Pulling Our Hair Out

Kendall's latest past time is practicing her pincer grasp.  She's been picking up and eating puffs, Cheerios, bits of pancake, etc. off of her high chair tray.  She's also a master a pulling hair.  She loves to pull Mommy's hair as well as Momma's earrings.  Such a joy for Mom!  She found a new victim the other night at the table...

Come on Brother, let me touch your hair!

No way Sissy!

Ahh! She got me!

I don't have to like it, but since I love her so much, I'll let her touch my hair.

Kendall loving some attention from her Daddy.  He's lucky that he has got short hair.  She can't grab a handful of his locks!

Neighborhood Friendships

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and neighbors here in Jax.  There are kids all around us who we play with in the afternoons.  Riley enjoys sharing his toys, bikes and swing set with all of them.  We've given many of our neighbors an open invitation to use our swing set regardless if we are out or not.  The best part is that we have people we can trust to give that invitation to and they actually take us up on it!  Our babysitter lives across the street and her 4 year old brother is one of Riley's buddies as well.  Kendall will have her share of boys to choose from as she gets older.  Our next door neighbors have a son who is just a few months younger than her and twin boys just a few houses up the street.  We're hoping we can get another friend of ours to move into the development.  If she does, Kendall will have a girl to play with who's just weeks older than her.  We know how fortunate we are to have wonderful families to raise our children with.  The kids play so nicely together and the moms (and their dads too) are some of my closest friends.  God has truly helped make this our home.  He helped us afford this home on one income and He has given us wonderful people to share it with.  

Here are some pictures of Riley and Kendall with their friends:

Riley and Madison

Mason's birthday party

Mason

Riley loves birthday cake!

Sydney

Nicky Noodle

Mason's birthday party

Riley and his buddy Madison on our swing set

Riley and his friends Ford and Taylor

Nick giving Kendall a hug

Riley and Ford racing the big wheels 

while Taylor tries to keep up in the car!

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Kendall's Beach Baby Nursery

My cousin Lori reminded me that I never sent her pictures of Kendall's nursery when I asked to see pictures of her prego belly.  I decided to take a video of her room so that Lori can view it all the way from Wyoming.  I am giving you all a little tour of her room...Enjoy!  

Oh, and by the way Lori, start snapping those pictures of baby Madison in your belly so Aunt Steph can see her!  ;)

A Wish Come True...

Riley had asked his Daddy for a Honda Dirt Bike last year for his birthday.  Daddy's response was that he had to wait until he ride his bicycle without training wheels.  Well, Riley got his wish early.  Andy's friend Matt was selling his son's Honda 50 so he could buy him a 4 wheeler.  Andy ended up buying the bike from Matt and we couldn't exactly torment the poor boy by leaving it in the garage and not allowing him to ride it. (His bicycle is a little on the big and heavy side so it may be awhile until he can ride it solo.)  

Andy's been taking him for rides on it and teaching him how to use the throttle and brakes.  Yesterday the lesson was about the three different ways you can slow down.  1 - let off the throttle. 2 - use the back brake. 3 - use the front brake.  We're going to end up getting him training wheels for it so he doesn't fall in the sand around here.  His helmet should be here this week.  We found a good sale on youth helmets online and Riley is excited because it's red and black like his bike, jersey, gloves and pants.  Aunt Lori and Uncle Jason are planning on buying him some goggles and then he'll be all set!  

Baby Babble

Kendall has been "talking" up a storm lately.  She's been sitting up on her own and having great conversations.  Hope you enjoy!

Beach Fun In February

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Jacksonville so we had to spend the afternoon at the beach.  Riley had a blast chasing the sea gulls and pretending to shoot them with his gun.  Kendall spent most of the time in her tent so she wouldn't grab handfuls of sand and try to eat it.  She has been enjoying blowing raspberries and I caught some video of her for you...Enjoy!

Look at How Cute I Am!

Kendall still has no hair - or very little to speak of as a 6 month old.  I have finally found some lace to make a headband for her so I can clip bows onto it and have her look more like a girl...Yes, I dress her in pink or other "girlie" colors, but some still can't figure out if she's a girl or boy...Could it be the gender neutral name?  Well, now she looks more like a girl...just adorable if you ask me, but I'm not partial!  

We got to spend some quality time with my folks this past weekend.  My Dad took Riley on their annual trip to Daytona to watch sprint car races.  Nothing like two guys out late, watching high speed cars zooming around a dirt track at 140 mph!  Riley absolutely loves going with my dad and dad absolutely loves taking him along.  Riley even got to play hookey from school on Monday to stay home and play with his Nanny and Pappy.  When they left today, Riley was in tears and trying to manipulate ways for him to go with them or for them to stay.  He's never been that sad to see company go before.  It was sweet to see how much he loves to be with them.  

Mom and Dad loved spending time with Kendall as well.  Dad loves to make her smile and even feeding her baby food.  Mom can't wait for her to get up from naps to play with her or give her a bath at night.  Kendall impressed them both with her ability to sit up and play without falling over as well as how much she loves to eat food.  You can't shovel it in her mouth quickly enough.  She's been enjoying Gerber Puffs and will sit in her chair like a little bird opening her mouth waiting for the next one. 

Reasons Why I Love Being a Mom...

As I was walking down the stairs today, I looked out over the railing and this is what I saw...

I love being a mom!  I am so thankful that my children already love each other.  Riley is the only one who can consistently make Kendall laugh - really laugh from down in her belly.  She loves to be with him and her face lights up when he walks into the room.  He loves to be with her just as much.  He is so excited to show her all his old "baby" toys.  He wants her to be around all the time - in the tub, taking him to school, playing outside, reading books (although she's getting to the stage where she wants to grab the books and put them in her mouth), playing with toys, you name it.  He gets upset if I don't wait for him to do "diaper duty" and likes to pick out her clothes for the day.  The boy is hooked!

This video is a little dark, but you can still make out that the two of them were having a blast together playing.  They didn't know I was behind them with the camera...I love these type of moments when they are genuinely enjoying each other.

Life is Good!

Meal Time

Kendall is a joy to watch eat these days.  She's about the only one who NEVER complains about what I serve her.  She does however, have her own ideas about how quickly each spoonful should occur...Watch and see.

Family photos from Christmas...

The awesome Christmas light display near our neighborhood

Riley's first trip to Ponte Vedra Presb. "A Walk Through Bethlehem."

Riley's preschool Christmas concert...Video of some songs is below...

Daddy and his girl watching The Polar Express...Next year her pink "Girl Train" from Pappy Chooch will be under the tree too.

Christmas Photo

Christmas photo

Santa and his helpers after a long day

Riley finally getting to open presents!

Kendall getting some help from Nanny and Pappy Hershock

Messy Mouth

Jenn and Steph before heading out for a night on the town...Love GNO's!

Riley and Grammy Chunko on a hike

Riley's preschool Christmas Concert:  Viewer Beware...These are 3 & 4 year olds "singing"

New Year...

Sorry to those who normally check our family blog...It's been since Thanksgiving since I've posted anything...So many things have happened since then.  

Illness has spread throughout our family multiple times since Christmas.  Riley's been waking me multiple times during the night to help him blow all the junk out of his head.  Last night he was crying...I think because he was so miserable.  Of course Momma stayed with him and rubbed his head until he fell back to sleep.  Those are the moments I treasure...As much as I'd rather be asleep, comforting a sick child is so rewarding.  I know how much I love to be taken care of when I don't feel well and I want to provide the same for our munchkins.  

Where will Riley attend kindergarten is the next dilemma to face.  He will take entrance exams for Providence School next Saturday.  It's a private Christian school here in Jacksonville.  We love that he comes home from preschool telling us about stories he's learned from the Bible. We've been leaving this up to God...If Riley doesn't get into Providence, then he will provide another alternative.   

Kendall is growing like a weed.  She's a solid 15+ pounds.  That puts her in the 50% for weight.  She's in the 75% for height.  Will I end up being the shortest member of the family? She's been enjoying the variety of food that I have made for her.  She's even had pieces of corn and Gerber puffs.  It's amazing how our two kiddos are so different.  Riley wasn't even starting rice cereal until he was 7 months.  

Nights at our house are a mystery.  The baby sleeps from 8 pm until about 6 or 7 am, but Riley is another story.  First we had an invasion of monsters, then bizarre dreams about sharks and whales that were trying to eat him.  Now its' been a nasty cold that he just can't shake.  Needless to say, I've been making multiple trips to Angies for sweet tea to stay awake!

Every chair at our table is occupied at dinner time these days.  It's been wonderful to have Daddy home more often than in the past 6 months.  Andy still travels, but not as often and not as far as he was before.  

When we recall the best part of this past Christmas, we think of how lucky we were to have all of our families (except for my brother and his family) here at our house.  Christmas day was spent gathered around the table devouring a traditional Hershock family meal.  I was never so excited to have dried corn!  It's one of those family recipes that is not written down, but passed down from generation to generation.

We brought in the New Year New Orleans style with our friends Matt and Lori...We left the kids at home and enjoyed the night out.  We are blessed to have made some awesome friends here in Jax.  

So Much To Be Thankful For This Year...

On Thanksgiving Day we ate dinner at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island, SC.  This is how the ball room was decorated for the event.   They serve a gourmet buffet which includes numerous salads, poultry, seafood, and pork as well as a huge spread of desserts.  The best part of eating Thanksgiving dinner at The Sanctuary is that I don't have to spend the entire day cooking or cleaning up afterwards!  They had a room across the hall with adult supervision for the kids to play.  Riley played with puzzles, drew pictures, played with corn, made necklaces, etc. while we finished our meal in peace.

Yes, my dad did feed Kendall her first piece of table food...a small bite of bread!  What can you do with a proud Pappy?

Nanny was Riley's date for the night.

Nanny & Pappy Hershock with their grandchildren.

We are so thankful for such a wonderful family.