Vegas Baby...

I have returned from Las Vegas. I had a great time and I tried to bring Andy back with me. Here are a few pictures from the week but there is too much to write now so I will try and post a few times this week with what's going on.

Here are the highlights:

1. I loved the house/condo that we have purchased (much to Andy's relief).

2. The dancing waters at the Bellagio are amazing.

3. Las Vegas is much more mountainous that I thought.

I am going to pick up Maggie tomorrow night and I can't wait. She said "Mama" this week!!!

-Katie

Tis the Season

Tis the season for...

1. Ridiculously large crowds at shopping malls.

2. Winter coats.

3. Wrapping presents.

Gran came in town this weekend to visit Maggie. Maggie enjoyed all of her playtime with Gran. We had an open house at our house on Saturday so Gran, Maggie and I went to the mall to get some Christmas shopping done. We had 3 hours and I figured we would have ample time to get everything bought. Nope, I only got half of what I anticipated done. Oh well. Tis the season.

While shopping at the mall we were in baby Gap and came across an adorable brown suede coat/poncho in Maggie's size. It looks so precious on her and it is so soft. Now that the temperatures are getting pretty cold Maggie has to wear a coat and this one is much easier to put on her. Tis the season.

It's a very quiet evening around the Kennedy household. Andy just landed back in Las Vegas for three weeks, Maggie is sound asleep and I have Christmas presents to wrap. I love wrapping Christmas presents. Tis the season.

On a side note, this may be the only post for a week or so. Maggie is headed to north Mississippi to spend Thanksgiving with Meme and Pap and she is leaving on Tuesday morning. I won't get to see her again until the next Monday and I'm very sad. So, as soon as I can after, I will get new pictures up.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Katie

We're Still Here

No, we haven't already moved to Las Vegas. The Kennedy household has been chaotic lately. I was in Kentucky for work last weekend, came home and hosted a baby shower. Monday, Andy came down with the stomach virus so I became Mrs. Clean Monday. And so the week continues like that. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Georgia Pacific was bought out, but Andy's job is secure.

Okay, now about Maggie. She is doing wonderful. Her second tooth has quit bothering her (YEAH) and she is free of ear infections and coughs. Maggie will be going to north Mississippi on Tuesday to spend Thanksgiving with Meme and Pap while I travel to Las Vegas (for the first time EVER). And I am traveling on the busiest travel day of the year- great decision on my part. I am just going to plan to get to the airport super early.

Maggie has a big weekend in store for her. Gran came in town to visit! I think we are planning a trip to the mall to do some Christmas shopping. And speaking of Christmas, we were going to take Maggie to Phipps Plaza to have her picture made with Santa. This is the real deal Santa- he gets paid over $100,000 to do this. Anyway, you have to make an appointment- online. So, I tried about 3 weeks ago to do this and all the November appointments were booked. Today, all the December 1-15 appointments opened and surprise, surprise, the website is so busy I can't log on. It appears that Maggie will be visiting another Santa this year.

Okay, so here are some pictures of Maggie from last week as I was doing laundry and she was helping with her clothes. So, maybe by the time she is 2 she'll be doing her own- just kidding.

Sorry there aren't any newer pictures, but I tried to take some last night but it just didn't work out.

Have a good weekend.

-Katie



Okay, there are more pictures but I can't get them to come up. So, I will try and add them when I get home but I can't promise anything because our internet was down last night- again.

Where in the World Is...

Where in the world is Daddy?


Is he hiding behind his clothes? No.


Is he over there? No.


Is he in my burp cloth? No.


Is he under the bed? No.


He's in Las Vegas!!!!

COUNTDOWN UNTIL ANDY COMES HOME: THREE!!!

On a side note, Maggie got a clean bill of health plus a flu shot at the doctor today. Yeah:)

-Katie

Yet another birthday

Sometimes I feel like I am in a time machine and time is going by faster than it can be measured. Example: Maggie is 7 months old today!!!! It's so hard for me to imagine that in 5 months she will be a year old. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that we had the sonogram that let us know that we were having a girl- AND THAT WAS A YEAR AGO!!!

It was my and Maggie's first weekend apart from Andy- EVER. We miss him terribly but Papa and Gigi came to visit so we had great company. Maggie played very hard and enjoyed her birthday weekend very much. She now has her first purse, cell phone and car keys. She immediately put all these items in her mouth. I realized today why- her second tooth is days away from making its appearance.

Maggie is starting to feel better though. She went back to the doctor on Friday because I knew she wasn't getting any better. And it's a good thing that I did. Her ear infection had spread to both ears and she had full-blown bronchiolits. So, we were sent home with a prescription for another antibiotic and breathing treatments, all of which seem to be working.

COUNTDOWN UNTIL ANDY COMES HOME: Five.

Oh, and what is with the weather. It is Nov. 6th and I had to turn on my air conditioning!!!

Have a good Monday.

Katie

Update

Here is a recent conversation between Andy and myself:

Katie: Do you think her (Maggie) cough sounds worse or better? Do you think she is wheezing? She just sounds congested to me. When I think of wheezing I think of an old lady with emphysema.

Andy: I don't know. I can't really hear her over the sound of the humidifier.

Katie: Should I call the doctor anyway?

Andy: (says nothing but I know the look, it's the- Katie are you kidding you just talked to the doctor- look).

Katie: Yes, I know I'm just being paranoid. When we have coughs they don't go away automatically after one dose of medicine. But, if you think she needs to go to the doctor, let me know.


Okay, so this conversation happens weekly except substitute something else with cough. I guess this is just how I am going to be for the rest of my life. Paranoid and overprotective. When we were at the pediatrician's office on Tuesday (by the way, Maggie has a cold and an ear infection) a little boy, also in the sick area, tried to climb in my lap next to Maggie. Okay, I gave his parents the look that says, "Yes, my daughter is sick too but that doesn't mean I want your sick kid in my lap too!!"

Anyway, Maggie seems to be doing better but the germs have implanted themselves in both mine and Andy's sinus passages. At least we can take over the counter medicine.

Andy left tonight to start his new job in Las Vegas tomorrow. He will return home on the 11th for 9 days and we are already counting them down. I would make one of those paper chains counting down the days but I'm not sure my realtor would appreciate that.

And, of course, here are some pictures.

Trick or Treat

Here are some pictures of Maggie's first Halloween. She celebrated the holiday by getting sick. She was fussy most of the day and when we got home from daycare she was running a fever. So, we are going to the doctor this morning. She no longer has a fever but has a cough and a runny nose.

We had several trick-or-treaters however while we were meeting with our realtor. After we ran out of candy, one kid (old enough to know better) asked Andy if he could have a canned drink since we didn't have any more candy. Keep in mind that we had turned the porch lights off at this point. When did this kind of behavior become acceptable???? Anyway, another kid told us thank you anyway when he was told we had no more candy. His parents did a good job.

As of now, the house will go on the market tomorrow. We have met with two realtors and have decided which one to use, so wish us luck.

Have a good day.

Katie

The Kennedys are on the move. . .again

First of all, Katie and I apologize for the lack of posting lately. We've been having trouble with our internet connection, but hope to have it resolved by this weekend.

And now to. . . .

THE BIG NEWS

We are moving again. My company, Georgia-Pacific, has offered me a position as Plant Controller at their Las Vegas Gypsum Plant. It will be far away, but Katie and I think it's the right decision for us to go. I've been out to interview, and I think it's a great career move. I'll be going out in possibly less than 2 weeks, and Katie and Maggie and Jack Pete will probably join me in January. Of course, I'll be coming home as much as possible until they move, and Katie will come out to help me find a house. We know that we will be there for 2 years. We are very excited about the opportunity, and will keep everyone posted as we go along.


The view from just outside of Georgia-Pacific's Las Vegas Gypsum Plant. 

And now, some news about Maggie. She's still teething. Katie's in Florida for work, so it's just us for a few days. Mommy will be home tomorrow night. Here are a few pictures.


Maggie in jeans and a sweater. 


The happiest baby in the world. 


Jack Pete 

Have a good Wednesday.

~Andy

Maggie's Weekend

Maggie started her weekend a little early this week. I got a call from daycare around 10 am saying that she had gotten sick and I needed to come pick her up. So, I called the doctor to make sure that I didn't need to bring her in (I didn't) and I picked her up. She didn't get sick anymore- I think she just wanted to start her weekend!!

So, we surprised Andy at the airport on Friday night as he arrived back home from Muskogee, OK. I woke up yesterday morning with whatever Maggie had on Friday but still had to go to Raleigh, NC for work. Needless to say by the time I got back home last night (after two flights) I wasn't feeling that good.

I am much better today. Andy and I spent the day playing with Maggie and being lazy. Andy had to go back out of town for the week tonight and we will miss him terribly. Here are some pictures that we snapped of Maggie today.

-Katie

Today is...

Our 4th anniversary!!! It seems like we have been married forever (in a good way). We are now at the point where we finish each others sentences, say the same thing at the same time and we know when the other isn't feeling well.

Like father, like daughter. Andy bought Maggie her first piano- a little plastic Little Tykes one. She loves it and likes to make "music" with it by using both her hands and her mouth.

It should be a quiet weekend for Andy and Maggie. I have to fly to Raleigh, NC for the day on Saturday for work but will be back on Saturday night.

Have a good Friday!!

-Katie

The Wonderful World of Teething

Imagine yourself sound asleep and you think you are dreaming about a baby crying. You then open your eyes and realize that it isn't a dream; it's your child crying at 4 am. This is what happened to me this morning. Maggie is officially teething and she doesn't like it one bit.

She went back to sleep after about 30 minutes and a dose of Tylenol. We'll see what happens tonight. She was mostly pleasant today but she has had her fussy times.

Friday was a big day for Maggie. She had her 6-month check-up at the pediatrician. She is developing on schedule, if not a little ahead. She weighs 18 lbs, 4 oz., is 25 3/4 inches long and should be crawling in the next few months. The doctor told us lots of other things that Maggie will be doing soon which just means that she is growing up too quickly. The low point of the visit was the 5 shots that she got, but she was a trooper and did well.

Maggie did get some pleasant surprises this weekend. Friday night Andy and I went out to eat at PF Changs and Maggie was right there with us. This was one of the first times that we have ventured out to a restaurant with Maggie by ourselves. Maggie was able to sit in a highchair too. She enjoyed people watching. She tried a grain of white rice but didn't care for it too much.

After braving the rain, Maggie's next stop was Babies R Us. Andy and I decided that it was time to purchase a highchair for Maggie. It was becoming more and more difficult to feed her in her bouncy seat. So, Maggie now has her very own highchair. She loves being up high and watching me cook. We also gave her a sippy cup for the first time this weekend. She didn't quite know what it was and why what was coming out didn't really have a taste (it was water), but she will get the hang of it soon.

So, tomorrow starts another week. Andy is heading back to Muskogee, Oklahoma on Tuesday night and will return on Friday night. Andy and I will also be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary on Thursday- we will be doing something on Sunday but we haven't decided what yet. I think it will depend on the teething situation with Maggie as she is celebrating with us.

Have a good Monday!

-Katie


I love my new highchair! 


Hey everybody!! 


What's for breakfast Mommy? 


What, you want me to hold it myself? 


This ExerSaucer is fun! 

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Today is October 6th. There are a lot of birthday's to be celebrated today.

Birthday #1- Maggie is 6 months old today!!! Technically, 12 minutes from now. Anyway, she celebrated her half birthday by having her school picture taken today. For all of those curious minds that want to know which outfit won the vote (drum roll please...)- Outfit Three won and she looked adorable. Maggie is going to continue the birthday celebration tomorrow night by going with Mommy and Daddy to get her very own highchair. However, she first has to go to the doctor in the morning and get shots- boo:(

Birthday #2- Aunt Amy is celebrating her 19th birthday today. I almost called her at 4 am to remind her what it felt like for me 19 years ago to be awake. I didn't but I might try it next year.

Birthday #3- Our good friends Mica and Micah Stevens welcomed Preston Henry into the world today at 2:44 pm. He weighs 6 lbs 14 oz and is 19 inches long. He also was born with a full head of red curls. Preston's dad, Micah, is also celebrating his birthday today. Congratulations to Mica and Micah- we can't wait to see pictures.

And, last but not least- here are Maggie's birthday pictures. These aren't the best. It seems like we just couldn't capture the picture when the hat was actually on her head. Oh well, there are many more birthday's ahead of us.

Happy Friday!

- Katie

It's School Picture Time

When I went to pick up Maggie one day last week there was a flyer attached to her daily report card. The flyer was letting the parents know that Thursday, October 6th was going to be school picture day. I couldn't have been more excited. Andy and I had actually had a conversation a few days before this wondering if Maggie was going to have school pictures made. Now I had my answer. So, now to the hard part. What was Maggie going to wear?

Then I came up with this brilliant idea. Why don't I let her friends and family that read her website decide??? Okay, so now it's up to you. It's this easy; below you will find pictures of Maggie in three different outfits. Whichever outfit you like the best for her school picture- just email me your choice. If you do not know my email address, you can find it listed under the "Contact Us" section on the right-hand side of the page. (Note: the background of the picture will be fall-ish). Voting will begin as soon as this is posted and will continue until Wednesday night at 9 pm EST. Have fun and vote as often as you'd like!!!

Outfit #1- Outfit number one is a fushia and pink horizontal striped dress with ruffles decorating the bottom edge of the dress as well as the cuffs of the sleeves.


Option # 1

Outfit #2- Outfit number two is a pair of vintage wash jeans paired worn with a white t-shirt and paired with a peach button-up sweater.


Option # 2

Outfit #3- Outfit number three is a pair of vintage wash jeans paired worn with a white t-shirt and paired with a multi-colored knit poncho.


Option # 3

- Katie

PS- here is a picture of Maggie and Andy taken today before church.


Me and Daddy