Kendall Models!

Kendall was invited to model a line of Lilly Pullitzer children's clothing for a local boutique this past Saturday. I was very excited to let her do it, but wondered how she would act while modeling fall clothes in the dead of summer during her nap time. Well...she did wonderfully, even walked down the runway (aka sidewalk) w/ another little girl. It was too cute! Kaden of course wondered why he was not in the pictures or in the spotlight, but there were other little boys on hand to play w/ and Pops & LaLa came along to help me out.

Ouch!!!

Why does working out have to hurt so bad? And for that matter occur at such ungodly hours!
After almost two years of inactivity and not setting foot in a gym...I have decided it is time to get my butt back in gear! Well tone it up at least :)
I have been walking our neighborhood this week. Sounds easy enough I know but there is one very steep hill that is seriously giving me shinsplints. Then yesterday Keith and I decided to go play tennis! I will mention that I beat him 6-1 6-2. However, my shoulders, arms, stomach, actually my whole body is literally screaming in pain this morning! I did love being out there and look forward to the opportunity of playing more this Fall.
To top it all off, I'm mentally trying to prepare myself for the fact that I'm suppose to be at a spin class at the gym in one hour. They made need a stretcher to get me out of there!!!!

Weekend Pics

Another busy weekend, but luckily Keith was working locally so he got to enjoy some of the activities w/ us. We had dinner parties, a wedding, church activities, family brunch, and a play date w/ cousins. Kaden & Kendall looked super cute all weekend and I love the picture of Kendall w/ her big cousin Kylee. She loves babies but even more so 'big girls.' She will watch Kylee for minutes at a time and stare at her in adoration...so cute! And of course, Kylee loves playing baby w/ her and dressing her... its like having a mini mommy around so I love when she comes over to play!

Pretty in Pearls

We went to the seafood buffet at the country club w/ friends last night for dinner so I thought it would be fitting for Kendall to wear her pearls for the first time. She was not sure about it at first but she came around to liking them. Kaden kept telling her how "pretty pretty" she was...so sweet!

Big Man on Campus

Yesterday was Kaden's first day of Pre-K. He was so excited and for the first time did not want to hold my hand when walking into the building :( He told everyone that crossed his path that he was going to pre-K and that he would be turning 5 this year!!! He has several friends in his class from this past year so it was nice to see so many familiar faces and we love his new teacher. We are so excited about how much he will learn this year, but are not looking forward to waking up early 5 days a week!

Girls Trip

This past weekend was our 7th annual girls trip. ( I have missed two over the years). It all started w/ my bachlorette party to Destin, FL. in 2003 and since has been a tradition wheter it is for a bachlorette party or a getaway. This year we were celebrating Chivonne's 30th birthday and Kim's 29th in Savannah, GA! It is just nice to get away w/ your best friends and just be girls for a weekend. I think one of the best parts of this trip was sitting under a cabana by the pool during a rain shower and just being silly and compairing stories. It was nice to just relax, but I was missing my babies like crazy and realizing that I also missed Keith was nice too :) He took care of us from 200 miles away, upgrading our hotel room, giving us directions, telling us where to shop and eat dinner and hang out! These pics are from the night we dressed up for dinner. On the trip were myself, Shay, Veronica, Kim and Chivonne. There were definitly some memories made!!!

Baby Fever...maybe

I went to visit a dear friend yesterday who just had her second child, a baby girl named Eva, two weeks ago. While holding this tiny little baby it was hard to believe both of mine are so big now (to me anyways). The newborn stage just goes by sooo fast. I do not miss the sleepless nights, the endless diaper changes, the stress of figuring out bottles, pacifiers, etc. and did I mention lack of sleep...but I do love holding a tiny baby. Just the noises they make and how they are perfectly content laying on your chest and how there eyes meet yours and your heart just melts w/ love....oh no is it baby fever already???
Then I got home and it was total chaos...ok no third baby yet!!!

Good Days & Bad Days

I received a note on facebook this week about how well behaved my children were at the bridal shower we attended this past Sunday! Wow, really??? I of course did not feel they were well behaved at the time. In fact, I was literally sweating through the entire event keeping up w/ them. Kaden must have grabbed 4 pieces of cake and Kendall just wanted me to walk w/ her all over the place but especially to be closer to the 6 month old twin baby girls nearby. However, once I received the complement I thought maybe they acted a lot better than I gave them credit for. The next day I went to Hobby Lobby to do some returns and look around. During our ten minutes in the store Kendall broke two glass candles and Kaden decided to run off w/ the buggy (Kendall in tow) I decided that if anyone seen my kids right then they might think they were the worst in the world and want to give me some serious parenting advice!!! I guess there are just going to be good days and bad days.

Busy Bee Weekend

I love and hate busy weekends. Love that it keeps me and the kids occupied while Keith is out of town and that I have events to dress up my babies for :) Hate that there is zero down time and we get thrown off our schedule and that I'm exhausted!

Anyways, the pics capture my cuties this weekend in all their glory. First on Thursday it was out to dinner and shopping for carseats before Keith headed out of town. Kaden has finally transitioned to a toddler booster seat and he is soooo proud of it! Friday we hosted a morning playdate followed by another play date at the pool later that evening. Saturday included a trunk show at a local boutique, which was total chaos w/ two kids in tow. Then it was off to lunch w/ my parents and then my mom and I had the bright idea to drive down to Atlanta w/ the kids to a furniture outlet. We didn't find anything good at our first stop so we were determined to find some where we could shop and find some goodies. So we stumbled upon a cute little shopping area on Howell Mill Road that included an eatery where we cooled down and Kaden got an ultimate smore cupcake (what a mess!). It also had a great selection of products including wine so we stocked up on a few bottles. However, my favorite was that there were children's boutiques so I was able to get a gift for the birthday party the kids and I were attending that evening. Kendall's little baby friend, Harris, was turning one and he had a mickey mouse theme party! It was too cute. What a great place for Kendall to wear her Minnie Mouse dress. And as if that was not enough excitement for one day we decided to host a sleepover and have my friend Veronica and her two kids over. We had a great time and started Sunday off w/ a big breakfast at our house for all the kiddos....the favorite of course being bacon! Then it was time to get ready for yet another party. My dear old friend Shelly is getting married next month so I took the kids along to her bridal shower. They looked so cute in their matching outfits and of course Kaden made some new friends to play with the whole time. Once we left it was off to the grocery store and time to get home and clean up. Seriously, I feel like my laundry room door is going to fall off from the amount of clothes piling up in there. However, there was not much time for cleaning as my mom came over with Chinese and some much needed down time to look over pictures from Kendall's party. Wow...I'm just exhausted from writing this! I'm actually happy its Monday :)

The adorable "K" monogram shirts are from collections by Tara Nichole. How lucky that my bff is uber talented. She has a whole line of unbelievably cute baby and toddler clothing and products. Check her out at http://collectionsbytaranicole.blogspot.com/

Kendall's First Birthday Photos

The photographer has uploaded all photos from Kendall's First Birthday Party to her site. They are gorgeous! Follow the information below:

Brandelyn Lee Photography
Title: Kendall's Birthday
Passcode: smith
Gallery Expiration: Thursday August 27, 2009
Discount: 10% off until 8/9/09
Click here <http://www.brandelynleeclients.com/pickpic/gallery/splash.php?gallery_id=37> to visit the gallery!If you have any questions, please contact:Brandelyn Lee Photography
301 Hideaway AcresCanton, GA 30115770-345-8638www.brandelynlee.com <http://www.brandelynlee.com>

Children's Consignment Sales

For those of you who follow my blog and are mommies here locally...I thought I would share some consignment sales that I have marked on my calander. I'm very selective but love finding a great bargain especially for an outfit or toy that my children will use two or three times!

Giggles & Grace
www.gigglesandgrace.org
Marietta Church of God 1083 Allgood Rd. Marietta
Fri Aug 21st 9am-8pm & Sat Aug 22nd 9am-1pm

Born Again Blessings Children's (I will miss this one bc I will be out of town so someone will have to let me know how it is for next year!)
www.bornagainblessings.com
Cobb County Civic Center 548 Marietta Pkwy
Fri Aug 14th 9am-7pm & Sat Aug 15th 9am-noon

Bentwater Children's Sale
www.bentwater-hoa.com
Cedarcrest Road in Acworth (follow signs) Note: No strollers due to stairs! (I was caught carrying around an infant car seat and chasing after a 3 year old last year so it may be best to try & come w/out little ones in my opinion)
Aug 6-8 Thurs & Fri 9am-7pm & Sat 9am-noon

Due West Sale
Due West United Methodist Church Family Center
3956 Due West Road (corner of Acworth Due West & Kennesaw Due West Road)
Aug 20th-22nd Thurs 9am-7pm Fri. 9:30am-6pm & sat. 8am-noon

Note: for best selections it is best to shop early. However, most of these sales will let things go for 1/2 price on Saturdays to get rid of whatever is left!
Happy Shopping :)

The Birthday Bash

Kendall's first birthday party was a huge success. There was no rain and it was not that hot considering it was the first day of August. There was a great turn out of party guests and most importantly no real melt down moments from the birthday girl or her brother. (Although, Kaden did manage to ruin two shirts before the party officially started!) Keith and I were hard at work getting ready and we even put our Moms to work...Lala was breaking a sweat outside w/ table layouts & final touches and Meme was in the kitchen w/ last minute preperations and baby watching. Our princess wore two adorable outfits for the day and looked beautiful in each one. She received a ton of presents, but more importantly was surrounded by friends and family that love her. My dear friend and professional photographer, Brandelyn Shirley, was on hand to capture it all so I will post a link to the pictures as soon as they are available!!!

When asked if all the planning and hard work was worth it...yes 100 times over again. I know she will not remember it, but I will have the amazing pics for her to look back at. And she had a day that is just as special & unique as she is!

The pics above are just a few that I captured of her during her birthday weekend.

Kendall turns 1!

I can't believe my baby girl is officially one! I never knew how true the words were...'they grow up too fast'... until I had kids. I must brag for a moment though...this girl of mine is picture perfect beautiful. Really she is a "living baby doll" as my friend Kim always says. She can truly light up a room w/ her big blue eyes, smile and contagious laughter and she knows how to demand attention! At the same time she is so loving and sweet and for the most part easy going. I fear she will be giving her big brother a run for the money in the talking department though, which means I'm going to have a permanent headache from the amount of talking that will occur at every waking moment!..but it is all worth it :)

Keith and I are amazed everyday by our two beautiful children and look forward to the years to come...we just hope we can slow down to enjoy these prescious years that go by all too quickly.

Yesterday Keith, Kaden, Meme (Keith's Mom) and I celebrated her birthday w/breakfast prepared by Keith, some present opening, a trip to the zoo and a delicious late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory followed by a little shopping! Her and Kaden even had cotton candy for the very first time (neither of them liked it!)

Kendall's little outfit was too cute...she wore pink seersucker shorts w/ a couture birthday shirt that read birthday princess in crystals. She also wore her signature bow, which read happy birthday, and at lunch sported her custom first birthday bib made by Tara. It was a great day and we were all exhausted when we finally got home, but Keith and I had much work to do for the big party today!