Photo A Day- August 18

We ran some errands on Saturday, and while Mommy and Finn were at Target picking up a lamp shade, Kenna and Daddy took Pontouf to Petsmart to get her nails trimmed. They looked at the fish, the frogs, the birds, the hamster, and… the puppies! I thought for sure Kenna would ask to take this little guy home, but Matt said she gave him back and asked if "our puppy" was ready. Pontouf may drive us nuts sometimes, but she is our puppy!

Waterbug.

Kenna LOVES water. If there is water somewhere, she is sure to not only find it, but strip everything off and jump in (this includes rain, even if only a sprinkle!).

During a really warm rainy day a couple of weeks ago, I had a very antsy toddler on my hands. So I filled up a rubbermaid container with water on the porch, added some dish soap for bubbles, and put all kinds of "scooping" toys in it (bucket, shovel, large spoon). Next thing I knew she had stripped off her diaper and gotten in it like a little bathtub. I had to take a picture because of how perfectly she fit!
It makes me sad to think that she won't fit in it like this next year when it is warm enough to do this again, but happy to think there will be two babies splashing around together next summer! The major upside was that the dish soap was slightly apple scented and Kenna and the entire porch smelled awesome when she got out! (ps- I have also seen this done with a bag of sandbox sand instead of water to make a little tiny sandbox! You can just snap the rubbermaid lid on and protect it for next time.)

We have never bathed Kenna and the dog together like this before because we weren't sure if the dog (or Kenna for that matter) would go a little crazy with unexpected bathtime company. But when Matt and I were both home to supervise and Kenna and Pontouf both needed a bath, we thought sure why not. Kenna thought it was awesome to get to dump water on someone besides herself, and Pontouf just sat and looked demoralized as she always does in the bath:
Poor Pontouf has been demoted from "practice baby" to "dog." And there again, when there are two babies I doubt we'll let the dog join in!

Sort-of First Words!

This week Kenna has said a few things that I guess could technically count as her first words? Every time we go get her out of her crib in the morning or after a nap, Pontouf (our dog) is close at my heels to come check on Kenna- and she is the first thing Kenna looks for when we pick her up. Many times Kenna has said "dah" when looking at or playing with Pontouf, but you never know if she's really trying to say dog or if it's just a babble of excitement. Well, our neighbors have this large beautiful weimaraner named Ash that we see all the time, and today when we walked by her, Kenna pointed right at her and said "dah!" very excitedly. So I think she is trying to say the word dog since she associated it with a dog other than Pontouf.

Also, she really surprised us the other day when she accidentally dropped her paci and said "oh no!" clear as day. It was so cute. Now I try to get her to say it all the time, not just when something has happened. She also has started shaking her head no when she doesn't want something, usually when she doesn't want to eat something we're handing her, or when she knows her diaper is about to get changed. I know the "no!" years can't be far behind!

Now she says or sings it at totally random times and it cracks us up. I was so excited that I was able to get a little video of her saying it after her nap today!


Another funny story... we found our little trickster in her crib like this after one of her bumper ties had gotten just the tiniest little tear in it that I didn't think would be a big deal (my mistake!):
She had torn three of the ties completely off, so she slept for a few days bumperless while I looked for an inexpensive bumper online (which are expensive even if you don't want the whole bedding set!). She's into wrapping things around her shoulders like a cape/scarf... I promise she's not suffocating, I check constantly! When her feet were actually sticking out between the rails I figured I needed to hurry things up (didn't get a picture of that one!).
That same week, God totally blessed us with the exact bumper I had bookmarked online thinking we would get a little bit later when we could afford a new one. I just happened to see it at the end of the aisle at Target, the only one they had, brand new in the package, on clearance for $8 instead of the regular $40 price! Apparently the only reason it was on clearance was because it had been purchased online and then returned, or they are not carrying just the bumpers anymore, only the full bedding sets. So now Kenna is sleeping in style in this cute brown bumper:
It might not seem like a big deal, but God has blessed us so much recently in those completely unexpected ways, big and small! He is such a generous Father! I had this verse on my heart today when thinking about the many ways he provides:

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" -Ephesians 4:20-21

Winter Wonderland!

Having both grown up in NC, Matt and I know better than to get too excited over a snow prediction (although Matt always does. He just loves it so much!). North Carolina doesn't quite know what to do with snow... schools get closed or delayed for less than an inch, the stores immediately sell out of everything perishable, and all we usually end up with is ice. So when we heard the prediction of anywhere from 2 to 14 inches of snow, I was a little skeptical. But when it started falling last night and kept falling well into this morning, we woke up to this!
It was already accumulating a couple of inches, and little sleet/snow was still falling. So of course, we decided to bundle up and go play!
Thanks to Aunt Leanne we had a hand-me-down snowsuit from Ansley. I kept Kenna in her footed fleece jammies (with extra socks underneath!) and just slipped her right in it, complete with little snap-on mittens and "boots." It was a little big, but that probably just made it warmer (and totally reminded me of the kid in the Christmas Story movie!)

Pink marshmallows:

Pink marshmallow!

She wasn't too sure what to think of it at first. I tried to get her to touch it a little and she even licked a handful when she saw me do it- not a fan, but I think she'll like it a little better when we make it into snow cream!
Of course, it has been awhile since she's seen snow. Her first snow was about this same time last year- we had to venture out in it to go to one of her well-baby checks, so we didn't get to go out and take pictures until it was almost night time.

Kenna's first snow, January 2009

We walked around a little bit and explored our yard. The woods out back look so pretty, so peaceful and serene, with the snow on the ground and it still falling. Kenna still didn't seem to know what to make of it.
Pontouf is also not a huge fan of the snow, especially when it is almost as tall as she is.
Matt was determined to find a good place to go sledding for a little bit. We didn't have a sled, but he used a piece of plastic sheeting that slid pretty well on the snow. I don't think I've ever known a grown adult who loves snow as much as my husband! In the end, he ditched the plastic and just dove down the hill head-first slip-and-slide style. I can't wait until Kenna is old enough to run and jump and go sledding with him! Luckily, he has a camera-obsessed wife to take awesome action shots of his wild antics:
(It's a little hard to tell in the snow, but he is about 4 feet off the ground!)
Kenna and I had fun watching, but she was not the least bit interested in sledding or sitting down in the snow. Turns out she is like her momma, and is pretty much done with the snow after about 15 or 20 minutes!
We might have stayed out a little longer if it wasn't still falling. Since the wind was whipping it all around, we headed back inside to warm some little pink cheeks back up. I don't think Kenna has ever been so relieved to go take a nap in her nice, warm, dry bed.

See you next year, snow!

Topsail Beach Trip

A few weeks after that, Matt and I went to Topsail beach for a few days for our "official" summer vacation! Our first day included a trip to the grocery store where Kenna tried out the seat of the shopping cart for the first time:
The first evening we went out on the beach together was windy and miserable... Kenna would get sand in her eyes and then try to rub them. We only lasted a few minutes before having to go back in. On day two, it rained, so we drove to the Aquarium in Fort Fisher and had a great time! Kenna camped out in the peanut shell and ate lunch, watched the fish swim, and took a nap all while snuggled next to me. Matt had fun taking lots of pictures of the albino alligator, jelly fish, seahorses, and all the other super colorful and photogenic fish. (the rest of the pictures are here)
I don't know if it was more fun to watch all the fish or all the people (Kenna loves to people-watch)! Apparently the aquarium is a popular place on rainy, muggy days at the beach. It was a fun little drive together- we had iced coffees on the way there and an ice cream cone on the way home. When we got home late that afternoon, it was perfect weather for a not-so-hot walk on the beach, and we took Pontouf out with us.
The next day the rain had packed the sand down and it was a gorgeous, breezy day instead of windy- the perfect day for Kenna! She did much better in that kind of weather. Matt and I sat next to her on a bodyboard down near the shore. She had a blast with her little toy cups, scooping up the water and smacking them together. She loved it when the waves came up around her, and we got to spend a great afternoon together all out on the beach! That evening, we went out for a seafood dinner (of course!). Kenna was babbling really loudly- it doesn't sound like a big deal here, but the restaurant was fairly small and quiet-ish and people kept looking over and laughing at her. We missed the really loud part, but here is a cute little video of her:

After dinner we explored a little beach arcade that had putt-putt, games, ice cream, and lots of twinkly lights hanging from the ceiling! Matt and I rocked the basketball game and skee ball and then gave our tickets away to another family there with little kids.
Kenna had her first real taste of ice cream, and (surprise, surprise) she loved it! She was so entertaining, we took some videos and photos.


We also spent some time napping, watching movies, and just sitting and listening to the waves. It was such a relaxing and good time!
Beautiful beach!

Snow Day

Today was a busy snow day for us. Randleman was blanketed with nearly 2-3 inches of snow and we tried to take advantage of it. Pontouf couldn't wait to get out into it this morning when I let her out and probably would have stayed out all day if it was not for the fact that we needed to take Kenna in for her 2 month checkup and also her first round of vaccination shots. We were so proud of how she did. The doctor approved of her weight, head size, and height and then came the shots. Our brave little girl took them in stride and minutes later was happily sucking her paci.
We headed straight from the doctor to church where I worked for a few hours before some quick grocery shopping and then back to the house where Pontouf, again, was ready to play with her white soccer ball (even though she lost it amidst all of the snow several times).
We thank God for Kenna's fantastic checkup today, for the the blessing of snow, and for a warm place to come home to. His blessings never cease!

***Edited to add***
Matt is going to call me OCD about this blog, but I had to add just a few more pictures to his post about the snow! Kenna has somehow accumulated 3 or so of these warm "bunting" type outfits, but it has yet until now been cold enough to wear them, and they are all several sizes too big. I put her in this one today that she got from her big cousin Ansley because it was the warmest looking and the prettiest! She was my little snow bunny in her white and pink cloud! Underneath it she had socks, a onesie, a fleece footie outfit, and a hat. This little one was NOT going to be cold in the snow!

Little white wizard, baby yoda, etc!

It must be as warm and snuggly as it looks, because she ended up napping pretty much all day in it, which is unusual since she hates the carseat so much! The funniest part was that her arms only went about halfway down the sleeves, so the mittens were like giant flippers every time she moved her arms at all. It reminded me of the little brother in the movie "A Christmas Story," but I think every mom thinks of that when she bundles her kid up super-tight!

Up to the Mountains

Matt has been wanting to drive up to the mountains to take pictures of the changing leaves for weeks now. Like me and the beach, the mountains are the place that rejuvenate him, and if he hasn't been at a higher elevation for awhile, he misses it. We were worried that if we waited too much longer, there would be a real cold snap and the fall colors would be gone (or the baby would come early!). Saturday we drove through Boone and Valle Crucis, NC along part of the Blue Ridge Highway to take some pictures and breathe some cold, fresh mountain air.
We stopped at Mast General Store in Valle Crucis where we didn't realize a county fair was going on! Basically all it meant was that the store was packed out and there was a kettle corn vendor across the street that smelled fabulous. The General Store is famous for their barrels of candy that you can buy by the pound... if you want to know what about 25 bucks of candy looks like, stop by our house!
There was a beautiful church across the street, and an army of pumpkins on the back porch from local growers.
Along the way, we found our dream house tucked between the folds of the mountain. It's rare that Matt and I immediately agree 100% on something, but we did on this one... we laughed even harder when we saw the 'for sale' sign out front!
We didn't stop to ask, but I'm sure it's likely that the horses and working barn come included!
The Blue Ridge Parkway was where we actually stopped to take the pictures. It was so cold and windy, but it still felt good to stretch the legs after all that driving. We found lots of gorgeous fall colors and a couple of cool places to play...
And of course, not mentioning any names, but one of us slept the whole way home... what a great fall day!