To Kendall on Your 4th Birthday

Sweet Girl,

We love you so much precious Kendall! We are so proud of the ways you have grown and changed and everything you have learned in your 4th year of life. One of the biggest changes for you in the past year has been becoming a big sister to Judson. We weren't sure how you would react to not being the baby anymore and sharing attention with Judson, but you really surprised us! You love your little "Juddy" as you like to call him and have been a great helper. You tried out gymnastics for several months this year, but decided to take a break from it because you said it made you too thirsty- hah! In the past year you have become more independent and learned to do more things all by yourself including going potty, washing your hands, getting dressed, and buckling your car seat. You have become great at coloring (best in the class according to your teachers), know all your letters and many of their sounds, can write most uppercase letters, count to 30, use the mouse to play computer games, cut pretty well with scissors, say some memory verses, and sing the books of both the Old and New Testaments. You are so smart and are always striving to keep up with Avery as best you can. Here are some of your favorite things at 4 years old:
Foods- pizza, cheese enchiladas, chicken nuggets, berries, ice cream, chocolate
Things to Do- read books, watch movies, color, play on the iPad, play pretend with Avery, play at the playscape and other playgrounds
Toys- Barbies, dress up clothes, crayons and markers, Disney princess dolls, Fisher Price dollhouse
Shows/Movies- Barbie movies, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Scooby Doo
Restaurants- McDonalds, Pizza Inn, the donut shop, Chick-fil-A for breakfast

You continue to be a fun-loving little girl with a sweet spirit and tender heart that makes Daddy and I so proud. I can't imagine life without your sweet hugs and kisses and all the fun you bring to our family with your silliness and laughter! God has blessed us immensely by entrusting you to our care and we are certain He has amazing things planned for your future. Happy 4th Birthday! We love you Kendall!

Kendall turns 4!

Kendall- aka "Minnie Mouse"

Kendall was so excited for her birthday this year because this was her first time to have a party away from home and to have friends come celebrate with her. We had her party the Saturday before her actual birthday (Feb 4th) at the McDonald's by Avery's school that has a play place designed like a train station. She wanted to have a Minnie Mouse themed party, so we brought our own Minnie Mouse decorations and table wear, and had a Minnie Mouse cake from Celebrity bakery. Kendall wore a Minnie Mouse costume complete with the pink polka dot dress, bloomers and ears. There were a total of 8 girls at the party, which allowed them all to sit around one of the train car tables to eat their happy meals and have cake and ice cream. And of course they all had a blast playing on the playground together. When it was time for presents, we set a chair next to Kendall's and let each guest, including the grandmas, come up and sit next to her while she opened their gift. Being the loving, touchy-feely girl she is, she had to give each person a hug along with her thank yous for the gifts. It made for some sweet pictures of her and her school friends and relatives. She had a great 4th birthday party and a great time playing with all her gifts and balloons for the rest of her special day.

family picture- we are all looking the right way and smiling!

ready to eat their Happy Meals

Kendall sucking down her chocolate milk

Queen of the Mountain with Avery, Maelie and Hannah below

playing with Blake, Avery, Maelie, Lorelei and some random boy

Kendall and Sienna- one of her BFF's from YCW

Kendall and Blake- her BFF at school

Kendall and Hannah from YCW, who sweetly named one of her baby dolls Kendall

Kendall, Maelie and Lorelei

Kendall opening her Belle dress from Avery, Judson, Scott and I

Her new purple camera from Mimi and Poppi. She has been wanting one like Avery's for a long time.

Kendall and her Mimi. I love how Avery managed to get her feet in this picture!

Kendall opening her giggling baby doll from Memaw and Dedaw

sweet hug from Memaw

Listening to everyone sing "Happy Birthday"

blowing out her candles

Enjoying some cake. This girl loves chocolate!

Sweet kiss from big sister to wrap up the party!

Happy 4th Birthday Kendall! We love you!!!

It's All About the Bow

A couple of weeks ago Avery participated in a cheer clinic at her school put on by the varsity cheerleaders. They stayed for an hour after school every day for a week and learned a dance, chants/cheers, and jumps. At the end of the week, she was presented with a picture of herself holding pom poms and was given a LARGE bow in the school colors. All the girls wore their bows to school on Friday and got to perform at the K-12 pep rally. Kendall, Judson and I went up to her school to watch and take pictures- although I did a poor job of that since I didn't get there early enough to get a seat on the right side of the gym . Avery was so excited and did really great on the entire performance. They even did a little cheer that incorporated the LARGE bow: "Harvest Christian, maroon, gold and black, it's all about the bow, the bow is in the back!" They ended the cheer by turning their backs to the crowd and pointing to their bows. It was pretty cute. Then Friday night the girls performed at the varsity basketball game. My parents and Scott's parents came to watch her, so she was thrilled to have her own little cheering section. She did a great job and had lots of fun!

sitting between her friends Caris and Skylar after performing at the pep rally

getting ready to perform and cheering on the Saints at the varsity game

talking with the big girls (she's the one with her back to the camera)

"Dribble it, Pass it, Let's make a basket!"

More cheers (Avery's on the far right)

performing their dance

a picture opportunity for the proud parents!

8 month Judder

playing and showing off some of his new skills

The months are flying by for the busy Bedicheks and Judson seem to be getting big so quickly! He is not crawling yet, but is up on those hands and knees rocking back and forth trying to figure it out. He can also go from lying to sitting by himself now and is getting more steady as he stands and holds onto things. He can pull himself up to a kneeling position, but not all the way to a stand quite yet. Another new development are his two bottom teeth that came in about a week before he turned 8 months. Avery's losing her baby teeth, and Judson is getting his! Judson is also starting to wave sometimes, and his babbling is beginning to turn into what we in the speech pathology world call jargon (where it sounds more like phrases or sentences but there are no true words). He loves to clap and smile and laugh-- such a happy boy! He still isn't showing any signs of stranger or separation anxiety. I think 4 or 5 people held him after church yesterday because when they would come up to see him he would smile and reach his little hand out to touch them. I hope he continues to like giving hugs when he gets older as much as he does now. He's pretty wiggly and active though, so I might have catch him if I ever want a hug or a snuggle once he's mobile! I took him to the doctor for an ear infection last week and he weighed 20 lbs 9.5 oz. He is wearing 9 month or 12 month clothes, size 3 shoes and size 3 diapers, but I think 4's are in the near future. I think size 4 was what Avery and Kendall were wearing when I started potty training them at 2 and 2.5! He must have the Bedichek deceptive density, because I don't think he really looks that big. He is such a sweet, precious boy that lights up our lives! Can't imagine life without you Judder!

trying to crawl!

I feel sorry for Josie because Judson LOVES her and is going to terrorize her once he's crawling

clapping and watching his sisters play outside

playing with his cars

out in the back yard, enjoying the nice (but crazy!) January weather

Colorado trip

Between Christmas and New Year's we made a trip up to Buena Vista, Colorado to go skiing with Doug and Sheila and their girls. Some friends of Sheila's family own a house there, so the Leavelle family goes up almost every year to stay and ski. The owners of the house, LG and Sally Jo, were so incredibly sweet and hospitable to share their home with all of us for a few days. Besides it being a very large home with all the amenities we could possibly need, it also had some unbelievable perks like a hot tub, the "dollhouse" room under the stairs, a ski equipment room (I counted over 100 pairs of ski boots!), a ski clothing room, and deer that would come right up to our bedroom window! We only ended up getting to ski one day because they closed the lifts on New Year's Eve due to high winds. But Avery got to go to ski school on that first day and had a great time. Scott skied with Kendall a little on the bunny slope that morning, and then he and I skied together in the afternoon. Another added bonus to our trip was that my Dad had some business dinners, etc scheduled in Denver for that weekend, so my parents drove over to the Leadville area and were able to watch Kendall and Judson while we skied. They also got to spend New Year's Eve with all of us at LG and Sally Jo's house. Even though we weren't able to ski on the second day, we still had a great time. During the morning and early afternoon the kids played and napped, so Scott and I had some time to relax there at the house and enjoy our beautiful surroundings. Late that afternoon we all went to a hilly road in the neighborhood and had a great time sledding. We celebrated New Year's Eve with pizza for dinner and watching the celebrations on TV. It was such a fun trip and we created some great memories together as a family!

My Mom with Kendall and Judson at the ski lodge. Kendall was waiting for Scott to get Avery all settled in ski school so he could take her on the bunny slope.

Avery with her ski school instructor and class

Avery learning how to plow by playing "Red Light, Green Light"

Scott and Kendall riding the magic carpet up to the top of the bunny slope

Scott and Kendall skiing together

Avery and Kendall LOVED playing Wii Dance with their cousins. It was hilarious to watch!

LG would put out food for the deer every morning, so we would wake up to several of them standing right outside our window. It was such a neat experience!

Avery, Kendall, Judson and cousin Brooklyn

the kids table

Avery and Bailey sledding

Avery and Scott

my Dad even got in on the sledding action

Braden and Kendall. I'm in the pinkish-red jacket in the background. I had done a 180 and was sliding down the hill backwards!

Judson was so cute in his little snowsuit

Mommy and Jud

Scott and Kendall

Scott and Avery in the crazy hats they found in the clothing room

My parents decided to get in on the crazy hat action

Avery and Bailey showing off this enormous icicle that one of the guys knocked down