We celebrated a very special day at our house recently. On July 19, 2008 Baby Kate turned ONE year old!!! We can hardly believe it has been a whole year since we brought our baby girl home from the hospital. She has been such a wonderful addition to our little family. We all love her very much, and she truly is a blessing.
To celebrate her big day we had a birthday bash at our house. Our family and friends gathered to celebrate. We set up the water slide and kiddie pool in the backyard. Chris cooked lasagna for dinner. We also had salad and bread to go with it. For desert we had cake, of course, homemade ice cream, and homemade root beer. Uncle Aaron and Aunt Johnnie contributed the ice cream and root beer. It was such a special treat!! We thank them so much!!
Kate really enjoyed opening all the gifts. She wanted to inspect all the toys. She was very interested in her new things. She received a framed cross stitch made by Aunt Lorita, little bug learning toy, Baby Einstein video, penguin pop up toy, Precious Moments figurine, Glow worm, stuffed birthday cake with one dollar hidden inside, a lady bug coin holder, books, several very appreciated outfits and dresses, including her first pair of Wrangler jeans, a savings bond, and money. We thank everybody for their very generous gifts! Chris and I bought her a little bouncing Zebra she can ride. She really showed off her cowgirl skills for everybody. She really liked being the center of attention!
Before....
After... notice the new pink highlights in her hair
Kate on her zebra... We have many more pictures to share. I am working on putting together a slide show.
This past Wednesday thruSaturday Rachel and Luke went to stay with Memaw Linda and Grandad Bob. When they got into town on Wednesday they went straight to McDonald's for lunch and to play on the jungle gym. Thursday morning Grandad Bob took them to the donut shop for a special treat, chocolate covered donuts with sprinkles and chocolate milk! He was amazed at how fast they ate their donuts! He watched them while my Mom got her hair done. I guess he was super charging them up with sugar so they would be ready when she got back. When she got back they went to eat lunch with Memaw Dena and Aunt Lorita. Thursday afternoon Memaw took them to the Splash pad and park. They played for two solid hours running non-stop. When they got home it was hot dogs for dinner. Luke then decided he had enough fun and laid down for a nap. Rachel and my Mom played games while he was sleeping. Well, my Mom had won too many of the games which upset Rachel. Rachel hates to lose games. I got a phone call about 9:30 Thursday night from Rachel who was crying because she lost the games. Luke then decided to join in the crying. I was worried that I might have to make a midnight trip to get the kids, but they went to sleep and woke up the next morning refreshed and happy. They assured me they were not ready to come home yet. Friday afternoon they went to visit Memaw Dena and Aunt Lorita. Friday evening Memaw Linda took them to see their first musical, Annie, at the Ritz Theatre. Both kids absolutely loved it! I went to get them on Saturday. Rachel told me when I got there that they had been on vacation! I guess they had. They had donuts for breakfast every morning, played in the park and got wet, and even took in a play. Sounds like a great vacation to me!!
Today is Chris's Grandmom's birthday. The kids have a special song to share with her. We hope you have a great day Grandmom Wanda!! We love you and hope you see you this weekend!!
Our July 4th celebration has become a family tradition. We go to Snyder to take advantage of the festivities in Towle Park. We start the day with the Parade. The kids enjoy watching the people, cars, and animals go by, but they are really there to get the candy the people throw. They usually get a bag full then eat it as fast as they can. It is almost as good as Halloween. My Dad drove his Studebaker in the parade and my Mom and Aunt Lorita rode with him this year. It is fun for the kids to see them participate in the parade. There was a miniature horse and a baby camel in the parade too. You don't see those everyday!
After the parade we go back to the house and have lunch then head to the carnival. The kids just love to ride all the kiddie rides. This year they rode the dragon roller coaster, merry-go-round, spinning strawberries, tall bumpy slide, airplanes, hot air balloons, and ran the obstacle coarse. They are the same rides year after year, but the kids don't seem to notice. Luke enjoyed the carnival more this year. With each year he gets braver. He actually rode the dragon roller coaster with a smile on his face. The first year he rode it I rode with him. Let's just say he wanted it to stop right after it started...there was screaming and a few tears. He would not even ride it last year.
After we use up all our tickets at the carnival we head over to the sand volleyball tournament. Uncle Aaron plays in the tournament every year. We always try to go watch at least part of a game. This year we watched all of one game and part of another. When the kids got too hot to care about the game anymore we went back to Memaw's house to rest.
In the evening the Stansells gather for the annual picnic at Aunt Shirley's house. We have hot dogs, hamburgers, and most important homemade ice cream to eat. My mom came with us this year. I was so glad she did, it meant I had a couple of extra hands. I think she enjoyed visiting with everybody and eating all the good food. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and eating ice cream! I think Kate had about three cups of ice cream! When she finished one cup she would cry for more. Johnnie's Dad would feed her his until I could get her some more. Ice cream is her new favorite food!
After the picnic it is off to find a good place to watch the fireworks in the park. This year we watched them by the volleyball courts with Aunt Johnnie, Tenley, Miles, Memaw Linda, and Johnnie's family. It was a great display as always! Kate watched for the first time. She was not even phased by the loud bangs and noises. When the fireworks in the park were over we headed back the Memaw Linda and Grandad Bob's house to light some sparklers. This is the kids first year to have sparklers. They really liked them. I think we will have to add them to our tradition!
We all had a fun 4th of July as usual. I can't think of a better place to celebrate than in Snyder. Snyder does a great job with the parade, carnival, and fireworks. The kids look forward to it year after year. This year was special because it was Baby Kate's first 4th of July. We missed Chris because he worked. We also missed Grandnanna who was sick with a virus. Next year we hope they will join us when we do it all again!
This post is for Grandma Dena. Aunt Johnnie and Uncle Aaron brought Rachel Aunt Cara's old piano a few weeks back. Rachel has really taken an interest in learning to play. Grandma Dena sent some Learn to Play Piano books for Rachel to start learning with. She has completed the first couple of lessons. I am going to have to find a piano teacher soon. My piano playing skills don't go much beyond finding middle C and playing Mary had a Little Lamb.
There is nothing sweeter than sleeping babies. Although Rachel and Luke don't exactly fall into the baby category any more they are still my babies. I caught them snuggling with each other a couple of days ago. I ran to get my camera, so I could capture the moment. Now they can't deny it happened when they are older and hate each other. I am sure Luke has a handful of Rachel's hair. He has a hair fetish. He loves to run his fingers through my hair to put himself to sleep.
Here is a picture of Baby Kate during a nap this past week. It looks like she is praying, but actually she is sucking her thumb. Maybe she is multitasking!
This is a little video of Kate at breakfast, that is why her face is covered with cereal. She is smacking her lips. It looks like she is giving kisses. Cute!!
