I don't know about you but every once in awhile I just have days where I get down. There's no real reason...it just happens. I have many things I do to get out of these moods, look at my precious daughter, hug my husband, love on my doggies, watch a favorite movie, fix a delicious snack...I could go on!! If I had a pool I'd plump my booty out there so fast it would make your head spin! Nothing heals my blues better than the crystal blue water of a pool!! (One day I'll have one...one day...)
Anyway...one of the best things I can do is look at pictures. I take too many pictures (words from my husband...not me) I LOVE looking through pictures. Pictures of Kenley, pictures of my husband and me, pictures of friends, etc. Here are a couple of recent pictures of Kenley that really brightened my day
It's a rare thing to see this little girl with anything on her head. She is snacking on some birthday cake and I just love this little mischievous look!!
I love it when she hugs and cuddles with her daddy. It absolutely melts my heart!
She LOVES her new riding toy! I think this smile says it all!!
I know I'm biased...but I think my baby is gorgeous!!!
Kenley is NOT a back sleeper...so when we caught her sleeping like this, we HAD to get a picture!
If you're having a blue day...I hope these made you smile too.
These photos are my property. They are not to be used in any way without my permission.
This sweet 5 year old is facing a very diffcult battle with brain cancer. Please please keep her and her family in your prayers. They need them so very much!!!
I cannot imagine facing such a difficult and heartbreaking battle without Jesus to comfort me.
Ok I'm a day late posting but I wanted to share a video I made for Jonathan showcasing him and Kenley this past year.
I'm so blessed to have such an amazing, loving, Godly man as my husband...and even MORE blessed that he is the father of my child. He loves us both unconditionally and does anything and everything he can for us.
Baby, if you're reading, I love you more than I ever knew I could and I'm so thankful that Kenley has YOU as a father!!
We had Kenley's 1st birthday party on June 13th. We have so many wonderful friends and family that came to celebrate with us!! I'm going to do a longer blog post showcasing her cakes, the decorations and of course pictures, but I wanted to go ahead and post this CUTE video of her eating her cake.
I cannot believe a whole year has passed since our precious daughter came into our lives. I praised the Lord then and I praise Him even more now! She is such a joy and a blessing. She is the perfect addition to our family and has enriched our lives in ways we never imagined possible!!
This has been such an amazing year, filled with excitement, challenges, new lessons, firsts and so much love. I've loved each milestone...laughing, clapping, rolling over, sleeping in her crib on her own, saying "da-da" and "ma-ma", crawling and of course, WALKING! We've had our struggles with sleepless nights, issues with breastfeeding, ear infections and so on. With each struggle, we learned and grew as parents and individuals.
It's still hard to think that just a year ago today...she was a brand new baby, weighing in at 10 lbs, 2 oz and now she is walking around and weighing 21 lbs. I cannot wait to see what this next year holds and I cannot wait to get to know her even more.
I'm so late in posting about this...but things are a little busy around here and you're about to see why!
We recently celebrated Jonathan's birthday and his parents and I planned a big surprise party back on May 16th. We all had a great time and he was definitely surprised (at least he says he was!!) Anyway at one point of the night, Kenley surprised US all by taking her first steps!! Five, to be exact!
It was SO exciting and I was SO proud of her!!! I can't believe we're finally here at this BIG milestone!! I can't believe my baby is about to be a full time walker!!!
I've been trying to capture her steps on camera ever since. It's not an easy task to catch Kenley doing what you want on camera but I finally did this past week! It's not the best video...but it's documented proof that she's walking!!
She knows that it's easier & faster to crawl and still likes the security of holding on as she walks, but we're getting closer and closer. Each day she adds another step and goes a little bit further. I'm just so proud of her and so excited/scared about our newest phase in life!!!
Here's the little clip of her walking (yes I know I'm sad by bribing her with a necklace)
On May 1 we said goodbye to our sweet Bailey. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life. I wanted to write about it back then but it was just too hard. It doesn't seem possible that he's been gone for a month...sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday and sometimes it feels like an eternity.
Bailey was suffering from congestive heart failure. He had a stage 5 out of 6 heart murmur and was just really struggling to breath. Although he was on medicine to help with the fluid build up on his lungs...it just wasn't enough. He was coughing all the time and just couldn't rest. After a particularly rough night, we took him to see the vet. He weighed in 4 lbs lighter than our visit 2 weeks prior. That's when the vet said it was time.
I've never had to put a dog to sleep and I pray with every fiber in my body that I never have to experience that again. It was gut wrenching and broke my heart. I still get very emotional thinking about it. He was my first baby and a huge part of our family. I miss him so terribly much.
I got Bailey when I was a sophomore in high school (97). He was the most beautiful Dalmatian puppy I've ever seen! He was so sweet and loved to cuddle. Bailey went to college with me for my junior and senior year. It was so much fun having him there! I remember one time, during my sophomore year of college, my mom and I sneaked him into my dorm room!! Another time, my roommates my junior year dressed him up all in pink as a surprise when I got home from work. I think a lot of our family and friends remember the humping. You read that right. Bailey loved to hump stuffed animals and blankets...a lot. :o) He also really loved plush squeaky toys. It had to be plush...he wouldn't play with rubber or hard toys. His 2 favorites were a honey pot (Winnie the Pooh) and a horse that we called Bullseye.
We would take a lot of walks on the quad while we were at college...I'll admit I was kinda using him to meet guys :O) His FAVORITE thing to do was chase squirrels on the quad...and there were A LOT of squirrels. He had THE best time doing that. He also loved to play in the creek. We had one by our old house when I was in high school and he just adored it. He also loved playing in mud...I think he was determined to turn himself brown!
When Jonathan and I got married, it was just us 3. That's how our family started. For our parents...he was the first 'grandchild.' He was my Bailey-boo.
Bailey would have been 12 on September 11, 2009. He was an amazing dog, a best friend and companion.
We miss you so much darling!!
Here's a little video of some of our favorite pictures from the past 11 years.
