Maggie...our little traveler

Traveling is pretty much all we been doing lately. We were in Mississippi July 11th through the 17th and we are heading out again tomorrow.

We had the Mississippi trip planned for a little while but the trip this weekend is to go to Atlanta to look for a house. Yes, as most of you know, we are headed back to Atlanta!!!! I wish I could express our excitement, but just know that we are very, very excited.

I actually took Jack Pete to the airport this morning for his move back. Andy thinks it's funny that JP was the last one of us to get out here and he gets to be the first to leave!

Anyway, right now our plan is to pack up the moving truck the first weekend in August and head back.

So, back to our trip to MS. My ten year high school reunion was last weekend so we made a trip out of it. We had a great time and it rained EVERY day we were in MS!!!! We loved it. Maggie had a great time playing with her family and is still asking where they all are. So, it's a good thing she is heading back to see them this weekend. Maggie is actually going to stay in MS while Andy and I pack all of our stuff up and we'll see her once we actually move back to Atlanta. It's going to be a long two and a half weeks without her but it's just the best solution for us all.

Here are some pictures from the trip and I'll try to update sooner next time.

Katie

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July by not going outside unless it was to get in the car to go somewhere else inside!!! We are under an "Excessive Heat Warning" until tomorrow night. Right now (it's 1:15), the temperature is already 111 and will get hotter before the day is done.

Back to our holiday...

Tuesday night one of Maggie's friends, James, spent the night while his parents enjoyed a night out with some friends from out of town. She and James had a great time and after he left yesterday morning, she kept looking for him around the house. We did a little shopping at the mall yesterday afternoon and called it a day.

Here is a video of James and Maggie "talking" to each other after dinner on Tuesday.


And here is our little firecracker on the 4th of July in 2005 (3 mos old) and 2006 (15 mos old):

Fire Stations and Birthday Parties

We had a busy week last week after being out of town over the weekend. I was making two birthday cakes for a birthday party on Saturday, and I had to do a trial run of on of the cakes (a car). On Friday, as a part of playgroup, we toured one of the new fire stations in the area and Maggie came away with a cute little hat and coloring book. She was pretty amazed with the fire station until they put her up in the big truck. She stayed up there for about 1.5 seconds before she got scared. Oh well.

Saturday's party went great. Andy and I got both cakes there in tact and Maggie ran around for about 4 hours. The birthday boy, James, had a great time too and enjoyed his cake and presents. Pictures are below.

Katie

Our Weekend in San Diego

We decided to get away from the desert heat last weekend by going to San Diego. We had a great time and the weather was MUCH cooler than Las Vegas...by almost 40 degrees!!! We went to the beach (but not for long, it was a little chilly) and did a good bit of shopping. Maggie wore herself out playing and slept until after 9 am both mornings that we were there.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures.
























I have another post to do today sometime of Maggie's tour of the fire station and a friends birthday party that she went to this weekend, so check back later today for more pictures.

Katie

Fathers Day 2007

This is a few days late but we had a great Fathers Day weekend. Andy slept in on Saturday while Maggie and I went to the gym and we did our usual trip to Whole Foods on Saturday night after a quick dinner at Jason's Deli.

Sunday we got up early and joined two other families for breakfast at Hash House A Go Go. This restaurant is known for their rididculously sized portions. My pancake was about 15 inches in diameter!!! Somehow, I got to take a two hour nap on Fathers Day and we had a nice family dinner that night.

It's been a quiet week in the Kennedy household but we are planning a weekend trip to San Diego to take Maggie to the beach. Check back next week for beach pictures.

Here are some pictures from Fathers Day.

A Funny

Somehow, Maggie continues to crack me up everyday. This was tonight’s episode of “Making Mommy Laugh.”

Maggie and I had a girls night tonight and we ended it with bedtime at our usual time, 7:30. We read two books, put on pajamas, turned on the music and went to bed. Sometimes it takes her a little while to go to sleep, and she may talk to herself for a little while. Usually, after 30 minutes or so, she falls asleep.

Well, tonight it lasted longer than 30 minutes. I had to intervene at 9 pm (an hour and a half later). I went in and she was just lying there, talking. She immediately jumped up and said, “hey!” I knew this would be interesting to say the least. So, I decided to turn her music back on and rock her for a minute or two. So, that’s what we did. She put her head on my shoulder but she continued talking. I told her to close her eyes. This was the response:

“No.” It was in the sweetest tone and I just started laughing. She then proceeded to point to my facial features and start naming them. At this point, I’m crying because I’m laughing so hard.

I had to leave after that. So, it’s a late night for Maggie…hopefully, a late morning for Mommy will follow…but I doubt it.

Have a good weekend.

Oh, and by the way- the high was 110 today!

Our Road Trip and Company

I guess I didn't realize that it had been 10 days since we posted to the site. Sorry about that. We have been busy lately though. We decided to go on a day road trip on Saturday since our time in Las Vegas is getting shorter. Where did we go?

The Valley of Fire State Park and Lake Las Vegas. We loaded up a big cooler, paid a fortune for gas (averaging $3.18 a gallon right now) and headed out. The Valley of Fire is only about 30-40 minutes north of our house and was breathtaking. The VOF is known for its various colored sandstone formations. And chipmunks.

We found a great, shaded spot for our picnic, and as we were setting up our lunch, we saw them. The chipmunks. There were probably 20-30 of them and Maggie was terrified. They had no fear of us and were extremely curious. So, Andy had to be a security guard for Maggie and eat walking around so that the chipmunks wouldn't come near her. Meanwhile, I had to eat with her in my lap and clinging on for dear life.

After that we decided it was time to head to our next destination, Lake Las Vegas. Lake Las Vegas is a very wealthy development on the edge of Lake Mead. (Celine Dion also lives here but we decided not to bother her on a weekend). Anyway, the development is styled like a Tuscan village and we really enjoyed walking around, eating gelato and seeing grass and flowers.

As if our weekend couldn't be any better, we had company arriving on Sunday night. Uncle Trey decided to make the trip to Vegas before we moved and to see Maggie. We spent Monday and Tuesday showing him the sights and Maggie wouldn't let him rest for one minute. She was either jumping up and down on his bed or doing something else to make him laugh.

Now, it's a quiet house. Maggie's asleep and Andy is in Savannah (where it rained all day- I'm very jealous). Andy will be home tomorrow night and we plan to have a great Father's Day weekend.

Oh, and as a side note...the high tomorrow is 106!!!!! So, now I can do all my cooking on the sidewalk outside my front door.

~Katie

Temperature in North Las Vegas today: 103

Yes, it’s hot. There’s no getting around it. Katie and I (yes, Andy’s writing tonight) cannot remember the last time we saw a sprinkling of rain. So, with the heat, we did our best to stay indoors as much as possible.

As many of you know, our time here in the desert is getting shorter. No, we still do not know specifics, but hope to be making our way back east in a few more months. So, we decided to indulge this weekend in a Vegas tradition – the BUFFET. Actually it’s not as much of a tradition any more, at least not in the areas that most tourists see, but there are some great ones for local folks. Plus, we had a two-for-one coupon and Maggie eats free.

Katie and I have been trying to be more conscious of the food we eat, reading labels, etc. So, the buffet was our chance to throw all of that out the window. Maggie had a dinner of watermelon and cornbread—true to her Southern roots. I, on the other hand, had a mixture of boiled shrimp, cheese pizza, some sort of Asian beef dish and corn. You’ve got to love a place where it’s so acceptable to be weird.

After the buffet, we made our weekly trip to Whole Foods to marvel at the culinary delights (due to the prices, we don’t buy many of our groceries there, we just go and drool).

On Sunday, Maggie had a birthday party that had a gymnastics theme. She had a great time. Not much else this weekend. Again, it’s just hot! Oh, and as you will see from the video, Maggie has started helping with the laundry. Unfortunately, she hasn’t picked up on color sorting yet.

Have a good week.

~Andy

Memorial Day Weekend

What we did on Memorial Day weekend 2007:

1. I took Maggie to her first movie (Shrek 3).
2. We finished swimming lessons on Friday.
3. We cooked and ate a big, southern dinner on Saturday.
4. We had a fun time with some friends at a cookout on Monday!

A video of Maggie on her last day of swim lessons:



Maggie eating her southern dinner.














Maggie enjoying herself at the cookout on Monday.

Swim Lessons, week 1

Maggie started parent/toddler swim lessons this past Monday. We were a little unsure about how she would react since she hadn't yet been in a big pool this summer.

She had a blast (and that's an understatement). She learned how to put her face in the water, kick while on her stomach and on her back and how to jump off the side into Andy's arms. The first week ended on Friday night with all the kids putting on life jackets and trying to float without being supported by their parents arms. Yeah, Maggie wasn't to thrilled with that idea so she chose to not participate. Better luck this week.

Here are some pictures and videos.

Katie

Happy Mother's Day

We had a great Mother's Day weekend together. Friday night we decided to go eat at Panera Bread (a favorite of ours) and then we treated ourselves to some Ben and Jerry's (yummy).

Saturday, Maggie and I went to the gym while Andy went to work for a few hours and then Maggie and Andy ran some errand together. I thoroughly enjoyed my hour or so in the quiet. Andy and Maggie came back and gave me my Mother's Day gift from Sur La Table which is my new favorite store. The gift included two restaurant-quality cookie sheets (which I needed terribly...all mine are rusted), two silpat sheets :) and a case for all my cake decorating tools. I was so excited.

Today was a very relaxing day for me. I took a two and a half hour nap!!!!! After Maggie woke up from her nap (yes, she is back on track with naps), we surprised her with a pool that Andy got to put on the patio. She LOVED it. It took her a few minutes to get in (the water was pretty cold) and she cried when it was time to get out.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Mother's Day!

Katie









She did this all by herself while I was on the phone one day last week. Seriously...she got it off the bookshelf and sat on the couch and was reading it. Genius.

Put me in time out

Okay, so put me in time out. I didn't take any pictures last week or over the weekend, sorry. Hopefully, these will give you your fix until I take some. It's getting increasingly harder to chase after a two-year old and still get pictures taken.

Maggie in May 2005 (one month old)


















Maggie in May 2006 (13 months old)

It's Party Time

Maggie went to a friends 2nd birthday party on Saturday. She had a BLAST!!!! A lady came who made balloon animals/characters and painted faces. Maggie came home with a balloon kitty cat and a heart painted on her face. I think her favorite part of the afternoon was playing in the play house with all the other kids.

On a side note, Maggie has decided to stop taking naps. She has taken two naps in the past eight days. Oh, and she's also getting up earlier too...usually somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30. I am trying to change the time I put her down for her nap (usually 12:30 or 1) to see if that is the reason. If anyone has any suggestions, please give them to me or Andy!!!!

Here are some pictures from the party.

Katie