The Pregnant Pumpkin's Shoes.

Don't let the title confuse you. Its just my way of saying this post is a melting pot of random pictures and updates!



I am not very crafty. I wish I was more creative so badly, so, I have decided to do what kinds of crafts with Anslee that I could actually come up with up. With it being Fall, and Halloween quickly approaching, it has made the "coming up with ideas" a tad bit easier for me.

Here is something a bit thrown together and random that I thought would be fun and easy to do with not-so-baby girl.

I found some small orange plates for $1.00 a wal mart. I immediately though a pumpkin could be easily constructed out of an orange plate!



I thought, well, cutting out shapes for the face of the pumpkin would be great for practice in the process. She loved it, and hearing her say "ty nangle" for "triangle" makes this mama so proud!



We (Ok, I) cut out triangles for the eyes and nose and squares for the teeth. I only assisted with the glue stick and pasting them too the plate though. She made it clear that I was only to help with those parts.




For the most part, her attention was well kept during our little project. She may have gotten a little off track at times...but had a blast to say the least!




All done and so proud!



As the title of this post would note, I decided to lump several things into one blog. I usually do not have enough interesting things to say to be able to do that, and I still don't this time, but thought I would throw some randomness into the post.

Here I am at 27 weeks along with Anslee's sweet sister, Kensington Kay.



This little one kicks. I mean she moves and punches and rolls and twirls about all day long. All night long. It was about at this point in the pregnancy with Anslee that I started to finally fill out my maternity clothes. Ha! What a joke that would be this time around!

On to a very important subject matter for all girls. Shoes. People, Anslee cannot help that she is already a shoe fanatic. Shoes can make the outfit. Here are a couple of cute shoes that she had to have.



Apparently sparkle is a must for the feet of little girls right now. I love it!

Punkin'

Anslee, at almost 9 months old.








These precious pics were snapped last fall at the pumpkin patch. Her first one.

Look at her now! Her 2nd Fall and visit to the pumpkin patch!







On a side note, this little pumpkin is 21 months old today! I just can't believe it. I know the monthly letter blogs have stopped since she turned one, but I thought I would give a little update on her 21 month old activity!

This sweet little girl knows all her animals and can mimic them when asked, and it is just too cute to hear her roar like a lion and cock-a-doodle-doo like a rooster! She is catching on fast to shapes (She knows circle, star, triangle, and square) and colors and just loves to put puzzles together. She can count to 3, but most of the time, every number is 2. Anslee knows A,B, and C and loves going over all the letters at bath time. The girl attempts to repeat any word we say, so we have to be super careful around here of what comes out of our mouths! Sorting/organizing are at the top of her play priority list every single day, and if she was allowed, she would be very happy dressing herself each morning. Her love for food is really more like a, "I will do it to survive" activity than something she enjoys. (I know, if I did not carry her myself I would not be able to claim her as mine). She has moved from the high chair to the booster chair full time now. Apparently the high chair is beneath her, and you would agree if you saw her reaction to it in the last month. She has no idea she is getting a little sister, but can say Kensington surprisingly well. Anslee is putting together two word sentences all the time now, and communicating with her is becoming easier as the days go by!

As far as the potty goes: We get closer and closer to being ready each day. We still are not: 1) waking up in the morning or from naps dry consistently. 2)Able to pull down her own bottoms or 3) Telling mommy or daddy until AFTER the damage has been done. So, with those 3 things still left to tackle, I am still comfortable waiting a little longer to begin. She does know what the potty is and what it is intended to be used for, so I know progress is being made and I know we will get there in due time!

I can't believe that the monthly letter blogs will begin up again when Kensignton turns 1 month old....and that is just 4 months away from now!

Oh, and would you believe we have lived in our home for a full year now? We closed October 1, 2009. Here is us when we moved in!

Now until Then

I have 15 weeks to:

1. Think about, pick out, and put together a brand new nursery for baby Kensington. I want it to be totally different than Anslee's. I think this is my first sign at how different they will be. I just know that what we did for Anslee's room would not in any way work for Kensington. So far, we have the crib and the changing table/dresser with attached hutch, but other than that we don't even have any good ideas. We might start with thinking about a color for her walls...


2. Try to get through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's for the first time with out my Grandmother. We are expecting that this year is going to be especially difficult. I have a feeling that many tears will fall, but I so am hoping that by remembering her in all that we celebrate we will find great joy in the many years we did have her with us on those special days. We will cook up her Japanese food, talk about how it will never be the same as when she made it, and be reminded of what a big part she played in our family holiday traditions. She will be so very much missed, not just this first year without her, but from this point forward.


3. Plan a fabulous birthday party for a sweet 2 (yes, 2 as in TWO)year old! Its amazing to have already changed so very much from January of 2009 until today. From birth to 1, I was astonished by her physical growth. That seemed to be where all the growing happened in that year. Now, from 1 to almost 2, I watched her grow in her ability to understand and start to mastering skills and communicate. That is where growth happened so fast for us this year. I am so excited for this upcoming year. From discussions I have had, blogs and books I have read, and just observations I have had, I am anticipating watching her grow into a person who will have the capacity to reason (when I say reason, I mean reason to the degree of a 2 year old) with morality. By this time next year, my sweet Anslee will begin making choices knowing right from wrong and good and bad. Or, that process will have been started. I still stand in awe of how much she changed in less than 2 years. Oh, and just maybe, we will have learned a thing or two about using the potty!


4. Fall Festivals, Church wide Carnivals, Celebrate the birthdays of My Mother in Law, My Mom, and My Sister in Law (and in that order actually), and Christmas Shopping! People: My TIME and my BUDGET will be running on low before.....

5. Having my 2nd baby girl! Thats right, Kensington's arrival marks 15 weeks from now, and as you can tell, I will be super busy until then. This means that I will practically wake up and she will be here.

Then, after this is said and done, life will slow down a bit....right? Well maybe not, but at least I have a minivan now to lug all my precious cargo around to and from the busy-ness that life will soon bring!

Whats in a name?

Please excuse my lame attempt at what was meant to be somewhat of a poem:




After much deliberation between Tyler and myself, and shuffling through:
Rylan, Callie, and Addison....and many, many, more...

We decided none of those were right.

We needed new ideas, and something Anslee could say.

So wouldn't you be shocked to know that her name will be:

KENSINGTON KAY

We got Anslee to say it, and give my belly a kiss.

We knew it was the perfect name, so we said, "This is it!"

Kay comes from my grandmother, so its extra special to me.

We want her legacy of love and selflessness to live on.

Our prayer is that a servant, she too, will be.



The pressure is on when choosing the right one

So much is in a name, and we know we picked just right!

Kensington Kay, we love you so much!

Now it is safe to say that the deliberation is DONE!

Pregnancy Update

Things have been going just as smoothly as ever with baby girl #2 so far!

We feel truly blessed that I have good, quiet, easy, normal, enjoyable pregnancies. Morning sickness was so minimal, (although, since I had none with Anslee I did not think it was so "minimal" during the 1st trimester. Looking back, I had nothing to complain about.)no complications, lots of energy, and so on. I can honestly say that being pregnant is quite comfortable for me, and I can actually enjoy the short 9 months of pregnancy.

I have been a able to eat well, exercise with ease and energy, and have put on a couple of lbs! Baby's measurements are all right on track with our due date, heartbeat is strong and steady (in the 150's), and I have recently began feeling her kicks and tumbles.

So here I am at 21 weeks!


We think we have a name for her. Check back soon for a blog post dedicated to what we all call her soon! I can't believe its really only about 4 months away!

Spa Like Sonograms

Tyler and I had the opportunity to do a sonogram package at Stork Vision in Abilene. What an awesome experience! You walk into the room to have your sonogram done and you feel like you are walking into a spa room where you get a hot stone massage.

You could take as many people in with you as you wanted to be there.
You laid on a table that faced the wall (where the big screen TV was mounted)
Your husband reclines next to you.
Your friends and family sit behind you (to be modest to mommy) on a love seat and couch.

Everyone has a clear view of the big screen to watch baby!

We went at 19 weeks for GENDER DETERMINATION! Thats right! This part of the package was just your regular 2D sono to look to see if you have pink or blue growing inside. The second part of the package will be the 4D live motion sonogram at 28 weeks. That is when the baby is big enough to move about, do fun tricks, but not too big that they can't hardly move. We are going back 1st week of November for that part and can't wait!

This is what Tyler and I got to share with both of our parents, and my sweet and precious Cousin, Marla.







We do have a sonogram shot that does in fact verify that the sweet baby is a GIRL! We are teaching her modesty, and so just believe us when we say GIRL it is! Thats right, Anslee will be a big sister to her LITTLE sister. What great friends they will be at just 2 years apart. Our family could not feel more blessed. We think that having these two girls is exactly what the Lord has in store for our growing family. My prayer is that they will love each other unconditionally and that they will share a lifetime of memories together and cherish each one. Neither Tyler or I share a same sex sibling, so watching these two together will be a new experience for the both of us, and one that we already feel will be just as special to us as it will be for them.

During our sonogram this is what neat things we watched happen:

She turned a complete flip right in front of us.
She stuck out her tongue.
She sucked her thumb.
She had a bad case of the hiccups that caused her whole body to flail.
She crossed her feet at the ankles.
She kicked and stretched her legs the entire time.

You can tell how much she moved during the sonogram just by looking at the 1st picture that was taken pretty quick into the sonogram and then comparing to the one of the last still shots taken, which is the 3rd picture shown.

We absolutely had a blast at Stork Vision and we are so excited to go back for the live motion 4D session. They told us that we will probably be able to see distinct physical features. We could when we had them done with Anslee. I can't help but wonder if they will look just alike!

Look to your right!

Hey Everyone!

Connecting Caring Communities out of Abilene, Texas has been accepted as a Pepsi Refresh Challenge potential winner!

"Connecting Caring Communities, a comprehensive community initiative, works to restore the foundation of safe and caring communities by rebuilding the system of caring relationships. Why? Because we believe true community renewal changes the world, one neighbor at a time."

The Goals of The CCC are:
* Open Friendship Houses in the vulnerable neighborhoods of our city
* Build sustainable, energy-efficient homes for low-income families
* Foster safe, caring, and whole communities one neighbor at a time

All it takes is a couple of clicks to help The CCC become the winners of $250,000 grand prize to even better what the CCC is already doing in the neighborhoods of Abilene, Texas.


VOTING ENDS AUGUST 31st!

As of today, the CCC stands in 21st place! Two weeks ago, they were at 65!

You can vote straight off of my blog (look at the widget to your right!)
You can vote here: http://www.refresheverything.com/abilene
You can vote straight from facebook!

Please vote :)