Kennedy potty training pt. 1

*WARNING*
The following story is not for the weak at heart or the stomach.

When I was a kid there was a couple who lived across the street that had a cat that went missing. They searched for weeks to no avail and eventually gave up the search. Then one day my parents noticed a strange smell coming from their bathroom. The smell grew stronger and stronger and they put two and two together and realized that the missing cat had died somewhere under the house and was causing the smell. Therefore the day came that Dad had to crawl (and I mean shoulder crawl under this house because that is how much room there was) and get the cat out. As there was no room I had to crawl under there with him to hold the light. (April refused to help and Dusty is beyond afraid of all things that move. I thought that it was going to be fun:( I had no freaking idea!!!) Anyway it appeared that the cat crawled up into this space under my parents shower where he was unable to climb out and eventually died. I don't know why his cries were not heard except that we had several and I mean several outside cats living under that crawl space and also my parents had been in the middle of remodeling that bathroom so it rarely was used. Now we had to get that cat out and the only way was to cut a hole around the cat so he could fall out. I will never forget that moment. Dad starts to cut the area and then suddenly there is this smell! Cannot describe to you how horrific it was. The saw hit the cat!!! The smell permeated the area and we both began to gag. It was so so so bad. To this day I still remember the smell. Now why is this relevant to my topic, because Kennedy just brought that smell back to me! And that is why I can't wait for her to be fully potty trained!!! Were on day two of diapers only at bed!!! Yesterday we had no accidents and she did number 1 on the potty chair. I am keeping my fingers crossed and her off the couch!lol I miss Lisa (Ava's former babysitter and number one potty trainer of 18 mth old Ava) more than ever before!!!

The wierdest dinner conversation

Shane and I had a unique dinner conversation that I thought I'd share. As follows;

"Do you ever wonder if you are really retarded (Shane's anti-pc word) and people just cheer you along and congratulate you because you are really retarded?" Shane began

"No, I never fear that I am retarded." I reply without hesitation "Do you really feel that"

"Sometimes" he answers

"You realize you are one of the smartest people I know" I compliment him

"I am not asking you to compliment me, I am just stating how I feel." he responds

"Well you shouldn't feel that way because you are freakin smart and you know it!" I argue back

"You aren't being objective you are being biased!" he states with frustration

"What do you know?" "You're retarded!" and so ends the conversation!!!

The best

Nova loves to kiss shoulders. I can't tell you how wonderfully sweet she is and they are. Instant love!!!

How our family has changed

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Fun at the park

What started off as Ava and I doing some cloud watching suddenly became a ride my mom game. Kennedy was the first to take advantage because she hates sitting on the grass. Then Ava thought it looked like fun and joined in. Shane brought Nova over and Ava put her in the middle and then they told me to "Ride"! Yeah like that was going to happen! It was a nice night, the weather just right and the sunset a light pink. It made me realize that the summer is almost over and school will be back before we know it and we haven't even had one night of the duck pond. That's going to have to be our next night outing.

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Kennedy turns 3 pt. 2

Kennedy had a low key b-day. Her formal birthday party is scheduled for early august but today we had a celebration with the family only. Ava, Nova, and I went to Target for her presents while she slept after Shane got home. Then we stopped for some groceries and came home. Ava occupied Kennedy while Shane put together her new big girl Dora bike and while I wrapped her Our Generation girl. Kennedy has wanted a doll like Ava's, most summer she has taken Kathryn (Ava's doll) away from Ava and due to the fighting it caused we decided it was time that she got her own. She also got a book from Ava and a wallet from Nova to keep her "money" in (money being the change she steals off the dresser all the time and then carries with her or the scraps of paper she finds.lol) Kennedy was low-key about the gifts. She liked them but didn't give us the drama we have come to expect. Then once her small presents were opened Shane went outside and got the camera in position and we went out so that she could "discover" her bike. She like the bike but again not in the overly excited way so we were a little worried she didn't. Then later she insisted it go into the room with her, which is allowed for tonight only, and she also put her new doll, Sunnie, on it. Later we sang to her and she tried 3 times to blow out the candle but couldn't so we helped her with that. Luckily she refused to make a wish so we didn't have to worry about it coming true or not.

Part 3 due in a few weeks

Kennedy turns 3 pt. 1

Kennedy will turn three tomorrow! In some ways it seems like yesterday that she came into our world, but it also seems like ages ago that we lived in CA. Kennedy had brought so much love and joy into our lives. She has had a few rough days lately since she has caught a stomach bug but today she finally seemed to be herself. I would never have imagined how funny she has become, but then again if you had asked me 3 years ago if she would be the baby or the middle child I would have declared "The Baby!" and then kicked you out of my room. But luckily I cannot predict the future and now Kennedy has been the lucky one to have both an older and younger sister.

This picture is the last one I'll ever take of two year old Kennedy. :( Can't wait to compare it with the first picture of three year old Kennedy!:)

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Dragonsong Sunday

Sunday came in with a Bang as Kennedy threw up early this morning. Followed by all the girls feeling under the weather. We put the girls back to bed but eventually boredom overtook them and Shane suggested we do a family reading. Dragonsong became the chosen book and we snuggled into our bed to read. Shane began the book and then Ava took over. Ava did really well impressing Shane and I with the word corridor reading it without help. There were a few words she stumbled over mainly due to them being fictional words. We enjoyed our little reader while Kennedy and Nova enjoyed making their own noises. Thankfully everyone seems to be feeling better now!

A day of firsts...

Nova did two cool new things today. First she drove. Now don't get ahead of yourself she didn't drive a car but she did "drive" the car part of the Smith's shopping cart. As usual we got stopped by people who love to stare at the girls, (those eyes let me tell you. I can't take the credit for them, that's all Shane and my mom. ((I know what you are thinking sicko)) as they both have blue eyes and so the girls had pretty much no chance of getting my green eyes. Anyway as Nova and Kennedy drove they got a lot of smiles and Nova had a blast. Ava was my big helper getting the few items needed to make her cookies (which I got distracted when we baked them and we burnt the heck out of them:( That's ok we plan to make more tomorrow. Nova's second amazing thing she did was move to a sitting position on her own. We all saw it but sadly didn't get it captured on film. I did get take a few pics shortly after in case she repeated her amazing moment but instead she decided she would smile and demand her swing. Therefore you'll have to wait to see a video when I get it captured. Stay tuned!!!

A little bit of our summer so far...

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This has been just a bit of our summer. Looking forward to some more of the good times, and a far less of the bad. So far Nova has torn her cornea, bit her lip, has had nursemaid's elbow, and yet she is only 8 1/2 moths! Let me not forget the horror is picking her up last night to comfort her crying self to see her mouth full of blood. Turns out she bit her tongue. (She is getting used her to her top teeth. I can only hope she breaks out of the phase of getting hurt!

Today has been an off day. To begin the night didn't go that great and we are feeling the after effects today. First Shane had to work yesterday for most of the day so we didn't have a "family day" which the girls have come to expect on the weekends. Then Kennedy wouldn't take a nap resulting in her falling asleep after dinner and a bath at 7:00pm which is early for them. Of course that meant she woke at 9:00pm and didn't want to go back to sleep until after 11:00. Ava who was suppose to be in bed asleep was awake when Shane and I decided to go to bed and since Kennedy was still awake we put her in our bed because she wouldn't sleep by herself. Therefore Ava also joined the party and before we knew it we had a bed full of kids. Luckily Nova had managed to stay asleep in her crib. Our sleep was unrestful due to Shane having to be up at 3:00 to check on a work thing, (cannot remember what it was exactly but something to due with a program. So the alarms went off at three, not that they really had to wake us up since we weren't really asleep due to the anxiety of possibly missing the alarm and the fact that Shane was on the edge of right side of the bed and I was asleep on the left side with my head at the foot of our king-size bed that felt like a twin size due to the two sprawled out on their backs without a care in the world passed out cold girls. Then after he got up it was almost impossible to fall asleep and eventually it did happen although it really didn't matter since Nova woke an hours or so later. Once I got her settled I once again tried to sleep and did only to have the time quickly come to wake up for Shane to go to work and Nova to be taken care of. Ava and Kennedy slept in although I thought about waking them but then decided that having two grouchy girls would only result in punishment for me. These pictures I took after each one woke up, and they are the calm before the storm since today had been a crying fest with Nova getting in her 5th tooth and Kennnedy refusing to help Ava who is reluctantly cleaning their room. I am just looking forward to the Tylenol kicking in and to a shower this afternoon. (I am keeping my fingers crossed that will happen.lol

And so it begins...

We had a first today. Shane and the girls were enjoying playtime at the Tramway McDonald's while I was doing laundry today. Then then out of the blue some little boy basically asked Ava out on a "date" to the spray park. Not only did he ask her out but being a young gentlemen he asked her where her dad was. He approached Shane and asked for Ava's digits. Shane, thinking on his toes in his moment of shock, (really we weren't expecting this for another 7-10 years), gave him the only number he could think of. Can you guess it? So later as we were gathered on the couch Ava reminds her dad of what happen and he relays the story to me. It took me a minute for have it register that my first born, my little girl, just got asked on her first "date"! Of course being the mother I am I did ask the most obvious of questions, "was he cute?" to which Ava replied NO! Then relief washes over me, not to mention the knowledge that our number is not 867-5309!

Things that are cool

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Drama Queens

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Family Memories

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Remembering our loved ones

Kennedy running through the grass. So many memories this brought back to my days of running through the cemetery. I also remember "picking flowers" (which turned out to be off the graves!)


Ava and Ashley sharing secrets

I have wanted to share these pictures for a while. I didn't take them of course, they were done by a professional photographer who is my cousin's boyfriend. I imagine that Memorial day is important to most people, and it is a very important family tradition for our family. I was very happy that I was able to spend that day sharing my little family with my huge extended family. Not only am I blessed to have the girls and Shane but to have an amazing family beyond them as well. That day always carries a mixed bag of feelings as you can imagine. However there is no one like family to carry you through the day. Did I say that I was blessed?

Nova soaking up the sun and the love!

Welcome

Nova getting cleaned in the sink. She's almost too big to get her bath in it, now she has been joining Ava and Kennedy for her night time bath. She loves to be with her sisters, almost as much as he loves her mom. I like this picture of her though because Shane just caught her at the most comical moment. Life with the girls is speeding by, it's nice to have something to look back on even if it is a silly picture. I am sure she will appreciate this when she is older and I make a poster size copy to hang at her wedding reception.lol

Why a new blog???

Well it's simple actually I want to post pictures of my amazing girls and I can't at http://www.twelve-oaks.net At least I can't easily. It requires an act of congress! Ok so it doesn't but it requires Shane to add some lines of code and that takes time that he doesn't have. So to be fair to him, and to me I decided that I am multi-talented enough to keep two blogs going. It' s not like I blog everyday so I'll be overwhelmed. It will be more of sharing the happenings of our life with pictures. So keep an eye out for both blogs!