Playing in NM

We enjoyed Day 2 of our NM vacation yesterday by meeting some girlfriends for lunch and playtime. Kennedy got to have some playtime with her little friend Kaylie, who celebrates her 1st birthday tomorrow!

If you have been keeping up with the news then youu know the whole state is practically on fire. There is some smoke in the air and it is really starting to bother me. I kind of have Party Girl voice, its squeaky and raspy and sounds like I've spent a weekend in a smoky Vegas casino. That being said, I am keeping the outdoor activities to a minimum for me and K. We spent the rest of the afternoon snacking on graham crackers and playing the piano.

Snack Attack.  

Working on her latest composition.  

Baby Beethoven

B-Day at the Pool

The birthday posts have begun. Get ready, there is going to be a lot of celebrating over the next couple of weeks!

We celebrated Kennedy's birthday with her playgroup today since we will be out of town the week of her b-day. I made some patriotic treats and met everyone at the pool. The baby pool was the perfect depth and temperature and we all had a great time swimming. Her friends gave her the cutest doll stroller/walker and she has had fun playing with it this afternoon (after a 2.5 hour nap)!

Summer yummies. 

 Showing off her new swimming costume.

 Opening her gift. She's quite sleepy from the swimming.

 Taking Minnie for a stroll.

Kennedy and Minnie

Birthday Pics

Yesterday Kennedy and I went out to meet up with Kelli at a park to take Kennedy's first birthday pics. Kennedy is far past the stage of sit-and-smile and we spent most of the morning chasing her all over the park. We decided to do them a little before her birthday since she isn't walking yet and its easier to chase down and contain a crawler.

Kelli made the cutest cupcake cake for Kennedy to smash into. Truly a girl after her mother's heart, and sweet tooth, she wasted no time swiping and eating the frosting. A new 'trick' that Kennedy does is to pretend to put on lotion. She rubs her hands together and puts the 'lotion' on her tummy and legs. You can see where this is headed...once she had the frosting on her hands she just had to rub it all over her legs and tummy. I knew this would be messy...but oh my, I was not prepared for just how messy it would get! We both went home covered in frosting, but I think it was worth it.

Here's a little sneak peek from our morning sesh:

Pink and Green

Today is one of those silly holidays that isn't really a holiday but is fun to observe nonetheless. Its not only the first day of summer, but also national Wear Your Lilly Pulitzer day. I mean not that you need a special day for Lilly, but I made sure to put Kennedy in her hot pink and green Lilly bubble. Complete with matching satchel. Not pictured: me in a Lilly polo and new sailor bracelet. 

 Peek-a-boo.

Busted

Olive, Kennedy, you two are so busted. 

I walked away for a split-second to refill Kennedy's dish of foodies and when I turned around I noticed these two in cahoots. 

As a side note, we don't always eat dinner in our diaper. Tonight Kennedy had a bit of a weak stomach and wasn't too thrilled about some of the new things I put on her tray. We went through a couple changes of clothes before I just decided it was easier clean-up to just feed her neked. 

Kennedy sneaking Olive her dinner.

No mac-n-cheese, no carrots, no apples. 

But these piggies, these will do.

Weekend Eats

This weekend's activities basically revolved around eating. Friday night we went to one of my favorite Dallas eateries, a BYOB pizza place in the West Village called Campania. It also happens to be next door to one of my favorite fro-yo stands. Pizza, sauv blanc, cake batter fro-yo...all the makings for a great night.

 Kennedy had a quattro formaggi slice and loved every cheesy bite. 

Saturday night the Dotsons had a group of us over for some delicious build-your-own burgers. Katie set up a little assembly line where each person could grab their meat, mash in whatever toppings they like (cheese, bacon, jalapenos, ranch, etc) and then Stephen grilled them to perfection. I had seen a burger themed dessert on Bakerella a while back and thought this was the perfect occasion.

The Girls

 I made these little darlings - cupcake and brownie sliders.

On Sunday we braved the crowds at In-n-Out in Allen. So worth it. We both love getting to have it when we go out of town but now we can have it whenever we like. There is one opening up very, very close to home. I am going to have to be careful or I am going to end up back in maternity clothes due to a burger-belly! 

 I like the simple, no-frills menu.

Delish.

Dada

Today is Greg's first Father's Day and we started off his special day with bagels and presents. After Kennedy had her nap and lunch, we took off for his official Father's Day outing: lunch at In-n-Out Burger. We've both had In-n-Out before on various trips to CA but we were never lucky enough to live within driving distance of one. I'm sure the one that is about to open 10 minutes away is going to become a regular meal in our eating out rotation.

Anyway, as we expected it was pure craziness. The line wrapped around the building and the drive thru had police escorts directing traffic. It took us about 25 minutes in line, but every bite of cheeseburger and fries were completely worth it.

Kennedy is so lucky to have such an amazing Dada. Not to get all mushy here, but all 3 of us girls (me, K, Olive) are very lucky to have Greg. He takes such good care of us and makes us all so, so happy.

Taking care of her tiny hiney. 

Dada and a perfectly swaddled baby. 

The Magic Hold. 

Sleepy baby.

Happy Birthday Dada. 

What I think this picture needs is more orange. 

Shoulder Rides

Dada's Stubble

Greg and his 2 little lasses.

Happy First Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day

Jammies

Oh, don't mind Kennedy, she's just hanging out in her new octopus print big girl jammies. Footie pj's are so 2 weeks ago. 

 Pre-bath. Just a diaper and a bow. 

Summer Hairs

Olive looked like this yesterday:

 Scraggles McShaggyface

She was a little overgrown and got her groom on today. Now she is ready for summer:

 Patriotic Summer Olive

On a semi-related note, Kennedy had a little separation anxiety from Olive this morning. We dropped Olive off at the groomer and when I handed Olive over to the girl, Kennedy reached out for her. She got a little frustrated when she couldn't reach her dog. Once she realized we were leaving and Olive was not coming with us, she went into panic mode, kicking, crying and reaching towards her puppy. It was not the best drive home.

Weekend At Home

This was one of the first weekends in a while that we have been home the entire weekend. No road trips, no flights, just home relaxing. We started the weekend on Friday evening with margaritas at Blue Goose and learned that Kennedy really likes quesadillas. Like, really likes them.

We had to work off Friday's Mexican feast so Saturday morning we went on a nice, long neighborhood walk. After we got home and Kennedy napped, we let her play with one of her birthday gifts from Grammyflash and Big Poppa. She had a blast splashing in the water table and I know we will be playing with this all summer long!

Saturday night we got to have dinner with the Hinckles and one of their friends in town from College Station. Steve made his signature Bacon Wrapped Steak Kabobs, and I refuse to admit how many of them I ate. So good.

On Sunday we went to Baptism class since we are planning to Baptize Kennedy in just a couple of weeks. We then made a Home Depot stop and spent the rest of the afternoon planting, fertilizing and schvitzing in the front and back yard.

Although we love our weekend trips, it sure felt great to be home for a weekend!

 Splashing in the new water table. 

Relaxing. 

Audrey and Kennedy.

MNO

Last night I got to leave The Littlest Hunter at home with her Daddy while I enjoyed a much needed night out with friends.

When Caroline and I got to the restaurant and they asked us if there would be any children, we practically shouted in unison no! We all enjoyed cocktails and pizza, baby-free, on the patio at Cibus before heading to see Bridesmaids. Hi-larious. The only one of our group that couldn't make it was Lizzy, a die-hard Mavs fan, who couldn't pass up tickets to last night's winning game.

 Bubbly

Highchair Free Zone

Glued

I like to have the TV on in the background during the day. I like to watch my Stories. Normally Kennedy pays no mind to whats on the tube, and hangs out in the playroom or hallway unfazed by the Evil Stefano. As of late, she has begun to take more interest in the Days of Our Lives characters (as well as Ellen and Nate Berkus). She also finds that the only acceptable position for enjoying her programs is as close to the TV as physically possible. 

I think we're at the stage where we have to go sans TV during the day. Wah. 

These Little Piggies

We took the tray off Kennedy's high chair tonight. She loved relaxing with her feet up on the table playing This Little Piggie, crushing crackers with her toes and making funny faces. 

 This little piggie had crackers. 

Little Ragamuffin with hair full of spinach ravioli and toes full of crackers.  

Relaxing.  

Whose leg is this?

"Oh no."

11 Months

Today is Kennedy's 11 month birthday. One word to describe her right now: active. No, very active. She is quickly moving all over the place, pulling up on everything she can and starting to take a few steps while holding onto something or someone.

She has such a funny little personality. She loves other kids and will get so excited if she sees another child or baby. She knows how to make silly faces and loves to go between a big smile and a Popeye face. She waves at everyone and everything. She actually waved and said bye-bye to a couple people while we were out on errands today.

Speaking of speaking, we now say doggie, dada and bye-bye. She also barks. As soon as Olive barks or yaps she makes her little barking noise.

Kennedy has two little front toofins and loves to bite down on crackers with them. We have just started the transition from formula to whole milk and she eats about half pureed baby food, half solid food. She prefers the solid food because she can feed herself. Olive also prefers when Kennedy has solids, as it ensures she will get a snack as well.

As I say every month, I just love this stage! I love how interactive, sweet and playful she is right now. And its fun to watch her become a little communicator. Planning is underway for an amazing First Birthday celebration next month.