A kinda sad post...

Both of our girls had ear tube surgery over the holidays, yes, both of them.  Let me back up a little.  When Kennedy started going to preschool about a year ago, she did exactly what everyone said would happen...she got sick more often.  Her colds unfortunately always led to ear infections (which we have found out is partly hereditary).  After going through all the possible antibiotics, getting an opinion from an ENT, and waiting...and debating...and prolonging the inevitable...we finally made the decision to do the surgery.  It was heartbreaking to think of it but we knew it would make her feel better and that was all that mattered.  So the date was set for January 7th.  To add to all the stress, poor Presley was catching everything her sister got.  Her first cold was at the young age of 2 months, it was so sad.  She seemed to follow in her sister's footsteps (which we also learned is common) and had frequent ear infections.  Little did we expect that she would be the FIRST one to get tubes!  She had an infection right before Christmas that wasn't clearing up, so the ENT suggested surgery after she didn't pass her hearing test (so sad that it affects them like this).  I can't even explain to you how we felt when we heard this news.  I was still processing Kennedy's surgery and now my baby baby was going under on Christmas Eve!  Let's just say we were a little stressed in the Graf household.  My nerves were shot and I felt like I couldn't breathe at times.  Seriously.  The surgery is so simple, yet so complex, and so common, and so needed.  Ok enough, rambling.  You get the point.  Here's the GOOD news.  Both surgeries went perfect thanks to Dr. J at CENTA in Maitland!  Both girls did just fine and...drum roll please...have had NO infections since!  It was probably one of the best and hardest decisions we have made as parents.  So of course I had to document this big event in their lives.  Thank you so much for all your prayers and support (you know who you are).  I know some of you were tired of hearing me talk about ear infections, haha!

Getting prepped for surgery.  I was having such a hard time with this.  Look at my sweet baby.

We brought her red bear she's had since birth to comfort her during surgery.

 

Binkie babies...here's the story...

 

 Things got a little better when we met the patient next to us.  Her name was PRESLEY too and turns out they were a day apart.  AND she had a sister named Kennedy!  What are the odds??!! This lightened up my mood a little.  They were so cute!

 

Hiding his nerves.

Right before they took her back.  Still smiling.

The cutest patient ever.  She really did great!  I was the one that was a mess.  The 20 minutes in the waiting room while she was in surgery seemed like forever! 

This was Presley when she woke up from her really long nap after surgery.  It was Christmas Eve...best Christmas present ever to have this behind us and for her to be happy.  Don't you just want to kiss her??!!

 Next patient up...Kennedy Anne!  She's pretty cute too!

 

She was a little more aware of what was going on but she was very BRAVE.

Playing with Daddy before surgery.  He can always make you feel better.

 

Staring down the nurse, haha.

 

And this was Kennedy the day after surgery!  Back to normal.  Total diva.

 

We are so relieved to have this behind us and look forward to a more healthy year!  Our girls both passed their hearing tests at their ENT follow ups too.  That brought tears to my eyes. 

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know it is February, but hey, it's still the New Year!  We spent this New Year's Eve at home with our babies.  We debated on going out so that we wouldn't feel too old, but instead we embraced our season of life right now and had a nice family night in.  After Presley went to sleep (at 6:30...she definitely did not ring in the New Year), we took Kennedy out to light sparklers in the front yard.  She also got her favorite treat, M&Ms...she definitely didn't make it to the New Year either.  Aaannnndddd another shocker, after sitting by the warm fire with our wine and snacks...Rusty and I didn't see midnight either! Yep it's official, we are old!  On the bright side though, we felt amazing New Year's Day and were ready to spend some time with the Graf Family in DeLand since we didn't see them over Christmas.  2014, here we come!

The firestarter.

 

 Her face.  Pure joy.

 

Check out her outfit, stylin'!  Happy New Year baby girl.

 

We lit a few fireworks too that we had leftover from July 4th!

 

Cheers to the New Year!  Yum.

 

Waking up on New Year's Day to these sweet girls. 

 

 She loves dogs!

 

We went for a walk on Uncle Johnny's new property.  It was raining and Kennedy's hair was cray.

 Getting some kisses under the tree from Aunt "Organ" (as Kennedy calls her), love this!

 

Family.

 Kennedy loves her cousin Asher.  She followed him around all day.  He is so sweet to always play with her even though 7 year olds have plenty of other things to do than play with a 2 year old girl :)

 

On our way home from a great day with the family!  My happy girl!  Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas...just a little late!

I really have good intentions of keeping up with blogging.  I really love it.  But on my list of priorities, it kinda falls really low...like showering, haha!  Christmas was so nice.  We were so excited to see Kennedy react this year, even though she doesn't truly get it.  And Presley was just happy to watch her sister!  Uncle Matty came over Christmas Eve to help "Santa".  Presley had ear tube surgery that morning (more on that later) so we didn't do church, just laid low, which was actually really nice.  Christmas morning was perfect.  I woke up and prepared breakfast for everyone and then when Miss Kennedy woke up, we made such a big deal about coming out to see what Santa had left for her and Presley!  Her bike, as you will see, was and is her favorite thing.  Note to self: there was no need to buy anything else.  Take a look and see what the Graf Christmas 2013 was all about!

An attempt to get a picture of the Christmas jammies they opened from Aunt Sharon, Uncle Geoff, Taylor, and Audrey.  So cute and fuzzy!  I love this tradition!

 

Peeking at my gifts under the tree from Santa.  This made me smile.

 

 Santa's elves hard at work.  Notice all the pink in the background.  The joy of having girls!

 

The infamous bike! And it's pink!

 

 

 Santa came!  I love the stuffed animals we got the girls.  SAMs steal, haha!

 

 Presley was a little skimped but she plays with all Kennedy's toys anyways :)

 

Christmas morning! 

 Hey, I want to ride too!

 

IN LOVE WITH HER BIKE!  And Auntie got her this dress up tutu and she wanted to put it on immediately.  She still wears a tutu every day at some point.  Our princess tomboy.

 

 Uncle Matty got her this iPad cover with games and she loved that too!  I love them.

 

Showing off her tricks.  She was so mad that the bike wouldn't move as fast in the grass.

 

Sharing is caring!  It was so nice outside Christmas day that we spent some time in our new grass.  I remember as a kid, someone in the family always got something for Christmas that we went outside to play with.

 

Gramps came over for breakfast and to visit.  Everyone smiling is priceless.

 

Time to eat!  All I had was neon green food coloring!  It was yum though, thanks Pinterest!

 

 

Rusty took this picture because he said when I was holding Kennedy, she looked so big.  It's true.  Please stop growing now.

Daddy smiles are the best.

 

Her cousin Audrey passed this outfit down.  Kennedy wore it last Christmas.  Presley looks thrilled.

This sums up the day.  Love. Family. And new toys :)  Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas too!

Holiday Festivities 2013

We had such a fun filled December doing lots of holiday activities and traditions with family and friends.  My iPhone was overloaded with pictures for the month, haha.  Here are some to share, in no particular order!

Kennedy got her very first tree for her room. It's pink and total diva.

 

 Our neighbor Kylin turned 4 and she had a "movie under the stars" holiday party. 

 

It was so cute, the kids loved it.

 

We danced to Christmas carols!

 

The girls and I were invited to a Christmas craft play date with some new mommy friends I have met.  Here are Kennedy's "mistletoes"!  She was not a fan of this craft.

 Here are all the kids that were there.  Group shots are hilarious.

 

 Presley turned 8 months right before this play date.  She gets so happy to be with the kids.

 

 My favorite thing to find under the tree.  They did this everyday while it was up.

 

We made Christmas cookies with our friends Mandy and Camille.  The girls loved the sprinkles the most.

 

Waiting her turn to sprinkle.

 

 

 Tiny helpers.

 

Mandy showing off the goods.  Look at her cute little bump!

 It was so much fun!

 

 We went to see the Baldwin Park Christmas parade this year with our friends the Goldins.  It was short but really cute. 

 

Kennedy and her BFF Grace, or as she calls her Bace.

 

 Watching the dancers with their daddies. 

 

 Kennedy had her first hot chocolate.  No, it wasn't from Starbucks but she likes to drink out of Mommy's coffee cups.  Girl knows what she likes.

 

 We were invited to a Moms for Moms (a local moms Christian group) Christmas party at a local park.  Santa paid a visit and as you can see Presley was not a fan this time.  I think this was the 3rd Santa we had seen in the season and she was just over it.  The cutest part though was that Santa asked Kennedy if she knew that Jesus loved her and she immediately started singing "Jesus Loves Me".  She loves when we sing this at home at bedtime.  PS I love this picture. Classic.

 

 Skipping with Bace.  Love these girls.

 

Presley was happy once she got away from the man with the white beard.

 

 So we really love our neighbors.  They invited us to go see the family version (basically just shortened for kid's attention spans) of the Nutcracker Ballet.  I remember doing this with my Aunt when I was little so I was very excited.  It was so beautiful and Kennedy sat through the whole thing...well except she commentated a lot for those around us.  She thought the scene with the mice was monkeys!  It was cute though.  This will now be a Christmas tradition in our family.  Thank you Ashley, Kylin, and Kathy for including us in your tradition!

 

Kennedy loves Kylin.  They were waiting to get their faces painted here.

 When we came home from the ballet, we were so excited to see that we had a whole new backyard full of grass that Daddy worked so hard on with the help of some friends and family.  It is perfect and we will be spending a lot of time out there for sure! 

 

 The Graf's Grass!

More pics to come of the transformation of our backyard...

 

 The 2nd Annual Graf Family Christmas Light Tradition.  We drive around local neighborhoods to see all the pretty lights and decorations with our hot chocolate and Christmas music playing.  Kennedy loved it this year and Presley was out like a LIGHT!  Next year I am thinking a light scavenger hunt may be fun!

 

So excited!

 



My annual Santa Baby photos.  This hat has been around for 3 years now...fits better every year.

 Such a big girl!  Poor thing has fallen so much she has marks on her face!

 Presley's first year giving it a try.  Look at that kissable face!  She was sick right before Christmas and you can tell in this picture :(

 That smile...

Kennedy is going in the for the kill!  She kisses her all the time, seriously.

We started a new tradition with all the nieces and nephews.  They open a gift on Christmas Eve that has Christmas PJs and books with a snack for the night.  Uncle Geoff and Aunt Sharon sent the same to Kennedy and Presley.  I know this will grow to be one of their favorite gifts to look forward to!

Kennedy is checking out her book!

I think that pretty much sums up all the way up to Christmas morning...which will be my next blog entry!  Stay tuned...