Kayla - 18 months old

Kayla is the one who has changed sooo much over the summer! She went from being a baby to being a little girl...or well maybe more like a boy, but whatever...she grew up!:-) She is talking a mile a minute now...most of which we still can't decipher but they are definitely words! She is a little parrot and will repeat and copy anything that is said or done, especially if its done by Mattea. And of course like all good younger siblings, she always has to take it one step further. Mattea jumps off 1 stair, Kayla jumps off 3...Mattea hangs upside down off the bed...Kayla falls upside down off the bed... Lol...you get the picture!

 She is asking for us to wash her hands...telling us its a mess...she clearly has no idea what her face looks like! and so for the record, her table etiquette as far as neatness goes...has not improved!

She loves these Playmobil 123 flowers and will dig through the toy basket to find them. She takes them apart and puts them back together, proudly saying "I did it!" each time. 

Praying for her food...

Kayla is totally into books right now! She doesn't really sit still long enough for you to read them to her, but she will look at them for forever by herself and babble nonstop. Occasionally I will catch a word or two and realize that she really IS talking about the stuff she sees in the book:-)

Kayla loves to take her bath, get dressed, wash her hands and brush her teeth. If you ever even mention any one of these things, she will take off running as fast as she can to the bathroom (or bedroom, if its getting dressed).

Remember in Mattea post, I said she is obsessed with Doctors...well what's a good Dr's kit without a pair of these specs! Apparently you can't do a checkup without them! I was tempted to do a post like Darla did once about "who wears them better..." but I realized I don't have a pic of Mattea with them on. They are too funny though!

Some random sibling shots...

Mattea insisted that I take picture of her with Canaan in the swing. Crazy to think that there is only 3 years difference between them eh?!

This was their first day with the new playhouse "cottage"...I love their expressions in these two pics!

Playing pirates and cars...just like two little girls should:-P lol...They will definitely get along well with their brother once he is big enough to play. He will have a tough time though reclaiming his own toys!

Kayla loves baby "MeeMahs" to death. Dont' ask me why she calls him MeeMahs...we try over and over to get her to say Canaan and it still comes out as MeeMahs (but gets progressively louder the more we ask her) Lol...but she is super gentle and always asks to "howd" him and constantly comes up to give him kisses.

Dare to Compare...

I remember a post a long time ago on Darla's blog that was asking "Guess Who", comparing pics of her 3 kids. Well here are pics of mine, but I don't think we have to do too much guessing to know who's who!

I do see alot of resemblance between Mattea and Canaan though, but still...they each have their unique face..

Mattea August/September pics

Here are some new pics of Mattea taken over the last month. She is 3 years and 2 months old. She still loves to do "JK work" as she calls it and can't seem to get enough of it, requiring Mommy to print out more and more worksheets for her! She wants to learn to read so we are slowly getting started. 

Over the summer she also developed a fascination with doctors, which is probably the result of being dragged to a million of my appointments and also thanks to a TV show called Doc McStuffins.

 Nice teeth....

I believe this is her pirate face...

Enjoying "Canaan's" new cottage - purchased using gift cards that we got from Mark's coworkers! The girls are loving it!

Ready for her summer Sunday School performance!

She ended up singing about 1.5 songs (of about 6...lol) and then proceeded to create a lovely video of her making random bored faces, concluding in her repeatedly lifting up her dress on stage and then doing exaggerated fake smiles whenever she caught Daddy's eye. Great blackmail material for later in life;-)

Going to see her very first Blue Jays game with Daddy. Since she loves trains, Mark decided to take the GO train downtown and it was definitely a highlight for her. They went two weeks ago and she is still thanking God in her prayers for the Blue Jay game and her train ride.

Playing with another one of Canaan's gifts - a Little People's pirate ship. She absolutely loves it and carts it around the house every day!

Canaan - 1 month old!

Here are some pics of Canaan taken over the last few weeks. He will turn 5 weeks old tomorrow and I will have to post an update with his height/weight stats next week when we go to the doctor. So far though he looks like he is definitely growing as I'm already finding clothes that he's outgrown! It will be interesting to see what his measurements are because he definitely seems on the tall side! He.loves being held and cuddled (especially by Mommy:-)). He does have fussy times in the early evenings but I can't complain too much because he sleeps almost 6 hrs at night. I'm definitely not complaining! He does though seem to have a similar "car seat aversion", much like Kayla...where he screams from the moment his butt hits the car seat until he is "released" from the torture. Thus making our outings somewhat less than pleasurable! I'm hoping he outgrows it soon, but with Kayla it took about 3 months:-/ All in all though he is a really good baby...very inquisitive looking and also moves around like crazy, constantly flailing his arms around - which is pretty much the same as what he was doing for the 9 months of pregnancy! To sum up...we love him:-D 

2 weeks old...

3 weeks old...

 4 weeks old...

Here's our feeble attempt at a siblings shot.

 Well we got one smiling anyway!

VIENNA IS TWO

I realized I haven't posted in a while (but then again you all saw her this summer!)  She is now two!  We still think she is super cute and sweet!

The Balance is Broken!

Yes, the delicate balance between the Kennedy grandchildren is finally tipping to one side.  With the impending arrival of baby Jess Cooper Kennedy (Brent and Chantelle) in January of next year, the boys will out-number the girls 6-4.  We are thrilled to be looking forward to another little boy to add to the mayhem around here... whats one more right?

Being over half way through the pregnancy, it seems as though time is flying (ask me again in a few weeks and that might change ;).  Marshall is doing very well with his "schooling".  He recognizes and counts objects up to 10, he counts further when not having to keep track of objects.  He is also starting slowly into the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann.  At the moment, I have made flash cards to get to know the 'sounds' confidently before we start the actual lessons.  When he knows those, we will be moving into the actual lessons aspect of reading and writing. Marshall is definitely a learner and is always asking to learn "just one more", even if it means he won't remember it next time I ask!  His creativity and conversational skills are rapidly improving over the last few months.  The boy has definitely learned how to sufficiently let you know how he feels on any given subject.  His time seems to be consumed with reading books and building different patterns of train tracks to play on.  We love having a hands on little guy around here!

Keaton is quickly becoming a very independent individual.  Being one that does not take flack from anyone, he is quick to voice his disapproval (especially to Marshall).  I have a feeling that his temper is going to be one of my biggest issues with this boy.  However, when an issue is dealt with he does not hold a grudge and will move on with the next thing.  Temper aside, he is quite a sweet little tot.  Keaton is my cuddler and even if it is just for a moment, always looks for a quick hug and kiss.  He is truly a Daddy's boy and is constantly at the window waiting for him to get home.  When Dad makes his arrival, Keaton is quick to be at the door and squealing with joy.  He loves to mimic his brother, when we are learning sounds he repeats what Marshall says and even likes to sit on the "paw-y" every time he sees his brother on there.  His interests are generally whatever Marshall is interested in at the moment but has his moments of individuality when there is a Pooh bear toy or car around.  Above all, Keaton is an avid wrestler and fighter.  You dare not lay on the floor or fall asleep without expecting to be flopped on and squealed at. 

The boys are each others biggest fans and can't stay away from each other for too long without asking for their brother.  It will be interesting to see how little Jess fits into the mix!  If ultrasounds and monitoring prove to be an indication of his personality, the little guy will be an evasive boy.  We had quite the time trying to get him to stop rolling around enough for the sonographer to be able to get proper anatomy pictures.  At the moment, he is a very rambunctious little guy who is not afraid to flip around and give you a boot if you choose to poke and prod him. 

All in all, things around the (Brent) Kennedy household are quite busy and full of noise.  With hunting season approaching and looking forward to another little body in the home, we are in the thick of many preparations and pre-planning.  At the moment, Brent is out hanging a tree stand and going on his first hunting evening with his bow.  I have felt the anticipation and excitement building in the house since 7:00 this morning when preparations for this evening began :). 

P.S. at the moment my interent is being slightly finicky and won't let me load pictures so this will have to do for now... stay tuned ;)