Thursday, February 16, 2012

Fun in the driveway!

One of the MANY things we love about our new house is that our driveway is on the front/side of our house. It is so neat, because we get to see our neighbors on a regular basis. It is also very long, so there is plenty of room for the girls to play!

When the weather is nice, everyone sits out in lawn chairs and watches the kids play. Kiley and Presley thought they were so big in their chairs. They even put their drinks in the drink holder. So cute!

One day it was so nice that we decided to have a picnic!

We are really looking forward to the weather getting nicer so that we can spend more time outside!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Kiley's 1st Day of School!

So most of you know, that the reason we recently moved was to get Kiley enrolled in school. I did a lot of research to find one of the best special education programs in the state. The enrollment process took a couple of months. Luckily we were able to start as soon as we had a contract on our new house. The first meeting was an intake meeting where they gathered information and met Kiley for the first time. Then, we had two evaluations, where therapists and specialists worked with Kiley to gather as much information as they could to be able to assess her to determine her needs in a school environment. Our final meeting was an ARD meeting where Mikey and I met with the principal, a speech pathologist, a diagnostician, her teacher and her occupational therapist to review and 18 page document and assess her goals and all come to agreement on them.

I cannot put into words how pleased we were with this process. By the time the ARD meeting came around, they knew Kiley so well and had already fallen in love with her. They are all so caring and want what is best for her. Now I know what they mean by "special" education.

So, after all of that, Kiley finally started school last month! She is now in her 4th week! Auntie K came to stay with Presley so that Mikey and I could both take her. Kiley is waiting for breakfast. I let her bring her lovey down with her. She was a little unsure of what was going on.

The first day of school is such a big milestone. We were trying to figure out where the official first day of school picture will be each year. We tried the staircase.

And the front door. Her backpack is as big as her!

Pulling up to the school! What is great about our school district is that there is a separate school for 3 and 4 year olds, so Kiley isn't going to school with K thru 5th graders.
Kiley in her classroom with Ms. Connie (the teacher's aide). There are 6 kids in her class. 3 girls and 3 boys!

Kiley sitting in the circle like a big girl. Mommy and Daddie are so proud! She did such a great job and was so brave.

She has been doing so well these last few weeks. She loves going to school and is understanding more and more every day! We are so blessed to have this opportunity for Kiley. We would especially like to thank Daddie for making the big sacrifice of extending his commute to and from work. We love you Daddie and more to come on Kiley's progress!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Girls Weekend!

In January, we had a fun girls weekend! My Aunt Lisa, cousin Molly, my cousin in-law Alanna, her two girls, Macy and Ava, Mom and Mycah all came to stay the weekend. We had so much fun!

Molly was on break from UT, so she came a few days early and stayed a few days later. She and Mikey took the girls to the park to swing.

Kiley loves to swing!

The girls waiting for their cousins to arrive. Presley is obsessed with these headphones!

They arrived just in time for lunch!

Presley was so into Baby Ava! Alanna is already a pro at holding two kids at once!

I found some fun craft ideas on Pinterest, so I put everyone to work!

Aunt Lisa reading Kiley and Macy a bedtime story.

We are losing Macy....

And she is out.

We all had so much fun playing together and need to get together more often! Poor Mikey was in a house full of girls all weekend, but he was a trooper!

New Year's Eve!

On New Year's Eve, we had Marmee, Guy, Grammy, Grampy, Mycah, Josh, Katie and Trey over for dinner! This was the first time to host at our new house and it was so much fun!

We had steak, chicken, crab and lobster!

We also had twice baked potatoes and 7 layer salad!

The champagne is poured!

Ready for the countdown!

We wish everyone a very happy and healthing 2012!!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Christmas Weekend

We got down to Marmee and Guys just in time for brunch! The girls got to sit on the bench and eat like big girls!

With Marmee's help of course!

We must have been so wrapped up opening presents(no pun intended), that we did not take any pictures! Once again, the girls made out big time! They got another table and chairs from Marmee and guy and some adorable outfits! Presley relaxed with guy after all the chaos was over.

And then she helped Marmee cook Christmas Dinner.

It is never too cold to go outside and swing.

Marmee being silly with Kiley.

Marmee cooked a delicious prime rib Christmas dinner. I consider myself very lucky to have my favorite meal 2 nights in a row! Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying dinner!





Daddie and Guy had a bonfire in the backyard!

We had such a great Christmas this year. Thanks to Marmee and Guy for all of the great gifts and their hospitality. We had a great Christmas weekend! We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning

It look's like Santa came!

Kiley's stocking!

Presley's stocking!

Mommy's stocking!

Daddie's stocking!

The girls were off with the strollers!

They finally took a rest to see what was in their stockings.

Back to the strollers, except with their stocking stuffers in tow.

Grammy, Grampy and Auntie K came by to see what Santa brought and then we loaded up the car and headed down to Marmee and Guys for the weekend.

Christmas Eve!

On Christmas Eve, we met Grammy, Grampy and Auntie K at church and then we went back to Grammy and Grampy's house for presents and dinner. The girls started opening presents as soon as we got there. They got a new shopping cart, so now they have two and hopefully they won't fight over them as much.

Next they opened a magnidoodle.

Kiley loved it!

Presley wanted to see what it was all about.

They also got a fun table and chairs.

Yay, something else for Presley to climb on.

The girls made out big time at Grammy and Grampy's house!

Grammy made a delicious prime rib dinner. After dinner, we loaded up to go home to get the girls in bed so that Santa could come!