Daddy and Kennedy

This picture truly warms my heart. A summer evening rain makes a perfect setting for some daddy/daughter time on the back porch. :)


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Kennedy at camp

When your daughter goes to camp for the first time, you should write her a sweet note to tuck in her duffel bag.


And then, when you drop her off...even at almost 9 years old... she'll be so excited and "shoo" you away.


Kennedy with awesome counselor, Chase.


Ms. Peri and Mrs. Christy took good care of her all week. She had an absolute blast!


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Guess who is FIVE?

My sweet baby boy turned five!! I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by.

Brady was so excited for his birthday presents, dinner, and ICE CREAM!


The little angel hopped right on his bike am started pedaling in the kitchen! So cute!!








Happy Birthday baby boy!


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Just dance!

Six years of dance are wrapping up this spring. I can't believe she has been at this for six seasons! I remember when she started dancing right after she turned two.



The teacher reminded us to take "all tiny ballerinas to the potty before class" so there would be no accidents. Her performance was from one of my favorite movies "Annie"..... The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.






I had hoped she would be interested in dance this long, and who knows if it will continue. But in the meantime, I'll enjoy every rehearsal, every recital, every costume change.






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Kennedy,

I want you to know how much I absolutely adore you. Your love of life, your crazy spirit, your desire to entertain us all, your energy....you are simply amazing.

You keep us on our toes and I love you more than words can express.



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Beautiful

My beautiful girl takes my breath away. She has the most vivacious personality and a smile that can light up a room. I am so incredibly blessed to be her mom.


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My baby boy

How is it that he's getting so big? My heart is full of love for this angel.

Go Fish card game.....


Cat nap on a Sunday afternoon...


CUPCAAAAKE!


Muffins with Mom right before Mother's Day...


New haircut....


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Nap with my boy

There is nothing better than this. When I told my sweet boy I wanted to take a nap and asked if he wanted to rest with me, I said "Oh yes, mommy. I want to lay wichoo."

Melt.....my.....heart.


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Note from Kennedy

I will absolutely treasure this note from Kennedy for the REST of my life. Found it on my desk while she was at school. :) I'm one happy mama right now.


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Love note

Be still my heart.........

Found this note on my desk.


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An important part of our week is to have a dance party in the kitchen before school. It usually ends up being on Fridays --- for obvious reasons. This week was particularly stressful in our house. Kennedy took the iLeap at school; I had a lot of work keeping me at a higher-than-normal stress level; Chris was overwhelmed. So today's dance party was *just* what we needed.















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Handmade cards

We're big fans of homemade cards in our house. Yesterday, for Chris' birthday -- the kids proudly gave their daddy these carefully written and hand drawn cards.

Kennedy always uses the most loving language. :)





And at 4 years old, Brady draws the most adorable pictures!!


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2012

We're a quarter the way through 2013 and I simply cannot believe the time has flown by so fast. 2012 was a complete blur and I don't think I blogged but a handful of times. SO much happened last year that there was no time to post. And once I get behind, it seems impossible to catch up. So I'm going to hit the high notes:

1. I bought a business. Yup, that's the reason it took this long to remember that I had a blog to help keep up with our family life and document it for the kids. It was the biggest venture I've ever taken on and Chris was right here with me to support me every step of the way. It was a long, drawn out process... very scary ... completely overwhelming, but on April 4, 2012 - I became a business owner. Over the last year, I have worked harder than I ever thought imaginable. Long hours, stressful clients, big sales and the occasional loss were so much for me to grasp. Sometimes, I still wake up and pinch myself and ask "Did that really happen?" Being able to work from home and be here when the kids finish school has been so worth it, though. But many nights, it's right back to work after we wrap up family time. ;)

2. During the same year of this crazy business venture, I decided to finally get healthy. I woke up sick and tired of feeling overweight, unhealthy, and unattractive. I hired a trainer, started working out 3 times a week ... which turned into 5 times a week ... at one point, I was working out 7 days a week. It kind of became an addiction. I am happy to report that one year later, I'm still on this healthy lifestyle. It truly became a new way of life for me. Oh -- and I ran a marathon (on a sprained ankle!) to celebrate this January.

3. Chris was promoted to a "Supreme Court Justice." Okay ... not a real judge, but that's what we call these limited positions in the company he works for. People die in these jobs because they are that coveted. He has worked so hard for his company and I am so proud of him for his accomplishments. When he's not traveling, he gets to work from home as well. It's nice to be able to have both parents at home sometimes.

4. Brady and Kennedy are doing so great. They're learning more and more each day at school. Kennedy is working her tail off in 3rd grade to keep all As and Bs on her report card. Brady is going to go to a pre-kindergarten program next year so that he can get a little bit older before he starts elementary school.

THOSE were the big things for 2012 ... so now I can get back to frequent posting of pictures, funny stories and how we're making memories. Whew!

Leisure Saturday morning

These mornings are rare. We usually have birthday parties, soccer games...or I usually have had training runs.

Not today. :)

We were able to enjoy Saturday morning family time. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon, toast ......then Connect 4. :)


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Back to a school

I keep promising to log everything that happened in 2012......... but I have yet to actually sit down and do it. :/

So I will start with this cutie pie. Today is her last day of holiday break. She's been out of school for two and a half weeks. So today -- we had a date. A few errands, a special prize for watching Brady and another 4 year old while me and another mom went for a run, then lunch at the spot of her choice.

Isn't she precious!? :)


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THREE posts this year?

Holy wow. So in doing a little research for work, I logged onto my blog and realized I've only posted THREE times this year. T.H.R.E.E. I'm ashamed. The purpose of this blog is to print it into a book to remind me and my kiddos of their "growing up" years. They've done QUITE  bit of growing this year, but time has definitely gotten away from me. I am committing my self to a rather lengthy post this weekend to catch us all up on the LaPierre happenings. And there have been A LOT of happenings. Stay tuned.

Valentine's Day 2012

Valentine's Day -- in my humble opinion -- is a commercial holiday where retailers want you to buy expensive cards, chocolate, gifts, flowers, dinner, wine, etc...etc...

I'm NOT against a day showing love... I just think that I should be doing the very best I can to show/tell my loved ones how I feel every day.

So Chris and I do small things for the kids, like putting love notes on their doors while they're sleeping:

(Kennedy's door)


(Brady's door)


...and they each got a sweet shirt to wear today. They had heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, school parties, and ate candy and goodies until they had upset tummies.



(Kennedy and his Valentine, Aubrey)


(Kennedy and Kaitlin)





SOMEONE IS EXCITED!!!!


As for me and Chris --- we had an uneventful evening. We wrote each other love notes and lounged on the couch an watched TV. Pure bliss. :)

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Boogers

Mommy: "We're going to Brookshires."

Brady: "Ewwww. I don't like boogers."

HAHAHAHAHAAA! The sad thing is -- he picks his nose ALL the time.... so I know that's not exactly true. ;)


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Tonight, we went to Raising Cane's for dinner. Chris is out of town and when he's gone -- the easiest dinner plan is the BEST dinner plan.

Kennedy insisted on saying the blessing. I was impressed.

Her prayer: "Dear God. Thank you for this wonderful -- WON-DER-FUL day. Thank you for my school and that I can go learn things there. Thank you that I have food and water and a home. Amen."

What an impressive prayer.

Of course anything that big sister does, Brady must follow. So he asked to pray.

"Dear Jesus. Thank you for this day. And thank you for God's lunch. Amen."

:)


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Love.....in a burnt waffle

Once in a while, the kids entertain themselves in the morning since they typically wake up before chickens. Brady has started climbing on the couch with the iPad.

I am truly grateful for those mornings because he usually climbs into bed with me and I, in my groggy sleep-induced coma, pull him into bed not realizing that I've just invited a sweaty little wiggle worm into bed with me.

So, on those mornings when Kennedy and Brady wake up at the same time -- she can turn on the TV and Chris and I get a few more minutes of sleep, which seems to more and more precious this time of year.

On a particular morning last weekend, Kennedy tip-toed into our room and was quietly sniffling as if something had upset her. This isn't out of the ordinary since the kids are getting along SO WELL these days. (insert sarcastic tone here). So when I asked what was wrong, she quickly mumbled some words that sounded more like a high pitched animal was squealing. After she finally calmed down, she said she broke a plate. A plate?! I didn't hear a plate fall and break. She further explained that she tried to make us waffles in the microwave. Then, the smell hit me. Burnt plastic.

Afraid there might have been a fire in the house, I leapt out of bed and ran into the kitchen. No fire. Just a horrific smell. And this......


This is what it looked like from the bottom. Yikes.


What we finally learned was that Kennedy had turned the waffles on HIGH for FIVE minutes. She had also poured cereal with milk and gotten both of us string cheese. How on earth could we possibly be upset over something minor (burnt plate and really, really awful smell) when she had done something so selfless? She gives of herself constantly. And wholly. It's the most wonderful trait my sweet girl has.

Oh -- and that smell? It lasted for three days. The whole family smelled like we had survived a house fire. :)

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