Skipped a year...

So, my last post was last June- so it's probably time for a little update :) Oops. What a year it's been. Kennedy continues to amaze us and crack us up each day. Her personality is bigger and bigger and we continuously thank God for the opportunity to raise this precious peanut.

Kennedy started preschool at our church in the fall of 2009 for three days a week. It was a pretty good routine with Brian dropping her off and me picking her up after work, and she learned so much. We had a busy year with Brian buying, working on and selling houses, me working in the school system, and Kennedy in school. We also went through a tough experience with a much desired pregnancy this past March. When I was five months along, we discovered that the baby girl I was carrying had significant medical problems including brian malformation and a spinal cord defect. We were not given a lot of hope for her survival after delivery, and if she did survive- her (most likely short) life would have been full of surgeries along with paralysis and severe brain damage. So, the heart breaking decision was made to give that baby girl back to God and not continue the pregnancy. There will always be the "what-if"s in my mind, but Brian and I prayed through the decision and felt it was best for our family. We are moving through that time thanks to the much felt prayers and support of our family and friends. Needless to say, that brought us much closer as a family and makes us hug Kennedy a little tighter.

After that experience, I was dreading going back to work in the school system. Not only because the work I was doing had morphed into more paperwork and meetings than face time with kids and families, but also because I didn't want to miss out on anything to do with Kennedy. At this exact time, our church was looking for someone to fill the position of an elementarty coordinator for our children's ministry. I felt a giant pull to interview, and I eventually was hired! I happily resigned from the school system, and now work for my church part time. If you asked me a year ago if I ever thought about working for the church and I would have laughed. It's interesting how directions change when life throws you things unexpectedly. It's already been a wonderful experience!

Brian goes between having a very flexible schedule when he's not working on a house, to working around the clock when he's fixing one up to sell again. It's been so cool to watch him do what he loves for a living- he's so skilled!

Kennedy is my little artist. She loves to sing, dance, paint and create. She had her first ballet recital a few weeks ago- what a riot! I know I'm partial- but she did an amazing job!! Somehow, Brian and I sat on the front row and I kept thinking she was going to come on stage, see us, and have a melt down or want to come sit with us. I was COMPLETELY wrong. That booger pranced on stage and picked up her hula hoop and yelled, "Mommy, WATCH THIS!" She had a huge grin on her house the whole time and was our little dancing queen.

So, Brian is finishing up a house, Kennedy and I just made it through VBS (Kennedy sometimes calls it "CVS") week at church, and we are ready for the summer ahead of us! Kennedy turns three in July, we start swimming lessons next week, and we are hoping to make it up to Atlanta to spend sometime with Lisa, Pablo, Jackson and the newest family member, Ava Judith. That's about it...

Let the Sunshine In!!

What fun we've had in the last month! We spent Memorial Day weekend with the Melgarejo crew at Cocoa Beach. It was hard to believe it had been a year since we had been there- last time Kennedy wasn't even a year old, yet. It was so great to be with family, and Kennedy couldn't get enough of her sweet cousin, Jackson ("Jashun"). We miss you, Melgarejo family!

Lisa and cutie Jackson playing in pjs!


Proud Papa D ("PaD") with Kennedy and JP

Kennedy remembering her baby days in Jackson's jumper

Getting some lovin' from Aunt Lori

Pool time!!

Not sure if the baby pool is big enough for the both of them, but they were sure cute!

Just catching some rays...

My little cuddle-bug

Loving the beach!

The cute Melgarejo Family...

Ok, this wasn't from Cocoa- it was Mother's Day, but I had to include it because

it was such a special day :)

We took G-Ma and Wecky's boat out for Madeline and Kennedy's first ride. They loved driving the boat! Kennedy also has a special attachment for her life jacket :) I guess that's better than the alternative.

Someone is ready to go!

Builidng sand castles with Wecky...


Again, not from the boat trip- just ordinary fun in the back yard!

We walked downtown for the Taste of Pinellas event, and Kennedy was in the mood for pictures- when is she not?

Getting Ready for Summer!!

Does anyone else feel that May is a BUSY month? So many things going on around here! We celebrated Brian's birthday at the end of April and have stayed busy going to Busch Gardens, playing in the blow up pool in the back yard, going to the beach and spending time with friends and family. Life is good. Poor Kennedy has had a rough few weeks, but she's doing great now! She had an eye infection, then a cold, and what we think was teething- all we know is there was a lot of crying, whining, poor sleeping and just an unhappy kiddo. It's nice to have our silly, chatty girl back to 100%. I can't keep up with all the things she's learning because it's something new all the time. She has discovered a deep love for Barney, so we are constantly hearing, "watch Barney please!". She also likes the Wonder Pets so she also says, "Watch Ming Ming, too"- which is so cute since she's learned that from their song, "....Lenny, Tuck and Ming Ming, too..."- heehee. Kennedy's favorite activity is being outside. I had a lucky find at a garage sale a few weeks back- a Little Tykes plastic car- and let me tell you, if I knew how much Kennedy would love that thing, I would have bought one months ago. She is constantly asking to go outside and saying, "Mommy, push car please!" Yes, that's right- she doesn't get around the conventional Flinestone's way by using her own feet, I walk behind the car pushing her around the neighborhood. She LOVES it. She also loves pushing her babydoll in the stroller outside- which of course, only lasts several feet before she discovers a cool stick or leaf. At that point, she'll usually say, "Shh... baby sleeping", and walk away from the stroller. This is a trick Brian and I use regularly when it's time to stop playing with something- we'll tell her the pool is sleeping, or the rocking horse is sleeping, etc. This tends to work pretty well, except that Kennedy's figured out how to use it to her advantage now. So, I end up carrying the doll, stroller, and whatever sticks or leaves Kennedy hands me. She tries to exert independence into many daily activities now. Kennedy has a favorite pair of shoes- her pink crocs, and wants to wear them everyday. I think part of it is because she is able to put them on and off without help. I can't tell you how many times a day we hear her say, "Kennedy do it".

Brian is still working on finding the next house to purchase and renovate, but in the mean time, he is enjoying having this time at home. I will be done with work for the summer in a few short weeks and I can't wait to be home more with Kennedy. I will probably be exhausted by the end of the summer, but it should be fun :)

Busch Gardens with the Althoff family

Kennedy and Owen going on a boat ride!

One of Kennedy's favorite activities- playing in the jeep!

We had a cookout with the Thornton family. Travis and Kennedy are going to be great buddies.

How does one learn to be so girly?


What our walks look like most days...


Just being silly!

Playing at the beach with Reagan Segraves!


Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!

















Trying out Dad's new duds...

Brian's family joined us for a birthday cookout








Cousin Maddie loves the jeep, too :)

Kennedy's favorite toy!

Belated Easter

So, I decided I couldn't very well skip Easter to get to all the other events we had in April :) Such a special holiday, especially because Kennedy learned to say "Jesus is ALIVE"! Of course, now every bearded man is either Jesus or Hohoho (Santa). We had a wonderful Easter weekend!


Our neighborhood had an egg hunt Saturday morning...













... and our church had another event that evening...




Sharing a quick hug with our buddy, Travis Thornton!


This little guy was nice enough to let Kennedy sit with him for a fun "train ride" through the park!




And we were worried she'd be scared- HA!






We spent Sunday going to church, having lunch and a egg hunt at G-Ma and Wecky's house...
















and had Easter dinner with Papa D and Kelly!





Thank you, Melgarejo family, for the Easter goodies!!