Thankful

It's now officially the week after Thanksgiving and I'm still feeling the need to wear stretch pants. Yikes! Hope you had a wonderful holiday and felt abundance in your heart (and belly :) On Thursday morning, we embarked on our trip southbound to Ames. Being it was Kendall's first official road trip ever and Katelyn's first official one as a potty-trained-traveler, we weren't sure how many stops we'd be in for. But all went pretty well - two stops on the way there and just one (albeit nearly an hour!) on the way back.

There is so much to be thankful for, so we'll let the pictures do most of the talking. Here is what we're grateful for on Thanksgiving and always...

Thankful for room for two on the recliner...

Thankful for quiet moments in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle...

Thankful for reuniting with beloved family members...

Thankful for four generations and this time the boy is outnumbered! (I grew up with two siblings and 11 cousins. All boys.)...

Thankful for Gramma and her littlest grandbaby...

Laughs! Thankful for lots and lots of laughs...

Thankful for a little performer in her pink ballerina leotard...

Thankful for Kendall getting to meet more important family members...

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Rehm

Great Aunt Cindy

Thankful for VIP-access to Success Gymnastics in Ames...

(Courtney Crandell owns the gym and the Crandells have been friends of our family for as long as I can remember. I was the flower girl in Steve and Cheryl's wedding at the age of four and it's been a blast growing up with their kids, Courtney and Tyler. So nice of them to open the gym on Saturday to let Katelyn explore! Needless to say, she loved it.)

Thankful for high fives. At the gym and in life :)

Thankful for the ability to bounce, jump, swing, and stretch...

Thankful for awesome uncles who adore their nieces (and vice versa)...

Thankful for spending time together, in the house we grew up in...

Thankful for sweet snuggles...

Thankful for some serious sports watching...

We had a great time in Iowa and are so thankful to have visited with dear family members and friends. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I challenge myself to view everyday through a lens of gratitude; there truly is abundance at every turn if we choose to see it. 

"Gratitude turns what we have into enough." -Unknown

And I Quote...

With some recent photos mixed in and some chatter from Kendall at the end, here are some of Katelyn's notable quotes. Hope they bring you a smile - they always manage to do that for us anyway.

Before I took Kendall up for bed the other night I asked Katelyn to say goodnight to her sister. She said, "Good night, Kendall. Get well soon!" Huh?! No idea where she gets this stuff.

I found this picture on my phone. Hmm, I wonder who took it? Makes me smile :)

Kate: "My tummy is sore, Mommy."

Me: "I'm sorry to hear that. What do you think would make your tummy feel better?"

Kate: "I fink I need to go to Iowa. That would make me feel betta."

Why not save some time when referring to Gramma (Kathy) and Papa? I mean, that's seven whole syllables, so Katelyn's compressed it into three: "Grampapa." As in, "What are Grampapa doing?"

Wearing tutu. Will dance.

In the bathtub: "I'm gonna pick up all my toys cause I don't want them to go down the dream with the water. Don't go down the dream, toys!! Don't go down the dream!"

Eeek! Kate met this 6 1/2-foot long python at the Minnesota Zoo over the weekend. Fearless, I tell ya.

On Election Day, I was explaining that we would be going to vote once Daddy got home from work. Katelyn thought about that for a minute and inquired, "Will I get to float, too?"

Katelyn often asks what certain people's names are (sometimes it's people we know and other times complete strangers). When I don't know, I usually ask her what she thinks their name might be. The names she comes up with are far beyond John or Mary. Instead, recent favorites have included: Icon, Gon-guy, Show-nah, and Mocha (Mocha?! I get lattes at Starbucks, so your guess is as good as mine!). These come from the girl who named her favorite doll "Lucia" (pronounced Loo-Sha), so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised!

Upon getting a Halloween cookie with sprinkles for the special holiday, she exclaimed, "Happy birthday to me! This cookie have sprinkles on it!"

Kendall Jean smiling at Daddy!

We have some favorite Bible stories for toddlers that we've been reading recently. I'm never sure how much Katelyn actually absorbs as they're not necessarily traditional stories. I was surprised the other day when she was reading* that book to me and turned to the story of Ruth and Naomi and recited, "Where you go, I will go. Ruth was a wonderful friend." This is taken word-for-word from that story. Precious!

(* Usually Katelyn's "reading" consists of this storyline: "He said, 'Do you want to go to the fair?' he said. (turns page) 'Yes, I do want to go to the fair,' she said. (turns page) He said, 'And a talent show at the fair?' he said. (turns page) She said, 'A talent show. Do you want to go the fair?' she said....";)

And since Kendall doesn't have any official quotes to be included on here just yet, here's a little video of her ;) This was taken on her 3-month birthday a couple weeks ago...

Our Days These Days

With the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving  (next week already?!) just zooming by, here's what we've been up to lately...

... making new friends...

... baking and, of course, tasting cookies...

...melting mama's heart with a smile like this...

...giggling together...

...snuggling together...

...watching a big sister...

...dancing in flip flops...

And a few things that I don't have any pictures of but which have been filling our days include:

- Playing Costco. What's that, you ask? It's when one person is the shopper and another person is the worker and the shopper hands the worker her receipt (upon exit), worker reviews it, draws a smiley face on the back of it, hands it back to the shopper saying, "Thanks for shopping at Costco!"

- Watching Angelina Ballerina. This is Katelyn's new favorite show and she's learned all kinds of new dance techniques from it, including hip hop, Irish jig, and pointe.

- Dance parties. Obviously to practice aforementioned dance styles :)

- Looking for letters in everyday life. "There's a K in that sign right there!" "Here's an O!" "I see a letter M right there." The best was today, when Katelyn noticed two bobby pins criss-crossed on the top of my head holding my bangs back... "Mommy, there's a X in your hair!"

- Making many things with Play-Doh including snake families, blueberry pies, baskets of apples, and snowmen.

- Gymnastics, play dates, and other fun outings. The local Moms Club that I joined in the summer always has tons of activities going on, so between our standing commitments of music class, ECFE, and Bible Study, we try to participate in as many of the Moms Club events too. Lately, those have included open gym for preschoolers at a local gymnastics studio, open play at the Plymouth field house with bouncy houses, balls, tunnels, and a giant bouncy slide, and several play dates. Fun, fun stuff!!

Wishing you a great rest of the week! Thanks for reading.

3 Months Old

Kendall is 3 months old today! She is growing before our eyes and is engaging more and more with the people and world around her. What a joy she is!

Disposition: Within the last month, Kendall has really come into her own. She has not had any vomiting spells in 4 weeks (*knock wood!*) and as a result is generally happier and more content. She's comfortable with other people holding her now, whereas her first several weeks she preferred mama. She is happy and pleasant throughout the day and only fusses when she's tired and ready for a nap; except in the car... this sweet pea despises the car. It's not the car seat, it's the act of driving in the car that sets her off - we're talking all-out, loud crying fits with big alligator tears :( We're not sure why that bothers her so much, but we hope she eventually gets more comfortable with car rides. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all nervous for our first trip to Iowa! 

Sleeping: We have been undeniably blessed with two great sleepers. Our girls love their shut-eye! But Kendall has utterly floored us with her sleep patterns. Since about 9 weeks old, she's been sleeping from 6:30 pm until 6/6:30 am. I think God knows I don't function well on choppy or little sleep, so He gave us sound sleepers! Two weeks ago we transitioned Kendall from the basinet in our room to her crib and thankfully, that went very smoothly. Kendall takes several catnaps throughout the day - usually 4-5 snoozes for about 45 minutes.

Eating: Kendall is a good little eater! If the leg rolls above don't confirm that, maybe the double-chin below will :) She nurses every 2-3 hours for a total of about 6 times a day. And her burps have been known to rival those from a grown man!

This picture was just too funny to not include... Kendall's tongue out and Malone trying to get in on the photo action like the old days :)

Development: Kendall is getting much more vocal lately and loves to coo and babble. She gnaws and sucks on her hands a lot and tries to "talk" while doing that. In the last week, she's started blowing raspberries - I love it when babies do that! She has recently started swatting at things dangling in front of her on her car seat and activity mat - the movements are a still jerky but definitely moving toward grasping things. She will also bear weight on her legs when held in a standing position.

Likes: 

- Waking up in the morning or from naps. She is so happy; erupting in huge smiles and gasping with excitement! 

- Katelyn. Smiles abound for big sis!

- Being carried, bounced, and held upright to see the world around her.

- When people smile at her - she returns the gesture with a gummy grin.

- Looking in mirrors.

- To kick, kick, and kick!!

Dislikes:

- Riding in the car!!

- Loud noises. She startles easily and will start crying if something is too loud or sudden.

- Getting out of the bath. Brrrr!

- Pacifiers and bottles. No thank you to both.

Dear God, 

Please let this be the last picture...

Kendall Jean, you are just about as sweet as they come! We are having so much fun with you and thank God for you everyday. Your smiles are contagious and your sweet spirit fills our hearts with so much joy. Thank you for being you; the absolute perfect fit for our family. Happy 3 months, baby girl!

Recap of Recent Activity

Last Sunday afternoon, we had more visitors in town from Iowa and were so happy they stopped by for a bit! My cousin, Chris, and his family visited on their way home from a weekend up here in the Twin Cities. Campbell is 8 months older than Katelyn and little Reid is 13 months. It was our first time meeting him, which is crazy! We vowed not to go another (almost) two years before seeing each other again - that's just not okay! Here are some pictures from the afternoon, which was fun for the kids and adults alike!

You'd never guess these little pals haven't seen each other since Katelyn's 1st birthday...

They acted like longtime friends!

The Jensens came bearing gifts for both Katelyn and Kendall. One of Kendall's was this dolly. As you can see, Katelyn has been taking tremendous care of her until Kendall is able to take over responsibilities :) Kate loves her "curly Q" hair.

You might notice both Katelyn and Campbell have pink headbands on. When Katelyn saw Campbell's, she insisted on wearing hers too. Matchy matchy!

Kendall was napping for the first half of the visit, but was happy to get the opportunity to see some new faces once she woke up. I don't have any photos of Chris and Michael - sorry, guys! - but they were busy catching up as well.

Thanks, Jensens, for stopping over. We look forward to our next visit with you!

~~~

This weekend, Gramma Kathy and Papa came up for a couple days. As usual, we had lots of fun! Here are a few pictures to share...

Katelyn was given an early Christmas present from Papa and Gramma... this Schwinn was a huge hit. It's complete with handle bar tassels, shiny fenders, and a bell - helloooo serious biker accessories! Hence, the "all-business" face seen here....

Baby girl blue eyes got lots of smiles and snuggles!

Isn't this a wonderful picture of the grandparents and the grand-girls? Makes my heart so happy!

Since our favorite babysitters were conveniently in town, Michael and I celebrated our 7th anniversary (two days early) on Saturday night with a dinner out at a great place downtown called The Bachelor Farmer. Amazing food, service, and of course, company. 

I'm so lucky to be married to such an incredible husband, father, and friend. We were reminiscing about last year's anniversary which we spent together in Italy and how richly we've been blessed since then; most notably with our little Kendall. 

When we said "I do" on 11/05/05 it was the start of an amazing journey together. And the best part is, the journey keeps getting better and better. ♥