Thanksgiving

We had quite the Thanksgiving season this year. 
Kinsey had her first preschool party to celebrate Thanksgiving. All the moms are super creative....you know the pinterest ones that seem to totally always have it together. Yeah not me! But so fun to be a part of their creativeness and the party that they had for the little ones. I love seeing her in her element. She is outgoing, charming and full of life in the classroom. There were the cutest little snacks, fun games and cute little crafts. I am beyond thankful that I can be at all of these fun things.

We woke up Thanksgiving day and watched the Macys day parade and unloaded all of the Christmas decor. We stayed in our pjs all morn and browsed the black friday ads. Its was absolutely perfect and I wanted to bottle up that sweet time with my little family.

We ate dinner at Joshs gmas house Thanksgiving evening and celebrated at my parents house on Friday after braving the crowds in the morning. I love the people out everywhere. Something about people watching is just so darn fun! We got the kids some xmas pjs and a few other small things. No major purchases:)
Friday evening was spent with my family. My parents did a turkey, my bro did a ham and I did all of the sides. We left with full tummies and full hearts.
I must say I have a greater perspective on thanks this year. Kate has softened my heart and has made me eternally grateful for the smallest little things. It has been a tough year that I wouldnt change for the world!

6 month of cuteness

Kate is 6 months old. How can it be?!
At her checkup she was 12lbs 4oz (3rd percentile). Her height was the 5th percentile and her head is in the 15th percentile. She is growing finally!!!
Her little personality is starting to shine! She smiles ALL the time and giggles at nearly anything. She is pretty much a content little gal. She loves watching the big kids and everything they do. She just now started some baby food and has done great with it. She sits well in her bumbo. She can sit on the floor supported but just isnt very sturdy and falls over. She still HATES tummy time but can roll from her tummy to back pretty easily. She still has not mastered rolling from her back to tummy but our physical therapist told us that she isnt surprised considering how much she hates being on her tummy. 
She talks all of the time and has just mastered the Bbbbbbs. She wears 6 month clothes comfortably and is in size 2 diapers. She still only nurses. She sleeps swaddled in her rock n play. She goes to sleep easily but has a hard time staying asleep. She will wake up every few hours and sometimes all it takes is putting her binky in to get her to sleep and other times I will feed her. So far I am not too bothered by her sleeping habits:)
She has about 2 weeks left on her antiviral meds. At that time she will have another blood draw to check her liver enzymes and cmv levels. Her hearing is still great on that left ear and she will have another check on it in about 2 weeks.
At her 6 month check up her dr couldnt not be more pleased with her progress. He estimates her to be about 1 month behind developmentally and taking being delivered at 37 weeks in to account that puts her nearly right on track. 
My prayer is that she continues to grow and gain strength and will start rolling over both ways soon and sit unsupported soon. She is such a little fighter. cCMV will not get her down!!!

We love you more than life little girl!!!!

Halloween 2014

This year was by far the BEST yet with the kids.
The KU cheerleader, KU football player and baby football all made their debuts.
We started out early by heading up to Joshs work to trick or treat in the office. Most of the employees dress up and each office has a bowl of candy. (Not like they needed any extra of that!)
Kinsey rocked her outfit. Logan did not care for the helmet but was a champ with the rest. Kate liked her little football swaddle for increments of about 10 minutes. 
We made homemade apple cider and fun treats and invited some friends over. It was super cold that night and the kids only made it a few houses at a time before coming in to warm up and grab a treat then heading back out again. 
Friends and food made the night great! We had sightings from Elsa, a penguin, a football player, peter pan, tinkerbell, a cowboy, a cow, princess belle, spiderman, and the list goes on. So cute to see those kiddies dressed up. Grandma came over and handed out candy while we were out. 
Uncle tommy and aunt meagan even came by for the fun. The kids ate a ton of candy and stayed up late. Thankful halloween was on a friday this year. Thanks to all of our friends that came by for the fun! Life is so much more fun with you in it!

Aunt Cassies wedding

Last month we went to Manhattan to watch Joshs little sister Cassie get married. We stayed Friday and Saturday night. Joshs parents came to stay at Tuttle creek lake and brought the travel trailer. They kept the big kids over night both nights. They have bunk beds in the trailer and both kids were beyond excited to sleep in there. So we stayed in the hotel with Kate. We got to see tons of family and Cassie was a beautiful bride. Kate was an absolute trooper and was passed around to get snuggles. 
For the reception after the wedding the guests were encouraged to wear costumes. Kinsey and Logan were more than happy to oblige. They were the cutest little cheerleader and football player. 
They stayed up late and danced the night away. 
Enjoy some cute pics!

5 months

5 months of cuteness. Im pretty behind so Im not gonna lie, I cant really remember what she was doing at the point. She is still in size 1 diapers. Size 3-6 month clothes fit the best. Size 6 is too big and 3 month will fit pretty well. Still a tiny little girl. She is sleeping in her rock n play swaddled in her bedroom. She wakes up once or twice a night but does sleep through the night sometimes. She is still only nursing and is doing a great job at it!
She is still a little behind in all of her developmental milestones but is making great progress. Her head control is getting much better. She still hates tummy time and cries every time I put her on it. 
She has the sweetest little personality. She smiles and giggles all of the time. She loves her big sister and brother and watches everything they do. Kinsey loves to love and kiss on  her. 
Her life has taught me so much about life. She is absolutely perfect and I grow more and more in love with her each day!

Pumpkin Patch Kidslink 2014

Kinsey had her pumpkin patch field trip at school. Unfortunately it was raining all day:(. The original plan was for the classes to take turns having a tractor hayrack ride out to the patch in the field behind the church and each pick their pumpkin. Instead they went into the ball park where the school had set up a fake patch. 
It was the first school "field trip" that parents got to attend. I was super excited!!! The school has a no sibling policy so a friend watched the little kids. Not gonna lie, the "pumpkin party" was kinda lame. They walked into the ball park and picked out a pumpkin and walked back to class. But it was really cute to see Kins interact with her friends and see her in a school environment. 
"Out of all of the pumpkins in the patch, I am so glad I picked you!"

Branson 2014

We had the most absolutely awesome get - a - way about a month ago. We went up to Branson and stayed in a super cute little cabin. We stayed three nights and relaxation and time together was our main goal. I was so amazed at how refreshed I felt when we got back. I felt our family needed that time together. We needed to take out all of the distractions of everyday life and just focus on eachother. It was amazing and much needed.

My parents came down the day after us and stayed in a cabin about a 2 minute walk away. It was great to get to spend some time with them. Even though we live relatively close to them, it was nice to get some time with them that was void of any other distraction or focus other than just being together. 

We came down on Thursday. We got settled in a unpack about 3pm. We then took off exploring. Kate was such a trooper and I wore here in the front carrier. The big kids just took off running and we checked out the area. The hills and scenery are absolutely amazing. We found a big playground about a 5-10 minute walk away and we found some hiking trails to go explore later in the weekend. We came back to the cabin and grilled hot dogs and sat on the back screened in deck. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast sleeping on a pull out bed (its the little things:).

Friday we got up and enjoyed breakfast burritos on the screened in porch. Josh and I made a pot of coffee and sat on the porch and just chatted while the kids played. It was awesome! We then headed into branson for a ride on the branson scenic railway train. The old fashioned train depot and train were sure cute. The train had about 8 different cars and varied from the ones with the open roof to the dining cars and super comfy cars. There was even a little snack car you could order food from. The kids loved it and especially liked going through the tunnels. The ride was a little long and Logan was losing patience about 45 minutes in. They have a polar express train ride during the holidays so we may return for that. We then came home for a late lunch and more exploring outside. We found a cool little creek and practicing skipping rocks in the water. So fun! The big kids found hiking sticks too:) My parents got in Friday evening and we grilled steaks and had twice baked potatoes. We enjoyed cookie brownies on the porch and had some adult beverages. The kids were wonderful and colored and played the whole night. 

Saturday we got up and had cinammon rolls and coffee on the porch. We then took off for a long hike. Kate was such a trooper and fell asleep in the carrier. Grandpa taught Kins and Logan all about the different trees and plants and we collected a goodie bag of pretty rocks, leaves and acorns to take  back to grandma at the cabin. We all had lunch together and then everyone napped. Absolutely perfect. Saturday night we took the kids fishing and had no luck. But grandpa showed the kids how to cast their poles and reel it in. Kinsey was the star of the show and stayed out there for a couple of hours trying to catch one. I made a dinner earlier in the week and froze it so dinner was super easy saturday night. Another night of food and adult drinks on the porch. Wonderful.

Sunday we all had breakfast and coffee together and then packed up. We were sad to leave but had such a great time enjoying eachother. Josh and I have committed to making this our annual family get a way and I am already excited for next year!!

Enjoy some pics

Impromptu lemonade stand

A few weeks ago Josh and I were sitting out front enjoying some coffee on the most beautiful morning ever! The kids were having a blast playing and it was seriously some good stuff. Dont you just love that? Nothing planned, perfect weather, the stars aligned and the kids were all in good moods at the same time!
We had the brilliant idea to set up a lemonade stand for the kids. We had all of the supplies and there were so many people walking the neighborhood we were sure to get some traffic.
Logan ran around like a crazy man. But he sure was cute doing it!:)
Kinsey took things very seriously. Shy at first but soon came out of her shell and was boldly offering her customers a glass of "sweet lemonade." She learned to make change for 1$. She knew that when some gave her a dollar she gave them back two quarters. Except the poor neighbor that gave her a ten. She was not amused with only 50 cents change. Mom had to step in a help on that one a little:)

In the end they made 10$ and then we took 5$ down to give to our neighbors that are going on a mission trip to Haiti. Kinsey was so excited to ring the doorbell and give them an envelope with the money in it. So precious. I pray that she always has a generous heart. 

What a fun little impromptu Saturday!

                                                         Beginning picture 

                                                  How Logan spent most of the morning:)
                                   

4 months old!

Behind. Constantly behind. Have patience with my while I try to dig out of the hole blog posts. 

Here is Kates 4 month pics. Not gonna lie, the lines have been blurred between accomplishments and milestones between months 4 and 5. So lets just say that she is continuing to grow well. Her little personality is starting to show and she is more and more fun each day. I will update with specifics on her 5 month pic. But as of now I can just document her monthly picture with Stretch the giraffe!!