Spring Training

We spent last weekend on the road. Friday after work, Aaron, Kendall and I piled into the car and headed to Lakeland for a Tigers/Yankee spring training game. We have tried to go nearly every year since moving to SC. We missed last year for obvious reasons, but decided to hit the round again this year. We spend Friday night in Jacksonville, Florida and drove the remaining 3 hours or so to Lakeland on Saturday morning.
Kendall on the way home on Sunday. You can just make out spot tucked in under her arm.

After the game we headed back to the hotel, out to dinner, and then to this park in downtown Lakeland. It was very cool...Aaron loved it (as indicated by his cheesy grin).

The park had some very pretty gardens. Unfortunately we couldn't get past the gate, so we tried to sneak some shots along the fence.

The pond at the park in downtown Lakeland.
Here are Kendall and Aaron on Saturday morning at a rest stop on the way to the game.

Another shot of Kendall at the rest stop. Every time she is outside she makes this silly little scrunched up face.

Here we are at the game applying our sun tan lotion. We had general admission tickets so we settled in on the "berm" or grassy area in left field. It was a beautiful day - sunny and high 70s.

Here is a cute video of Kendall in the hotel taking a break to work through...some issues.

It was a great weekend and even better that Aaron and I both had off on Monday to relax.

Spring Day

Kendall loves to help fold laundry...well more like she scatters it about. But, she can be entertained for hours.

And here you get a taste for her little attitude!

Peek-a-boo!

She also loves to climb stairs...again and again and again!

So the weather this weekend was a bit crazy. Saturday was sunny and 80 degrees, Sunday rained all day, and today we had a fire it was so cold. But we did manage to get a bunch of cute pictures of Kendall. Her hair is growing fast and as you can see we tried our first pony tails this weekend. So cute.

Decisions

Since it seems there hasn't been much from Aaron and I lately, her goes a post dedicated to what I have been feeling. So Aaron and I have been talking lately...about home much life has changed...something I am sure that all new parents struggle with. I just wish there were more time in the day! I would love to go to the gym more, I would love to be able to read a book or my magazine subscriptions. That being said, I HATE only seeing Kendall for 2-3 hours on an average work day! I leave for work before she is even up at 6:30 a.m. and then return home at 5:30 p.m. and have two hours or so before it is time for the bedtime routine. I don't even like to think about all the things I miss.

Now don't get me wrong...I am so thankful that I have my sister Erin here with us taking care of her. I don't have to deal with waking Kendall up from her peaceful morning slumber to cart her off to daycare...thank God (and Erin) for that! I also don't have to worry about how well she is being taken care of. So believe me, I know how lucky I am! When I think about next school year when Erin is gone, I nearly have an anxiety attack. I have already started trying to convince her to stay, but I know that isn't fair for her, slightly unrealistic, and that Aaron and I need to learn to function as a family unit.

Needless to say, I have been thinking a lot about our options...should one of us just stay home with Kendall? I would in a second if we could afford it. But we could more realistically live on my salary, so I have spent the last few weeks trying to convince Aaron to stay home with Kendall. But, can we afford even this...will we be miserable, will we regret it? I don't think so...it is a sacrifice that I think is worth making. Couple these thoughts with the current state of the economy and I know there are those of you out there thinking, "they should be lucky that they even have jobs!" Is it wrong to think one of us will be laid off so that the decision is made for us? Blasphemy I know!

I know in the end it is a personal decision. And at least for the time being I have convinced Aaron to try to live on one income for the next few months to see how it goes. So, wish us luck. We may be poorer, but I think we can make it work!

St Pats in 5 Points

As has been our tradition for the past few years, we ventured on down to 5 Points (downtown Columbia) for the annual Saint Patrick's Day festivities. This year we opted not to spend money on the entrance fee, rather we joined the other cheapskates at the end of the parade route - where we watched for free! It was a beautiful day with lots of sun shine, and apart for our standard bickering on where to park and whether we would even get there in time for the parade, it was a great morning. Kendall loved the opportunity to walk around in the street.


Here is a video of Kendall enjoying the kid's festival in the park and the Irish music/dancers. Sorry, about the position - I need to remember that I have to take videos from the right angle because I haven't yet figured out how/if I can rotate them later. Here we are the day before eagerly opening our care package from Gma Rose and Gpa Bob...we knew there were sugar cookies inside! The last thing Kendall ate before she went to bed and the first thing she ate the next morning were sugar cookies - and who could blame her!? She also loved the singing picture frame that was included. She just walks around carrying it and dancing. She definitely likes music! Yesterday morning she provided us with a booty dance in bed. The minute anyone starts singing "Shake Your Booty" she is happy to oblige.

No Aunt Erin this weekend to join us - she headed to San Diego on Thursday night for a weekend trip for Amy and Alex's engagement party. Meanwhile Leslie was nice enough to come over on Thursday afternoon to watch Kendall for a few hours until daddy got home from work. Apparently, Kendall was happy to have someone else read to her and very sad to see Leslie go.

Aaron has another baseball draft to partake in today, so Kendall and I will head off to church. I am hoping that when the two sleepy heads get up, Aaron will make us some breakfast! Bacon is calling...

Smarty Pants

She is brilliant!

Making Strides and Getting Down

Cutie Pie

Kendall had her 12 month check up on Monday. She has gained a pound and grown an inch. She has conquered her fear of milk and learns a new body part everyday. She is a regular old man shuffling around the house on her own now.
In other news...we took the plunge and got Kendall's pictures taken. Kendall was a bit grouchy, but a trooper none-the-less and we ended up with some cute shots. One thing for sure...I can do without another round of pictures until at least her second birthday! It was far too stressful. After the doctors and errands, the girls decided to take charge of things and took Aaron's truck to a nearby landscaping place to pick up some top soil for the garden. A few hours later we had the truck completely unloaded and are ready for some veggies...that is, if the weather ever permits it...it is seriously snowing right now! All we can do now is hope that school and work are either cancelled or at the very least delayed.