New Addition....

Makenzie and I went to Petco and looked around at the different creatures the have. We decided to get some fish. Makenzie picked out the black one and I picked out the orange one. We are still working on names, more on that later. Below are some pictures I took.

Apple Farm

Mandy and I took the girls and new baby Kolten to the Apple Farm in St. Mary's on Saturday. We stopped at Burger King and had lunch then headed down. We all had a lot of fun. They had different things for the kids to do including a hay ride, animals, slides, a barn full of corn, tunnels to crawl through, corn maze and so much more. We picked a ton of apples to bring home at the end of the day. Makenzie and I just ate one and it was GOOD!!! It was windy and a little rainy but that didn't stop us from having a blast. Kenzie fell asleep on the way home. She wore herself out.

Kolten Christopher DudleyGracie and Kenzie driving the Train

Makenzie trying to decide which pumpkin to pick

"Cheese"

Hay ride

Playing on the wooden Train

Barn full of corn, very cool !!!

"One, Two, Three... THROW!"

Taylor, such a beautiful girl

Kenz, climbing the hay bails

Grace and Kenz watching Taylor jump hay bails

She is taking a picture of me, taking a picture of her

at the end of the tunnel

Headed in the tunnel

Taylor riding the Cow

The three Pumpkins

Gracie Girl

Taylor

Taylor pulling Gracie and Kenz in the wagon

Kenz, Taylor, Grace... I love this picture

Animals LOVE Makenzie and Makenzie LOVES animals

This Goat was pregnant with twins. We could feel the babies moving in her tummy.

In the words of Mimi...

Mimi and I were exchanging emails this morning going on and on about Makenzie and telling funny stories. She wrote somethings that I wanted to share. Makenzie is always doing and saying things that amaze all of us. She is quite the big girl now. Here it is:

"Gotta tell you this one...yesterday Makenzie and I were sitting on the floor playing Barbie. After I dressed Barbie, I told her that Barbie was going to a par-tay!!! A few minutes go by as we were playing, and she said to me..."Mimi, where is Bahbee going to a paw-tay?" I thought Kenny, Jared and I were going to bust a gut laughing. She had no clue as to why we were laughing. She is a treasure and such good comfort for us.

She IS smart...doesn't miss a trick...and is so keen on things. She is adapting to Grace Baptist and it is good for her to be around kids her own age during the day. It also frees me up to do things I need to do...not to mention the things I LOVE to do like sew, crochet, knit, paint...etc. One day she will learn all my tricks of the trade. I'm looking forward to teaching her to sew. " ~Mimi

Isn't that sweet? Maybe after Mimi teachers Makenzie all of those things, she can then teach me. Painting is about the only thing I am ok at. I am glad she will learn all of those things one day. Mimi is very talented, Makenzie will learn from the best.

Update

It's been awhile, sorry. Makenzie has been busy at school these past few weeks. She brings home a project almost every day and is singing a TON of new songs. Ms. Debbie (Makenzie's teacher) loves to sing and if the kids come home singing something new it's probably something she taught them. Makenzie has learned a lot of new songs. Ms. Debbie says Makenzie is doing really well in class and that she is a very sweet girl. I will second that. Makenzie is very sweet, loving, caring, considerate, and affectionate. For an only child (seeing her around other children) she is giving, great a sharing, doesn't tattle tale, and walks away when confrontation comes her way.

Makenzie is going to the potty with NO help at all now. She used to need help with getting her pants up and down and wiping but she does it all on her own now.

She has been practicing for the Church Christmas play this Winter. She practices on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. Yesterday she was such a good listener that she got to pick the first "grab bag" after practice. It was a green stick with propellers on it so that it would spin and fly like a helicopter. She played with that all night.

She is really enjoying have Uncle Steven and Jamie home. She played with them a lot last night. She came in my room and told me:

"I playing *wif Uncle *Steben's drums and him say 'don't *b-wake *dem cause I gonna sell dem' and I say 'I would *nebah b-wake dem Uncle Steben. Nebah *ebah. And him say 'ok be careful'. And dat is all of my *wurds."

I thought it was so funny. Instead of saying that's the end of the story she said that was all of her words. She says the funniest things. I wish I could video tape them all.

Here are a few pictures from our visit with the Steinhauser's last Sunday. I stole them from Carter's blog. I am you all have seen them. : )

*wif

*Steben = Steven

*b-wake= break

*dem= them

*nebah= never

*ebah= ever

*wurds= words

Charles County Fair 2009

Last night Makenzie and I headed to the fair. This is her first year of riding the rides. We arrived around 4 pm, the rides were not open yet so we went and checked out the animals. At 5 pm we got in the ticket line and got a wrist band (unlimited rides). She got on her first ride and I wish, I REALLY wish I had a video camera. The smile on her face was so big. It was a smile of excitement. I am so glad I was there to see the excitement on her face. Her FIRST ride. You know that feeling you get in your stomach when the ride takes off. Her smile said it all. It was love at first ride. After that, the sky was the limit. I even had to explain to her on a few rides that she was too short this year to ride. She wasn't scared of anything!

This was her first ride. You can kind of see the smile on her face. The camera didn't do it justice.

Roller Coaster

Getting locked in

Carousel

Dumbo ride

Flying high

First Dentist Appointment

And yet another mile stone in Makenzie's very short life. She went to the Dentist today. The Dentist says her teeth look GREAT and Makenzie has been doing a great job brushing her teeth. She was sent home with lots of goodies. Probably more goodies than any child has ever left there with. We knew someone on the "inside". Aunt Karen works for Dr. Olsen. Makenzie was a little afraid at first when Daddy told her about the Dentist in the morning but when it was time to leave the Dentist office, she didn't want to go.

Here are a few pics from the Dentist visit:

Remembering 9/11

Katie and Kenzie at school. Wearing their 9/11 remembrance shirts.

Today is a day in remembrance of the lives that were taken by hateful American Terrorists. 8 years ago America was struck by horrific tragedy. I know I will never forget that day as long as I live. Where I was, what I was doing, who was with me. The painful memory will be forever embedded into my head. Thankfully, I am still here today to post this blog in remembrance. I am praying for the families of those who lost their loved ones. I am praying for our heroic American Soldiers who are protecting us still today. I also pray that Makenzie will never have to live through a horrible experience such as 9/11. She does not yet understand the events that took place that day, but I know when she does, she will be empathetic to those who lost their lives and proud of our Soldiers who are protecting us just as I do today.

God Bless America!!!