Loaves and Fishes

There is not much that I love more than hearing Kendall tell me the Bible stories she is learning. I can't get over how precious it is. I love how she is listening to her teachers and then how she can remember the details and tell us the stories. Today in chapel at school she learned the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Listen to her tell it!
Here is what she says just in case you can't hear: "Daddy there's a lot of people and Jesus was talkin a lot of people and they tummies started growlin and then they didn't have any food and then the little boy come and he has some food and then he have one two three four crackers and two goldfish and after he prayed there was a lot of goldfish and they can eat." (This was after her nap when Randy got home. She had told me the story when I asked after school but then when Randy got home she ran to tell him and he was able to video it.)

Love these sisters!

We have been having a lot of fun playing outside lately! We are taking advantage of the days where it's nice and warm but the mosquitoes aren't here yet. Randy went to Pine Cove this past weekend for children's camp, so Kendall, Cooper and I had a girls' weekend.

Kendall was excited to have a picnic one day out on the driveway.

"Hey Kendall, let me take a picture of you and Cooper!"

She is such a little ham. And so full of d.r.a.m.a. The drama llama is at our house a lot these days, Nacho. :) These girls just love each other so much! I know I write about that a lot, but it is one of my most favorite things. They love to laugh together and hang out together. Kendall is still so sweet with Cooper, helps me out a ton with her, and never gets frustrated with her or jealous of her. Cooper always wants to be wherever Kendall is and laughs so hard at anything she does. We are so blessed!

We are so thankful for our family!!

I Scream, You Scream...

At the end of Spring Break last week, Mom and Alden came for a quick visit. They got here on Thursday and then left late Friday evening, but we squeezed a lot of fun into their stay!

When they got here Thursday, the girls had just gotten up from their nap. They were so excited to see their Granny and Aunt Auggie!

We had Kevin and Jan over for dinner Thursday night and looked at Mom and Alden's Las Vegas pictures. It was a fun, relaxing evening!

Friday we played at the house and then went to Chick-fil-A for lunch. Cooper sat in a high chair like such a big girl...

...and then she had a big girl blow-out! I took her inside to change her clothes and diaper, and when we got back outside, we ate ice cream. Really, we laughed at Cooper while she ate Mom's ice cream. It.was.so.funny! Mom gave her one taste and it was all over - she would grunt and pull on Mom's hand and stick her tongue out....she loves ice cream like her mama!! You couldn't even take it away from her mouth for a minute. She was very focused!! Look at that grip she has on Granny's finger!

She was a mess, so she got a bath when we got home. Look at her sitting up in the tub like a big girl!

Friday afternoon after the girls took a nap we drove up to Pearland to do some shopping and eat some Mexican food! Granny got Kendall some new shoes and then she got the girls cute matching swimsuits! We had a great time with you guys, Mom and Alden! Thanks for coming to visit!! Love yall!

Houston Rodeo!

We had a great week this past week with visits from Gigi, Peeps, Granny, and Aunt Auggie!! Randy's parents came in town on Sunday for a visit until Tuesday. Sunday night Kendall and Peeps had a tea party out by her playhouse. Love these pictures!

Monday morning we got up early and headed up to Houston for the stockshow and rodeo! We went to the rodeo with the Pickerings when Kendall was one month old, but we haven't taken her back since to have fun at the stockshow. It was a little rainy off and on Monday, but we had a ton of fun anyway!!

Right when we got there, they had a pretend farm for kids to walk through and collect different products to take to the market to sell for money. They collected fruits and vegetables, milked a cow, sheared a sheep for wool, and got to even see some real animals!

Once she got her "money" from the market, she got to buy something in the store. She checked out the rice krispie treats, but decided on a "sun-prise" - Capri Sun. :)

Leaving the farm, headed inside to the stockshow!

After we checked out the stockshow for a little while, we went back outside to watch the mutton bustin!! Kendall and Randy were super excited about this!

Those little kids were so cute riding those sheep!! Some of them held on really well!

Checking out the petting zoo...

We took a break to watch an animal show. Kendall was very interested in the three-toed sloth!

Now...here is what Kendall was the most excited about! Sunday night before we went on Monday, Randy and Gigi were looking the rodeo up online to see what time everything happened. They saw that there were pig races and asked Kendall if she wanted to watch those. Kendall for some reason heard "pig dancing" and got very excited about watching the pigs dance! The whole time we got ready Monday morning and all the way to the rodeo she kept talking about seeing the pigs dance. We were inside the stockshow getting ready to go find the pig races and I had to take Kendall to the bathroom. She finished and we started walking out and I said, "Come on - let's do this!" And she said, "Yea! Let's go watch those pigs dance!!" I said, "Yea! Or maybe just run in a circle, but it's going to be awesome!!" She was definitely not disappointed. :) Those pig races were so cute.

Not only did those little pigs race, but there was also a pig named Swifty that jumped in a pool of water and swam! He was so cute! And Kendall loved it!

One of the reasons we wanted to go to the rodeo was that Randy's Uncle Mark and Aunt Lydia were there! They have a booth that they set up and they were selling girls' clothes and rocking chairs. We surprised them and enjoyed getting to visit! They even gave the girls two super cute red bandana dresses. I need to take pictures of those soon!

Posing in the barrel with my girl!

We had a great time at the rodeo! Thanks for coming to see us Gigi and Peeps and for taking us to the rodeo! We had a great time!

And just in case you are just as excited about the pig races as Kendall was, here is a video. This particular race was a "Big 12" race - Tech vs. t.u. vs. OU vs. A&M. The Aggie pig was in last place, but he is the only one that got the Oreo cookie at the end! I think that means he is the smartest! :)

Pink Princess Pool Package

Kendall (and Cooper!) got a fun package in the mail from Granny the other day...a pink princess pool for summer!! Kendall knew it was coming, so she had been checking the mail every day hoping it would have arrived. It finally did last Monday and even thought it was still pretty cool outside, she wanted to blow it up right away and stick her feet in!

When Randy got home from work, he blew the pool up and then put a little water in it for Kendall to stand in. We thought she would feel how cold it was and immediately want to get out, but she loved it and wanted to get in even more than we would let her!

She loves her new pool, Granny!! Thanks for getting it for her and mailing it. Cooper will love playing in it too - when it gets a little warmer!!

Arts and Crafts

A few times recently I have turned on Baby Einstein for Cooper to watch while she is playing if I am getting ready or doing something with Kendall. Last week, Kendall asked me to turn on Cooper's "baby movie" for her to watch. There was a baby finger-painting on there, and Kendall told me she wanted to do that. I told her that we could do that once I put Cooper down for her morning nap. She was so excited! We have never finger-painted before, so I thought I would take pictures.

I told her she could choose three colors for her first picture. Of course, she chose pink and purple and then threw a little orange in there, too.

Check out my "art paper." I really should probably get more art supplies. For this day, I just taped four pieces of printer paper together. She didn't mind.

She also loved that she got to paint naked.

It was so funny to watch the progression. First she started off with just one finger in the paint, then she put all her fingers, and before I knew it she was rubbing her palms and everything in the plate.

Thanks for painting with me Kendall! It was a lot of fun!

She's Listening!

Every time I get Kendall from either school or church, I ask her about her day or her time in class. Sometimes she is very talkative and tells me a lot about what she did, but sometimes she says "Mom, I don't want to kalk about it." And that's fine - I don't want to force her to talk and I understand not being in the mood to talk. Lately though, she has been really good about being able to tell me details from the Bible stories she is learning at both church and school. I love how she tells me and I wanted to make sure I wrote them down.

On Tuesdays, she goes to chapel at school and Mrs. Wendy tells them a Bible story in a creative, kid-friendly way. So when I picked her up from school the other day, and it was a Tuesday, I asked her what she learned about in chapel. She seemed to want to tell me, but she said, "Mom, I can't say it. Help me." I told her that I would help her tell the story, but that I didn't even know where to begin because I wasn't sure at all what she learned that day. I asked her to tell me what happened, but she just said, "I can't say it!" She seemed frustrated, so I tried suggesting some stories that she might have learned, but never could figure it out. That afternoon, after nap, we were watching Robin Hood. The sheriff walked down the street, and she said, "Mom. He is the bad guy. He is taking the money. Mom! At school, there was a bad guy and he taked the money!!" It was like all of the sudden a lightbulb went off and triggered her memory about what she learned that morning in chapel! I said, "Oh yeah? Was he a little man?" She told me yes, and then began telling me the story of Zacchaeus. Here are her words:
"Mom, he was a little man and he took everybody's money. Then Jesus came and he wanted to see him, but there was lots of people. So he climbed up a tree and Jesus said Zacchaeus you come down! For I'm going to your house today (singing). And then he gave all the money back and Jesus was happy!"
We sang the song together and talked about why Zacchaeus did that and how Jesus loved him. She was so proud of herself that she remembered the story. I told her that Daddy and I love it when she can tell us what she learned because that means she is listening to her teacher at school.

Last Sunday, after church, I asked her what she learned about in her class. This time, she said she didn't want to "kalk" about it. We kept driving home, and when we pulled onto our street and saw our house, she said, "Mom! At church we talked about our neighbors! And I said, my neighbor is Frannie." Again, it was like she saw Frannie's house and it reminded her about what she learned about. I love how I can just see her little brain working like that. I said, "You did? What did you learn about your neighbors?" She told me that they learned that they need to take care of their neighbors and love them. I asked her how we can show our neighbors that we love them and she said, "We can hug them, we can take care of them, and we can bring them food." When we got inside, she layed down on the floor and said, "Mom, there was a man laying on the ground like this. And then a man walked by and he didn't help, but then another man walked by and he put him on his horse and took him to the doctor." We talked all about the Good Samaritan and how Jesus wants us to love others and take care of them. So sweet!

We love talking to Kendall about the Bible and teaching her these foundational stories of our faith. As much as we can, we remind her that these stories came from the Bible and that that means they are true. I love that she not only hears those truths at home, but that she hears them from other people at church and at school. She is learning so much right now and soaking up everything she hears and this time is just so special to us!!

6 Months and 3 Years

Last weekend, Jenny took our family pictures, Kendall's 3 year old pictures, and Cooper's 6 month pictures. We went out to a lady's house that is set up for photographers to bring clients out to, and it was so cute. We were so impressed with all of Jenny's pictures and don't know how we are ever going to choose!