Loving it!

What a GREAT weekend so far!  I am taking full advantage of a full 5 days off of work, and even better is that Ray had them off too!  I can't think of the last time that happened when we were not travelling.  We were both off on Wednesday and Kenley got her 1 year photos taken. Well, it wasn't quite the experience I had imagined which would have been Kenley being super cute and giving us kisses, smiling and hamming it up for the camera.  She wasn't in the best mood, and it ended up being a little stressful for Ray and I.  I was trying to keep Kenley happy in between changing her outfits and the pictures, and I guess I was a bit bossy to Ray.  (Sorry, honey)  However, I am sure there were many adorable pictures taken, and we will get to see them soon.  But, it was still nice having the day off and we managed to get our Christmas tree up!  Kenley was back to her usual happy self after she got to nap.

Our Thanksgiving was great, and Kenley was such a trooper!  We went to my Grandma Wostratzky's early in the day and got to see my Aunts and Uncles and a few of my Cousins, which was fun. Then, we headed to Ray's mom's house with his family for dinner.  It was his mom's first time having Thanksgivng in her new house, and it was so nice. Kenley napped in the car, and then we stopped by my Grandma and Grandpa Voight's house to surprise them since they didn't think we would be able to make it there.  So, it was a long, but fun day seeing all the family, eating, and hanging out.
We were so glad that Kenley was in such a good mood, and everyone was so happy to see her.  This is her last, first holiday.  (Meaning it was her first Thanksgiving, the last FIRST holiday for her)  It was really special for me, and I hope for her too. It was so  nice for her to be able to crawl around and entertain everyone with all of her new skills. She showed off her clapping, standing, blowing kisses, saying "all done" and "hello" to everyone.  I swear, I never saw a group of people more entertained by this.  (me included) She is clearly the center of attention at the family parties being the first, and only grandchild at this point. 
Friday, I introduced Kenley to her first "Black Friday" and she was so great!  I wasn't sure how long I would be able to be out shopping, but ended up being gone for almost 7 hours!  Surprisingly, it wasn't too crowded.  We went to Khol's and then to the mall.  I got a lot of gifts so far, and had fun continuing a tradition with Kenley.  I met my mom and sister at Khol's and then my aunts and Anthony were at the mall at the same time so we had luch with them. 
Today and tomorrow are just chill days to get a few things on my "to-do" list finished and relax a bit!  I don't want this weekend to end!  It's been great, and I know I only have 3-1/2 more weeks till Christmas break.  Here are some pics we took the morning of Thanksgiving.

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things in my life. Sometimes I think about how lucky I am and can't belive that I have been so fortunate in my life. 

First, and foremost I am thankful for Family:

This year my own family of 3!  It has been an amazing year becoming a mom and I am so thankful for meeting my husband because he has given me everything I ever wanted, a family. I have loved watching him as a father and Kenley Marie brings a smile to my face every day.  We couldn't be more greatful for our amazing little girl and every day brings a new adventure.  I am also truly so greatful for both of our families.  Our parents and sisters are always there for us and we are lucky to have so much support and love from them all.  I couldn't imagine not having them around and all living close by.

I am also thankful to all of my friends.  Although I don't get to see some of my friends as often as when we were younger, I am very thankful that they are just a phone call or visit away and it seems like no time at all has past.  I have been very lucky to have some of the same friends since childhood.  Not many people can say that. I'm hoping to get to see some of my friends over my Christmas break and catch up!  I'm also thankful for my co-workers, and my friends that I have met over the past few years through Ray

I am very thankful for all the things I have in life.  My house, car, and material posessions.  We have lived in our house for about a year and a half now and I truly feel at home and peaceful when I am here.  We put a lot of work (and money) into making this house the way we wanted it, and have really been enjoying it.  I am especially feeling cozy about being home now that we put our Christmas tree up!  Thankful that we have jobs, even though we complain about work, we are lucky that we both have pretty stable jobs that allow us to have these things.

I could probably go on about many, many more things I am thankful for, but these are the top of the list.  I am ready for Turkey Day tomorrow.  Just finishing up my corn casserole that is baking in the oven.  Next on the list is to get ready for Black Friday!  Yes, I am a freak and actually enjoy going out on this crazy shopping day.  I have always gone with my mom and sister, and it's a tradition that I find fun.  This year, I will be introducing Kenley to the maddness.  I plan on at least going to Khol''s, and it makes it pretty easy since I live right across the street.  Last year I got a ton of my gifts from there since its a place you can shop for everyone.  Plus, I want to get the Khol's cash!  I have a few things on my list to buy so far, but I am hoping to get more ideas tomorrow since we do our secret santa drawings with both families.  Yay!  I'm excited just thinking about it!

Looking forward to spending the day with family tomorrow.  We haven't seen our grandparents, aunts, and uncles, or cousins recently so it will be nice to catch up with everyone.  Let the holidays officially begin!

Happy Turkey Day!
P.S. We are also anxiously awaiting the news about my cousin, Rob, and his wife Pam.  Their baby boy is due tomorrow.  We all hope he is born soon!

Just Thinking....

Yay for another weekend!  Even better, out of the next 9 days I only have to work 2 of them!  Whoooo!! Thanksgiving is next week and Ray and I are both off starting Wednesday.  I am very excited about that because Kenley is going to get her 1 year pictures taken by Amanda Hein, Cheryl's wedding photographer.  We are also hoping to get some family pictures and maybe even a Christmas picture.  I already have 2 outfits planned for Kenley, including her b-day party outfit.

This weekend we are going to start shopping for gifts and maybe even put up some of our Christmas decorations.  The next several weekends are already starting to get pretty busy with lots of family b-days coming up, the holidays, and friend/work parties. 

Kenley isn't walking yet, but she is busy standing and pulling herself up every chance she gets.  She is still adjusting to the time change.  This morning she was up at 5:00 am again!  As much as I would love the extra sleep, I am also secretly happy when she wakes up a little earlier because it forces me to get up and then I get to spend more time with her before heading to work.  This morning we had time to snuggle in bed and play a little before heading to Sally's.  Sally, Kenley's babysitter is so sweet.  We are so lucky that my co-worker reccommended her to us.  She truly loves having Kenley over, and really misses her when she isn't there.  Between her and Ray's mom watching Kenley, we couldn't really ask for a better situation. 

 Here are some pics I took this week.

Trick or Treat!

Kenley's first Halloween was a lot of fun.  She was with Grandma Kruse during the day, and went to her work with her in costume!  All the doctors and nurses loved her.  Then, Ray and I took her trick-or-treating, just to a few houses and neighbors that we know.  The neighbors all loved seeing her and gave us plenty of candy that Ray and I enjoyed later. I took about a million pictures of our adorable little pink elephant!!  I know next year Kenley will be running up to all the houses and saying, "trick-or-treat" for herself!  Katie and Greg stopped by the house to see Kenley in her costume.  We were all surprised that she didn't seem to mind the huge elephant ears and didn't complain too much about having the thing strapped on her head.

This week I had a rough week at work.  Just the usual things that happen with students getting lazy and not listening, but it just really seems to have escalated the past 2-3 weeks.  I was happy to have parent-teacher conferences tuesday, and today I attended a reading conference.  I think I needed a little break from the classroom.  I saw a quote on somebody's facebook wall that said, "There are 7 billion people in the world, don't let one ruin your day."  I think I'll have to repeat that mantra and not let a few negative student ruin my day. 

Planning for Kenley's 1st birthday is underway!  We just got the invitations and her birthday outfit! We're just going to have the family over for a party, but I have already bought some great decorations and I am planning the rest of the details.  I'm happy to celebrate her 1st amazing year of life, but a little sad too.  To me, she is still my little tiny baby and probably always will be in many ways. 

Ready to enjoy the rest of the weekend.  After this week we have a few busy weekends coming up, and I know things probably won't slow down until after the holidays!  Wow....I better start thinking of gift ideas for everyone!

Random Thoughts!

Just have a few quiet minutes to think about a few things right now since Ray isn't home yet and Kenley is napping.  It's kinda wierd and I don't really know what to do with myself!  Usually during a time like this I would be cleaning like a madwoman!  I will be the first to admit that I am a neat freak.  I can not stand it when my house is not clean and everything is in its place.  I realize I will have to get over this as Kenley gets older and all her toys start invading the house, but right now I think I'm doing a pretty good job about keeping things neat.  So, back to my point-the reason I am not cleaning right now is because I am having a cleaning lady come next week!  I am so beyond excited about this that it is kind of sick.

I've had a few hard weeks at work and have cried several times over being away from my baby.  I'm sure every working mom understands.  I think these few weeks have been especially difficult because I have a few students that are driving me nuts that make it harder to go to work.  Plus, Kenley has been so tired a few days that she has been going to bed before 7:00!  I hate it because then it is like I only get to see her for 2 hours a day.  I'll keep wishing to win the lottery....(guess I better start playing!)

Halloween is on Monday and I'm excited to dress Kenley up.  She's going to be a pink elephant.  I'm sure I'll take lots of pictures, if we can get her to keep the costume on for a few minutes.  We're just going to take her to a few of the neighbor's houses, and then Ray and I will eat the candy :)  It's pretty crazy that this is basically the start to the holidays.  It gets me pretty excited to start thinking about decorating the house and buying gifts!  I'm hoping our house will be even more festive than it was last year because I have been accumulating decorations over the past year.  I'm sure Ray will be thrilled when he realizes everything he has to help me put up!  I think I get this from my mom because she always went all out for Christmas.  Growing up, we even had Christmas decorations in the bathrooms! 

SO looking forward to the weekend! 

October

The past few weeks have gone by so fast, I haven't even have time to blog at all.  I had to look at my last post to see what was going on then and realized it has been almost a month!  Today Kenley is officially 10 months old!  She is really cruising around now crawling everywhere and getting into everything!  She also got another tooth, so she is up to 5 now.  Part of the reason I haven't blogged is because for a few weeks we have all been passing around a cold!  I had kind of a bad week and between being sick, and the cold dreary weather I was just kinda cranky all week. Unfortunately, I ended up being sick on my birthday.  Kenley had been sick a few days before and Ray and I took off the day of my birthday planning to do something fun, but then I got sick.  Now, two weeks later Kenley seemed unable to get rid of it so I finally took her to the doctor and found out she had an ear and sinus infection. It didn't seem to bother her too much, and for the most part she has been her happy, playful self.  She's already getting a lot better from being on medicine the past few days. 
On a positive note, this week has been much better.  I am so excited to enjoy this beautiful weather and even more excited that I have a 3 day weekend! I took Kenley out in the jogging stroller and could have stayed out there all day.  I know I better enjoy these warm days because it could be snowing in a few weeks. My parents are going to babysit Kenley tonight so that I can go get a massage, and then Ray and I are going out for a date night.  We are also getting new carpeting put in our lower level right now.  It seems like the weekend is off to a great start!

Hanging on to summer

The last few weeks have been pretty busy with  being back at work and trying to settle back into the routine of things.  We've been lucky that the weather has been pretty decent, even though there has already been a few chilly days.  Last weekend, we went  to Wisconsin with Jake, Ray's co-worker, and his wife Sarah and their baby girl Sydney.  Their friends were also up there with their 18 month old daughter.  It was a really relaxing time and we stayed at a really large house right on the lake.  Jake took us out on his boat on Saturday morning and it was so quiet and peaceful.  We had a great time and it was so much fun to see Kenley interacting with the other girls.  It was especially fun to see Kenley with Sydney since they are only 2 weeks apart.  Kenley had a very exciting week and within just a few days she learned how to crawl, pulled herself to a standing position, and her top 2 teeth started coming in. We can't believe what a BIG girl she is really turning into. 
Kenley turned 9months old last week and she went to the doctor for her check up.  29 inches long, and 20 lbs!  She is still in the 95% for her height, and down to the 75% for weight.  Everything looks great, and my only concern that I talked to the doctor about was that she is still not sleeping throught the night.  So, the past three nights, we have let her "cry it out."  It has been hard, especially the first night when she cried for over an hour around midnight, but already it has gotten to be less and less each night.  We're hoping within a few days she will be sleeping through the night without having a bottle.  We know we need to do it, and we're hoping for the best!
Today we went out to lunch with Joan and Mike to celebrate Joan's 30th Birthday!  We were sorry we missed her party last weekend, so it was good to catch up with them.  Wow, we are all getting old!  Next week will be my 29th, so I have to enjoy my last year of my 20's!!

Back to school

This is my second week back to work, but only my first full week of having students.  It's been a very busy start to the school year, and I'm already exhausted!  I had a rough start to last week when I went back to work and was informed that all of my electronic files from the last 7 years had been deleted!  Needless to say I was livid and pretty much had a breakdown for a few hours.  Once I picked up Kenley and got home I decided that I wasn't going to dwell on it, and I just had to get over it.  Somehow, late on Friday, one of our tech guys came to me and told me that most of my files were able to be recovered!  Thank God.  It saved me a lot of time and stress. 
It has been very difficult to leave Kenley every day and I'd be lying if I said there were no tears...mine though, not hers.  She has been happy and smiling every time I drop her off and pick her up.  It is so cute to see her interacting with the other two boys that go to the babysitters.  They are very sweet with her and bring her toys and make sure she has her pacifier.  I am really greatful to already have a 3day weekend to get to be home with my baby girl, and of course my husband :)

Cruising

It was bittersweet coming home from vacation.  Sad that summer is almost over and that the vacation we looked forward to for so long was over, but happy to come back home to Kenley.  We had an amazing vacation!  We spent the first two nights in Miami and stayed at Fountaine Bleu hotel which was awesome.  It had more pools than any hotel I have ever been to.  We got so lucky with the weather our entire trip.  It rained a little bit a few days, but it was always later in the afternoon so it never affected our plans.  In Miami we enjoyed being right on the beach, and swimming in the pools late at night.  We also spent some time on Lincoln Ave. which was a big strip of shops, bars, and resturaunts.  It was a great start to the vacation before the cruise.  Our ship, Majesty of the Seas, was really nice.  It was very similar to the ship we had been on before, but maybe a bit smaller.  The first day we went to Nassau and went to the Atlantis resort.  We spent most of the day in the pools, going on the waterslides, and in the awesome lazy river.  We also checked out the aqarium which was pretty cool.  The second day we were at Coco Caye and we enjoyed the beach.  Melissa and I rented floating beach mats and could have layed on them all day long.  We didn't realize how far out the waves were taking us a few times!  Then, the last day we were in Key West.  We shopped around and then did a jet ski tour.  It was probably the highlight of our trip.  We rode 30 miles around the entire island.  The guys finally gave in and let me and Melissa drive, of course, just as a brief storm came in, so we were driving in these crazy waves out in the middle of the ocean.  Every night on the cruise ship was a lot of fun.  We had really nice dinners, went to the casino, and participated in a lot of the events.  The last night we all did karaoke and played the adult game show, which ended up being hilarious.
Of course every day we talked about the babies and what they were doing, and we called home almost every day to check on her.  It sounded like Kenley had as much fun as we did spending time with both sides of the family.  When we first got back, it took her a few minutes to warm up to me, but by the next day she was fine again.  These are my last few days before I go back to work, so I have been taking full advantage of every minute.  Today I took Kenley to the farmer's market, and to the park.  It was such a nice day out.  I'm hoping it is just as nice this weekend so that we can spend some more time outside.  Hopefully the next few days go by slowly because I think I am in denial about starting school on Monday!

Stay away Emily!!

We're leaving tomorrow morning to head out to Miami!  Right now I'm just praying that we don't run into the tropical storm Emily that has been travelling toward Florida the past few days.  It looks like it is supposed to die down a bit, and then head farther north up the coast, so hopefully we will get out on our cruise okay.  I have had mixed emotions about going on vacation, but I am excited.  This week has been really nice and I finally got to take Kenley to Orland Pool.  We went with Cheryl, and Kenley was even able to go in the lazy river for a little while even though she didn't really like the life vest she had to wear.  She has progressed even more this week, and is getting up on her knees and rocking back and forth, so I know crawling is right around the corner.  I hope I don't miss her first time crawling!  The past few days she has been saying "mama" and "baba".  I know that she doesn't know what these words mean yet, but of course I was happy to hear her say mama, and surprised that it was her first word.  I was sure she would say "dada" first like most babies, but I guess being with me every day she hears me say it a million times :)  I know that Grandma Kruse and Grandma and Grandpa Voight are VERY excited to each have a few days with Kenley.  I know she will have a lot of fun and get lots of attention.  I'll miss my baby girl, but in a few days I will be on the beach with a pina colada in my hand!!

                                                              My little Beach Babe!!