Little Gymnast

Check out this invitation that Kennedy received last week... Kennedy and her cousin Reagan were invited to join the "Advanced Preschool" class. It is a class for 3-5 year-olds. Kennedy was about one month shy of her 3rd birthday when she received the invitation, but they said that she is quite advanced and really belongs in the class. The advanced class is for one hour and they spend the entire time on the big equipment. She is going to look so tiny on the high beam and full-sized uneven bars.

I am very proud of my little gymnast!

I "Heart" Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! The funny thing is that I love it from a child's perspective rather than from the lovey-dovey adult perspective. I remember diligently sitting down and writing out my valentine cards for my classmates each year. I would spend so much time picking out just the right one for each of my classmates. Then, that extra large teacher valentine that was always included in the box was the best! I never really enjoyed getting valentines. I would bring them home, dump them out, briefly look through them, and then pitch them. Receiving them never seemed very special or meaningful to me, but I sure loved giving them!

I am re-living my childhood love for Valentine's day through Katelyn and Kennedy. I was a little disappointed during Katelyn's two years of preschool that she didn't want to make homemade valentines. She insisted on store-bought ones. I did buy them for her, remembering how much I loved my store-bought valentines as a little girl, but I was still disappointed. During Katelyn's second year of preschool, we actually had to make a Valentine's box. I was so excited! I did my research and found the cutest idea I could find. Katelyn actually helped a lot with this box, but I was definitely there to supervise.

This year, both Katelyn and Kennedy decided that they wanted to make their valentines...and I couldn't have been happier! Once again, I looked through everything Valentine's Day related until I found just what I wanted. After some tweaking and adding our own unique touches, here is the final product...

The pictures really do not do these cards justice. The pipe cleaner antennae and the glitter paint around the edges are both iridescent, which really added some glitz! Katelyn and Kennedy made red butterflies for the boys in their classes and the girls received pink or purple butterflies. Once again, Katelyn and Kennedy both helped a lot with making these cards. They did all of the assembling themselves (I helped Kennedy). Additionally, Katelyn wrote her own name as well as the name of each of her classmates. I think that Katelyn and Kennedy enjoyed this all-day activity as much as I did!

Total Randomness

I was looking back at some old pictures today and found some diamonds in the ruff. They are pictures that never caught my eye before. But, now that the girls are a little older, I guess I look at the pictures from a different perspective. These are just ordinary pictures, but I love how young the girls are in them. Isn't it funny how you don't even remember your kids looking a certain way until you look back at old pictures?

This was Kennedy's 1st birthday. Look at her hair...light brown and a little curly. She looks SO much like my brother in this picture. I feel like I am looking at one of his baby pictures...striking resemblance!
Also, doesn't she have Drew Barrymore's cute little crooked smile.? Kevin and I noticed it when she was only a couple of days old. Someone even stopped us in public last year and said that she looked like a young Drew Barrymore. I only see it in her smile, but I do see it.

These next two pictures were both taken in January of 2008

This picture is actually a recent one of Katelyn. It really shows her personality...this is so our Kate!
She is full of life, energy, creativity, and craziness...she keeps everyone laughing!