Happy Birthday Kennedy!

Today we celebrated Kennedy's first birthday (a little late) with a party, and all kinds of special guests came. Cousin Ruby was there with Aunt Liz, and Kennedy was very eager to play with her!

We were also really happy to have Ms. Stephanie and Mr. Patrick (former teachers of Lela and Resli, and more recently Kennedy's babysitters when she was just a couple months old), and Ms. Jenifer (who was Resli's preschool teacher and our preferred babysitter for years), and Maria (a graduate student in my department who has done her fair share of Kennedy-watching), along with Grandma and Granddaddy too of course.

Resli and Lela started off the party inviting all the ladies to the "salon" in their room, which involved hairstyles and product and other kinds of girlie fun.

And then we brought out the party hats. Like any good one-year-old, Kennedy was none too sure about that elastic band.

The older sisters, on the other hand, wore theirs well.

And then it was cake time. We made it in the shape of a 1, of course, and Resli and Lela were largely responsible for the decorations. (I did the lettering, they did the sprinkling.)

Kennedy, she digs cake.

So much so that she really didn't want Aunt Liz getting too close to that plate!

After cake we opened presents, which Resli and Lela were far more interested in than Kennedy. But she got some great toys and books and a few beautiful dresses, and she's very grateful for the friends and fun and good company of the afternoon.

I can't believe my little baby is already one!

New hairdo

As Kennedy's hair grows, we've been experimenting with some new 'dos. This Pebbles look seems to be her favorite so far. 

Do you see a resemblance?

Now, her hair is nothing like her cousin Emmeline's, but we still think it's fun.

High five, Lela!

In fact, Resli and Lela thought it was so cool to style her hair that they got downright giddy about it. (You know how they are...)

And Kennedy's good mood lasted all the way until the pediatrician's office for her check-up. 

How to spend the summer months

Well, blogfans, school is out and summer is officially here! How are you going to spend those hot lazy days? Resli and Lela are going to camp at the local YMCA, and are quite thrilled by it. 

It's fun to go to the...

Y...

M...

C...

A...!

Woohoo!

We hope your summer plans are equally as exciting.

New bath tub!

For several months the girls haven't been able to take baths because their tub broke (and we only have a   shower in the other room). Kennedy was fine in her baby tub until recently, when she started getting a little too big and splashing a little too much, and Resli and Lela just took showers. 

But we finally got the tub fixed, and there was great joy and excitement when we were able to take the first bath in months - with Kennedy! 

It was indeed lots of fun, but very crowded and probably not something we'll repeat often. But definitely blogworthy at the very least. 

Bridging to brownies

Resli has been a Daisy Scout for two years now, and really enjoyed it. Last week was her end-of-the-year ceremony which also included her "bridging" ceremony. She wore her daisy uniform, along with a sparkly tutu they had made at a meeting...

And this great brownie/scout-colored headband that Ms. Janinne made all the girls.

(Lela is another year-plus from being able to join the Daisy Scouts, but she got an honorary tutu for being a great little sister.)

Here's a video of Resli literally crossing the bridge with full ceremonial fanfare to accompany her.

We also posed for pictures on the bridge afterwards.

We're looking forward to a fun year of Brownie Scouts ahead!

Dance recital

Lela has been taking ballet classes at school this year, and anxiously and eagerly prepared for her end-of-year dance recital, which was last week. At one point months ago I had apparently promised her she could wear makeup for the recital (I can't even remember how that came up!), and she remembered. So don't worry, I'm not going all Toddlers and Tiaras on you, but I did let her use a little eye shadow and lip gloss. She was thrilled. 

When she and her classmates came out on stage, Harvey didn't even recognize her because she looked so grown up!

After the recital, which Blogger is for some reason not letting me upload right now (but please check back!)

 everyone got their certificate of completion from the teacher.

And then we hammed it up a little.

Thank you, Beryl!

You may have heard that Tropical Storm Beryl made her way through Gainesville recently. Luckily, she did no damage, but she did bring some much needed rain. Even the little pathetic creek by our house filled up nicely.

Harvey and Resli and Lela went to check it out when there was a break in the clouds, because it's not often that you get to see it with an actual current. 

Of course, we still need a great deal more rain, so we'll gladly take any other benign tropical storms that wish to pass through as well.