Griffith Park

November 19th (Kennedy's 3 month b-day) Daddy, Mommy, Madison, Kennedy and Grandma and Grandpa headed down to Griffith Park in LA to play for the day. After a small fit from Madison (who wanted to sit NEXT to her carseat, instead of in it) we loaded up in the rental mini van and headed south.

We pulled into the park and immediately stopped to ride the ponies...



Which Madison thought was SO cool!



Then Madison, Grandma and Grandpa rode the train




While Kennedy hung out in her sling








Grandpa thought it was fun to take video of Daddy taking video of him...silly.







Then we drove further into the park to see the Travel Town Railroad museum. Railroad companies from all over the United States donated old locomotives, passenger cars, and other fun train memorabilia- and we got to touch...







and climb on them.







Madison, Daddy, and Grandpa started playing







while Mommy, Kennedy, and Grandma took a break. After Kennedy's 'snack' she was all smiles







We all met up for more playing







(choo, choo)






and spinning.







Then loaded back up and drove to the Gene Autry Cafe for lunch.





Then back to the front of the park for more pony rides and







one last train ride with Daddy.



It was a near perfect day, until Madison tripped on her way to the ponies and skinned her little knees. This was the first time Mommy experienced more than a little scratch (we are talking a chunk of knee scraped off!) so it was traumatic for both of us.




After a quick clean up and bandaids on both knees, a hug from Daddy and the ponies made it all better.




We attempted a picture of Mommy and the girls before we left, but Madison was OVER it! Which Kennedy thought was strange, and I thought was hilarious!



Both girls conked out on the way home




(though Kennedy was NOT happy about the stop and go traffic in the beginning).




All and all it was a wonderful day!

Pink Tree

Friday, our friend Jen came to visit for a few hours. She is pregnant (and super cute!) and wanted to borrow some of Mommy's cutie maternity clothes. We were excited to see her and play for a few hours. Daddy has known Jen and her husband since middle school! She brought some special treats for the girls, including a 4 ft pink sparkly Christmas tree for the girls. Madison calls it "Madison's Mismis tree with sprinkles". Today Grandma Shemenski and Mommy got some pink and purple sparkly ornaments for the tree. Madison danced around the house with ornaments on her arms, hung them all over her kitchen, rocking chair...then on her tree.

Madison also fell in love with Charlie Brown and Snoopy just before Halloween with Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. So, Mommy got a special Peanuts shirt for Madison. As you can see, she insisted on wearing it tonight. It was a fun night- the beginning of Christmas at the Shemenskis!

Big Helper

Grandma and Grandpa Shemenski are in town to visit the girls. Madison helped Mommy make lemon dessert last night with her special apron Aunt Dar got her last Christmas. She was such a big helper. Tonight we were working on another special project when Madison informed Mommy - 'You're a big helper, Mommy'. She continues to crack us up more and more every day.

Big Smiley Girl

Kennedy is such a smiley girl and growing SO fast. Today she started wearing size 2 diapers. We just LOVE watching all these smiles and listening to her sweet coos and sounds.

Best $1 I ever spent!

Today the girls and I went to the new Babies R Us/Toys R Us combo in Porter Ranch for the Grand Opening event. Kennedy got a couple new outfits for the winter time (Thank you, Nana!). They were having killer deals on clothes and toys, but nothing we really couldn't live without. We met up with Caleb and Ryan's Mommy, Mindy and headed next door to Walmart. They had a few special guests for the day...Mr Oreo, and Mr Peanut, passing out snacks at the front door. We wandered thru the store getting a few more ideas for Christmas when they made an announcement over the loud speaker....'All remaining Halloween items are $1'. The girls and I meandered over just in time to pick up one of the last remaining cool costumes. It's a 4-6x, but Madison will happily enjoy growing into it.

As soon as we got home the dress up queen HAD to wear it. She spent 30 minutes running around our very small house yelling, 'yee haw, giddy up, go unicorn, yippee!' before deciding she needed a break. She wore the costume just over an hour, then decided she needed to 'be Snow White'. That lasted a short time and now the 'horsie outfit' is back on.

I'm convinced this is the best $1 I ever spent!

Last night's remote shutter....

Last night Mommy, Daddy, and Madison played with clay.

Madison asked us to make some pretty tough things for her.

They got more elaborate as we went.

Then Mommy said, "That's supposed to be a '....', let's see if our blog readers can identify it!"

Then Daddy said, "Why don't we use the tri-pod and remote shutter I got you last year."






Madison thought this was great fun, so we let her take the pictures.

Then Daddy got the great idea to turn the camera around....

Madison pushed the button....

and pushed the button....

and pushed the button....

until we decided 25 or so photos of Madison pushing the button with crazy hair was plenty.

Fun night.
Leave your comments to tell us what you think we made.

Check back in a few days to see what was what.

Kennedy found her mobile

OK, she found it a long time ago...

Mommy is just brave enough to integrate the girls into the same room more these days.

She loves watching the dogs go round and round.

Holding up

Kennedy is getting much better at holding her head up. Since she was born she's been holding her head up off our shoulders. Utilizing all those neck muscles to lift up her entire upper body when on her tummy is a different story. Last night she started holding her head up instead of tilting it to the side. This morning was even better. She just keeps getting bigger and stronger!

What IS this?!

Kennedy found her hand today. She pulled it in so close to her face she was cross eyed! Since she discovered it is there and moves, she's fascinated. No need for toys- she has built ins. :)

Election Day

Today the girls wore red, white, and blue in honor of Election Day. Kennedy in the sling, Madison in the wagon, the girls went down the street to vote. Luckily our polling location is at the end of our street.

Toward the end of the night Madison decided get further into the results as 'Joe the Plumber'...ok more like Bob the Builder.

Results are in- we will see what the next term brings for the country. In the meantime, there is no doubt in our minds- God has blessed us with 2 beautiful, healthy girls (who look pretty cute in red, white, and blue!) !

Kennedy's First Halloween

Mommy didn't make Kennedy's costume, but that didn't stop her from enjoying her first Halloween.




She wore a cutie Halloween onsie from one of Mommy's stamping buddies all day and into the night.







It kept her extra toasty for the short time she wore her penguin costume.




Thanks to Madison pitching a fit, we didn't get many pictures of Kennedy with the giant pumpkins at home. This little photo session is becoming tradition at our house.





More photos of this year's Halloween celebration are posted earlier.

The Cowgirl

Mommy is quite proud Madison's costume this year...because she made it.

The hat...

The chaps....

The boots....

The Shirt...The Cowgirl.

Halloween

This year we started our Halloween festivities with dinner. Madison helped Mommy make 'Crunchy Monster Fingers' aka french fried onion chicken tenders. When Mommy offered Madison a bite she declined and advised 'no monster fingers....too scary!'. What a crack up! When Daddy got home, the girls got dressed and we headed outside to get a few pics with the pumpkins. Madison wanted nothing to do with this little photo session. She pitched a fit because she was told we were going to Kate and Caroline's house to trick or treat and she thought she was missing out. We snapped a few pics, (Daddy was sure to get plenty of Madison's fit) then loaded up in the car with our Halloween cupcakes and drove a couple miles to the Briggs's. Scott is another one of our friend's who grows giant pumpkins. He takes great pride in his plants and works with them everyday during growing season. The fruits of his labor are GREAT. This year his largest pumpkin reached 1,110 and took home first place in a Southern California competition. He had a crowd at the pumpkin all night after appearing in the local newspaper and an LA wide tv news report.

Shortly after arriving at the house, we took off with the kids to trick or treat. Madison was a trooper, keeping up with the bigger kids all night. It wasn't until after we hit the last house she decided she was done walking. Daddy carried her on his shoulders the short walk back to the Briggs's. Kennedy enjoyed being held by lots of friends at the house and on our trick or treat walk. Ultimately she ended up in the sling with Mommy taking a short nap while Madison practiced her manners...'Trick or Treat', get candy, 'Thank you'. Most people thought she was a boy...guess the piggie tails, butterfly chaps, pink boots, and bow on her hat didn't give away her gender.

Madison enjoyed trick or treating, then playing inside with her friends. Both girls were troopers and well behaved until we headed home a little after 11pm. Madison didn't want Halloween to end and stayed up snuggling with Mommy on the couch until 12:15am! Whew- long night! Every day since she asks if we are going trick or treating. It's going to be a long year!!!

Click for all our pics.

Kennedy is Two Months old!

OK, she is 10 weeks now. Time is really flying!

On October 29th, Kennedy had her two month appointment. She weighed 13.5 lbs and was 23.5 inches long! The nurse tried to put these measurements on the 4 month part of the chart. She forgot how old Kennedy was because she is so BIG! Kennedy is almost off the charts for both weight and height. Dr Pattan was so impressed at how Kennedy is tracking things with her eyes and grabbing everything with her hands. Of course, she was excited to see Kennedy's beautiful smile and how animated and vocal she is. Dr Pattan says we are in big trouble when Kennedy really starts talking. She thinks Kennedy will be even more of a talker than Madison! Is that even POSSIBLE?! The doctor also pointed out how much bigger Kennedy's fabulous thighs are than our other chunky monkey's were at this age.

Kennedy is still in her size one diapers, but quickly approaching size 2. She is already in 6 month clothing! She tracks everything now, showing us how her eye sight is improving. Kennedy loves when someone talks to her. She smiles and coos like crazy! Her little sounds are so sweet. Madison loves trying to tickle her sister and is very quick to make sure Kennedy has a toy in her carrier whenever we leave the house.

Kennedy grabs hold of everything these days. She has quite a grip, too! We have to peel her fingers off our shirts to pass her from one parent to the other. She likes holding onto her clothes, too. The other day she kept pulling her denim dress up over her head- good thing she had a onsie on underneath so wasn't flashing the world! Her little feet and legs are always moving. When we cover her up, it takes her less than a minute to kick her blanket off...every time. She thinks it's great fun to kick it off and have one of us put it back, just for her to kick it off again.

She loves to be held close and enjoys the sling when the girls are out and about at the park or hanging around the house.

Kennedy is looking forward to meeting her paternal grandparents in two short weeks!

Moving the Pumpkins

On October 25th Daddy chopped the pumpkins from the trampled vine (thank you, Sierra) and rolled them around to the front of the house. This year the big pumpkin reached a whopping 301 lbs! The goal was to break 300, so we just skimmed by. The smaller one was 127 lbs.

Madison found a rolly polly bug as she was 'helping' move the pumpkins around. We had to take a short break to play.

One of our friends had much better luck with his pumpkins this year. His largest was 1,110 lbs! Dwarfing our big guy. He took it to a local contest and won first place! The LA news stations even went to his house on Halloween to check it out before he carved it! His pumpkin was measuring 950 using the charts we follow- so it's very possible an actual weight of our pumpkin would be higher. We just try to beat our previous year's weight. As a reminder- we hit 292 last year. Matt already roped off a larger area to 'til up for next year!