Dance Pictures

It is that time of year again...dance recital. We had pictures on Friday. They take them up at the studio and it is very crazy and hectic. I think there are about a thousand kids running around. We have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon after church. I am sure that Kayla and I will spend most of the day at the school. The recital is Monday night. Kayla has her first swim lesson on Monday. I am hoping that we will make it back in time to take Caroline to the sitter and to get Kayla ready to dance. She really enjoys it. She has done a great job in her last two recitals. It still shocks me a little that she does not get nervous on the big stage. She always knows her dances and will even smile. Seeing her really enjoy herself makes all the trouble of taking her to lessons 2 nights a week worth it.

Happy Birthday Caroline!!!

I can't believe that my baby girl is already 2! She is such a bundle of personality. She is a sweet little girl who is very independent and knows what she wants. She is crazy about her big sister - most of the time. She is really starting to talk a lot more. We have been trying to get her to say that she was one since her first birthday. She would never do it. Today Andy asks her "How old are you? Are you 2?" She looked at him and said "I one." She makes me laugh. And she will tell you "I funny." Here is a very brief look back.

Newborn pics:
(I still can't get over all of her dark hair)

8 months old

Her First Birthday

19 months old

Her Second Birthday

Memorial Day

My friend Raina had her baby on Friday. He is a beautiful little boy named Cole. He was 8 lbs 9 oz. They are both doing well. They are having a hard time getting him to eat, but I think he is doing better.

After the baptism on Sunday Emori's dad brought her to our house. She had been up at the hospital with her parents since Friday before the baby was born. I thought she would have fun getting to get out of the hospital to swim. We go to my Uncle Don's every year for swimming and a cookout. There was a good group of kids there this year, and they all played really well together. They all had a blast.

Kayla and Emori

The water was really cold. If we asked Caroline if she wanted to go swimming she would nod her head yes. If we asked her if she wanted to get wet she responded with a loud "no." She liked being in the water, but someone pretty much had to be holding her. She would not get in one of the baby floats. I think she ended up having fun.

Wii Fit

We had a great time with the Wii Fit when Andy's parents were here. I have a really funny video of Andy playing the hula hoop game, but he does not want that on the blog. Seeing as how I would like to stay married I am not going to put it on here. No matter how much I really want to. I have this clip of Papa playing the same hula hoop game. Sorry Jim. I could not figure out how to get it to turn the video. You will just have to lean sideways to watch this.

What was really funny was Jim doing the Yoga tree pose with Andy holding him up. I did not have the camera out at that point, and a moment like that cannot be recreated. That is the hardest I have laughed in a really long time.

That is a really fun game. It is amazing to me that I can be out of breath and my legs are sore from playing a video game. I would like to say how challenging the game can be, but I am sure it also has a great deal to do with how out of shape I am. I am so glad Jenny found this the day it came out.

Kayla's Baptism

We had Kayla's baptism this past Sunday. It was a very special day for her. She was very excited about it and did a great job. Nanny and Papa came up for the weekend, so she was able to have all of her grandparents there. Here are a few pictures.

Kayla with her daddy right before the baptism

I know you can't really see her, but that is Kayla with the children's minister.

A member of our class happened to walk by after we picked up the kids. I had him take this picture of all of us. Grandma Nancy was there too, but she left out of a different door. It really was a special day and I am so proud of her for the decision that she made.

Last Day of School

Kayla has been officially promoted to first grade. I can't believe the school year is already over. She really enjoyed kindergarten and she learned quite a bit. Her biggest improvement has been with her reading. She is doing really well.

They had a fun last week of school. On Monday they wore pajamas to school. Thank goodness I had bought her a pair of High School Musical pjs. She was very happy to put them on for school.

Here she is on Tuesday. The theme was "Hats off to summer." They could wear hats, sunglasses and flip flops. These cute Gymboree sunglasses did not make it home from school in one piece. I told her not to lose them...I forget to mention don't break them. They got stepped on.

Wednesday was "happy trails to school." This is the closest we had to being able to dress western. I thought she looked pretty cute.

Today was "Aloha to kindergarten" We bought a dress with flowers on it and called it Hawaiian.

Here are 2 first graders.

This is Kayla's friend Emori. Her mother is having a c-section in the morning. I feel so sorry for her. She has a fever and has been vomiting for 2 days. She just feels terrible. Who wants to be having a baby when you just feel awful. Hopefully she will feel better in the morning and be able to find a little bit of energy to take care of her new baby boy, Cole. I can't wait to meet him. Kayla and I will be going to the hospital in the morning after her dentist appointment.

Young Artists

I was trying to get some work done around the house this afternoon, and the girls were in Kayla's room playing. They love to jump on her bed and dance to Hannah Montana music. They do that all of the time so I was not paying too much attention. I eventually hear them in the bathroom. Kayla has gotten the liquid hand soap and the sink is overflowing with bubbles. They are just splashing around in it with their hands and having a good time. I go back to work. Then I hear Caroline saying "uh oh" and the water is running. I go to check on them, and I pass Kayla in the kitchen. She has gotten all of the paints out. Caroline is in the bathroom with the water turned on in the sink. The bubbles are no longer only in the sink, and Caroline does not like for her clothes to get wet. I send her out with Kayla while I get the water cleaned up...that was not my smartest move. I forgot she had the paints out. Here is what I find.

They had already done handprints, so there was paint all over the table. Then Caroline proceeds to run laps around the table. The red paint that is on the top of her feet is also on the bottom. I catch her and start cleaning her up. Kayla decides she will go wash her feet. Keep in mind there is now blue paint on the bottom of both of her feet. She WALKS to the bathroom - leaving behind a lovely trail of blue paint - thru the kitchen, down the hall, into the bathroom, and across both bathroom rugs.

This is when I talk to my dear friend and neighbor Robyn. She takes both girls so I can get the paint cleaned up. Then we had a little pizza party at her house. What a lifesaver! And you have to love the person that created WASHABLE paint. This could have been really bad. I think the kids had fun.

School Work

Nanny has joined the ranks of Uncle Dan and has made her way into Kayla's school work. These are her drawings for the letter N - Nannee and a necklace. She said "I drew Nanny's curly hair, her earrings and she usually does not wear shoes in the morning." I can't believe she only has 6 1/2 days left of kindergarten (including today)!

Experimenting

I know this is not a great video clip. I am playing around with the video feature on the blog and my camera.

Yes, Caroline is wearing a pull-up on the outside of her pants. I do realize they work better if they are under the clothes. She saw a commercial for them today and ran in the bathroom to put one on. I have been unable to get her to take it off!

Special Day

Kayla has been asking us questions lately about being saved and baptism. During church service there is a service for the kids called Kids Crossing. Andy went to pick Kayla up when it was over, and they told him that the children's minister wanted to talk to us. Apparently they have a time of invitation and Kayla went forward and talked with him. We all sat down with him. He and Kayla read some versus and he asked her several questions. He told us that she was an intelligent logical thinker who had a good understanding of what it meant to be saved. He told us he felt confident that she was ready. So, Kayla said a prayer asking Jesus into her heart. What a special day. We are both so very happy and proud of her. What a blessing!

She will get baptized in front of the church when we are ready. I think a good weekend might be when Jim and Darlene come to town - if they can stay that late in the day. We would do it during late service which tends to dismiss around 12:15. It would be wonderful for her if all of her grandparents were able to be there.

Family Portrait

Well, I am not that great at all this blogging stuff. I tried to add our family portrait as a page element to the blog and it is not centering the picture. So here is the full picture.

We went to Dallas a few weeks ago to get pictures made. Jenny has a great photographer that she let us borrow. She took pictures of the entire family (Nanny, Papa, Jenny and her family, and our family). The pictures are all wonderful. It took a few attempts, but we now have a 20x24 of this picture above our mantle. I think it looks really good. Thanks to Nanny and Papa for the pictures, and to Jenny for making all of the arrangements.

End of Soccer Season

Today was the last game of the soccer season. Kayla really improved this year. However, today was not her best game. It was still a good season.

Next season will be very different. We have had most of these kids on our team for 4 seasons. Next year the team will be all girls. I think that will be a good thing.

Andy has been a great coach. He does a good job with the kids, and I think the parents really appreciate his efforts.

Go sharks! Chomp, Chomp