Turkey Feast

Kendall & Nana

Kendall & her friend Anna

Kendall had a yummy turkey feast at her school last Thursday. She stood up and said her name and that she is thankful for her family - so cute!! And an odd coincidence since someone in her family almost got wiped out in a car wreck not even 9 hours later! I'm thankful to have survived the wreck with very minimal injuries and given another day to spend with my beautiful little girl. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Halloween 2009

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, BATGIRL!

This year we trick-or-treated with the Hughes again and racked up loads of candy (again). Kendall really did look like Batgirl as she ran from house to house with her cape flapping behind her! Not even rain stopped these kids - they just kept running from house to house!

Kendall & Kalista



Wahahaaaa!!

Strike a pose, there's nothing to it

Career Day

Kendall had career day on October 30th. She wants to be an artist when she grows up.

Our House

Here's some pics of our house that took us forever to move into!! The weekend we moved, Kendall got the flu and then I got the flu so it was pretty miserable, but we survived. I've been busy putting up blinds and I'm trying to figure out what to do with these cream colored walls....yuck. I bought a couch - a white couch - yes, I'm crazy. And a new tv - but there's so much more to buy (gulp). Kendall is trying to figure out what to do with her bedroom, playroom and bathroom. Mostly I'm trying to steer her away from hot pink and lime green paint colors....

Our house is in a fabulous location - I'm 30 minutes to everywhere which I love. And we're near this cute little historic district - Woodstock Downtown - which has great restaurants and a little 'city' vibe and, to top it all off, our fave breakfast restaurant is opening soon. I was expecting immediate buyer’s remorse because it took me soooo long to find a house I liked, and then it took us so long to move in here that I couldn't even remember why I picked the house! But, it's the little things like walking into my laundry room and all the counter space I have in the kitchen that remind me why we chose this place to be our home. We did have to give up a few things, like a yard, but I think that's a pretty fair exchange for having good coffee and pancakes less than 2 miles away.

basement

"backyard" and deck

Kitchen

dining room/living room

front door/foyer

Hula Hula!!

My kid seriously cracks me up. Here is the one and only Kendall Grace hula hooping. That's my mom shouting and laughing in the background ;-)

Soccer - Spring 2009

Soccer pictures! Kendall scored 4 goals this season (3 of those in one game!). Her team only won two games, but we had a good time and made some awesome new friends.

Spring Break 2009 - Video

I just found this video of Kendall from the beach. I can't wait to play this at her high school graduation party ;-)

Not much to report. Soccer has officially ended. We're off to swimming lessons next and then we'll start soccer or cheerleading in the fall. I finally have Kendall registered for kindergarten - I can't believe she is going to be in REAL school! I'm going to have to really work on our morning routine. We're late to Prek every morning - we're just not morning people. But, apparently you can't be late for kindergarten...eek! We're still on the house hunt, hope to have that wrapped up by August. I'll upload some soccer pics soon.

Spring Break 2009

We spent spring break in Okaloosa Island, FL this year. It was a beautiful beach! The condo we rented was right off the water and you could hear the ocean waves as you fell asleep at night! Kendall had sooo much fun digging through the sand and even met another little girl to play with. I literally sat on the beach for 3 days and didn't move - it was great. Can't wait till next year!

I'm FIVE!

Kendall turned 5 on April 3rd - totally crazy - it feels like I just brought her home from the hospital. I remember the day clearly. I attempted to play a trick on my aunt by pretending to be in labor when my mom and I picked her up from work on April 2, 2004. Well, the joke was inevitably on me because about an hour after I revealed my prank I began to have REAL contractions. Fast forward 20 hours later and Kendall Grace Smith introduced herself to the world! She was absolutely beautiful (I'm not biased at all) and had big gray eyes. I remember being disappointed by how very little hair she had - I thought all the heartburn I had would amount to a huge mop of hair on her head - old wives tale for sure! And she was so wiggly in my arms so I nicknamed her 'noodle' which I still call her sometimes and she'll say "Why do you call me noodle?" Kendall loves for me to tell her about the day she was born and I love telling the story to her. I can't believe 5 years have passed already.

Kendall, Madison & Gabe

For Kendall's birthday we went to Benny's Bear Factory where Kendall and her friends built bears and 'adopted' them.

The M&M cake was Kendall's idea!

Work It Girl!

Kendall made a dress out of a TJ Maxx Bag

Project Runway Here We Come!

Where is the time going? It seems like the older I get, the quicker time keeps passing by. Kendall is going to be 5 in April - yes, FIVE! What?!? I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. And she is everything I knew she would be when, at 7 months pregnant, I changed her name from Shelby to Kendall. Somehow I knew there was a firecracker in my belly and Shelby was just not going to cut it. Kendall is a mix of sweet, spunky and diva, and I'm pretty sure, that eventually, she will break a lot of hearts. I must admit that I've enjoyed her getting older. I'm not so great with babies and toddlers, so I feel like the next few years will be my best mom years. I'm looking forward to mani/pedis, late night girl talk and shopping for prom dresses.

Life is pretty calm these days. Kendall has settled into her new school really well. We're still on the house hunt. This quarter of school STINKS for me. I'm about to fail economics - no wonder our economy is in a mess, you can't understand this stuff at all! I am enjoying my visual merchandising class, which is making me want to possibly pursue a career in that, but we'll see. I change my mind about what I want to be when I grow up every other day.

I guess that about sums up the first two months of 2009!

Kendall posing at the bowling alley (I think she knows how cute she is)

St. Louis 2009

Kendall and I spent the New Year in The Gateway to the West visiting family. We landed last Thursday and went straight to Big Daddy's house aka my dad. Over the next two days we went to the best children's museum ever, the Arch and the science center. And we went to this really yummy pizzeria where you could watch them toss the pizza in the air. And their Greek dressing was this red, spicy, tangy dressing - very good. OK, so anyway. We rounded out the weekend at my uncle's house, where Kendall's 14 year old cousin taught her a new handshake and where she spent lots of time with their adorable rabbit. Of course, now she wants a rabbit. I'm actually considering it since it doesn't have to be walked. 2009 is going great so far. Back to school tomorrow, and back to work on Thursday = back to my chaotic life!

630 Feet Up!!

me and my daddy!

Kendall inside the Arch

Outside the Arch

Kendall and my dad on a musical chair at the Children's Museam

Kendall & her cousin Rell