Abby Kate is TWO!

(*Note to readers: There are many new updates on the last few blogs, if you scroll down. I'm finally caught up...somewhat!)

Abby Kate is TWO!! (Or "Doo", as she says...)

Today was big b-day #2 for our Katers. And, even though some of us had a stomach bug :(, we still had a very fun day with our big girl. Here's our big girl at wake-up time! (And, yes, her hair looks like this EVERY morning. )

Look closely to see that Kendyll & Carlie, who were very excited to see their sister, were showing her how to make "2" with her fingers. This is an ongoing challenge for Abby Kate. And, you can see her reaction was to turn and face the wall. She was NOT interested in their assistance. But, eventually, she did find her own way to make "2".

Before we left for our birthday treat, the three girlies snuggled and watched some Elmo to "gear up" for Abby Kate's surprise!! Then, we got on our Elmo clothes!! Can you tell these girls had a really funny guy behind the camera? I love these belly laughs on camera. (And, notice Kendyll's big gap in front! Another lost tooth this weekend!!)

And, next.....do you know where we went?!

ELMO LIVE on stage!! What a fun show! We all really enjoyed it, and Sesame Street does a GREAT job with these shows. Every character was there (except Carlie noticed there was no Snuffy :) ), and Abby Kate was simply amazed to see her favorite people in person!

As soon as we got there, she was pointing everywhere, saying every character's names. And, it just got better from there!

And, look at this sweet expression when Elmo finally took the stage. Pure amazement. :) And, then, she just started waving and saying "HI Elmo!!!" It made us all smile.

Funny that mommy was actually knee-deep in a stomach bug at this show. A few trips to the bathroom, and we were good to go. :) Isn't that awful that I still went? Mark offered to take them alone, and I wouldn't hear of it! It was worth it just to see the girls enjoy this treat.

Tonight was presents and a low-key dinner at home, since we weren't recovered enough to be out again.

Abby Kate, you are truly the joy of our family. Thank you for all the ways you make us smile every day, and for the sweet & spunky girl you are. It makes Mommy quite sad to know you're growing into a big girl now. What will I do when my baby is too big to cuddle and rock? For now, I'll savor it as long as I can!!

We love you, big girl. Happy Second Birthday, AK!

More Birthday Treats & Sing Song 09!

Last weekend was a "makeup" weekend for Kendyll. Since she was sick the whole week of her birthday, we had to cancel her special birthday sleepover with Hollyn. (which was met with MANY tears from both girls.)

So, one week later, it worked out that Hollyn not only got to come and have the sleepover we originally planned...but also got to go with us to Sing Song at ACU! It was such a fun weekend for all of us!

Friday night, we were off to the mall to have a "Sweet and Sassy" makeover! Look at these cuties!

The funniest part was watching these drama queens on the runway. HILARIOUS, I tell you! Here are a few of the poses they "struck" for the cameras. Even Abby Kate got into it. After she picked out a sparkly blue headband to wear, she strutted her stuff on the runway too...

After the makeover fun, Kendyll picked her favorite dinner (as usual)---California Pizza Kitchen! After dinner, we headed home for the girls to play and to be VERY silly until bedtime. :) The next morning, we were on our way to Abilene!

Sing Song was a GREAT show, and the girls really enjoyed seeing all the characters, and cheering for their moms' & dads' old clubs. :) Our cousin Carrie also got to come, so we were quite the row of cousins and friends! And, I have to say, they look ready for Sing Song to me! Check out these "Sing Song faces"!

Here is my sweet sister, Cailee, and her roomie, Katie. It was fun to see Cailee in her first Sing Song debut!

And, we have a long standing tradition of Sing Song face sister pictures. The first one ever taken was 14 years ago...and Cailee was just a kid. Here we are now looking mighty fine at 11 pm after a few hours of sitting with young toddlers...

My favorite pictures are from our visit to Cailee's dorm room. I made the girls take pictures together, so they can hang them up in their dorm room someday!! Won't those be CUTE, Sara?! They LOVED getting to see the dorm, and talked alot about what it will be like someday when they live there. I love it!!

A Guest Blog & Kendyll's "Story"!

This is Kendyll .Thank You for My birthday emails. For my birthday from my mom& dad I got a new Bike. From my sisters(Carlie&Abby Kate )I got new clothes.

I love being 7!!!!!

Kendyll did have a great birthday, and although, she wanted to say a lot more on the blog, she has decided that "typing all that is WAY too hard". I kind of feel the same way most days... :)

So, here is the low down on K's big day. As I said before, she was not feeling completely better from the flu, so she had another day off of school. But, we still tried to get out a little and celebrate, even though she was tired!

Her day started with breakfast on the "You are Special" plate. Suzanne, if you're reading this, thank you for starting something by getting us this plate. The girls LOVE it and it is always the first thing mentioned as they plan their birthdays. Kendyll also requested a "REAL" breakfast in bed for her birthday, so that is what she got!

Next, it was a shopping trip with Grandma and Mommy. Grandma decided this would be the best way to get what Kendyll (and mommy) would want for new clothes, and we had a great time. She was REALLY excited to get to shop at Justice, a clothing store I had never walked into before, and actually was pleasantly surprised by. As a mom who tries my best to keep Kendyll looking like a six year old, and not a fourteen year old, I wasn't too sure about getting into these teeny-bop stores. But, it really was cute and we had a fun time trying on everything in the store!

Lunch was her choice...and she picked La Madeleine with her usual Quiche and Strawberries Romanoff. Dinner was the traditional family night at Chuck E Cheese, with lots of rides and games, as well as a few rip-off prizes for the birthday girl. :)

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Carlie got to give Kendyll her present. Carlie picked out an outfit for Kendyll and a matching outfit for her American Girl doll. And, she was SOOOO excited to give it to Kendyll. I love watching them get excited for their sisters, and I think Kendyll gave exactly the reaction Carlie was looking for. :)

It was a very fun day for our girl. And, it's very hard to believe that seven years ago, I was holding THE most precious baby I had ever laid eyes on, for the first time. I promised her I would share "her story" for her to have later, so here it goes!

February 18, 2002: I wake up right after midnight with a very sharp pain. I ignore it and go back to sleep. I wake up again at 2:00 and begin to time contractions that were about 6 minutes apart. At 4:00ish I decide to take a shower because they are getting closer together (although now I know how much they SHOULD hurt...and they really didn't hurt bad enough yet!). After a shower, and last minute packing, we load the car, and head to the hospital. After a few hours of contractions, I was still getting them more frequently, but they were not getting strong enough. So, my doctor decides to start Pitocin. Looking back, I laugh at my naivety, because I actually called the nurse in and told her I didn't really want to do that, and I'd rather wait for them to intensify on their own. She politely told me she would ask the doctor. Then, she comes back (probably never really asking the doctor) and told me I was not going to get anywhere without a little bit of help. So, I reluctantly said "okay"....and THEN the fun began. Oh. My. Goodness. I was SO not prepared for those next two hours. Pain that never let up is all I can say. But, after some anesthesia and some ice chips, I was happy again. :)

When the nurse saw that I was "ready" to have a baby, she told me to do two practice "pushes" before she called the doctor. Well, those ended up being the only two pushes I ever had to complete! She told me immediately to STOP and she ran to page Dr. Weprin. By the time Dr. Weprin got there, you were already on your way to meet us! She got there in time to catch you, and at 2:54 pm, a 7 1/2 pound bundle of sweetness arrived!! Daddy cried and cried and I just stared and smiled! You were beautiful and my heart was literally quadrupled in size that day. We are so thankful that God made you just the way He planned, and that from the first day you were born, your smile and your bright eyes have been a part of our lives every day.

I hope you enjoyed "your story" Kendyll Grace! We love you!!

Tea for Three!

This year we had a mega birthday party for three of the cutest girls I know. :) Avery (my sister, Cortni's, daughter) turned one, Abby Kate turned two, and Kendyll turned seven all within a couple of weeks of each other. So, in order to save time, money, and most importantly, energy...we combined forces to throw a fun Mad Hatter tea for three!

And, oh my goodness, it was so much fun! Cortni & Adam came over the night before to decorate, and we were quite proud of how fast we pulled this party together...especially for starting everything at 9:00 pm. :) Our husbands were great sports, as their jobs entailed everything from hanging paper lanterns from the ceiling fan, to making apricot tea sandwiches!

Cassie also came over early to take the CUTE tutu pictures of the girls. This one is one of my very favorites...thank you Aunt Cassie, for always giving us such "keepers" of our girls.

Here are more pictures from the party too!

The decorations...

The "kids table"...

The party guests (I am severely lacking in this section...hopefully some others took more pictures of our guests!! If so, send them my way!)

I love this picture of the girls with my dad. It reminds me of many other funny pictures of us as girls with our dad, rolling our eyes at his goofiness. :)

And, the always-important sister picture. I love that no matter what---at least two of us dress alike. This time, the popular choice was argyle!

And, here are some sweet shots of the three birthday girls (and some of their mommies too):

And, then there was cake time! (Since I was busy lighting three sets of candles, I'm REALLY lacking in cake pictures...Cass, I hope you have a few too!) But, here is Abby Kate, at least!We decided to play some crazy but fun games, including "unwrap tiny presents as fast as you can to music". Which kind of didn't work. :) But, the kids still had fun unwrapping lots of little party favors, while listening to some of our favorite silly music from Go Fish.

We also played a sugar cube relay with adults and kids, involving spoons held in everyone's mouths. We have this on video and it is so funny. Even Abby Kate gets in on the relay action. (but, unfortunately, I didn't take one picture.)

It was a fun party, and Cortni and I are definitely in favor of the combo party. I think all the girls felt very celebrated, and hopefully our family enjoyed having ONE party instead of three in two weeks. Happy Birthday Avery, AK, and Kendyll!