Proud Mommy Moment and 20 months old!

I am linking up with Ashley @ Words About Waverly for Little Things Wednesday!

This past Sunday, I had a really proud Mommy moment. Our church has a ton of serving opportunities throughtout the year but being a teacher, my favorite is of course, backpack giveaway! Everyone that wants to participate buys a backpack and school supplies from a provided list. Then, we bring them to church and they are donated to local needy children. This year, Kennedy was able to help and it warmed my heart so much. I know she is too young to really understand but Nick and I were still so proud that she wanted to help. After we went to Wal Mart to buy the backpack and supplies, we came home and she helped stuff the supplies into the backpack. That night we went to church and she wanted to carry the backpack in and put it in the pile with the other backpacks. It's little things like this that we feel will help her live her life for Jesus.

Also, Kennedy turned 20 months old this week! Only 4 more months and then we will have a 2 year old! So crazy! I am not really into doing the whole generic monthly updates but here's a few stats and favorites:

Clothing: All 24 month and 2t and size 5 diapers. We still have a big girl here! :)

Favorite toys: Loves babydolls! She wants to feed them, change their diapers and put them down for naps under the coffee table all while saying "shhhh." Nick is terrified that when we have a 2nd child, she is going to try to put the baby under the coffee table. She also loves her hand me down playhouse/garden that our friend Ella gave us.

Favorite book: Princess Sofia's Look and Find flap book and Thump Quack Moo

Favorite foods: Popsicles, ANY FRUIT but especially strawberries and watermelon, yogurt, chicken, corn and edamame.

She is still talking up a storm and has started to say some short phrases like "want to swing" and "thanks Mommy!" My favorite was the other day when we couldn't find her lovey and she said indignantly "find it Mommy!!!" Uh oh, we are in trouble! Sassy like her Mommy!

I thank God everyday for our beautiful blessing! We love her so much!



Monday Musings

Warning: This is a very random all over the place post!

First off, who is ready for the finale of The Bachelorette tonight??? I know I am!!! A friend of mine said she heard that Reality Steve was wrong about who Andi picks so it definately should be interesting. I honestly don't like Josh or Nick. I get a bad cheater vibe from Josh. I feel like if she picks him it will be a Jillian/Ed situation all over again. Nick just seems like a jerk. I do hope Reality Steve is right about Chris being the next Bachelor!

Speaking of the Bachelor/Bachelorette, if you are a fan of this franchise, this book is a must read. I was not a fan of Courtney at all but this book has a ton of juicy secrets and gossip about the show. It was so good I read it in one day while we were in Portland.



On Saturday, we went to Columbia and stayed with Ashley and Kevin. Nick's parents came over and stayed with Kennedy while we were gone. I was a little nervous because the last time we left Kennedy overnight, she was 10 months old. However, she did great and so did I. I think it helped that we were having so much fun! We went tubing down the Broad River which is turning into an annual summer tradition. We had so much fun! There were a ton of people out so we really enjoyed all the people watching. Not to mention, it was super relaxing! After an afternoon on the river, we came home, showered and went out to eat. We were supposed to go see a movie but we missed it so we came home and watched a movie in Ashley and Kevin's "theater room" which was almost like watching a movie in the theater. We watched World War Z with Brad Pitt and it was a pretty good zombie/action flick.

Nick's mom is obsessed with yard sales and she found this adorable rocking horse at a sale this past weekend. It was made by Mennonites and it actually converts into a desk and a high chair. It was a big hit with Kennedy, who by the way, is 20 months old today! Only 4 months old until we have a 2 year old! Wow! 

This weekend I also went to Gymboree and spent my "Gymbucks" on some fall clothes for Kennedy. I got 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and this adorable dress for her. This dress is made of sweatshirt type material and is super soft! Not to mention super cute! I can't wait to put her in this with a pair of gray leggings and a purple bow! :)

I hope everyone has a great week!!!!



Portland Trip

We're back! Have you missed us? Here are some highlights from our Portland trip:

 

We left Wednesday morning and guess who was on our flight from Columbia to Atlanta? The old ball coach himself! Steve Spurrier!!! I didn't realize he was on the flight until towards the end when I heard the guy across the aisle talking about it. I tried to catch him afterwards to get a picture but he BOOKED it off the plane as quickly as he could so he obviously didn't want to chat with anyone. Oh well, I was still star struck!

 

 

 The flight from Atlanta to Portland was LONG.I am not going to lie, Kennedy had a hard time on this flight. 5 and a half hours is just too long to be on a plane for a 19 month old. I will be doing a separate post about this later. We got into Portland a little after 3:00 their time, which was after 6:00 our time so we were starving. We ate at the neighborhood food carts that night followed by ice cream at our favorite, Ruby Jewel's. It really hit the spot after a long day!

 

 

Thursday was pretty low key. Kennedy loves our dogs, Zeke and Toby. She had a ball walking them around the yard and reading books to Zeke. Zeke was a great listener. I think it helps that he's 15, deaf and blind. Bahahaha. The weather was fabulous, in the upper 80's and a nice breeze so we were outside most of the day.

 

 

Mommy did sneak away for a bit to have lunch with the beautiful bride to be, my high school bestie Molly.

 

 

 

Friday morning, my mom and I went to get pedicures. I treated her as a late Mother's Day present. We got the hot stone pedicure which was the best 40 dollar pedicure I have ever had. So relaxing! I am making it my mission to find a pedicure place around here that does this type of pedicure. We came home and had a had a low key afternoon. Nana and Kennedy did some reading. Then, that night Nick and I went to the rehearsal dinner/barbeque at Matt and Molly's house. I didn't take too many pictures at this because I was so busy catching up with all of my high school friends. This is me and my friends Stephanie and Bridget. Bridget is actually not a high school friend. She dated my best guy friend from high school, Ryan. They dated for about 2 years when we all were in our early twenties. She was the only girl I ever liked that he dated. He ended up cheating on her and a lot of his friends (me included) took her side and are still friends with her to this day. As Bridget says "I won the divorce!" LOL.

 

 

 

 Saturday I went and got my hair done by a girl I went to middle school and high school with named Leila. We were never close friends but had a few classes together here and there and were friendly when we were in school. It was fun to catch up with her and talk about old times. She told me in 7th grade she was really upset because I didn't invite her to the Hanson concert. Bahahaha. We sat next to each other in math class and were always dishing on how hot Taylor was. I got tickets and took my friend Nicole and apparently to this day, she still remembers how it hurt her feelings back then! So funny!

 

I came home and we played some more in the yard. Kennedy was obsessed with the neighborhood cat the entire time we were there and luckily the cat was friendly enough to let her pet him. Kennedy's other obsession? Mommy's sunglasses!

 

We took a rare family photo of the 3 of us. Nick is squeezing Kennedy because that's about the only way to get a posed picture of her these days. Stephanie and her fiance Colin came to pick us up for the wedding. Kennedy stayed with Nana and Spike.

 

 

 

The wedding was a lot of fun. Very casual and very
"Portland!" The ceremony was in a local park. Love this picture of all the girls. (Sarah, Steph, Lisa, Katie, Sandra, Jasmine, me and Bridget)  While we were taking it, Molly came running over and jumped in the next picture.

 

 

Our friend Sarah made an awesome tower of wine glasses at the reception, hehe.

 

 

After the wedding we went out to some local bars and my friend Brittany who I have been friends with since midde school came out. So good to see her!

 



On Sunday, we had a kid friendly picnic at a local park. Kennedy had a blast playing with my friend Margy's 2 kids, Abby and Ben. I thought this picture was absolutely adorable!

On Monday, we took Kennedy on her first trip to Voodoo Donut, which is a Portland must. So many good choices! YUM! I had the (excuse my french) "Old Dirty Bastard" which had chocolate frosting, peanut butter and oreos on it. Soooo tasty! Nick's favorite is the maple bacon bar which is yummy as well.

 



 

Nick, my stepdad and I went to eat sushi that day for lunch at Sushi-Go-Round which was awesome. I didn't get any pictures but they have delicious sushi and I love the concept of putting sushi on a conveyer belt and just being able to take what you want! That afternoon we took Kennedy to the local splash park which was fun but cold! It was only in the 70's that day so the water was freezing! Kennedy still had a blast!

 

 

Tuesday was our last day. We woke up to very dreary weather. Temperatures in the 60's and rain. Very typical Portland weather, yuck. One of the biggest reasons I moved back home to South Carolina after high school. I just couldn't take the weather. We spent most of the day just laying around inside. I had a lot of cuddle time with Zeke. I am pretty sure this will be my last visit with him. Pugs usually don't live longer than 12 or 13 years. As I mentioned before, he is 15, deaf and blind. Bless his heart. I still remember when my mom and I went to pick him up from the breeder's during my sophomore year of high school. He is such a good dog.

 

 

Ending this post about our awesome trip with this adorable picture I took Wednesday morning before we left to go to the airport. Kennedy grabbed a picture of my Nana (her Great Nana) and was sitting just like this looking at her picture. An odd spot, but a cozy spot! I am sure Nana was looking down on her smiling!

 



 

So, now we are home and preparing to enjoy our last 2 and half weeks before Mommy and Daddy have to go back to work. This summer has gone by way too fast!



Summer Fun Continued

I am taking a break from packing for Oregon to do short recap of our weekend. Friday turned out to be one of those "it didn't go as planned but turned out to be fun anyway" days.  First, I took Kennedy to the library for toddler storytime. There is a retired librarian that comes to her daycare once a week to do storytime and Kennedy loves it so I figured she would enjoy it. Wrong! LOL. Little Miss did not want to sit still and listen. In her defense, the storytime seemed more geared towards preschoolers than toddlers. I was expecting more songs and puppets. Instead we got a lot of long books and one song. We will try again next year!

 

We were supposed to go the splash park that afternoon with my friend Brandi and her daughter Evie. Unfortunately there were a few summer showers that day and we didn't want to drive the 25 minutes there only to have to come back. So, Brandi and Evie along with Brandi's friend Kari and her daughter Paisley came over to our house for a playdate. Kennedy is 19 months, Paisley is 18 months and Evie is 17 months so they are all very close in age and had a blast playing together. The weather even cleared up so we got out the baby pool for a bit. We ended the playdate with Kennedy's new favorite thing in the world, popsicles!

 

 I love this picture! Kennedy is already saying "mom stop with the pictures!" LOL.

 

 

 Saturday, I got to attend my friend Cassie's wedding! She was an absolutely stunning bride! Her dress was gorgeous. I am so happy for her to start her life as Mrs. McKie! Congrats Cassie and Mike!
 

 



 

 

I hope everyone has a fabulous week! I am taking a break from blogging while we are in Oregon but can't wait to post about our trip when we get back. I definately plan on doing a "how to survive a 5 and a half hour plane ride with a 19 month old" post! Wish us luck!

Friday!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Here's what's been on my mind this week:

1.Nick had an assistant principal interview this week with the school district we teach in. There are 3 openings and close to 100 people applied! They only gave 30 interviews so he was very honored to be interviewed. We will find out on July 29th after the school board meeting if he got one of the positions. We will be ecstatic if he gets one of the jobs but we know God has a plan and that it may just not be in His timing this year.

2. We are leaving for Oregon on Wednesday and I am soooo excited to see these girls at my high school bestie Molly's wedding!!!! I am also way too excited about eating some good food. If you haven't been to Portland, you are missing out. Between Voodoo Donut, Sushi-Go-Round, Salt and Straw ice cream and hitting up all the food carts, we will be very busy eating! The only thing I am anxious about is the flight. Kennedy did great last year but she was 7 months. It's going to be totally different this year now that she is walking. We are bringing the portable DVD player and lots of snacks! Also hoping that she will nap on the long flight from Atlanta to Portland. which is 5 and half hours.

3. Awhile back, one of my favorite bloggers, Mandy @ Mommy Musings did a post on which was better, Yoplait or Chobani. I had seen 2 similar posts on other blogs and they had chosen Chobani but Mandy had chosen Yoplait. I knew I always liked Mandy...:) Just my opinion, but Yoplait Greek is soooo much better than Chobani. I am loving all the new flavors they have and my favorite by far is the apple pie. Yum!

4. It wouldn't be a 5 on Friday post without a little reality tv recap. How good was The Bachelorette this week??? Still LOVING Chris and loved his family. I thought it was so cute how they ended up playing Ghost in the Graveyard at the end of the night. I don't think Andi is going to pick him though, just can't see her living in Iowa. Plus I have heard rumors that Chris is going to be the next Bachelor which would be freakin awesome! Did anyone else cry ugly tears when they found out about Eric? So sad! Such a moving scene when all of the production crew put down their cameras to go comfort each other.

A new show that I can't get enough of is Ladies of London! I love the Real Housewives franchise so of course I would love this show. I hope I don't lose any followers by saying this, but Juliet reminds me so much of myself. I have a tendency to be a little loud at times, I love to have fun and waving around panties at a party? Totally something I would do...

5. So, what has Kennedy been up to this week? I did a post here about some of the fun stuff we have been doing. It has been a great week full of playdates, a zoo trip and a park trip. Today, the fun continues with storytime at the library this morning and a playdate with my friend Brandi and her daughter Evie at the splash pad this afternoon.

Here are some other fun pics from the past week:

 Kennedy with her "big brothers", our friends Adam and Jessica's sons, Payton and Grayson at church last Sunday.

 Kennedy had so much fun throwing poppers on the ground on 4th of July with Daddy! She also loved watching the fireworks in her pjs! She wasn't scared at all, in fact she seemed pretty mesmorized by them!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Growing up!

I am linking up for the first time with Ashley @Words About Waverly for the "Little Things" linkup.

 

Everytime Kennedy does something new, I find myself saying "awww, she is growing up soooo fast" and then making a sad face. In reality though, it's actually so much fun that she is growing up! This summer has been so exciting because she can do so much more than she could last summer. I don't want it to end! Here is what we have been up to this week:

 

Saturday morning it was surprisingly not too hot out so we hit up our neigborhood park. So fun to watch her do things by herself like go down the slide. Her favorite thing to do at the park is still the swings. She loves to be outside!

 

On Monday, we went to the zoo. We took Kennedy to the zoo last year when she was about 7 and half months old. She enjoyed it then but of course, she enjoyed it more this year because there was more she could do, like the carousel! :) They also had a cute little pink playhouse in the botanical gardens that Kennedy loved playing in. Her favorite animals by far were the penguins! She probably could have stayed watching them for hours! You can read about our trip last year here.

 

Another fun thing about her growing up? Playdates!!! I have always been a very social person and Kennedy seems to be following my lead. She loves to be around other kids! My sorority sister Catherine is in town from Greenville this week visiting her parents. She has a 2 year old son named Greyson so did a playdate at the pool today. Kennedy and Greyson had never met before but they hit it off very quickly! They had a blast playing together.   

 

So when I find myself getting sad that she's growing up, I remind myself of how much fun we are having with her. Then I think about how it's only going to get better! The best is yet to come!

 

P.S. That doesn't mean I still haven't been having MAJOR baby fever lately.....