Little Miss Applefest

This past weekend Kendall participated in the Little Miss Applefest pageant. It was a "natural" pageant where everyone who enters is a winner. She was able to go on stage and wave, blow kisses, and do her signature "sassy face." There were a total of 5 girls in the pageant. Next year we'll be able to enter Avery too! Watch out Applefest!!

Sassy Face

Showing off her winnings.

Pumped before the pageant.

All of the contestants on stage.

Playing on the playground after the pageant. What any good "princess" would do!

UNO

Braden's favorite game right now is Thomas UNO. He loves to play it with anyone who visits. He's played with us, of course, but he has also played with Mimi, Nanny Sherry, Hannah (our babysitter), Gunkle, and Aunt Lissa to name a few. Here are some pics of Braden playing with Daddy. These games could take anywhere from two minutes to 40 minutes. It is fun and I hope that he continues to enjoy playing card games. He is slowly learning to become a gracious loser, but he wins a lot too!

Since he's only holding one card, I'm guessing he's winning this game!

Consulting Avery about his next move.

Cute as My Aunt

Avery received a fabulous shirt from Melissa when she was born. I was able to squeeze her into it recently and decided I should capture the moment. Avery's living a little large in it, but she does look pretty darn cute!

Preschool!

Kendall had been waiting for preschool to start, especially since Braden had started Kindergarten. She was so excited to get to take her backpack to Ms. Crystal's class. I cannot believe my little girl is getting so big. I often tell her to stop growing, but she responds with a very sassy "NO!"

Daddy and his girl.

I love this picture :)

Kendall hung up her bookbag...

opened the door...

and went in on her own. I had to yell her name to get her to come back and give me a kiss! Such a big girl!

August - The End

We rounded out the month of August with the baptism of Emilia. Dustin and I were her Godparents and proudly participated during the mass as she was baptized and presented to the congregation. Jaycie took plenty of pictures, so I've taken some from her to post here.





We enjoyed one last adventure to our favorite park before the "Mommies" had to go back to work. It was a beautiful day, and I am so proud of Kendall for trying new things at the park. She has been so timid even though we have been there numerous times. On this day, she walked to the biggest slide there, climbed up, and slid down all without me knowing. I had Jaycie snap a few photos of her the second go round. We'll be sure to visit the park again this fall on those nice Saturday and Sunday afternoons!

A Day at the Children's Museum

The last Friday before Kendall went to preschool we ventured out to the Edwardsville Children's Museum. We met up with The Rodgers girls for a playdate. The girls (Kendall and Olivia) are at the perfect age for the exhibits there. They LOVE dress up and enjoy playing pretend. The baby girls napped in their carriers. I took LOTS of pictures, but since I'm on a blogging marathon, I'm only uploading a few. Enjoy!

Kendall's on TV if you look closely!

This is SO adorable!

Paging Dr. Riechmann!

BFFs. Enough said.

Where's the fire?

August - The Middle

Nathan and Kelsi (Uncle Nana and Aunt Kelsi) got married on August 21st. Dustin had the honor of being a groomsman and I was the lector at the ceremony. It was difficult to be a part of the wedding and take care of the kids, but with the help of my parents and Melissa, we managed to have fun celebrating this wonderful occasion. I was so busy, however, that I didn't get to take many pictures. Here are the few that I managed to snap at the reception.



I am so glad that Braden and Kendall love Avery. They don't mind it when I have to hold or feed her and they are usually very tolerant of her crying, which doesn't actually happen that much. They love to hold Avery by themselves (with a close eye and hand nearby from Momma or Daddy). Braden often insists I take his picture when he is holding her. I hope this sibling love lasts forever!