A morning ritual

This is how mornings usually go around here:

1. Kennedy, after waking up to change diapers and get dressed, generally falls back to sleep while we're preparing breakfast.

2. Her sisters, though, seem to be truly offended by anyone sleeping if they're not, so they do their best to wake her up. This usually entails speaking in voices seven octaves higher than normal, getting up in her face, shaking toys at her, or kissing her repeatedly.

3. Invariably, it wakes her up. And they are pleased with themselves.

4. Kennedy, on the other hand, is less sure about it.

5. However, she's a good sport. She rallies, and tries to enjoy some time with her sisters. After all, they have a lot they can teach her, and they do have good hearts, even if they're incredibly loud.

6. She even rewards them with a smile on occasion, to their great joy. 

7. But she's young still, she can only last so long. . .

And the girls have to go to school eventually, so this second nap sometimes lasts a little longer.

You'd be surprised how often this scenario replays itself... It's like being stuck in Groundhog Day sometimes!

Girls' night out

Harvey had to be out at work-related meetings three of the last five nights, and we were getting a little tired of "girls' night in." So against my own better judgment, I decided to brave dinner out with not one, not two, but three unpredictable daughters in tow.

Luckily, and somewhat surprisingly, it went very smoothly. We all behaved (mostly), we all had a yummy Tasty Buddha dinner, and we all had fun!

So much for tummy time

The torture of tummy time isn't nearly as much fun if Kennedy decides to just curl up and go to sleep.

Look at that adorable face!

So sweet and peaceful!

Taking care of baby

Of course, as Resli and Lela see us taking care of Kennedy, they are inclined to do the same with their dolls (Darci and Darise).

Feeding is the most important. 

Like all good moms Lela tried to breastfeed.

 But it didn't seem to work out, so she went to the bottle. Resli's doll apparently has a cold and needs her nose cleaned out.

You should have seen the look on Resli's face when, after asking me for a carseat to carry her doll in, I told her she could just put her in the tote bag they were using as a diaper bag. Her response, verbatim: "How do you think Kennedy would like it if you put her in your diaper bag? Hmmm?" 

OK, she's got a point there...

(More) silliness

I made the mistake of sitting Lela on the kitchen counter the other day when I was getting her some yogurt, I can't remember why. Then Resli wanted to sit up there too. And then the whole thing just got kinda crazy and silly...

VBS on show

Last Sunday during church the kids from VBS got to get up and perform two of the songs they learned during the week. These are incredibly bad pictures since we always sit way in the back, but you can just make out Resli and Lela's exuberance. They did great.

Resli behind the camera

Resli has been learning how to take pictures with the digital camera lately. She's got a ways to go...

 But it will be nice to get a different perspective every now and then.

Read any good books lately?

Kennedy is becoming more aware of her surroundings and has some more alert time during the days. 

So I've been trying to make tummy time more interesting for her...

It's never to early to start them reading, right?

Vacation Bible School

All this week Resli and Lela have been attending - and having a blast at - Vacation Bible School at church. The theme is "Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street," and they got neat t-shirst with the logo on them.

It took me a few attempts to get a decently posed picture of them though.

Resli has an itch, Lela has the giggles...

Upside who?

Ah, here we go. Upside down!

Hi ho, hi ho...

Yes indeed, it's off to work we go! 

I had to go in to the office today so Kennedy came along for the ride.

She was very helpful in dealing with all kinds of business, from phone calls and emails to meetings and signing forms for students. 

OK, truth be told she wasn't all that helpful. I expected her to sleep a bit more than she did. Instead she demanded the attention of everyone who came in to the office. 

Regardless, it was a great excuse to wear this new dress, which was a gift from Bobbye (who works in the office). Thank you, Bobbye! 

Kennedy and I are going to have to work on scheduling her naps better as we approach the beginning of the fall semester and more and more things need my attention...

PS - I realize that Lela used this blogpost title already. However, that was over three years ago, so it seems to me that it's appropriate to bring it out again.

Girls' afternoon out

While Harvey was out doing errands, we celebrated a little girls' time the other day by going for a walk. Resli and Lela were very excited to be able to take Kennedy with us. (She's in there, I promise!)

See, told you she was there. She's just quiet sometimes.

It was all fun and games trying to wheel her, until they realized that they were really not capable of pushing, steering, and seeing over the top of the stroller.

So then Lela took the lead, 

and Resli took over the arduous task of pushing.

Eventually, we made it safely to our destination - Resli's school.

Lela danced (and she moves too quickly for the camera!).

 

Then we spent a long time on the playground and the basketball court, until we were all hot and tired.

ONE MONTH OLD!

Kennedy is one month old today! (That's un mes in Spanish.)

"Yep, that's right, I'm one month old already!"

"Rock on! It's been a great month!"

"Woo hoo!"

"Uh oh, am I getting wrinkles already?!?"

To further celebrate the event, Kennedy took a bath.

Except for some spit up here and there, and a general lack of sleep, we all agree that it's been a great month!

YMCA Camp Rock

Resli has been attending summer camp at the YMCA this summer. Every week they do a big "closing ceremony" in which the different age groups (identified by color) compete for the 'spirit stick' that week. Part of the ceremony involves learning a song (a pop song with words changed to reflect camp themes) and performing it for everyone else. Kennedy and I decided to go this week to support Resli's yellow group.

We all wore yellow, like we're supposed to. (Resli's headwrap is part of her costume...) 

After some discussion with her counselor Ms. Lauren, Resli and her group got ready to perform. 

Their song this week was Kung Fu Fighting. (Click this link to see the original video of the real song!)

Did I mention that this week's theme was the 70s?