Christmas in April? The Easter Bunny is as Great as Santa!

What an awesome Easter! The Easter Bunny started off with three baskets full of goodies. Yes, not one but three. Then, he created quite the Easter Egg hunt in the backyard and ordered some fabulous weather to boot! Kaelyn put on her egg-hunting boots and we were off to a super fun egg hunt. She figured it out with the very first egg- and carried her basket as she looked for the eggs! Then we had an egg-opening party only to find cheerios and change and lots of Little People! Then we opened all the Easter gifts everyone sent us. So much fun - I took way too many photos and here they are - Happy Easter everyone!

'Lil Playmate

Grandma and Papa W got a new puppy this weekend and happened to come to town to pick him up. Lucky us, we were the first to meet him. We think his name will be Reny (short for Renaissance). Kaelyn had a great time with him and Reny did great with her. Kingston was a little jealous and disappointed that Reny is a little too young to be ready to play just yet. He can't wait till he's a couple months older and can play. Just too cute though - what a little fluffball!

New Tricks, Organics, and Seaworld

So Kaelyn finally figured out that we did not secure the sink bowl in her little kitchen. But she wasn't satisfied just to lift the bowl out - no - I turned around and there she was, standing up through the hole. Too funny! Of course, she didn't really like being stuck. I guess we'll be getting out the glue!

Our good friend Karen came down to help us put in a garden. Just wait till all the green stuff starts to grow in. This is only half of our plan - we will extend it another 8 feet to the right in the next few weeks. Eventually we'll take it all the way across the hill. But for this year, we'll probably only do half. Kaelyn helped get it all ready but she took an excellent 3 hour nap while we did the planting. She really knows how to help! We're so excited to start eating our veggies. Luck was on our side as it rained the day after we planted. Yippe! Hope the magic water works ;-)

Auntie Jen, Stephanie and Carly came to visit on their spring break and we went to Sea World. They even brought Easter goodies, including a Mr. Potato Head! Kaelyn had a great time at Seaworld - she loved the flying Elmo ride and especially the super-size kiddie play pen!

An Official Toddler

Well, we officially have a toddler. I showed up at daycare to pick her up the other day and I didn't recognize her since they put her hair in pigtails. I thought she was someone visiting from the toddler room. She sure is cute, but she can't be my Kaelyn, can she? Can I get some credit for a good haircut though? I just cut her bangs this week and I think they look pretty good ;-)

I've mentioned how much she loves Kingston, right? Here she is giving him a hug. Of course I couldn't get them to both look the same direction, but she pretty much hangs on him all day long - and he puts up with her (it helps that he gets an occasional food handout!).

In an effort to celebrate her "toddlerhood," we found a little slide for the backyard. We also put together a "rock box" (traded the sand for rocks) which she loves. Of course, she only wants to climb up the slide, and she only wants to throw the rocks. I guess no one says this is supposed to be easy ;-)

We planted some container gardens last weekend. Kaelyn really enjoyed helping us out. Of course, we had to get over the dirt hitting the ground (oh no!), but she very happily transferred dirt from one pot to the next. She was very helpful and she now likes to assist as I water them each day. I hope she'll enjoy the food that comes along later this summer - tho I don't imagine her eating too many salads! The dog on the other hand - well, we'll have to make sure to pick the veggies before he gets to them!

Trip to Florida

We got to visit grandma and grandpa in the Florida Keys earlier this month. It wasn't that warm, so we didn't do as much playing at the beach as we wanted, but we still had a good time. Grandma had set up LOTS of play toys for Kaelyn, including her own kitchen. So Kaelyn was never bored. We went in the boat each day and wenet around the canals. One day it was smooth enough to go out to the big bridge and cross from the Gulf to the Atlantic. Kaelyn really liked the boat - loved chasing birds in it! And she seemed to want to fall asleep with all that soothing motor noise! We spent some time on Key West too, visiting a Butterfly Habitat, the Southernmost Point, and the famous Smather's Beach. It was good to be away for a bit and enjoy different things - most of all, grandma and grandpa!

Lil Traveler

Thanks to mommy's friend Tracy from college (yes, another sorority sistah), we got to take a girls trip all the way from the West coast to the East coast. Whew. What a trip ;-) But it all went pretty well - luckily we had an extra seat (even a whole row on the way out). Kaelyn is officially not much of a plane sleeper - but she LOVES to crawl under the seats! SO much fun. She just loves the airplane and enjoys watching out the window. When we land she does the sign for more!!

When we arrived she was a little disappointed to have to put on the big winter coat again...of course once we got outside she was more than glad she had the warmth. Her face was just in complete awe of the chill. I wish we could read her mind, but I think she was saying - "What the heck just happened? What are you doing to me? Are we IN the freezer? Is this some kind of joke?"

But as you can tell from the following pix it was all so worth it. Kaelyn just LOVED baby Bella (she's 6 months old). She couldn't love her enough, give her enough hugs or kisses. Lucky for Kaelyn, Bella was sure to reciprocate with outstretched arms and eager hugs. Unfortunately, Kaelyn left Bella with a big old cold. Meanie. We feel soo bad. But thank you Auntie Tracy and Bella (and Uncle Paul!) for such a fun girls week ;-)

Bye bye Ditteh

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to our kitty Fremont this weekend. He wasn't well all week last week and had stopped eating. I took him in on Saturday and found that he had kidney failure. It has taken me this long to be able to think about getting this post up here. Kaelyn absolutely loved her "ditteh" as she called him. She routinely looked for him and gently petted and hugged him. This last week he was starting to put up with her for extended periods of time and I thought he had really come along. Now I realize he was not feeling well and couldn't get up to get away. But in the end, he had a lot of love from Kaelyn all week and she sent him off all full of hugs.

I was lucky to get these photos of Kaelyn loving her kitty for her memories. More often than not, a camera was nowhere handy during their many love sessions!



Kingston and Kaelyn both really miss Mr. Fremontster. Kingston has been sleeping in our bedroom during the day which is unusual. I think it's because that is where Fremont usually hung out. They had a guarded friendship - and although Fremont "acted" like he was annoyed by Kingston's antics, I know he really enjoyed the addition of a dog to the household.
Kaelyn still looks for him under the bed and around our room. It's painful to watch, something much sadder than I ever imagined. I only thought about missing my own cat, I didn't realize how much everyone else would miss him as well. I was worried about how the introduction of both the dog and Kaelyn would go with a cat who was getting older. Fremont quickly put Kingston in his place but also would curiously visit him in his bed at night and enjoyed being near the dog when he was in his "calmer" moods! With Kaelyn, I'll never forget when we first brought her home from the hospital. In the middle of the first night when we were up feeding her, Fremont was right by my side, sniffing her head and sitting on the armrest of the chair. He soon began sleeping under her bassinet. I remember worrying that we would wake up to find him on top of her, but we never did! He loved her from the beginning. And he put up with her more than any other child! Quite an adaptable guy, it turned out.

Fremont Montgomery, who had many nicknames such as Fremontster, Freebies, Freeloader, Monty and Count Fremont, lived for 12 years. He passed away pretty much twelve years to the date from when I brought him home to my apartment when I was in college. He's had many roommates and friends over the years. And he's really been there for me through a lot of stuff. Even though he wasn't the cat I was looking for, when my friend Stacy and I saw him at a pet store, he was missing a tuft of hair from his head (he had tried to get out of the cage and ripped his hair out). Knowing no one would buy him with a bald spot (that supposedly wasn't going to grow back), I took him home for $50. His bald spot grew back within a month or so and he's been a blessing to me for all these years. He was my first pet and will always hold that special place and bond in my memory. I'm so sad that Kaelyn only got to know Fremont for a year. And I'm so sad not to have my buddy to cuddle and hug.