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.......

WE HAVE A TOOTH BUD! :)

Well, you read it right.... A tooth has broke through! WOOHOO! haha- You may think I'm crazy, but I am one excited mommy! Kensley is now 12.5 months and still has NO teeth! I noticed her bottom gums were swollen where those two middle teeth will come in... well, today I noticed a little white bud had broken through. I'm anxious to see how our little one looks with teeth! It's been so long that we've seen her big, huge "gum"my smile! Fortunately, she hasn't been really cranky- just some loose bowel movements and a few mornings with a little clear runny nose, but so far, so good!

My parents are in town and so we're staying busy. It was so funny- they got here last night and Kensley went straight to Nonnie (my mom). She loves her! She has been attached to her since. It's so sweet. They're up here all week and I am so happy for that. I wish they lived up here- along with the rest of my family!

Well, Texas & Tech are playing....... back to watching some football..............

Kensley at 12 months

Happy 1st Birthday Kensley!

What a great day! We had Kensley's 1st birthday at my mom's and it turned out great. We had all of our family & friends and Kensley had a blast! She walked around and played the entire time. She got a lot of cute clothes and a few toys. Here are a few pictures from the day.

It's crazy how fast this year has flown by. At 12 months, here is a list of Kensley's likes & dislikes.

Likes

Cheese

Fruit (especially bananas & grapes)

Yogure melts

formula

saying "dada"

Reading her books

having someone read to her

playin with other kids

watching a DVD in the car (Baby Einstein)

climbing stairs

sitting on the bathroom counter with mommy while she gets ready

morning walks

Dislikes

Meats- maybe it's the texture, and the fact she has no teeth?!

Puffs- maybe because I tried to skimp and buy the off-brand kind

holding someone's hand while walking

Such a beautiful, fall day!

Well, I haven't blogged in a while- but I thought I would while Kensley is napping.

Things here in VA are going good. I would like to find a mom's group for little ones so Kensley can interact with other kids and I can interact with other adults! :) We have a neighborhood mom's email group, so I may try to coordinate one here. That way it will be more convenient to do things close to home since everyone lives near eachother.

Kensley is growing like a weed. She is walking everywhere and has mastered the art of crawling up the stairs. She thinks she's so cool when she does it. I need to get a cheap-o gate for the bottom of the stairs now!

Fall has made its appearance. I am LOVING it! The windows have been opened all day and the A/C is off. I had to put jeans and a long sleeve shirt on! My parents are coming up next week and I am really getting excited! Man, I wish they lived up here! We're going to venture into D.C. and do some sight seeing and go to the National Zoo. So, I'm counting down the days until they arrive!

As for me, things are great. This pregnancy has been just like my pregnancy with Kensley. I go to the doctor up here later this month. I hope and pray that I like the nurses & doctors. I am really having a hard time leaving my old OB/GYN. Speaking of babies- Kent's cousin Scot; he and his finace are expecting a GIRL! Yay! I am so excited!! I know it's what Scot really wanted and I am so happy for them! I can't wait to go to a store and get her an outfit.... :-)

Well, I believe that's about all that is going on in the Vest household. I'll try to upload some pictures soon... I just have to find where I (or KENSLEY) put my card reader for my camera.....