Happy Birthday, Dear Kendall!

Kendall woke up to a friendly sister-serenade this morning...

And because it's just too fun, here's brand-new big sister singing to 4-day-old Kendall. One year ago.

My oh my, where did the days go?! Happy birthday today to our sweet, sweet Kendall!

First Time for Everything

We're so used to documenting Kendall's "firsts" since there are so many of them with a baby, but this post is all about Katelyn's firsts. She's had such a fun summer and has had the opportunity to experience a handful of brand new things.

A couple months ago, she and Michael went to see Monsters University in the theater - Katelyn's first ever movie in the theater!

She was so excited for the whole experience - the big screen, the movie characters, a day with dad, and a stop at the concession stand! Twizzlers and popcorn are classic movie snacks - or should I say, "tweezers" as our cinema sweetie called them.

Following lots of previews, which made this little movie-goer anxious for the show, finally Monsters University began. They made it through most of the movie, but did leave early at Kate's request. Michael said it's so fun to experience new things through the eyes of our kids. Couldn't agree more!

This summer, Katelyn has also started her first gymnastics class - it's held at a large gym, but they have a pint-sized part with mini trampolines, shorter bars, rings, and balance beams. The class is once a week and although we've done several open gym sessions here over the winter, this is her first structured class. Katelyn is on her own with one or two other kids and the coach, so Kendall and I watch through the window. Doing flips on the bar is her favorite! (She also practices that on our swing set.)

She's been practicing balance, stretches, and lots and lots of somersaults. :)

She has a few more classes this summer and this performer-at-heart has really enjoyed her foray into gymnastics. At home, I hear this many times throughout the day: "I'm a gymnastics girl and I am going to form (perform) for you."

Last week was another first for Katelyn: Vacation Bible School! It was held at a church about a mile from our house and although it's not "our" church I had heard great things about it from others. We had a few friends enroll their children and thought we'd give it a try. Boy, am I glad we did. Katelyn LOVED it. And I mean LOVED it.

On the first morning, we were walking into the auditorium area where there was music blasting, kids dancing, balloons everywhere, and lots of good energy - and Katelyn stopped in her tracks. Oh no. I thought she was getting overwhelmed by all the action. Wrong! Instead she stopped, listened for a moment, and said, "Our song is playing! Listen, Mom, it's our song! Do you hear it?" I listened too and lo and behold, the song we've deemed as "our song" was playing - 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman. A sure sign of the wonderful week ahead.

VBS took place Monday through Friday from 9 am - Noon and each morning, Katelyn woke up saying, "I'm ready to go to 'acation' Bible School!" After the first day, when I picked her up, she said, "It was SO fun, Mom! But it was too short!" Well that's good! I explained that it seems like things go fast when we're having fun. They learned about a different Old Testament story each day and by the end of the week Katelyn had memorized (with a bit of prompting) Psalm 145:13 (NIV) - "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." She's also been belting out a new favorite song: "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King. Hallelujah, hallelujah, we are going to see the King." But the hallelujahs are more like "hall-lay-LOO-lah, hall-lay-LOO-lah." :)

Here is our newest VBS graduate with her friend Miller who also attended. The week made it abundantly clear just how ready she is for preschool this fall - the independence, the learning, and the new friends. At least one of us is ready ;)

Yet another first took place at the Minnesota Zoo a couple weeks ago. They have a new, short-term dinosaur exhibit, so we checked it out. The first couple (large!) dinos squirted water out of their mouths, which Katelyn didn't appreciate, so she was a bit hesitant for the rest of the exploration thinking she might get surprised and wet. At one point, she said, "I want to get outta here!" I have to admit, the dinosaurs were pretty intimidating! Big teeth, big bodies, real-life movements, and some loud grunts and growls!

Not exactly digging the big "dinosaur rex" as she says...

But she slowly warmed up to the prehistoric creatures - apparently the flying ones are more friendly ...

And this statue fella at the end of the exhibit was a piece of cake. He was quiet, still, polite, and didn't squirt water!

We had fun with our crew at the zoo!

There's nothing quite like the "firsts" for a child at any age and this summer has been a full of them for Katelyn. Here's to many more! 

And one of the biggest firsts for Kendall is taking place tomorrow - her 1st birthday party! (How, how, HOW can that be already?!?!) More to come!

Little Known Facts

Just for the fun of it, here are some little known facts about the members of Team Mlakar. Since I'm publishing these for you all to see, I suppose that makes them previously little known facts... :)

Kendall snorts when she laughs hard. Huh-lar-eee-us!

Katelyn loves pistachios. She requests them almost everyday for snack.

Michael eats spinach every single day - either in a salad or a smoothie. Popeye much?

Missy and Katelyn both insist on wearing socks to bed from about September through May. Michael, on the other hand, doesn't. He thinks spiders can crawl in there and lay eggs. Huh?! Sure hope not!

Kendall has a tiny birthmark on the top of her left hand between her thumb and pointer finger. It's gotten smaller and is fading as she's gotten older.

Katelyn would eat a banana with every meal. Monkey much?

Michael has been told by more than one person that he reminds them of Phil Dunphy on Modern Family and also Dr. Oz (he is kind of a health nut, so maybe that's why!)

Kendall is most ticklish on her collarbones. Snorts galore!

Katelyn despises getting her hair brushed. With her curls, she gets lots of little knots and sometimes a big ol' rat's nest. Ouch. Tears.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And for some more entertainment, here are Katelyn's most recent memorable quotes...

After proposing an idea or making a suggestion, she asks, "How sounds that?" It's a nice little hybrid of: "How does that sound?" and "How about that?" 

One morning at breakfast, Katelyn announced: "If God is in my heart, then when I eat yogurt it would get ALL OVER him!!!" {followed by wide eyes and uncontrollable laughter!}

When making reference to herself and Daddy (or anyone else), she tends to combine "we" and "me and Daddy" into this cute little combo: "We and Daddy went on a long bike ride today." or "That was when we and Kendall were playing together."

"Uh-why-ago" as in awhile ago. "We went to that park, but it was uh-why-ago."

Stay tuned for future quotes - she's full of 'em! How sounds that?

Summer Fun

We ♥ summer! We usually spend a good chunk of our mornings and afternoons outside enjoying the sunshine, breeze, and warm air. We've also been busy with other fun things this summer including birthday parties and taking many spins on some new wheels!

We've visited countless parks and have spent hours pushing merry-go-rounds and swings.

Katelyn has been busy celebrating her friends' birthdays. First up was Cooper's pirate-themed 4th birthday party at a splash pad and park. The kids even got bandanas and eye patches. Ahoy! :)

Here's the whole group on the pirate ship at the park - how appropriate!

The following week was Ruby's 4th birthday party at Pump It Up, featuring all kinds of inflatable bouncy houses, slides, and games. We spent several days at Pump It Up during the cold winter months so it was fun to re-visit again with friends.

(Katelyn is seated on the bottom right)

Kate took a turn on the big inflatable throne with the birthday girl!

Perhaps the single outdoor activity that Katelyn has most enjoyed this summer is riding her bike. We got a used Trek on Craig's List, had some training wheels put on at the bike shop, and she's been riding it daily ever since - and gaining more confidence with every push of the pedals!

On her maiden voyage morning, she rode for (no joke) three hours, which we estimated to add up to about five miles logged! And she had the skinned knees to prove it, but thankfully those didn't stop her. We had to practically peel her off the seat when it was time for lunch that day. She really does love riding her bike!

She even rode a few miles with Gramma Kathy last weekend. Katelyn may just join her on RAGBRAI some year!

And here is the cheering committee for the bikers...

Kendall has enjoyed some wheels of her own. She's kept Daddy company on some summer jogs...

And she's been introduced to the Radio Flyer, too! She looks like such a big girl riding in the wagon and we've done thousands of loops around our cul-de-sac following our favorite little biker!

Pool time and playing with the water table at home has been a nice way to spend some of our afternoons lately. Kendall loves to get my heart racing by standing up and leaning out the side of the pool though! 

It's been fun to see Kendall enjoy the things Katelyn used to, like the water table...

To keep cool, we've had several visits to various splash pads around the area. Last week, we met up with my friend Beth and her son Carter for some fun in the sun - the only time we could get the kids to sit still for a picture was during a snack break!

We are undoubtedly savoring these hot summer days and hope you're enjoying this fabulous time of year too!

11 Months Old!

If time flies when you're having fun, then we must be having the time of our lives! Our little Kendall is 11 months old (as of last Sunday -- oops, I'm 8 days late here!) I ordered her 1st birthday party invitations (!) and I swear just last week I was working on her birth announcements. She is cruising on furniture and it seems like a couple months ago I could place her in the middle of the bed and know she wouldn't move an inch. It feels like she just gave us the biggest surprise of our lives when she arrived, and yet Kendall is such a huge part of our family it feels like she's always been here.

Disposition: I feel like a broken record, but Kendall is still the happy, sweet, cuddly, sensitive, content, and easy-going baby we've always had. Another word that describes her is curious! She is off the charts in the curiosity department now that she's mobile; she wants to get her hands on everything and man, is she a speedy crawler to get to what she has her eye on!

Sleeping: Kendall wakes up happy as a lark these days and apparently that means she likes to wake up with the larks. The girl has been rising and shining for the day within the 5 o'clock hour for the last few weeks. Oooff! On the flip side, her short catnaps may be a thing of the past as she's now taking two longer naps each day - each about 1 to 1.5 hours. Her sleeping has all just kind of shifted around lately! She still goes to bed around 7 pm but just doesn't want to miss out on anything once the sun rises.

Eating: Kendall is eating three meals a day with us in her high chair, but still nurses four times daily as well. We've dropped a nursing session since last month and will probably work on phasing out another one soon - it's just not very easy to break routines that have been in place for so long. As for foods, Kendall loves feeding herself fruit/veggie pouches and any finger foods. She is a huge fan of cheese and yogurt (just like her sister), crackers, baby rice cakes, bananas, strawberries, toast, and puffs. We're working on those veggies. She's also drinking water from a sippy cup at each meal - she loves it (and she equally loves throwing it onto the ground!) Kendall just has her two bottom teeth, but more will probably emerge soon; until then, we love her gummy grin!

Mobility: Kendall is one heck of a quick crawler and she's now pulling herself up on anything and everything. She loves to stand and cruise on the furniture and ottoman. Walking is definitely on the horizon as she enjoys holding onto hands to walk, but has yet to take a step on her own. She's just about there though! She can stand independently for several seconds and when we cheer her on, she even claps for herself while standing. These little paws love to clap, as you can see...

Vocalics: Kendall is doing more and more exploring with her voice. She still says "dat" to almost everything and also loves to say "dada!" (especially when I ask her to say "mama" - stinker!) When Michael comes home from work or enters the room, we swear she says, "Ha-dah" which sounds like, "Hi, Dad!" She loves to squeal with delight, laugh with Katelyn, roar like a lion, and cries when something doesn't go her way. She loves to get people's attention by making vocal noises and she gets especially noisy watching Katelyn at gymnastics because we're in the viewing room. I think she wonders why Katelyn doesn't respond to her pleas for attention :) She also says "uh-oh" sometimes when prompted.

Tricks: It's so much fun to see Kendall interact more with the world around her. She waves hello and goodbye (with prompting, most of the time, but has been known to do it spontaneously too), dances to music by bouncing up and down, claps her hands whenever she hears the expressions "Yay!" or "Good job!", and she loves to give hugs. She also does "soooo big" when we ask her how big she is - when she does that trick for people and they like it, she keeps doing it again and again for more and more reactions. We've been working on a few signs and whenever I sign for "more?" while she's eating in her highchair, she responds affirmatively by opening and closing her hand (like a wave), so I ask if that means yes and she giggles and giggles. What a girl!

Kendall still loves baths, playing with Katelyn (or should I say, snagging Katelyn's toys from her...), exploring, interactive toys, and balls (she LOVES to throw balls and is always drawn to them in a room full of toys). She doesn't like getting her diaper changed (too much to see and do to be bothered with that!) and when she's reached her limit and is ready for bed, she's not shy about letting us know by fussing and rubbing her eyes.

Kendall Jean, you are such a ray of sunshine! We love your insatiable curiosity, sweet snuggles, and vibrant personality. You bring so much life to our family and we can't get over how lucky we are to be your parents! You are wonderful. You are loved. We are blessed.

First Family of Four Vacation

Whew! (I feel like I start every blog that way lately... ;) The day after Kendall's dedication, we left on our first official family-of-four vacation. It was fab-u-lous. This summer marks our 10th year living in the Minneapolis area and we had yet to venture "up north" - a most beloved place where most Minnesotans spend a big chunk of their summers at lake homes/cabins on the waters of our 10,000 lakes. Michael took the reins and booked this trip for us back in April and we were very much looking forward to it!

We drove up to Brainerd (about 2 hours northwest of Plymouth) and stayed at Cragun's Resort. We arrived on Monday and stayed until Friday. 

No work. No obligations. No agenda. Tons of scenery. Lots of fun. An abundance of sun. Sounds like a great week, wouldn't you say?! Here we are arriving at the resort - see Gull Lake through the trees? See the giddy girls? We were all super excited!

We wasted no time introducing ourselves to the pools! They had an indoor one (which we didn't use thanks all the sun), and two outdoor ones. We went to the pool every day at least once. On only one occasion did Michael put Katelyn's suit on Kendall. He was completely stumped as why it was so big. Ha! Bless his heart with all these girls!

Kendall enjoyed her floaty-boat, but also liked just being held in the water. She loves to kick, splash, and dip her lips in for a drink (ick!)

The kiddie pool was just 2 feet deep and perfect for both of our little fish. 

Kendall's naps and Katelyn's quiet times were all but thrown out the window for the week. Kendall did some snoozing "on the go" in her stroller with some nice lake winds lulling her to sleep :)

Every night, the resort hosted a bonfire to make s'mores. It was Katelyn's introduction to the delicious summer treat! She got the hang of it pretty quickly with Daddy as her coach.

The second night, I took her to the bonfire. I caught 3 marshmallows on fire right out of the gate. Oops. Katelyn instructed and said, "You're not supposed to do that!" We still got a couple keepers out of the bunch, as you can see...

On night #3, Katelyn passed up the s'more bonfire in lieu of snuggling and watching a show with Dad. They both loved it. And her tummy was probably happier too.

Every morning, we enjoyed the sunshine from our little deck. Beautiful. Peaceful. Radiant. Katelyn made herself comfortable...

We took many beach walks and documented with lots of pictures, as you can imagine.

There was a family of ducks that Katelyn followed around and fed. "Here duckies, I got FOOD for you! Come on over here! I got FOOD!" Quite alluring :)

Kendall, meet sand. Sand, this is your newest fan, Kendall.

In addition to a nice beach and dock, there was a great playground area as well. Definitely a family-friendly place!

Monkey see, monkey do!!

We spent hours on these swings. This was the spot of many "take-it-all-in," "remember-this-moment," "wish-we-could-stop-time" swinging sessions.

How's this for a funny face?! What a squirrel!

Katelyn and Michael did some special activities while Kendall attempted her nap a couple mornings. They rode (rowed?!) a rowboat and liked being out on the water.

And then another morning, Katelyn got in some biking. 

One evening we took a little trolley ride. It was pulled by two big, beautiful Clydesdale horses. A perfect night for a ride and the girls were wonderful little passengers - even our wiggly worm Kendall!

Midway through our week, we decided a change of scenery was in order. There's a small amusement park in Brainerd called Paul Bunyan Land. Perfect!

This HUGE, mechanical Paul is located upon entry into the park. He blinks, waves, and his mouth moves when he speaks. As guests arrive, he greets each child by name. When we entered, Paul said, "Hello Katelyn from Plymouth, Minnesota! Your favorite colors are pink and purple? That's great. I'm Paul. I'm a big lumberjack, but I'm a friendly lumberjack." Kate was a little shy, but eventually warmed up to ol' Paul. We were just glad she didn't run away asking to go back to the resort. Must've been all the rides she saw. This is a picture I took on our way out - see teeny, tiny Kendall at the bottom of the stairs? Shows how giant Paul is!

The Tilt-O-Whirl was a huge hit with Katelyn. Michael and I each took a turn riding with her and whew, that was all each of us could handle. And that used to be my all-time favorite ride! Kate could've ridden all day and kept saying, "We had the spin-iest car of all!"

It was a great day at the amusement park!

We spent many quiet, serene moments along the shores of Gull Lake. It was wonderful just being together and taking in the simplicity of a lake vacation - the sand, the water, the sunshine, the ducks, the trees, the sound of boats, and the sound of silence.

The Eagle Scout still has his fire-starting skills! Nice one, Michael! What's a lake trip without dinner over a fire? Hot dogs in this case. And charred roasted marshmallows.

Friday morning (the only cloudy day all week), we paid one last visit to the beach before departing for home. This picture pretty much sums up the crazy, fun, goofy, relaxed, wonderful time we had at Gull Lake.

We hope to make this trip (or one similar) an annual getaway. It was a blast! Michael, the economics major, is of the belief that spending money on making memories is always a sound investment. Isn't that the truth?

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! And if you ever get the chance to visit one of Minnesota's amazing lakes, do it. You'll be glad you did!