Life and Science Museum with the Ripp family

Nicki, Ava and Maddox came up from Texas and we got to spend the afternoon with them at the Life and Science Museum. It was a lot of fun and like always it made us wish we could do it more often.

Roller Skating

Ryan and Audrey both tried roller skating for the first time last weekend (For Gwen's Birthday). They both loved it- I was picturing it was going to be a disaster but they both got into it and asked to go back soon. This will be a great activity to keep us busy this summer.

Audrey Swim

Audrey started swim lessons last weekend. It was the first time since she was a baby and she was really excited to get back to it... she wore her goggles for the whole hour before class. She was great and got her face under water which is a big step. We will be going once a week- hopefully she gets comfortable in the water by summer when the outside pools open up.

Kenz 12 Month Appointment

Kenzie had her 12 month appointment. She is right on track developmentally. She was 20.8 pounds, I didn't get to see how long she was but honestly she was so squirmy when they measured I'm not sure how accurate their measurement was.  She had to get both a blood draw (to test for anemia) and an immunization- so it was rough for her. Luckily it's over and we don't have to go back for awhile!

How Cute is This Birthday Girl?

Happy Birthday Kenzie Quinn

Happy First Birthday to my sweet baby girl Mackenzie! I can't believe it has been a year already. Kenzie is a very sweet baby she loves to give hugs and if you are within reach she will come over and give you a hug without even being asked. She is crazy amounts of expressive and has so many facial expressions. She loves to make people laugh and have people make her laugh (especially Ryan). She likes to eat, play with her friends and to play games where she needs to figure something out (like shape sorting).
She is my miracle baby, the baby that doctors said I wouldn't be able to take home with me because of her cystic hygroma.  She has taught me more than anyone else on the planet about being grateful for what I have and understanding how lucky I am. My parenting has completely changed because of her, I understand much better what is and isn't important.
Kenzie Quinn it has been a blessing being your mom this last year. You have brought so much joy and love into our family. I can't wait to see what your future holds.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I told Ryan and Audrey that they had to go outside and build a snowman or they had to take a nap. I threatened because they were being lazy and it looked like unless they were pushed that they weren't going to go outside at all. They opted for the snowman- they even got the neighbors on-board with the project.  while they snow wasn't optimal for snowman building- their attempt was still sad at best. My kids are entirely too southern. Maybe we should go up north next winter for a lesson in real snowman building.

Snow Day Round 2

Tonight it's supposed to snow a lot (at least for southern standards), this is just two days after a freak snow storm that kept the kids home from school at the beginning of the week. I figured I should post the last snow pictures before I end up taking even more. No worries, we are all stocked up on the 5 B's- Bread, Bananas, Beer, Butter and Bacon in preparation for being snowed in. 

Kenzie's First Birthday Party!

 Kenzie had her first birthday party with her friends Sunday! We just had a playdate with snacks and lots of cake. It was just the right speed for a one year old birthday party... it only took me three children before I got it right :)

Photography update

My friend Christina has been helping me with my photography skills. I got a new camera a few months ago that is a lot more complicated and has a steep learning curve. I finally feel like I am starting to be able to use it. Here is a picture I took while she was explaining lighting to me. Hopefully there will be an improvement in my photography skills now that I am on the right track.

Snow Days

North Carolina actually got some snow this year! The kids have been out of school since Monday. It wasn't really a good snow, it was more of a thick ice mess, but I guess it's something. The kids have been playing lots of video games- with the neighbor boys and slipping around outside. It was fun but I am ready for school to open up again! 

Ryan

How handsome is this boy?

Audrey School Picture

Audrey's school picture! We did retakes today (because the original one's were done by a terrible photographer and they had Christina do the retakes).  Poor Audrey has a huge scrape down the side of her cheek from falling in the neighbors driveway but Christina was able to teach me a lot about photoshop to get it out of the picture. How gorgeous is my girl?

Go Patriots!

The Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl today and we are having lot's of people over to eat and cheer on the team! While I'm sure I will take more pictures tonight, here is one of Audrey getting pumped up for the game.