JLM

Okay...I know from personal experience that most young women's worst fear is turning into their mother. I'm not necessarily saying this is a bad thing, but not always wanted. Who wants hear the words "Don't make me pull this car over!" or even worse "Because I said so." come out of their mouths. There are so many fine qualities a mother can pass on to her daughter, if only we could choose the ones we want.
I only say this because it has become a running joke in our family to be caught JLM (Just Like MOM). Like when I wash my hands after putting on my makeup and then pat my face with my slightly damp hands, or when my older sister points at cars while she's driving to make them stay, or when my younger sister sits at night watching TV while she's cross stitching or knitting (okay, I admit I've started knitting too).
At what point did these things start happening? I don't remember when I started evolving into my mother, but I hope I don't make leap to "Oh, you're just like your mother!" I surely don't want to take over her identity. I think there is hope. Although my mom has started wearing mu mu's around the house like her mother, she has drawn the line at letting her hair grow into a white 'BoBo the clown fro' (her words not mine).
As much as I have tried to grow into my own strong woman, I find so many of my mom traits have followed me. I am gradually getting better at cooking and sewing. I've planted a few flowers and even pulled weeds on my own. I hope I do continue to pick up my mom's idiosyncrasies, but not when my sisters can point it out. Of course, this does provide many hours of laughing at Mom and each other.
Please let me know if anyone else has experienced this. I don't want to feel alone in my transformation. It's better to make fun of other people together, not just myself by my self.

Cousins in Texas

While in Texas, Kinley got to play with lots of cousins. Aunt Lolo's girls, Holly, Emma and Leah, Aunt Shanny's son, Ryan, and Tom's cousin Sarah's son, Joe. We had so much fun! Kinley loves babies and with all the kids around, she was in heaven. You can see here she liked to hold Joe the most. Probably because he's the only one smaller than her.



Kinley and Ryan loved to play chase. Ryan would tell her he was going to get her and they would run around and around Grami's house. They just laughed at each other. They were actually really cute.
After a tough day playing outside, swinging, sliding, and making soup in the sandbox, it was time to clean up. After my mom and I put in Kinley in the bath tub, all the others started coming in one by one. I guess it was a little faster, maybe, but it was pretty funny.

Happy Birthday Kinley!

Happy Birthay big girl! Dad and I love you so much and are so proud of the little girl you have become and are becoming.

Today is finally the day. I can't believe its been a whole year since Kinley was born. Let me update you a bit about Kinley before I tell you about our day.
Kinley Elizabeth Pappas was born at 3:52pm by C-Section.
She was 8lbs 6oz and 20.5in
She has loved her binky from the moment she was born
She has the best laugh in the world (especially when she's being chased)
She started crawling at 51/2 months and walking just before 9 months
She has 5 teeth
Loves to blow her nose (on anything)
She has visited 14 states, flew on a plane at 2 months, and owns a passport
Most of all, she loves to go to the track everyday and play, play, play

This morning we got a group call from Grami's house with lots of little voices singing Happy Birthday. We went to the track like any other day, except Kinley wore her new dress Grandma made her for her birthday. She sure looks cute! When we got home we ate lunch and then brought out the cake. I tried to make it look like a baby block, but its a little lopsided. Not bad for my first try.


Kinley needed help blowing out the candles since we didn't want any accidental snot decorations. She would only lick the tiniest bits of frosting, so Tom helped her, but she only took about 2 or 3 bites then handed it back to us and was done.


Enough of the food, on to the presents. She first opened, with help, a new baby doll outfit. Then came the LeapFrog fridge letters, and then...the new baby that goes in the bathtub. She's waterproof and floats, but most importantly to Kinley, she has a bottle.


That's about as much fun as we could pack into the birthday of our big girl. She's down now for a nap, but I'm sure she'll be up and around soon and we'll have to try out the baby in the bath. Hope y'all enjoyed sharing the day with us. See ya soon!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KINLEY!

Last Baby Picture

Well, here it is. The last official BABY pictures of Kinley. Tomorrow she becomes a TODDLER.
We went out last night to celebrate an early birthday with Karol. Kinley had a good time opening presents. She kept the bow on here head until we were home and playing. She loves the new sandals. She brought them to me this morning, looked at her feet, then handed me the shoes. I let is slide that its only 45 outside today and she has on jeans, a sweatshirt, socks, and of course, the new pink Nike sandals.

Home Away From Home

Its official...We are now proud renters of a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. We have a nice balcony on the third floor, a great laundry room attached to the kitchen, and four huge windows in the living room. I'll take pictures soon. The apartment is about half a mile or so from the outdoor track, and a mile, give or take, from the indoor track. We are pretty excited to have our own place again. We love living with Cliff and Karol, but its nice to have your own area. Our new bed gets delivered on Monday and cable installed on Thursday, so we'll probably move early next week. Of course our couches don't arrive until late March and we don't have a TV yet, but we'll make it. Even though its small, it serves our purpose, and anyone is welcome to visit. We do have a pool and workout room and most importantly, continental breakfast during school.

Our new address is:

1401 College Avenue Apt. E308
Manhattan, Kansas 66502