Counting

For some reason, she likes to whisper 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Cardboard House

We are now making pretend houses out of cardboard boxes. I can't even tell you how much this excites me. Kennedy brought me the box from our recycle pile at the front door and told me it was her bear's house. Before I knew it, I was cutting doors, making furniture and setting the bear up with his iPhone and remote to watch Mickey. I love to see her creativity come out as she asks me to draw flowers here, cut another window there, draw a stove and make a flag for the front door.

Mickey Mouse on the TV. Remote in his lap.

Adding decorative accents to the front door. 

She asked for a flag for the front. Given the Texas Techness of the bear's sweater, I felt somewhat obligated to make a Longhorn flag for Greg's sake. We also have a similar Longhorn flag on our house. 

iPhone (on the floor) and MacBook on the table. He's not about to miss a text or status update. 

Gymboree Fun

On Saturday we celebrated Kennedy's birthday with her Dallas friends at a Gymboree party. We kept the Farmyard Fun theme from ABQ and her two favorite teachers at Gymboree created a little pretend farm for all the kids. Since we spend so much time playing there during the week, it just made sense to have her party there. From a kid perspective - they loved it. They got to run wild, pretend they were animals, pop bubbles and have cupcakes. The kids were completely worn out by the time they left, which made all the parents happy as well. 

Kennedy got a little overwhelmed at times with the attention, and we learned she does not like people singing Happy Birthday to her. Not even a little bit. But she got over it quickly when she saw her mini cupcake. We waited until we got home to open her gifts and she had fun going through each package. We have lots of fun new toys and someone has been waking up extra early to play with all her new things.

We went to our Gymboree class today and Kennedy was more excited than usual to leave. You have to understand, its usually a bit of a battle to get out of there. But today she couldn't wait. When it was her turn to get a stamp on her hand I found out the reason for her excitement. She thought she would leave with a bunch of presents. Just like at her party.

Party People

Playing on the Gymboree Farm 

Just before the traumatic Happy Birthday song.  

Cupcake Time.

Little Ballerina

Kennedy and her friend Emily had their first ballet class on Friday morning and it was about the cutest thing I have ever seen. My ballet career began when I was three, went on a brief hiatus and came back better than ever when I was five. Apparently, when I was three, I spent most of the class making (probably awesome) faces at myself in the mirror, and the teacher suggested my mother wait until I was closer to five to give it another shot. I kind of expected the same out of Kennedy, especially because our morning started off sour (I would't let her have ice cream for breakfast...mean mommy, I know).

Leading up to ballet class I knew I had to get her proper ballet clothes and shoes. Since we were headed to NM, I was excited to take her to NM Dancewear, which is where I bought all my dance supplies growing up. The store has been there for-ever and looks exactly the same inside. We got her fitted for shoes and Minnie Mouse helped choose a classic black leotard. I wanted to get her a wrap skirt like I used to wear, but they don't come that small...so I made her one when we got back to Dallas.

She did great in class and while I tried to stay hidden as to not distract her, I loved watching her follow directions and occasionally drift off in her own little world. All afternoon she kept telling me "I dancing," so I think she had fun.

Trying on shoes.

Dressed and ready to go. 

Posing and practicing our point.

Finding our special shape to stand on. 

Moving down the line en releve (on her toes)

Papa and Nani's House

When I was little, I spent a great deal of time at Papa and Nani's house. Birthdays, holidays and weekend family get togethers were always held there. I have such fun memories of playing in their massive yard with all my cousins. Whether we were climbing all over the fence or tormenting the chickens in the coop, we always had fun. I like to take Kennedy out to visit Nani and Papa when we are in ABQ. Greg and I took her out one afternoon to say hello and ended up running her around the front yard until she was too tired to run anymore.

I still can't believe she sat and posed for pictures. 

First she shared a cookie with Papa. Then she stood still for the camera. 

Who is this child?

Looking for a good spot to stash her goodies. 

Thinking spot. 

Making laps in the grass.

Well, hello there. 

Kennedy Turns Two

Kennedy turned two last week and it feels like we have been celebrating for 2 straight weeks. Actually, we kinda have been. I'm usually a little more timely with these posts but we had a week of travel and a whirlwind week back in Dallas. I'll post her official 2 Year Stats when I can get a good "official" 2 year picture of her.

Greg and I had a little birthday celebration with Kennedy the day before we left for ABQ so we could have a special day with just the three of us. She caught on to the whole "birthday gift" idea really quickly. The trampoline is the best and worst gift we have ever given her. It totally wears her out and she loves it, but it requires our undivided supervision.

A trampoline and a microwave from Mommy and Daddy. 

We arrived in ABQ a few days after my parents returned from a vacation to Italy and Finland. They had so many fun surprises for Kennedy, so the gift giving started immediately. Every day she got to open a couple of things. We tried to teach her to shut her eyes until the gift was in front of her, but the anticipation is just too much for a two year old. She could barely stand it and would usually peek just a little early.

Little Duke trying to close her eyes. Her surprise was a dog guitar that plays melodies with howls and barks.

On her actual birthday we met my cousin and her kids for donuts and playtime at the park. Her daughter, Victoria, has the same birthday as Kennedy and we had a great time catching up with their family.

We had a farmyard themed party at my parent's house with a few of my friends, their kids and my grandmother. Kennedy loves little animals and she was really excited when she saw her invitations and party details. Of course, she doesn't know the level of detail we went into with the invites, cupcake toppers, drink labels, banners, etc., all coordinating. But she loved seeing all the 'moos, sheeps and *boo-boo shishens' at the party.

All the kids were so cute and Kennedy had fun playing with them. That is, once we got past the "everything here is all mine" stage at the beginning of the party. The kids played with bubbles and at the water table and we enjoyed pretty perfect weather.

Welcome to Kennedy's Farmyard Party

Kennedy and her cake, presents and new best friend Rapunzel.
Pronounced ah-putzel. And she comes everywhere with us. Every. Where. 

A few shots of the pretty party ladies and handsome gentleman enjoying the festivities.

*Donald Duck calls his pet chicken Boo-Boo Chicken. Now every chicken we see anywhere is automatically named Boo-Boo Chicken...pronounced Shishen. 

Rail Runner

Greg and I got to have a few adventures on our vacation in NM last week. A train ride up to Santa Fe for a concert at a brewery was one of them. We had a family friend come over to take care of Kennedy while we rode the Rail Runner, a commuter train from ABQ to Santa Fe. My brother is in a band and had a show at a brewery at the Santa Fe Railyards. Its a cool, newer development in Santa Fe with shops, restaurants and galleries. The band sounded great and we had quite a crew there to see them. We took over a bunch of the tables on the patio and enjoyed the brews, food and cool weather. Dare I say it was a bit chilly after the sun went down? We had to leave just before the last few songs so we didn't miss our train back to ABQ.

Waiting for the train with some of my uncles, aunts and cousins.

Kennedy would have loved the train but it was so nice to be free of our parenting responsibilities for a little while. 

Rail Runner

Wildewood

That's my brother Alex on the far left. Aka, Uncle Pickles. 

4th of July Birthday Fun

We celebrated the 4th of July with my family in NM this week. Its my birthday, my Papa's birthday and Kennedy's birthday on the 5th. So we all helped blow out candles and eat a double layer chocolate and vanilla birthday cake my aunt made. Kennedy had fun playing with everyone, eating cake and got to stay up way (way) past her bedtime. She was asleep before fireworks, so maybe next year we will let her play with a few sparklers.

Kennedy and Daddy in their red, white and blue. 

Playing at the BBQ. 

Picture time with mommy, Nani and Marlowe. 

Waiting patiently for some cake. 

Blowing out candles. Someone is sneaking a little frosting. 

Before everyone came to my parent's house for a BBQ, Greg and I took off on a little adventure. We have been pretty into Breaking Bad lately, the new (and final) season premiers next weekend. Its set and filmed in ABQ so we always see familiar landmarks when we watch the show. We decided to go on a tour of some of the more recognizable filming locations. Luckily, the Internet is full of helpful information including physical addresses and our iPhones told us how to get from A to B. So we mapped out a tour, grabbed a drink from Flying Star and went on our way.

Top to bottom: Saul's Office, Money laundering facility, seedy motel (note: this is a legit seedy motel) and on the right is Walter White's house.  

Top to bottom: park where Badger gets busted, Los Pollos (actually a Twisters restaurant), inside the Twisters is a Los Pollos mural. On the left is a Breaking Bad donut complete with blue crystal "meth" from Rebel Donuts. 

Kennedy Goes to the Salon

Its birthday week for me and Kennedy which means a trip to ABQ to celebrate. We flew in yesterday morning and had an easy flight (except quite a bit of barking from Ms. Olive). After lunch I went down to Waves so Rosalie could give me a little color refresh and a trim. Rosalie is one of my very good friends, and an amazing stylist, and I just love when she does my hair. When Greg came to pick me up, we put Kennedy in the chair for her first cut. Wasn't sure how this would go but when Rosalie told Kennedy that she sometimes does Tinkerbell's hair, well, Kennedy was in. Kennedy sat as still as a statue while Rosalie gave her a little trim, occasionally sneaking fruit snacks from under her cape. We didn't cut much since I am loving her hair growing long, put her bow back in and we were good to go. 

Making faces in all the mirrors. 

The first cut! I saved it in a little baggie for her baby book. 

What a well behaved little lady. 

The first of many trips to the salon with mommy. 

Picking out products to keep our hair-do fresh.