"What Not to Wear" - Toddler Edition

I love the TV show "What Not to Wear" and I think Kennedy (and likely most kids this age) might end up as a subject of the show if she could dress herself everyday. Here she is in an ensemble she created: scarf-hat that daddy made for her at gymnastics, alligator vest from Halloween, diaper and Jeff's vintage Reebok sneakers. Not quite enough bows and ruffles to be "Fancy Nancy" attire - it looks more ghetto fab to me. What's that line from the Apple Bottom Jeans song? "...and the Reeboks with the straps. She turned around and gave that big booty a smack..."

Busy weekend

We went to the Utah gymnastics meet on Friday night and Kennedy was a star! She did a great job sitting on our laps for three of the four rotations, but by the end she was ready to start climbing up and down the stairs. She also made it on the jumbotron screen. Daddy made her a hat out of the pink scarf that they gave out to promote breast cancer awareness. 

Saturday Jake went on a day-long shooting trip with his dad and brother, so Kennedy and I went to see the fish at the aquarium. We got there a little early and had to wait for the doors to open. We drove around the block to kill some time and Kennedy kept saying, "Not open. Heartbroken!" So cute!!! She had a great time seeing all the fish and crawling through the coral tunnels. (stay tuned for pictures of gymnastics and fish)

Sunday we celebrated two birthdays - McKenzie and Jeff. There are a lot of January babies in this family. Kennedy loves going to Grandma Sue and Grandpa Brent's house to play with all of the fun toys and to see her cousins. Then we went to Kathy and Tim's where she wanted to play with Jeff's trains and Kathy's Russian nesting dolls. We had great food at both parties and Kennedy enjoyed sharing cake with everyone who would give her a bite. No cake for mama though - it looks like I have gestational diabetes again.

What do you think?

Today when grampy gave us the report from The Little Gym he said, "Kennedy is the star of her little gym class. She may not be the most gifted athletically, but she takes over and does whatever she wants." So, what's a parent to think of this? It's hard to say if she is a natural athlete, but in her defense she is really strong and demonstrates this by hanging on every bar within her reach, lifting weights with us when we work out, and running/climbing/jumping on basically everything. As for the second part of the statement, we could take it in one of two ways:

1) Kennedy is bossy and doesn't listen to or follow instructions (not our sweet girl) -OR-

2) Kennedy is a natural leader and a very independent child (definitely true!)

Cute even when she's sick

Kennedy has had a cold for the last week. Yesterday I was called to pick her up from school early because she had a fever and was coughing. She's not been sleeping well and in general hasn't been her usual cheerful self. But even though she's feeling rotten, she still wants to "play with trains together" and do her normal activities - books, puzzles, coloring, etc. Yesterday I really got her laughing when we were playing with the slinky on the stairs. The cutest thing of all is that when she's upset she's been saying, "What's the matter, Kennedy?" and "What's the problem?" It's hard not to smile at that, even with her tears and sobs.

Today we took her to the doctor for an official diagnosis...she has an ear infection. She also got a flu shot while we were there - extra protection from all the new preschool germs she's being introduced to!

The things Kennedy says

Kennedy is saying some amazing things these days. At least we think they are amazing for a girl who's not yet two. She can sing the alphabet and several other songs (my goal is to capture this on video and post soon), count to twenty (not consistently getting every number, and she usually skips three and four), and knows the name of just about every animal and the sounds they make - we're talking specific animals too because she knows an eagle from a flamingo from a goose from a pelican. Yesterday she said, "This is my dino bowl." I was very impressed with the five word sentence and the correct grammar. She's really interested in telling us which things are "mines" but she knows what belongs to mama and daddy also. This morning we were getting ready in the bathroom and she said, "Oh no. My bracelet's downstairs. I forgot!" and then went running off to find it. She was back a few minutes later with the bracelet on her arm and told me that it was on the couch.

Every now and again we catch her reading books to herself in her bedroom. One of her favorites is Fancy Nancy, Bonjour Butterfly, which she got from Aunt Beth. She can basically recite the book, or at least the main phrases as she turns the pages. It is so cute to hear her say "Exquisite," "Azure butterfly. Shiny wings, iridescent," "Oh no, I forgot!", "She is heartbroken," "Oh la la. Beauty spa" and "Delicious darling. Try one." It's such a fun book, and now we are working on Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, which was a gift from Aunt Meg. She also likes to read magazines or books she's never seen before, and they always start with "One day" which she picked up from her Goldilocks and the Three Bears book.

School days

Kennedy has been in school for two weeks now, and she seems to love it. It's been a big change for all of us - especially for grampy. She's enrolled four days a week, but she still gets to spend one day with grampy and go to the Little Gym. Her teachers all say that she is doing amazingly well, but we had no doubts about that. Kennedy is a very adaptable girl, and not to mention very smart and totally adorable! On her first day, she went around telling all the other kids at nap time, "Now you lie down. Go to sleep." Apparently nap time didn't apply to her. She's used to sleeping on her own schedule, so this has been the hardest adjustment. Some days she's only been napping 20-30 minutes and she wakes up tearful. The girl is a little sleep deprived right now, but she sure is having fun with the wonderful teachers, other kids and interesting activities to do in the classroom. We're so happy this space opened up since she's been on the waiting list since summer.

Happy New Year!

2008 was an exciting year for us. Here are some of the highlights and interesting events:

JANUARY - We remodeled all three of our bathrooms and spent a great weekend in St. George with family.

FEBRUARY - Took a trip to Oregon to visit great grandma and grandpa Burton. It was Kennedy's first time on an airplane and going to the beach.

MARCH - Happy first birthday, Kennedy! No big party or cake, just mini cupcakes with family.

APRIL - Katie does a sprint distance triathon. We take a trip to Las Vegas to visit Jake's sister and brother-in-law, and Kennedy ends up in the emergency room after being sick all weekend.

MAY - Hmm...if I'd been blogging I'd be able to remember what happened last May! I had a great mother's day and fun combined birthday celebration with Eliza.

JUNE - Jake goes to Las Vegas to help his sister and brother-in-law move.

JULY - We're crowned champions (and win an awesome trophy) at Paul and Sara's fun bocce/margarita party. Family vacation in Sun Valley - golf, swimming, bike riding, ice skating, bowling...

AUGUST - Second airplane trip for Kennedy when we go to Denver for a conference. We have a great time going to a Rockies baseball game and exploring the downtown area and at the zoo and aquarium. We get new windows in our house.

SEPTEMBER - our favorite adults night out at the zoo rendezvous fundraiser. Kennedy goes in for testing at Primary Childrens and is diagnosed with grade 5 kidney reflux. We bought our first brand new car - something safer and bigger in anticipation of two car seats. Jake starts a new job as an engineering tech.

OCTOBER - Kennedy has a successful surgery to correct her reflux problem. Our first prenatal appointment and chance to hear baby's heartbeat. Kennedy is an adorable alligator for Halloween.

NOVEMBER - Ultrasound tells us we're having another girl!

DECEMBER - Went to see the Body Worlds exhibit. Kennedy kept saying, "Wow, amazing!" We were able to spend lots of time with my brother and his wife (and two dogs) while they were in town for Christmas.

What's next for 2009? The big events for early January will be cheering for the Utes in the Sugar Bowl, celebrating Jake's birthday, and Kennedy starts preschool!