Happy Birthday Kaelisse!

Kaelisse turned ONE this weekend! Holy guacamole...I can't believe my baby is a year old already! Here are some pictures that show how we celebrated the occasion.

Balloons, of course, are a must for my kids. I think Tylie and Kaelisse were more excited about them (for days) than any of the other festivities.

It's a little bit hard to see what's going on here, but this is Kaelisse talking on the phone. That's right, she puts the phone up to her ear, traps it with her shoulder (like all of us adults when we're trying to multitask), and walks around like that. So observant!

I decided to try to make a zebra cake, and was really happy with the results. How's that for making it up as you go along, and freehanding?!

Singing and blowing out a candle.
Her first experience with the strange texture of frosting...
...which she really did not care for!
Getting a little frosting on herself.
The finished product.
Now, we had done this late at night because of our schedules this week. She was tired, cranky, and not hungry. Plus, we forgot the part that Tylie was most excited about--the party hats! (And, mama didn't get the cake-and-frosting-covered-year pictures she wanted). So, we took it for a second round the next morning.

Kaelisse obviously LOVES birthday hats. :)
The rest of us playing along.


That's right, I knew she would like chocolate cake under better circumstances! (No frosting)

Opening presents: thanks everyone!!

Grandma & Grandpa, Thanks for also making big sister feel special this day! You actually nailed it, and made her the happiest girl on the planet! She hasn't put it down.

I love the wonder you can see in her eyes right here!

So, at one year old, Kaelisse is walking like a pro and even occasionally playing with the idea of running. She loves to climb up on the couch, LuvSac, bed, us, etc. She says some words, including her own version of mom, dad, dog, and "go get it." She loves bananas, applesauce on-the-go pouches, cheese, green beans, and most things edible. She has 5 teeth. She loves to throw and chase after balls. She is an entertainer who purposefully does things to get your attention and make you smile or laugh. She is tender-hearted and has an even temperament most of the time. She LOVES playing with her big sister, and they make each other laugh more than I ever can. She brings us so much joy!

Happy Birthday, baby girl! We love you!

Talking baby

Maybe it's because Kaelisse spends most days at a babysitter's house where the new puppy is learning how to play fetch....maybe it's because she has an older sister who likes to torture her a tad by stealing toys and throwing them a few feet away (which I'm sure was also learned from the puppy).....whatever the reason, when Kaelisse recently started talking with real understandable words, she didn't use any of the common beginner words like mama, dada, bottle, banana, or anything else you might expect. In fact, she chose to go with a 3-word phrase instead. Any guesses? As a hint, listen to what she says around the 15-second mark...

Kaelisse at 10 Months

Okay, these are a little late, but definitely worth sharing. I was blessed enough to find the camera that I thought was gone forever, and these pictures were on it. Yay for little miracles!

These pictures are a combo of Kae being 10 months old, the UTA baseball season beginning (and thus our beginning of hours spent at the stadium), and a humorous trip to the grocery store.

The worst has happened...okay, slight dramatization...

I lost my camera...and all of my most recent pictures because they were still on it...this tragedy has temporarily taken away my will to blog...*pout*

Opening Night at UTA

The University of Texas at Arlington just finished their new basketball arena, and we were fortunate enough to get tickets to a sold-out opening game night and performance. There were back-to-back women's and men's games, with a ribbon cutting ceremony in between. We took the girls, and met up with some of Brent's co-workers and had a pretty fun, entertaining evening. Here are some of the pictures and videos from the night.

Thanks UTA for such a great night out!

Me-OW!

Last night, after the kids were finally in bed asleep, Brent and I were relaxing with nothing to do. We were laying on the LuvSac: Brent had his laptop out checking out some things on the internet, and I was in a mentally comatose state, just happy to not be thinking about anything for a few minutes. It was a nice, relaxing moment.
Then, something spooked the cats, and they ended up in a little catfight. This is nothing unusual...our cats fight all the time. However, this is the first time they've ever commenced fighting ON TOP OF US!! It was a blur of fur, claws, and hissing that lasted no longer than 5-10 seconds, but somehow I don't think I'll ever forget the strange surrealness of the moment.
Here are some of the results:









And just to clarify, these are not different perspectives of the same wounds, but rather they are each their own unique individual. Additionally, for the sake of maintaining out dignity, not all wounds were photographed.
Thanks cats.