To "Nama and Papa's" we go...

Greg, Kate, and I headed up to Bloomington to visit Greg's parents this past weekend. On Saturday, Greg and I drove up to Chicago to catch the Pattonville Varsity Drill Team (the seniors are the last group of girls that I coached) at a UDA competition at the University of Illinois Chicago and then to go out to dinner with Brett and Marissa Clancy (Brett is Greg's good friend from high school/Best Man in our wedding). Then we drove back to Bloomington really late Saturday night and headed back home on Sunday. The pictures are from the big outing Kate had with Grandma to the Bloomington Children's Museum. They had a great time, and the pictures turned out so cute that Greg and I are eager to head back there with her the next time we're in town!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Kate! Or as Dora would say, "Feliz Cumpleanos!"

It seems almost impossible that our baby girl is already 2! What a wonderful day we had when we celebrated her big day with family and friends. No surprise, when I asked her what she wanted on her cake, she said, "Dora and Boots!" Thus, we went with a Dora theme. Beth recommended "The Cake Lady," and the cake turned out great. Kate is quite the little pretender; she loves imaginary play. Therefore, we bought her a big dollhouse, and she hasn't stopped playing with it since she opened it. She often even takes the little people from the house into her crib to sleep with during naptime and bedtime. Attending her party were: Grandma and Grandpa Adam, Aunt Marcia and Uncle Joe, Stacy and Andrea, Jenny, Jeff, and Emmy, Anne and Troy, Katie, Clay, and Ellie, Beth, Kori, and us. We had pizza (or "Tipah" as Kate calls it), a favorite in our house. Kate and Ellie loved running through the balloons, and when Kate didn't want to spend time opening her gifts, she said, "Emmy!" again indicating so "selflessly" that it was Emmy who should open the gifts. Of course, when it came time to actually play with the toys inside, she was all over that being her own job:) We feel so blessed that Kate is such a healthy, happy, and kind little girl. In the words of Martina McBride's "In My Daughter's Eyes," "But the truth is plain to see, she was sent to rescue me. I see who I want to be...in my daughter's eyes." We love you, Kate! Happy Birthday!

Happy 100th Birthday, Bunny!

My Great Aunt Bunny (my dad's aunt) just celebrated her 100th birthday! We headed over to Centralia to attend her party. The mayor of Centralia even read a proclamation stating that January 2nd, 2009, be declared Margaret "Bunny" Besant Day in Centralia. If you look closely, you will notice that Bunny's worn gold shoes in the early photos are later replaced with some sparkling new gold Crocs. What a fashion plate!

My best friend's birthday party!

Jenny's little girl, Emerson, had her 1st birthday party on January 1st. Kate was so excited to go, and she had a great time playing with all of Emmy's toys (and calling them her own). Her favorite part of the day was when almost all of the guests had gone home, and Emmy took off her shoes and tights, Kate took off her boots, and Kate gave Emmy a lesson in how to go down the slide head first on her tummy. It is pretty funny lately because when Kate doesn't want to do something, she will say, "No, Emmy!" to indicate that Emmy actually is the one who should be doing it rather than her. How kind of Kate to think of her:)