Little Miss AK

Abby Kate turns four months this week. So, along with the milestones of sleeping in her own bed (I finally fought the laziness of having her downstairs in the bassinet when I heard her head hitting the top of the tiny bed last night) and having her first cold (yellow stuffy nose and all--poor thing), I thought I would show a few pictures of what else she has been up to....


1) Talking. I put this first, because that is what she spends most of her time doing. Talking to her toys, talking to her sisters (and laughing hysterically at Kendyll!), talking to herself.....here she is talking to her daddy. The girl might have her daddy/biggest sister's talking gene. :)


2) Playing on her tummy. She actually does not prefer to play this way....however it's the position she ends up in every time she's playing in the floor. The way she picks her head up and looks around is my absolute favorite thing though. It makes for such cute pictures of her face.


3)Hanging with her aunts. As I already mentioned in my last post, we've had lots of family time. So, she's actually seen a whole lot more than just my sisters. However, this was the easiest pic to download to represent "the family" she's seen. (Cass, I didn't get one single pic from you being here, and she's seen you the most! Oops!!)



4) Watching TV. Yes, my four month old already prefers the red fuzzy guy named Elmo....along with Dora, Sesame Street, or anything else my older ones are watching in the mornings. She is completely amazed and starts talking up a storm to the TV! It's pretty cute, even if it is ruining her brain cells.


5.) Being a cowgirl. She decided to try on a pair of pretty pink boots at the Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth (for another blog sometime soon....) We all thought it was a pretty good look for her...what do you think?

6) Reaching, grabbing, and smiling. She's doing all three in this picture. And, she is very into holding her toys now. I"ll have to get a picture of her with toys in each hand, trying to force them all into her mouth.

7) Saucering. I know that's not a real verb, but I like it. And, she is truly "saucering" when she is in her exersaucer. The girl gets around to all those toys somehow. And is so busy, that she usually ends up spitting up because of her activity. As you can see, she is completely amazed by the animals she has to choose from.

Happy four months on Thursday, little missy.

Thank you, God, for Friends!

Summertime has already been very busy (hence the fewer posts!), and much of our time has been spent with friends or family. Almost every day of June, we were enjoying someone at our house or visiting someone in the family. The fun of having three sisters who are off in the summer, and many friends who we never see often enough, has added up to many busy and full-of-fun days.

I have been reminded on countless occasions this month how blessed I am to have such true and longlasting friendships with those I go to church with, went to college with, or who I've shared a house with my whole life. I often get whiny (sometimes way too whiny!) about life being busy, even when it's full of people and events that I enjoy. I like my 'downtime' and get selfish about that. But, God has been constantly reminding me that the fellowship with others is what it's all about....Just this month, I have had the opportunity to pray together with friends, have conversations about educating our kids, parenting our kids, and having babies. I got to go see Chicago the musical, hang out at the lake for a weekend, swim, shop, go to see John Mayer in concert, and spend days hanging out at all the local "kid places"....all with good friends. I've also been able to laugh, cry, be excited, be sad, be hopeful, be encouraged....all with good friends.

What I love most of all, though, is watching my children begin to have true friendships they enjoy and can't get their fill of. Kendyll has been planning a "butterfly party" every day since school was out, as an excuse to have every friend she knows over to her house. There is no birthday, no reason to celebrate, other than "to have all her friends she has ever had over at her house". As we made the invitation list, we realized how many that really was! And, we talked about how lucky she is to be able to play with and love so many sweet boys and girls. Since this is her last summer before "real" school, we know her friendships will change. But, we sure hope that the ones she has now only get stronger as time goes on.

Carlie is also starting to enjoy her friends too. I say "starting to" because Carlie was not a natural born "socialite" like her older sister. In fact, she has always preferred to speak to noone, play with noone, and hang out in quiet spots without a lot of kids around. Kendyll has never met a stranger, and she usually knows any child's name on any playground within 2 minutes. Carlie, however, assumes that the child smiling at her from the other swing is NOT her friend and should not BECOME her friend, unless that child proves otherwise. So, now that she's known some of her church friends for two years, she has finally named them "her friends". We celebrate with her that she finally likes someone. :) And, are excited that she finally has a list, even though it's short, of friends she wants to play with---without any parental gentle "forcing" either!

So, thank you, God, for our friends. We have birthday parties, play days, and VBS coming up soon....and even with the busy days and tired kiddos those days create, we look forward to more fun with friends!! Finally, here's some pics of friend time this month....

Happy Wishes!

This is dedicated to the happy birthdays and Father's day we wish to our family...

First, a big Happy Birthday & Father's Day to Grandad, (my dad)!! We hope you had a great day yesterday (blogger wouldn't cooperate with my pictures, or I would have been on time with this bday wish!). We love you so much, as a grandad, but also as a dad and father-in-law. Thank you for all the ways you support us, encourage us, and love us. You are truly a blessing in my life and I am so thankful for you. We look forward to giving you birthday hugs tonight and celebrating with you on GrandSunday!!

Happy Birthday also to our "sister by marriage", Kylie! (far right in picture) We hope you had an awesome bday too! My girls love you to pieces, and we are all blessed to have you in our family. :)

Another Happy Father's Day wish to Pops!! Thank you for raising an incredible son for me to marry, and who now has the chance to pass on your fathering skills to his own daughters. Thank you also for loving me like a daughter and for being the most supportive father-in-law around. We look forward to Mexican food with Popsy and Father's Day hugs for you. :)

And, finally, Happy Father's Day to the BEST Daddy in the whole world, our Mark-Daddy (as Carlie nicknamed him long ago.) We are truly the luckiest four girls around for having you to take care of us. Thank you for your endless patience, absolute selflessness, and your sweet leadership in our family. We hope you enjoy your weekend of celebrating!

I am so thankful for all of the strong men in my little girls' lives. I know those influences are too great to measure, and I couldn't ask for better role-models of what a husband and father should be for Kendyll, Carlie, and Abby Kate. Happy Father's Day to you all!

Roly-Poly

Abby Kate is a busy little squirt. We're starting to think she might have more spunk than her sisters! And, that will be a lot of spunk!!

The day before she turned 3 months, she started attempting the roll. The day after she turned three months, she rolled from her back to her tummy. I was in shock. I had just told Mark when she began attempting this trick, that it would still take her weeks to actually succeed. I guess she wanted to prove me wrong on that one. The next day, she did it three times. And, she's been "on a roll" ever since. :)

So, now she is a regular roly-poly. She has perfected the art of rolling, and literally looks like she is flipping, she does it so fast. Of course, once she is on her tummy, she raises her head up high, scoots her little feet like she wants to take off across the room, and then gets tired and dives face first into the floor. So, we turn her back over, only for her to do it all over again. Here she is in action: (of course, it would be better in a video....)

Playing on her back....

The roll over....

The head lift....And the face plant...I love that she is starting to explore her world, hit her toys, talk to us, and move around like this. Where does the time go?

I Want to Remember....

When I began blogging, my only goal was to have something written down for my children to read someday....a scrapbook of some kind that captured our daily life when they were little. It is still the primary reason I blog. However, another motive is there too. I also blog because I want to remember.

I want to remember the little things that I know I will have forgotten by next month if they weren't in this blog. I want to remember what makes my life crazy right now, what makes my children sweet, and what makes our weeks go by so quickly.

Many of you might be like my sister, Cortni, who has memories from years and years of our lives as a family and every single one is in such detail, that she can tell me what shirt I was wearing and where we were standing when such-and-such happened. I am the one who says "When did we live in THAT house?" And, more recently, I have been saddened at the fact that my family remembers more about Kendyll as a baby and toddler than I do! The little phrases she said, the faces she made, or the food she loved. As they talk about those things, I vaguely remember them, but not in detail. Not the way I want to. Seriously--If I could write down every day, every thought, every conversation I have with my girls, I would. That's how much I want to remember!

This was one of those days for me. It was an absolutely CRAZY day. And, I was crabby for some of it, because of the busy-ness that it held. But, somewhere in the middle of it, I wanted to remember the way Carlie said "I'm really sorry, Mommy for dumping out my goldfish. I cleaned 'em ALL up." without me asking her to say that. I wanted to remember how proud my big Kendyll was of her bravery in swim lessons and how she encouraged her friend who was fearful by saying "Trust me, Trinity, trust me!" as she held out her hands to help her. I wanted to remember the hillarious rec center gymnastics class I took my kids to (which we won't be going back to) that was completely out of control with chaos....so much so that Carlie ran over to me and sat down with her hands on her ears and said "This place is too noisy! I don't like this." and Kendyll came later and said "I think this must be over" because kids were running everywhere (at which point, we snuck out without even a goodbye to the awful teacher). I wanted to remember the relaxed conversations I got to have with two of my three sisters (we missed you Cortni!) just hanging out on the couch, talking about boys and life and babies and anything in between. And, I wanted to remember the sweet prayers at bedtime, as Carlie went to bed without her sister (who is spending the night with a friend), and said prayers for Kendyll to sleep good in Trinity's bed and to help her teeth get better without her paci.

If I just had time to write down everything I want to every day....but that might make for a really long daily blog. :)

So, all that to say....after thinking about that today, I have had the best time going back and reading old blogs. They remind me of why I do this. They remind me of stories, faces, conversations that I would otherwise have no recollection of. And, it makes me want to keep blogging, even when the weeks are too busy to sit down and do it.

I have many blog updates to make....and I am at least a week behind. But, tonight, instead of writing new ones, I read over my old ones. And, remembered the fun of last summer, the activities it held, and how much my kids have grown since then! And, it made me really glad I blog. :)

A Paci Birthday

Yesterday was a monumental day at our house. It began with a visit to the dentist, which was the third trip for Kendyll, but the first time for Carlie. Kendyll went first and did a great job of showing Carlie how fun it can be. Here she is in her cool shades that kids wear to block the bright light. However, Carlie was not impressed....and didn't care at all about the sunglasses, or anything else the dentist had to offer. :) She finally cooperated if I held her the whole time. But, there were still many shed tears.

The worst part was when the dentist told her (and me) that the paci that she still uses at night is hurting her teeth. She now has a crossbite, most likely from the pacifier, which I NEVER thought we would still be using....but I'm embarrassed to say that we are.

(this picture was taken months ago when I first thought I would take it away...)

So, on the way home from the dentist, I talked to her about how important it is to take care of our teeth. And, blah blah blah, we're taking your paci away. She really didn't oppose this idea too much (although she did whine a little). She even got excited about it when we got home and Gammy told her she could come to the ranch all by herself if she gave it up.

But, it was a different story by the time naptime came around. She was downright angry about it. I reminded her that it was to make her teeth better and she said "I don't even LIKE my teeth! This is NOT GOOD, mommy!" She proceeded to scream and cry. I kept telling her that I knew it was hard and that she was such a big girl, meanwhile feeling AWFUL that I had allowed her to have this crutch for this long. We completely fed this habit by not taking it away early in life.


I offered to get her a new animal or special toy to sleep with. She said no. I offered to read TWO books instead of one. She said no. I tried every trick I knew and she still said no. I closed the door and heard her throwing everything off of her bed. This drama continued for an hour before she collapsed from exhaustion. She kept saying between sobs "Mommy, please! I (sob) need (sob) my (sob) passy!" Oh, the heartbreak! I'm just so glad that my mom and sister were here or it would have been much harder.


When she woke up, I made such a big deal about how BIG she was and how proud I was. She was still angry and shrugged away from any attention....until I gave her Smarties as her reward. Then, she lit up and was proud too.


Last night, she did not cry ONCE at bedtime. I couldn't even believe it! Here I am thinking this fit-throwing, crying was going to last weeks, and she was already done with it. So, this morning, she got a surprise party for breakfast. A "no more paci party". Mark got her favorite Krispy Kreme donuts, and Abby Kate wore a party hat into her room to get Carlie out of bed. We decorated the table with party hats and blowers, and had a great time celebrating what a big girl she is.
She kept saying "I can't believe it's my paci birthday!" It was pretty funny. Then, after we were done, she gave me a big hug and said "Mommy, I loved my paci party. And, I loved my donuts. I'm a big girl, huh?" So precious.


And, I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief today to know that this transition is over. If I had just tried it months ago, I would be even happier. :)

Aloha, We're Home!

I have no idea how I'm going to cram ten days of Hawaii into a blog....but I'm going to try.

When I met Mark 11 years ago, I had no idea that I would someday marry into his family, and in turn, inherit a vacation spot that is probably one of the most popular and beautiful on earth. And, we get to go for practically no costs! (Mark's parents live there, for those who don't know that already.) The first time I visited his family in Hawaii was our first married Christmas, and I was blown away. I still remember the scent of the flowers as we left the airport...the majestic mountains as we drove home...the Hawaiian language that I had to figure out the hard way...the wonderful food (well, most of it!)...and the absolutely breathtaking beaches and scenic views near his parent's house. And, I'm equally amazed by Hawaii's beauty each time we go back. While we were there this time, we added up our trips and discovered that I have now been to Hawaii TEN times, Kendyll has been SEVEN times, and Carlie has been FOUR times. That is amazing to me! And, we all feel so fortunate to have such wonderful family memories in such a beautiful place.

This trip was no exception. Pops and Grandma worked hard to make us as comfortable as possible in their two bedroom condo (while they slept on the floor and couch!). The girls had a blast swimming at the beach, going on a boat ride, learning hula (and doing a pretty good job at it!), seeing sea turtles, finding seashells, visiting the zoo and Sea Life Park, and seeing many of our friends who live there. We had every yummy local restaurant that we had been craving, and got to visit all of our favorite spots around Kailua.

Pictures say alot more than I can describe, so here is our trip:

Hawaii 2007

Arriving in Honolulu, we were greeted by Grandma and her beautiful leis for each of us. The girls did AWESOME on their 8 hour plane ride.

My trusty flying assistant was Pops, since Mark had a business trip in San Diego first. (He met us in Hawaii four days later.) Pops had no idea what he was in for---Carlie had him doing crafts, watching movies, and reading books. No sleeping for him this time around! Welcome to beautiful Hawaii! Our first night, we hit the town for dinner and Baskin Robbins, a longstanding tradition for these girls. You can't even tell that it's 10:30 at night (Texas time) to these two, can you?!Kendyll is already practicing her hula....Day two, we immediately hit the beach. The water was warm, the sun was shining, and the girls had a BLAST! Even Abby Kate got comfy in her UV protective tent. This is about as much of the beach as she saw the whole week.

As I said, we ate at many great restaurants in Kailua. A fun night at Pinky's to eat gave us a real prize! A balloon man who was better than any I have EVER seen. He made anything from a jellyfish to a fruit bowl hat to Dora and Ariel (see below). I begged him to fly to Dallas to do our VBS. :)

And, of course, plenty of Pops and Grandma hugs...and cute pictures!And, no vacation is complete in ANY state without a trip to the zoo. Of course, this is a zoo with some beautiful scenery!!Just a picture to prove that Abby Kate was indeed on this trip. :) She had fun too, even though we laughed that she saw Hawaii from her carseat and stroller. She seemed to be okay with that.

By the second beach trip, the girls were much braver (although they did get pretty crazy in the waves the first time around!) This time, I was running in after them more than I wanted to. And, Carlie made friends with every bird on the beach by feeding them her trail mix. Those of you who know me well, know that birds are NOT my favorite animal. And, we were surrounded by them. Carlie also found that she could sing into the sand buckets and get a microphone effect. It was too funny not to capture....And, sweet Kendyll ran out of the waves to tell me that the beach just wasn't as fun without her dad. (He was flying in later that night.) So, she made him a sign in the sand and that made her smile again. :) He eventually got to take them to the beach, and her "real fun" began. He ran, splashed, dove, and swam around with them on his back. He is SO much more fun than their beach chair lounging mommy. They also enjoyed "Shave Ice", the Hawaiian sno-cone once Daddy arrived. (Some things we HAD to save for him.) Yum Yum!!

Another beautiful spot on the island of O'ahu is at the base of the Ko'olau mountains, called the Beoda Temple. Check out that view! There are thousands of fish just waiting to be fed in the river there. They literally jump up out of the water for the little pellets we have to offer. And, we get a kick out of watching them do this over and over...and over and over....and over and over. Poor Grandma went broke buying those silly plastic cups full of food. And, here's Carlie making her best impression of a fish face.

One of my favorite nights was when we got all dressed up for dinner in Waikiki, and a hula show at the Moana Hotel (my favorite one!) which dates back a hundred years at least. The girls looked so sweet in their matching outfits, and we had a great dinner of fresh fish on the patio by the beach. It doesn't get any better. And, nothing is cuter than my little blondie with a Hawaiian flower in her hair...

Or my little dancers doing beautiful hula with a native Hawaiian who called them up on stage and taught them every move.Visiting so many beautiful spots, of course, gave us many opportunities for family pictures. I actually didn't bore you with every single one, but here are a few of our favorites. First, our favorite serious and posed family pic: Then, our crazy windy hair picture (minus Abby Kate) from a place called Pali Lookout, which overlooks the entire side of the island. BEAUTIFUL and fun to be blown away. Here's Pops and Carlie at the same place. Carlie wasn't so sure about that wind at first.And, finally, our "silly" picture, which has now turned out to be my favorite.

Of course, we also got beautiful pictures of our girls. Here are my favorites:

Kendyll and Carlie overlooking Lanikai Beach...Abby Kate in her traditional Hawaiian dress for church on Sunday...And, her three month picture, which we celebrated while we were gone...

Here's one more sister picture that must be explained. First of all, they look beautiful in their new dresses that Grandma bought. We saw them in a gift shop at the base of a huge hotel in Waikiki. Both Grandma and I loved them, so she begged Pops to buy them, telling him they were a "very special Hawaiian set of dresses". Mark teased her and said nothing could be that unique and special in a touristy gift shop. But, she won, and they were purchased. We put them on the girls for Sunday morning, and Pops said "What does the dress say on the skirt?" We pulled the skirt out to read it and it said "Isla Bonita" with a picture of a map that said "Perto Rico". So, our beautiful Hawaiian keepsake dresses were truly from Puerto Rico. What a special treasure we found!! Ha ha. We had a great laugh over that...and anyone who knows our family knows that poor Grandma has way too much laughter at her expense over things like this. I still think they're precious and they look "islandish" no matter what island they were meant to be for. :)

Anyway, on with our trip. Mark and I got the wonderful gift of a night away from the big kids (Abby Kate joined us so she wouldn't starve for 48 hours!) and stayed at our favorite resort hotel. We had a delicious dinner, two days lounging in the sun, and wonderful time with our baby girl, who we don't see ALONE very much at all. I think she enjoyed the peace and quiet too! She was all smiles the whole time.We got to upgrade our room (because my awesome hubby ALWAYS asks just in case...and it usually works) and this was our view. This really doesn't even do it justice...And, here it is again at sunset. I read two books in two days and slept on the beach. Needless to say, it was hard to return the next day! Kendyll and Carlie had fun while we were gone with a trip to Sea Life Park (similar to Sea World) and another visit to the beach. This time, they saw a rare sight---a white back turtle that was around 3 feet in diameter! Cheri said she has never seen one in 30 years of living there! I just wish they had the camera instead of us!!

Another fun thing about Hawaii being "home" to my husband and his family, is all the sweet relationships they have with friends who live there. One of the most special families is Judy and her children, who have been lifelong family friends. Many of you may remember Judy as the woman who did a hula dance for Mark and me at our rehearsal dinner. Mark bawled like a baby through the entire thing because hula dancing is something so special in Hawaii and it is a special family to us. We had our tradition of a REAL Chinese dinner with them and they got to meet Abby Kate. She has now held all three of our girls at this age, and I cherish the time we get to spend with all of the Hawaii friends. From the older ladies at Kailua Church who taught Mark in toddler Sunday School, to the daycare friends and kids of Cheri's, to the lifelong family friends like Judy, I am blessed to now know and love these people who represent Mark's childhood.

The last day, we fit in a trip on a glass bottom boat to see coral, fish, and turtles. It was amazing! And, a great last sight for our Hawaii vacation. It is such a beautiful, unique place, and I can't believe we've been able to share such an incredible vacation spot with our children at their young ages.

So, "mahalo" (thank you) to Pops and Grandma for another wonderful week. Your sweet hospitality, amazing tour guide abilities, and love for our girls and our family are never taken for granted. :)

Now, we're back home and trying our hardest to get adjusted to the Central Time Zone. The girls finally fell asleep tonight at 10:30. But, I guess I can't blame them. I'm still typing away at midnight!

I'm cracking up that the "post time" is 7:10...when I really finished this after midnight. Shows how long it takes to post this many pictures on blogger!!