love that smile...

santa came early

my mom and dad sent a somewhat LARGE gift for kennedy's christmas. i thought they had lost their minds... but they explained that she is inside all winter and needed more outlets for her never-ending energy. needless to say, she loves it!!! though i am not too keen on the idea that it went where my couch was!

accomplishing getting in and out of the swing all by herself!

climbing up the wrong way... IMMEDIATELY!

helping put together the castle!

getting ready to go see santa!!!

poor thing!!! her nose was really runny while she was sick!

THANKS, Mandy!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

while we were in NH visiting colleen and dean, ted drove up to see us. we have not seen each other since kennedy has been born and it was great to catch up with a great old friend.

colleen took us to the new england sea aquarium while we were there. it was awesome! thomas' favorite animal is the penguin, and man did they have a bunch of penguins. this one reminded me of happy feet...

this little boy came outta nowhere and started kissing on kennedy. it was so funny. his name was max. (then we all got sick and i am sure it was from max!!!)

looking at the jellies with daddy

so much love...

we generally stay home all of the time. so to be traveling for two weeks straight, and meeting new people every day, i must say that ms kennedy did great. while the other kids were screaming on the airplanes, she fell asleep on every takeoff and never fussed for even a minute.

posing with aunt marci

getting lots of luvin from uncle robbie, chase and kalei

thomas stepping on his tippy-toes so that he would be taller than

his brother tim and sister colleen.

colleen and thomas posing before the big party

we brought 12 lobsters down the FL from NH. it was a surprise for my mom and i only wish i would have had a camera in my hand when she saw them. it was priceless. all of the kids enjoyed them and i think the adults did too!

planes, cold weather and the flu...

we spent the past two weeks traveling all over the place. we went to nashua, nh for a week to visit with thomas' sister colleen. it was FREEZING!!!! to say the least... but we had a blast and it was great to finally meet tom's family.

uncle dean throwing kennedy in the air. she LOVED this! he also fed her Italian ice EVERY night we were there!

being a ham for the camera!

loving auntie before we went into the new England aquarium.

getting ready to feast on some real Italian spaghetti and meatballs!!! YUM

just being cute. towards the end of our trip, Kennedy and I got really sick. we ended up in the er once we got to Florida. she has never been sick... and we were sure we would face hours waiting and waiting for a doctor. shockingly, we were in and out of there in 40 minutes. can you believe it!? I was in total shock. we left with a script for amoxicillan and motrin for the fever. she is doing much better now... she has become a pro at blowing bubbles out of her nose! HA!

our little pumpkin

kennedy's second halloween proved to be much more fun this year. by house number three, she knew she was getting SOMETHING from each neighbor. it was hilarious. and she kept her hat on the whole time!

never underestimate her sneakyness...

the other day, i was in the kitchen doing dishes and getting ready for dinner, when i heard a sound. it was a crinkling sound, and i immediately knew kennedy ashton ryan was into something because she was being way too quiet.

there was a hump-and-a-half of cake left from the caterpillar, and it was on the table covered in aluminum foil. i know she has had a growth spurt. she was 30.5 inches long last week at the dr.'s (and 23.4 pounds).

as i rounded to corner, i could not help but laugh. i didn't want her to stop eating the icing... so i walked slowly to the buffet, and pretended to watch dora. she was none-the-wiser, and i managed to get a few precious shots. needless to say... as you can see....she THOROUGHLY enjoyed herself.

oh what a day!!!

when my mom and dad were here for kennedy's birthday, we all loaded up and went to the springhouse market & farms. i found a small pumpkin patch, which looked better than any church parking lot full of pumpkins, but thomas insisted i search for something better. little did i know that there was way more out there. the springhouse was loaded! i mean we hit the jackpot of pumpkin patches! there was a petting zoo, hay rides, hay slides, trails lined with pumpkins that were carved and painted into themes such as M&M's and the Flintstones, and so much more. the market was full of fresh breads, cheese, any kind of homemade "something-salad" you could imagine. ohhhh, it was wonderful! if you are ever in southwest pennsylvania, make sure to stop at eighty four, pa... exit 25 off interstate 70.

kennedy letting this calf eat her pants!

dad, mom, thomas peter and kennedy

riding a dairy cow with daddy

checking to see if it will melt in my hand...

no matter what the sign says in the top left corner...

kennedy was determined to try and eat the corn!

she would NOT stand there!!!

binkies..... dont leave home without 'em!

and the mess began...

Happy Birthday Kennedy!!!

kennedy loves baby einstein so i decided to make her a caterpillar cake for her birthday. i was not really sure i could do it, but after three days of baking, it turned out pretty cute!

aunt marcy and uncle robbie sent a chair that kennedy LOVES! it took her about a day to figure out how to sit down and get back up herself, but now she has it mastered.

nana and papa flew up from florida to help celebrate!

aunt colleen sent this precious ballerina outfit!

take it all out

kennedy's newest game is taking every single toy out of the hamper and distributing them around the house. this game drives her daddy crazy, and he picks them all up probably three to four times a day. and i thought i was the one with ocd tendencies!!!

mama's little chef...

i like to cook, and i mean everyday. kennedy has become quite the little helper. every since she was tiny, i would put her in the kitchen with me in her bouncy-chair. for about a month now, because she is into everything, i have not let her into the kitchen when i was cooking... which proved to be quite a hassle, not to mention a

rough hour and a half. so i have started letting her "help" me. now, i use that term very loosely... really all she does is grab whatever i happen to be chopping and then nibbles on each piece. she eats it all... onions, green pepper, zucchini, etc.... it has become a highlight of my day!