Busy day for Kennedy. Megan took her to music class this morning then Grandpa and Grandma came for a visit this afternoon. Here's Kennedy doing chalk art with Grandpa. It was raining outside so they had to draw inside.
Susan and I worked in the yard a bit today and Megan pitched in too. What a good friend! Megan and I also loaded up some debris and other junk from the yard into the truck and took it all to the dump. Feels good to get some yard work behind us.
Kennedy continues to enjoy playing the piano. We like to watch her explore music; she enjoys playing drums too. Good stuff!
We have had such fantastic weather here these last couple of weeks – today it was 75 degrees when I picked up Kennedy from school. We came home and went to the park this afternoon – such fun! This is a photo from last weekend – but you get the idea…
Peek-a-boo... This is Kennedy at the park on Saturday this past weekend.
On Easter at the home of our friends Peter and Laural, Kennedy spent a lot of time playing with her toys and reading her new books. Here are Sheryl and Kennedy playing with another guest, 3 year old Lili.
And here's a shot of our buddy Wes reading Kennedy's new book and wearing her Easter hat. Hee hee...
Hello. Can you hear me now?
Yesterday was my Dad’s birthday party (his actual birthday was on Friday). Don't worry, Dad - I won't disclose what numbers were on that cake...
We got all dolled up to celebrate with friends and family. We couldn’t resist putting a bow in Kennedy’s hair. It lasted all of about 15 minutes.
Kennedy wasted no time sharing a story with Grandpa – here they are looking at a book about Easter eggs.
Of course, the best part about birthdays is birthday cake. Yum!
One of the things we’re really good at in this family is sharing. Lately, Kennedy has been sharing her cold viruses. First I got a dose earlier this week and spent a couple of days on the couch. Yesterday I woke up with an eye cold – yup, good ol’ conjunctivitis in my right eye. Doc says it’s probably a virus and gave me some drops that seem to be helping it get a little better.
Last night, Sheryl started to get sick and it looks as if she’s going to spend the day trying to recuperate. Colds are no fun – especially when the sun is shining.
On Thursday Kennedy came home from school with her first pony-tail. I’m a little sad we didn’t think of it first – but you can’t argue with the results. How cute is this?!? (The star was an award for listening especially well at story time...)
Here’s a shot of CK and Kennedy wrestling together on the floor last week. Kennedy loves to rough-house with ‘Uncle CK’.
A couple of weeks ago Megan joined us at OMSI (our local science museum). Here they are playing in the puppet show theater. Fun, fun!
And finally… a shot of Kennedy and I at the park last weekend. Hopefully, with the recent sun we’ve been having this will be one of the last few shots of us in our coats at the park. Bring on the spring weather!
OK – this picture should be the last holdover from Easter – but I can’t make any promises. Here’s a shot we captured while Kennedy was busy playing outside on Easter; we were busy enjoying bubbles and sunshine when this particular shot was taken.
Today Kennedy went to see the doctor for her 18 month checkup (can you believe she is really a year and a half!!). She had another round of immunizations which were insulting and painful. Poor little bug.
All is going well developmentally – although our doctor would like to see her fattened up a bit. However, it seems as if the right ear is infected again – sigh. We may be looking at a visit to the ear specialist sometime in the future. Of course, there’s a lot of literature out there about causes we’ll want to check out if it comes to that; in the meantime, it’s another round of antibiotics for our little one.
The last two days have brought warm sunshine to Portland. Yesterday, Kennedy and I went outside to give her new sidewalk chalk a spin.
Sidewalk chalk is such fun!!!
Of course, Kennedy wants to lug the bucket around despite its hefty weight.
Later we wandered over to check out some tulips. What a great treat this sunshine has been! Unfortunately they’re forecasting rain tomorrow; sigh.
Easter Sunday brought with it traditional affairs such as Easter egg hunts, gathering of friends and family, bonnets and – of course – the Easter Dress. As she did last year, my mom – Mimi – bought Kennedy’s dress this year. Isn’t it totally adorable?!?
Kennedy even tolerated her bonnet for short periods of time.
We went over to Peter and Laurel’s house for our Easter afternoon. Friends Max and Andrea brought Kennedy a gift of a musical Winnie the Pooh book and matching stuffed Pooh bear. It was an instant hit with Kennedy.
Easter eggs hidden in Laurel’s backyard were found by the kiddos in attendance. (Adults humored themselves with a hidden Beer hunt!) Once she got the hang of it there was no stopping Kennedy from gathering eggs in her basket. Here’s Kennedy scoring a yellow egg.
On the prowl for more eggs...
Today is our oldest and very fantastic daughter Stacey’s birthday. A big shout out to her from us here in Portland! She’s been busy catching fish this weekend and generally enjoying being on the lake near her home in Texas. Happy Birthday; we miss you and love you tons!
Easter came early for our household; Granny Kay, Grandpa and Grandma Anderson and the three of us shared a great afternoon and a fantastic dinner that Sheryl cooked (yum!). Here is Grandpa getting lessons on how to have a healthy afternoon snack (cheese and grapes with milk).
Later, Grandma Anderson showed Kennedy the beauty of chocolate – yum! Kennedy was quick on the draw with the ‘more’ sign to let Grandma know it was good stuff.
After dinner we opened Kennedy’s Easter baskets from the grandparents. Grandpa served as helper.
This morning, the Easter Bunny dropped by with more presents for Kennedy. In addition to the basket, Kennedy got some sidewalk chalk and a shape-sorter box that’s popular with kids her age. Kennedy took right to it.
We were also a bit surprised to find all of Kennedy’s Easter eggs scattered about the dining and living room (thanks, Elle!). We got busy right away opening them up to find the treasures inside.
Kennedy found stickers, Teddy-Os cereal, and Kennedy’s personal favorite – Pirate’s Booty (which for those of you who don’t know – is like a puffed white cheddar snack). Here she is scoring some of the good stuff.
Later we tackled her Easter basket. The little yellow bag was from Granny Kay – she’s been carrying it around all morning. In her basket Kennedy found a Jack in the Box, stackable bunnies, two stuffed chicks, and – best of all – bubbles. (I can hardly get this blog written because she keeps coming over to me saying ‘bubble, bubble’ wanting me to blow more.) Good stuff!
Kennedy is such a reader. She loves books. Here she is with a Baby Einstein rhyme time book.
And she really likes signing cards too. Here she is putting her signature and a little more on her sister Stacey's birthday card.
This weekend Sheryl, Kennedy and I made our way to the park during a sun spell. Aside from doing her favorite things (running up and down the ramps, climbing on the equipment and going down the slide) we took some time to swing together. Great fun.
It's hard to believe taxes are due and Easter is this Sunday - how did it sneak up on us so quickly?!? Now that Kennedy is older we're looking forward to fun things like Easter Baskets and Egg Hunts - hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Here's a picture of Kennedy's room. She has new shades, a new play rug and a new set of pictures hanging.
Every evening before she goes to bed, Kennedy says goodnight to these hanging turtles and the children of the world on the quilt her Aunt Shelly got for Kennedy's first christmas.
There have been a lot of changes for our little Kennedy these last few weeks. In addition to running around and sprouting new molars (one more this weekend!) – she’s also been showing some more interesting behaviors such as:
+ Being more aware of food on her face and hands. She actually licked her fingers clean of yogurt the other day – too funny!
+ Starting to show definite attitude if she doesn’t get her way. Yesterday she became very frustrated because we wouldn’t give her cookies for lunch. Needless to say, we didn’t give in but it was hard to hear her so frustrated and upset.
+ Showing more patience for quiet educational play. She loves reviewing her Baby Einstein flashcards with us. We show her the cards and talk about the colors and features, etc. (This is a robot. This robot has a red hat… [at which point she pats her head – which is the sign for hat.]) Great fun!
This weekend we got new blinds for her nursery (the previous shades weren’t dark enough and now that the sun is staying up so late it seemed to make sense…) While at Home Depot we found this great play mat that serves as a ‘rug’ of sorts in her bedroom. (Pictures to follow when we can get a photo.)
We also had photos taken a week ago – the pictures turned out great. We went to a place called
Flash! to have them taken and they turned out great. Here’s Kennedy with one of her favorite foods – an apple:
Kennedy and Elle can have fun with any shaped box! We replaced some shades this weekend and here they are playing with the long narrow box.
Kennedy and I went to OMSI with Sheryl and Megan last weekend. In addition to generally having a great time running around the Science Playground, we had some fun playing with the puzzles at the toddler table.
Here she is playing at a small door at OMSI. These pants were a lucky find at the store down the street – we love them!
Next we went to the younger baby area for those under two to hang out with Rory and Luke – who are Elizabeth and Patrick’s children. We played a round of Rosie while we were there.
Flavored chapstick. Mmmmmm. Kennedy likes Susan's chapstick. Mine, not so much. Burt's Bees Lifeguard's Choice lip balm is great for me, but too strong and burny for Kennedy.
Grandpa Joe picked Kennedy up from childcare today and spent the evening with Kennedy. They had a good time and Grandpa said he was surprised at how many words Kennedy understands.
She makes the cutest cat's "meow" sound ever. Her baaaa baaaa is pretty good too. We're still working on the dog bark sound. Good fun.
From the left, Luke, Kennedy and Rory. We met Patrick and Elizabeth and Tiffany at OMSI for some good play time.
Kennedy has been more interested in playing in the kitchen recently. Here she is with her "Please let me through the gate" look.
As far as her teething goes, she's faring a bit better this week than last but her gums are still really swollen.
Our friend Tiffany visited from Washington D.C. this week. She spent most of Saturday with us. Here she is helping Kennedy put on her jacket.
Kennedy is much hungrier at breakfast time since she quit taking a night bottle. Scrambled eggs are a real hit. We're keeping the food on the "soft" side because her gums are so sore. Cottage cheese, however, is still a no no no. She spits it right out.
