A.K.A. Tina Turner

These have to be some of my favorite pics of Kassidy so far. While all are usually cute, these are just stinkin' halarious. As you can see in the last post, I had put her hair up in little twists when they had been wet and then after being that way for a couple days then I took her hair down not expecting to see this new hairdo. I definitely know what to do now in order to get her hair curly and wild if I want a change. After seeing the new rockin' 80's style hairdo she had going on, I quickly sought out a outfit she had that seemed to just go perfectly with her new hairstyle and called her Tina Turner. With the hair and the leopard print leggings, she just needs to work on her tan a little and add an extra digit to her age and you would not have trouble telling her and Tina Turner apart. So funny I had to share these with you. Hope you enjoy. We are going to be having quite a bit of company over the next few months starting with tomorrow. We are so excited to spend hopefully a good bit of time with Mamaw Beep Beep starting tomorrow. She is going to stay with us maybe a good couple of weeks. Also Aunt Kim and her two, Sam and Savannah are going to be stopping off for a night after dropping mamaw off and heading to the beach. Also, in two days MiMi and PopPop will be stopping in for a night on their way to Tennessee. If all planned goes well, then at the last of the month, Uncle Clint and his crew will be joining us and then hopefully his two little boys, Ayden and Jaxon, will stay the week with Kassidy and I and then we will take them home and spend some time at home visiting everyone else. So....we will have a busy next few months that hopefully will generate some good pics and blog updates so keep in touch. I probably will not post any more blogs for the month of June. Can you believe how quickly summer has come and is going? July already? The temperatures sure are telling of it though. The splash pool we got has become a lifesaver for us because if we did not have that then poor Kassidy would be locked up in the house all day because it is just too hot to do anything else. Have a good July 4th and keep safe everyone!

new laptop/sleeping

Here a few pics of her with her new Barbie laptop. She knows how to use it well. I actually spent extra money on a laptop that came with a mouse because she already knows how to use one so I wanted to get one with a mouse with it. Although this laptop will be destroyed before the recommended age of 8, I think she would not have been fooled as easily with the earlier age laptops so we will just have to use this and her next upgrade will probably be a customized computer that he daddy will have her set up with probably before kindergarten. :P I may have a personalized secretary soon. Also I caught a shot of her sleeping today with her Cat in the Hat doll. Again....sleeping pics....AHHHHHH.

Variety of Pics

These are just some recent pics I have taken that I wanted to post. She got the caterpillar a long time ago from pop pop and recently she has gotten it out a few times and grabbed it by the horns and started rocking so hard I thought she was going to fly off but all she did was giggle herself to death because she thought it was so funny that she was able to do that to it. I got her some bib overalls and I thought some of the pics I got of her in them were so cute. As you can see, she loves eating fruit but the whipped cream topping definitely makes it a lot yummier. She is developing such a personality. It is so cute to see her change so much and do so many different things. It seems that everyday she comes up with something new to do. Also, as you can see, we have a shoe drawer with her many different shoes in them. She can reach them and so everytime she thinks about going bye bye she will go in and bring me a pair of her shoes and if I say no we are not going bye bye then she will try again with a different pair of shoes and she also goes in my closet and gets my shoes so I can go bye bye too. Sometimes after she brings in her entire inventory of shoes I will give in and we will run to Walmart for a bit. I mean.....you can always go to Walmart for something, can't you?????

American Girl From Great, Great Aunt Jean

My Great Aunt Jean who is Kassidy's Great, Great Aunt Jean (hey..the more greats the better) ordered Kassidy one of the American Girl Brand dolls and I think she did it shortly before our trip to China to even get her. Like everyone, she had waited a long time to actually be able to see her in person and so my guess is she had a long time to come up with the perfect idea for a gift and that she did. I had heard and saw many of my acquaintances, friends, and family (including niece Bobbi) with these dolls. They are unique in the fact that the dolls meet your specifications of the way they look. You pick their eye color, hair color, skin tone and clothes so that these dolls resemble the recipient. They come in all different races also. So Aunt Jean ordered a doll by the name of Ivy for Kassidy. When we first got it right after we got back from China, I opened up the box it came in and took a peak but did not even get it out because we wanted to preserve it for when Kassidy was older and more able to appreciate it. Yesterday I was looking in her closet and came across the large box that Ivy was in and decided to free her! There were several little boxes within the large box and one contained a doll stand where we could just display Ivy on her dresser so that is exactly what we decided to do once we took a few pictures of Kassidy and Ivy together. You can buy these dolls different outfits and Aunt Jean actually purchased an extra outfit that matched one that Kassidy had perfectly so we took some pics of the two together in their matching outfits. She loves Ivy and I know one day she will be gentle enough to play with her but not NOW! I think she would wear her down with kisses as you can see in the pics.

Aunt Jean I just wanted to display this post and hope you get to read it because you not only have given my daughter a very special gift but you have been a very influential person in my life. Although we may not have spent a bunch of time together growing up I did have those few times I would come and stay with you overnight or the times I visited you at Mamaw's house and especially the time you helped us care for mom when she was dying. I can never tell you how much that meant to our whole family because, at that time, we were dealing with so much with dad and I working and Jodi with two little ones. It was so overwhelming at times and then you stepped in along with a few others and were there on a regular basis to help us care for mom. You are and always will be special to me and here is to hoping Kassidy will be able to have some memories with you also but if not then she will always know who her Great, Great Aunt Jean is with the stories I will share with her.

Update on Billy

Again, Happy Father's Day to all you father's. I don't think many father's actually realize the impact you make on your children by your reactions both to them and your wife so please remember to take time out to listen to them because even if it is jibber jabber to us it makes them feel so appreciated and special to just take time out to spend a minute or two to take an interest in them and what their day was like. Billy has now moved to his permanent place. His address is the same but since they were not supposed to have been in country until sometime in November, the contractors building up their camp have been far from finishing it so they have been staying in a transitional place which the sleeping quarters, showering quarters, equipment that they need to meet their needs have been less than adequate and now they are moving to their new quarters which is about the same because it still has a long way to go to get into any civilization/half way comfortable living quarters which include getting a computer and webcam set up to be able to talk to us by webcam which I am hoping will mean a lot to Kassidy.

Father's Day!

Hey just because you are not here with us today Billy (daddy) does not mean that we have forgotten about father's day and how great of a daddy you are. It also does not mean we forget all the sacrifices that you not only make for your country but also for Kassidy and I so that we can have everything we need and a lot of what we don't need but just simply want. We miss you so much and cannot wait until next year when we can share Father's Day with you here. We will make it a special event that you will never forget full of love and lots of fun. And....don't think for one minute that little Kassidy has forgotten about you. At the beginning of this process I was so scared and actually expecting her to (not to be harsh sounding) but not have you in the forefront of her mind and not actually remember too much about you with her being at the age she was at but she has definitely proven me wrong. She says dada everyday and as you can see in these pics she still picks up your picture beside our bed and not only says dada and looks at it but also kisses it. This is totally without prompting her to do it either so that says a lot and everytime she sees your pic online she gets so excited and a big smile comes on her face and she starts hollering "dada dada." So she is so ready for you to come home and I am sure she will fall into your open arms as soon as you get here. She is a daddy's girl afterall and always has been and I know your heart melts for her also. She even gets her way sometimes when mommy says no while on the phone to daddy and daddy seemingly talks mommy into giving in but hey....what can ya do? Let's just say daddy can deal with the McDonald's sweet tea addiction he started and that has continued when he gets home. That is your dealing with daddy since you started it. She's like an alcholic. She cannot just take a sip or two she has to down the whole thing just like her daddy and then it doesn't always stay down because she drinks it too fast and too much. Remind you of anyone Billy? It is so funny how people say when you adopt children that God places just the right one with you and I know for sure that has happened in our case and God has blessed me with both a loving husband and one who is a loving parent. What else can you ask for? We love you and counting down the days until your return. Love you Forever! These are some pics taken right before going to church services on Sunday on Father's Day and I purposefully put her in a blue dress because that is daddy's favorite color and think she wore it well and made him proud.

Chinese Attire

Well....I have all these cute little Chinese outfits that I bought while in China or people bought for us but she has only worn a couple once. It just isn't something I pull out of the closet and put on her to run to the grocery store or mall so I decided that before she totally grew out of them that I would at least get some cute pics of her in them for the future so here they are.

Ocean

Here are pics of Kassidy and the ocean. At first she was a little hesitant of getting too close and wasn't sure if she liked it when the water got close enough to hit her feet but after a time or two in it she started getting more and more brave and even let Ms. Amy take her out a little farther.

Aquarium and Lazy River

I know it has not been too long ago when we went to Ripley's Believe or Not Aquarium in Myrtle Beach but we cannot go there and not go to the aquarium because that is her favorite attraction there. She loves fish and looking at all the creatures so we once again went and she once again had a fabulous time. There are also some pics of her in the lazy river at our hotel we stayed at.

Minnie Mouse PJs

We recently went to Myrtle Beach for a little beach getaway trip with our friends Ms. Amy, Grace and Allie. While Kassidy was sick about the whole time we still managed to have a little fun. Her favorite part was the lazy river but my favorite part, of course, was the outlets. I had to go at least once and while there I went into the Disney Store and found some cute PJs for her and she really likes the Minnie Mouse PJs as you can see.

This and That

Here are a few pics of Kassidy with her cousins Billy and Emily who came for a short visit on their way back from Disney World. It was so nice to have them here so she could play with them. Also there is a pic of her with her Winnie The Pooh houseshoes. She loves Dora but she still has a place for Winnie the Pooh also and loves her houseshoes. Her favorite think to do is to get in her pool. Sometimes it is just so hot we cannot stay out for too long and also I had to figure out how to maintain the pool to not get the algea that grows on the bottom that makes it slippery. I thought a splash pool was no maintenance but even those you have to maintain with some chemicals and such but I think we have it down pat now and probably will play some more today but here are some recent pics with friends Grace and Allie.