Three and a half

Just doing a little record keeping of Kenadie at 3 1/2 years old...

This little girl: has fun just about every second of every day while she is awake, is never at a loss for words, doesn't meet a stranger, could be summed up as "excited" ALL THE TIME, loves her baby sister, weighs 39 lbs, is 42" tall, has never been on the growth chart a day in her life, favorite thing to play with are her Littlest Pet Shop pets, favorite show is Little Einsteins, favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, apples and ice cream, goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes at 6:30, still takes about a two hour nap in the afternoon, knows her birthday, can write her name and "Z" at the end of it, counts to 29, knows all letters and their sounds, favorite color is pink, sweetly sings Amazing Grace every night after her bedtime story, has one gigantic imagination, quite possibly the most enthusiastic child you will ever meet, favorite restaurant is Cracker Barrel, and what else is there... oh yeah, she's absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!  I love you Kenadie!!!   

Such A Big Girl

Where oh where do I start???  I'm really just going to let my pictures tell the story of the Great Ear Piercing Adventure, but I guess I will throw in a little background information first:)  So, about two weeks ago, I asked Kenadie, "Would you like to get your ears pierced?" to which she gave me a very confident "No way!"  That was pretty much the end of it for that week, and I went on about my business.  I had always thought that we would get her ears pierced when she inquired about it.  I got to thinking, and decided that she was probably going to take a little nudging in the ear piercing department, and if I didn't, she would probably NEVER do it!
So, this past Monday, I randomly asked her again about it and she smiled really big and said "yes mam."  I couldn't have been more shocked with her response, to say the least!  We started talking about earrings and she quickly requested that they be pink :)  Yes, I thought, I can do pink earrings :)

And then it hit me, where, how, when etc. etc. etc. do we do this???  And so, what did I do?  I polled my trusty Facebook friends :)  And with a whopping 41 responses, I had instantly done my "homework."  If you are a friend on Facebook and you read the ear piercing post, you will be relieved to know that a nice lady who I'm going to say always dresses like a lady did Kenadie's ear piercings :)  We actually went the safest route to avoid the "questionable" being I was NUMEROUSLY forewarned about and did it right here at the Claire's in Laurel.  That way, Aaron got to be a part too, ha!  He has recently texted me telling me how proud he was of her :)  Glad he could participate in the girly fun :)  The pictures pretty much tell the story, and if you are thinking about getting your little girl's ear's pierced, I will interject some great tips I learned from my friends :)

Here is my little angel pre ear piercing :) I thought it may be a good idea to put her hair in a ponytail so that her hair wasn't in the way.

"Piggy" the pig was invited to attend as was her Happy Meal toy in her right hand.

Step 1) Cleaning her ears.  Today's adventure was $43.  Once the earrings are opened from their very sanitary sealed container, they are yours, regardless of if you actually go through the process or not :)

Step 2) Using a purple pen to mark on her ear where the earrings would go.  Yes, for the OCD person like myself, it was very hard to utter out the words "yep, looks good."  I had all necessary paperwork filled out before Kenadie entered the store.  That's where it helps to not do this alone!  She had already picked out her pink earrings from their website.  It actually worked out well, the only pink earrings they have are the birthstone for October, perfect for an October birthday!

Step 3) The actual ear piercing.  I should really call this picture anticipation, and the next one the actual piercing :)

 Step 4) And then there were tears :(  Keeping it real, people!  Not going to sugar coat it :)  It is at this point that one ear is done, and I am just a wee tad worried that we may be leaving there with only one earring :(  But, my big girl pushed though and did the other one :)  It was also at this point a mad rush of shoppers entered the store and the one worker needed to tend to them.  I had a chance to calm Kenadie, but regardless, she knew what was coming...   

It would have been great if there had been two workers, then she could have had both done at the same time.  Weekends are probably better for chancing having two workers.  My lap is needed for her to get the other ear done.  Aaron assumes all camera responsibilities :)

The finished product :)

And next, because anytime your little girl does something bravely, she gets...

her favorite, ice cream!  And her daddy shared his cookie critter with her, while I......... resisted :(

And they all lived happily ever after :)

Whew... glad we got this over!  Kenadie would sum up this experience with "Mommy, do you know what part I didn't like?"  Me: "What's that?"  Kenadie:"The part when the lady poked holes in my ears." :)  But in the end, she sure is proud of her two little pink jewels :)

Are we really old enough???

to be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary?  I'm going to say that if my memory serves me correctly, then yes, yes we are 28 and 29 years old and Aaron and I have been married 8 years today!  What a wonderful 8 years it has been!  And now, for a little walk down memory lane :)

     Lindsey Carol Hall and Aaron Michael Zumwalt were united in marriage on May 17, 2003, at six o'clock in the evening at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg.

     The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Preston Hall of Moselle.  She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Ardelle Thrash and the late Mr. George B. Thrash, and Mrs. Louise Hall and the late Mr. Butler G. Hall, all of Moselle.  Parents of the groom are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Von Zumwalt of Ellisville.  His grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Smith of Ellisville and Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Zumwalt of Laurel.

     The ceremony was officiated by Dr. Dean Register.  Nuptial music was presented by David Blackwell, pianist; Beverly Barton, organist; Brett and Alesia Valentine, vocalists; and a string quartet.  Joy Hill and Megan Hogue greeted guests at the registry table.  Program attendants were Amy Harless and Kerri Langston.

     Escorted by her father, the bride wore a gown of white silk satin by Reem Acra.  The strapless fitted bodice, etched with silk embroidery and crystal beading, fell to a full ballgown skirt.  A full silk overlay, open in the front and etched with embroidery and beading, fell to a chapel-length train.  Her veil consisted of elbow-length tiers of silk illusion.  She carried a hand-tied bouquet of white Virginia roses.

     Attending the bride as maid of honor was Paige Zumwalt.  Bridesmaids were Jennifer Clayton, Ashley Cognevich, Jennifer Cooley, Ashley Hall, Regan Hughes, Amy Kendrick, Kelly Koonce, Stephanie Parish, Michelle Shaw, and Alicia Wade.  Attendants wore two-piece gowns of sky blue matte satin.  Their strapless fitted bodices etched with crystal beading fell to A-line skirts, each with a sweep train.  They carried hand-tied bouquets of pink spray roses, Virginia roses, delphinium, lavender stock, and alstroemeria lilies.  Flower girls were Leighton Roland and Hope Stringer.

     The groom's father served as best man.  Groomsmen were Michael Benson, Michael Crosby, Alan Delk, Wes Hall, Forrest Hartel, Bryn Jones, Brett McKenzie, Zach Moulds, Eric Tisdale, and Collin Zumwalt.  Cole Vaughn was the ring bearer.  Ushers were Timothy Hall and Casey Zumwalt.

     Following the ceremony, the bride's parents hosted a reception at the Hattiesburg Lake Terrace Convention Center, where guests enjoyed music by the band 24/7.  Fran Ginn of In Good Taste was the caterer.  A special touch to the bride's cake table was her mother's wedding veil, which was used as a tablecloth.

     On the eve of the wedding, a rehearsal dinner was hosted by the groom's parents at historic Hotel Alice in downtown Ellisville.  A bridesmaids' brunch was given by special friends on the morning of the wedding.

     After a honeymoon in Maui, Hawaii, the couple resides in Hattiesburg.

    

    

 

Days 125-134

Day 125, I decided I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice!  Kenadie didn't attach herself to a comfort item until she was 12 months old and I didn't know to put forth an effort... So, on that note, meet Berkley's blankie :)  Not that she can't live without it, but you sure can tell when you lay her in her bed and give her her paci and blankie, "comfort" is written all over her face.  I've just kind of made it a point to always put it with her when she takes a nap/bedtime/car rides... and now I can tell she likes it :)

Day 126, Kenadie and her sweet friend Abby Kate at their dress rehearsal for their dance recital

Day 127, Kenadie's dance recital

Day 128, Happy Mother's Day to the BEST mom ever!  We love you Kay Kay!

Day 129, Berkley has her first bug :( and these are the things needed to get better.  Soy formula, Pedialyte and lots and lots and lots of diapers :(  FYI this was my first ever time to purchase Pedialyte as well as the soy formula.

Day 130, How Kenadie waters the flowers... and she's soaking wet by the way :)

Day 131, So maybe I like a little variety in my soft drinks :)  Thanks Dad for keeping my supply well stocked :)

Day 132, Nerds... quite possibly my favorite candy!

Day 133, Berkley is becoming quite rolly these days :)

Day 134, Popcorn and a movie!  We went to see Rio... and I really can't give it the greatest reviews :(  but, to each his own, heh???

 

Husband's Intuition

Setting the stage:  It's Saturday night after Kenadie's dance recital, and I am in our bedroom ironing her dress for church the next day.  Aaron is watching TV in the den.  Kenadie and Berkley have gone to bed.

Before I know it, my throat became tight and the tears began to fall. Kenadie's dress immediately was covered in tear droplets :(  Am I always this emotional you ask?  Why of course I am!  Something about ironing in the quietness of my room with all these thoughts from the day, reflecting on what we had done, just came over me and I couldn't hold back the tears.  From the time we found out we were having a little girl, I became excited about her taking dance and watching her perform in recitals.  Now, back then when I was daydreaming about this day... I NEVER meant for it to come so QUICKLY, but somehow it did :(  I truly treasure each day and try to live each one to the fullest!  I snap a picture of anything remotely meaningful, and I am always asking myself "when I look back on __________, will I regret not doing __________ or doing ___________?"  I'm trying to savor each and every single little moment, but no matter how hard I try... I just can't slow down time :(  When I figure that one out, I'll let you know :)

Now, you may be wondering where the title "husband's intuition" came from, but I guess I have a husband who knows me a bit too well.  As I began to quietly sob while ironing, like the cry where no sound is coming out, just the tears flooding, I hear his footsteps coming down the hall.  I never look up from Kenadie's tear stained dress, as I sense he is staring at me :) and he says "I knew something was going on back here."  And he was right.  He quietly walked back out as he knew I just needed to have my moment :) and I did :)  Once the moment had passed, I went to Kenadie's room, covered her back up with her covers and kissed her one more time goodnight.  That always makes me feel better :) 

And if you want to know what I really think happened, I'm pretty sure when Aaron left the room, he went to go cry himself, because I think he was feeling it too, at the same time as me :)  He just needed to check with me first to make sure it was okay to cry :)  He definitely had my approval!

Dance Recital

Kenadie had her very first dance recital this past Saturday afternoon at 2:00.  Was it the cutest thing you ever did see?  Absolutely!!!  Did I tear up throughout her entire performance?  Absolutely!!!  Would I change my emotions in any way?  Absolutely not, because apparently I enjoy crying my eyes out!!!  I can't ever seem to stop :)  Why oh why does my little girl have to be growing up so quickly?

Here is my big girl with Kay Kay at the dress rehearsal.  What would we do without her???  She's the one who rocks at fixing hair under pressure!  I can handle the make-up part,  but just not hair!  When I did Kenadie's make-up for the first time I told her she looked like a little princess, to which she said "No Mommy, I look like you :)"  I took that as a compliment :) 

And perhaps the reason I get so teary eyed about all this big girl recital stuff is because in my mind, she should still look like this...

I snapped this sweet moment of these two as we were about to leave her to go get to our seats.

The theme of the recital was "Every Season" and Kenadie's class danced to "Pretty Rainbows."

They sing the words to their dance song which makes it all the more PRECIOUS!!!

Sweet friends who have known each other since before they were born :)

Hey Berkley!  She was there too :)  and no, Berkley isn't missing any hair on the front, not sure how that happened?



Afterwards, we went to eat at Long Horn and this is how Kenadie felt about it all...

And in case you haven't had enough of the dance recital :)  click on the following link for a video of Kenadie's class doing "Pretty Rainbows".  Actually make that Kenadie doing Pretty Rainbow... I couldn't help but zoom in on her :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAxxzrixF04

And one more video of the finale... soooo cute!!!!!  They have done this little dance at the end of every dance class since we started last Sept.  It's my favorite!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_dneC6LgnQ



Days 112-124

Day 112, Time to dye our eggs!

Day 113,  This is the face you get when you ask her if she would like a surprise :)  It was Lola.

Day 114, Happy Easter!

Day 115,  This is how I found you from your nap.  Someone rolled from her tummy to back today :)  Side note: She wasn't very happy here... we're trying to work through some nap issues :)  Sorry Berkley, it's just what we've got to do :(

Day 116,  Two words... Chocolate pudding

Day 117,  Meet Bandit, my dad's "cow dog" but actually better known for his watch dog abilities :)  Dad, if he shows up missing, you know where to find him!  I've always wanted a good watch dog :)  He barks at delivery men like he would take off their legs! 

Day 118, Happy 3 months, Berkley!


Day 119, Relay for Life,  I would go wake Aaron to make sure of this but I will just take a chance and risk being wrong... I think they raised about $14,000!

Day 120,  Yard work, how Aaron loves yard work!  Only kidding :)  Aaron and Kenadie are actually assisting my dad, who really does like working in his yard :)  Every spring, I recruit him to come and get us started in our yard :)  Don't you like my cute little "tomatoes" sign down there!



Day 121,  I guess it's time for me to start checking Kenadie's pockets when I'm doing laundry. This is what I found in the washing machine... 4 really clean flowers :)

Day 122,  Oh my!  We have been looking for Kenadie's beloved tape dispenser for several weeks now!  Out of the clear blue today, she tells me her tape dispenser is in her blocks container on the top shelf in her playroom?  I felt a little silly as I poured out all of the blocks, but sure enough, there it was!

Day 123,  Aaron has GOT to be the easiest person to please when it comes to food.!  This is one of his favorite meals, minus the near burnt roll!  It's a hard call, but I'm going to say that cheeseburgers and hot dogs would tie for first, so this meal must be his second favorite!  And no, I do not approve of eating these three meals all in one week!  I only buy hot dogs/corn dogs like seriously, twice a year! 

Day 124,  We bought our first watermelon today!  Can't wait for Dad's though!  His are free and about 5 times the size of this one :)