Kassidy's 5th Birthday!!!

That's right...Kassidy is now 5 years old! I cannot believe how fast it has gone and can only imagine how fast the next 5 years will go, especially with her starting Kindergarten in the fall.

The big day started off with breakfast in bed:) Kaleb helped make chocolate chip pancakes and sing to the birthday girl.

Ever since going to her cousin Olivia's Luau party in August, Kassidy has wanted to have her own luau party. And, only girls of course:) We had her party on her birthday since it was a Saturday. All her girlfriends from school came, her cousin Sara, and friends Lily and Erika. The girls had SO much fun together and it was really neat watching them interact with eachother outside of school. You can tell they all really do love each other!

First the girls made grass skirts and leis, then had their fingernails painted, played dolphin ring toss, the "cotton ball" game, did the limbo, played the "M&M" game, had cookie cake and opened presents. Kassidy's friends were all so generous and she got some really great gifts! Some of her favorites were a Barbie pool, Lip gloss, Barbie movie, Belle Barbie doll and horse, a baby cradle, and lots of stickers.

Kathy, Sarah, and Lindsey
Aunt Kelly
Jillian, Julia, Lily, Sara, Kassidy, Carly, and Ali

The famous "cotton ball" game

Amanda's sister, Amanda, Julia

Jillian and Lily

Ali and Kassidy


Carly and Erika

Sara, Lindsey, and Kaleb

Being so goofy!

After dinner Kassidy opened some more gifts from the family. She got 2 really pretty dresses, a cute bathing suit/skirt, a musical jewelry box with a dancing ballerina, Tinkerbell movie, earrings, Barbie and baby doll clothes, Bitty Baby high chair and shape sorting table, Dora tennis racket, and cute jean outfit with pink flip flops. During the day Daddy took her to Toys R Us to spend some b-day money and she picked out a new Art Studio game for her computer. I think she still has a few presents coming in the mail, but needless to say she had a GREAT birthday and was spoiled rotten once again! We just want to thank everyone who brought/sent her a gift and helped make her birthday a special one! She had such a wonderful day:)

We are so proud of the big girl Kassidy is turning into:) She is getting more and more independent each month. She gets most of her breakfast/drink ready in the morning, gets dressed, brushes her teeth, brushes her hair (most of it), gets her shoes/coat/backpack on, buckles herself in the car, helps a lot throughout the day with chores like cleaning her room, sweeping, washing the table, feeding the dogs, the list goes on and on! She loves to help out whenever you will let her:)

Kassidy also has really shown interest this year in writing letters and peoples names, rhyming words together, telling us what starts with a certain letter, counting to 30 by herself, coloring and staying inside the lines, again I could go on. She just loves going to school everyday and this year it's not just for the socialization but for the learning!

Of course we have been struggling with a few attitude problems also. Kassidy has started making faces at us instead of talking back and just loves stomping her foot at us if she doesn't get her way! It's funny how she will say I was making the face to myself to try and get out of trouble. Overall, she is such a blessing to us and we just love watching her grow and mature and become her own person:) She truly is a sweet girl with a big heart...it really shows through with how she treats her brother and friends.

Pregnancy Update

Today I had my 36 wk check and I am 2 cm dilated and a little thinned out. I am VERY excited that our little guy will be coming soon:) Of course Kassidy is really looking forward to her new little brother, too! I just hope he can hang in there a little longer to get as big and strong as possible. And we have Kassidy's birthday Saturday, our family pregnancy pictures scheduled for this Sunday, and a shower by my sister Kelly next Friday. I've been feeling pretty good, definitely having contractions, feeling tired and short of breath sometimes, but overall good. Looking back at pics from Kassidy and Kaleb's pregnancy I am definitely bigger this time around!

Kassidy showing off her 'tummy' too:)

Kassidy's School Circus

We really enjoyed the circus put on by the 4K classes at Kassidy's school. They had muscle men that lifted 200 lb weights with one hand, prancing ponies that counted with their hoof, animals that crawled through a ring of fire with the help of an animal tamer, trapeze artists who did a full spin on the line, 2 magicians that made scarves appear and pulled a bunny from a hat, and a funny clown who threw 'water' at the audience. It truly was an amazing show! Kassidy chose to be a prancing pony complete with a sparkly tail and a red bow on her head. It was hard to get pics of her and the other ponies because they did a lot of fast galloping! The video turned out much better. Hope you enjoy:)

6 weeks to go! ! !

Wow! I can't believe I'm already 34 weeks into this pregnancy. It has really gone fast. I am definitely ready to have this baby, but I know he will come when he is ready. Everything looks great with both me and the baby. I'm gaining weight just fine (surprised it's not more the way I'm eating!) The baby's measuring a little small like Kassidy and Kaleb did, but no concerns there. About a week ago I started getting very sore in my ribs on the right side. Since I do cardiac ultrasounds I stuck my probe right over the sore spot and guess what I saw...a head! The baby has flipped and is now breech, no wonder my ribs are so sore. I also saw his hands right by his head and occasionally his feet kicking up there, too. It's getting very uncomfortable sitting up to say the least! But if that's the worse to come I consider myself pretty lucky. I have had some contractions here and there but nothing regular or very strong.

Kassidy especially is getting super excited for the baby to come. She is going to be such a great big sis! Whenever we're around my sisters with their little ones she follows them around and helps them do everything. And the neat part is she can actually do some stuff by herself like feeding the baby a bottle. She will definitely be this little guys second mommy:) She has already helped me get the nursery together by washing/drying/putting away all the clothes and blankets, making the crib, putting shelves together, and organizing the closet. Such a big helper!

I go back to the Dr. in 2 weeks so I will keep you posted!

Trip to Ohio

This past weekend my sister and I and all 5 kids traveled to Ohio. We visited Mama and Papa, Aunt Kristi and Kaylin, and all my nieces and nephews. The trip up was very long due to a snow storm. It usually takes about 10-11 hrs and it took us 15!!! We ended up spending the night in a hotel because we were all exhausted and ready to be out of the car. The kids actually did a great job in the car. Lots of snacks and DVDs really helped!

It was so good to see everyone again! My two little nephews have really grown:) It's great seeing all 11 grandkids playing together. Hard to believe that soon there will be 12!

Below are some pics from the kids playing in the snow. There was about 2 feet of snow in all the yards so it was difficult for the younger ones to actually play in it but the older ones loved it! It was so cold in Ohio though, about 18 when we got there, so they didn't last long outside. When Kassidy came inside she said I'm never playing in the snow again! So funny. Kaleb liked finding little snow balls and throwing them in the air!

Kassidy and Olivia

Kassidy and Olivia making snow angels

Our favorite part of the trip was definitely our stay at the Kalahari, an indoor waterpark resort. We all stayed the night, cooked a spaghetti dinner and pancake breakfast, jumped over waves in the wave pool, played on the slides, and played games in the arcade. It was a fun-filled 2 days to say the least! Below are some pics from the waterpark.

Kassidy and Kaleb with Mama and Papa

Austin (10 months) and Kyle (7 months)

Like always we have so much fun together:) Some more pics of everyone...

This last pic is a very special one to us all. A year ago my dad, Papa, found a tumor on his lower R leg which turned out to be soft tissue sarcoma, and had to have his lower R leg amputated. He has done absolutely amazing, so strong and determined, and barely walks with a limp now in his 'new leg'. He recently got a new water leg which he enjoyed at the Kalahari and will enjoy even more this summer at the beach and on the jet ski. Well, a few weeks ago he found out that the sarcoma is now in his lungs so he will start chemo soon. Once again he is strong and determined and willing to fight hard to get past this. My dad has the strongest will and has always handled any hurdle that comes his way with patience and precision. Please pray for my dad's continued strength and ultimately for complete healing of the cancer. Here's the grandkids giving Papa a big thumbs up saying You can do it!!! We know with God's help we can get through this hurdle too! We love you dad:)