even shower. I would just crawl into bed. Kennedy nursed every 2-3 hrs so I wasn't getting much sleep at night either. One day during my maternity leave, Kennedy was having a really rough day. She cried pretty much non-stop alllll morning long. At one point, I got so stressed that  I accidently dropped the Itzbeen timer on her little face. :( Right at that time my bestie Megan came over to visit and so I could take a shower. I met her at the door hysterically crying. I felt like such a failure of a mom. Megan looked at me and said "Give me Kennedy. Go take a shower and go to bed." And that's exactly what I did. When I woke up, I felt much better but I will never forget that awful feeling.

I haven't felt that way again until tonight. Honestly I am usually one of those just "go with the flow moms" but tonight was a different story. Nick had class so Kennedy and I met my sister in law Rachael at Chili's for dinner. Kennedy did really great during dinner until right when the waitress brought our check. She got very whiny and fussy so I picked her up out of the high chair and was going to hold her until the waitress brought back my card. Well I quickly discovered that Kennedy had had a MAJOR blowout. Probably one of the worst ones she has ever had. She is cutting her top two teeth so her diapers lately have not been fun, but this one was BAD. I quickly took her to the bathroom, used the WHOLE travel case of wipes to clean her up, grabbed a change of clothes in her bag,  then discovered that I HAD NO DIAPERS IN HER DIAPER BAG. Seriously? Who does that? Of all the things to NOT have in a diaper bag. I remember changing her at my aunt and uncle's on Sunday and thinking "yikes, this is the last diaper in here, I need to put more in her bag"  but obviously forgot all about it when I got home.

So I ended up just putting her in her change of clothes with no diaper. By some miracle, we were able to drive the 15 minutes home without her peeing or pooping again.  As soon as we got home though, I discovered that I was covered in poop from carrying her. How did I not notice this??? Put her down on the floor with some toys so I could change and she starts hysterically crying and holding her arms up saying "mama, mama."  Teething has also made for a very clingy baby! I had to just let her cry because I had to get out of those yucky clothes but by the time I was changed into my pj's, I was crying too. I felt so stupid for not having a diaper and I felt awful listening to her cry for me and not being able to pick her up because I had to clean poop off my clothes and arms. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but I just felt like such a failure because of all the things to forget?!?! I gave her a bath and we spent the rest of the night snuggling watching Sprout network until bedtime. Nick came home and I started crying again just telling him what happened because I felt so stupid. Nick looked at me and said "so? you forgot a diaper!" Then he proceeded to tell me all the great things I do as a mom like singing songs, playing with Kennedy on the floor, taking her on walks, reading to her every night, praying with her every night, talking and interacting with her instead of being addicted to my Iphone like so many other moms. After that, I realized he was right. I forgot to restock her diaper bag. So what. So much worse could have happened! I felt a little silly for getting so emotional. No mom is perfect and I know that God chose me as Kennedy's mom because he knew I would be a great mom to her. Even when I forget to restock the diaper bag....

So What Wednesday

Linking up with Shannon today for "So What Wednesday." It's been awhile since I have done this linkup and I miss it! :) Here is what I am saying "so what" to this week:

1. I immediately bought Kennedy a long sleeved white onesie when I heard it was going to be in the low 60's this Saturday night when we are at "Boo at the Zoo." There is no way I am putting a coat on over her adorable Snow White costume.

2. I am sending out Kennedy's 1st birthday invitations this week. Her party is November 23rd. A little early, yes, but I couldn't wait any longer!

3. I bought all of the decorations and favors for her party at Party City. I wish I was a crafty mom, but I am just not. I don't want her party to be one big Pinterest fail so storebought was the way to go for me.

4. When Ashley and Kevin came to visit last Friday night, we got home from the haunted house around 10:00. All four of us were in bed asleep by 10:30. Things sure have changed! This picture was taken Halloween 2009 when Megan, Ash and I were 25. So much much more energy back then and even more energy back in the college days....but ya know what? So what? I kinda like being old and I LOVE being a mommy! Oh and don't you just love Nick's "Billy Mays" Oxy Clean costume? Bahahaha!

 

Have a great rest of your week!

Another Great Fall Weekend!

Ashley and Kevin came to visit this weekend. We had a lot of fun just hanging out with Kennedy and their dog, Dash, who Kennedy absolutely adored! Friday night, we got a babysitter for Kennedy and we went to dinner at Cheddars and then to House of Terror, a local haunted house. Guess who was there??? Michael Myers! My fav! This Michael Myers was very tall, much taller than I remembered in the "Halloween" movies. ;)

The haunted house did not disappoint. Lots of great scares! We had a blast! Saturday, we spent the day watching football. Man, there sure were lots of upsets in college football this weekend. Very disappointing game for the Gamecocks but I have to admit, I took some comfort in knowing that Georgia and Clemson lost too!

 

Sunday, we went out to my Aunt Gail and Uncle Karl's farm in Georgia. My Aunt Gail has had some health issues so we try to get out there as much as we can.  Kennedy has been there before last summer and had a blast. She loves animals and "rode" Izzy the  horse for the first time. She also rode her friend R2 the donkey again.

Fall, I love you!!!! Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

5 on Friday!

Time for my favorite link up!

1. Halloween is coming! Anyone else out there love scary movies??? I love them! Especially the old school ones. My favorite villain is Michael Myers. So creepy! Tonight Ashley and Kevin are coming to stay with us. We are going to dinner and then to a local haunted house. Can't wait, maybe Michael will make an appearance! ;)



2. Any other SVU fans out there that are super sad about Munch leaving the show? First Stabler, now Munch??? What is the world coming to??? Boo!

 3. Bridesmaid dresses are ordered for Megan's wedding! This is the dress except in pool blue and we will have a silver sash. They look super cute on. I am so excited and so honored to be her maid of honor!

 

4. I have the day off today! My principal told us last summer that if we attended a 2 day math conference over the summer that she couldn't pay us but she would give us our first teacher workday off. Sold! I am spending some time with Kennedy this am, then dropping her off at daycare for a few hours while I get my hair cut and do some shopping for her 1st birthday party!

 

5. As always, I will leave you with Kennedy! The weather has been beautiful this week so we have been going on a lot of walks. She also had another first this week, first kids meal! We went to Chick Fila for dinner. She ate an entire 4 piece chicken nugget meal and loved every bite of it! Unfortunately, the "toy" was a book about parrots. I have had a really strange phobia about birds since I was a child, they scare me to death. Yes, seriously. So the parrot book went to school for Mommy's kids to read because we will not be reading that book at home. Maybe next time she will get to enjoy the toy, bahahahaha.

Weekend Recap

We had a busy but fun filled weekend last weekend. We started off with a shower for my sorority sister Jackie and baby Laurel, who is due in November. Kennedy had a blast at the shower playing with another Phi Mu legacy, Blakely! Blakely is 6 months, so 4 months younger than Kennedy but I was still amazed at how much bigger Kennedy is!

Phi Mu girls at the shower

 

After the shower, we came home and watched the Oregon game with Daddy. I missed most of the Carolina game but was excited to hear we finally showed up to play all 4 quarters! Saturday night, Mommy and Daddy had an at home date and watched Hocus Pocus and ate pizza. :)

After church on Sunday, Kennedy ate pizza for the first time! She loved it! So much that we had to take her out of her outfit because sauce was getting everywhere!

After lunch, we went to the pumpkin patch. We picked out a medium size pumpkin and a small pumpkin for Kennedy. We took a lot of pictures but very few of them turned out very good. There was hardly any shade so we were all squinting in a lot of the pictures. We had a great time though and Kennedy loved picking up the smaller pumpkins.

It was hard going back to work today after such an awesome weekend!

 

Also, one last reminder about my Kelly's Kids party! It closes tomorrow (10-15) Some people have preferred to order over the phone and that's fine! 803-728-1472 (Kate Dannelly) or

 

Log on to:
www.kellyskids.com/katedannelly

 Enter party #18154 at check out 

 

Happy shopping!

Why I love being a working mom!

I am linking up with  all the other working moms @ Kelly's Korner today!

My name is Carol and I have been married to my husband Nick for 3 years. We have a 10 month old daughter named Kennedy. I am a third grade teacher. Being a teacher is a great job for mommies. I love having the summers and holidays off and being able to spend time with Kennedy. Right now, we could not afford for me to be a SAHM. However, my husband will be graduating in May with his masters in school administration with the hopes of being an assistant principal and maybe someday a principal. When that happens, we could probably afford for me to stay at home. But...that's not going to happen because being a SAHM is just not for me. I don't think there is anything wrong with being a SAHM but I wouldn't be able to do it. There are lots of reasons why.You could probably compare my personality to a Jack Russell Terrier. I love people, I love to talk and I love to be busy. During my 7 weeks of maternity leave, after Nick went back to teaching, I went nuts. I have to have interaction with other people. Another reason is I hate housework. I love the system Nick and I have. We split the chores evenly down the middle. If I was a SAHM, it would make sense that I would do more housework since I would be at home. No thank you. The biggest reason is, I LOVE MY JOB! The district I work in is one of the best in South Carolina and I am not just saying that. I know 4 girls that quit teaching to be SAHMs. They are all now trying to get back into our school district since their kids are school age and none of them have been able to find jobs because everyone wants to teach in our district. Honestly I have had 2 goals since I was the age of 6 and that was to be a teacher and a mommy.  I am so blessed that I have acheived both of those goals and that I can have the best of both worlds since I get to be at home with Kennedy in the summer.

I am not saying at all though that I didn't BAWL the first time I dropped Kennedy off at daycare. It was so hard to leave her and it's been really hard these past couple weeks with her going through the seperation anxiety stage. I miss her all the time when I am at work and the best part of my day is going to pick her up at daycare and seeing her smiling face. Being away from her is hard but I love her daycare and I love the fact that she is interacting with other babies. She has reached many milestones very early and I truly believe it's because she is with other babies all day long.  The picture below is of me and Kennedy on my first day back to work. She was 7 weeks old! So tiny!

I hope through this linkup I will be able to connect with some other working moms! :)Being a working mom can be hard but I know being a SAHM is a hard job too so kudos to all the SAHMs out there! I have a lot of respect for ya'll!

 

Don't forget! My Kelly's Kids party closes Tuesday the 15th!

https://www.kellyskids.com/katedannelly

Enter party #18154 at checkout

Carolina Game and some news!

We had a blast this weekend at the Carolina vs Kentucky game with my college roomie/bestie Ashley and her husband Kevin. We tailgated in the armory with some friends from work and had a blast. The game was amazing too even though we fell apart in the 4th quarter. But as I always say, a win is a win. My husband Nick is a Georgia fan but he even admits there is nothing like a day at Williams Brice Stadium. The atmosphere at a Carolina game is just unreal and the tailgating is way better than at Sanford stadium, which is pretty much non existent.

 Me and Ash

 Me and my sorority sister/friend Elaine and the baby bump. She finds out Friday whether she will be having "Sophia" or "Tanner!" Can't wait!

 Nick was a great sport and wore a black shirt. :)

So, yes, we totally drove an orange vehicle to the Carolina game. Kevin works for Vivent, which is a home security company and this is his work car. We got some really weird looks but thank goodness it wasn't the Clemson game!

 

And now the big news: We stayed at Ashley and Kevin's in Columbia Saturday night. My in-laws kept Kennedy. Within 10 minutes of us coming home, Kennedy took her first steps! It was only from the coffee table to the couch but it was so exciting! Yay! Welcome home Mommy and Daddy! Unfortunately it happened so quick that we didn't get any pictures and she has yet to do it again but I am sure it will happen soon!

Five on Friday!

Yay for Friday and my favorite link up! Here are my 5 excitements for this week:

 

1. I am hosting a Kelly's Kids party! My sorority sister Kate sells Kelly's Kids. Their clothes are a bit pricey but they are very well made and do not wear down when washed. Their fall catalogue has some ADORABLE clothes for girls and boys. Check out https://www.kellyskids.com/katedannelly if you would like to place an order and enter party #18154 at check out.

 

2. To be honest, last year I was thinking I might give up on Revenge. It got just too crazy for me and I couldn't keep up with the "initiative" all that crazy crap going on. However, I really enjoyed the season premiere and it looks like maybe Emily is just going back to old fashioned Revenge, 1st season style. I think I am going to stay tuned! :)

 

 

3. This happened the week before last, but Nick and I finally got Iphones. I had a droid before that and Nick had an old school flip phone! Seriously! LOL. It's been hard adjusting and a little overwhelming but all in all we love our Iphones! My favorite app that I have downloaded so far is the timehop app. It pulls up all your statuses and pictures that you uploaded on Facebook on that day in years past. I am all about the memories and it is so fun to be able to look back. Thank you Laura @Moments with the Mays for sharing!

 

4. We had a fabulous third anniversary! :) We had dinner at Bonefish and it was so yummy! I had swordfish with pumpkin ravioli and their house salad, delicious!If you have a Bonefish in your area you should definately check it out! My anniversary present from Nick was tickets to the Carolina/Kentucky game tomorrow! Can't wait!!!

 

5. Kennedy had two "firsts" this week. She ate fish for the first time (Mommy's swordfish at Bonefish) and loved it! She also discovered a babydoll that her Great Aunt Gail got her for her baby dedication back in May. She had never really played with it until now. All of a sudden she loves it! The babydoll, her shopping buggy and her activity table are her favorite toys now.

 

3 years!

Nick and I were married October 2nd, 2010.  We got married on a roof top overlooking the city and the weather was perfect. It was a fall theme wedding complete with pumpkins as our centerpieces. Besides the day Kennedy was born, it was the happiest day of my life. Happy Anniversary Nick! I love you so much!!!!

 My dad and my stepdad Karl walked me down the aisle. Karl has been such a wonderful father to me so I had to have them both.

 Nick going in for some extra lovin after the 1st kiss!

 First dance "Then" by Brad Paisley.

 My friend and bridesmaid Candice and my co-worker's daughter Morgan (the one laying on the floor) got in actual fight over the bouquet! LOL.

My Phi Mi girls singing to me!