Happy 15 Month Birthday Kileigh

Kileigh turned 15 months old on Saturday.  Where has the time gone?  Everyone says that time flies and your kids grew up too fast, so make sure to enjoy them.  They are right.  I can't believe all the changes that Kileigh has gone through in the past year.  She is walking, has teeth, eats regular food, doesn't take a bottle anymore, and is talking up a storm, even though we can't understand her language yet.  It sounds a little Norweigan.  She does have some swedish ancestry in her so that would make sense.  In an attempt to show some of those changes, I am going to post some pictures of Kileigh from the past 15 months.
Welcome Home Kileigh - September 28, 2009

First trip to Brookfield Zoo - 10 days old

Kileigh's 1st Halloween costume - a turtle             

Kileigh's 1st plane ride - 6 weeks old

Kileigh's 1st Thanksgiving - 2 months old

                                                 




Kileigh's 1st Christmas - 3 months old

Kileigh's 1st Valentine's Day - 4 1/2 months old
                                                 

Kileigh's 1st St. Patrick's Day - 5 1/2 months old

Easter Party at church - Playing with Abby

Kileigh's 1st Easter - 6 1/2 months old

May 2009

Kileigh's baptism - Mother's Day 2009

 

Lake Shelbyville - June 2009                    

I am so cool

   

September 2009

Snuggling with a big teddy bear

Kileigh's 1st birthday party - September 26, 2009

Swimming in the Pacific Ocean - October 2009

Attempting to crack the code to the safe

Walking on the beach in Costa Rica

Kileigh's 2nd Halloween - Elmo

Enjoying the elevator ride

 

Her favorite thing was to just walk around the ship

Having fun her 1st cruise

Have a good one!

Beth

I figured it out

I am excited to say that the third time is a charm.  This is my 3rd blog and my 3rd post and I have finally figured out how to post pictures in my post.  I didn't have to even ask for help, so I am proud of myself.  Here's a few pictures from Christmas, hope you enjoy them!

Christmas Morning - Haley & Kileigh

I got some Kokopelli potholders and Kevin got a #1 Dad Ornament from Kileigh

Checking out the ornaments on the tree

Watching tv

Kileigh & Grandpa on Christmas Eve

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We have plenty of snow on the ground and it continues to snow.  When will it stop?  It is pretty to look at, but I need a break from shoveling the walkways and cleaning off the cars.  With all the snow we got yesterday, we decided to stay inside all day once we got home and not go anywhere.  We are planning to venture out later to return a few presents that we got duplicates of. 

Christmas Day was spent at Kevin's parents house.  Kileigh woke up around 7:30 and we went out in the living room to find even more presents under and around the tree than when we went to bed.  There was a sled waiting for Kileigh.  She got one from my parents last weekend and loved being pulled around in the snow in it.  So with her new sled, she climbed in it and I pulled her around the house in it.  I think she was ready to open her presents because she went into Grandma and Grandpa's room to wake them up.  Shortly after that, she came back and then Grandpa made coffee.  While we were waiting for Kevin's Aunt Joy to come down from Wisconsin, Kileigh decided she wanted to open a couple presents, which happened to be birthstone ornaments for the 3 of us.  She also pulled the tissue paper out of a bag to discover some animal hand puppets.  She seemed to like the turtle the best.  I think daddy and grandpa had more fun playing with them than Kileigh did.  We had some breakfast and waited for Aunt Joy to arrive.

She got there around 11:30 and then shortly after that we started opening presents.  It was after 1 when we finished.  Kileigh got a bunch of clothes, some books, a couple cell phones that are voice activated, a musical camera, a busy ball popper, a bouncing turtle, and a few disney movies on blu ray (Cars, Snow White, and Up).  Of course we had to open all of Kileigh's toys and some needed batteries and she wanted to play with them.  She might have to fight daddy for her ball popper because he seemed to really enjoy it.  Kevin got some clothes, a bunch of blu ray movies he had asked for, cologne and slippers.  I got some kokopelli potholders and a salt & pepper shaker set.  I also got a few houses for the Christmas village that I am collecting.  This year we got a new flat-screen tv, so that was our Christmas present to each other.  Kevin and I bought each other one present from Kileigh.  I got a new fossil watch with a purple face and Kevin got a precious moments figurine of a little girl with her arms outstretched.  The title is "I love you this much".  Kileigh also got a precious moments figurine from grandma that says "Granddaughter you are my sunshine".  She also got a precious moments container for her first tooth and first curl.  My mother-in-law collects precious moments figurines and now it seems that we are too. 

Kevin's brothers and I went in together and got our parents/in-laws a blu ray player for Christmas.  We wanted to have them open it last and were starting to get nervous when they started opening presents they got each other:  blu ray movies.  I wrapped the blu ray player in a big shirt box to disguise it, but since it was quite heavy my father-in-law knew it wasn't clothes.  After he opened it, they said that they planned to get one after Christmas, which was why they had gotten each other some blu ray movies.  We also got them a couple blu ray dvds that they had asked for.

When we were done with all the presents, we loaded up the cars and headed to Grandma McCarthy's for the Christmas festivities with the whole family.  Everyone was there except for 2 of Kevin's cousins and his brothers.  It was nice to see everyone and Kileigh had fun playing with her cousins.  After dinner, it was time to open presents.   Kevin's cousin played Santa.  He has a radio show, so he has a great personality to be Santa and was quite funny, even though it did take quite a bit longer to get through the "big pile".  This was the first year we weren't in the grab bag, so we didn't get anything.  Kileigh got some clothes, and a magnetic dress up doll kit.  I think it was around 9 when we started the dice game.  We took about 25 presents, which usually are things we find laying around the house.  It's always nice to send items to a "new home".  Since the presents and dice game ran so late, we didn't get back to Kevin's parents house till late.  Good thing we were spending the night, otherwise that would have been a rough drive home.  We finally crashed around midnight and were up around 8.  Unfortunately Kevin's mom ended up getting sick, so we didn't see her yesterday.  I loaded up the car while Kevin hooked up his parents blu ray player and helped his dad get his IPOD up and running.  We had breakfast and then made the trip home.  We dropped off Haley at home and then went to pick up our friends dogs that we are dog sitting for the next week. 

Haley wasn't very happy when the dogs came in the house, but it's much calmer today.  I unloaded all the bags, boxes, and containers from the car and pretty much got everything put away last night and vacuumed the upstairs bedrooms.  Kileigh's playroom is a mess, so I need to go through it and pull out some toys to send to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I also need to go buy some wrapping paper and return some gifts that we got duplicates of.  I am glad to have this next week off.  It will give me time to put all the Christmas stuff away and clean the house.  Somewhere in there, I plan to relax!

Have a good day!
Beth

Christmas Blessings

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone and here it is Christmas Eve. This past weekend we made a trip down to Charleston. Friday night we went to my mom's friend Judy's house for her annual Christmas party. Saturday morning my mom, Kileigh, and I went to Judy's house for the "Girlfriend Christmas". It was Kileigh's 1st of I hope many Girlfriend Christmas's over the years.

In the afternoon, we went over to my brother and sister-in-law's house for Catherine's graduation party. She just graduated with her Master's degree in Social Work from EIU. We got her the movie Fireproof and the Game of Things, which we cracked open and played. What a fun game! It was a fun evening - good food, good fellowship.

Sunday morning we took Kileigh to Wesley for church. It has been a long time since I have been there, but I felt like I had come "home". My heart will always be with my "home church", the one I spent a lot of time in during my childhood, high school, and college days. Little did I know at the time when I went there for girl scout meetings, that I would end up going to church there and being confirmed there. It was great to see "old friends" and see new faces as well.

Sunday afternoon/evening we did our family Christmas. We had a bunch of appetizers and desserts and munched all day long. I think that's the best way to do it. Mark, Catherine, Kevin, and I played Buzz Word while my mom wrapped presents. The best thing was watching Kileigh open all her presents. If you poke a hole in the paper, she will tear it off and can open a present. She also will pull the paper out of a bag and pull out the present that way too.

We came home Monday morning because Kevin had a doctor's appt in the early afternoon. I put all of Kileigh's presents away in her playroom and did some laundry.

Tuesday I needed to finalize my Christmas shopping, so I spent most of the day going from store-to-store and then wrapping everything when I got home.

Yesterday, my friend Theresa, her mom, and her kids Gabriel and Mia were able to come over for a visit. I brought Kileigh's slide in from the garage and rearranged her playroom, so the kids enjoyed playing with her toys and watching Wall E. We exchanged presents for the kids. Kileigh got her friends coloring books, books, puzzles, and crayons. They got her a cute pink and brown outfit and a toy broom.

Last night we took Christmas presents to a needy family in Joliet that we found out about through WBGL's Random Acts of Christmas. They have two boys and were very appreciative of our generosity and kindness. It was nice to know that despite their struggles, they still give back and reach out to others in need. That's what it's all about, helping others in need and paying it forward. God has definitely blessed us and we were thankful for the opportunity to bless someone else and make their Christmas a little brighter this year. God is Good All the Time! All the Time God is Good!

Alas Christmas Eve day has finally arrived. I put away some laundry this morning, packed Kileigh's bag for Grandma's house, packed the presents in the car, went to take care of the dogs, made peanut clusters, and now I sit here writing my blog while Kileigh is eating lunch next to me. Our plans this evening include going to church and then going to Kevin's parent's house, which is our Christmas Eve tradition. We usually have dinner and play games. Tomorrow morning we will open our presents and go to Kevin's grandma's house later in the day.

The rest of my break will be spent dog sitting, spending time with family and friends, figuring out where to put all of Kileigh's new toys, and going to an Illini game.

Merry Christmas to one and to all!
Kevin, Beth, & Kileigh