9 Months

Dash-a-Dude is nine months old and in just the last month he has changed SOOO much! He is 19 pounds and while his cheeks make him look like a chunk, he is actually under the 40th percentile in weight for his age. He is still a good eater but has recently become much more opinionated about his food. He isn't a fan of bananas (go figure) and prefers finger food to pureed foods. At the table he says momma a lot but isn't referring to me, he is actually asking for more. His first tooth came in this past month on the bottom and a second is making its way in too. He is officially mobile. This of course changes life dramatically but it has been a lot of fun, especially for Josh who is ALWAYS wanting his brother to play with him. In just a few short weeks he went from army crawling to full out crawling and pulling up on everything in sight! He is still full of smiles but now he cocks his head to the side before grinning and it is absolutely irresistible. He is tough, easy going, and showing his opinions but above all he LOVES his brother.

The Beach

We went to the beach a few weeks ago to see Galvestons Annual Sandcastle Competition and it was a lot of fun. Josh was much more interested in the water and finding friends than looking at the sandcastle designs and that was okay with us. I'm not sure what Dash enjoyed more, playing in the water or eating the sand! Needless, to say Daddy had to keep a close eye on him. Galveston is only 90 minutes away and this trip made us realize we definitely need to visit the beach more often. I'm so glad our boys love the water!

Fun In the House

Oh the things we do for fun around our house!

Odds and Ends

love this guy

This is what happens when you allow your 2 year old to go into the closet and pick out his clothes for the day. (Partly my fault for leaving Halloween costumes on the bottom rack). Yes, he actually left the house like this and happy about it. Notice that 2 1/2 year olds don't fit too comfy into 9 month old clothing.

heard from the back seat, "reading with lion hands is HARD Momma".

His daddy's response, "Thats because Lions weren't made to read Josh."

There is nothing greater than reading shirtless with a friend!

Josh and Drew at our college reunion. An unlikely friendship between parents has led to new friendships...may the tradition of 42 never end!

Best buddy Owen and Josh riding in the helicopter at Splash Pad USA

Dash enjoyed some splashing of his own

My little way of honoring the faithful rat dog Maggie. She looks older every day but never stops playing and is starting to give Josh a run for his money.

Uncle Bud Gets MARRIED!

This was the big weekend that officially made Lindsay Lombard...Aunt Lindsay Kennedy! It was a great weekend and all my boys looked incredibly handsome in their tuxes. Josh was enamored with his "fancy" shoes and wouldn't take them off all week. He was so sad when we had to give them back on Sunday we went out and bought him his own pair. Now he can tap dance anytime (he is even wearing them as I type this, sitting in his underwear playing cars with fancy shoes on!) He and Owen did a super job walking down the isle as ring bearers. Grammo came in from Albuquerque to watch the boys while Kevin and I did our parts in the wedding. We couldn't have done it without her - thanks mom! It was quite a celebration and we are so thankful the Lord provided such a wonderful lady to join our family. We love you Uncle Bud and Aunt Lindsay!

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy

Josh and his beautiful dance partner...that was until Owen cut in and stole her away! That's okay, Josh just danced solo next to the happy toddlers the rest of the night.

Jeans last picture with only 2 daughters

Grammo and her date Dash

My favorite picture!

What a perfect day for the Kennedy family!

8 Months

Little man Dash is 8 months old. It's funny because he is still such a baby to me. We continue to wait on his first tooth and he is still gloriously immobile. I think about the fact that Josh was almost walking at this age and it astounds me. Josh started doing everything so fast, so I'm glad that little Dash is taking his sweet time. That being said he has now officially hit the point where his frustration is showing. He gets frustrated when he knows he wants something but he obviously can't verbalize it and because he isn't crawling he can't always reach it either. He definitely prefers Josh's toys and big brother does a pretty good job sharing and keeping the small choking toys out of his reach. It is amazing to see Josh take on the role of big brother. Now to instill the trait of graciously taking care of Dash and not bossing him around...lots of prayer and modeling for this one! Josh is learning to let Dash do things for himself and cheer him on from the sideline, although his first response is usually "do it for him, Momma". I've always thought Dash was the happiest kid ever but I'm starting to notice a trend in his mood. His demeanor is almost always correlated to his brothers presence. Fuss bucket when brother is absent and tremendously happy when he is around. No one can make him laugh like Josh. He loves it when they wrestle (I just cringe every time I see Josh "wessle him" but Dash giggles and giggles), he loves it when Josh runs into his room to get him in the morning, he loves when big brother pushes him in the bouncy chair and he loves their time together in the back seat making silly faces while we drive. Their relationship is the most beautiful thing right now.

As usual Josh steals the show when I get out the camera for monthly pictures. Dash has a yucky cold in these pictures so he wasn't his normal perky self. The last one was taken while Josh entertained him for me to coax a smile!

Looks Good but How Does it Taste?

We did it! Our first batch of Strawberry Jelly is complete. It wasn't as hard as I expected and it didn't really take that long either. Now that it is sitting pretty on my counter in 12 quilted mason jars I'm almost afraid to open the perfectly sealed lid to taste it.

Step one: get strawberries ready for mashing

Step 2: implore the help of a very qualified 2 year old

Step 3: add way too much sugar and boil the mess out of those things

Step 4: lots of pouring and sealing

Step 5: lick the bowl and spoons and anything else Mom will give him with the red sticky stuff on it