Life in April.

Disney Princesses on Ice:

Four words.  Don't go through Ticketmaster.  Ticketmaster alluded us to some kind of "silver package" deal with a showing at 3:30.  Sounds all fine and dandy if there had, in fact, been a 3:30 showing.  Apparently, there was a goof in their system and we bought tickets for a show that didn't exist but didn't know that until we showed up at will-call.  Fast forward three hours and thirty minutes and they found us seats at the 5:30 show.   Six hours and $165 later, we were the proud owners of a Cinderella doll, had consumed a bag of cotton candy and a bowl of ice cream, had blisters from hiking around the downtown area and gray hairs from trying to entertain a two year old who had skipped nap time.  We left feeling more like we'd spent the day in a mosh pit instead of just having spent two hours watching satin encrusted princesses spin their way into a triple lutz  all while singing to their respective prince.  Yes, it was a magical day. 

Innocent faces:

Don't let them fool you.

 

Mere seconds after the above picture was taken, she let herself in via the sliding screen door and then with every ounce of muscle in her left bicep, she began to shut the glass one. 

On her picture-taking mother, no less.

This was the last photo taken before I had to intervene.  She's a sly fox, this one.  Did I mention she knows how to lock this particular door once shut?

Two:

We're still working on it, but at least we've got a head start for when the fifth birthday rolls around.

Id-nee:

Also known as Sydney.  Kennedy's first bestie.  She wakes up talking about her and goes to bed talking about her.  Syd's birthday was a couple weeks ago and occasionally Kennedy will break out in song. "Happy day, happy day, Id-nee" which sounds more like "Hap-eee gay, hap-eee gay, Id-nee."

Note: If Kennedy sits on you, that means she likes you.

Easter:


We cometh,

 we eateth,

we hunteth,

we jumpeth,

we putteth,

we loveth,

and we waiteth. 

For Baby Stull to be born, that is. 

~~ Mama Stull with her bun in the oven, waiting to put buns in the oven. ~~  

Lycra and H20

The first threads of Lycra were pulled from the left side of the closet where other seasonal gear such as raincoats and furry vests are housed.  Dora Swimmers left over from last year were dusted off and placed on little buns.  Sunblock was applied and water shoes were in tow.  Graham crackers and my big floppy hat were a last minute grab as I was pulled out the back door by a certain water lover.

She spent the majority of the time scouring the ground for bugs but wouldn't let me turn off the sprinkler after ten minutes had elapsed and no sprinkler run-throughs had taken place.  She was quite content just having it on as some outdoor white noise.

And then there was the introduction of the pool.  Despite what I would classify as frigid Titanic water, Kennedy submerges herself like she's a hippo and the pool is but a warm watering hole deep in the African jungle.  

Even Marley was treading water like it was just yesterday that she had last jumped in paws first.

I caught Kennedy talking on her cell phone the other day and stopped to ask who she was talking to.  Her response, "Nonnie."  I can only assume she was summoning Nonnie back for another round of "dangle the bait in front of the Marley-gator."

I'm not quite ready to rush into the heat just yet, but the sneak peeks of what's to come have brought more smiles than furrowed brows and slowly it's preparing me for the mercury rising.

TWO.

Sunday, April 3, 2011.

We came, we played hard, we ate and we officially said good-bye to the ONEder year. 

How she went from being a five pound slice of heaven placed on my chest to rolling over, to jumping in the Jumperoo, to saying sayonara to the bottle, to walking, to eating chicken nuggets, to napping but once a day, to asking to watch Dora, to wearing a 2T and size six shoe and to now being a 25 pound heaping serving of heaven that is the keeper of my heart is a mystery that leaves me wishing Father Time would pull back on the reins a little and make times like second birthdays not be a reminder of how time is fleeting.

It'd also be nice if he made it possible to relive days over again, so I can go back to this party and drink in more of the laughter and eat more cupcakes.

What I thought was going to make an appearance on Cakewrecks ended up being a perfect edible masterpiece that brought many "ooh"s and "aah"s.  No, I didn't make the cupcake cake, but when I was ordering it, the lady wasn't writing anything down and told me she had it all up here, while tapping the side of her noggin, and I left sweating and wishing I was more assertive and not afraid of confrontation or hurting peoples' feelings.

But I guess she really did have it all up there because I was in love with this Tinker-rific number two.

Unlike last year, there wasn't any crying or frantic hands fluttering in an attempt to escape the great cake.

The only fluttering going on was her tongue trying to lasso in all the frosting.

And she giggled throughout, making sure everyone saw each savory bite.

And the happiness of her day warmed me like a cup of hot tea.
 

She's the peanut butter to my jelly.  She's the watermelon to my summer.  She's the smores to my campfire.  She's the X's to my O's.  She's the itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie to my yellow polka-dot bikini. 

She's the life to my heart.

Happy Birthday my Kennedy Darling.