Big girl chairs....

One of Kelsey's gifts was this cute chair with her
name on it. She got it from her aunts and uncles
and loves it. Big sister has a big pink chair and
they can sit together and share a snack - yeah right!


Yippee my new chair!!!



Oh the woes of being a little sister, I didn't have
to learn to share, I was born into it! Even though
Riley has her own chair, this is her favorite.....grrr.



Ahhhhh.....finally. This is the life. A drink, a snack,
no pants, and the chair to myself!

Sob...Kelsey...sob sob...turned...one! Sob...sob...sob

Kelsey's birthday morning. My baby girl turned one. One year old. Wow. It flew. Riley's first year - a 747. Kelsey's first year - a jet! I woke up early. Got my grieving and reminiscing over with and then we got the party hats, pancakes and eggs ready (this is our birthday tradition now) and went to get Riley up 1st. She could not wait to put on the hat and sing to Kelsey - as you can see below.


Not sure if she is unhappy about aging. Join the
club. Or maybe it was us barging in and singing
happy birthday. It was after 8am. We are not
that mean.


Morning Daddy and Riley!


Morning pretty mommy and birthday girl!


After dinner, it was time to introduce sugar.

Yum... cupcakes from Elizabeth's Cakes.
What a great "1st". Not many crumbs were left
when she was done. The icing left stains far
into the next day (when we had to see a Dr. -
see below).


"My birthday, my hat now!"


The night of her birthday, Kelsey had an ear infection which was not diagnosed until the next morning. Mother's intuition told me it was her little ear - I was right for the first time. We were at the ER instead of church. I am not a happy camper when I miss church, but I knew I couldn't bring my fever-y cutie to the nursery... It would have been a nice, lazy morning except she was very uncomfortable and super duper fussy!
So, her original birthday party was to be on the Monday after her actual birthday. The night before literally 5 out of 8 familes bowed out due to illness and one to injury. The next morning another family dropped out, I wept. I was just bummed. Knowing this would crush Kelsey. More like my pride. We pushed it back one week.
We had her party at the Wiggly Play Center. I highly recommend it - if the kids attending are 2 yrs. and above.... They have a baby play room with great, low, soft things for them to crawl on, except that morning (MLK holiday) it was packed with a few babies and all their older siblings. Not appealing. And its tough to monitor more than one of your own kiddos. Kelsey tried to drive the car (you will see Anna Kate in it below) but she kept sliding out and running over herself. Funny to all but her, each time. It wound up being a great party. Both grandparents were able to make it (and one aunt). I heard it helped stage some great naps that afternoon too. I didn't have to lift a finger. The "party attendant" set up, served, and cleaned up. We were in the Dorothy room - she is a pink dinosaur or octopus - I feel bad, but we never watch the show. It comes on at 6am. That I don't feel bad about.

Birthday girl and her Papa!


Beep beep. Anna Kate's behind the wheel.
Thank goodness she drives like her
Mama!


Gammy and birthday girl!


Ava and Riley riding the simulated roller
coaster. Riley - hands up and yelling.
Ava - look at her sweet face.


Panning the table to see all our friends
pigging out on pizza and juice.

"Who are these silly men on my
cake?"


"Wiggles cake - not so bad, but I prefer Elizabeth's
Cakes' cupcakes".... Kelsey is dainty and
delicate and chose not to smother herself
with the cake, but picked at the icing
and morsels...


Riley has hit the "silly faces" stage.
Thank goodness it was after Christmas
pics were taken!


"Don't let go of me, Riley doesn't know
how to drive this horse!"

Christmas catchin' up.....

To keep you on your toes, this entry is written backward (chronologically). So scroll to the bottom and read up.... I wanted to spice things up, plus I downloaded the pics forgetting about the order and didnt want to spend an hour rearranging them.


Riley (being into princesses and dress up) got
a purple renaissance-ish gown she affectionately
refers to as Princess Jasmine. My offer of Princess
Grape was not an option she said. She also got this
pink car to drive at Gammy and Papa's. They have
this super long driveway (like my grandparents did)
that is perfect for lots of long drives and strolls.


New Year's was a blast. We were at Jarrett's
parents all week. The only family member not present
was Samson. Riley had her first experience
with firecrackers and loved them. Aunt Michelle and
Riley playing with sparklers in the backyard.


Kelsey and Jacob battling over a lion push toy.
Jacob was chivalrous and allowed her to steal
it every time.


Jarrett with Riley and Jacob (our nephew).


Snow White got a princess tricycle and absolutely loves it.


Daddy and his girlies. Kelsey is riding on her new
Zebra toy that "whinnies" and makes horsey noises. I haven't
spent much time around zebras, but aren't they fairly
silent?


One of Riley's gifts was the Snow White outfit. It
came out of the box, went on her body until we went
to Nana and Grandad's hours later. It likes to make
daily appearances now. Needless to say, she is in the
"Disney princess" stage. Kelsey got this little play
table that keeps her pre-occupiedfor hours. She is
our dancer. The table has brought her rhythm out
and it is hysterical. Snow White joined her at
the table to make a quick call.


One day I will remind sweet Riley how excited she
used to get over princess jammies - ahhh the simpler times.


A little breakfast before church (Sunday before
Christmas so they were sporting their matching
Santa dresses)


Kelsey loves shoes (we went with the black pair
to match mommy and sister)