happy birthday max

We celebrated Max's birthday this weekend with a Mario party at the house of some of our favorite friends.  Kristi did such an awesome job with all of the decorations.  The food was great, the company was better, and we all had a great time celebrating.

Kentucky State Fair

Last night we met up with Amy, Art, and Alton at the KY State Fair.  We enjoyed dinner (Kaylea had a big BBQ sandwich), took a quick stroll to look at the petting zoo, and headed over to enjoy some rides.  Kaylea had a blast.  We ended up staying way later than we should have.  Kaylea rode nearly every ride she could and went down the slide several times.  We bought the $20 wristband for unlimited rides, which was nice.  There was never a line for any of the rides, which made it extra nice. 

Going to a fair to ride rides is one of my favorite memories as a kid growing up, especially with my dad.  I can remember my dad would always stop if we spotted a fair in a parking lot or on the side of a road.  We would stop and ride the rides, play games, and eat cotton candy.  I think Kaylea loves it just as much.

Gymnastics & Dance

Kaylea recently started taking gymnastics & dance class.  Dance is going much better than gymnastics, but I'm trying to get her to stick it out.  It's a long story and I don't want to get into it on the blog, but we're working on trying to like the class and the teacher.  I think there are too many kids in the class.  There are 8 kids and 1 instructor and only a few of them know what they are doing.

We are taking dance at Raindow Dance Academy and Kaylea seems to love that (for the price, it's a good thing).  The first 30 minutes is tap and the last 30 minutes is ballet.  From looking, I think she is best at ballet, but I guess only time will tell.

fun times with friends

We had a full weekend of plans lined up. Friday night Kaylea & Mimi had a pretend sleep over until we came home around 11pm. We played in Euchre tournament (Jordy and his partner won).

Saturday we split up and Jordy went to the house to sell our refrigerator and then worked on getting it ready for the paint on Tuesday. Kaylea and I headed out to run some errands. We were going to the post office, so she insisted on writing a letter to mail. We mailed a letter to her friend Owen in West Lafayette. She told me that she really missed him, but she didn’t want to drive all the way there, so she would just write a letter and mail it. After we dropped the letter off at the Post Office and picked up a package, we headed to get some breakfast. She wanted to go to A Nice Restaurant. All was going well until she spilled her entire glass of lemonade on me. I’m not sure why they didn’t give her the kids cup with the lid, but I hadn’t even thought to ask because we don’t usually use cups with lids and she does fine.

Even though I was still a little soaked, we headed to the grocery store to get our food for the week. There was a radio show outside of the store and Kaylea wanted to spin the wheel to win a prize. She won a CD and I won chap stick. On the way home we stopped to pick up some food for daddy and headed to the house to visit. Shannan and Brenden had stopped by to see the house, so Kaylea got to play.

After church on Saturday, we went to a houseparty hosted by Kristi & Mark Klimish. It was a games party. The guys pretty much played with the kids while we enjoyed playing one of the new games. The kids seemed to have a blast. Kaylea never wants to go, but she also never wants to leave! By the time we got home, Kaylea fell asleep pretty quickly.

Sunday was pretty relaxing. We hung out all morning and headed to lunch at Nana’s house. Nana played with Kaylea while we went to see a movie. We try to make the most of our weekends together. We had fun and are looking forward to another busy week.

Mommy & Kaylea Day

Jordy & his guy friends planned a guy's day this weekend, so it was mommy & Kaylea day on Saturday.  Kaylea had been looking forward to it.  We started the morning playing and then we headed to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Aidric's birthday.  I enjoyed catching up with a long time friend who lives in the Cincinnati area now. Kaylea wasn't sure about wanting to go, but she had a good time and even hugged Aidric on the way out.

After we left Chuck E Cheese we headed to the grocery to get a few ingredients to make a cake.  We mixed it and through it in the oven quickly.  We got it out just in time to get her hair cut.  I took her to the salon I have been going to, Tangled.  We met Alysha and Kaylea loved her.  Since she cut Kaylea's hair dry, she asked if she could braid it.  Kaylea let her and it looked super cute.  The best part - she only charged $10.

We had just enough time to kill before going to see the Smurfs movie, so Kaylea decided she wanted to have her toes painted.  The salon we normally go to added children's pedicure chairs, so Kaylea was treated to her first "real" pedicure.  The only thing she didn't have done was the cutting of her cuticles.  I wasn't sure she would like that, so we skipped that step.  When they scrubbed the bottoms of her feet she said, "why are you trying to tickle my feet?"  She also asked the woman why she spoke Spanish.  The woman was so sweet to her.  She painted Hello Kitty on her big toes.  

We made it out  just in time to make it in the theater for the previews.  Kaylea sat very well during the movie (mostly on my lap).  She really enjoyed it.  After the movie we headed home to finish making the cake before going to a play date at Erin's. 

For some reason I completely spaced and didn't take any pictures of the kids playing.  They had a great time.  Kaylea was tired, but didn't want to leave.  I got some adult talk. 

We headed home and Kaylea took a shower.  I let her sleep in my bed in daddy's spot and she slept great.  After she went to bed, I enjoyed a glass of wine and made a photo book on Shutterfly.  Kaylea and I slept in until 8:30 on Sunday.  I asked Kaylea if she had a good time and she said we didn't spend enough time playing at home.  However, the next day she asked when we get to do it again, so I think she had a pretty good time.

Mimi was kind enough to go get our McDonald's breakfast and we hung out until daddy returned.  

happy birthday kaidyn & keegan

Last weekend, we had Kaidyn over on Friday night to play.  Her birthday was Saturday and I figured mom and dad had plenty to do.  We played and had dinner at the apartment, played at the "new" house, and ended the evening with Zesto's.  When we got to Kaidyn's house, the girls tested out the bouncy house for the next day.

After the princess dance camp practice, we headed to Kaidyn & Keegan's party.  It was circus themed.  Kaylea enjoyed playing the games and had her face painted.  After eating cake, we had to head home to get ready for the pageant.

Christian Academy - First Day of Pre-K

Kaylea started pre-k this year at Christian Academy.  After much debate between CA and Graceland, we decided to go with CA.  The downside is that I have to be the one to take her to school because they do not open until 7am, but I thought the sacrifice would be worth it for one year.

We had open house last week on Thursday.  Kaylea got to see her school and meet her new teacher.  It is a new experience for all of us, so I knew it would be an adjustment.

Monday morning I prayed that she wouldn't be upset when I dropped her off.  After 2 straight weeks at home, I was expecting the worst.  However, she just went right on in and started playing.  I think she was excited about taking her lunch and playing.  She said she had a great day.

Day 2 didn't go nearly as well.  She cried.  The teacher there that morning wasn't great about helping me get out the door.  It sucked.  Turns out it didn't last long and she had another great day.

Day 3 may have been worse.  She cried.  The teacher was much better about helping me get out the door, but Kaylea went with her kicking and screaming.  My friend Mary got there about 10 minutes after I left and said Kaylea was in a great mood when she dropped her son off.

Day 4 wasn't perfect, but there were no tears.  I decided to leave Kaylea with a kiss (a Hershey kiss that is) before going and telling her I love her.  I took her back to the blocks to play and helped her get a few out before heading out the door.  She didn't want me to go, but she didn't cry.

I hope it gets easier and easier for her.  I think she will make some friends in the class that she looks forward to seeing.  I'm looking forward to seeing all of the new things she learns this year.

Harvest Homecoming Princess Camp

My friend Melissa told me about a princess camp that was sponsored by the Harvest Homecoming. The minimum age to sign up was 4 and with Kaylea just turning 4, I wasn't sure if it was going to be over her head.  We decided to go for it.  Thursday night was rehearsal.  Kaylea was not into it at all.  I don't know if she was tired from returning to school this week or what, but she wasn't too happy.  She tried to learn the moves, but really didn't seem to care.

This morning we had to be at Floyd Central High School at 10am for practice, followed by lunch with the queens.  Kaylea and another princess were paired up with the 2012 Miss Harvest Homecoming.  She wasn't happy when we arrived, but when she realized she got to go on stage, that all changed.  She did good at rehearsal and when it was lunch time, Jordy and I headed out to Tumbleweed for lunch.

We came back at night for the performance.  The girls had to sit through the entire Miss Harvest Homecoming pageant.  Kaylea did much better than I expected.  She sat on my lap so that she could see, but she actually paid attention.  A few times during the show, she commented loudly, and the crowd laughed.  Luckily it was nice, like, "I love her beautiful dress" and "those girls are fantastic."

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the actual show, and I completely forgot to take any pictures of Kaylea in her white dress, so Trina provided these for me.  She did great on stage.  They each have their name called and they read something about them.  Kaylea did her twirl, blew her princess kisses, and did her princess wave.  I love my little princess!

She must have been exhausted because she wanted to go to bed when she got home.

Improved Writing

Just 2 weeks ago Kaylea couldn't write the letters in her name.  With a little practice and a few connect the dot games, she was able to get it down on paper.  She has been writing it on everything at school and now she is asking me how to spell words so that she can write.  Tonight we made birthday cards for Kaidyn and Keegan.  I wrote "happy birthday" on Kaidyn's and when it was time to make Keegan's she asked if she could write it.  I love seeing the progress.