Breaking in the Winter Gear

So the weather has turned cold here in Michigan and so Tim and I busted out our box of warm apparel. This box contained a plethora of winter essentials such as gloves, scarfs, hats, and don't forget the ski goggles. Now to some of you this might have been just a box of clothes, but to two ridiculously competitive individuals such as Tim and myself, this box became a game. We divided the clothes up so we each had the same number of beanies, gloves, scarfs, etc. The first person to put on all their gear and run down the hall and touch the front door won! Needless to say the competition was fierce, but I emerged victorious. Girls rule, boys drool!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Kennedy has started to giggle. Yup, and it's just about the cutest thing ever. (Of course we think she is adorable no matter what she is doing) Anyhow Tim caught a few giggles on camera for posterity. Enjoy!

Snow Baby

Last Sunday was Kennedy's first snow. I decided to get her all bundled up, but it was too cold and wet to take pictures outside, so here is the Li'l K all warm inside. I love her little mittens, but she stuck them in her mouth so fast that they were wet and freezing. A little counter productive if you ask me.

Kennedy in Utah!

After three long months of life, we decided it was finally time to send Kennedy to Utah to meet her millions (ok, that maybe an exaggeration) of adoring fans. It was so good to see everyone again and spend time with all you guys that I love so much. It was also nice to have tons of people waiting to steal Kennedy away so I could take a break. Here are some of the highlights from our amazing trip back home.
Day 1: We headed right from our plane ride (which Kennedy behaved surprisingly well for) to meet all the Clawson gang. I can't believe how grown up all the kids are. Kennedy enjoyed meeting all the aunts and cousins and even spent some quality time with Tootsie.
After that we headed to Ryan's amazing cross-country race in which he placed 4th (that's right 4th) at State! I have such a cool brother. Kennedy was very impressed as well and hopes to follow in his speedy steps. (I guess she will have to learn to crawl first, sigh...)
After State, Kennedy disappeared for the night passed from Aunt to Uncle, then to Grandpa and then back to Aunt, then kidnapped by Grandma, etc. I finally got her back in time for bed. What a fun day!
Day 2: After sleeping in, Kennedy, her grandma and I headed to Provo to go wedding dress shopping with Aunty Marissa. Kennedy loved to see Marissa come out in all the white shiny dresses. I only hope Enoch's face will be as in awed as Kennedy's was. We also stopped by Tim's old haunt, the TLSC (which I think has a different name now) to see Aunt Cindy and Uncle Kevin. I can't believe that Cindy is in college, but she sure looked like she knew what she was doing.
That night we dropped by great-grandma and grandpa Bradshaw's house to say hello. Kennedy loved sitting on great-grandpa's lap chewing on her hands and dropping all over everything. Sorry Grandma.Day 3: Girl's Night at Debbie's house. It was so good to see all the Clawson ladies. Everyone is looking so good and they always amaze me with what they are up to. I feel so at home chatting with everyone. Also, Debbie thanks for the hair cut!Day 4: Breakfast at the Kimballs and dress ups with crazy cousins Corah, Addie, and Carson. What a fun family!Then it was time to rise and shout for the Cougars at Kennedy's first ever BYU football game! We made the rounds to see everyone we knew and then camped out in the shade with Dave, Katie, Andrew and Cindy. BYU won and Kennedy seemed to be on her way to becoming a loyal and devoted BYU fan!After the game, we stopped at Marissa's house to avoid the traffic and eat some yummy soup.We also stopped by Tyson and Kristy's house to say hi and spit up all over their carpet (Kennedy, not me of course) Good luck with you little girl Kristy!
Day 5: Church with the old 19th ward. It was good to see all the old ward members and see all the kids I used to babysit wearing makeup and acting so grown up. Crazy!
After church grandpa let Kennedy ride old Hoss bareback. Katie and Dave stopped by and Andrew got in on the fun as well.Day 6-9: It all blurs together at this point, but I know that whatever we did these days was really fun. Thanks grandpa for watching Li'l K while I went to Thriller. Thanks to Jared, Ryan, and Marissa for the hot dates. (Jared- I really wish we would have taken some pictures playing bumper boats. I can't believe we did that in October)
Day 10: Happy 1st Halloween Kennedy! Because I wanted to get in on the dressing up action, Kennedy and I had a couple costume. We went as Little Bo Peep and her little lost sheep. I stayed up the night before to sew her sheep costume and I must say that it turned out very cute (of course it did help that it was worn by an adorable baby).We headed over to the Clawson's for a Halloween party with the cousins. Yea for Janet and Aaron who drove up from Las Vegas to party!At night, Tim had required that Kennedy go trick-or-treating for him and bring some loot back to Michigan. So despite the sprinkling rain, Little Bo Peep and her sheep headed down the street in search of some candy. Then we helped out at my family's scone and cocoa station until all the trick-or-treaters were done.After that my family headed to Grandpa and Grandma Bradshaw's house for homemade donuts. Yum! It has been so long since I have seen all my cousins, so it was good to be there. Grandma and Grandpa were hilarious in their costumes.
Day 11: I went on a horse ride with my dad while Kayla watched Kennedy. They go some pretty funny pictures of her playing in the leaves and helping with the laundry. Kennedy also learned to play the violin, but I don't think she should quit her day job just yet.That night we went to another girls night at Kristy's house and Kennedy met another great-grandma Winward.Day 12: Relaxing day hanging out with the family. Kennedy is such a lucky kids to have such a fun family. She especially liked hanging out with cowboy grandpa. Yee-haw! Day 13: Kennedy went in for a professional photo shoot. She was such a cutie and smiled the whole time. After that we stopped by Brianna's house to visit Kennedy's first cousin once removed Ella (I think that is the correct term, but who really cares). It was so cute to see the two of them together. I'm sure they will be friends as the years go on.Last, but not least, we stopped by my old stomping ground The Urology Clinic to say hello to all my old co-workers and the doctors. It seems like just yesterday I was working there full-time going crazy trying to get everything done. My life now is a whole different type of crazy, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Well that about sums up our wild Utah adventure. And in the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger... "I'll be back!"

P.S. I am missing pictures from a few of our adventures. If you have pics would you please e-mail them to me.

Kayla's Visit

So I know I have a lot of catching up to do, so prepare for a plethora of posts. I only hope Kennedy will cooperate and stay asleep long enough for my slow computer to upload all the adorable pictures of her.
Here are the pictures from my amazing little sister Kayla's visit out to Michigan. She is such a awesome sister (and the only sibling to visit us out here in MI...hmmm) She earned all the money for the trip by herself and made her first plane trip alone just to see her favorite sister (ok, ok it was probably mainly to see her cute niece)
We had a blast hanging out at home, talking a million pictures of Kennedy, and going on walks down to Newburgh Lake. We also walked around downtown Plymouth (one of my favorite things about this area).
When we were lucky enough to snag the car from Tim we ventured out on more adventurous outings such as the Automotive Hall of Fame. (If you can get past the cheesy movie at the beginning this was actually a pretty cool museum)
We also drove out to Lake Michigan to get our first look at the Great Lakes. Great is right, and we had a awesome time playing in the sand, walking around the cute port city, and cooking dutch oven steak and potatoes on the shore. Tim and Kayla were even crazy enough to wade out into the lake (in October!!!) Needless to say the both got their pants all wet and Kennedy and I laughed at them from the comfort of our nice warm clothes. Kayla also came with us to our ward's Halloween party. They had lots of fun games and trunk-0r- treating, none of which Kennedy fully appreciated, but we sure enjoyed. Tim was a tennis/ raquetball player (no one was quite sure which) Kayla was a Chinese girl, and Kennedy and I were a Lion and a Lamb. No trip to Michigan in October would be complete without a trip to a cider mill so we headed out in the pouring rain to the Northville cider mill for some authentic cider and cider slush. So yummy!!!! We are so glad that Kayla came out to visit us and expect many more loving family members to stop by as well.

...Oh and special thanks to Kayla for babysitting Kennedy so Tim and I could go on a date. You rock my socks off!!

Kayla is coming!

I am so excited for my little sister Kayla to visit us. As I am typing she is on her flight from Utah. I can hardly believe how grown up she is flying out here on her own. I would have been so scared at her age. Well, we are excited to show her around Michigan (what little we know) and let her play with Kennedy. Yea for Aunt Kayla!

The Many Faces of Kennedy

Here is Kennedy after she spit up on her blanket then rubbed her face all over it. Lovely, wouldn't you agree?This is Princess Kennedy sleeping after a long, hard day of looking so cute in her Cinderella dress. Note the adorable tights I found last week.
Here is Kennedy reunited with her dad after his trip to Utah. What a cute daddy- daughter duo.
Kennedy loves to stand with her back to the couch and take in the scenic living room. She is a very strong little girl.

Movie Star

Here are some videos of Kennedy I took with our camera. The first one was about a week ago when Kennedy was waking up from her afternoon nap. I love to watch her stretch and squirm as she wakes up. The second movie is from today when she was sitting on the couch jabbering away. What a funny little girl!

Husbandless

So I have made it to day two without my dear husband Tim. (He is in Utah on a recruiting trip if you were not aware) I think I have kept it together pretty well; although, the first night I did sleep on the couch with all the lights and the TV on. Last night I did make it to the bed. My biggest worry going into this was that by the end of the night I wouldn't be able to handle Kennedy anymore as this is when Tim usually comes home and gives me a break. Luckily Kennedy has been pretty well behaved and has sort of accepted the baby swing as a daddy replacement.
The plus side of this whole deal is that I get to have the car for the week. I almost forgot what freedom a car provides. Just to be able to swing by the store when I want is such a cool thing. We are so blessed to live in a age with such technology.
I am sort of jealous that Tim is back home hanging out with family and friends and seeing the mountains in their fall colors, but I know that it will be my turn soon so that makes me happy. I am also stoked for my little sis to come hand out with me. I have been planning tons of fun stuff to to when she is here. We are gonna have a blast!

Fun with Grandpa and Grandma

Kennedy is so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents. She is even luckier that she got to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma Clawson this last week. We all had a blast hanging out, staring at Kennedy's crazy faces, and "mastering" Rook. Some of the highlights were cooking dutch oven at a park and playing croquet, going to the Ford Rouge Factory tour, singing at the Detroit Chapel open house (and the great Mexican food that followed), Kennedy's blessing, going to the Tigers game, walking down to the lake, (and my personal favorite) sleeping through the night while Bev took care of Kennedy. What a treat! Kennedy (and her mom and dad) already miss them and can't wait to visit all the rest of the gang soon.

Blessing Day!

Today Kennedy Sharlan Clawson received a name and a blessing! What a great experience it was. She looked so precious in the dress my mom sewed for her. She was so alert and awake during the blessing, but wasn't fussy at all. Tim said she was being so cute that the priest holding the microphone for him started laughing at her faces. Tim did a wonderful job with the blessing and I couldn't help but feel the love the Lord has for this special little girl. I know she is a choice spirit and I am so grateful that she came to our home.
The choir also sang during sacrament meeting so I felt like I had the opportunity to participate in the day as well. It was sad not to have all the family at her blessing, but it was nice not to have to feed everyone after. (I don't think our apartment would have accommodated half of our family) But Tim's parent's Les and Bev were here to share this experience which was very nice.
Of course we took a million pictures so here are as many as I had the patience to sit here while they upload. Yea Kennedy!!!