Happy First Birthday, AK!

Well, as you can see, this is birthday month around here! I always said I wanted each kiddo to have their own month of celebration....but, our oldest and youngest are only two weeks apart in b-days. So, the big party continues!!!

It seems so cliche to even say that "Time has flown by" and that "I can hardly believe she's already one"....but, it's TRUE! It literally feels like yesterday that I was holding this little girl...

And, now we are celebrating a year of having Abby Kate as a part of our family of five.

Mark and I were actually hoping to delay her birthday until this weekend, when he gets home from his last business trip. But, Kendyll didn't let us get away with that. She has a calendar right by her bed, and this morning, she was the first one in AK's room singing "Happy Birthday" to her baby sister. I ran around trying to find the video camera and made her reenact the whole thing.

Here's the sweet face that greeted us this morning...
Abby Kate sure loves her sisters...and thought it was so fun that they kept singing to her over and over. (check out that "bed head" on Carlie! That is what I get to comb through every morning...and, yes, Kendyll does wear that nightgown every night. :) )

Abby Kate's big birthday was spent running errands with Mommy and Kendyll, including a not-so-successful picture attempt for the birthday girl. We did get this one for her party this weekend:

The theme is "cupcakes" and is obviously completely inspired from her Gymboree cupcake sweater. :) I could gobble her up in it too! (For the cupcake theme, Kendyll, Carlie, and I are actually going to attempt to make the infamous Sprinkles cupcakes in a few different flavors...so, we'll let you know how that turns out!)

Tonight, the girls convinced me to take them to Outback to celebrate a "pretend birthday celebration", as Kendyll called it, because she didn't want her daddy to feel left out. (And, because he told us NOT to celebrate without him!) Our sweet waitress helped me alot, and even brought us a sundae dessert for Abby Kate and all of her dessert-eating-helpers.

Now, we have a few more days of partying with Daddy and the rest of her big family! We love you Abby Kate, and love watching you grow and learn every day. Thank you for making our family feel complete and providing us with constant entertainment. :)

In honor of the birthday girl, I wanted to list a few things about her that I don't want to forget....

1) As I already mentioned, she LOVES her big sisters. She absolutely lights up when they walk into a room and no one can get a true belly laugh out of her like her sisters...

2) She is truly a happy baby. Always full of smiles, hugs, slobbery kisses, and laughter. And, let me tell you, it makes it hard to discipline her when she's running away from me while cackling and grinning. :)

3) She is a pretty good eater, although there are definitely things on her "do not like" list. This includes mac-n-cheese, or any pasta, as well as carrots, cantaloupe, and strawberries. Her favorite food in this world is saltine crackers, and it has now become her "dessert" after she eats her meat and veggies. Some of the favorites on her list range from avocado to pinto beans to blueberries and lots in between.

4) The expressions on this girl are endless...and very entertaining. She can be serious...

or silly...

And, of course, absolutely happy!

5) Of our three children, she is by far the craziest, as far as activity level. There has not been a baby contraption yet that can hold this child. Even highchairs and grocery carts fail at their one purpose...to keep a child sitting during a meal or shopping trip. Nope. The girl shimmies her way out in record time. Of course, this also means she's "the one" in the family who has found the potty water, the dog food, and the stairs even though I swear I was right there with her!!

Mark is determined that all of this activity means she will be an awesome athlete. I have told him that I sure hope he's right...or she's just going to be the one who's always doing what she's not supposed to. :)

6) Some of her favorite things are her paci, her blankie, her bottle (on its way out, unfortunately!), her Praise Baby video, her stack-em-up eggs, bathtime (especially with sisters), sliding, swinging, crawling while being chased, and wrestling with any member of her family in the floor.

7) She has several tricks that we use for our own entertainment countless times a day. She loves to get a reaction from us, so it works out for everyone. :) She claps, waves, says "more" and "please" in sign language, raises her tiny arms above her head to say "SO BIG!", gives kisses, "pat pat's" babies and dogs (usually after being reminded that grabbing their faces isn't the best way to do it), plays peek-a-boo by covering her own ears or leaning so far to one side that she "disappears" behind something, and of course, says "I don't know" in the most stinkin' cute way. :)

Happy first birthday to our sweet little cuddle bug. We look forward to so many more wonderful years watching you grow more and more into the girl God has made you to be!

Celebrating Kendyll

What a fun few days we've had around here! Kendyll has definitely enjoyed this birthday (just like all the others, of course), and has already told me that she can now: 1) Reach higher 2)Hug tighter and 3) Listen better---all because she is now six. :) I'm sure the list will continue as the week goes on and she keeps realizing how big she has become practically overnight! (I love the perspective that kiddos have on the magic of their birthdays!)

SUNDAY:

Sunday afternoon, Kendyll celebrated her birthday with a Cooking Party and 12 of her sweet friends. It was the CUTEST party, and the people at Kids Cooking Company did a great job of making it fun, tasty, and easy on the parents! I literally showed up with nothing but the party favors...no cake, no plates, no candles, no decorations, no work. It felt completely strange to me!

(Kendyll's cooking friends: Elisabeth, Kate, Kayla, Emily, Kendyll, Chloe, Peyton, Emma Claire, Ryan, Hollyn, Leslie, Emma, Ainsley, and Carlie.)

Here are a few fun pictures of the cooking...

One of my favorite things I want to remember about this party is Kendyll's impromptu training in hospitality. She had a group from church, a group from school, and her future ACU roomie, Hollyn (ha ha) all coming to this party. So, we talked to her before we arrived about how important it was to make everyone feel comfortable since they wouldn't all know each other. We showed her how she should welcome each guest, and then introduce them to at least a couple of girls they didn't know, so they could all play together without feeling awkward. She took this job very seriously and greeted each girl, then took them around to EVERY single child and introduced them. Here she is working her party magic:

It was precious to watch these six year olds just kind of smile at each other, not knowing what to do with the introduction. Kendyll even talked to some of them about what they had in common, which cracked me up. She would say "So and so has a little sister just like you" or "She's in gymnastics too!" It was SO cute, and really was entertaining to watch. Everyone played together wonderfully and were fast friends, of course.

Even the younger sisters seemed to have some fun and Carlie got to get in on the action!

The party girls made tea sandwiches, triple berry tarts, peanut butter hugs and kisses cookies, pink lemonade, and decorated cupcakes. Then, got to eat the fruits of their labor. :) It was very cute...and very yummy!

At the end of the party, they sang to Kendyll and got to eat their cupcakes. Kendyll ate up the attention and had fun being the birthday girl for sure.

MONDAY:

Monday was her actual birthday, and she had the day off from school. So she got to decide what the day's agenda would hold. Here's how it went:

1) After singing to her in bed, having a surprise breakfast with the family, we did gifts from her sisters and took Carlie to school. Kendyll's all-morning-long agenda was fishing with her daddy. They didn't catch anything, but had a good time. She said "the fish were just too cold today".

2) Then, it was off to the mall for lunch at the food court (her choice was Which Wich for lunch, where she ordered a toasted PBJ with chocolate milk....ummm, I could have fixed that at home! But, it was still fun.)

3)Then, she wanted to stop at the candy store, where she picked seven kinds of candy to fill her bag. When I questioned this scheduled stop saying "We still have Valentine's candy at home, Kendyll" she said "Mom, this is my special day and you said WHATEVER I wanted to do I could do." Well, okay then. :)

4) The next stop was to get her birthday present from Mom & Dad....a pink Ipod. :) I was set on getting her the generic version at Target, and I did....and it didn't work. So, Daddy won this fight, and Kendyll got "the real thing" after all. She and Mark have already downloaded many songs, stories, and even a movie, and she has carried that thing everywhere, listening to her songs through her little speakers we got. It's pretty cute. The next thing we're downloading is a whole bunch of family pictures for her. Man, she's way ahead of her mommy, who doesn't even HAVE an Ipod!

5) We picked up Carlie, and headed home to have naps for the little ones. Kendyll played with her new toys from her sisters, and worked on picking music for her Ipod. Then, we met up with Aunt Cortni, Uncle Adam, Braden, and Avery for dinner and fun at Going Bonkers, which is a huge play place we learned about from Grandma. It is actually a large enough climbing structure for parents to play along. And, Mark and Adam had hours of fun with the kids, while Cortni, Abby Kate, Avery, and I hung out and talked and played. :)

Here are the crazy climbing, jumping, sliding, running crew:

And, here's a cute picture of some of the "table-talking" crew:

It was a fun ending to a great day. Kendyll was so tired from the excitement that she slept until 9:00 this morning! I think we wore out that birthday girl. And, I think we'll all be taking naps today for sure!

Wake up, Birthday Girl!

What a fun way to start a day...surprising a SIX year old on her birthday in bed...even if she was already "a little bit awake". These sisters couldn't wait to tell her good morning...

Six years ago this morning, I was lying in a hospital bed, waiting rather anxiously to meet my firstborn baby girl. I remember so much about the moment I first saw your face. I remember those first nights at home with you. It was all so new. And, now, it's hard to remember who I was without you. You truly light up a room with your smile, and can make anyone feel loved when they're with you. You have amazing God-given gifts and talents, and I hope you know how humbled and thankful we are to be your parents.

Wishing a very happy birthday today to our beautiful Kendyll Grace...

How in the world can THIS little tot

Now be THIS big?

You become more beautiful from the inside out with each passing year.

We love you!!

Daddy, Mommy, Carlie, and Abby Kate

(Updates on this birthday girl's festivities will come later today...first, we have a day to celebrate--scheduled by Kendyll herself--that we must get going on!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

To my four most precious sweethearts....

...without sounding entirely too cheesy---I love you each more every day. You make this mommy and wife very proud.

And, of course, to all of our friends and family too. We hope it's a day of LOVE at your house!

We've been entertaining ourselves with making treats for school parties, decorating with anything red and pink the girls can find in the house, and wearing all of the fun Valentine's t-shirts we have collected over the years. :) We celebrated with our heart-shaped pizza last night (photography by Kendyll). Becky B., as I ate it, I thought of you. Thanks for reminding me of my own tradition...if you hadn't, I would have forgotten all about it. :) (Yes, I do that often. I plan on making something a tradition and then forget it ever happened...thus, the reason for a blog...and the reason for friends who remember what your blog said a year ago. )

The best part of valentine's day here so far has been the happy homecoming of my hubby this morning from New Jersey. It's been another couple of crazy weeks, so we're glad he's home with us! He's already whisked Kendyll off to the store for some valentine errands this morning. I've been told I am not to plan dinner this year. So, I guess we might not be having a pink and red meal as usual. I didn't fight that idea one bit. Looks like he's in charge, and I'm glad for the break!

Enjoy Valentine's at your house too...and have fun lovin' on your own cuties, both big and small. :)

Growing...

How can she be this big?

I walked in her room to wake her up (to leave for afternoon carpool, of course!) and was just struck by how big she was in that bed. I just sat there and stared at her, asking God to slow down this time so I won't forget it. (And, yes, she is already a "blankie junkie", as you can tell...)

She turns ONE YEAR this month. Unbelievable. Here is my absolute favorite "Abby Kate-ism" right now: saying "I don't know"---with her hands. She started doing this completely on her own, when she would lose her sippy cup at a meal. I would say "Where's your drink?" And, she would shrug her shoulders and tip her tiny palms up in the air. Now, I ask her a hundred questions a day just so I can so that little gesture. It never gets old.

Here is a group "I don't know" picture from this morning. I asked her "Where is Daddy?" and this is what she did. And, of course, the older sisters joined in.

I love this growing girl of mine. :)

We have a new baby!

Okay, WE don't have a new baby....but my sister, Cortni, does!

Avery Laine Henke decided to surprise us all a few days early, and we have enjoyed loving on her all weekend long. Saturday morning, at 8:32 am, she REALLY surprised her mommy and daddy by coming within 40 minutes of their arrival at the hospital. Mark, the girls, and I arrived about 20 minutes before Avery's debut, to help with Braden, and be the photographer of the whole event. :) I think our whole family expected a full day of labor, so it was a surprise to all of us to spend the entire day loving on this baby girl instead!

(And, we even got to love on this little guy too! :) Cousin Caleb who is older than Avery by only six weeks! But, boy, does he look BIG next to his baby cousin!)

I'll let Cortni share her actual story (check out her blog at http://henkehappenings.blogspot.com/ for more!), but I just have to say how amazed I was by her strength through it all. Because labor went so quickly, she did not get to have her blessed epidural, and delivered her 9 pound, 1 ounce ball of cuteness "au naturel". She did AWESOME. I was a pretty helpless "labor coach", since I've never done that!! But, it was an honor to get to be a part of Avery's birth by at least clicking some pictures. She may kill me for this, but this is one of my favorites. This was right after the doctor handed Cortni the baby. Her breath of relief combined with Adam's tears is precious to me. :)

The girls are, of course, in love with their new cousin as well. We have no pictures of Abby Kate with Avery, because she was literally wanting to grab the poor girl's face with both hands. So, needless to say, we kept her away!

We are all so thankful that Avery and Cortni are doing so well and feeling so good. Praise God for healthy babies! We love you, Baby Avery! And, we look forward to our next visit to hold you VERY soon! Like, maybe tomorrow?!