Two silly monkeys...

Everyday Kailey wants to play outside... I love it because we all get some fresh air and we ALL have fun on her playground. Sometimes we have picnics outside, sometimes we play house in the playhouse and sometimes we just play. Last night I came home and found these two silly monkey's playing on the swings.
Kailey was giggling with glee as Daddy taught her a new way to swing. Of course, I worry about her doing a face plant, but she did okay and it was all worth it when I heard her laughing so much! Kailey is VERY much a Daddy's girl now and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter and to have Greg, who is an AWESOME Daddy!

And this my friends, is the money shot!

Tiny Dancer

Last night was Kailey's first "official" dance class. It was amazing. She had gone to try the class and loved it, so we got all registered and officially started yesterday. She is in a class for 2-3 year olds. The class is broken into three parts: tumbling, ballet and tap. She was SO READY to get on her tights and leotard. She also has the cutest ballet slippers and tap shoes. They are so little! We got all ready and I asked her where we were going and she replied with "going to dance, Mommy." There are 5 little girls in the class and two teachers. The teachers are very sweet and are actual ballerinas so that makes it extra special. Kailey did fantastic--she did exactly what they asked and smiled the WHOLE TIME! It was such a proud moment, as a parent to see your child doing something so well and listening to directions. I watched everything through the viewing window with the other parents. She especially liked the tap dancing! She wanted to wear her tap shoes home and even showed us her moves when we got home. I thought for sure she would want to sleep in her tap shoes, but she let me take them off but asked for them first thing this morning. She will go to dance once a week and there is even a recital after they have been in class for 6 months.

This may sound silly, but I have dreamed of Kailey's first dance class pretty much since the minute I found out I was having a girl. I remember when I was in dance and I loved it, I knew that I wanted a little girl that liked to do the "girly" things, like dance!! Last night was such a special time. Girls are just so much fun!!

(I wish the pictures would have turned out better, but I was taking them through a double sided mirror.)

Baby Love

Our good friend Crystal came over to introduce us to their new baby, Preston. let me tell you, Kailey was LOVING it! Crystal told Kailey she could hold Preston and Kailey was really excited. Perston is ADORABLE, and so sweet. Crystal is a wonderful Mommy, too!! Kailey held Preston for most of the time and even fed him his bottle. She was a PRO! I think she liked having a real baby to nuture much more than her baby dolls. Even after they left she kept saying "hold baby, mommy" she really loved him being here! She was so sweet, gentle and kind. One day, a long time from now, when she is married, she will be a wonderful Mommy!

Future Miss America???

Last weekend the Miss America pageant was on TV. I thought I would try to watch it as I have always been a fan of pageants. I love to see the beautiful evening gowns and guess on who is going to win! I am convinced that Kailey will be the future Miss America or Miss USA, if you would have been here to see her in action you would think so too!

This year, Kailey was SO INTO IT! It was really cute! During the opening number Kailey danced around the game room, we thought this was cute... Then came the really funny stuff... During the swimsuit competition she saw the girls with their hands on their hips so she walked right up to the TV, put her hands on her hips and began parading around the room. She would even stop to pose. Greg is in trouble!!! Kailey is SOOOOO girly, and I LOVE IT! During the evening gown competition Kailey wanted a "dress" so we put one on and boy did she steal the stage! Those contestants have nothing on her!




She watched the entire pageant and even clapped for the winner. Miss USA is in February so I am sure we will be watching that too!

It was such a fun night! I am SO BLESSED!

More Party Pics

More Birthday Fun!!!

Kailey's Candy Shoppe (2nd Birthday Party)

Kailey's 2nd Birthday party was a HUGE success!!!

On Saturday, January 10th Kailey had 34 families (97 people not counting Mommy and Daddy) over to celebrate her 2nd birthday!!! Yes, i know 97 people was A LOT of people, we just have such amazing friends here!!! Thankfully, people could mingle both inside and outside!! As the guests arrived they were greeted with larger than life lollipops in the front yard, then there was a sign that said "Kailey's Candy Shoppe." Once guests entered the "Candy Shoppe" they were flooded with sweetness! To the left was a "Gun Drop" tree where the kids could take a gum drop filled with crayons to take home. There was also a "Lollipop Tree" where the kids (and adults) could pick lollipops, the two people that got the black sticks won a Candy Land game (Yay for Ethan and Julian)!! We had an M&M guess and the closest guess took home a jar full of M&M's, there were 813 in the jar--yes, I had to count every single one of them!! My mom and I wore aprons that said "Kailey's Candy Shoppe" as a special touch and the house was decorated with LOTS and LOTS of candy, marshmallows, HUGE candies, balloons, lollipops, etc. You really felt like you were entering a candy shop, which was the point! And we had a CD of all "sweet songs" playing in the background.

The kids played both inside and outside while also enjoying little subs, chicken fingers, creme puffs, chips, dips, fruits, veggies, cookies, the oh so popular chocolate fountain and of course CANDY!! Outside we had lots of toys, Kailey's new playground and bounce houses!

About midway through we all headed outside to have a "Lollipop Walk" similar to a cake walk, but instead of walking around in a circle everyone stood in a circle, passed a giant lollipop around and when the music stopped the person holding the lollipop won a giant cupcake! This was really fun and both winners were well deserving!!! After the Lollipop Walk we had a "Candy Race" all the kids lined up on the wall and raced to the giant bag of candy!!! The winner got to take the candy home (Yay for Raymond)!!

We headed inside and got everything ready for cake and ice cream! Everyone sang to precious Kailey and she sang along too! She blew out her candles and then everyone dug in to the super yummy cake!! We opened gifts and the kids continued to play! Kailey received SO MANY gifts, it was kind of humorous, she kind of lost interest after she opened up about 5 presents, so Mommy opened the rest and stored them away for days that we need a little pick-me-up!! Thank You Everyone for such awesome gifts, but more importantly, for sharing your time with our sweet daughter!

As the night wound down and people started to depart they found a HUGE candy bar and take out boxes to pack up their goodies! There was everything from Snickers to Twizzlers, to Pixie Sticks, Skittles, gum, every type of candy bar and just about anything you could think of! It was a HUGE HIT! By the looks of it, the kids and adults had fun packing up their candy!!

Mommy, Daddy, Honey and Kailey were really worn out after the fun party! Holly (babysitter extraordinaire) was able to be at the party to help run things so that was a huge help! I don't know what I would have done with her and Honey's help!!

Now, what to do for Kailey's 3rd Birthday????

Happy Birthday Raine!!!

To my beautiful sister (in-law) HAPPY BIRTHDAY. WE LOVE YOU!

Playgroup Birthday

One of the playgroups I am in does a monthly birthday celebration at a local place called Monkey N' Around. It is an indoor play center with lots of toys, slides, tunnels, etc. Every month the birthday kids have a celebration there and everyone comes to join in the fun. The Moms bring snacks, the kids play and of course the birthday cuties celebrate and everyone sings HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAILEY!

Birthday Cuties!

Kailey's actual birthday...

I am WAY behind on updating this... Kailey's birthday was January 3rd. She turned TWO! Well, we didn't have her birthday party with friends until the 10th, but on her actual birthday we asked her what she wanted to do and she said "CHUCK E CHEESE" over and over until we said we would take her there. CEC is her favorite place to go, she loves the pizza and she is really good at some of the games. Here are some pictures from our time there...

I can't believe my baby is two!

Daniel

This week my Monday night group finished our Beth Moore study. We were studying Daniel. It was EXCELLENT! I had never studied Daniel before so I was especially interested. It was a 12 week study and was broken into two 6 week sessions. The first 6 weeks was mostly about Daniel's life and how he faced similar pressures and temptations as we face in today's world. We learned by Daniel's modeling how to keep integrity in today's crazy world. The second 6 weeks was my favorite as it was about the prophecies from the time of Daniel through the second coming of Christ. It was thrilling and so rewarding. I love to read God's word and I really love when I grasp an understanding of it all.

Below is a brief blurb of the study:

Beth Moore's study, Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy shows how individuals can live with integrity in today's self-absorbed society. Join Beth in a faith-building study of prophecy and learn how to shine for Christ in our modern culture. Just as the prophet Daniel faced unbelievable pressures—to compromise his faith, to live in a hostile culture, and to confront temptations and threats—today's believers face many of the same trials.

Now that we have completed this study we are deciding on which one to do next, I will keep you posted!

Just Hanging Around...

Just hanging around...

Greg and Kailey are quite the silly pair. Kailey knows that when she hears Daddy's truck that the silliness is about to begin. I LOVE it when Greg gets home because Kailey gets SOOOO excited to see him! She starts with the air kisses the second she hears his truck, she runs to the door, screams with excitment and this is all before he even walks in. Once he is inside she grabs his legs and squeals with glee. Greg usually needs a few minutes to decompress after work and then the silly games begin. They start the tickle game, hide and seek, they run races, play with the dogs, and the latest favorite is the upside down hanging game you can see pictured above. KAILEY LOVES IT! She giggles like crazy when she is "hanging" upside down and then wants "more, more, more" when she is right side up. It is really funny, but boy does it make me nervous:)

Happy New Year 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The guys...

The girls...

We spent our New Year's Eve with some wonderful friends. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, desserts and of course games and great conversations. This was a kid-friendly night so Kailey had fun staying up late and partying with her buds. We celebrated at 11 instead of midnight so we could be off the road before the drunks we out:) We are excited to see what 2009 brings. 2008 was a WONDERFUL year for the Blanchard family so we are excited to see what the New Year will bring.

Kailey and her horn!

Kailey and Hayley

Daddy, Kailey and Mommy

Christmas 2008 Recap

Christmas 2008 was really wonderful. This was THE BEST Christmas! All of my family was together and that is what made it so wonderful. The yummy food, fun conversations, games, The Christmas Program, the carriage ride, dinners out and of course Santa coming made this Christmas so memorable and special. Kailey was SOOO in to Christmas this year, she loved tearing the presents open. Santa left some presents unwrapped and the kids really liked that. Both Timmy and Kailey had a wonderful time and had HUGE smiles all morning long. The adults got some great gifts too, but I think our favorite part was watching Kailey and Timmy open all of their presents. Kailey got TONS of awesome gifts, but I think a couple of her favorites were her dollhouse, MORE babies, her shopping cart and the highchair and cradle for her babies. She was really fun to watch this year as she really understood the idea of opening presents. She was so sweet, after she would open a present she would go and tell the person who gave it to her "thank you" and would give them a BIG hug, she is truly a sweet child.

YAY! Daddy's new toy!

stealing Mommy's new purse!