Birthday & Prom Season

I'm a couple of weeks behind, so it's time to catch up! Two Saturdays ago, Boomer and I enjoyed a date night - well, I'm calling it a 'date night', if you disregard the 200+ high school students that also had dinner with us! Forbush had its JROTC Military Ball, and like last year, it was such a nice event. This year, it was held in Dobson at the Cody Creek Depot. The venue was so beautiful, and even though it was close to an hour away from our house, Boomer and I enjoyed the time in the car, just chatting and talking the whole time. Getting all dressed up prepared us for the TWO date nights a.k.a. proms that we have in April. The Forbush prom is on April 14th, and then the East Surry prom is on April 21st - back-to-back weekends! While it's a bummer to give up the time on the weekend, it's always fun to see the students outside of the school setting, dressed in their best attire. While we were at the Military Ball, Emmy was in excellent hands. My parents were still out of the country on their cruise, so Carrie and Caroline came over to watch her. Based off of the pictures I got in text messages, it appears that the girls had a fun evening. Caro even managed to teach Emmy sign language for the word "more" -- Emmy really wanted some of Caro's pizza and was quite willing to do anything! We have continued using 'more' for other food, and it seems to have stuck. Emmy understands to use the hand motion when she would like to have more of something, usually a treat like Teddy Grahams or puffs. Overall, Carrie and Caro said Emmy was very well behaved, which gives me hope that they may babysit again if needed. I am so thankful for best friends that will give up their Saturday night to love on our little girl! We are blessed with such an awesome village!

This past weekend, we celebrated a couple of the March birthdays in the Kennedy family. The spring is a very popular birthday month for both sides of the family. Trivett turned 8 on March 5th and Kessley turned 3 on March 9th. Goosie's birthday is also in March - the 18th, and Ellison's 1st birthday is on the 27th. Add in Zack, and then mom's and my birthday in April, and whew, there's a lot of celebrating going on! On Sunday, we celebrated Trivett and Kessley with some barbecue and birthday cake at their house in Asheboro. When we first arrived, Emmy was a little shy, chewing on her fingers and standing still, not moving from the spot where we put her down. We've noticed that chewing her fingers must be a nervous habit; she seems to do it whenever we first arrive somewhere or if she is around a large group of people. She usually warms up within a few minutes, which she did on Sunday, and we finally got the smiles we're used to seeing. We will be adding one more Kennedy cousin to the group in July - another girl! Trivett is very outnumbered, but as you can tell, he is a great sport around all the females!

Sickness seems to be lingering in the Kennedy household. Since my last post, Boomer came down with strep and has since recovered; Emmy and I have had persistent coughs that just won't go away. There seems to be a lot of germs going around! All the sickness could also have to do with the weather. This week has been very un-Spring like. On Monday, we had a snow day! Then, the last two days, the temps have been below freezing, and my school district has had delays, which means I've been able to spend a few extra hours in the morning with Emmy. We've enjoyed sleeping in and getting ready together. On all the other mornings, I am completely ready when I wake Emmy up. Since I've been using the delays to get some extra sleep, I let her play around my feet while I am back and forth from my bedroom to my bathroom. She likes watching me put on lotion and is quite fascinated by the hairdryer. She has just recently added 'hair' to her list of body parts; now she can identify belly, nose, and hair. Emmy particularly likes playing with my shoes. Even though she likes to scatter them all around, she will also help pick them up afterwards. 

She continues to carry around her books and just recently started identifying the 'banana.' I know, I know, she isn't actually reading the word, but it is exciting to see her association of the word with the picture. 

Boomer and I both have been so surprised at the speed that she is picking up on things. She really is a little sponge! She turned 16-months a few days ago, and here are some of the things she is doing now: 

     - saying "All gone"

     - putting things in the trash when we ask her to

     - stacking her rings in order on the tower

     - fastening the Velcro strap on her tennis shoes

     - turning on and off light switches

     - pushing the garage door when we arrive home or are getting ready to leave

     - helping clean up

     - getting her blanket from her crib when it's bedtime

     - holding a book the correct way

     - turning pages in a book

     - going to her high chair when it is mealtime and she is hungry

     - holding our hands to pray

It's not consistent yet, but once or twice, she has pointed to her diaper when she needs changed. It has me thinking that potty training may be just around the corner. That whole process seems very intimidating (and messy!) so I am nervous. I had originally thought I would do it over Christmas break this year, but now I am contemplating trying it this summer - we'll see!

Emmy isn't the only one growing up before our eyes...this week, my sister sent a picture of my nephew Zander in his cap and gown. He will be graduating from preschool soon and starting kindergarten in August! The time is going so fast! What a big boy!