Trip to Az

STEPHS WEDDING

We went back to AZ for my little sister's wedding last week. It was a lot of fun to get together with all of my family and of course to celebrate Steph and Nate's wedding. Like always I'm really bad at taking pictures so I don't have pictures of everyone who came but here's just an inkling of a glance into the fun we had...

Emily, Lydia, Steph & Makenzie in the scorching AZ heat after the ceremony

This is my friend Becky we have been friends for 20 years!


Kaitlyn just danced the night away with Grandma


And the beautiful bride Steph


Makenzie just slept the night away in aunt Cathy's arms


Ted came with a mohawk


Welcome to the family Nate!

SWIM LESSONS

My awesome friend Shelley teaches swim lessons so while we were there she taught Kaitlyn how to swim, or at least not be so afraid of the water. The first day Kaitlyn was crying, screaming, and kept running away from the pool. Then by the 3rd lesson she willingly jumped in and swam. And now she is a little fish (but has to warm up first)

Kaitlyn's 'please don't make me do this' face

Monkey walking with Shelley


So proud that she got the ring!


Makenzie LOVED the pool! She was just so content to hang out and watch Kaitlyn at her swimming lessons. When it was finally her turn to get in and splash she didn't want to stop.


5 GENERATIONS

Pretty self explanatory. This is my sweet Great Grandma Watkins (97 years old), Grandma (Allen)Stephenson, my Dad, me, and my girls.

Kaitlyn is 3!!!

Well she has been 3 for almost 2 weeks now but due to recent travelings it has taken me until now to post my little tribute to her.

*I did have a cute photo of Kaitlyn on her birthday, but due to a computer crash it has now gone into cyber heaven...so this picture of her from her party will have to do

Just a few things we love about Kaitlyn:

Her beautiful smile a.k.a. akward 3 year old smile

When she's crying and I tell her that she needs to be happy she says "See mom, see my happy face" while forcing her beautiful smile always makes me think of "Strictly Ballroom"

She LOVES to help cook, unload the dishwasher, and do laundry

She is so thoughtful and aware of others feelings

Everytime Dan leaves the house she HAS to give him a hug and a kiss and says "I love you Daddy, I'll see you when you get back"

When she says goodbye to Dan on the phone she also gives the phone a hug and a kiss. When she gives the phone a hug she also says "Ooohh"

When she does something she shouldn't she always apologizes "I'm so sorry mommy" She will even tell on herself if I don't catch her in the act

She LOVES to cuddle

She LOVES Makenzie and always makes her laugh

An Enchanted Birthday Party

Although her birthday isn't until tomorrow, we had Kaitlyn's Birthday party today so her Dad could be there too. She has been so excited and talking about it non-stop ever since we handed out the invitations a few days ago. I put up a few decorations while Kaitlyn was napping and when she woke up and saw the castle and streamers on the wall she said with the cutest voice "This is what I've been waiting for!"

Thanks to all those who came, you really made Kaitlyn feel special :) Besides eating the food and cake, we used streamers to make princess (or prince) costumes. Everyone did a really good job of being creative. But I would just like to point out that Kathleen designed Kyle to look more like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle/Rambo/Broken Arm/Burn Patient regardless of how he looks I guess he'll always be your prince

Grandma Time

This past week Dan's mom came and visited. We had a lot of fun spending time with her. While she was here we went and saw Kung Fu Panda cute but didn't hold Kaitlyn's attention too well due to the lack of princesses, and we went to the Norfolk Children's Musem which was unfortunately the only time I busted out the camera

The first area you walk into is a pretend town with city vehicles, post office, doctors office, bank, and a grocery store. The first things Kaitlyn noticed were the bus and the firetruck, and trying to convince her that there were other fun things to do and see was near impossible, but we managed...eventually


I'm not sure what the significance of this gigantic purple chair is but here we are. We attempted to get Kaitlyn in the picture with us, but apparently there were much cooler things around and her excitement could not be contained.


I was so proud of my little shopper. She only put produce in her basket, didn't even look twice at the ice cream and cookies. And now whenever she gets hungry she tells me that she needs to eat her vegetables or a salad.


There was also a bubble room there with this cool little contraption.


Minus a few melt downs, we had a pretty fun time at the Children's Museum. And of course LOVED having Grandma around!

My Girls

Oh how I Love these girls! And I love seeing how much these girls love eachother. I can't believe another month has just flown by. Makenzie is now 5 months old, and Kaitlyn will be 3 in just three weeks! Am I really old enough to have a 3 year old? I still feel like (and according to some people look) like I'm 18.
Kaitlyn is getting so smart and makes me laugh with the cute things she says. It's so fun to see how her little brain works. She reminds me so much of her Dad always scheming to get the things she wants.

Makenzie is such a happy baby, and is at such a fun stage. She will smile at anybody, except for the camera I don't think she likes facial hair either. Her newest discovery is her feet and when she's not spaztically kicking them she is either playing with or carefully studying them.





Makenzie also loves to spit..,hence her cute spit covered face

Kaitlyn is always looking out for Makenzie. She always makes sure that Makenzie has enough toys to play with, and when she get sad Kaitlyn will comfort her by saying "Don't worry Kenzie, I'm right here, Mommy's right here"


Kaitlyn also LOVES to sing, and I just LOVE to hear it although she has a hard time singing in tune. She will make up songs about whatever object she sees or about a place we're going and will usually insist I sing it with her. And most nights she will sing at the top her lungs herself to sleep.

Shout Out

YAY for my sister Dawn. She just ran a marathon today and I'm really proud of her...Horray!!! What impresses me the most is that just 2 hours after finishing she was alraedy talking about running another. Impressive or is she just CRAZY?!?!

Because we do princess things EVERYDAY in our house...

You Are Snow White!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?


I wasn't quite sure what the result would be, but I guess this will do.