I'M GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!

We told Kendra this past weekend she was going to get to be a BIG sister! At first she was very curious about this whole process....

"Where is the baby?" .... "In mommy's tummy" .... Kendra comes and taps on my tummy and says "Hi!" then after thinking intensly for a few minutes says, "mommy open your mouth I think the baby can hear me better that way!" =)

"Mommy- did the baby get in there today? How did the baby get in your belly?"

"Mommy will the baby fall out when you go to the bathroom?"

"How long does it take for the baby to get out?"

"Can you still rock out with a baby in your belly Mama?"

"My friends at school aren't as excited about me being a BIG sister like I am.... but Mrs. Huntzinger is!"

"I am going to read books with the baby and teach it how to dance and wrestle. But I am not doing any diapers!"

Red Shirt Year

So we decided to keep munchkin in Kindergarten for an additional year, so she could be on the old side of her grade. I was nervous at first, but Kendra is more adaptable then the rest of us. When we went to meet her teacher she was very nervous. By the first day of school she was over that and strolled in like she owned the place. Isaiah was in charge of drop off this year and took many pictures for me. As Kendra like to share, "Mama still cried, but I didn't". Kendra spent some of the first day comforting kids that missed their moms and called herself the Kindergarten hostess. =)

Kendra is playing fall soccer this year and is on her first all-star cheer team. She loves soccer, but her team has 5 of 8 kids that are new this year. Kendra has learned to be more aggressive and not to share the ball with the other team. With cheer she is a "foot holder" aka base. She is constantly practicing her tumbling and loves cheer also. She got to serve drinks as a fundraiser at Outback and performed at halftime with the Grandview cheer and poms!

Swim lessons

We are getting ready to leave and Kendra says to me, "now Mama, you didn't forget to take off your underpants right?"

LOL- I guess she's over me reminding her!

And SHE SCORES!!!

Kendra had soccer camp this week and learned a lot. Today during the scrimmages she scored not 1 BUT 2 goals!!!!!

Yeah Kendra! Here's what the world's best 6 year old soccer player looks like:

Kendra calls her favorite Uncle Ryan and tells him, "I scored 2 goals at soccer! ..... And I got 3 mosquito bites."

Practice makes perfect

"Am I going to have a soft practice at soccer today?"
~Huh? What do you mean soft?
"Well yesterday was a hard practice so I was hoping today would be soft!"

"Mom- do you even remember what it was like to be 17?"

"Abby says I don't want to get a sister- she might steal my clothes and my boyfriends!"

My baby is SIX!

So prior to crying earlier today, realizing my baby is now entering a new category of kid, I was reflecting on parenthood. With now 6 years experience, and let's face it 10 months of pregnancy, I have am ready to share.

Fears I had that became true:

• Mean girls exist in pre-school, at age 3. They don't ever go away, they are at every school, every age and they will be mean to my kid too.
• The mama bear instinct is stronger then your brain. This has happened for me on multiple occasions. You don't mess with my cub.
• One day a boy will convince my daughter to kiss him on the playground.
• At age 5 my child realized I do not know everything, she also learned to negotiate.
• Dropping my daughter off at Kindergarten was harder then leaving her to go to work. It would be weird if I called the school every hour to make sure she was okay.
• I am no longer Katie, I am "Kendra's mom"- I enjoy this one, but it took some getting used to!
• Parent teacher conferences are nerve racking, especially as a parent. You feel so accountable!

Fears I had that did NOT come true:

• I have not yet lost my child anywhere- frequent hand holding helps this, especially at Disney World!
• I would NEVER be able to sleep soundly again- after a few months I was able to sleep better, and didn't wake up multiple times to check her breathing
• Kendra would be devastated if I left her: It was harder for me for me to leave then for Kendra to see me go- both Kindergarten and Preschool, I cried outside the door and Kendra waved me away... "see you!"
• Life would be different- I realized, life was better. New things are exciting and fun!
• Kendra wouldn't have a daddy- we have a "Saiah" who is wonderful and takes great care of munchkin.
• She would hate cheerleading- she loves it, she's wonderfully talented and will cheer at "Tucky" one day!

Going to the Mountains = A LOT of questions

On Saturday night Isaiah and I went down to the Civic Center to watch the fireworks. Matt had Kendra and as always... I was bummed she wasn't with us for the weekend. We sat down and I told Isaiah I wished Kendra was with us. A few minutes later I see an adorable blond little girl with her arms out shouting, "MAMA!" Kendra comes running over to see us with her Grandma and Great-aunt in tow. I offered that they could sit and watch the fireworks with us, so they left Kendra with us to watch them. It was wonderful!

The next day we picked Kendra up to go to Breckenridge for a few nights. Kendra had a number of questions including:
1. Do people in the mountains have the same president as us?
2. Do they speak English there?
3. Why are there so many "palm" (pine) trees?
4. Are there bears and can we smell them if they are coming?
5. Do they have an Old McDonald's (McDonald's restaurant) there?
6. How long until the fireworks start?... repeat x 10!
7. Can we get more ice cream?!!!!

She was very patient on the drive up and enjoyed a bit of a nap. She was a bit confused as to how many actual mountains there are. Kendra got to play in a bouncy castle and a huge inflatable slide. We watched fire works on Sunday night with very loud echoing booms through the mountains. It was gorgeous!

On Monday we had to sit through a loooong time share presentation. Isaiah and I were talking about how nice the property was and received a mini lecture from Kendra on how we cannot move to the mountains because everyone else lives "down there". It was very cute! We dropped Isaiah off at the golf course and went off our own adventure. We rode the Gondola up the mountain and found a Breckenridge park. We then decided to take the ski lift up to the top of the mountain to enjoy the view. I was terrified that Kendra would wiggle off the ski lift, especially after I had to sign a waiver for us to ride. She told me to stop holding on to her so tightly =) We also rode the Alpine Slides down the mountain, which was a blast. Kendra insisted on driving and I insisted on helping. She then apologized to the people behind us for her mommy slowing it down.

All in all the trip was a blast! I will post pictures soon!