Santa's List

So what do you get when you mix Clifford Goes Camping...

...with Christmas toy catalogs?

A two-year-old asking Santa for a tent!

Mommy:  Kendall, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?

Kendall:  A tent (affirmative head nod) Cause...tent...Cis-mas.

Mommy:  What will you do in your tent?

Kendall:  Go night-night.  Daddy go night-night.  Tent. (more affirmative head nods)

Oh, yes, Kendall has been flipping through her Wal-Mart toy catalog.   (How did they know I have a toddler?)  Santa had better be making his list and checking it twice.  She doesn't miss much these days.  We've relived the above conversation dozens of times lately.

Here's the page that gave Kendall the tent idea...




And the cover with the bears climbing a tree has given her other ideas as well.  Her new favorite thing to do in the backyard is climb a tree.  Fortunately it has several low branches so with Mommy's help she can make a climb.

I know what you're thinking...I thought you said she LIKED to climb trees.  She does.  She pitched a little fit when I stopped helping her long enough to snap a picture.

And another first:  Kendall and Mommy made homemade play dough.  She had fun helping mix the ingredients.

For the holidays we dyed it orange and added pumpkin spice.  Ahhh...smells like pumpkin pie!

Kendall made several batches of pumpkin play dough cupcakes.

And the weather has cooperated around here lately, so everyone's gearing up for the holidays!

"Lil Picasso

Such raw talent.

Such concentration.

Pure precision and execution.

Such a masterpiece, just like the artist.

Kendall at 2

Didn't I just finish planning a first birthday party?  Seriously?!  Ok, this is getting rediculous, the way time is just zooming right past my head, and I really don't see any end in sight.  And from the talk of all my friends, there is little to no hope.

I feel like each day I have to hold on tighter to my baby toddler before she grows up in front of my unbelieving eyes.  I cherish every hug (tight as it is), kiss (slobery, yet priceless), lap sit and cuddle (though I'm getting tugged, jabbed and kicked from this little squirm worm) and call for help.

So I hope to paint a snaphot with words of how exactly Kendall is today, nine days before her second birthday.  (Hang with me, peeps.  I need this documentation for myself.)

- Kendall still loves to read books.  I really can't list any favorites because just about every one would merit a mention.  We read on average about 15 books a day (at least).

- Kendall LOVES her Miss PattyCake video. Seriously.  She watches it twice a day.  (That would mean I heard it roughly 60 times since August when her BFF, Olivia, let her borrow it.) Miss PC would have been thrown through the window weeks ago had she not had such scripture rich songs that she is learning. (She's getting two more for her birthday for Mama's sake so at least there can be a rotation.)

- Every fleur-de-lis is "Saints".  Even the tiny thumbnail picture of Brees on my facebook page is quickly identified. Ah, yes, well on her way to being a Who Dat.

- Kendall can identify about 10-15 letters, and can count to ten.  No lie.  I sat there slap-jawed, bug-eyed, when she put her coins in her piggy bank counting them as she went.  Most of the credit is due to Miss PC.  (See, she really IS worth keeping around!)

-  Oh the OCD and cleanliness this child has.  Don't dare forget a napkin. Throw all trash away immediately.  And make sure all items are securely placed back correctly.  She has her own vacuum (though she steals mine each time I get it out) and her own spray bottle of "cleaner" (shhh...it's just water). She wants to wash her hands all the time. And she won't hesitate to tell you there's a "mess"!

- Kendall can itentify most colors, and is aware that hairbows and shoes must match in order to leave the house.

- She says a new word just about each day.

- She loves school.  Ask her who her friends are and she'll tell you "Doo" (Drew), "Sef" (Seth), "Osh" (Josh). "Lih" (Olivia), and a host of others.

- Music is still "bobby".  Go figure. And outside is "bubbles".

- Her love afair with food carries on. She especially likes soy cheese sandwiches, tomatoes, any and all variety of beans, applesauce, and catsup with her chicken nuggets.

 She's got the text message thumb action down pat when she sends texts on her phone.  And like all women, she can multi-task while on the phone.

- Kendall and Daddy have many tea parties in her room.

- Kendall loves to go on walks around the block.  She insists on holding Sophie's leash, only to let it go a few feet later.

- Kendall is very friendly, waving "bye" to everyone.

- Kendall loves to color and write.

- A fear of the garbage man has emerged, but is beginning to get better.

- She cracks her teachers up from what I've been told with her looks, reactions, and evidence of deep thought.

- She loves to sit in the bathroom while Mama is getting dressed and put on all Mama's hairbands as bracelets.  And she'll carry a bag if you tell her to "wear it like a bracelet."

- She's showing evidence of being a girly girl.  Everything must match.  Hairbands are bracelets. Bags are bracelets.  Toe nail polish is a must. Mama's lipstick is fun to play with.  And a purse is often a must have.
And like all women, she has perfected her various looks.  I catch her practicing in the mirror.

Yep, she's a keeper!

Family Snaps

In addition to the pictures above in the header, here are a few more of my favorites from our second annual Easter family photo shoot. I'd like to give a shout out to a friend of my sister, Tina, took these. She did a great job last year as well. (Check them out here. And link to her blog here.) Despite uncooperative weather, plan B location due to about 25,000 people invading City Park for the Crescent City Classic, and an irritable toddler who was getting over her first ear infection and a bump to her forehead at the beginning of our photo session, I'd say Tina did a hot diggidy dog job.

Enjoy. (Sorry they're small. Technichal difficulties. Click on a picture to enlarge.)

Plain 'Ole Friday

Today has been a typical Friday in our lives. Kendall and I ran our usual Friday errands, which included a stop by church so I could get my lesson ready for my four-year-olds on Sunday. Kendall has gotten very familiar with the teacher's resource room (which to her means a room full of a bunch of toys she can pull out while Mommy is gathering them as well). And she can now help Mommy as well by pushing the cart down the hall to Mommy's room. While I work Kendall plays with the homeliving area and pulls out some of the toys from the cart. Then I usually end up getting her some crayons and paper when she tires from what's available. And today I put on some music to keep her entertained as well. It's so funny to me to watch her bob her head, smile, and clap with the music. After we were done and had put away ALL she had dragged out, we continued on to WalMart and the bank. After a swing through Wendy's we were back home (and wore out!). Like I said, typical Friday stuff.

So really, you are wondering, what actually happened today that's worthy of a post (and your time reading it)? Well, I know it's worth my words, though I can't put a claim on your time. I'm recording this day because I don't want to forget that today my little girl...

... loves to be with her mama more than anything else

... shows wonder and amazement at the smallest things (like finding a toy tiger and proudly showing it to me)

... feels such satisfaction in her new-found abilities (pushing a cart five times her size)

... lavishly showers me with hugs and "kisses"

... leans in for "kiss noses, kiss noses" as we call our secret little gesture that's exclusively between just us

... unashamedly dances to music

... squeals with delight

... clings to her mama when her MMO teacher tells her hello

... twirls in her tu-tu skirt

... points to her mama when adults walk by so they all know this is HER mama so don't dare try to peal her away (she does the same to her MMO teacher, Mrs. Carolyn, when any other teacher gets "too close")

... pulls on my finger to show me something

... tries to keep my sunglasses from slipping down her nose

... laughs at her mama's attempts to make her smile

... waves to all passerbys

... thinks all the day's problems can easily be solved with some chicken nuggets

... snuggles in my lap for a pre-nap book

So today is not just an ordinary day. It's a typical day filled with extra-ordinary things that I just love and cherish. Little things that are really so big. Things I want to always remember. Yes, today is a day that sometimes I wish would last forever.

One Year and a Month

Kendall is now thirteen months and is growing at an alarming rate and doing so many new things just about daily. I figured it was time for me to record all her "favorites" at this stage so one day when I'm old(er) I can look back and remember how my little baby was at this age.

Kendall still LoVeS to eat! Just about everything is her favorite, especially any kind of fruit. But she also eats alot of squash, (soy)cheese sandwiches, (soy)yogurt, and spaghetti. And she wants whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating. A few weeks ago I made Kendall a plain cheese quesadilla since we were eating a mexican casserole that had all kinds of spices and stuff in it. No doing. She insisted on having the casserole and she ate it up. And she'll tackle you down for some honey grahams as well.

Kendall has figured out what a phone is for and likes it. We ended up giving her one of Gabe's old cell phones and she toted it around (taking time out of her busy schedule to send a few texts and take a few calls) for three solid days. And whenever my phone rings she puts her hand to her ear. And when I answer it she wants to talk to whoever is on the other end. Papa even lets her explore his Blackberry. (Thanks.)

Kendall has learned the art of getting on and off. She'll spend more time proudly mounting and dismounting her rocky-zebra than she will actually riding it.

Kendall and Sophie are quite the buds these days, especially when Kendall is on her tip-toes reaching into her high chair after meals to retrieve any fallen bites and feeding them to Sophie. I just tell myself that she will me a neat-freak like her Mommy.

Like I said, she likes to eat. Anything. She just polished off some ravioli here.

And Elmo is still all the rave around here. (Good thing if you read her birthday party blog.) She is so proud of her Elmo slippers that Mommy fished out of the closet shelf as an early Christmas present. Hey, it was cold.

For the first hour, she couldn't walk because all she could do was point to them. She wanted to make sure you noticed how cool they are.

And Kendall loves riding her princess car that beeps and plays all kinds of music. She's learned how to go forwards and backwards, and is getting pretty good on her turns. Daddy can teach her how to drive this one, but I reserve the rights for the real thing.

Once again, her trademark smile...


Kendall is now walking all over the place and keeping Sophie on the run. And her new favorite thing to do is shake her head when she is told, "No". The other day we were at our good friends' house for dinner. Kendall was caught feeding Lucy, their poodle, from her high chair. (Don't know WHERE she got that idea!!) Lee promptly told her that Lucy is NOT fed from the table in his house. A minute later Lucy came around again for some more, and Kendall shook her head no at her. Too cute!

Kendall is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am so proud to be her mommy. And one day I'll look back at these blog entries and think, "Ah, yes, I remember those days..."

Baby Steps

Are ya ready for the big reveal??

'Lil LSU Princess took her first steps last night! Finally! And this afternoon she wanted me to take pictures of her so you could see. It takes quite the concentrated effort, but she can get two or three steps in before tumbling. She's had the ability for a while now, just had to muster up the confidence. I have a feeling she'll be taking off very soon.

Mommy and Kendall had a mini photo shoot this afternoon. The weather was so pretty. We deserved a nice day after all the nonstop rain and yucky-ness around here lately.


Sharing a leaf with Sophie. So generous.

Everybody take five. An important call from Elmo coming through.

Kendall and Mommy (and Sophie)

Mommy stealing a little sugar.

Birthday(!!) Portraits

HWAT?? Ok, I cannot believe it's time to say this: Kendall is quickly approaching her first birthday. 18 days, bloggers! This is all going way.too.fast! I have been preparing myself for this for several weeks now. I have tried unsuccessfully thus far to put on the brakes to this breakneck speed at which my little baby is growing. I don't want to stop it, just slow it down a little. You know, to allow myself enough time to adjust to each new stage she enters and build enough memories to be content to move on. Gabe thinks the first year went by so fast because the first two months we were just trying to survive! I am afraid that we'll have an excuse for the next eighteen years why every year just flies. But I digress. Enough mommy woes! On to the fun stuff!

Aunt JuJu visited for a few days and we took Kendall's birthday portrait in her birthday outfit. (Taking her picture is a two person job so I had to do it when I had an assistant.) We took a total of 88 pictures, but no fear, I have posted only some of my favorites.

Sweet Little Angel

Playing footsie. Just adorable.

It's been stated that Kendall has many, many faces. I don't know WHERE (insert sarcasm) she gets it from. No one in our family exaggerates (ahem). This face is my favorite. She makes it whenever she points, or sees Daddy come home from work.

Totally her trademark smile here. A classic.

Hysterical laughing, which these days is brought on my many random things.

Can't see well here, but it's her intent, study face. A true sign of intelligence I do believe. (And I say in such a subjective, non-biased way! HA!)

"Hmmm...How can I get this minuscule little flower bit from my fingers into my mouth? Just have to wait for Mommy to turn for a nano-second, just like I do with the dog food bowl. It's not MY fault Sophie is turning skin and bones because she can't reach her bowls on the counter." Such the opportunist.

Infatuated with Elmo.

Seriously. Better stand back. She's serious.