SMILE!

What a nice big sister! This is what I meant when I said that Kimble will help you keep a smile on your face, even if it is with her hands...

Birthday Boy

Today our baby boy turns 2 years old!! As I sat visiting my sister in the hospital with her new bundle of joy, I couldn't believe that it was two whole years ago that we were sitting in the same hospital with our baby boy. Karter has been an adventure since day one: always loud, always hungry and always the center of attention. His little smile, with a dimple on one side, just melts our hearts. All the love he has to give makes up for all the messes he leaves behind. Here is to hoping that in two months, when we are sitting in that hospital room with our new baby boy, he will be just as cute and cuddly as his big brother. Happy Birthday Karter!!

Sophie Grace

Kimble finally has a girl cousin on my side of the family! My sister and her husband welcomed their first little girl (after 3 boys) to their family this morning. They chose not to find out the sex, but we were all pretty sure it was going to be a girl. Watch out Steph, I am about to bombard you with pink! Congratulations Pratt Family.

Big brother, Parker (7), had a hard time letting her go. He just loves little babes.

Chicken Run

Today we got to play at the Pratt's house. Kimble talks about playing at "McKay's House" all the time and spring break was a perfect time to head over. I totally forgot, until I opened the back curtains and was greeted by some guests, that they have chickens. To my surprise, Kimble wanted to pet, then hold the chickens...yuck! I am so not a chicken gal. Karter, of course, ran anytime they walked near him. The only time he got remotely close was when Parker was holding the chicken tightly. I will admit that I thought the little chicks were cute.

K&K Birthday Party

Saturday evening we had our families over to celebrate Kimble and Karter's birthdays (Karter's birthday is Friday). It is always great to have them over, since we live "far" from everybody it doesn't happen too often. Plus, we now have grass in the backyard and everyone was able to enjoy it.



Because Kimble is so totally in love with horses, we had a horse theme party. She really wanted a horse cake, so this is what we ended up with. I made the cakes myself which ended up being more involved than I thought it would be. Kimble's was the one with the white horse. For some reason she is into white horses in particular right now.

Kimble ended up getting lots of horse gifts and Karter received lots of car gifts. They are so lucky to have so many people that love them. That was reaffirmed when we saw all the great presents everybody brought. The best reactions came when they each got a new bike. Karter got a small Radio Flyer bike he had been eyeing from my parents and Kimble got an awesome blue cruiser from Kevin's parents (we chipped in a little). They were both bummed that the bikes didn't move well on the carpet, so this is the best picture we snapped. I am sure that with a little practice outside they will be cruising in no time.

The party turned out to be really fun. So fun that Karter didn't even make it to his bed...

Horseshoe Park

Saturday afternoon, before the party, Kevin took the kids to the new equestrian center in town. They were having a barrel racing competition and we thought Kimble might love to see the horses. Kevin knows the events planner for the town and was able to get special access to the stables. Kimble and Karter were able to get up close and personal with some of the horses that were in the competition. While Karter was freaked out and crying, Kimble was actually brave enough to pet every single horse. In fact, she wouldn't leave until she had. She was so sad that she wasn't able to take one of the horses home with her, especially after seeing another little girl riding a small horse. While we cannot get her a horse for the house, we will definitely try to take her to the horse park more often.

Friday The 13th

Turns out Kimble's birthday was pretty uneventful... I bought her a pony birthday balloon in the morning, which was popped before lunch time. She went to her last day of preschool before spring break with suckers to hand out to all her friends. We got the house cleaned up for the party. Had some frozen pizzas for dinner. Then finally remembered that we had a couple presents for her to open. Since we were having a party with family on Saturday we didn't even have any candles for her to blow out Friday night. She did get to stay up late and play one of the Putt-Putt games we gave her, though. Kimble was happy and, really, that is all that matters.

Kimble's Day

Happy Birthday Kimble Grace... WE LOVE YOU TONS!!!!

Countdown: 1 Day To Go

4 Reasons We Love Kimble:
1. Kimble is always trying to keep a smile on Mommy's face- even if she has to use her hands to make one.
2. Kimble will randomly cuddle with Daddy on the couch after he has had a long day at work. That definitely puts a smile on his face.
3. Kimble is a great big sister. She has come to realize that Karter isn't going anywhere & that he makes a pretty good playmate.
4. Kimble will tell you how it is. She is more than willing to talk your ear off about whatever is on her mind at the time.

Countdown: 2 Days To Go

For Kimble's 3rd birthday, she wanted to spend the day outside. We played in the backyard for a long time even though it was just dirt and weeds. She loved to draw with sidewalk chalk and hit all the balls with a plastic bat. Kimble still enjoys digging in the dirt. I think she could do it all day long if we would let her. It amazes me how just being outside, grass or no grass, can make her so happy.

Note To Self...

...DO NOT buy rocket popsicles for the kids. This picture is after we washed his hands.

Countdown: 3 Days To Go

Kimble had a photo shoot with my sister, Heather, when she turned 2. She had a bear we made for her before she was born that she was attached to at the hip. It was always with her, usually in her mouth. Unfortunately, it was left a Target before a camping trip and by the time we got back into town the store said they didn't have it. Luckily for us, it didn't take her long to get used to not having her bear anymore. I love that we at least have pictures to remember her little quirks.

The Countdown Is On

Only 4 days until Kimble turns 4!! She tells me mulitple times everyday how excited she is for her horse birthday and that she loves horses. I can't wait to see how excited she is when her birthday actually arrives.
Kimble's First Birthday:

Last winter, we transplanted a peach tree from my grandparent's house in Mesa. It didn't bloom out fully and we only got a handful of tiny peaches. Unfortunately, the tree, as we thought, didn't make the trip. We kept trying to keep it alive, but this weekend we gave in to the fact that we would need to get a new peach tree. Kevin was able to literally pull the tree out of the ground with his hands... lift it over his head... then break it into pieces just by stepping on it. (It was definitely dead.)


This is what we were left with. So sad!

Happy Birthday Heather!!

Big shout out to my sister Heather, a.k.a. Kimble's other mom. The kids LOVE to go to Heather's house. She is always so gracious to babysit when we need a break. She has a way of getting the kids to smile and catching their candid moments on film. We are so grateful for her and all that she does for and means to our family. Love you!

Avrie's First Birthday

After the zoo, we rushed over to Peoria for the party. Avrie turned one and we were happy to help celebrate at the park.


First, we had lunch; then all the kids ran over to the playground. Karter has come to love slides. Meanwhile, Kimble was having a great time chilling inside a hippo. Soon it was time to head back for the pinata. The kids just had to take a detour up and over a hill, as most kids would. But they couldn't just run down the hill, they had to roll down. The result, picking grass out of Kimble's hair like a monkey.





The "special guest" arrived as we finished up the pinata fun... it was Mother Goose. She was awesome! First she did face painting (or arm painting for most of the kids). Kimble got a horse, of course, and Karter got a star on his arm. Then, she told nursery rhymes, performed magic tricks, had an Old MacDonald puppet show (Kimble was the horse), had us all march in a birthday parade and the big finale, balloon animals. Can you guess what Kimble requested? Yep, a horse. Karter got an orange dog with a long tail.





What a fun party... what a busy day.

Short But Sweet

Saturday morning we stopped at the zoo before heading to a birthday party in Peoria. It was the last day my membership was valid and we just had to take full advantage. The parking lot was full, we had to park up the hill in the overflow parking! With the high that day in the upper 80's, I was totally thrown. Why would so many people be at the zoo when it was so warm? I finally realized that spring training was happening around the corner and maybe families were checking out the zoo before the game. I don't blame them, the zoo is pretty great.
Anyway, we had fun even though we had to basically rush through every animal. Kimble enjoyed looking at nothing through the telescope at the giraffes (we didn't actually put money in it) and we always stop to see the flamingos. We even found the elephants up close to the fence for once.




Of course we had to stop at the farm to see the horses. Although, I am pretty sure that the kids enjoyed playing on the tractor more.


Finally, we had stayed longer than we should have and it was really time to go. After pushing the stroller, with Karter in it, up a dirt hill, I was moving a little slow. So Kevin ran to get the car for us and the kids enjoyed some apple slices while we waited. It was a short trip to the zoo, but we were so happy that we had one last chance to enjoy it.