The Carltons!

2009!

It's been a wonderful and memorable 2009. I've LOVED every minute of it and look forward to the memories that  are to come in 2010.  God has truly blessed me with a wonderful life.  I have a supportive & caring husband, precious little girl that brings me such joy......and the BEST day job possible, a loving family that we've enjoyed seeing often, great friends, a fun hobby, a beautiful home, and many of God's daily blessings.  God is so good!!  As I reflect on the blessing of 2009, I thought sharing our sweet memories with all of you was a MUST!!  So, enjoy our 2009.............

(I originally started this post on Jan 31th, in hopes of posting it then. But,  after going through all the pictures, It's become a MUCH longer post than I had planned & much more time-consuming!  So, WARNING:

LOTS and LOTS of pics!!)

January 2009

Kendall started off the new year with 2 ear infections. So, we frequented the Dr's office in January.  

 

She started using a spoon/brush.......

 Many lunch dates with Nana.......

& play dates with Poppi & Mimi.....

  Mid January, we said Good-Bye to my precious Grandmama!  She is very much missed & thought of daily!  But, I feel very close to her through my sewing.  Her creativity was amazing & I know she is smiling down on me after I finish each & every project!!  I can hear her saying, "Oh Becca, that is just beautiful!" Something she said often.  Then, she'd yell at my Grandaddy, "Horace, Look!" ..........Just like my mom does about Kendall!  Any & everything Kendall does, we all have to hear, "Morgan, Look!"  

 It's Precious Memories being created already!!!
 15 Month Check up: 22 lbs (25th percentile), 30 inches tall (25th percentile).

 February 2009

When her love for Oreo's began

 

Went to Sesame Street Live and loved every minute of it!  She's excited about going again this year with her Mommy & Nana!   

Off to the Dr's office with Nana because of another ear infection!

 Fun times at the park with friends.  She's become a huge fan of the park, especially when her friend, Rylie, is there to chase around.

 Learning how to drive......She learned to drive her 4-wheeler!!

 Kendall had a WONDERFUL Valentine's Day with Mommy & Daddy!

   

More fun times with the Grandparents.......

  

Kendall's pose for the month.......

 

March 2009

Fun with friends......Blowing Rylie kisses.

 

At the Rocket's game.......

   Swim class.........(aka splash in the water class! Ha!)

 Yes.  She was the best dressed in her class! He He

A stylin Diva.....pig tails, baseball hats, etc. I guess this is when it all began!!

  Old Mac D's farm! "Hi Deer!"

   

Dancing at The Houston Rodeo!  She's always quite the performer!

 
 
 A Happy Girl on St. Patty's Day.....

 

Sweet Spring Pictures!!

   

More Play Dates.......

   

April 2009

Key West!!!  

 The EVER SO famous, Bluebonnet Pictures!!

         

Easter Weekend

More Fun with the Grandmommies!

 

  Our Annual Frisco/Jimmy Buffett Concert Weekend......

Learning Fins UP!!

   

At ThE CONCERT!!

  

Survival/Swim lessons

  WOW........we were super busy in April!!

May 2009

Kendall's random headwear phase......

 

Pure Preciousness!!

splashing around

Fun with Rylie.....

   

Pretty in Pink.....

 

Mother's Day!!

 A special visit from Grammy & Pawpaw!

  Precious Park Pictures! I just LOVE these!

June 2009

Kemah fun.....

Nana's Birthday

 

California Trip

Zoo.....

  Clowning around....

 

Beach fun.....

Disney Land!!

 

  Father's Day

First Hair Cut!! Just a quick trim.  But, she did great.  I think she's had 4 trims since then!!  Her hair grows so fast!!

July 2009 

Key west for July 4th weekend....Boy, it was hot!!!

 



     New Orleans 

    

Kendall made a few potty attempts this month!  Then, lost interest!

We spent a LOT of time outdoors this summer!!

 
 
 Enjoyed the park with Rylie!!

  

Grammy & Pawpaw came to visit!

  First time at the Circus......she slept through most of it! Ha!

 Kendall took a summer session Kindermusik class. Doing the "Giraffe Dance"......where it all started!!  She LOVES to do the "Giraffe Dance".

August 2009

Grammy & Pawpaw were here to visit.  We always love having them come see us!!

Lots of fun play dates & lunch dates with friends (Kids in Action, Kindermusik, Jumpin Joeys, etc.).

 


 



 A quick visit to the airport, to visit Grammy, while she had a lay over!!

 Got her ELMO kitchen!  A major event in her life! Ha! 
Astros Game with Mommy & Daddy!

Princess Play date!  

Then, showing off her tutu to Nana..... 
 

Daddy's Birthday  

 Off to Mississippi, Just Kendall & Mommy, to see Grammy & Pawpaw!  Daddy dropped us off at the airport!!  We'll miss you bunches!

 
 


Kendall's Special Birthday party in MS.   

 

September 2009

More Fun at Grammy & Pawpaws!

Sesame Place- The highlight of Kendall's 2009, for sure!!   

 



    

 
 
Breakfast with Elmo & Friends      

 



 New York  & Philadelphia Trip

   



 
Kendall's 2nd Birthday!! -  She had such a fun time at her party!! 

Kendall started Little Gym & LOVES it!!

  September 28th- She turns 2!!       

2 year Check up! She weighs 25 lbs and is 33 inches tall........25 percentile for both.

October 2009

Lunch with friends & Old Mac D's farm!!

The Texans Game!!  

2 year Portraits!   

Kendall got a tricycle & Hummer!     

Saturday cookouts (Daddy's famous Ribs!!) with Grandy & Nana & more lunch dates with Nana

 

Fall Festival

Pumpkin Patch

  When  "Zoe Hair" become so famous!!

Halloween!!  Kendall really LOVED trick or treating!!

Grammy & Pawpaw came back to visit!! 

November 2009

Little Gym!!

Football with Daddy!!

Fun with the Grandparents

Kendall got her FIRST Christmas Tree!!
 

Thanksgiving

 
December 2009

Snow in Texas!!


Family Pics

A visit to Santa!!

Little Gym

Christmas Pics

Celebrating B-day's! (Mommy & Grandy)

Gingerbread House

Our Many Christmas Celebrations!! 

WOW.....a Busy YEAR!!  We hope your 2010 is wonderful & memorable!! 

LOVES, LOVES, LOVES!!

Kendall LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her Grammy & Pawpaw!!  She was happy to take some sweet pictures with them on Christmas Day!

 
 
 Kendall & Grammy were just having too much fun.  I'm not sure what they were laughing at.  But, it must have been funny!!!

 

Then, it was Pawpaw's turn to get some LOVE from Kendall!

When you ask Kendall for a kiss, sometimes she'll just move her head towards you, for you to kiss the top of her head.  She use to do this a ton.  We called it "Head Lovin".  So, Pawpaw was getting some head lovin!

Cheeeeeeeeeeeze!!

 We had a wonderful week with The Carltons & were sad to leave!  

Grammy & Pawpaw,

Thanks again for the wonderful gifts, the relaxing week, great family time, & a wonderful Christmas!!  Come visit us soon!! LOVE, US!

Christmas Day 2009!

1/2 Marathon Training update: On Christmas Day, Jimmy & I woke up at 7AM to do our 9 MILE run!!  We ran it in a little over 1 1/2 hours.  We averaged 10 min, 15 sec. miles.  Not bad.  But, slower than our past runs.  I can blame it all on the hilly streets in Mississippi.  It was torture!!  I felt like I was running up hill the entire time.  Oh, and it was about 40 degrees outside with wind chill of 25.  Anyway, we completed it, non-stop, and were quite proud of ourselves!!

Once we got home, we took quick showers, got ready, and enjoyed our Christmas with the family!!  Kendall was so excited to finally get to open ALL the presents!!

 Her Grammy got her a REAL, mini pink hair dryer.  Now she can do her hair with Mommy!!

 
An orange Zoe shirt!! She was super excited about it!!

 So, off to give Grammy "Thank you" hugs!!

She got an ELMO microwave (Her Favorite!), Elmo coloring books/activity books, Dress up doll puzzles, Play Dough, gift cards to Toys R Us, Chick-Fil A, Mc Donald's......all her favorites as well!! (Can you tell that she's the ONLY Grand baby from their ONLY child?? He He!  She's spoiled Rotten.  But, we like to call her REALLY, REALLY LOVED! Ha!)

Then, she got to open her special Sesame Street package......a kid-sized Zoe puzzle, Zoe dance book, Zoe dance DVD, Zoe doll, etc.  She was one happy little girl!!

 She had to stop and read her book right away.  We managed to talk her out of opening up her puzzle.  We wanted to make sure it made its way home with all the pieces!!
Then, she opened her stocking with Pawpaw.  It was filled with all kinds of goodies (M&M's, bracelets, lotion, toys).  

Her favorite was the remote controlled Ruff Ruff.  She played with that thing all day!!  

Then, we took a family picture.  Some of the tall ones in the family, got their head cut off.  But, it's the BEST picture of Kendall.  So, it's a KEEPER!! 

(Ignore the fact that I look like a total bum.  Cut me some slack......remember, I had just run 9 miles!!  HE HE!)

 Here's the better picture of The Family!!

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas too!!

 

 
 

"Gim Mer Men House"

Building a Gingerbread House has become a Christmas Eve tradition for us.  This was our second year to do it & it was so much fun!!  Kendall REALLY enjoyed it this year. She was so excited when she saw that we were getting it out.  She'd say, "Gim Mer Men House"!!

 She was totally involved in the building process.  She wanted to do it ALL!!

She even reached over to assist Daddy in putting the frosting on.  

Once we got the house put together, she cheered!!  It was so cute!

Then, she wanted a Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeze picture with her "Gim Mer Men House"

Then, it was time to decorate!!  Kendall was so patient & precise with her decorations!

Then, another Cheeeeeeeeeeeze picture!  She was so proud of her "Gim Mer Men House" she just kept posing in front of it and smiling.  No prompts from Mommy needed!!    

  

Then, off to plant some trees!!

 

Saying "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeze"

 Kendall's first gum drop!!  

 Not real sure if she liked it.  She ate it. But, the faces she made, princeless!

Back to business........decorating the roof.  Kendall, originally, wanted to use all of the same color gum drops.  But, we talked her into using all different colors.  You can't blame the girl for wanting it to all match, can ya??

  She's so serious!!

Candy Break!!

 Then, we let Kendall let loose & do whatever she wanted..........the sprinkles were dumped on the porch!!  Beautiful!!

Kendall & her "Gim Mer Men House"!!

She leaned over to give it kisses!! 

 Then, the roof started sliding off!!  OH NO!!  

What do you do when the roof falls off? But, of course, you decorate the inside!! 

 

The Inside View!!!

 
Once the house was complete & a total mess, it was bath time for Kendall.  While we were gone, Daddy got rid of the Gingerbread House.  Kendall came back into the living room saying, "Gim Mer Men House"?.....She put her hands on her hips and walked around the house looking for it.  

We finally told her that Santa took it with him and she'd get to put together another one for Santa next year!  

Christmas Eve Hugs & Kisses!

Kendall was offering up a lot of hugs & kisses this Christmas Eve.  She's just so loving!!

  

Pony Tail!!

Kendall got a ton of fun hair stuff from Grammy & Pawpaw.  She kept saying "Pony, Pony, Pony" like Mommy.  So, I put her hair in a Pony tail, just like Mommy!  

 She wanted her hair in a "Pony" every night!  She looked so cute, I had to take several pictures!

 
 
 

The Princess Table!!

Grammy & Pawpaw got Kendall a princess table & chairs to use at their house.  Kendall LOVED it!  She'd sit there, watch her Elmo Dvd's, eat breakfast, color, play, etc.  She LOVED it!  

  Great idea Grammy!!

Grammy's & Pawpaw's!!

When we got to Grammy & Pawpaw's house Kendall was so excited!!  

Big hugs for Pawpaw!!  

 .........and Lots of presents for Kendall.  Grammy had enough presents for Kendall to open 2-3 everyday and plenty more on Christmas morning!

Kendall was super excited to see her Disney snow globe (which she carried around and played, non-stop, all week) and her Disney princess table.  

 
 
  She sat down right away & started looking at all of her Christmas books.

Then, she was off to open some Christmas presents with Grammy.  

Hugs for Grammy!!  Kendall was very excited to get Cabbage Patch TWINS!!, Stroller, Pack-N-Play, etc.  

Here's baby.....Courtney & Zachery!

 Kendall pushed them all around the house!  

 Taking care of the babies!! She's such a good Little Mommy!!

 

Thanks Grammy & Pawpaw for Round 1 of Presents!!  Kendall LOVES them all!!

 

Off to See Grammy & Pawpaw!!

We flew to Mississippi to spend Christmas with The Carltons.  Kendall was all smiles even though she had to get up at 5 AM!!

 It was the first time that we've flown since Kendall turned 2.  She was great on the flight, as always.  Sweet smiles with Mommy & sweet Kisses!!

   
Since Kendall has turned 2, it was the first time that she has had her OWN seat & first time we've had to purchase her a, full price, plane ticket :(.  But, it sure was nice to have the extra space!! Jimmy ordered Kendall a special seatbelt & she sure looked cute all buckled up in it!!  

 
Look at our Big Girl!!

 YAY...........off to Grammy's house!!  See ya Soon!

Merry Christmas from The Carltons!!

For those of you that I missed when we sent out our X-mas cards,

 Merry Christmas from The Carltons!!

 

Merry Christmas!!

A few more family Christmas photos!  We hope you're having a wonderful Christmas and enjoying this special day with your friends & family. 

 

 
   

Christmas #3

We had our family Christmas last Thursday after our church service.  Kendall couldn't be held off any longer!!  Here are just a few quick pics before we left for the program.

 
 Then, we came home for nap time and then opened a few gifts.

Jimmy bought Kendall some New Balance Zoe tennis shoes.  She likes them.  But, didn't seem nearly as excited as we thought she'd be!!

She was super excited about all of the new Sesame Street books she got!  She LOVES her books!!

  Then she was super excited to open another surprise from Daddy.......a real digital camera!!  

 After her Daddy got it all set up, she ran around the house and took a billion pictures of the carpet/hard wood floor.......and LOVED every minute of it!

 Then, our sweet neighbors came over to bring Kendall some Christmas presents.  They bought her the greatest gifts.......an Abby Cadabby "K is for Kendall" pillow case and a red Elmo blanket that has her name embroidered on it (One less thing for me to embroider!).  Adorable gifts!! 

 Then, we loaded up the car and headed out for some Mexican food!! YUM!!  Once we got home, it was time for MORE PRESENTS!!  Kendall had so much fun running to the tree to get the presents.  I guess she was playing Santa this year! ha!

I had to get a picture of this!  This would be my present that my precious hubby got for me & wrapped.......or should I say, didn't wrap! Ha!  (Honestly, I told him that he didn't have to wrap it.  But, I didn't realize he was gonna put it in a shipping box  & just add a bow on top! Ha!  I thought it was pretty funny!)

 My sweet Hubby bought me a gorgeous new watch!!  Thanks HONEY!!  I LOVE it!!

 Then, it was time for Kendall to get to business and open all of her gifts.  We got her a bunch of bath toys.  

Some Sesame Street toys............

 
Kitchen toys, puzzles, lego toys, flash cards, etc..........Just fun presents to open!!

 Then, for Kendall's big present.........we bought her a pink DVD player & TV stand for her room & her Grammy & Pawpaw bought her a pink flat screen TV. 

 Now, she can watch ELMO, in style, in her room!!  YAY!!

 I think she likes it!!

I think she MUST have been VERY good this year!!  

Kids Crazy Christmas Show

We took Kendall to the Kids Crazy Christmas Show at our church last Saturday.  It was a huge puppet show with fun Christmas music.  Kendall LOVED it!!  We let her stand on the chair so that she could see everything and she would point to the puppets and shout out their names.  She'd just watch and then turn around to us and smile.  She really enjoyed it.  Jimmy took a few pictures with his phone.  They're not great.  But, I'm posting them anyway.  He He

Kendall was way too interested in the show to smile for Daddy!  In this shot, she was just trying to figure out why Daddy was interrupting her puppet show! Ha!

 

She LOVED it & didn't want to take her eyes off the show!!

 It was really super cute & I'm really glad that we went!
 

So Stylin!

This is how my little princess was hoping to leave the house last week......at least she was matching, right? 

Her hat magically disappeared and this is how we left the house! Ha!

 Successful Mission for Mommy!  he he

Christmas #2

Kendall received a box of Christmas gifts from her Poppi & Mimi last week.  We let her go ahead and open them.  

 
 
She got some Elmo books & Dvd, some princess stuff (a personalized Princess book & Cd) and some Little Mermaid dolls.  Her favorite was the big Mermaid Doll that floats in the water.  

 Kisses for Little Mermaid!!

"Thanks Poppi & Mimi!! I LOVE Princess!"  (That's what she calls her Mermaid Doll.)

Set Go, Daddy! Set Go!

Kendall LOVES to run around the house and have her Daddy chase her.  She says "Set Go, Daddy.  Set Go!".  It's adorable.   She shakes her head when she says it and has this huge smile on her face.  It's priceless!!  Here she is getting ready for "Set Go, Daddy. Set Go!"

I managed to snap some pictures of her playing chase around the house.  

 
 She likes to say, "Key's Run faster".  

 Precious smiles!! Melts My HEART!!

Picky Eater!!

Lately Kendall has become the WORST eater.  She goes through phases where she will eat great.  But, lately it's become a huge problem.  Meal time takes a good hour........Some days even longer.  I typically give up at 1 1/2 hours.  HA! Anyway, lately we've been working overtime to get her to eat. We've tried bribery, the airplane tricks, letting her watch Elmo while she eats, taking away her milk until she eats, etc.  I recently bought the cookbook Deceptively Delicious and have great intentions to puree all of her veggies and hide them in her meals........once I find some meals, from the cookbook, that she might actually eat. So far, it's looking like brownies w/spinach and mac & cheese w/ squash! ha! ha!  But, until that happens, I've been trying to get her to eat with all of my little Mommy tricks!  Here was my attempt to get her to eat carrots. I told her that "ABBY Cadabby & ZOE love to eat Carrots!!".........She was thinking it over!!

 Then, Kendall was trying to work her magic by playing "I"m SO cute.  The sweeter I smile & the more kisses I blow you, the less you'll make me eat!" 

 
"See......Look how cute I am!! Someone this adorable doesn't have to eat carrots, right??"

 Seconds later, there were major tears because Mommy said, "NO COOKIES!" Apparently cookies are not of great value when it comes to eating carrots!! She wasn't gonna budge.

 The tears were short-lived.  We quickly had more of the "I'm so cute!" smiles that followed!! 

 I finally got her to taste it.  But, she immediately spit it out!! 

 I was getting MORE & MORE frustrated!! After her GAGGING, I felt awful for trying to force her to eat, gave up my MOMMY OF THE YEAR award, and called it quits!!  

 

Christmas #1

We had an early Christmas with Nana & Grandy a few weeks ago.  It was a lot of fun.  Jimmy made his famous ribs.  We ate, opened presents, ate dessert, and opened more presents.    Kendall enjoyed opening EVERYONES gifts & spending time with Grandy & Nana!  

She immediately took them into her room to see her Christmas tree.......

Then, clowned around with them on the couch.........

 Giggling with Nana......

Then, on to the presents!! Kendall managed to open EVERYONES gifts!!  But, we were all okay with that!  He He!

  

Grandy is the WORST when it comes to opening gifts.  He likes to open about one an hour and drag it on all night.  When he does open a gift, he likes to feel it, shake it, smell it, etc first.  It's torturous to the rest of us.  But, it's just how he likes to do it.  SO, he was teaching Kendall how to open presents the "Grandy Way"!  Here she is feeling inside the tissue..........

 

shaking the box & listening to the package........

 Kendall finally had enough and just wanted to open the gift!

She was VERY excited to see that she got 4 personalized Sesame Street books.  They're super cute & have the names Kendall, Nana, Grandy, & Ruff Ruff throughout the books.  

 Kendall was listening to more of her presents.........Making Grandy proud!!

Then, she gave Ruff Ruff his gift!  

 She even helped him open his gift too!! 

Then, she got to open the big box!!

 
OOOOhhhhhh, a basketball goal!!  Just wanted she wanted!!  Thanks Nana & Grandy!!

  
  She helped them put it together too!!

Testing it out before it was all put together.

Grandy gave Kendall some pointers too!!

 She loves her new toy!!  

 Thanks for a wonderful Christmas, Grandy & Nana!  We enjoyed it & appreciate the gifts!!

Fun Lunch!

As stated in my Birthday post, we went to lunch with Ashlee & Rylie on Wednesday.  Ashlee got a ton of cute pictures of the girls together.  So, I had to post them too!

 The girls were having a blast coloring together & playing!

 
Rylie also gave Kendall a X-mas gift while we were there. (Kendall gave Rylie her gift last week.)  It was a cute little santa car & some fun new hair clips!  Yay!!  

 

Thanks again Ashlee & Rylie!! 
 

   

1/2 Marathon Training Continues!!

Just a quick training update.......

Last weekend, 7 mile run, a breeze!!  This weekend, 8 mile run, torturous!!  

It was the first time I've actually run the long runs with Jimmy.  He's "Mr. Goal setting" runner.  I'm "Mrs. Run however I feel like running" runner.  So, I was trying really hard to keep a steady pace. HA!  That wasn't the bad part.  The bad part was when my leg/hip started cramping up at mile 5 1/2.  But, I was motivated & determined. So, I ran with a cramp for almost 3 miles.  Probably not the smartest move.  But, I did it!!   Also, it was the first time that we've run with our little 25 lb. princess.  Jimmy pushed her for the first 6 1/2 miles and I took over at the end.  It was a challenging run.  But, we did it!!  What a great feeling!!   

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Today's MY BIRTHDAY.......the BIG 34.  But, the birthday festivities have been going on for days, just how I like it!!  

The celebrating began last weekend when Nana & Grandy came over to have an early Christmas.   We also celebrated Grandy's birthday (His was Thanksgiving Day.) and my birthday as well.  

Happy Birthday to US!!  

(Kendall wanted in the picture too.  After all, everyday is Kendall's B-day, right?!)

 Jimmy was super sweet & surprised us with an enormous cake!! (Notice the bottom right-hand corner........ sneaking in the picture again!)

Then, Wednesday Kendall & I celebrated my birthday with Ashlee & Rylie at lunch. The girls had a blast coloring together &............... squealing.  It's their NEW favorite thing to do together.   

 

Today I got a ton of sweet emails, phone calls, cards, etc.  It was so nice!!  Kendall & I had to be home all day for some home repairs (Which was no fun!).  But, we made the most of it.  We played, watched Sesame Street & Elmo, sewed, played some more, etc.  You know a typical day! ha! I did give myself a present & took a nap with Kendall! It was so nice & she thought it was so much fun too!!

Kendall was so cute this morning.  I said, "Kendall, Today is Mommy's Birthday.".  She said, "Hap-Birthday Mommy!".  Then, she said,  "It's Key's Birthday too!".  I said, "It's your birthday?"  Her reply, "YES!". Apparently she's caught on that every day is a Kendall Birthday! Ha!!

When Jimmy got home, he had Birthday cards & gifts for me.  Kendall signed her card & drew me a picture.  

 Then, after I opened the cards, she continued to draw on them, put them back  in the envelope, & then she'd lick the back.  She wasn't licking the sticky part, just licked the back. I guess she saw me licking the Xmas cards & sealing them.  So, now she thinks  you like the back of an envelope when you're done with it. Ha!  

After the presents, we headed out for a Birthday Dinner!!  We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and it was YUMMY!!  I snapped some pictures of my two favorite people, that helped make my birthday SO SPECIAL!!

Then, some sweet pictures of Kendall & I!  

Kendall giving me  Birthday kisses! So Sweet!!

 After dinner we got a huge piece of chocolate cake & ice cream!  I gave Kendall a bite & then she had no problem digging in herself! No help from Mommy needed!! At one point she even grabbed a hold of the bowl and moved it in front of her! Ha!

 YUM!!!

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special!!  

Little Gym Galore!!

Did you really think that we've been going to little gym and I've NOT been taking pictures??  Not a chance!!! Just haven't had a chance to blog about it.  So, Here are the past 3 weeks of Little Gym pictures. Enjoy!!

3 Weeks ago.......

They did some red mat activities with scarfs.  They had to jump over them, put them on their heads/other body parts, and do other directional type activities.

 Kendall's going through this phase of not wanting to walk on the beam and just wants to "ride horsey".  It's about to drive me crazy!!  Are we seriously paying money for her to "ride horsey"!  The petting zoo down the street would be much cheaper! HA!!  Let's hope she gets over this little phase before her Mommy loses it!!!!

She did decide to get up and stand on it, briefly.  Ha! Terrible Two's!!

  One of the skills for the day was jumping on the spring board and then jumping onto the large mat, doing a somersault and then a "Ta Da" at the end.  Kendall was quite excited about this! She wanted to go FIRST!!

Just some climbing!!

 
Two weeks ago.........

Red mat activites......Bean bags!!  This week they did more directional activities. They had to put the bean bag on their ears, head, etc.  Kendall seemed to be quite entertained with the bean bags. 

 
Then, Kendall decided that she wanted to do some "rolls".  She's become a little sommersaulten fool!!  She just plops down and rolls.  No help from Mommy needed! 
  

Then, swinging like a monkey!

"Riding Horsey".......imagine that??

 At the end of class they head back to the red mat.  This day, they got to play golf, baseball, etc!!  Kendall loved chasing & swinging at the balls.  

 Here she is swinging at the ball I threw her.  She was dangerous! But, managed to not hit anyone.  Thank goodness!!

Cheeeeze Pic with Mommy

Then Kendall got to get her bubbles on her belly!!  She loves it!!

 And waited patiently for her stamps!!  Such a sweetie!!   

This Week.......

I will have to say, I am one proud Mommy today. Kendall did SO GOOD at Little Gym.  

The first red mat activity involved balloons.  They got to swing at the balloons, kinda like playing tennis/baseball/golf.  Kendall was going to town with this.  

She was just swinging away.  

 
 
She's getting ready for me to toss the balloon to her.  

 After the balloons the kids got to do their favorite.......Free Exploration!!

Kendall was thinking about being daring.  She went to grab onto the rings.  But, decided it was a little too risky for her! This is as far as she got.....

 So, off to do some somersaults.  

It was a little lopsided.  But, still a somersault and she did it ALL BY HERSELF, which she prefers!!

Kendall also did the skill for the day: Spider Crawl on the uneven bars (Sorry, no pics!). She stood on the lower bar, while holding onto the top bar, walked across the bar, & stopped to give Ms. Patty a few high fives.  Then, she walked back, swung down, and jumped down.  She has only done this one other time.  So, I was extremely proud of her for trying this!!  

Then, off to bounce on the spring boards and jump up onto the tall mat.

 She can bounce.  But, the mat is just a little bit TOO TALL for her to jump up on alone.  So, Mommy usually helps on this one.  

 "HELP, Mommy"

Kendall also got on the beam. (Sorry, no pics!  I was on the beam too!)  But, today she walked across it, sideways.  She also did some kicks on it & met Mommy in the middle.  Ms. Patty spotted her as she walked towards me.  She thought that was super fun!!  We're trying to make the beam more fun.........other than "Riding Horsey!".  But, the good news......NO HORSEY today! YAY!!!  I honestly can't really complain.  Kendall's little friend prefers to run into the other room and play with the hand sanitizer the entire time.  So, Kendall taking a break from Gym to "Ride Horsey" shouldn't bother me as much as is it does, right??

Off to swing on the bars!!  

  

After Free Exploration, we went back to the mat for more balloon activities.  This time it was more like soccer skills.  Kendall is a big fan of soccer.  So, she really loved this.  

Bouncing the ball of her head..........

 As class was coming to an end, it was time for bubbles.  

 The kids love to get bubbles on their bellies.  It's so funny...... when the bubbles come out all the kids start lifting their shirts!!  Too Cute!

 Another fun class at Little Gym & one happy Little Girl!!

 

Presents!!!

Like I said before Kendall is having so much fun with her presents.  She is constantly playing with her presents & rearranging them.  

 As she was rearranging them, I noticed that she was leaning over and giving them kisses.  A kiss for Elmo.......

  A kiss for Big Bird......

My daughter is quite affectionate!!  We're hoping that this doesn't become a problem when she starts Kindergarten!!  

Christmas Pictures!!

Ok, I can't hold off any longer.  Here are some of the precious Christmas pictures we took last week!!  

 

Thanks Santa!!  I LOVE Cookies!!
 

Checking out the presents, of course!

Story time with Mommy & Daddy!

Sweet Smiles!!

 

  
  

Santa & Fun Day with Friends!!

The past 2 years Kendall's NOT been excited to see Santa.  Last year was a major meltdown & tears. But, this year was a different story.  We  spent a lot of time talking about her big day of meeting Santa.   She had been saying all morning, "I Love Santa.".  We told her that she needed to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas and she was all practiced and prepared to tell Santa........"LOTS of Sesame Street toys"!!  Ha!!  

So, the morning came (today).  We got all dressed up to see Santa and she was "Ecited!!"  She was really excited because her friend, Rylie, was going too.  So, being the good moms that we are, we get there when the doors open, to avoid the lines of screaming, coughing, crying, germy kids! HA!  The girls were perfect angels & looked like it too.  Kendall got up to see Santa & she smiled away.  She LOVED Santa!

Kendall didn't want to leave!!  She totally wanted to just  hang out with Santa!!  She even wanted to hop in Rylie's picture too! Ha!  Since she was still hanging around with Santa, after her photo, I snapped a few pictures with my camera as well.  

 When we were all done, we got a quick picture of the girls.  Of course it's impossible to get pictures with them both smiling! I was lucky to get a picture of them both looking at me! Ha!

 After Santa pictures, we shopped a little, & then went to lunch at Chuys (MY FAVORITE place to eat!!).  Kendall gave Rylie her Christmas present & was super excited to watch her open it!!  

 

  

After lunch & a fun day, it was time to head home & nap time for the girls!!  Big Smiles from sweet girls!!  What a fun day!!

 Thanks for joining us, Ashlee & Rylie!!  We'll have to have another girls shopping day/lunch soon!

Kendall update & other random things!

This post is gonna be a mix of Kendall updates & all the other things that I've meant to blog about for the past week.......or two! Ha!

Sewing.......I've been so super busy sewing lately, that blogging has been put on the back burner!!  (Sorry Loyal readers!! he he).  I've sold a lot of Christmas shirts the past few weeks.  So, it's kept me busy!  Here's my precious little model wearing one of her Too Cute Creations shirt!!  

 Kendall update #1........Kendall has become quite the talker.  

-Every time we leave the check out, she shouts "Bye" to the teller.  

-She likes  to shout "MOM" if she really wants to get my attention.  But, I've told her that I'm not "MOM", I"m "MOMMY"! ha!

-The other day she called me "Beta" (Becca) and snapped her fingers for me to come here.  JImmy & I laughed so hard.  So, of course, she continued.  Ha!!  We finally had to break it to her that although it was cute, she can't call me "Beta" anymore! 

-She loves to say "I Ecited" (I'm excited) anytime I tell her something fun that we're doing.  She's currently "Ecited" about seeing Santa tomorrow!!

-She calls her self "Key's" or "Ke Ke".  She'll say "Play in Key's room" .  Key's has become quite common these days.  Not sure why. 

-Fun words.........."Celry Street" (Sesame Street), "Ah squse me) (Excuse me).  Jimmy bought her a Sesame Street play house that has easily become her new favorite toy.  She says "Celry Street" all the time!!  LOVES IT!!

 

(Above:Don't you love the glittery headband?  They're making a come back in the Carlton house!! She loves them!)

 Marathon training...........

-It's going really well.  I did my 6 mile run last Saturday in the snow.  OK, I didn't run IN THE SNOW.  But, there was snow on the ground.  So, nice!!  I enjoyed it & it went really well.  I finished in about 61 minutes.  So, 10 minute miles.......not bad.  The killer was having to run another 3 the next day! URGH!!  Let's hope the 7 mile run this Saturday goes as well.  Thank you SO MUCH for all the sweet emails, comments on the blogs, prayers, etc.  Keep them coming!! IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!!

Kendall Update #2........ A Little Lady, always! 

-Kendall loves to blow her nose & say, "Yook Mommy, Boogger"  (Look Mommy, Booger).  So, prim & proper! Ha!

-She has become quite polite & tells me "Thank you Mommy" after I change her diaper or do different things for her.  Especially if she's just got in trouble.  She's learned the system.......

-She gives BIG HUGS when she gets in trouble.  She says "Sorry Mommy" and then proceeds to give me lots of hugs & kisses.  She knows that hugs & kisses melt our hearts.  

-She has started picking something up and saying "MINE", really loud.  But, she knows that she has to share!! So, it's not an issue, yet!

Christmas Tree  #1 & now #2..........

So, my sweet hubby bought me our Xmas tree our first year together.  He was obviously trying to impress me with this huge, pricey, gorgeous tree.  Little did I know this tree would be a nightmare every year.  The box weighed a TON and the tree was a huge chore to put up and take down each year.  I'm not going to even mention how hard it was to get the tree out of the attic. We're quite lucky that there hasn't been holes in the walls from the tree flying down the attic ladder as my hubby slid it down. Ha!!   But, it was pretty & a thoughtful gift from my sweet hubby!!

 So, after getting the tree decorated this year, The lights started shorting out & tended to go out daily.  My sweet hubby was patient and replaced lights, daily, for a good week & a half.  Last Friday, after half of the lights burned out, We both decided that instead of waiting for the tree to catch on fire, we'd go get a new one.  So, in the midst of sewing a billion Xmas shirts, playing in the snow with my precious angel, and enjoying the holiday season,  I was undecorating  the old tree & redecorating a new, smaller, & much happier tree! Ha! I love the new tree.  It's not as big as the other.  But, It's much easier to put together & will be SO MUCH less work & stress for us all, in the long run!!  Plus, there's a lot more room for presents under this one! BONUS!!

(Above: Ignore all the presents without pretty bows on them.  I've been too busy for bows! Ha!  They'll get bows, eventually!)

Kendall update #3.................Mini Me!

-Kendall loves to be just like Mommy. I bought her this cute little Gap sweatshirt a few weeks ago.  She thought it was so fun to wear a sweatshirt just like Mommy!  Oh, she had some adorable jeans on too.  So precious!!

 -She LOVES to put her make-up on like Mommy.  I've bought her some chap stick that she calls her "lipstick" and loves to put it on ALL THE TIME!!

 
Christmas with a 2 year old!..................  

Christmas this year is going to be so much fun.  Kendall is at that age where she really is excited about it all.  She loves to look at her presents & loves rearranging them, around the tree,  often.  We've talked about going to see Santa & she said that she is really excited to see him tomorrow.  Wish us luck!   

Kendall update #4............Random stuff!

-Kendall still loves her books.  We read a lot of books.  She loves to count out loud and counts to 8 without any problem.  After that we usually get 10, 6,7, 1, 2, etc.  Just depends on her mood! Ha!

-We've started talking about feelings a lot lately.  When we say sad or upset.  She loves to make this frown/pouty face & then laugh.  It's cute.  You can tell that she's working really hard to make the face, just right!  She's good at making her "happy face"! Imagine that!!

-Kendall has had some fabulous "Terrible  Two" moments.  In this picture, she was refusing to take a nap.  She climbed up in the chair to throw a fit, and fell asleep! Ha!

-Always creative.........Of all the toys in the house, she pulls out some bowls, spoons, & decides to play the drums.   I love the expression on her face...... "Busted"!

Once I gave her the "OK" to play with the silverware & dishes, she went to town!!  

 
  

 
 

 

Family Pics!!

Today we had family pictures taken. It was supposed to be a surprise Christmas gift for all of our family (The Carltons have been dying for a family portrait!!). But, I'm too excited about them to keep them a secret.  So...................

 Merry Christmas to my sweet family!!!

Other than family photos & Christmas pictures (will post closer to Christmas!), my goal was to get some super cute Father/Daughter pics!!!  Awwww, my two favorite people!!  PRECIOUS!!

 

 

Looking up to her Daddy........ALWAYS, Daddy's Girl!!

 

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pictures of the two of them together!!
 
 
Of course I had to hop in a picture too!!  

 Then, Kendall was willing to pose for some sweet pics!!

 

Some sweet smiles from our little angel!!

  

Snow Day in Texas!! (December 4th, 2009)

Yesterday was a super fun, crazy, busy day.  Kendall & I were home-bound because I had a ton of sewing to do & because the weather was suppose to be crazy.  It started snowing pretty early on, nothing to get too excited about.  But, I did get Kendall dressed for the snow, just in case!!  Nana stopped by for a quick "Hello" on her way to work.  Kendall was super excited to show off her new, pink, Christmas tree!!

 

  After Nana left, Kendall & I went outside to play in the snow.  It was totally worth taking a sewing break!!  Although you can't see snow in the pictures, it was there! 

 
Kendall kept trying to catch the snow.  Not a lot of luck!!

 
"Look Mommy, SNOW!!"

 
After our short time in the "snow", If you could call it that, we went inside & had lunch.  Once the snow started sticking, we were off to play again!!  This time, the back yard.  Kendall was so excited!!

Kendall did NOT want to come in.  But, it was super cold outside!!.......and I knew we'd go outside again, to play!

Due to the weather, Jimmy got to come home from work EARLY!!  Yay!!  So, we postponed nap time & went out to play, AGAIN!!  This time we all played.  It was so much fun!!

 Kendall & Daddy making snowballs!!  

 She was so proud of her snowball, she had to come show Mommy!

 
She even decided that she'd take a bite!  But, just one!

  She had a blast just running around in the snow!

Then, it was Mommy's turn to play in the snow!!

Kendall was super excited because I told her that we were going to make snowmen!!  

  

Making snowmen with Mommy!!  Too busy to look up & smile!

 
Gotta show off our new snowman to Daddy!! 

 In Kendall's own words,  "Yook Daddy, a scoman!" (Look Daddy, a Snowman!)

 

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeze!!  Life is GOOD!!

 Kendall was so cute with her little snowmen.  She would come up and put her hands above them......kinda like she was giving them "love pats"! 

 
 My little snow bunny!! 

 

Big hugs from Mommy!  What a fun day!!

  And what to do after a fun day in the snow????  A big bubble bath, of course!! 

 
 
 

 

Just Playing Around......

More pics from several weeks ago.........

(I'm blogging to mainly keep all the Grandmommies happy! They have to get their "Kendall Fix"-Ha! We've all been sick off and on for the past 2 weeks.  So, I don't have a ton of things to blog about! He He!!)

Just some sweet smiles from my little angel.  She occasionally still enjoys playing in the cabinets!

  

The Ducks!!

I'm a little behind on blogging.  Things have been busy around here.......

Anyway, here are some pics of us feeding the ducks 2 almost 2 weeks ago.  Kendall insisted on wearing her shoes like Daddy & her hat.  Totally Daddy's Girl!!

Kendall loves feeding the ducks & fusses every time we leave! 

 
 Kendall attracted quite a crowd.  I couldn't even get them all in the picture.  The ducks were everywhere.  But, she loves it & isn't the least bit scared of them! 

 

1/2 Marathon!!!

So............

My Husband, who has all of the faith in the world, in me, seems to have it in his head that I/WE should complete a 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles)! Ha, I know!!  

So, after thinking about it, and looking over the training schedule, I've decided to take on this challenge.  The training schedule isn't all that bad. Most days the runs are 2-4 miles, which we already do.  But, the Saturday runs are the killers.  They increase a mile every weekend (3 miles, then 4 miles, 5 miles, 6 miles, etc.).  Yesterday's run was 5 miles and really wasn't bad.    As I was running home, Kendall & Jimmy were in the drive-way cheering me on! It was so sweet & encouraging!!  

As we head into miles 6-13, I'd love to know that we have that kind of encouragement & PRAYERS from our friends & family.  So, if you think about it, on Saturday mornings, send some prayers our way!!!

Here's a sneak peak of me crossing the finish line! Ha.......of course I had to find the thinnest model, possible!!  I can dream can't I?

 

PRESENTS!!!

 Several weeks ago Kendall spotted a lot of Elmo toys (Christmas Presents) at the top of our closet.  I really didn't think she was old enough to have to really HIDE them.  Boy was I wrong!!  This week, I wrapped all of them up and put them under the tree.  Later that day, While I was in my closet, she noticed they were gone & she said "Where Elmo stuff?".  I told her they were for Christmas.  Next thing I know, I see this..........

 I said, Kendall what are you doing?  She said, "Elmo presents!". She was just lying there, staring at them, in awwwwwww!!   I said, "Who's presents are those?"  She said, "Ke Ke's Presents" (Which is what she calls herself.) Ha!!  So much for the surprise of it all! 

Yes, she's ready for the presents & Christmas!!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope you've all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!  Ours has been really nice & relaxing!! 

Since all of our family was out of town, We had plans to take Kendall downtown to the Aquarium for a fun lunch, rides, games, etc.  But, we all woke up, SICK (Still.....It's been over a week!), so we decided to cancel our plans & stay home.  We ended up watching movies, going on our family jog, & getting some super yummy take-out from Lubys!  (It was really good!!)! Anyway, It's the first time that I've not cooked, hosted, or helped out with a Thanksgiving dinner.  But, I REALLY enjoyed the break. 

 

Kendall talked her Daddy into letting her open an early Christmas present that she spotted at the top of our closet!  So, we've spent a good part of the day playing with or hearing all about "Cookie Moster". 

 It's been a great Thanksgiving with just the 3 of us!!  I am so THANKFUL for my precious family.  God has blessed us with so much!!  The quiet, family, quality time is the perfect way for me to spend this Thanksgiving Day!!  I hope your all enjoyed your day too!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Kendall's First Christmas Tree!!

Yesterday Kendall & I were both feeling pretty lousy.  So, Jimmy had to do the Costco run, errands, etc. on his own.  My SWEET, SWEET, Hubby came home with a PINK Christmas tree for Kendall & a bag full of Sesame Street ornaments!!  It was so sweet of him.  Isn't he so thoughtful??  It made Kendall's day!!  We immediately took it out of the box & put it all together!

 

 
Kendall was super excited to show off her new Sesame Street ornaments.  Jimmy bought all they had.  (Little did he know he'd spend the rest of the day tracking down more ornaments! Ha!)

 

Showing Mommy all of her new ornaments!!
So, Kendall & her Daddy were off to decorate!!

Hugs for Daddy!!  She LOVES her pink tree!!   (She's giving him "Love Pats" on the back! So precious!!)

Every time I'd walk by her room she'd be looking at all her ornaments, playing with them, or moving them around.  We moved the ornaments around ALOT!! 

As we were looking at one of her Abby Cadabby ornaments, she said "Abby Wings".  Then, she looked at her back and said, "Where My Wings?".  So, out came the wings!!

 Kendall LOVES the ornaments her Daddy got her.  But, I thought she needed MORE.......especially a ZOE ornament.  So, while Jimmy was out running another errand, I started calling around to some stores. Luckily, Target came through for us!!!  Yay!!

 

 

Awwwwww, more sweet hugs for Daddy!! "You're the Greatest!!"

So......after Target, Still NO Zoe ornament..........and Zoe's her FAVORITE character, right now!! So, we decided to order her one online.  Gotta love the internet.  

We were all starting to feel better.  So, we decided to have our family night out.....BBQ & Ice cream!!  As we were at Dinner, Jimmy said, "I bet Lowe's has Sesame Street Ornaments".  So, off to Lowes we go!!  

Can you guess what we did when we got home??? Off to add more ornaments to the tree!! 

Finally, an ALMOST  fully decorated tree.  I thought about adding some bows, sparkle, etc.  But, I think I'll keep it simple.  Kendall seems to really LOVE it this way!!    
Thanks Honey for being so thoughtful & generous!!  You're so sweet to us!!

Christmas Came Early!!

I was unloading the groceries when I walked in to find this..........

Kendall discovered some of her Christmas gifts! 

Her Daddy ordered her some personalized Sesame Street shirts, since that's all she wants to wear now a days!  I had just got them in the mail & was gonna put them away for Christmas.  But, not now!!  She was so excited about her Cookie Monster & Big Bird shirts.

The next day, what did she want to wear........BIG BIRD!!

Showing off her BIG BIRD shirt!!

Can you guess what she wore today??  YEP, COOKIE MONSTER!!

My Sick Little Girl!!

For the last few days, We've had a sick little girl at our house.  But, you sure wouldn't have been able to tell by her actions!! 

Kendall started waking up throughout the night crying really hard. Then, she spit up a few times which alarmed us.  So, after talking to the Dr's office several times (I'm sure they LOVE me! Ha!), off to the Dr. we go!!! Kendall was singing, clapping, & dancing on the table (Which is the only reason I took pictures.  I typically wouldn't have taken pictures of her when she's sick.).

Then, she decided to lie down on her belly & stare at the hot air balloon above her.  Just as happy & content as can be!! 

After being there for a good hour & 1/2, we decided to start taking "Cheeeeeeeeeeeze" Pictures!! Anything to keep her busy, distracted, & away from all the germ-filled books that all the sick kids have been reading! Ha!

Good News........No Strep or Flu!  Just a 101 fever & a little runny nose!!  Nothing a little ice cream couldn't cure!! Right??

Kendall's First Ice Cream Sandwich!!  YUM!!

 
The fever only lasted a day or so & stayed down with Motrin/Tylenol. Benedryl has helped her sleep & helped dry up the nose at night. She seems to be completely back to her chipper little self!! Yay!!!

Another Haircut!!

Kendall was WAY PAST due for another haircut.  So, after Little Gym, we headed to the salon to get another haircut.  We just trimmed the bangs and Kendall did GREAT!!

Kendall thought the clips were pretty cool!! 

Kendall did a great job!!  She just sat back & watched her bangs being trimmed. 

I had one sweet little girl!!  No tears!!  All smiles as she played with Nana & the little ducky!!

 
After getting Kendall's hair trimmed we went out to lunch with Nana.  Kendall got a lollipop for being such a good girl at the salon.  She managed to tear off the wrapper, at the restaurant, and dove right in!

Little Gym with Nana!

This week Nana was able to skip out of work & join us for Little Gym.  So, Kendall was super excited!  

She showed Nana how she likes to climb, instead of joining in on the group activities! Ha!

Then, she joined Nana, Mommy & the Group for the red mat activities! "Running Faster" with Nana.....

Then, they got to try walking on their hands.  Kendall's first attempt!

Then, they got out the parachute.  Kendall enjoyed that.  

 
"Running Faster" as Kendall says.  It's Kendall's favorite thing to do!!

Then, they got to sit on the top of the parachute & all the parents lifted them up at the same time & they slid down it like a slide.  They loved this and kept saying "more"!  So, the teacher let them do it like 3 or 4 times! Ha!

 
Then, it was time for Free Exploration.  So, Kendall showed Nana how she "Walk Da Beam"!

 
She didn't make it too far before she decided to "Ride Horsey"! Ha!

 
Skill for the Day:  Spider Crawl. 

They stand on the bottom bar, grab onto the top bar, & walk across the bars.  They did this last week but Kendall didn't want to try it.  This week, she was willing to give it a shot, and she did great!!  

The were suppose to walk to the center of the bar, jump down & swing!

Then, she dropped down & a "Ta Da"!

Kendall & I doing our somersaults!

More somersaults for Kendall!

Then, Kendall was showing Nana how she can walk on the wide beam all by herself.

Then, "Riding Horsey" again!!

Skill for the Day: Somersaults on the Beam!

So, Ms. Patty wanted to use Kendall as her model for this skill. So, we're on the beam all ready to do our somersaults.  

We told Kendall to bend down.....done!

Then, we asked her to tuck her head for her somersault. Ummmmmmmmmm, NO!   She got scared & just sat down!

(Ms. Patty always tells us not to force the kids to do something, if they're not ready.)  So, we were getting off to let someone else try it. 

Then, My perfect little angel decided to throw a fit & throw herself to the ground!  Gotta LOVE the terrible 2's!!

She did manage to get up in time to watch the little boy do his somersault & clapped for him! Ha........how quickly their little moods change!!

Then, Kendall went to show Nana how she can hang on to the bar!  

It was more like....... "Watch me Stretch, Nana!"

Then, we were off to do more somersaults.  

Kendall was very proud of herself!

Then, Kendall got to do something NEW & super fun.  They pulled out 2 basketball goals & let the kids go wild!! 

My little super star had no problem joining right in!!  She had so much fun SHOOTING HOOPS!!

A little birdie told me that Santa (aka Nana & Grandy) was gonna bring Kendall a basketball goal for X-mas!

 

Kendall LOVED playing basketball!  She didn't want to give the other kids a chance.  She just kept jumping right back up to the goal!!  I guess we need to work on sharing now! Ha!!

Then, the basketball goals were put away.  It was time to work on balancing.  The kids stood on the balls & tried to balance! FUN!!

The kids then sing a song as they sit & balance on their ball.  Kendall chose to get in the center of the group & dance instead!  She's quite the performer!!

It was time to wrap up the class & sing our Good-Bye Song.  

Another super fun class!!  I'm sure Kendall is hoping the basketball goals become a regular activity!!  

Hugs & Kisses for Mommy!!

Poppi & Mimi came to play!

Poppi had a business trip in town.  So, they flew in early so that they could come over & play with Kendall.  

Mimi brought Kendall a bunch of goodies.  She loves her Grover Book & new hair dryer.  Poor Zoe is getting a major hair do!!  She manages to dry her hair daily too!!

Then, Mimi pulled out a bunch of dress up clothes.  

Kendall thought she needed to spin around in it once she had her skirt on.  

They played dress up for quite a while.

 

I was forced to wear a cheezy hat too.......briefly!

Then, Kendall crawled into Poppi's lap for a story.  She LOVES her books.  

Mimi thought they needed hats on!

Then, it was time for them to leave.  Poppi had to get to work! :( Kendall gave Mimi a hug.

Saying Bye-Bye to Poppi........

Poppi got big hugs too..............

.........as she was drying her hair!!

Thanks for coming to see us!! We hope to see you again soon!

Here Ducky, Ducky!

Last Saturday we went for our family jog & ended up at the lake so that Kendall could feed the ducks.  

I'm not sure where Kendall got the idea to wear her baseball hat, backwards.  But, it stayed on ALL weekend long!!

She decided to eat breakfast & chow down on some of the bread.  

 
Then, the ducks finally got some too!

Kendall enjoyed the visit with her ducky friends!!

Fun Day Outdoors!!

Last week Kendall & I enjoyed the outdoors.  It was beautiful outside.  So, I thought we'd enjoy it!  So, we decided to walk down to the store.  We haven't done that in forever!!  

Kendall wanted to wear her sunglasses like Mommy........

All Ready to go shopping!!

So, We loaded up the wagon & were on our way!! Kendall was super excited!

 
Once we got to the store, I let Kendall pick out a snack.  She picked up 1 of everything before deciding on her old faithful.......OREOS!!

I let her have the entire pack! Ha!  She grabbed the oreos out and starting chowing down (She has 2 Oreos in her hand, trying to eat 2 at a time.  I guess she thought they were extra large Oreos!).

It was a super big treat for Kendall.  I typically only give her 1 OREO & that's it.  So, an entire pack, was a huge deal!!! (Of course I wasn't really gonna let her eat 6 cookies!)

Enjoying the ride!

Kendall even wanted to take some "Cheeeeeeeeze" Pictures with Mommy!  She kept posing.  So, we had to take several!!

Once we got home, it was too pretty to go inside. So, we dropped off the milk, grabbed the good camera, & headed out again.

Kendall was excited to get to the park!!  My Little Monkey was all over the place!!

 
She has no problem going down the slide all by herself.  She even wanted to go down the really, steep one alone!!  NOT HAPPENING!! HA!

 

Time to swing!!  Big smiles!!

Then, more climbing for my little monkey!!

Just having fun on the playground!!

 

Then, back to the swings!!

 
We had such a fun day!!  Kendall did NOT want to leave the park.  Hopefully we can go back soon!!

Little Gym this week!

Kendall was fearless this week at Little Gym!!  

She ran right up to the uneven bars, climbed onto the platform/mat, & grabbed onto the bars. 

She grabbed onto the bars, jumped off the platform, & hung for a super long time.  I was shocked.  She's usually not a fan of even trying the bars.  Since she was doing so well, we tried the next step- bringing her legs up to her hands on the bars.  She did that fine.  But, once her feet were up to the bars, she let go with her hands. Good thing Mommy was there to spot her!!

Then, Kendall wanted to walk on the beam.  But, she didn't want to hold my hand.  It was the wider beam.  So, I let her!!  She was speedy going across it!!

Once she got to the end, instead of jumping off, she decided to sit down & pretend to be riding a "horsey".  Ha!

Then they did a lot of Risk-taking skills for the "skills of the day".  She LOVES these.   First: She had to jump on the spring board,  onto the platform/mat, jump up onto the tall mat (which meant Mommy lifted her up there......just until she could reach the handles).  Then, She had to grab onto the handles (still hanging from the side of the mat) and had to pull herself up onto the top.  She was AWESOME at this!!!  Then, she had to turn around on her belly, while on the top, and come down.  Then, she turned around again and did a somersault.  She LOVED it & immediately ran back to the front & tried to cut in front of everyone to take another turn! Ha!

They did a another risk-taking skill- Hopping from mat to mat on these tall cylinder shaped mats that were wobbly.  So, a little scary for some.  She LOVED this too & tried to take several turns!!  Ha! (Sorry, no pics!)

She did finally learn to wait her turn, after trying to cut several times!!  Ha!!  Patiently waiting now!!

 
Then, they did a few floor activities.  One was using scarfs.  

They had to lie them down & jump over them, jump around them, etc.  She's getting it ready to jump now!

Then, they did the usual ball activities. Always a favorite for this little girl!

What a fun LIttle Gym class this Week!!

Texans Cutie!!

Kendall looked adorable in her Jersey last weekend.  So, Jimmy snapped some cute pics of her playing outside.  

 
Kendall LOVES being outside.  The mosquitos are just so bad.  We've not been able to spend a ton of time outside!! :(

 

Snapping her fingers.......

Kendall's learned how to snap.....or at least tries to snap.  She's learned this awful habit from her Mommy.  I'll say, "Kendall, come here! or Kendall, let's go!" and snap my fingers at her.  (Kinda like, hurry it up!) Well, she's caught on and has started snapping her fingers and saying "Mommy" or the other day she snapped her fingers at her friend at Little Gym and said, "Come Play" ha!!  Mommy's Little Bossy Girl!

Kendall's favorite thing to do is race.  She loves to "Run Fast".  So, She & I were racing on the sidewalk.  

Kendall's next favorite thing to do is get little rocks, grass, sticks, etc. & put them down the small holes in the sewer manhole..............Cheap entertainment for hours!!  Ha!

 

Update!!

Things have been super busy for this Mommy!! So, I thought I'd give ya'll a little update!!

1.  My Sweet Hubby bought me a new embroidery machine about 3 weeks ago.  So, I've been learning how to use it. I've only had a chance to sew a few things on it. :( But, I LOVE It and it works great!!  NOW, I should be able to embroider just about anything & everything!! YAY!!!!

2.  In addition to my new machine, I've had to learn how to use all new software.  So, that's been fun & exciting &  really time-consuming. 

3. Also, After 2 years of my Too Cute website/blog (remember I started with just a Blogger site??), I've decided to purchase a nice, swanky, website.  So, I'm spending all of my free time uploading all the pics, fonts, setting it up, etc.  Let's just say, It's taking MUCH LONGER to put together than I anticipated!!  I had hoped to have it up and running in 2 weeks.  But, two weeks have come & gone & I still have a ton to do.  So, my next goal is by Thanksgiving!! So, lets hope it's finished by then!!  The address will still be the same......www.thatstoocute.net.  But, it will be a 100 times better!!  I'm so proud of it!!

Anyway, enough about me.   I know most of you just check our blog to read about Kendall.  So, Here she is......... 

I was taking a picture of some bows I made and Kendall walked up to me and said "Cheeeeeeze".  So, I had to take her picture too!!

Kendall & Nana

This weekend Nana & Grandy came over to play & enjoy Jimmy's Famous RIBS!!  Kendall was so excited to play with her Nana!!

Hugs & Kisses!!

And Lots of Smiles!!

Ice Cream!!

Last weekend we went out for dinner and stopped by a Drive-Thru to pick up some ice cream. When we got home we decided to all take our baths so that we could enjoy our ice cream in our Jammies!!  So, we took our baths before eating the ice cream.  (Bad Idea!!).  Kendall's Daddy bought her 2 scoops of ice cream with it overflowing with M&M's.  

Needless to say, Kendall was one happy little girl!!

Kendall does so well eating on her own, I walked away for a few minutes.  I typically can leave her with a small bowl of ice cream & come back to a clean, happy, little girl.  But, When I came back this time, this is what I found.

Apparently she tried to drink it, finger paint with it, and decorate her shirt, legs, nose, etc.  She had ice cream ALL over her.  

So, after giving Kendall a second bath, Mommy got to do a LOT of cleaning up!!  

Mommy's Little Grouch!

A friend of mine sent Kendall a bunch of ELmo stuff that her little girl outgrew.  The Grouch shirt is almost too small.  But, Kendall saw it in her closet & insisted on wearing it.  It looked really cute on her & she loved wearing it!!  

She even gave me a "Ta Da" for the picture!!

 

Thanks, Stacey, for all the goodies!!  Kendall's enjoying all of it!!

A Little Light Reading!

Earlier this week Kendall snagged part of Paw Paw's newspaper & headed for the couch.  We were all working on dinner in the kitchen & just watching what Kendall was doing.  

She was so serious about reading her sale ads!! Too Cute!!

Little Gym!!

This week Grammy & Paw Paw got to go to Little Gym with us.  Kendall had promised to show them her "Rolls" & "Walkin da Beam" (Somersaults & Walking on the Beam).  So, they were anxious to see her!!  We got to class a little early.  So, we were able to sit down & take a few pics.  

 
Since I had some help, I actually got a lot of pictures.  Yay!! Here's Kendall on the beam........

One of the skills for the day......Working on jumping up onto the mat with both feet together.  

And then a "Ta Da" afterwards! Ms. Patty was so proud!!  Apparently Kendall was too.  The "Ta Da" was NOT part of the skill of the day! Ha!

Then, Kendall hung onto the rings, for the first time.  The rings sorta scared her.  So, it was brief.  But, at least she tried it. 

Another skill for the day.......

They had to get a bean bag.  (Kendall wanted the entire box.  So, this was a challenge in itself! Ha!)

Then, they had to put the bean bag in between their knees &  hang from the bars without dropping their bean bag.  

 
She actually hung onto the bars for a long time.  I was so proud of her. Her little hands are barely big enough to hold on.  But, she did it!!  She got big cheers when she was done!!!

Getting ready to do some somersaults.  I was trying to get her to start from a standing position.  But, my little stubborn princess was NOT cooperating! Ha!

Then, they got the balls out.  They worked on throwing, kicking, rolling, etc. 

Here's Kendall throwing her ball to Grammy!!

Then, it was bubble time.  Ms. Patty had asked the kids to do a skill (point their toes, straddle, etc. ) to earn their bubbles.  But, none of them were listening & they all started lifting up their shirts! Ha!

Checking out her bubbles!!

After she got her bubbles, she was off.........Not wanting to do the group activities on the big red mat! Ha!!  They all were super distracted this day & a ton of them ran off!

My little runaway decided to come back & join us.  We worked on pointing our toes, pikes, straddles, etc.  Kendall has started doing standing straddles at home. It's super cute watching her prepare for her straddle.  I'll have to get a picture!!  It's SO cute!!

Then, we got our bells & sang our good-bye song.  (Good-bye you big beasts!) Her class is called "The Beasts"

Then, time to sanitize & get our stamps!  Patiently waiting her turn!

Sesame Street & Ice Cream!

Sesame Street & Ice Cream!!  Could a 2 year old have a better day?

Earlier this week Grammy & I took Kendall to her favorite toy store. They just put up a new Sesame Street display & stocked it up with a ton of new Sesame Street toys.  Kendall had most of the toys.  But, she did manage to pick up a new Abby Cadabby wand & Zoe doll. Like she needed more!!  Ha!

Kendall quickly discovered that the display (school bus) lit up & played the Sesame Street theme song when you hit the button.  She LOVED it!!  She'd hit the button & dance around the store.  

The toy store owners thought she was adorable & didn't mind hearing Sunny Days over and over and over again!!

After our play time in the toy store, we went next door for lunch. They offer free ice cream! Kendall was one happy little girl!!