In honor of Boompa

We were with Grammy and Boompa on Saturday night and Boompa asked why Kinsley's hair was always done on one side of her head. He didn't know why her pony couldn't be on the other side or why she couldn't have two ponies. I tried to explain to him that some mornings I'm even lucky to get a pony in. So this morning, I decided to do Kinsley's hair on the other side. (She was already have major meltdown so this was a challenge.) Here is the evidence.

I know it's not the world's best picture, but she had a little bit of Mama's attitude about pictures and didn't really want it taken.

Fashionistas

I finally broke down and put the girls in their winter jackets. I didn't want to do this yet, but the time has come. Both girls have new jackets and hats and were excited to show them off.

Gotta love those big brown eyes, even though you can't see them very well. Thanks Grammy for the adorable hats.

Trick or Treat

This year Keltie decided that she wanted to be Minnie Mouse so Grammy made her an adorable skirt and ears to go with. She has been wearing them ever since she got them just waiting for the big day. Grammy also got Kinsley a duck costume. As much as Keltie was excited about her costume, Kinsley was the exact opposite. I tried her costume on the other night and I should have had the video camera because I'm sure we could have won $10,000.

When the big day came, I was armed and ready with the camer while Kevin got her ready. Of course, when Daddy's there, there isn't any excitment. She fought it a little bit, but it was no big deal. The girls were both adorable in their costumes. Since Kinsley is walking now, she was so cute waddling around. We won't actually go trick or treating on Halloween, but they had a lot of fun going to the few houses we did go to. Here's our duck and Minnie Mouse.

"I get to fill these with candy?"

One proud Daddy and his beautiful girls.

Duck crossing.

Sitting pretty.

Mama and the girls.

"Waddle, waddle."

Pumpkins Part 2

Here is the picture of the pumpkin that Kevin carved as a surprise for the girls. It turned out really cute, but Keltie was disappointed because it didn't have a face on it. I guess you can't make everyone happy.

Grammy Day

Grammy is spending the day with the girls today. As I'm sitting here at work, she sends me pictures. Rub it in just a little bit more! I'm glad that they can spend time together and have fun. Here's their day so far:

Yes, they will be on a sugar high when I get home. Too cute!

It's Official

Well, we can now officially say that Kinsley is walking. It all started on Sunday when she was moving all over the house. It continued yesterday and our babysitter even remarked at how much she was able to move. Last night she was all over the place. It's so much fun to watch her because she isn't real steady yet, but she's getting there. You can hear her coming even when you are in the other room because she is talking as she goes. She is getting better at standing up in the middle of the room, but hasn't quite mastered it yet. Kinsley has already learned to follow her big sister around. Keltie thinks that this is fun now, and I'm hoping that this continues. I know that I've been waiting for this, but I'm sure in the next few weeks, I might be rethinking. Love you, Kins.

Pumpkin Fun

This year, we only had two pumpkins that made it in our garden. Like last year, they ended up being huge. Since it was so nice yesterday we carved one of them. (Kevin did the other one later, but I forgot to get a picture of it.) Keltie had a lot of fun playing with the pumkin "guts."

Daddy and Keltie making just the right design. Keltie wanted eyes like ours, but Daddy decided against it since he was the one doing the carving.

Kinsley wanted to come by Mama as soon as she saw the camera out. Keltie was just waiting patiently.

The first piece of the "guts." Oh the excitement!

What else is in there?

"Yummy." Just as I was about to take her picture holding on to it, she puts it up to her mouth.

The finished product.

Nice work!

Mama and the girls.

Keltie's silly face.

One Last Hurrah

I didn't have school on Friday and Kevin had a half a day of work that needed to be used up so we decided to go camping. I'm not sure if this will be our last time or not, but we had a lot of fun. It was different this time because it was just the four of us. We haven't ever really camped this late in the year so it was a little bit cold. The girls had so much fun though playing in the leaves. Keltie enjoyed raking them and then kicking them on our walks. It was such an enjoyable weekend, even with our winter jackets on.

Daddy's Under Our Spell

Grammy bought the girls Halloween shirts that have a witch on them and say "Daddy's Under Our Spell." Keltie was very excited when she got this shirt and wanted to wear it. I have the clothes picked out for the girls at the beginning of the week and she saw it on her dresser Sunday night. I told her that she could pick what day she wanted to wear it and she said "Thursday." So, we decided that Kinsley should also wear her shirt on the same day. I told her that it would be fun for Daddy to see them in those shirts when he picked them up from the sitter's. I hope that he gets as excited as they were.

Nice smile Keltie. Of course Kinsley is eating. There's nothing like string cheese in the morning.

Not too bad. I'm thinking that one day, they might both have guys under their spells with those brown eyes.



I always love when one is smiling and the other isn't.

Retraction

Okay, so I've been getting a lot of grief about my posting the other day from some individuals (aka Grammy) about the fact that I said that Kinsley isn't walking. Yes, she is definitely talking steps. Yes, she is more confident in her walking. We love watching her go from piece of furniture to piece of furniture. It is so fun to watch because she makes a dive for when she is just about there. Then she has to look at you and smile. Even though she is doing this, we do not consider her "walking." I say it this way because walking is not her main mode of transportation. She still knows that she can get to places faster by either butt scooting or crawling. When she chooses to walk the majority of the time, then we will consider her "walking." (We did the same thing with Keltie, much to Grammy's dismay as well.) Kinsley is just following in her Aunt Joann and Uncle Jason's steps and will walk at 15 months. Look out world, here she comes.

15 Months

On October 8th, Kinsley will be 15 months old. I feel like we have gotten so far with her. She used to be kind of a fussy baby that was hard to please, now she is constantly smiling and looking for attention. She used to cry when new people held her, but she is getting much better with that. It's so nice because now she'll actually go to other people.

We always joke that she is our Chunky Monkey, but seriously, this girl can eat. She will start eating supper before anyone else, but in the end she's always the last one to finish.

We've always said it, but there's definitely a hint of something in Kinsley's eyes. (I'm thinking trouble.) She knows when she does something wrong and when you try to talk to her about it, she just looks at you with those eyes. Sometimes you have to look away from her because you are laughing at her.

She loves to talk. I can't believe how many different words she can say already. She is also very loud when she talks. When Kevin picks the girls up from the sitter's they are out on the front porch with Cathy because Kinsley is too loud and wakes up the other kids. She loves to mimic the things that you say as well.

She loves to play with Keltie. Or should I say, take things away from Keltie. In all honesty, she can put up a pretty good fight and try to push Keltie out of the way.

And finally....WALKING. Not quite there yet, but she is definitely getting more confident. It seems like she should be walking, but it doesn't really bother her. She is walking and cruising a lot more. Like Kevin and I figured out last night, by the time she does walk well, it will be winter with snowpants and boots. Love you so much Kinsley!

3 1/2 Going on 20

On October 10th, Keltie will be 3 1/2 years old. Wow, I can't believe that. She has grown up way too fast. When I wake her up in the morning I just snuggle with her for a few minutes and think how much I am enjoying this age. She is so much fun right now. She is coming up with new ideas and thoughts everyday. It's truly amazing just watching her grow and change. Along with this, I know that next year I'll be waking her up to go to school. Crazy! For now though, I'll just enjoy all the things that she is doing.

She loves to explore new things. She is constantly reading books. I love listening to her because she reads with the same intonation that I use when I read to her. Future teacher?

She loves to sing and dance. I don't know what she is always saying, but she is having fun doing it. When we get to the sitter's house, if her song isn't finished, we have to sit in the van until it is. A lot of times we just sing and shake our booties waiting for it to finish.

Keltie loves her sister, although she doesn't at times show it in the right way. I think that they will love to play with each other as they get older.



She loves to be outside, especially when she can be Daddy's helper. Her and Daddy are great buds. Anything outside is done with Daddy and reading, singing, playing inside is when she's a Mommy's girl.

She loves anything related to school. She is cutting, coloring, writing letters, telling shapes and colors. I hope that this love for learning continues.

Just a little story to share...the other night we were driving in the van and she saw the moon. Her and Grammy and Boompa have always had this special connection with the moon. Well, it's currently only a half moon so she looked at it and said that part of it was missing. Kevin went on to explain that it wasn't actually missing. After his explanation, she went, "I wonder where it went. Maybe it fell into the water and disappeared." You have to love the thinking behind that. Love you so much Keltie!

Daddy's Girls

Kevin hasn't been able to get out hunting a whole lot this year, but the other night we had two deer out at our oak tree. While the girls and I were watching it from the patio door, Kevin was trying to sneak up on them. Well, I didn't know this and Kinsley let out a big scream and of course the deer ran away. Needless to say, when Kevin came in, he wasn't any too happy with all of us. So the next day he decided he would set up his blind in the yard and hunt from that. While Kinsley napped, Keltie and I helped him set it up just right. When it was time for hunting, we were confined to the basement so that there wouldn't be any chance of spooking the deer. Well, 19 minutes after he went out, he was knocking on the basement window to tell us that he had gotten one. Keltie wanted to go out and see it so Kinsley went with and they both had to get their pictures taken with Daddy and the deer. The next day, when Kevin was cutting the meat off the deer, Keltie stayed out there the entire time with him and kep asking questions. Future hunter? Maybe. If so, then she can help Daddy cut up the meat instead of me.

What do you think...Christmas card?

Time with Daddy

Okay, I'm a little bit behind on this, but I just can't seem to find enough time to get things done. My class at school literally keeps me on my toes all day and by the time I get home, I'm beat. I've been working very hard on leaving everything behind when I go home for the day so that I can enjoy my wonderful family. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, we went camping again. Kevin took off the whole day so that he could take the girls early and spend some quality time with them. Honestly, I'm not sure who enjoyed the time more.When I got there, both girls were sound alseep with their naps and Daddy was of course enjoying a blue yummy with Auntie Carol and Uncle John. It was a great weekend. Hopefully we can get in another trip before packing away the camper.

Kevin brings a lot of scrap wood from work. It's fun to see how high you can get the tower to go. If you look close in the background, there's a deer. I guess that's where Kinsley is scooting to.

Yes, we call Keltie princess. Yes, we even let her dress up like one. She had slept in this skirt the night before and right away when she got up in the morning she wanted to put it on and take it camping. I don't think that Daddy was too excited about it, but it's adorable even for camping.