Young Party of Four

This little fireball is celebrating 2... and a HALF today! I can't believe it. She is such a happy and energetic child. I hope she never changes. Kenzie is always chatting away, singing, or dancing and she (almost) always has a smile on her face. When I think about what it is like to love life... this girl is it. We could all take a lesson from her and learn to live life to the fullest. Happy half birthday sweet girl!! Warning... Picture overload ahead... =) Take a gander at Kenzie from 2 years to 2 1/2 years old. Our little blue eyed, blonde bundle of excitement. She's not so little anymore. I have to mention that this is probably my favorite picture of Kenzie... EVER. It definitely captures who she truly is. Oh! And by the way... if anyone is interested in knowing what living with a toddler is like... This. This is how we started our picture taking experience this morning. I took about 75 pictures... 2 were okay...

I haven't done a Friday Favorites post in quite some time. I have been so busy with life that I don't have time to do that week in and week out. Instead, I thought this week I would post about what our life looks like right now. =) Our weather has been great lately. This is one of the major selling points for me in Florida (though I love this place regardless and wouldn't consider going anywhere else). That means that we get plenty of time outside. It's always worth my while to try to wear Kenzie out. She is one active child. Steven and I were just remarking the other day that we think she must be growing because she has been eating everything in the house. Our kid will never have a weight problem though if she keeps up this activity level. We try to go on a walk as often as possible. Daily is my goal, but sometimes it is just a bit too chilly to take Will out for too long or it is raining at the times that walking would work out for us. If we can't walk, I like t...

Dear Will, Sitting down to write your 3 month letter is bittersweet. I cannot believe you are a quarter of the way through your first year. That makes me sad. At the same time, I love watching you grow and learn new things. Your smile is truly contagious. Even Kenzie can't help but smile back at you when you give her one of those big toothless grins. You smile with your entire face. Your eyes light up and you grin from ear to ear. You even have slight dimples sometimes when you smile really big. You are also giggling a bit. It isn't a big laugh yet, but you make the cutest little noises when you are trying to laugh. Speaking of noises, you talk a lot. You will just sit and chat with me when you play. You also love to unlatch while you are eating and smile up at me or try to carry on a full conversation. I'm not sure why you choose that time. Maybe because it is one of the few times that you have my true, undivided attention. It is seriously one of the best moments of...

Yesterday morning the kids and I took a trip to Blue Springs State Park with our neighbor and her kiddos. We first found out about Blue Springs from that neighbor two years ago. I don't know how we have lived less than an hour from that place for this long and didn't know how awesome it was. Here in Florida, we aren't huge fans of the cold. At least, my family isn't. We are full thin blooded Floridians all the way. I would much rather experience the heat of the summer than the cold. Anyway, one plus to the cold weather here is the manatees. Manatees hang around Florida all year round, but in the winter months when it gets really cold, they like to hang out in the natural springs, like Blue Springs. The reason is that the springs are a constant 70 something degrees all year round. We have a spring really close to our house. I have been there once two swim. Never again. I will go back to the springs but you will never catch me in that water again. Apparently people enjo...