Kaitlyn's First Day of Pre-K

Today was the day that Kaitlyn has been anxiously waiting for.  She has watched all of her friends head off to kindergarten and has been so disappointed that she is not five yet.  Today was the day that she went back to Creative World and joined the Panther class for pre-k.  She has been excited all week and was even more excited this morning to (hopefully) see all of her friends form the Lions class.  She was still excited when she came home and can't wait to head back Friday. 

Age: 4
School: Creative World
Teachers name: Ms. Jo
What is your favorite color: blue
What is your favorite food: grilled cheese
What is your favorite thing to do: paint
Who is your best friend: Dylan
What do you want to be when your grow up: an artist, a singer, and a mommy
What are you excited for:  school field trips and riding the bus

Some of her answers totally surprised me.  Purple has always been her favorite color and I expected her to say mac and cheese or hot dogs for her favorite foods.

Just for fun I asked Madi same question.  She wants to go to school so bad.
Age: 3
What is your favorite color: purple
What is your favorite food: noodles and 'matoes and shrimp AND noodles with 'matoes and sauce
What is your favorite thing to do: color with markers
Who is your best friend(s): Kaitlyn, Dylan, and Caleb
What do you want to be when your grow up: a mommy and cook dinner.  I'll be careful and put on my apron.

Still happy at the end of the day.

Kansas Sunflowers

There's a not so secret place (Grinter Farms) about 11 miles northeast of Lawrence, KS (or 50 miles from our house) that is full of sunflowers.  I first heard of Grinter Farms last year when sunflowers blew up my Facebook news feed.  I remember looking at all of the pictures and wishing that I could take the girls to see it.  The sunflowers made the perfect backdrop and I wanted to get some pictures of the girls surrounded by them.  It never worked out for us last year, so I made it a priority this year.

On Sunday, we decided to go to Nebraska Furniture Mart to look at new light fixtures for the kitchen.  (More about our kitchen remodel in a later post.)  I thought this would be the perfect time to go see the sunflowers since we would be almost halfway there.  Apparently, everyone else between Kansas City and Lawrence had the same idea.  It was packed!  Traffic was backed up for miles and there were a couple times that I thought that we would have to miss seeing it this year too.  It was definitely worth the wait.  Well, it was for me and the girls.  David, not so much.  Once we got close, all we could see was a sea of yellow with mixes of green.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen.  However, I do not feel the need to visit it every year.
Like many, I had high hopes of capturing the perfect picture of our little family.  There were even a couple ladies out there offering to take you picture.  I did manage to get a couple good pictures of the girls and the fields, despite the fact Madi refused to look at the camera.  However, the pictures of the four of us were not good.
If you have the chance, you really should check it out.  Just go early, like 8am, or be prepared to be stuck in traffic.

Madi's Ariel Birthday

For Madi's first two birthday parties, I chose the theme.  I tried to pick something that I thought would be cute (1st birthday -Minnie Mouse) or something she was into (2nd birthday - Sofia the First).  This year was the first year that she told me what she wanted.  She chose Ariel, just like Kaitlyn did when she turned three.  We also let her decide where she wanted to have her party.  Surprisingly, she chose to have it at home.  All she asked for was a pinata, to play on her waterslide, and an Ariel cake.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us and we were only able to fulfill two of her three requests.  Despite the rain, I think it's safe to say the she thoroughly enjoyed her party.

When Kaitlyn had her Ariel birthday party, I made her a mermaid cake that had Ariel sticking out of the top.  Even though it was a cute and fairly simple cake, I did not want to make the same one for Madi.  

I searched pinterest and obsessed over finding the perfect cake.  I found several that I really liked, but most of them seemed to be above my ability.  I finally picked one, but when I went to make it something went wrong.  I bought a tip that I thought would create a ribbon effect, but it didn't.  What it did make was a horrible looking cake.  I've made a lot of cakes and this was by far the ugliest cake I had ever made.  I did so fast thinking (the party was in two hours) and came up with solution. I think the finished product turned out pretty.  Most importantly, Madi loved it!

Madi's 3rd birthday cake.  Quite possibly the best tasting cake I've ever made.

Chocolate cupcakes for our chocolate lovers.

Octopus French onion dip

Madi couldn't wait to open presents.  She asked to open them every time some new arrived.  When it was finally time to open them, I think she was more excited about the actual opening of the presents than she was with what was inside.  I did however manage to get some good smiles out of her with most of her presents.  After the party was over she couldn't wait to take everything out of the package.

She is so excited to start ballet and tap this week with Kaitlyn.

After gifts, it was time for the pinata.  It started to rain the moment that we decided to bust open the pinata so we improvised and did it in the house.  Instead opening it the traditional way, we used the pull strings at the bottom.  It wasn't quite as exciting to watch this way, but it was definitely safer and the kids still had fun.

She made sure that every piece of candy was picked up.

And finally, it was cake and ice cream time.  She was ready to blow out her candle, but bless her heart she just couldn't do it.  She eventually had to have help from Daddy. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Madelyn Rose!  I hope you had a great birthday.  We love you.

Madi is 3!!

Three years ago today I became a mama for the second time.  We weren't planning on having another baby  yet, but God knew we needed you.  I am so grateful that He chose me to be your mama.  You were (and are) the best surprise ever.

You have changed so much this year.  You are no longer a toddler who needs my help with everything.  You have become very independent when you want to be, but let us know that you still need your mama and daddy.  You have the biggest imagination and can almost always find a way to have fun.  You can be so sweet, but also have a bit of a temper.  Kaitlyn is your best friend and I love how close you are with her.  You two have so much fun playing together and have had some pretty amazing fights.  I hope that you two remain this close forever.     

I have enjoyed watching you become the smart, silly, lovable, inquisitive, imaginative, and independent little big girl you are and can't wait to see what the next year will bring.

This year we celebrated your birthday with pink donuts from Lamars for breakfast, which of course was your choice. You were very excited to have candles and fire.

We ended our day with one of your favorite meals, shrimp with noodles and tomatoes, a homemade chocolate chip cookie cake, and  presents.

Kaitlyn was mad that she didn't get to open any.

You were so excited to have your own kite.

Next weekend, we will celebrate again with a low key party at our house with family and friends.  You have requested an Ariel cake, a pinata, and your waterslide.

First Year

Second Year

Third Year

Happy 3rd Birthday, Madelyn Rose!!  I love you!
Mama

Summer Recp

How can summer be over already?  Wasn't it just last week that school let out?  Like every year, summer has come and gone much too fast.  Even though we weren't able to check everything off of our summer bucket list, like going to the beach or back to Silver Dollar City or just getting out of town for a week, we still managed to pack a lot fun into those few precious weeks of summer.  This was the best summer since becoming a parent.  This was the first summer where both girls were old enough to enjoy everything.  I loved every almost every minute of this summer and am sad to see it end.  It was awesome to see how excited they got over everything we did.  It just proves that we don't have to go on expensive trips (even though we'd like to) to have a great summer.  I hope the summer of 2017 is just as amazing as this one.  Here is a recap of all of the fun (and memories) we had.

- Backyard firepits                                         
-  Playing on our waterslide
-Kaitlyn first dance recital                                
- 2 birthday parties
- Nana and Papa Ted's visit                            
- Watched 2 movies in 3D  (Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets)
- Playing with cousins and meeting Gracie and Ava  
- Trips to Frtiz's and Sheridans                       
-  KC Zoo
- Italian Festival 
- Worlds of Fun (twice)
- Trip to Great Grandma Bogle's                     
- The Springs Aquatic Park
- Deanna Rose Farmstead                               
- Legoland
- Lots of trips to different parks                      
- 4th of July celebrations
- Swimming
- Eating out
- Family walks

We've Got Crabs

About two or three weeks ago, David took the girls for the day so that I could get some things done.  While they were gone, they visited Grandma Kathy at the mall.  The next thing I knew we had a purple and pink hermit crab named Sofia (after Sofia the First). Sofia had a nice little set up with a pink coconut hut, palm tree, shell food dish and a water bowl.  After reading the flyer that was sent home with her, we realized that hermit crabs are not solitary creatures. In the wild, they are usually found in groups of a hundred.  So back to the mall they went to buy a playmate for Sofia.  Our second crab, named Prince Sponge Bob, has a shell painted like Sponge Bob.

Once we got the crabs home, David and I began researching how to care for them.  We were surprised to learn that their current living conditions were less than ideal and would shorten their lifespans significantly.  (As pets hermit crabs can live 5-30 years and even longer in the wild.)  Apparently, crabs require a lot of space to roam and things to climb on or hide in.  They also have specific temperature and humidity requirements and need daily misting.

So off to the pet store we went.  About $160 later we came home with a very nice "crabitat" complete with a castle, clam shell with pearls, another coconut hut, logs, and trees.  I think it's safe to say that they are two very spoiled crabs.   Now lets just hope that the girls aren't too rough on them and we can keep them alive.

Sofia is a more active than Sponge Bog which makes it impossible for them to hold her.  When held, she will crawl all over you.

 

Backyard Project

When we bought our house five years, we knew that our backyard would need some work. Despite our efforts (and those of previous owners), it has been impossible to get grass to grow.  And with Molly (our dog), the girls, and all of the daycare kids, we have even less grass.  To make matters worse, every time it rains our backyard turns into a swamp and we can't use it for days.  Our solution to the muddy mess was to mulch the majority of the yard.

We started by adding a couple play areas for the kids last summer.

Then my mom gave us about 30 rectangle paving stones that were no longer working with her landscaping.  We used them the to cover up Molly's running path make a path from gate the deck stairs.  With the addition of a few clearance plants it and more mulch, it turned out really well.

In May of this year it rained almost every day or at least it seemed that way.  Twice we ended up with standing water when it rained over 4 inches in two hours.

We considered adding a patio or a stone fire pit to take care of the mud pit, but ended up just buying a firepit and mulching most of the remaining yard the area around it.  Our backyard was almost complete.  The final touch was to replace our rotten and partially destroyed fence.  We decided on a 6 foot pressure treated pine privacy fence.  We are so happy with our decision.  It is like our own little oasis back there, where everyone can enjoy themselves.  Molly might be the only one unhappy with the new fence since she can no longer see out, but we are loving it!

 Kaitlyn said she was eating her marshmallow like (Curious) George.

Our first fire

Welcome

Welcome to the Klinginsmith Family Blog.  I have been thinking about starting a blog for several years.  I have always liked documenting the events of my life and reading about the lives of others.  When I was little, I loved looking through my baby book.  My mom did an amazing job recording even the smallest events.  As I've gotten older, I have tried to continue what she started.  When scrapebooking was the rage, I was right in the middle of it.  I took certain pictures just so I could make the perfect page in my book.  I had tons of supplies from scissors to stickers to pens.  You name it and I had it.  Then life got busy and I no longer had time for scrapbooking.  

When I was planning our wedding I (tired) kept track of everything.  Catering, flowers, where I bought my dress, decorations, etc.   I have a box full of things.  I knew that one day I would want to know all the details, including how much I spent.  I also made a fairly detailed wedding album.  

When I got pregnant with Kaitlyn, I kept a weekly/biweekly journal.  I wanted to remember everything; all of the feelings and emotions and plans.  When I was pregnant with Madi, I enjoyed comparing my pregnancies.  Just like me, both of my girls have very detailed baby books.  

My intent with this blog is the keep an online journal of our lives.  I want to remember all the little details that are often forgotten.  I realize that I might be the only one to ever read this, but I don't care.  My hope is that my girls will be like me and enjoy reading about the details of their lives.     

  

 - Hannah