We took Julia, Natalie and Kennedy to the park yesterday to play on the swings. This was Kennedy's first time in a swing and she absolutely loved it. She would kick her little legs and smile as we would push her back and forth. Every now and then we would have to stop the swing to prop her back upright and she would fuss immediately until we started pushing her again.
When we get back to Dallas, I think we will be getting a swing to hang from the tree in our front yard.
We made it to Midland very (very) late on Monday night due to a delayed flight and only had 3 out of 4 bags we checked in ABQ. I was afraid the trip had started out as a bit of a FAIL, but Kennedy slept on the plane and we enjoyed free cocktails. The remaining luggage arrived the next day along with a SW travel credit as an apology for losing the aforementioned bag.
Our Texan Christmas celebration had a theme, and that theme was food. We had a delicious late lunch and enough desserts to keeps us visiting the sweets table for a week. Kennedy got to meet lots of new family members including her Great Grandmammy, Uncle Clinton, Aunt Debbie and cousins Meagan and Meredith. She also got to spend more time with the Houston Hunters, Ross, Jenn, Julia and Natalie. This was my first time celebrating Christmas with Greg's whole family and I had a great time relaxing at the house and visiting with everyone.
Kennedy and GrandMammy
Meredith, Meagan, Kennedy and Aunt Debbie.
The next morning, we opened presents with Grammy Flash, Big Poppa and the Houston Hunters. It was so fun to watch the girls (Julia and Natalie) open each gift and get so excited about everything they received. Julia a Princess Jasmine costume and put it on immediately. This was her outfit of choice for the rest of the week (bedtime included). She has already began teaching Kennedy all about the Disney Princesses. Natalie got a black (stuffed) puppy and immediately shouted "Olive!" Natalie loves animals and chased Olive from one room to the next. I think it was good for Olive to get a little practice being chased by an energetic toddler.
"You see, Kennedy, this is Sleeping Beauty and when she isn't sleeping her name is Aurora..."
Last night we celebrated Christmas at Papa and Nani's house, my maternal grandparent's. Kennedy was a trooper even though we kept her up way past her bed time. She got passed from aunts to uncles to cousins to grandparents and absolutely loved all the attention.
Kennedy and her Papa. She is the first great-grandchild and their birthdays are only one day apart.
Kennedy gave us an early gift by sleeping in extra late this morning! We opened lots of fun presents and had brunch and mimosas. She is taking a rest right now before family comes over this afternoon for more food and more presents. I am in love with these little elf shoes she had on this morning.
We made it to ABQ and had the most eventful plane ride yet. Normally, Kennedy has a bottle at takeoff and sleeps through the flight and Olive falls asleep or sits quietly in her travel bag until we land. Spoiler alert: Kennedy cried and Olive barked. There happened to be another dog 2 rows away, and not being a seasoned traveler like Olive, proceeded to bark incessantly. Olive just couldn't resist and the two dogs barked and barked at each other. Thankfully we hadn't snuck Olive on the plane as we had intended to do, because the jig was up before we even left the ground. Kennedy was a little antsy and fussy at take off, which added to the stress of the dog situation, but was a little sweetie the rest of the flight.
Kennedy and I went to Sam and Kaylie's house in the afternoon for a little gift exchange with some of our friends. Kaylie and Kennedy are only 4 days apart and were very interested in each others choice of hair accessories.
Kaylie and Kennedy decked out in their holiday attire and animal print shoes.
Kennedy was pretty chatty at Sam's house but it was more humming than it was talking. At some point in the evening she figured out how to make more noises and started mimicking the sounds we were making, "da-da-da-ba-ba-ba." She won't do it when the camera is present, but I was able to sneak a quick video of her.
We had a little impromptu Christmas lunch at Caroline's house today with finger foods and champagne. I really should have been packing and getting ready for our trip, but to be honest, the thought of packing for 10 days plus all the presents...well, its stressing me out. So I was happy to have an excuse to put off packing. All the babies played while the mommies enjoyed lunch and some bubbly. I was excited we were seeing friends today because Kennedy's outfit was just too cute to keep to ourselves. I ordered this ruffle bum onesie and babylegs from Dreaming of Stitches and can't wait for her to wear it again in NM.
We decorated two Christmas trees this year, one from a forest and one from a box. We put the real one in our living room and it smells so good! I decided to put up a tree in Kennedy's playroom so she could enjoy the lights while she is playing. This year we have trees with lots of pretty (breakable) ornaments and a baby who is only mildly interested in the lights. I have a feeling next year, the tree and all the ornaments are going to be a source of great temptation for little miss Kennedy!
The trees:
Kennedy's pink and green tree.
Some of my favorite ornaments off the big tree:
Wedding cake ornament from our wedding.
If you know me, you know I love cupcakes. Maybe next year I will have to put up a tree with all sweets...
My grandmother gave me this sweet ornament last year when I was pregnant.
What a fun and busy weekend for the Hunters. On Friday, we met up with the Pfeiffers and the Williams for a grown-up night out. Mark's dad was kind enough to watch both Kennedy and Emily so we could all enjoy a baby-free evening. Thankfully Kennedy is a good little sleeper so she snoozed and didn't make a peep the whole night. We had a delicious dinner and drinks on the patio at Patrizios in Highland Park Village. That's right, the patio, in December. Despite my earlier rants about the weather in Dallas (see posts ranging from June-September), I was quite happy to be sitting outside under all the Christmas lights. Santa even made a little visit to our table towards the end of the night.
On Saturday, Greg and Kennedy enjoyed some quality father-daughter time while I was able to get out and get my hairs done and my nails did. Greg's parents flew in on Saturday to spend some time with Kennedy, so we let them keep her for the evening so we could start Christmas shopping. Yes, start our shopping. We powered through Northpark mall and got about two thirds of the shopping finished. Just a few more things to pick up this week before we head to NM.
Today we had the Hinckles and Jill over for some hot chocolate, cookies and Christmas/Hanukkah presents galore. Jill was the hero of the party, turning the hot chocolate into Irish hot chocolate, with the addition of the Bailey's. I got a mini-cupcake maker, it looks like a pink Gorge Foreman Grill (remember that craze?) and makes mini-cupcakes in 7 minutes! Jill got a similar machine but the output is donuts. And the Hinckles took home a new margarita set with margarita mix. Audrey and Kennedy played really cute together and posed for a quick photo.
Kennedy and Poppa
Kennedy and Audrey
Kennedy's awesome new hat from Aunt Jill.
I feel like we have a million things to do before we leave town, but I am so excited that Greg and I get to celebrate Christmas with Kennedy in both ABQ and Midland in the next two weeks.
Today we opened up our house for a Cookie Exchange and playdate with the Yummy Mummies. All the mums brought over delicious homemade cookies to share and the babies played with Kennedy's toys. This was the biggest group we have ever had at our house! Kennedy slept through the first half, but was happy and smiley once she woke up. The babies ranged in age from 3 weeks to 27 months. Watching the older kids run around definitely gave me some pointers for baby-proofing. A bowl of rusty nails on the coffee table is about as safe as the crystal candle holders and bowls of glass Christmas ornaments I have there now.
Anyway, back to the cookies. We had some amazing flavors: Oreo truffles, ricotta cookies (sounds weird, SO good), chocolate chip and white chocolate chip to name a few. We now have more cookies than I even know what to do with. If you come over to my house anytime between now and December 23, be prepared to be served cookies.
Kennedy and I took a break from baking Christmas cookies and tree trimming today for an arts and crafts project. We met our friends at Purple Glaze, a place where you can paint your own pottery. Not to get all Debbie Downer here, but I went into this project with somewhat low expectations. I kind of figured it was going to be a painting FAIL, but it would be fun to try anyway. Upon guidance from The Internet, I knew I could probably get her foot stamped on something, but the handprint seemed like a lofty aspiration. This turned out to be a 2 adult project, so lucky for me, Caroline's daughter was napping when she arrived. She painted Kennedy's fingers while I held her hand open. It took a few tries, but we got it! I had intended to paint a bunch of handprint ornaments for Christmas gifts, but the single hand took a while...and you pay by the hour at this place. So instead, Kennedy has a really cute plate with a pink handprint and pink and green polka dots. We pick it up on Sunday, pictures to follow.
As I was getting Kennedy dressed this morning, I was quite pleased with the outfit I had picked out for her. White knit dress with navy stripes, tights and silver ballet flats. I was carrying her around the house with me checking doors and turning off lights and caught our reflection in the mirror. Adorable. Wait...something is very familiar here. I think the reason I liked what I chose for her to wear today was because I was wearing the exact same thing. Ok, I was in jeans, but I did have a white top with navy stripes and silver ballet flats. It was just too close, it's like showing up to a party and one of your friends is wearing the same dress.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have actually had the ideal Mommy and Minnie Lilly Pulitzer look in my mind for some time now. I am aware that this colorful, coordinated display of patterns will embarrass my husband within an inch of his life, and I also realize I will be made fun of endlessly. But I don't care. Kennedy is now big enough for baby Lilly but only Resort Collection is out right now, and since we aren't going on a winter Holiday somewhere warm, we are going to have to just wait. Summer 2011 will be a colorful one.
One last thought, you know what we need more of? Hats. More importantly, hats with ears. This one from aunt Rosalie is getting too small.
Kennedy is 5 months old now, so that means we can start giving her solid foods. I have been pretty excited to start feeding her and today felt like the right day to start. I made her a delicious meal of rice cereal and organic pears (from the jar). The first few tries were a little dicey, the rice cereal made her gag before the spoon even came close to her mouth. Ruh-ro. I hope I'm not passing on my supreme pickiness to her already. I put some pears on the spoon and she loved them. So I started alternating pears and cereal, and she seemed to really like eating them. She smacked her lips together in approval after almost every bite. It will still be a while before the baby food will take the place of a bottle, but I feel like we are off to a really good start. Plus she looks adorable in her new cupcake bib.
I also got a chance to snap a few 5 month pictures this morning. Its a little chilly in Dallas today so she wore this little knit cap most of the day.
I have been a Texan for 9 months now and in that short time have done all sorts of Texasy things. From eating lots of BBQ (ok, eating lots in general), watching countless hours of football and taking road trips to Midland, Austin and Houston. My hair is getting bigger and it seems as if I am saying 'y'all' more each day. This weekend I got to add to my list of Cool Texas Experiences because we took a weekend trip with the Pfeiffers to the K4 Ranch. Its a beautiful ranch outside of Austin that has been in Caroline's family since 1890. There were 11 adults and 3 babies on the trip and we all had a fantastic time. We spent the daytime enjoying the nearly 80 degree temperatures with a Punt-Pass-Kick competition (its a football thing, y'all) and took the off road golf carts for a scavenger hunt around the property. We watched the sunset while drinking margaritas and enjoyed more drinks by the fire pit at night. One close call for the weekend, I nearly got tricked into eating venison (which actually turned out to be beef, so I would have been ok, but that's another story for another blog).
The babies all did great and played most of the weekend. They all seemed to really enjoy the outdoor time and the constant attention from everyone there. Kennedy, Emily and Molly are all in very different stages and it is fun to watch them play and try to interact with each other.
The drive home was very easy and we even stopped for a frozen treat from DQ. Such a fun and relaxing weekend!
Greg showing off his mad kicking skills.
All ready for the scavenger hunt (not pictured: mommy's beer)
Everyone must finish their beer before heading to the next stop. And that means everyone.
