Happy 1st Birthday Kennedy!

Yesterday was Kennedy's birthday and boy did we have a fun day! We went swimming at the local pool which was Kennedy's first time. She loved every minute of it. Splashing in the water and trying to get out of my grasp to crawl in further. Later in the evening we had a little party and Grandma AJ, Aunts, Uncles & cousins came over to help us celebrate the big day. I can't believe that she's already one year old. Where does the time go?

Hair, Hair, Long, Beautiful Hair!

With Kennedy's first birthday fastly approaching (tomorrow), I decided to do a post dedicated one of her finest attributes, her HAIR!

We knew that Kennedy would have hair even before she was born because we saw it on an ultrasound when I was 36 weeks pregnant. But what didn't know is how much she would have! I don't know how many times I've been told by perfect strangers that they've never seen so much hair on a baby or being asked her age and people being shocked because my answer is much younger than what they expected me to say. I have to admit that I don't like to be the center of attention and so it was wierd to me to be stared at when baby Kennedy and I were out and about.

The first time that I took Kennedy out was when she was about 5 weeks old and we went to the mall to do some birthday shopping for Brandon. We were at University Mall and I was sitting in a chair feeding her a bottle outside of Nordstroms and I just kept feeling people stare at us as they walked by. There was even a little girl that whispered to her mom, "Mom, did you see that baby's hair?".

I guess the issue for me was not how much hair she had but that it was totally unmanageable. The girl had very CRAZY hair back then. I invested in about a dozen types of gel, pomade, you name it and decided that K-Y actually held it in place the best, with little flaking. I even started blowing her hair dry after her baths to try and get it to lay down a little. Who blow drys their 4 month old's hair?

Over time I expected Kennedy's hair to start falling out, but I guess when you have hair like hers, it stays for good. It just kept growing and growing and eventually it was long enough to start fixing. At 6 1/2 months old, she got her first hair cut. I had to trim her bangs because they were always hanging in her eyes and the long hair in the back was really mullet-ish. About the same time she was sitting up well enough to sit on the counter and have her hair curled. By the time she was 9 months old, I was having to fix her hair on a daily basis and I often curl it with the curling iron too because it looks so darn cute. (And no, we've had no burning incidents, I'm very skilled with the curling iron)

I had to blog about her hair because as she grows older, it will be less and less of a distinctive feature. So here's to Kennedy, her 1st birthday and her fabulous hair!

Tagged...Thanks Ellery!!

From the mouth of Brandon. Sit back, grab a tall cold one, and enjoy!!!

What I was doing ten years ago...Ten years ago I had been back from my mission to New York City for about 6 months trying to figure out what I was going to do. I was working for my dad doing computer networking, going to school at UVSC, hanging out with friends, meeting new girls and having the time of my life. I was the first one to get home from my mission so I was waiting around for my high school buddies to return and then get back to what we did best before everyone left.

What I was doing five years ago... I am finally married by this time BOOOOOYA! We had just moved out of our first apartment in Orem and moved into my parent’s basement to save some money. Thanks AJ & Biggins. Kim had just accepted a Job in New York so we were lucky to have that option open to us. We were kid less at the time and just hanging out doing what we pleased. Dang those days were sweet. But all good things must come to an end. We were working at Nu Skin and they were keeping up busy as usual. We were also deciding if it was time to start having kids. Later in 2003 Traci went to the local grocery store bought a test and E.P.T said yes. Hailey was on her way and due to arrive in September of 2004.

One Year Ago...I was getting ready to welcome our Second daughter Kennedy into the world. She will turn one on Friday the 20th. I can’t believe that it has already been a year. Oh boy how time flies. We also had just sold our town house bought a new house and I was finishing up Kennedy’s room with new paint and bead board to welcome our new bundle of joy home.

Yesterday... I was traveling back from Houston Texas where I spent the weekend with some High School Buddies. Trent Church, Chad Schmidt, & Kyle Harris. WOW OH WOW, we had the time of our lives and left Texas totally exhausted but made it home for Father’s day. I left my heart and a bunch of perspiration in Texas. Traci and the Girls treated me well on fathers day with cards, a tall diet coke upon my arrival home, and a new Dewalt drill. Looks like Traci has a project up her sleeve.

Five Favorite Snacks...

1. Shrimp Plate from Costco
2. Symphony Bar in the blue wrapper with a Diet Coke
3. Sunflower Seeds
4. Double Bubble gum from Costco
5. Chips and homemade salsa

Favorite Books...

1. Sports Illustrated
2. How to win friends and influence people
3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what can you see. I had this down pat for Kennedy’s arrival.
4. Picture Books
5. Why every son needs a father.

5 Places to Run Away....

1. The Bay Club, Kona Hawaii
2. NYC
3. Any electronic store
4. My basement in front of the big screen with a sporting event on
5. Fiji

5 things I would never wear...Tight ribbed shirts. I will leave it at that. Other than that I’m good to wear whatever.

5 Pet Peeves...

1. Toys not picked up
2. Dishes in the sink
3. 2 year cell phone contracts. Buy unlocked phones people :)
4. My grass not mowed twice for a tight mow.
5. When a dog or cat show up in my yard unauthorized.
5. Getting tagged from someone’s blog after you work so hard to get there blog the way they want it.:)


5 Bad Habits...

1. WORRYING, My girls get sick and I’m a mess.
2. Checking to make sure Traci turned off her curling irons every morning
3. Chewing my fingernails
4. Cell phones/electronics
5. 80/20’s (80% Diet coke, 20% regular coke) early and often. I love to have a beverage in my hand.


5 things I enjoy....

1. Cell phones
2. My Family (on both sides of the ball)
3. Sports, Sports, Sports
4. 80/20’s (80% Diet coke, 20% regular coke) early and often.
5. Organization…Thanks Mom :)


5 favorite TV shows...

1. Sports Center on ESPN
2. MLB Baseball
3. 24
4. Little people, Big world
5. Sport Center on ESPN II

5 famous people I would like to meet...

1. Derek Jeter. I’ve came close…very close
2. Tiger Woods
3. Donald Trump
4. The rest of the NY Yankees
5. Stewart Scott & Scott Van Pelt, hosts of Sports Center

5 People I want to tag....

1. Heather Adams
2. Lindsay Church
3. Emily Harris
4. Emily Fife
5. Julie Peay
5. Whoever else that would like to participate in this enjoyable event.

Hailey's Dance Recital

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while now. Hailey had her first dance recital on May 31st. She is in a combo class where they learn all types of dance, ballet, jazz, tap & tumbling. Her class did their recital dance to the "Working Song" from the movie, Enchanted. It was darling and Hailey did awesome! She was one of the only dancers that remembered the whole entire dance and didn't get stage fright. Her class also participated in the finale dance which was a faster jazz dance to "You can't stop the beat" from Hairspray. It was so cute, she was really shakin' it on stage. I'll try and post some video clips later but for now it's just pictures.