Our Christmas pic

Santa!

fa la la la la. Right?

So, as you can tell, Marissa wasn't crazy about Santa.... Luke looks a bit dazed, but actually, he's just excited about the candy cane in his hand.

We really planned this trip out.... wait to go on one of Scott's days off so I didn't have to go by myself.... pick a weekday afternoon before school kids are on break so that maybe we can just walk in and go right to Santa without having to wait in line.... our plan worked perfectly! And still these little stinkers didn't want anything to do with Santa! Oh well!

I do have to say that this Santa is (a) the best looking Santa I've ever seen, and (b) so sweet and patient. He even *sounds* like what I think Santa should sound like.

Quote of the day as we left from Luke: "Mommy, Santa just told me he'd be at my house in a few days. I think that's weird."

Another cute outfit

One of the girls I work with sent this outfit for Marissa.... so sweet.

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!!!

Our beautiful little girl is ONE! She is a FAST crawler and is interested in everything Luke is doing. She began crawling up the stairs.... I didn't know she knew how until I happened to see her halfway up the stairs one day! You can kind of see it in her birthday picture (below), but she fell off the 3rd stair just a couple hours after her professional birthday pictures were taken - instand black eye and huge bump on her forehead! She has taken steps between people, as long as someone is standing waiting to catch her. She says Mama and Dada.... but "Dada" is also the word for several other things, including doggie, baby, and Luke. Each one of those "dada"s has a different sound to it - she definitely thinks she's saying different words. She is cracking everyone up with her personality and she's even starting to show a little temper when things don't go quite her way. In fact, two days before her 1st birthday, she threw her first major tantrum while I was *trying* to visit some friends.... she SCREAMED (no, really, I mean SCREAMED) for well over an hour. In that time, I loaded the kids up, drove back to our house, called my doctor because I thought something was wrong..... and after an hour and 15 minutes or so, she just decided she was done. I couldn't believe it. Oh, sweet Marissa.

Here's Marissa in her birthday shirt:



We made cupcakes for the actual birthday


She wasn't too shy about getting into it.


This is another of Marissa's quirks: she likes to rub whatever she might be eating into her hair.... so, clearly the icing made an interesting look.

Other things I keep forgetting....

And before I forget YET AGAIN.... I have to jot down a few of the funny things these kids do....

• Marissa loves to "sing" while she eats. It all started when I fed her for the very first time in the hospital and the lady who came to help me start nursing said "oh, she's going to sing for her supper". Marissa has always made some kind of noise while eating, but now that she sits in her high chair and eats table food, she constantly makes some kind of noise while eating. I can be in another room and I know if someone has given her something to eat because of all the noise.

• I asked Luke if he would please let Ashley (our dog) inside..... he said "Well, I most certainly can, Mommy". How very helpful.

• Luke also likes to add "actually" to just about every sentence these days. I asked him if he wanted cereal and toast for breakfast and he said "Actually, Mommy, I'd just like Apple Jacks actually." All in a very matter-of-fact tone. Crack me up - how old is he anyway?

• Marissa has been giving guppy kisses for awhile, but now she's picking up on what we do when we try to get kisses..... you know how you make the "mmmmm" noise while you lean in for a kiss? Well, Marissa has started pursing her lips together tightly and making that "mmmmm" noise while she leans toward you and pushes her nose on your cheek. Once is just not enough, either..... which is fine by us!

• Luke calls Scott's whiskers "crumbs", as in "Daddy has crumbs on his face" or "Daddy is washing his crumbs". The last time Luke got his haircut, he announced that he had crumbs on the back of his head (where the hair was the shortest). This is especially funny when he tells OTHER people about the crumbs. For instance, his Sunday School teacher has a mustache - he told Mr. Doug that his daddy didn't have one of those yet, he only had crumbs. Funny, funny stuff.

• And just in case I haven't posted this somewhere else (because this is my favorite Luke-ism) - when eating something particularly tasty, Luke makes either Scott or me say "This is delicious" so that he can say "You can say that again". I love it.

• Marissa likes to twirl MY hair as she winds down.... I think simply because she doesn't have enough hair of her OWN to twirl. haha. It's pretty sweet though.....
  

True Confessions....

For any of you who check the blog regularly, you know that it's been a LONG time since I posted anything! Work was CRAZY busy.... I can't even find a word to describe how terrible it was. My family didn't see much of me - especially in the last few weeks leading up to 9/15. However, it is OVER and as my wise friend says, it "came to pass.... it didn't come to stay, it came to pass."

So, I'm now catching up on posting pictures and stories from the past month and a half! There have been lots of exciting developments in the Kenworthy house.... Scott started a new job on 8/3 and is enjoying it. The kids are growing and changing right before our eyes!

The "true confessions" part is that you'll see posts with August dates and you'll wonder why you hadn't seen them before. I back date my posts because I use the blog as a kind of "baby book". Back dating helps me remember the exact dates things happened. So, no, you're not on a one-month delay, I'm just cheating!

Enjoy catching up with us!

Toothy grin!!

Another season of Colts football!

Here we are on our way to the Colts Season Opener!


Here's Luke sending us off...

Our big boy

Again, you'll have to ignore the Purdue shirt. It was a gift, okay? :)

11 month pics - Luke & Marissa

(L) Marissa - 11 months - August 30, 2009
(R) Luke - 11 months - September 9, 2007

(Please ignore the Purdue shirt.... haha)

Marissa - 11 months old!

My last post of this kind for Marissa..... and I'm REALLY sad! Marissa got her first tooth on August 13th!! We have been waiting and waiting for this and without any warning, there it was! Her picture shows that new tooth pretty well!



Marissa also started CRAWLING! She's mobile! She had been pulling up on the furniture and had been pushing up on her arms, but up until the day she started crawling, she really wouldn't even roll over! She just didn't see the need! But, on August 13th (Yep!! Same day as the tooth popped through), she just started zooming around! (the video is pretty dark, but I had my camera near me and so I just grabbed it to catch the moment!)



Marissa says "Mama" all the time, and I couldn't be happier! Luke was all about Dada and the dog, so I guess it's my turn! She has taken an interest in her blanket, but only at naptime or bedtime. She is very social! If someone is in the same aisle as we are at the grocery store, she will wave and say "Haaaaaaa" until someone acknowledges her. Same deal at restaurants - she has to wave at everyone that walks by. People seem to enjoy it and her toothy grin is quite contagious.

We cannot believe how fast the year has gone. We talk about it all the time. What great memories we're making!

Brother & Sister

Sunday Outfit

More of my Milligan cutie pie

GO BUFFS!

Milligan College Class of 2030!!







This little onesie was a gift from my fellow Milligan alum, Amy, when Marissa was born. She's just now big enough to wear it!! I was excited to dress her in it for the Milligan Alumni function at Connor Prairie! It was a huge hit!

(p.s. - this is the last time my daughter gets to wear anything with words on her rear-end.... I am NOT a fan.... but on a baby tush, it's pretty darn cute!)

Gone fishin'

There is a great pond behind our house and Scott takes Luke out from time to time to see what's out there. I've seen some pictures of nice-sized fish (they always throw them back) and I've heard some pretty spectacular fish stories from Luke.



(I just love this picture....)

Grandpa, Luke & Great Grandpa

Hey - that girl looks just like me!

10 month pics - Luke & Marissa

Marissa - 10 months old!

WOW! 10 months!! Marissa had her well baby checkup yesterday and was 19 lbs 8 ozs and 29 inches long! She is still holding out on the crawling and the teeth. She says "DA!" loudly when she sees our dog, Ashley. We figure her first word will be dog-related, just as Luke's was. She continues to be such a happy little girl. It's easy to make her laugh, and Luke enjoys doing that. I've also overheard Luke saying "I'm so proud of you" and "You're a sweet baby". It's cute to hear those praises coming from his mouth!

Summertime!!

Watch out Roger Federer....

Nine Month Pics - Luke & Marissa

(L) Marissa - 9 months (6/30/09)
(R) Luke - 9 months (7/9/07)

Marissa - 9 months old!

Sweet Marissa is 9 months old! She has started saying "da da" and has even said "ma ma" a couple of times.... probably by accident, but I'll take it even so! She enjoys cheerios with a passion and has tried some table food. She STILL doesn't have any teeth, so I'm too chicken to let her try too much! I've found that she can roll over EASILY if she really wants something that is just out of her reach. This proves my "she could do it, but doesn't have to" theory.

Luke continues to be an awesome big brother. They play a screaming game where he makes a high pitched squeal, and Marissa imitates. It's one of those "cute for 10 seconds" things.... then it gives you a headache! He loves to tell her "It's ok" when she cries, and sometimes it helps. He also loves to be in her face, and I think that Marissa is one who enjoys her personal space because it never lasts long.

These are great kids, let me tell you! They are easy going and are easy to take places.... and we do go places! They spent a couple of days with Grandma and Papa Ellis in June while Daddy was Best Man in a wedding.... they've been to Aunt Jackie & Uncle Bill's for a day of swimming.... they've had a good summer so far!


I love this face!!

Fun in Columbus

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Luke & Marissa (and Daddy) spent the day with Uncle Bill, Aunt Jackie, Nicole, Zane & Connor. They had a fun trip to the park, spent some time around the pool, and watched movies with a wisdom-toothless Zane.

The Lius come for a visit

Our good friend from high school, Amber, and her husband George came for a visit. It's a couple of weeks later, and Luke still asks if George & Amber are coming over. They must've made quite an impression!

Jon's Wedding

This is Scott's best friend from high school - Jon. He married a great girl, my new friend Paige, and Scott was the Best Man.

I didn't get many pictures of the big day, and most of the ones I got were dark or blurry. I'm not the best photographer in the world... But here's one just minutes before the ceremony.... They clean up nice, don't they?

Luke & Aslan

Luke's best friend these days is Aslan. Aslan's mom watches Luke & Marissa every day, so they get to spend alot of time together. This is from last night in the back yard - I thought it was such a cute shot!

Hoodlum Baby