In Honor of Kennedy's Half Birthday

A couple of weeks ago, Kennedy celebrated her half birthday at preschool. My little 4 1/2 year old got to make an "All About Me" poster, bring snack, AND a treat. It was a big deal. So, in my attempt to document things that have been missed, I will give you a rundown of what happened on Kennedy's actual birthday, back in August.

We had a dog party. Fitting, seeing as how Kennedy's best friend is Buster the dog. We made dog ears, ate dog food (aka muddy buddies), had a dog pinata and ate spotted dog cake. Both of my sisters came with their kids. Kennedy loves her cousins and was so excited to have them there. Most of Chad's family and a few friends came as well.

The most exciting present! A Barbie Scooter! This is all Kennedy wanted, and she was thrilled to get it!

The Pixos were also a big hit.

(I apologize for the sub par pictures, but regardless, they make me long for spring and summer)

I cannot believe this little girl is 4 1/2!!! AND She will be starting Kindergarten this year! It just blows my mind and I so wish I could make time stand still. Luckily, I will have the new baby sister to keep me company in the fall when she heads to school, otherwise I don't think I would let her go!

So, as fellow bloggers do, I will post the top 4 things about my sweet Kennedy. (even though she is 4 1/2 I could round up to 5 but I am just not ready for that, so you get 4)

1. Despite Kennedy's rough start in life, from the moment we found out about her birth defect, I KNEW everything would be okay and this little girl was supposed to be with our family. I had such a sense of peace. She still is the peacemaker in our home, and brings such a sweet spirit to our family.

2. She is definitely a LOVER not a fighter. Even though she is a tall drink of water, she does not pack any sort of punch whatsoever. She is very good at sharing and always turns the other cheek. She loves to snuggle and give hugs. She is going to be the best big sister and is already getting lots of practice with her babies and stuffed animals. She puts at least 4-5 of them to bed with her each night, makes sure they are tucked in, and she folds their arms for prayers. Throughout the day she changes diapers, feeds them and takes them for walks.

3. She loves books. Right now, she loves practicing reading. She gets so excited every time she learns a new word. She also loves making books. They are mostly about her family, which always include Buster and the baby sister.

4. She's a daddy's girl. One of her favorite pastimes these days is watching the Jazz game with Dad up in her playroom. She really watches it too (unlike me). She loves to know who is ahead, what guys we are rooting for, and she's always watching the ball. Dad likes to try to make this little sugar cookie tough. She tries so hard to go along and is getting better at trying new things. Over Christmas Chad had a few little kid snowmobiles for the weekend. He was determined Kennedy was big enough to ride one all by herself from the parking lot up to the cabin. (It's about a mile and with one of us in front and the other behind of course.) So after bonking her lip on the way down and recovering, she got a quick lesson in the parking lot. (I might add she would only do it by herself if I rode the other kid snowmobile up, which I squatted like a dog and had to run beside to get up the hill, but hey, I will put all of my pride aside for my kid) So after ALLOT of convincing, we got her to do it and she did great and didn't even cry until we got there and she got off the snowmobile and all of her toughness had run out and she just lost it! She didn't ride it the rest of the time by herself but at least we taught her she could do hard things right!?!?

There are so many things we love about this little girl! For the past 4 years, she has been our life and our light. We are very excited to be adding to our family, but we sure have enjoyed our time with our sweet Kennedy. Happy Half Birthday!!!