Say Cheese!

Since Kennedy had a birthday not too long ago, I have been wanting to take some professional pictures of her.  And since we were going to be there anyway, we took a few of the whole family, since we don't have any professional ones of all of us.  I think they turned out pretty well!  Here is what we came home with.

We now have some new, current, and really cute pictures in the house!  Kennedy is always to patient with stuff like this, and she had a great time.  The flash startled her out of her smile every time, but we got some good pictures anyway.

Events Happen in Real Time

love Kennedy's newest word: puppy

hate that she still doesn't understand a lot of what I say

love that I don't have to get on an airplane for 2 months

hate that in order to get to Hawaii I have to take 3 flights with a 15 month old (at least I won't be alone)

love that Brett has an awesome chance of being in the nursing department in the fall

hate that it could still take up to 6 weeks to hear if he was accepted

love Provo during the summer (no one is here)

hate that we have to find a babysitter to go to empty movies

love 24

hate that I inevitably stay up too late when I watch it

love the discovery that the library carries board books for Kennedy

hate that now I want to buy all of them

love that we're starting to look for somewhere bigger to live

hate that it's so hard to find what we want

love that I have had so much time to read since I graduated

hate that I often have to be on a wait list at the library

Beautiful Babe

Good Times in Texas

Apparently I took almost no pictures in Texas.  I always take way more or way less than I thought.  I do have some to share with you though.  Like Kennedy, after having been woken up at 6:00 to go to the airport.  The poor girl was exhausted.

She was horrible during the first half of the flight there, but she was pretty good after that.  Thankfully, the Lord blessed me with patience and calmness.  Otherwise I would have cried.  When we got there we went out to lunch at Chips and then went to get some cupcakes at Sprinkles.  We spent the day just having a good time.  Next day we went to the Farmer's Market and tried to go swimming with the kids, but we were thwarted at every turn.  On Thursday we went out to breakfast with grandpa.

And then it was off to the zoo!  Kennedy particularly enjoyed the penguins, the flamingos, and this gorilla.

When he saw her, he came over to the window and stared at her.  She was pointing and talking like mad and started banging on the glass.  He stayed there for quite some time, and even took time to inspect the sketch that Christine made of him.

After deciding that it wouldn't be a good idea to try and pet the ocelot, Blake fed the huge turtles some fresh leaves from a nearby tree.

We had a good (but tiring) time at the zoo and then went out to dinner with mom's fiancé Mark.  On Friday we went to visit Kennedy's great-grandma and grandpa Emigh and then came home to pack.  Kennedy helped.

She was ten times better on the flight home.  On both flights (although it took up more time on the second flight) she completely tore apart the SkyMall.  She made a huge mess, but as long as she wasn't crying, I didn't care. :)  We had a great time seeing everyone, and Kennedy really loved playing with the puppies (mom's - Wrigley, Blake's - Rorscach).  We're happy to be home with our daddy though and we missed him while we were gone.  Thankfully, he will be there for the next plane flights.

Let's Get the Ball Rolling

I rolled a ball in a triangle for a while this morning.  It went like this: I rolled a ball to Kennedy, since she can't roll it in quite a straight line yet Kennedy rolled the ball to Lucy, and Lucy rolled the ball back to me.  I'm not kidding.  We did it a few times in a row.  It was some good girl bonding time.  Speaking of which, tomorrow is the big day that Kennedy and I will be heading off on that airplane.  Kennedy has had a cold for the last little while and has been coughing/sneezing/randomly irritable.  So I think I may just break the "no bottles during the day" rule just for the plane ride.  I think I might go insane otherwise.  I will make sure to document the flight to the best of my ability, as well as the rest of our trip to Texas.  Look for pictures on Saturday!  I might do some posting between now and then, but we'll be pretty busy with crafting, the zoo, girl movies, and I'm sure a lot more. :)

Babies on a Plane

Kennedy and I are traveling to Texas on Tuesday for a girl trip.  We have lots of fun things planned, including a trip to the zoo, some crafty stuff, cooking, and going to Sprinkles.  But there is one thing I am worried about.  I have to take Kennedy on the plane.  By myself.  What am I going to do?  I don't have Brett as a support system, and he's usually the one who can get her to go to sleep.  I think she does have her own seat, which is nice, but that won't stop her from getting antsy.  I don't even have a bottle to calm her down now that she's down to one a day.  Does anyone have any recommendations on how to smoothly travel with a 13 month old and only one parent?  I would be eternally grateful, especially since I'll be doing this both ways.

Best Friends Forever

Do you remember this picture?

This is Kennedy and Boston Waddoups holding hands when she was 5 months old and he was 2 months old.  Aren't they cute?  I took some pictures of them yesterday while Boston was over and thought I'd give an update of what these two look like.

Haven't they gotten so big?!  Boston is a big boy, he's bigger than Kennedy.  He's now just about 10 months old and she's almost 13 months.  They're funny together.

Last week, Boston started crying, which got a sympathy cry from Kennedy, and they just kept going back and forth.  We took a video, but I am lame and can't figure out how to get videos onto my computer from my camera.  So until I figure it out, these cute pictures will have to suffice.  And on a gross note, Kennedy pooped in the bathtub for the first time this morning.  I really thought that we would be able to avoid that, but I guess not.  Thankfully, she's solid now, so it wasn't too bad to clean up.

The Wise Father of Our Country

I was reading George Washington's Farewell Address that he gave in 1796 and was very intrigued.  This truly was a wise man who gave much good counsel that has largely been ignored, particularly as of late.  I think that people would do well to remember the people that have gone before us and to listen to them.  Here are a couple of parts that stood out to me, but you can click on the link above to read the full address.

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

"As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear."

A New High of Domesticity

This is my beautiful bread that I was finally able to make work.  I am so proud of it!  It's honey whole wheat bread and it's beautiful and delicious.  Yeast has always hated me, but I've finally learned a few tricks by research and through trial and error, so I think I'll be making a lot more breads.  Pita, sourdough, pizza dough, and anything else you can think of!  I'm so excited that it finally worked.

These Boots Were Made For Walking

Kennedy is walking!  She has been much more experimental as of late with walking.  She doesn't need nearly as much coaxing as she used to, and she often will do it completely by herself.  She isn't running around rooms yet or anything, but she's definitely making progress, and I bet she'll be a pro in a couple of weeks.

On a not so cool note, she's also being weaned and cutting molars.  Yuck.  This makes for a rather cranky baby, and I am having the roughest time sticking to my guns and not giving her a bottle.  Granted, I haven't taken them all away yet, but she's only getting half as many as she used to, and that's bad enough for right now.  We had a rather rough morning this morning, so I think I'll wait for a while before I take anymore away.

Weaning is Death

Dear apartment,

You are much cleaner as of late, and this makes me happy.  Of course, this has nothing to do with you, but rather with me getting my nesting syndrome about a year too late.  It doesn't really matter, as long as it's happening.

Cleaner

Dear sippy cup,

Why can't you be more enticing to Kennedy?  I know she's had a bottle for a long time, but it can't stay forever.  I am determined to get her to drink from you, or even a regular cup, but it's very hard.  How do people do this?  Thank goodness she doesn't take a pacifier.

Distressed mommy

Dear Goodreads,

Thank you so much for introducing me to so many new books that I have loved.  Thank you for motivating me to read so much more than I have the past few years too!  We're only a third of the way through 2009 and I've already read more books than my average for the past few years.

Avid reader

Dear Seattle,

We were sorry to leave you.  We loved you and you are gorgeous.  With any luck, we will be back there for a long time someday, and hopefully with a few friends.

Future planner

Dear Mom and Christine,

Kennedy and I are excited to come and see you in a couple of weeks!  We're going to have a lot of fun and hopefully see some fun animals at the zoo.

Ashley

Dear UVU,

I am so happy that you offered Brett a teacher that he liked and was able to get a good grade in his math class.  Now please, when he applies for the nursing program in a couple weeks, let him in!  This would make everyone very happy, including you, because he will be the best nurse practitioner the world has ever seen.

Supportive wife

Our Last Day in Seattle

On Saturday morning, we headed to the flagship REI and I was able to get some awesome shoes and a harness for rock climbing.  That harness is awesome and is so much more comfortable than the ones you can rent.  After that we headed down to Pike Place Market.  I was so excited and looking everywhere that we only got one picture!  The flying fish store was right at the entrance to the market, and I was lucky enough to get to see a fish get thrown over the heads of those watching.  Brett missed it, and we didn't see them do it again.  We did get a picture of Brett with the ugly monkfish they had on display.

This thing had a string attached to it's tail that the employees would pull when people walked by or tried to get a picture of it.  It was hilarious.  There were tons of awesome vendors with fun and beautiful produce.  There were tons of flowers for sale, and I went nuts trying to take everything in.  We bought some roasted garlic and herb flavored pasta, cheesecake truffles, marinated cheese curds, and some roasted lemon pepitas and caramel cashews.  We tasted pepper jellies, beef jerky, chocolate pasta, and a wonderful orange.  We had a fantastic lunch there too!  I was also pleased to find out that Chez Shea, which is mentioned on Frasier all the time, is a real place!  I thought they just made it up. :)  The market was spectacular, but we couldn't stay all day.  We headed to the Seattle Aquarium.

I love aquariums, and this one had tons of seals and otters, and some glowing fish!  It was fun to walk through and see all the kids.  Brett got this picture of the Space Needle as we were driving by it.

We decided to head about an hour north of Seattle to see a tulip festival that Noelle's dad recommended.  We stopped at Trophy Cupcakes on the way there.  Although they were good, they don't come close to Sprinkles.  The tulips and daffodils were gorgeous, and there were so many of them!  The first field we came to was just a sea of red.

Other fields had sections with many different colors.  Here were some of my favorites.

There were tons of yellow and white daffodils too, and tons of people!  We had a hard time getting pictures because so many people were there.

The next morning we headed out early so we could come home to get Kennedy.  It was a fabulous and beautiful trip, and I'm so glad we got to go.  I was sad to leave, but hopefully we will be there someday!