Christmas time is approaching!

Well, I NEVER put my tree up before Thanksgiving... but this year, our situation is a little different. I went ahead and put it up because we'll be doing a lot of traveling during the holidays - and I can't imagine my house without a tree up! It is a little "much" for miss Kensley. She is in "awe" of all the ornaments and can't seem to keep her hands off them. My "no no" and hand swats are KIND OF working.... hopefully she'll get use to it soon. Here are a few pictures of us putting the tree up. She was such a "helper"

Sick baby girl

Well, it's been an interesting couple days.... first off- I have been so torn about all this flu shot and swine flu shot mess. I have never had a flu shot in my life- and I have never had the flu. I kept going back and forth on my choice to get Kensley and I the flu shot and then on top of that- the H1N1 shot as well.... I talked to friends- I hear the news (ugh!)- I read articles.... I have PRAYED! I have now made my decision.... we will not be getting the flu or the H1N1 shots. This is a spiritual matter for me. I am trusting God with this. We will take precautions and wash our hands often...la de da de da.... all the normal things you hear about everyday. I just feel so much better now that I have made up my mind.... and that was about 24 hours ago. WELL.... this morning I wake up to a little girl who is whining in her crib (this never happens!) I got her milk but she wouldn't really drink it. It took her a while to start chugging away. I noticed snot had dried all over her face.... her nose was runny... but it was clear. The rest of the morning she acted a little different. She didn't eat as much breakfast as normal.... she just kind of layed around. At 10, she was ready for her morning nap..... I put her in her bed (noticing that she felt a little warm) and let her get her sleep. I thought maybe her belly was hurting (she had been crying earlier this morning because she was trying to poop and it was hurting her). She woke up at noon and was beat red. I knew she was running fever. I took a rectal reading.... 102.4. I gave her tylenol, put some cool clothes on her and gave her cold juice (thanks to Holly for being such a great friend! I am so blessed to have her to call in times like these!) I took her to the dr. and found out that her flu test came back negative and that her ears were clear and her chest sounded ok. We just have to keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn't get any worse. Please keep our baby girl in your prayers. I'm hoping she'll be able to sleep tonight- so far, she's been out since 8. She never has really got sick much- so I hate to see her cry and be fussy! I wish I could take the pain (or whatever she's feeling) away! We'll be staying in this weekend- maybe getting some Christmas decorations out.... and I'm going to try to get some online shopping done.... I LOVE the Christmas season!!!! It's coming early to the Vest household this year- we'll be traveling so much around the holidays, we won't be home to enjoy the decorations!

Sorry no pictures to share.... I've sold my old camera and my new one arrives tomorrow--woohoo!!!

What a great weekend!

We had a fast, fun-filled weekend! Kent's brother Keith, the Knowles family and Kyle came up to visit.... we had lots of fun. The boys played golf yesterday while Karissa & I took the kids to the Zoo. We didn't stay long because of the nasty weather (and the fact that it wasn't where we were suppose to be in the first place... long story) . We came home in time to make dinner and bake a little and get the kiddos ready to go trick-or-treating. I wasn't too excited about it this year because I didn't figure Kensley could really do anything. I figured I'd have to hold her or she'd be in the stroller.... well she proved me wrong! She had a blast! She walked around like a big girl and made one of the cutest chickens around :)

Hanging out at the zoo with my baby girl......

Here is the group...

The Chicken, The Turtle & Rainbow Bright!

Terrific Tuesday :)

Well, today is pretty gloomy out..... but we have a great weekend ahead of us and that makes me excited! We'll have a house full and I like that. Saturday our neighborhood has the trick or treat night. I've got chilli to cook, along with queso and cookies and other sweets. My job this week is to get the house cleaned. Everyone should be arriving Friday night, late. Kensley is going to be a ladybug for Halloween... I think... I got the costume at a consignment sale and it's a little big- so we'll see if it fits. If not, then I'll put her a cute little outfit on with her tutu.

I have also been obsessed with my camera lately....I don't know why I get like this! I am trying to figure out a way to get this camera that I have my eye on.... Until then, I am going to have to sell some bows and Mary Kay and start saving! I've taken some pictures of Kensley in her Christmas dress and have been editing them. I'm hoping to run (eventually, maybe within the next year or so) my own little photography business. I'm trying out different editing programs and checking books out from the library to read up on. Hopefully I can make something of this passion of mine! Here are a few pictures of Kensley from yesterday. Not sure why they are showing up so grainy.

I had to do some serious editing with the last one- my friend was holding her hand and I had to edit out her arm. I just loved this picture of Kensley though- so we'll have to try to get it again when we go back out for family photos.

Lastly, I am getting VERY anxious to visit Texas for Thanksgiving. I can't wait for my parents & grandparents to see Kensley! And I can't wait to see my grandmother. I miss her like crazy! It'll be a short trip, but we'll be going back for the Christmas holidays for an extended visit.

What a fun (yet cold & wet) weekend

Kent's parents came up Thursday to visit for the first time. They were so excited to see Kensley. Needless to say, when they left, Kensley was worn out! She played her little heart out. It rained the entire time they were here so we didn't get to do any sight seeing in D.C. Hopefully next trip we will. Liz & I went shopping all day on Friday while Kensley got to spend time with her Grumpy at the house. They had a blast. She got a lot of new winter clothes- time to start trying to get some Christmas pictures! :) Speaking of winter clothes- it's not even Halloween yet and it's FREEZING up here! This weekend's rain and no sun didn't really help out though. The sun is out today and it's beautiful.... I can handle this weather a little more. Even being pregnant isn't helping me stay warm. Here are a few pictures of while Nana & Grumpy were here.

Before my in-laws came into town, a friend and I attempted a pumpkin patch. Kensley wasn't cooperating much....

kids & pets

As I fixed dinner tonight and watched Kensley eat her dinner in her high chair, I was thinking about how some things with pets & kids go hand in hand. Did that make sense? I just find it funny because when we got McCoy, we were so proud when we taught him a new trick. When people would come over, we would show him what he had just learned.... it got to the point where you didn't even have to say anything to him- he just knew what you wanted him to do (and in what order) because once he learned one new thing, we just added it to the end of the other things he already knew.... and we'd always have him do the things in the same order...every time. The same thing happens with Kensley! haha She knows what a puppy dog says "woof woof" and then she knows where her tongue is and then her ear and her nose... and today I taught her "How big is Kensley?.... SOOOO big" and she throws her hands in the air. Silly me- I'm excited for daddy to come home so he can see the new "trick" I taught her today :)....see why I am relating this whole story with our dog? Just a funny thought.....

On a side note- it is FREEEEZING here. I'm not sure about this weather. In Texas last year, I didn't even have to pull out the sweaters I owned. I have ALREADY started pulling them out for this winter and it's not even November yet! The bad thing is, none of the sweaters fit anymore! This little miracle I'm carrying around in my belly has decided to take up more room, making NONE of my clothes fit! I thought I would be able to "get by" for a little while longer, but I'm afraid that was just wishful thinking. We'll be hitting the mall up soon to see if we can find any sells on long sleeve shirts and some scarves.

Tomorrow Nana & Gramps (we still haven't all agreed on a name for him.... Nana wants Grumpy but I am having a really hard time calling him Grumpy! Any suggestions????? Maybe I can throw some out there to them) are coming to visit!! It'll be their first trip up here. We're excited to see them and I know they're excited to see Kensley. It's been a couple months since they've seen her. I'm sure she'll have a blast with them here. Unfortunately, it's suppose to rain all weekend :-( However, that's not going to stop us! Hopefully we can find some good inside things to do. Or just have some good ol' family time together in front of the fire. Sounds nice, huh?

My card reader broke for my camera so I'm out of luck uploading pictures until I get a new one... ugh.... so be ready for a picture overload soon!

Busy busy October

Well, Kent & I took Kensley on a weekend get a away with another family this weekend. We drove up to Pennsylvania and got to see Penn State campus & stadium. Kent & Tim watched the football game while us girls walked around campus and visited one of the big attractions on campus- the creamery! It has been there at least 100 years, so the workers told us. It was pretty good ice cream (although, it was not Blue Bell!) :) The tradition there is to go after the football games. We got there when the game first started, so we didn't have to wait in line too long. However, when we left, the line was CRAZY long! Here is a picture... you can kind of see the line going out the door...and down the street. I wish I would have snapped one of the ice cream we got. You just ordered by the bowl or cone.... and they piled abotu 5 scoops on there! Cheap & lots of good ice cream... good thing I didn't go to Penn State :)

After our visit to Penn State, we headed to a ski lodge for the rest of the evening. We stayed in a condo there and got to go swimming and eat some good pizza. The views were beautiful! The trees are changing more up there than they are here in VA. I guess because it's cooler up there. We enjoyed the weekend but were glad to be home yesterday. Kensley doesn't do well when we sleep in hotels or other places. She loves her crib! She had to sleep in between Kent and I... so that made for a LOOOOONG night! (& early morning)

The lodge was hosting a fall festival so we decided to go check it out.

We're looking forward to this weekend; Kensley's Nana & Grumpy will be coming to visit for the first time. We're also looking forward to Halloween! We'll have a house full of people and we're excited.

What's on my mind....

I've been thinking a lot lately about different parenting styles. Now that Kent & I are parents, it's something I think about all the time. Are we going to do the right thing? How should we handle this situation? What if Kensley does this? I just want to do it right....the 1st time. However, I know we all can't be perfect and there is no "perfect" parenting style out there. (too bad there isn't-- the world would be such a better place!) I am the type person that really watches how people parent their kids. I take mental notes. Kensley is still at such a young age, we haven't had to discipline much yet. Just telling her "no no" when she splashes in the dog's water bowl, or telling her to "sit down" in the bath tub. I am a very laid back person and there are some things that Kensley does that I let her do. I don't freak out if she gets the socket cover off. I simply walk over and place it back in. I don't yell at her for anything right now. I truly feel that Kensley is such a happy baby because when Kent and I are with her, we play and laugh and have a good time. (I know life is not going to be happy-g0-lucky 24/7... trust me, I'm not in denial about that) My delimma right now is what to do when we're around people who have a VERY different parenting style than we have. Negativity will not be spoken in our house. Just after teaching kids and being around them so much, you can tell how negative parenting works on them. It's NOT good! .......any advice?

Kicking off October!

This month we have tons to do! Every other weekend we'll have company come up; we are so excited! Karissa & Ben came up this weekend with their kiddos. Kensley had a lot of fun. We tried to hit up a pumpkin patch, but had no luck. I THOUGHT I knew where I was going... but if you know me well, I am HORRIBLE with directions! So we ended up going to a little dinky farm.... it was ok. Saturday afternoon we get a phone call from the boys (hubbies) that they were playing 9 more holes of golf; so off to the outlet mall we went! I got a new Coach purse; a late birthday gift from Kent :) Saturday night we ate at Uncle Julio's. It was SOOOOOO good! I love their homemade tortillas and queso. Kensley wasn't too big on her bean & cheese nachos but she loved the guacamole (imagine that!) We made it home and Kensley was BEGGING to go to bed! She's never up that late and she was BEYOND sleepy. Today was a pretty lazy day. We took Ben & Karissa up to the Clubhouse to show them to beautiful view of the Potomac. We got a few pictures and then got some lunch at a good burger place here. Before they left, we had to carve a pumpkin- we picked up a few at the "real" pumpkin patch and told Kylie we would carve one. That was my first pumpkin to carve in a LONG time, so it was fun :) The kids were all great; Kensley had a lot of fun. It was fun to watch Hayden (18m) run around. He's about the age Kensley will be when the baby gets here. Fun fun!

Our next visitors will be the in-laws. We haven't planned anything yet, but I'm expecting a D.C. trip and then I'm hoping they will be able to make a pumpkin patch with us. Kensley is still too little to really enjoy everything, but I HAVE to get some good pictures! :)

Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Our 1st trip to D.C.

It went pretty good. We originally had planned to go to the National Zoo; however, we drove and the parking lots were all full. Our backup plan was to go to the National Mall.... and we didn't make it there first- we ended up going to the Washington Monument & White house. We really enjoyed our time there. The scenery was beautiful... We will be going back there sometime this week, for sure. I realized that if we really want to do some good sight seeing, we're going to HAVE to find a babysitter for Miss Kensley.... we'd like to go to the museums, for sure. Here are a few pictures from the day.......