Carpenter's Just Livin

Kai is our little artiste'

2011-01-27T12:08:00.003-06:00

Kai's new favorite thing is to paint! She asks to paint everyday multiple times! She's actually really good at it! She has her own little style of art, we call it Kai art:)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-26T13:20:00.002-06:00

Back on the band wagon!

2011-01-24T21:20:00.004-06:00

Too cute not to update:) Jara, my sister and my friend Lacey have encouraged me to just get back on! Here goes 2011!

Sweet Kai during her birthday month...

2010-08-22T20:59:00.004-05:00

March 6, 2010 - Kai's first 5K

2010-08-22T20:50:00.002-05:00

Kai, me, Rachael, Aubrey and Kathryn after the race.

Kai and Aubrey all bundled up - it was cold! They loved it!

Kai's slumber party with her cousin Buggie

2010-08-22T20:41:00.002-05:00

They were both so excited!

Gramma came over for a visit and the girls loved on her.

Kai was so excited!!

Night night Buggie! She was such a good girl.

Square 1 and sweet Sawyer

2010-08-22T20:35:00.002-05:00

This is Shellie and sweet Sawyer. Kai and I took care of sweet Sawyer while Shellie went back to work for 9 weeks. He is a doll and was so much fun, Kai loved him!

Shellie, Sawyer, Kai and I attended a group at Watermark church called Square 1 - it's for new moms and was a wealth of knowledge!

My 30th Birthday celebration

2010-08-22T20:20:00.002-05:00

We met my family at PF Chang's for dinner! Yum! Mom and Dad had some minor difficulties getting there so we celebrated later with them.

Sweet Kai, me and John

Then we met the Carpenter's at McGuire's for lunch. The boys with their girls:)

Gramma, Kai and Grampa

Valentines, Christmas and Birthdays...

2010-07-05T21:34:00.003-05:00

So, my 'Colorado' family came into town in February and we celebrated Christmas, Valentines Day and birthdays! It was so fun!! We miss them so much! This is my immediate family with all our families, when we go out to eat we pretty much take over!

Kai Kai in one of her Valentines outfits! So cute even from the back:)

Our Valentines bungalows that we made in place of Gingerbread houses.

Jara and Curtis (my sister and her husband)

We also made yummy Valentines cookies and they were scrumptious!

The girls!!! Kinsley and Kai had matching heart butts.

Me with the girls - Makenna, me, and Madison. Aren't they beautiful?!

Me and my sweet Kai Kai.

Pretty Kinsley and pretty Makenna ready for our pictures to be taken...

Kai Kai's cutenesses

2010-04-17T20:24:00.002-05:00

So here are some cute things Kai does that I love:

When I rock her to sleep I hum Amazing Grace to her and she hums with me right at the beginning.

She also giggles sometimes as she falls asleep.

She twirls her hair when she's tired. (her cute curls)

She loves to play with my hair.

She loves feeding Bella, she'll take a bite then look for Bella and drop a bite to her...

She waves at every car coming and going outside.

She absolutely loves to wave to the garbage men as she swings in the morning. (they love it too:))

When she hears music, she immediately starts dancing. Music can be playing all day and every now and then she'll hear it again and start swaying.

She LOVES to eat.

She gets so excited when it's 'cookie time' after her lunch or dinner!

She breaks out into the biggest 'hard to hold' smile every now and then, we call it 'CHEESE'.

She does this thing with her arm where she swings it back and forth real wide when she's tired.

Her favorite thing to do is swing! She goes to the back door, points and says,"ooooh, ooooh!" until I take her outside to swing:)

When I am reading to her, she is saying "oooh" the whole time:)

I know there's more... We just love her to pieces and are enjoying every minute of her! Thank you Jesus for the blessing of having a child and being able to show her the world!

Snow Fall

2010-04-16T20:16:00.003-05:00

It snowed here in Dallas again on February 11.

Kai is so excited to go out and play in the snow!

In awe of God's beauty!

All bundled up..."Mom, I can't move."

Kai loved touching the snow, she got mad at me when I put her gloves on. But, she figured out how to play in it anyway. If you look close enough you can see the tiny snowman we made. :)

The next day many of our friends power went off so they headed north to our place and we had a fun day in the snow and staying warm in our heated home! We had a slumber party too! Here's Asher and Kai playing sillytown.

Sharing / snack time

Playing in the snow again!

Me and Kai in the snow, I think she's ready to go in:)

Warming up in the bathtub with Asher, Kai's friend.

Asher and Kai playing in the snow.

Keith visit

2010-04-06T21:45:00.004-05:00

Our friends from college came to stay with us for a quick trip to Dallas.

This is Joey with Kai

Diana and Kai

Kai and Rien, they played so cute together! Kai taking a drink and Rien 'washing' her nails.

Rien was a girly girl!!

Bathtime!

All dolled up

2010-04-06T21:42:00.001-05:00

Kai is dressed and ready for church. She is such a doll and is growing up to be such a sweet girl.

Play time with Aubrey, my BFF

2010-04-06T21:32:00.006-05:00

The Morris' came for dinner and Kai and Aubrey played, so fun!

Sweet bow girls

Bathtime with bubbles!

Yummy babies

All ready for night night! So sweet!

Kaden's PIP performance

2010-03-17T20:20:00.004-05:00

Me, John, Kai, mom and dad all joined the Downs at the AA center to watch Kaden perform a PIPs diddy on January 30. Afterwards we watched the Harlem Globetrotters; which were very entertaining!

The Fam

The star 'Kaden' and his family

Kaden doing his thing...

John carrying Kai in; it was 22 degrees outside! So cold!

Kai crawling

2010-02-28T22:45:00.003-06:00

Here's Kai crawling forward for the very first time! The way she shuffled her knees was so cute because she moved them in tiny steps. She was so proud of herself she stopped to have a celebratory dance:)

Kai's on the move...

2010-02-28T21:40:00.009-06:00

Kai has become mobile over the last few months! She has been able to move by crawling backwards or scooting on her bottom for a long time now, but she has finally figured it out! Here's the progression:

January 19 - almost 10 months. Here is Kai when she realized she could scoot along the bookcase and empty the books and bins. So fun! She was so proud of herself!

Here's digger jr. looking for what to play with next. She's starting to figure out how to pull herself up.

That evening Kai absolutely loved being able to stand up in her crib! It was the coolest thing she has ever done, look at that face!

And then there was January 20th - Kai figures out how to crawl forward. She is 9 months 3 1/2 weeks old and it just 'clicked'! And off she went!

January 25th - so proud of herself pulling up on her own! Isn't she beautiful?! She's my angel!

Wall of fame

2010-02-28T21:36:00.003-06:00

So here is some decor in Kai's room. I have picked my favorites from her photo sessions and framed them to hang on her wall. I absolutely love looking at the progression over this past (almost) year! I cannot believe it's been 11 months that we have had Kai! She is a pure joy! I have her 9 month pictures on order and they should arrive any day now!

Nicole visits Dallas

2010-02-28T09:37:00.003-06:00

One of my best friends from college came to visit back in January. Nicole is so fun to be with, we laughed, talked, shared, ran, played, shopped, ate.... We met up with some other college friends that live here in Dallas and we had a great time!

Here we are with sweet Kai.

Julie and Nicole

Me, Kai, Kari and Elli (look at those curls)

Nicole and I after we ran an early am 5K!

Jara's 31st Birthday Celebration

2010-02-28T09:23:00.004-06:00

My family and some of my sisters friends met in boot-kickin Ft. Worth at Joe T Garcia's for a birthday celebration for my sisters 31st b-day. We had a great time visiting, eating good food and gifting my sister.

Me and my beautiful sister, Jara.

My beautiful mother and handsome father.

Me, sweet Kai and hotty John.

My precious sister's family; adorable Kinsley, sweet sister Jara, Curtis and smart Kaden.

It's never complete without my older sister and her family though!

Sweet Kai's 9 month pictures

2010-02-21T19:59:00.010-06:00

Here are just a few of Kai's precious 9 month pictures. We had Jill take some 'lifestyle' pictures this time, which I thought turned out great! Jill Ellison is a fabulous photographer! Check her out at jillellison.com.

My absolute favorite! Kai and mommy's shoes!

'Saturday morning' picture

'Daddy and me' bath time ritual

One of Kai's favorite things to do is take a bath with Daddy!

She also loves to read books!

The whole family, Bella too.

Kai's christmas tree in her room (these were taken right after christmas)

Our sweet baby!

Behind bars

2010-02-18T18:34:00.002-06:00

Kai couldn't be happier to be in her bed! This is when we lowered her bed for the first time. Precious!

Happy Girl Kai

2010-02-18T13:32:00.002-06:00

Kai is such a happy girl, she smiles all the time and giggles at the simplest of things. She truly is a joy to have around! Here she is in one of her winter whoolies.

Christmas continued...

2010-01-31T20:51:00.006-06:00

Kai loved her presents! She immediately knew what to do with all her instruments.

Christmas at home

KaiKai loving on her daddy!

I love this picture of John, just hanging out.

Let Christmas begin....

2010-01-25T21:49:00.005-06:00

Kai's first Christmas party was our neighborhood party December 8, 2009. She was all dolled up and ready to go. Our neighbors just love seeing her!

Pictures with Santa at the Pi Phi house with Aunt Kathryn and BFF Aubrey. Drove up, parked, walked in, they were waiting on us (you pre-register), took pictures and we were ready to leave. Best experience! No lines!

Kai did not appreciate Santa though!

We celebrated Christmas with the Carpenters on December 19, 2009!

We had a great time with them, especially Finley. We ate fabulous food as always!

Aren't they so precious?! Finley on the left and Kai on the right.

Then, we went to celebrate Christmas with the Westmorelands.

This is Grammy and Kai waiting to take a picture with Santa and cousins. It's a family tradition to have all grandkids together for a picture with Santa. Kai smiled in this one, I think because she felt safe with Kaden and Kinsley. BTW - this too was a great place to have Santa pictures taken! No lines, fun stuff for the kids to do if we did have to wait and a great price!

One of our family traditions is that we get a December 1 gift. My mom has done this since I don't know when. So, I would like to continue this tradition with my family, however, I did not ever give Kai her gift until Christmas Eve. Which worked out perfect because that's what my sister does with her kids. So, these are her precious Christmas pajamas.

Below are some pics from the night before Christmas...

Me and my sweet hubby - I love him so much!

Me and Daddy - I love this man!

Me and Jara, my sweet, beautiful sister!

My precious mom reading 'Twas the Night before Christmas' to her grandchildren (well, some of them:))

Curtis and Jara - what a pretty couple they make:)

Night fell and Christmas Day had arrived....

Santa left gifts and a sweet letter for Kai.

Kai loved everything Santa brought her especially the letter. She enjoyed Kaden reading it to her too.

Dressed and ready for the day! Kai really enjoyed her first Christmas, she is at such a fun age! She would shake the tissue paper and/or bag, let the gift fall out and continue playing with the paper or bag. Isn't that how all little ones are?! Oh, so cute!

It is such a joy to experience Christmas through a child's eyes. Everything is so new and exciting!

Kaden and Kinsley were so sweet and fun to celebrate Christmas with! They loved helping Kai open her presents and enjoyed them right along side their new cousin!

One of Kai's favorite toys to play with (still) is Sillytown from her grandparents. She loves it! She finds new things on it daily too.

Sweet Sidney and Kai

2010-01-25T11:24:00.000-06:00

This is Kai's new best friend. So here's how the story went: I went to get this doll out of my car to wrap it for a friend's little girl and when I brought her in Kai absolutely went crazy! She started flipping her wrists (you know what I'm talking about if you've ever spent any time with her), she started talking non-stop, smiled, was hopping up and down on her bottom, etc..... So I placed her next to Kai on the couch and she proceeded to get to know her.

She studied her face...

She held her hand...

She taught her how to hug...

Needless to say we kept Sidney!

Sick for the first time...

2010-01-24T22:32:00.000-06:00

Kai became sick for the first time on December 9. It was so sad; she was falling asleep in her highchair and that's when I knew she did not feel well because she loves to eat!

She had a rash on her belly, dr. said it was just from the fever...

She loves her sticks from the dr.

All bundled up

2010-01-24T22:20:00.000-06:00

Kai all bundled up to go on a walk to the park to swing. She loves taking walks and swinging.

...even in the cold!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2010-01-24T22:15:00.000-06:00

Kai's first Thanksgiving was spent at the Downs' new house. They moved in the day before! It was a great time. I'll post pics of their new house soon.

Here we are all gathered around in their fabulous dining room! From left: Me, Kai, John, Dad, Mom, Kaden, Jara, Curtis and Kim (Curtis' sister) We had a great meal!

Kai loves her Grammy

2010-01-24T22:08:00.000-06:00

Grammy is teaching Kai a love for make-up. If you look real close you can see that Kai has lipstick on for the first time! Grammy is so fun!

Snowy days in Dallas

2010-01-21T22:22:00.003-06:00

Our house covered in snow!

Sweet Kai seeing snow for the first time; didn't really know what to think:)

She just stared!

Friends

2010-01-08T20:37:00.000-06:00

This is Kai and Aubrey, Kai's best friend :) Aren't they cute?!

Aubrey and Kai ready to take pics with Santa! Kathryn and I took the girls to the Pi Phi house which I recommend to everyone! We pre-paid, parked right in front of the house, walked in, had picture taken with Santa and were ready to go in seriously 10 minutes!!!! Best Santa picture situation ever. I don't have anything to compare it to, but from what I hear:)

Look at these cute kids! From L to R: Aubrey, Connor, Kai , Asher (he was the birthday boy), Quade, Watts and Price. The girls are quite outnumbered; they'll learn fast.

Kai, Aubrey and Asher

Our doll...

2009-12-15T08:47:00.000-06:00

Kai is my baby doll that I get to dress up everyday! I absolutely love it! Here are so more cuteness photos!

Kai and Finley's baptism on November 17, 2009

2009-12-07T14:06:00.001-06:00

Kai and Finley were baptized on November 17th together. It was a beautiful service and Kai is officially the Lord's child. John and I feel so blessed to have been given the responsibility of caring for her. My prayer is that we will do all we can to show her the way to HIM!

Date night cowboy style

2009-12-06T22:26:00.002-06:00

Kathryn and Alan took us on a double date to the Texas Stampede. We ran into some friends, the Bunkers as we walked in. We loved watching the rodeo, eating bar.b.q sandwiches and watching Pat Green sing! What a fun night out! Kai had a fun time with Grammy and Grandfather!

Getting dressed

2009-12-06T22:17:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite things to do is pick out Kai's outfit for the day! This is one of my most recent favorites - the bow makes the whole outfit! We're just missing a few accessories such as leggings, shoes....

Day at the park

2009-12-06T21:54:00.002-06:00

John and I took Kai to the Arboretum on a beautiful day in November and had a ball. We enjoyed being a family together, having a picnic, seeing all the pretty flowers, playing airplane...

Asher and Kai

2009-12-06T21:36:00.000-06:00

This is Asher and Kai playing... Asher is my best friends little boy, who just turned one! Such cute friends.

Kai's new favorite thing to do!

2009-12-06T21:33:00.000-06:00

John and I took Kai to the park not too long ago and she swung in a big girl swing for the first time! She absolutely loved it! She never once complained and was not even tired of swinging when we decided to leave. We started making this a monday tradition except now its a bit too cold to go but we'll pick it back up in the spring. Anyone know where an indoor swing is around here???

2009-12-06T21:30:00.000-06:00

This is our latest project. Kai is so proud of it! We will be hanging pics from newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year! What you are seeing are her newborn ones.

2009-12-06T21:24:00.001-06:00

This is Kai having a teething biscuit for the first time. She caught on pretty quick and loves them!

Pea Pod - Halloween costume #2

2009-12-06T21:09:00.001-06:00

This is our little pea pod - we went to my sister's 'Trunk or Treat' on the COLDEST night. So, we had to get Kai a warmer costume. She was so cute all bundled up as a pea pod. She's really just cute in anything:) My mom holding her and my sister, Aunt Tippy with her.

Sad Halloween party

2009-12-06T20:56:00.000-06:00

All the girls at a Halloween party we went to! Kai and Kiley were not happy girls for this photo. So sweet.

My angel baby

2009-12-06T20:42:00.000-06:00

This is another shot from my mom - the photographer :) I love it.

This is Kai in her angel Halloween costume.

Grammy - the photographer

2009-12-06T20:37:00.000-06:00

So, my mom has been taking photography classes and here is one of her pieces. Kai is showing such emotion! What a doll with those pearls!

All bundled up

2009-11-22T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here's Kai all bundled up for a walk in the nice cool weather! She was sleepy! This was her first experience of cool weather - we live in Texas!

The Family

2009-11-19T22:44:00.000-06:00

The family in our 'go to color', 'color of choice' - black! Love it!

Bathtime with Daddy

2009-11-19T22:42:00.000-06:00

Bathtime with Daddy is a favorite! It's a whole new world sitting up in the bath!! Kai has been sitting up since Labor Day and she absolutely LOVES taking a bath and playing with her daddy! Quotes from John: Kai likes the water warm, not luke warm. Kai's favorite toy is the blue fish. Kai likes it when I pour the water on her head. Kai likes the water full, alot more than in this picture. ;) It's precious to see him and Kai enjoy this time together! Love them!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-19T16:21:00.002-06:00

My angel baby!

Mama carved a turkey for Halloween/Fall!

Pumpkin patch pictures...

2009-11-19T11:13:00.001-06:00

So, here's how our day went. Woke up late, ate, got ready, Kai took a nap - slept later than I thought, packed the car to go to the Arboretum, left 1 1/2 hours late (planning to meet MOPS girls), realized I didn't have the stroller about half way there, no time to turn around! Forged ahead anyway, no pass to get in, no lunch, park in Carrie C.'s spot (as she was leaving!!!), Kai has a blow out right when we get there, no change of clothes that would be warm enough, poop on pants, randomly see cousins from Oklahoma and Houston leaving as I was entering the park - took pics with them and visited, got a pass to enter from Holly R. right before entering park (yeah for free entrance), waved to all my friends leaving the park as we were entering, carried Kai everywhere, found pumpkin patch, hundreds of people, plopped Kai down to take a pic - not so happy about that! Cried everytime I put her down for a picture:(, I was determined to get her picture with the pumpkins. Let Kai stop and play with the flowers - she loved that. Met Christy B. and mom with girls, she took our picture together, bought 4 pumpkins and made it back to the car just in time for Kai to crash before I could buckle her in! Phew!

2009-11-19T10:54:00.001-06:00

We had Kai dedicated at Northwest on October 11, 2009. She was 6 1/2 months old. Our pasters prayer: Kai Jae, We ask for our God and Father in heaven to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. We ask that you respond at an early age to his desire for you to believe in Jesus. And we pray that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power that you might be a woman marked by endurance, patience and thanksgiving. In Jesus name, Amen. It was a special day; afterwards we went to Maggianos and enjoyed a big lunch!

2009-11-09T22:27:00.000-06:00

This is my favorite favorite cuddle position! I have a picture of my mom with me in this position. It is just so sweet!

2009-11-09T21:41:00.001-06:00

The fun exciting world of food! Green beans please:) I have been making Kai food for about three and a half months now and she is loving it! John and I are enjoying it as well! She has had peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, papaya, kiwi, pears, plums, mango, banana, applesauce, cantelope, honeydew melon... and there's more to come:)

Pumpkin girls

2009-11-09T20:32:00.002-06:00

Our pumpkin girls - Keely and I carved pumpkins for Kai and Finley to 'get' in. They were precious! Finley didn't even care and Kai did not appreciate it! So cute.

Kai and Mama

2009-11-09T20:22:00.000-06:00

So, I have tried to be more intentional about having my picture taken with Kai! I'm usually the one behind the camera:) Here are a few. Me and Kai on her dedication day.

Grey girls

Navy girls

At the Arboretum's pumpkin patch.

Kai on the go...

2009-10-12T12:32:00.002-05:00

Kai has been going with me to alot of different places lately. Here she is with my colorist, Sam. My mom was watching her and strolling West Village until she became hungry. She also went with John and I to the dentist.

Kai and Nana

2009-10-11T20:53:00.003-05:00

Kai met her Great Nana September 26th! Richard and Valda were in town as well - Kai's Great Aunt and Uncle from England. Lots of family time:) She enjoyed playing with Great Nana!

2009-10-05T22:12:00.002-05:00

Kai had her 6 month pictures taken a few weeks ago and she did spectacular! She is the cutest little doll ever:) It's hard to pick my favorite, but this one is tops right now!

Baby Aubry Lynn is here!

2009-10-05T22:04:00.005-05:00

Me and Kathryn awaiting her sweet baby Aubrey.

Kai's best friend made her grand entrance saturday around 6pm! She was a whopping 8 lbs and is beautiful. Her hair is amazing! Kathryn and Alan, her parents, are naturals and love her to pieces just like we do already! Look at those kissable cheeks:)

Reading

2009-09-24T23:58:00.003-05:00

Kai absolutely loves to read books. I really want to instill in her a love for reading, so I try to read to her a few times a day. Here she is being a big girl; reading on her own.

Car rides

2009-09-24T23:53:00.002-05:00

So, Keely and I have been shopping a bit lately and going to Kindermusik, etc. We ride together so that it's easier.

Here's what the cousins do...

Daddy lunch dates

2009-09-24T23:48:00.002-05:00

John comes home for lunch about once a week and the first thing Kai loves to do is play with his tie! They're so colorful to her... he loves it.

Starting solids...

2009-09-24T23:40:00.003-05:00

Kai has been loving her cereal. This is daddy and Kai time in the evenings. John comes home and makes Kai cereal, a bottle and gives her a sweet bath. They're so cute!

Who does Kai look like?

2009-09-24T23:39:00.001-05:00

Who do you think this is? Yeah, she looks just like her daddy for now:)

Kai is such a big girl!

2009-09-24T23:23:00.002-05:00

Kai started sitting up on September 3, 2009! She is only 23 weeks old (aka. 5 months and 1 week)! She is our big girl now and time is flying way too fast.

Baby Finley is here!

2009-07-14T17:42:00.001-05:00

Baby Finley Tate is finally here! Paul and Keely had their baby girl on July 13th! She is absolutely precious. Kai is so excited her baby cousin is here! Look at those beautiful lips:)

Kai Rolls Over at 11 weeks old on June 13, 2009

2009-07-10T21:29:00.000-05:00

2009-07-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

We had Kai's 3 month pics and look at this photo! Terry is so talented! Kai is just beautiful! I love her to pieces.

Just Getting Started

2009-05-26T18:37:00.001-05:00

I have started my blog today. My friend Kathryn helped me and it is so much fun. I am excited to share all about my family with you. Kai, our new baby girl, was born March 25th at 5:19 pm. We had a wonderful experience at Medical City and were so blessed to receive a healthy baby girl from the Lord. Check out her picture below.