On Monday we made our way to Kansas to see my parents there. Here is Papa (Russell) reading with Kennedy on the Leapfrog. We have the same thing at home and she has no interest whatsoever. Not sure if my feelings are hurt that Papa is so capable of getting her interested in this game where we have had no success… ha ha.
Kennedy has a cousin 1 year older than her that visits Mimi and Papa all the time. Needless to say there are tons of toys available to keep Miss Kennedy busy. Her new passion are her cousin's cars. This truck makes lots of sounds and drives all around. What a hoot!
The weather here has been unseasonably warm as well. We tooled around outside in the yard yesterday.
Kennedy is getting better and better at walking. She often insists on walking alone – but when we’re on gravel she has to hold my hand.
Today we headed to Wichita to the zoo. I used to go to this zoo all the time when I was a little girl and I have such fond memories of it. Despite all of the new additions they’ve made, it is amazing how much smaller it is than it was in my memory! Here we are at the entrance.
One of my favorite parts was the petting zoo – here is Kennedy walking in all on her own – well, sort of.
It was in this spot that I had my picture taken at about Kennedy’s age petting the sheep. Funny how we’re all opposed to that now that we have a baby of our own. Despite all the hand-washing stations, we opted to keep our hands to ourselves.
3 generations!!!
Inside the barn we all enjoyed Kennedy riding this wooden horse.
One of the more memorable parts of the zoo was an indoor jungle with plants, birds, animals, fish, etc. It’s super warm in here and full of loud calls from the birds.
In the same jungle building there’s a walkway under the fish pond – Kennedy really really likes fish. She’s almost got the sign down for fish.
Speaking of signing – Kennedy now knows several signs including eat, more, all done, dog, and her favorite – cat. Our big milestone this trip is Kennedy’s first real word – ball. She gets a big kick out of saying it now and actively seeks out balls to show off this new skill.
Mimi and K at the zoo as we were leaving.
We’ve had a great few days since the last post. On Thursday night we went to a Houston area restaurant that featured singing Mariachis. Kennedy thought they were fantastic as they serenaded her after dinner.
Later she took a turn with a small guitar – the lead singer was great helping her figure it out.
Later that night we had an early present opening. Kennedy’s Aunt Shelly got the girls Burberry scarves. Aren’t they sophisticated?!?
On Friday we traveled to Sheryl’s parent’s house in the country and we were blessed with amazing weather. It got up to 76 degrees on Friday and we took advantage of the outdoors as much as possible. Here is Kennedy answering our favorite question: ‘How big is Kennedy?’
Not wanting to leave Stacey out of the game – here’s Stacey’s response to the same question:
It was hard to leave Stacey – we’ll miss her terribly. Here she is with Sheryl:
Stacey and I enjoying the sunshine.
Back at the homestead, Sheryl’s mom and I made a batch of home-made noodles. (Actually – I just rolled and cut – most of the magic is in Shirley’s capable hands…)
One final image from Texas – and one you’ll not likely see too much anymore. Kennedy is getting more and more stable in the upright position – but here she is crawling on the walkway outside of the house.
The last several days have been a whirlwind of shopping and playing tourist. We ate at a Japanese hibachi grill earlier in the week.
Kennedy hung out a lot with Aunt Gayle and Uncle David while we were waiting for our show to begin.
We’ve also visited the Fine Arts museum and the Contemporary Arts Museum. Today we took advantage of the gorgeous weather in Houston and took a spin through the zoo. Here are a few shots of the family.
Kennedy insisted on walking for a good portion of the trip. Slow – but totally worth every moment.
Stacey and Sheryl took a spin on the Carousel.
I especially liked the orangutans – we spent several minutes watching this momma and her baby play (or should I say – we watched the baby play and the momma follow her around keeping her out of trouble – sounds like a familiar theme to me!).
We're looking forward for this great weather to continue - the weather man says highs tomorrow should be about 72 degrees - yahoo!
On Monday, Kennedy went for her first visit to see Santa Claus. Luckily she wasn’t too scared of him since we had a little time to play some games before sitting her on his lap. She was a little apprehensive – but willing to smile nonetheless.
I’ll try to provide a longer update soon!
Another long update to catch you up on the goings on. Internet access is a bit sporadic, so pardon our silence!
Last weekend we kicked back at the
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa. It was fah-bulous! After Stacey’s graduation we went back to the hotel to have dinner. Kennedy was her usual adorable self – walking around the restaurant to keep from getting bored.
The next morning we had a celebratory brunch in Stacey’s honor. Sheryl got all teary during the toast (as we all did) and we ate and ate until we could eat no more. Three generations of our family – Stacey with Sheryl and her Mema, Shirley.
Kennedy looking up to big sister, Stacey, whom she totally loves.
Another three generation picture – Shirley, Sheryl and Kennedy posing by a beautiful backdrop at the resort. Kennedy is caught in the action of her tongue out - which she does all the time now.
Also enjoying the time together is Sheryl’s sister, Gayle – and her daughter Heather.
Later that day the girls took a break at the spa and treated ourselves to manicures, pedicures, etc. It was a lovely afternoon which concluded with a small celebration at the spa.
While we were at the spa, Kennedy got to go on a hay ride. Here she is with Carl – who is Stacey’s main squeeze. This was the first time we got to meet Carl and all agree he’s a keeper.
That night we were treated with s’mores around the fire at the hotel. They were great!
Kennedy didn’t get a full on s’more but she did enjoy the graham crackers – yum.
Finally, as we were checking out of the hotel, Kennedy got a treat in the form of a stocking on her cheek. We figured this was the easiest and quickest item to try and get onto a squirmy baby!
A long update from the Lone Star State of Texas. We’ve been on vacation for a few days now – thus the silence on our end. High speed internet access is few and far between. In the meantime – let’s catch you up on the goings on.
We left Wed. afternoon to head to Houston. The flight was delayed by an hour – and Kennedy was waaaay late in getting her nap. Luckily this translated into sleeping through most of the flight. The best part was that we encountered no ear troubles thanks to the magical contributions of Dr. Hirsch’s hands and children’s formula ear drops (garlic, mullein and St. John’s Wort). Here’s slap-happy Kennedy and Sheryl at the airport.
We arrived in Houston very late and laid pretty low on Thursday recovering from our long day of travel. Here’s Kennedy being a ham for the camera:
It was far too warm in Houston for our regular fleece sleepers so we just ‘had’ to go and buy Kennedy this adorable outfit to sleep in.
Last night we arrived at a resort in San Antonio. We have about half of the huge Sanford clan here celebrating Stacey’s graduation from college. We all got gussied up for the affair.
It was a proud moment for Sheryl and I as we watched our oldest daughter celebrate all her hard work. We’re so very proud of her. Here we are after the ceremony. Way to go, Stacey!!!
A close friend's brother died today. It was totally unexpected and I think we're all still a little shocked. It breaks my heart to think how tenuous life really is and it makes me appreciate all the more the wonderful things we have been given in this life. Please consider this family in your thoughts as they work through this difficult time.
My girl, Sheryl – aka Ms. Tide. This jacket is actually a small joke in the Anderson household. It was a gift from my step-dad (they own a grocery store and sometimes receive promotional items like this) and Sheryl just loves it. (I, on the other hand…) Anyhow – I think Sheryl makes the coat look great!
Kennedy’s finally starting to feel much better – thanks to the magic hands of Dr. Hirsch (did we mention we just love her?!?). Unfortunately, Sheryl is feeling a little under the weather.
Kennedy is really enjoying all her new Christmas presents. Here are some action shots from the big present opening night; this is a set of bells that Kennedy loves to play. Grandpa had to help out a bit.
Hurry up, Grandpa!
Kennedy gets the hang of it quickly.
Never too busy to stop and pose for the camera...
This is Lily – she teaches colors, ABCs, numbers in English and in Spanish – too cool!
Elle got into the action too. At the end of it all she sacked out on the wrapping paper.
The
Little Tikes bike is a big hit with Kennedy. It was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. Kennedy likes to push it around the house. She's seen our favorite chiropractor Surah Hirsch twice this week to help ease the ear infections.
Today we celebrated an early Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. Photos soon.
In the meantime, here's Miss Kennedy showing us all how it's done on Granny Kay's organ.
Check it out. She's taller than the stool now. It's cold in Portland today but the sun is shining. We're going to put the hoses away today and cover the faucets. It's supposed to fall below the freezing mark tonight. Brrrrr.
Pat the Cat is one of Kennedy's most used books. It's one of those books you wouldn't be able to pass on to a second child because it's so worn out or otherwise compromised from overuse. The see saw moving piece is mysteriously missing now.
Another book she likes shows different animals. Recently she's started making monkey sounds when she sees the monkeys. Pretty funnny.
Kennedy is all about sharing. She shares her toys, books, whatever is at hand. The experts say at this point this is more about getting and holding our attention. Whatever the reason, she especially likes to share her food – even if she’s half eaten the item. This is a veggie potato stick; these are a big hit at our house. (Thanks,
Trader Joe’s!)
More artwork from school – this is one of the pieces that makes us laugh. The idea is to paste on the clothes – Kennedy’s were all clustered together in a pile.
We had to visit the doctor again today - Kennedy's ear infection from a couple of weeks ago has returned. It seems as if the first antibiotic wasn't strong enough. Poor little bean...
Grandpa and Grandma Anderson picked up this San Francisco Giants sweat suit before she was born. It's warm. Kennedy played with her stuffed Lamby quite a bit this morning. Here she is giving Lamby a hug.
Sunday afternoon Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit. Kennedy was keen on showing off her new skill of stacking rings.
Megan came by and took Kennedy to the park today. It was a little too cold outside so they didn't stay long.
It was nice and warm inside though and Kennedy was glad to trade in her coat for Megan's hat.
Our little reader. This baby einstein book,
Bard's Rhyme Time, is currently on Kennedy's favorites list. She's figured out how to get her fingers in and lift the flaps up. Fun stuff.
From a crawler to a walker just like that. She still crawls but that's morphed into more of a crab crawl. Here she is with her stuffed yellow "star". Mimi sent the stuffed star to Kennedy before she was born.
