Happy Birthday M & Em!

We had such a fun weekend celebrating our fall birthdays! Yesterday, the 26th, was Maddox's 4th birthday, and with Emmy's birthday not too far away, Megan and I decided to do another year of combined parties after last year's success with our barnyard bash. This year, we went with a play on their names with an M&M theme, for our M and Em. We had the party at Jump N Fun, and the kids (and adults!) had fun jumping around on the bouncy houses, climbing obstacles, and slides. Emmy was a little nervous at first, and it took some coaxing from Aunt Megan to get her to go down one of the bigger slides. After a couple of trips down with Aunt Megan, Emmy was ready to go down by herself. Her preferred method was going down backwards on her belly. We had kids ranging in age from 2 to 8, really to 70 if you include Grandpa who even took a trip down the slide! Grammy also went down several times with each of the grandkids. One of my favorite pictures is the one of Boomer and his dad racing down the slides. Boomer admitted to being a little sore today!

Back row: Mia, Emmy, Kessley, Peyton, Mollie, Griffin, Luke, Harrison, Adelynn
Front row: Maddox, Zander, Tanner, Ellison, Laurel

After an hour of jumping around, the sweaty kids and adults moved into the party room for pizza, chips, fruit, and of course, cake! Megan's coworker did an amazing job on the cake; it completed our M&M theme. In a few of the pictures where Emmy and Maddox are posing with the cake, it seems like they are making the same faces as the M&Ms on top! They were so excited to blow out their candles and claim the two red and blue candies on top (which were actually made of rice krispies). 

At the end of the party, as we were cleaning up and loading the vehicles, Megan and I realized that we didn't get any pictures of the two of us. I had wanted to get a picture of Meg and me with Maddox and Emmy, but the party went by so quickly that we totally forgot! Instead we snapped these photos of two [tired] mommas thankful for a successful party...and thankful that we have another year before we have to plan another one! :)  Happy birthday, Maddox and Emmy!

Wedding Season

October seems to be the month of love. We have had back-to-back weddings the past two Saturdays. The two weddings were a bit different: the first one was with family, about four hours away, and Emmy came along; the second one was with work friends, local, and Emmy stayed at home. The first one was more of a family reunion, while the second one was more of a date night! Both were very fun, and I enjoyed dressing up and seeing family and friends. 

For the family wedding on October 12th, Boomer's cousin Kayten and her new-husband Shawn got married on the Kennedy farm in Virginia. It was a beautiful setting for a fall wedding. Since Boomer had the Homecoming football game at Forbush that Friday, we weren't able to leave that evening. Instead, we left on Saturday morning to make the drive north to Woodstock. With Emmy's case of pink eye and her lingering cough, Boomer and I were in discussions all day Friday as to whether we should make the trip as planned. We didn't truly make up our minds until Saturday morning, crossing our fingers that it was the right decision. I think that one of the hardest things as a parent right now is making decisions about your child's health. Do I take her to the doctor? Should I stay home from work? Do we need to cancel our plans? Emmy is becoming more communicative about how she feels, but it is still hard to know just what hurts and the severity. Since most of the weekend would include riding and resting in the car, we hoped going to the wedding was the right decision. Emmy napped only briefly on the drive there. When we stopped at our usual truck stop just about an hour outside of Woodstock, she found a burst of energy to run around and ride on the toy truck. We had to wrestle her back in the car seat for the remaining leg of the trip. We met up with Boomer's immediate family around 2PM. Boomer's mom rented an Air BnB that was located on a beautiful winery near the wedding. The house, called "The Grapes at Muse Vineyards," had enough rooms to accommodate all of us and a nice living room for us to watch football after the wedding on Saturday evening. Emmy particularly liked the huge box of Legos and the tire swing in the yard. The wedding started at 4:30PM, so there was just enough time to get changed into our wedding attire and head to the farm. The ceremony was on the front lawn in front of the main house, and then the reception was nearby under a large tent. We don't have too many photos from either the wedding or the reception...it seems Boomer and I spent most of the time chasing after Emmy! Since she napped early in the car ride to Woodstock, she was running on fumes by the time we got to the reception. Just before the reception, she was quite uncooperative during the professional family photos - I hope there is perhaps one shot that is decent! Luckily she recovered for the reception and was relatively pleasant. She enjoyed darting around the dance floor and going outside of the tent to see the cows and horses nearby. Boomer and I snapped a couple of selfies before we left just before the champagne toasts. We missed the cutting of the cake, but not to miss out completely on dessert, I talked Boomer into making a quick stop for a Sheetz milkshake on our way home. 

At the wedding this past weekend, the bride was one of my coworkers from Surry Community College. Katie and her husband Hunter got married at the Cody Creek Depot in Dobson. This venue may look a little familiar, because it is where the Forbush Military Ball has been held the past two years. There was a light drizzle just before the ceremony started, but luckily, the rain held off, and it was a comfortable 60 degrees. Realizing that we are no longer night owls, Boomer and I left shortly after dinner. Even though we didn't stay too late, we had a fun time. I did manage to get dessert at this wedding - we didn't have to make a stop at Sheetz! :)

Here are a few other pictures from this past week. My mom has said that I haven't taken enough pictures with Baby Kennedy #2, so I snapped this selfie showing off my 35-week baby bump while I was at a training at Guilford Tech CC. I had my 36-week appointment this past Monday. Baby's heartbeat was 127. I've gained about 25 pounds so far and am still feeling pretty good. 

Emmy has insisted on walking during our evening strolls around the neighborhood. She can just about make it the full mile loop. I have told her that we are practicing for when the baby arrives; Mommy and Emmy will walk while we push the baby. 

Emmy was reunited with Bath Baby after an unfortunate incident when Mommy snapped off one of its legs. Luckily Grandpa was able to make the repair, and Bath Baby now has full use of all four limbs again. 

After work and after my doctor's appointment on Monday evening, Boomer, Emmy, and I went to the local pumpkin patch. The pumpkin patch is along the road to and from daycare, and I've been pointing it out to Emmy when we drive by. She likes spotting pumpkins wherever we see them. When we first arrived at the pumpkin patch, Emmy plopped down with all the smaller pumpkins and gave me the sweetest smile - I couldn't believe my mom luck! Usually it takes a little more coaxing for a good picture. Emmy really loved the "baby" pumpkins, and she enjoyed spreading them out to the "daddy" and "mommy" pumpkins. Boomer and I did our best to move the pumpkins back, but undoubtedly we still left a few out of place. We picked out one larger pumpkin, and Emmy picked out two smaller ones. We haven't carved the big one yet, but hopefully we will have time to do that soon!

Even though her birthday is still a couple of weeks away, I scheduled Emmy's 3-year physical a little early so as not to interfere with my delivery. Grammy and Grandpa came along and were so helpful in picking Emmy up from school so that I could stay a few extra minutes at work. Speaking of Grammy and Grandpa, they are home from their world travels! They had a wonderful trip to Italy, and we are so excited to have them back in the States! My dad stayed in the waiting room while my mom, Emmy, and I went back for the exam. Emmy was a great patient and very cooperative during the appointment. She weighed in at 31 pounds (57th percentile), measured 3'2" (84th percentile), and had a head circumference of 48.5 cm/19" (48th percentile). Dr. Albright confirmed that she is a healthy growing girl! 

 

Fall Fun and Doctor's Visits

We have been enjoying some cooler fall weather over the last few days. This past Wednesday was the perfect evening for our annual trip to the Dixie Classic Fair. Normally the fair falls closer to Boomer's birthday, but it happened to be a week later this year. I am thankful for the timing now, because it made for a much more pleasant evening compared to the sweaty summer-like days we had last week. Emmy and I coordinated to meet Boomer near the entrance to the fair. Once we were together, we headed off into the crowds. We arrived at the fair just before 5:30PM and left around 7PM; luckily the lines weren't too long, and we were able to easily maneuver the stroller through all the people. I went back-and-forth on whether or not to use the stroller, but in the end I think I made the right choice. There were times when it was easier for Emmy to hop in to ride, and when she insisted on getting out, she would either walk or ride on Daddy's shoulders. During dinner, we met up with the Houstons and the Williamses. Eating was the only thing that kept our kiddos still for a little bit! I packed food for Emmy and got my usual chicken pita, Boomer got the Buffalo chicken mac 'n cheese quesadilla. He is always more adventurous than I am, and boy was it delicious! We finished off our meal with one of the ginormous Amish doughnuts. After dinner, our three families took off in different directions. To my surprise, Emmy wanted to ride the rides! I was worried that we would have a repeat of our Spring Break trip to Dollywood when Emmy was too afraid even for the carousel. But that was not the case at the fair. She rode three different rides, all similar driving-type rides that went in circles. She would even let go of the handles to wave to Boomer and me as she whizzed past. In just a few months, our little girl has gotten so brave. After a successful first ride, her smile and excitement had us quickly opening our wallet to buy tickets for two more! 

Before we made our exit, we got one more of the Amish doughnuts. This photo cracks me up - Emmy was a little disheveled after riding the rides. That didn't keep her from enjoying a few bites of a sweet treat!

On our way out of the gates, we stopped to take our annual picture in front of the ferris wheel. The Kennedys had another fun year at the fair!

A special event this week was my work baby shower on Thursday. The generosity of my staff blew me away. I have been at East Surry HS for a little over 2 years, and I feel so fortunate to be working with such wonderful people. The shower was hosted by my friend Sarah Joyner, who teaches math, and the women in the front office: Teresa King, Angie Smith, Teresa Montgomery, and Sharon Freeman. There were so many cute details to the shower, from the cute pumpkin pin that I wore to all of the other fall decor. Once Boomer and I got everything unloaded at home, I couldn't help taking a picture of my haul of diapers and wipes. I shouldn't have to buy either for quite a while! There is not too much to report in terms of a baby update. At my 34-week appointment this past Tuesday, the baby's heartbeat was 132. The doctor also discussed warning signs of labor. Although I have been through this once before, I still feel anxious thinking about the delivery. I will go again to the doctor on October 21st when I am at the 36-week mark, and then I will be going once a week until the baby's arrival. Some people are saying that I will not make it to my November 17th due date - I guess we will soon see! The vote at the baby shower was in favor of Baby Kennedy being a girl!

There was an unexpected change in plans today during my Teacher Workday. Emmy has been battling a cough and runny nose all week, and then this morning, both of her eyes were red and irritated when she woke up. We found out yesterday that there was a confirmed case of pink eye as well as a separate case of the flu at her daycare.  Since there wouldn't be students at my school, I brought her along for a few hours before getting her in at the doctor. At her appointment, we found out that she does in fact have pink eye. Although I didn't get much work done during the few hours that I was at school, she was pretty happy and has mostly been in good spirits. We will have to do eye drops for the next few days and wash our hands frequently. A few stats from Emmy's appointment: she is exactly 30 pounds and 3 feet 1 inch tall. While we were there, she got her flu shot, which she seemed unfazed by. Because of her good behavior, she earned coins to spend in the small vending machines, where she chose a couple of bouncy balls. We will go back for her official 3-year appointment in a couple more weeks. Between Emmy and me, it seems we are spending a lot of time at the doctor lately!