Stitches for Kennedy

Yesterday when Kennedy got to school she ran down the hall and slipped right outside of her classroom. She hit her head on the door and got a cut about an inch long on her forehead. Grandpa Brent called to let me know, but said that he thought it would be OK to clean it and bandage it. He thought Kennedy seemed more upset about not being able to go to school. So after some minor first aid, Kennedy went back to her class. Sometime during the day the school put a giant bandage on her head because it was still bleeding, but everything else was just fine.

Kennedy had a fun afternoon gathering pine cones on a walk with Grandma Sue and Macy to make into treats with peanut butter and seeds for the birds. I picked the girls up as usual, and Kennedy fell asleep in the car on the way home. She slept until 5:00 when we woke her to finally get a good look at the cut.

Jake went to the store to get some butterfly bandages and grapes, Kennedy's special request. When we tried to apply the strips, we just couldn't get them to hold the cut closed. We decided it was time to head out to the emergency room. The wait at the hospital seemed like it would be a while, so we left and drove to an Insta-Care.

Kennedy was so good and so patient! I'm amazed that both girls did so well waiting the two hours we were there. Kennedy was also very brave. She held very still and only shed a few tears in anticipation of a shot - which she didn't even feel at all. We'll be back in a week to get the five stitches removed. One of the nurses turned out to be the mom of the twins in her class at school - she told my dad the next day, when they made the connection, just how amazed she was that Kennedy was such an excellent patient!

While we waited, there were two emergency cases in the bed next to us. The first was a man suffering from what the doctor believed to be blood clots or a pulmonary embolism (obviously there were no walls in this clinic). He insisted on leaving, even though the doctor said it was totally against medical orders. Next, the bed was filled by a man complaining of chest pains and nausea. He and his wife tried to rationalize with the doctor that he was just fine...there's no history of heart disease in my family - except for my mom, but she didn't have problems until her 80s (he was 76). The doctor called him an ambulance, but the man and his wife were concerned about going to the hospital that was right down the street. Why? Because they weren't sure if their insurance would be accepted.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweethearts in our lives! We had fun making our own cards for Kennedy's teachers and for our family. She also made some adorable heart-butterfly valentines with Grandma Sue to take to her friends at school. Kennedy loved helping with the scissors and gluing on the candy hearts.

We went out to dinner at The Club to celebrate Grandpa Ray's 89th birthday. Kennedy was very excited to "get dressed up all fancy!"

We love books!

Our family loves to read. Jake and I don't always have time to relax with our favorite selections, but we always find time to read to the girls. Macy is getting more interested in books, especially the lift-the-flap ones, and will sit and turn the pages all by herself.

Jake is reading Kennedy an abridged version of Robinson Crusoe for kids. It's her first real chapter book, and she loves it. She also loves to pull out the bookmark, which is a great frustration to Jake!

Shubilee, Marshall and Isabelle

Kennedy loves to be told a good story, and her favorite place to hear these stories is when she's sitting on the potty. She has different requests depending on who is with her and what bathroom she is using. When Grammie is telling the story (or, if I'm helping her in Grammie's bathroom), it usually involves Silly Sally, Waldo, a cheetah and a duck. When it's Grandma Sue's turn, it's the story of the three little pigs. With me, Kennedy either wants to hear about "Curious George and the Yellow Man" or Shubilee and Marshall.

Who? Well, Shubilee (sounds like Jubilee with "shoe" instead of the "j") is a name I made up one day when I was telling her a story. Somehow Kennedy remembered the name and kept asking to hear more about this girl. Then Kennedy added to the story that Shubilee has a baby sister named Marshall, "Shubilee is the big girl, and Marshall is the baby". These make believe girls love to go to Disneyland, stay in a hotel, and go on their favorite rides. Sometimes Kennedy wants the plot to include that their mom and dad get "really angry (which she says with a very stern looking face) with them because they aren't listening and they run away and hide." Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy usually have to help search for them. But, where do the mom and dad finally find the girls? Why in a backroom of Cinderella's castle, of course! Kennedy sure knows a lot about Disneyland for a girl who has never been there!

Isabelle is trickier to describe. Sometimes Kennedy says she is Isabelle, but it could be "Isabelle the Dad" or "Isabelle the Mom" or "Isabelle Kennedy" - and if she says this is who she is, you'd better be sure to call her by the right name. Other times Isabelle is someone else, like her baby. This morning she got Pink Baby, sat down by Macy and me, unzipped her jammies and said, "Look! We are two moms feeding our babies! Yours is named Macy and mine is named Isabelle." Then a few minutes later Kennedy was back to being Isabelle.

Play time

Music School

Kennedy plays the drums, Macy's on the keyboard, and I play the bells. Kennedy says, "We rock!" Macy loves to stand at the little piano and pound on the keys - she's getting really good at standing, and pulls herself up on everything. It was about a week ago that I found her one morning standing up in her crib for the first time. And she's crawling all over now, a skill she mastered exactly on her nine-month birthday. Hooray for Macy!

Restaurant

We take turns setting the table, taking the orders as the waiter, and cooking and serving the food. Kennedy named her restaurant "Vanilla" and the special was a vanilla soup - "It's delicious, darling. You must try some!" Kennedy is always thoughtful and orders something for Macy, but "it has to be baby food, mom!" I guess she's not yet ready for the vegetable soup, pepperoni pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches, cookies, or pie that we like to make in our restaurant.

Mirror, mirror on the floor

Kennedy and Macy were looking at themselves in the mirror last night and Kennedy said, "I see two beautiful girls!" I know I'm biased as their mom, but I can't deny it, they are both beautiful! And Kennedy especially loves it when they are dressed like twins.

The birthdays continue

Monday was my mom's birthday. We did a family art project and made her a bead bracelet. It had two strands - one with "Grammie" and one with "K" and "M". I also volunteered to make the cake, which turned out to be cakes. The first one stuck to the pan, and a big pile of crumbs is just not right for a birthday party. Kennedy and I whipped up a yellow cake (from scratch!) and then decided at the last minute to throw in an extra spice from the cupboard. No one could guess what it was, but it had a very distinct taste - lavender. I thought it was so interesting when I found it in the store, but I have had no idea what to use it in. It was actually pretty good, but it is also strange to be eating something that smells so much like soap. Kennedy asked if she could play with her colors, so I set her up with the project while I did the dishes. She loves to mix, stir and pour glasses filled with different colors of water. It kept her out of my hair for awhile, and she only broke one glass. A small sacrifice.

My mom is amazing. She's generous, trustworthy, loyal, and always looking out for the people she cares about. And she's a great example for the kind of mom that I'm trying to be. I love you mom, and I wish you a year filled with much happiness!