Days go by

I thought with not working I would have so much time to blog, and thought I would probably be posting a few times a week.  I guess I was wrong, but I have been busy and just choosing to do other things these past few weeks.  I have been able to do a lot of fun things with Kenley already like go to the park a ton.  It has gotten to the point that when I put her in her stroller she says, "the park? the park?" So, sometimes even when I didn't intend to head there we end up going.  We have gone to the Farmer's Market, had some play dates, played in our backyard in the pool, gone to a few friend's pools, and I don't think there has been any days where we stayed home all day.  Kenley has been a little sick with a cough/cold that she hasn't been able to get rid of, so she has been napping and sleeping more, but she's still been able to get out a little bit these last few days. Now, I think I have a touch of it too.

I am getting ready for another Garage Sale!  It starts tomorrow so I have been busy cleaning everything and organizing it.  I hope we have a lot of people come so we can get rid of all this stuff that has been crowding our closets and garage.  I have no idea how we have managed to get enough stuff to have another garage sale this year, but somehow we have.  I have a feeling this might become a yearly thing.  In fact, I'm about to go finish pricing things while Kenley is napping.  Wish us luck, and stop by on Friday or Saturday if you're in the area!

18 months of love

 Kenley Marie turned 18 months old last week.  Pretty crazy that my baby girl is closer to 2 now, which makes me get a little teary-eyed.  We are having so much fun with her these days.  She is talking a LOT!  I cracked up the other day after she put her hands in dirty water and said, "Eww, sick!"  (knowing those exact words came out of my mouth the day before when I touched her mushy goldfish crackers in the carseat"  She also asks for many things by name and is learning manners by saying, "______ please"  It is adorable, and I pretty much give her anything when she asks so sweetly.  She also has a newfound obsession with Elmo, loves her baby dolls, and knows how to sing "twinkle, twinkle, little star."  It's the best version I ever heard anyway.

 Although it is so fun, there are also some challenges at this age. Miss Independent does not like to hold hands while she is walking somewhere, she has said, "I do it!" when I try to help her with some things, and we have started experiencing The Tantrums. I also hear the word "no" a lot these days.  I am doing my best to be patient with these things, and I know it is a normal part of this age.  Luckily, most days she is as happy and sweet as always, and these moments are over pretty quickly.  Another struggle is the Paci.  Ugh, where do I begin?  I am wanting to take it from her sooner than later, and I think it's about that time.  I kept saying when I was done with school I just had to do it.   It has also been a lot harder to take her out because she does not like to sit anywhere very long.  She will throw a fit if she does not want to be in a grocery cart seat, or sitting in a high chair at a resturaunt.  I'm trying to be creative with distractions.

 

These pictures show how much she has changed in the last year and a half.  But, she still has the same big eyes, dimple, and cute smile.  I am trying to video tape her a little bit more lately to get some of these memories on camera.  As always, I am sad that my little girl is getting farther and farther away from being a baby, but I know she will always be my baby even when she is an old lady!  

 

Anxious Auntie-to-Be

My sister's baby shower was this past weekend, and it was was really nice.  (If I do say so myself since my mom and I planned it.)  Everything was pink & girly, just as it should be.  We had a great lunch, a cupcake tower, candy buffet, and lots of gifts!  We also asked guests to bring any package of diapers or wipes to be entered in a raffle for some gift cards.  This was something that was done at my baby shower, and we didn't have to buy diapers for 8 months! It was awesome!  Katie and Greg got so many adorable gifts and big stack of diapers and wipes for the little one. Our whole family can not wait to meet this baby girl!  Isn't my sister adorable pregnant? 

The day before the shower, I went to the Brad Paisly concert at Wrigley Field with a few of my girlfriends.  It was such a gorgeous night, and the concert was amazing.  I'm a huge country fan and loved getting a chance to see Brad along with Chris Young and Miranda Lambert.  Did I ever mention that I was in one of Miranda's music videos?  I think you can see my elbow :)  Anyway, it was a fun night out and I hope I can go to another concert sometime this year.

This week I am taking a class to advance my hours beyond my Master's Degree.  It's a technology class, which I would usually probably not enjoy at all, but it's going pretty well.  I've been able to learn a few new things and create a few things that I will be using in the future.  So, even though I have officially started my summer break from school I will really get to enjoy it starting next week. 

School's Out!

Friday was my last official day of school, and it feels great!  It was my first whole school year back to work since Kenley was born.  There were many days that it was not easy, but I was so lucky to have a wonderful caregiver for Kenley, and Grandma Kruse taking care of her while I was at work.  I have blogged a little bit about some of my really rough days at work, but never about some of the good things.  I had a little party for my favorite class, my 6th hour on our last day.  I really did have some really sweet kids in that class.  I want to try to remember that and hope that I have more classes like that when I am gearing up for the next school year.

This weekend we took Kenley to a little carnival in town.  We got to take her on a few rides including the big merry-go-round.  She liked it and repeated what I said that we were up "in the sky!"  She liked the rides so much that she cried every time we had to get off one.  She got to pick a duck from the little kid's game and won a little stuffed animal, and enjoyed popcorn and some of my slushie.  I am ready to spend the summer with this little girl!