Happy 5th Birthday Keri Nicole

March 28

2004

2005 - 1 year old

2006 - 2 years old

2007 - 3 years old

2008 - 4 years old

2009 - 5 years old

Keri,

I can't believe you are already 5 years old! Time has gone by so fast and you have grown from a sweet little baby to a wonderful little girl. I am so proud of the little person you are and love watching you grow and learn every day. You continue to amaze me with your spunky personality and passion for life. I see so much of your Daddy in your spirit and love watching you two play together. We have all grown so much individually and as a family over the past 5 years and I can't wait to see what's next for us. This is a big year for you, Keri. You will start kindergarten in August and I know you are ready! Pre-K graduation is in just 4 weeks.

I thank God every day for bringing you into my life. The moment you were born I prayed to have the strength, wisdom, and guidance to be the best mommy for you....the love came instantly. You have been such a blessing to so many of the people that love you and are such an amazing little girl. I know that you will continue to blossom and I will do my best to guide you the best way possible. I love you so much baby girl, Happy Birthday!

All my love,
Mommy

Keri's Birthday Party

Keri's Birthday party was so much fun! We had it at Pump It Up in Round Rock and everyone had a blast. Here are some pictures of the big day (some of them are a little blurry, the kids were moving around like crazy!):

Keri and Madison crashing at the bottom of the slide

Keri and her BFF Gracie

Keri coming down the slide on the obstacle course

Birthday Girl! (what a goofy face)

Kendal had fun too

The crew
Somehow we missed Meredith for the group picture, but she was there too!

The Birthday Princess sitting in her royal chair The cake and cupcakes that mommy made

Cheese!

Keri's friendsOpening presents

Why I love my job....

Meet Bowan:

His mommy works at the daycare with me. I am working in the infant room again and absolutely LOVE it!!! I know what it's like to have to leave your children at daycare and how hard it is; so I feel truly blessed to be able to care for and love these babies while their parents are at work.

I love that I can go to work and have my children in the same building with me. I am there anytime they need me. I plan to go back to teaching when all of our children are all in school (whenever that will be...hoping for #3 after we get the all-clear), but am so excited about my job situation right now. When Keri starts Kindergarten in August, I am going to teach the pre-K class at the daycare. My hours will be from 8-2 so I will be able to take Keri to school and pick her up, while still being with Kendal all day. Could it get any better?! I am excited about having a classroom again and going through the curriculum and planning out the next school year.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 118:1

Kendal is sick again

My poor sick baby! Kendal has croup again with a fever over 102 degrees all day. She is on an antibiotic, oral steroids, and breathing treatments (we actually started those a week ago trying to prevent this from happening). Please pray that she gets better soon, it makes me so nervous when she has breathing issues.

St. Patrick's Day

We have had such beautiful weather this week! We were low on kids at the daycare, so I got to go home early and enjoy the day with my family. I didn't get any pictures of the girls together with their festive shirts, but here are a few of them playing in the front yard.

Keri's "house"

I love that the girls are using their imagination when they play. Keri made her own little house in the corner of our living room. She had so much fun gathering toys from her room, using blankets as beds, and using the furniture as her walls. I love to see her face light up when she thinks of another idea and runs to her room to get another toy. She used the coffee table as her dining room table and placed her chairs around it. She even used a pillow from the couch as her television. Its the small things that we do at home that are so much fun! Here are a couple pictures of the house she made last weekend:

Playground Fun

Never a dull moment....

Well, I just got home from the Emergency Room with Keri. Right at bed time she decided to put a bead (from a broken bracelet) in her ear. She shoved it in even further when she tried to get it out. When she first came to me she told me that Kendal put the bead in her ear.....yeah right! I tried to get it out with tweezers, but it was stuck perfectly in the canal and I was afraid I would push it in even more.


I called Kyle (who was at work) and he said he would meet me at the ER. So I loaded both girls in the truck, dropped Kendal off at Stephanie's house, and met him there.....all at 9:00 p.m. The doctor was not sure if/how they were going to get the bead out without damaging her ear drum. Tweezers would not work because the bead is perfectly round and hard to grasp. They tried to numb the ear with drops and suction the bead out, but that did not work. Finally, they used a syringe to put warm water in her ear and the bead just floated to the surface. I am so glad they were able to get it out without having to refer us to the ENT.


OK, I'm off to check on the girls.....I just put them to bed at 11:00. Tomorrow morning should be lots of fun! Here are a few pictures I took with my phone:

Sick Girls

This is what my bed looks like tonight:Both girls are sick. We tried to go to daycare today, but were sent home when we got there. Keri had a low-grade fever this morning and was complaining of a sore throat. I thought Kendal had another sinus infection (icky nose, cough, low-grade fever, fussy). When we got to the doctor both girls' throats were red. The swab test confirmed that they both have strep....doesn't that sound fun?! I made a quick trip to the store to pick up their prescription and stock up on sprite, popsicles, jello, and oatmeal. We spent the rest of the day napping and laying around. They barely ate dinner then both curled up in or bed. We will be home tomorrow. I hope they start to feel better soon!

Congrats, ABC...That was horrible!!!!

Really? I watch this crap?! I thought about deleting my previous post, but thought I would humor Kyle on this one. He was right this time.........

The Bachelor Finale Tonight!

I am sooo excited about watching The Bachelor tonight. Kyle can't stand it! He gets so annoyed when I watch this show because it's fake, the girls are sleazy, they never stay together......blah, blah, blah! I don't care....I am really into this season. This show is supposed to be "The most dramatic finale in Bachelor history." That guy just cracks me up because he says that about every episode. I wonder which girl he will choose.....we will find out soon!

This is what happens when you skip your Sunday nap...

7:00 p.m.