IF I COULD FREEZE THIS MOMENT

Seriously, Jack is the best big brother. If I could freeze this moment, I would. It was perfection.

THIS IS HAPPENING.

The day I have pretty much dreaded since the day Jack was born. The first day of Kindergarten. Dreading being a total exaggeration... sort of....not really. Yesterday, the school threw an "Ice Cream Social" for all the new students starting kindergarten. The kids got to meet their teacher, explore their new classroom & have some ice pops :) Jack was excited but I could tell he was nervous. He walked right in to the school though & when he was asked his name, he told them right away. I sort of expected him to just stare at them like he usually does when someone asks him a question and he's not completely comfortable. But he proved me wrong!! Next, we made our way up to the classroom where he met his teacher and found his seat. Once he was settled, I overheard a little voice say "Hi, Jack!" and I look over and see Jack talking to someone. A few of his friends from camp this summer are in his class and any trace of worry Jack had on his face when we got to the school quickly disappeared. We stocked his cubby with his supplies, handed in last minute paperwork and it was time for me to head back to work. Thankfully Mima was there so Jack could hang around and talk with his new little friends. As I was leaving, I saw him through the window chatting away and showing off his lego guys.

He's ready. I'm ready.

Number 20

A few months ago, I read online that there was a Gaelic football league for kids 6 and under... and it was FREE! I told Scott about it and thought it would be perfect for Jack. Clearly, I had no idea what Gaelic football was and did not think about just how much bigger a 6 year old really is compared to a 4 year old. We ended up going two or three times and just watching because Jack was hesitant to leave our sides but still wanted to go and watch. I didn't want to force him to play but didn't want to give up right away because there was still the interest in going. Turns out, he wanted nothing to do with it and after finding out the crazy schedule, I am actually relieved. Prior to all of this, Jack had been signed up for Flag Football at Rockland Lake, once a week for 6 weeks, starting in April. After seeing his reaction to Gaelic football, I was terrified that he would not want to participate. Flag football was not free lol. It was paid for and we really want him to be involved in activities with other kids his age. I prayed he would enjoy it.... and he does!!! The program he is in is called i9 sports. They are amazing. He goes every Saturday at 9:30. They have a 45 minute practice then a game. They are so organized and there is ZERO pressure for the kids. It's all about positive attitudes and good sportsmanship. There are some older kids on his team, but everyone gets a chance at every position and everyone gets the same amount of playing time. The coach is great, his son, the "other Jack" is also four and very similar to Jack in size and personality. So far, Jack has not quite caught on to which direction he is supposed to run in for his team, has no idea how to close his mouth with the moutpiece in and is often found following the coach for the other team in between plays but he LOVES IT! He has such a blast playing and his face lights up when he tells Scott all about how fast he runs in his "football shoes" and how well he did in his games :)

TIME FLIES

People tell me all the time how fast time goes once you have kids. It's scary how true that really is!!! Our sweet little Kendall is not so little anymore, she is just weeks away from turning one, and I totally dropped the ball on keeping upwith all of her milestones on the blog like I did with Jack. Once Kendall joined us, that little extra "quiet time" we had to document everything when it was just Jack quickly disappeared. Now, I'm lucky if I get a quiet minute at work to throw something on here!! (like now :)) Kendall is 11 months old, 27 inches long and 20 lbs of pure happiness. She is a child who can just "be" Wherever we go, she just hangs out and has fun taking everything in! She takes awesomely long naps but if there are plans to be made, I never have to worry about Kendall's schedule. She just goes with the flow and never complains. I know this will not last forever but I certainly can't complain about it yet :) Sleeping through the night is still an issue for her, which is totally frustrating but now that we are in our own house and she has a big, beautiful crib to sleep in, slowly but surely she is getting there. And I'll take whatever I can get!! In true Saunders competitive behavior, Kendall beat Jack at the age she started to walk. 9 months for this little girl!! Jack was almost one!!! Crawling bored her quickly and it was like one day she just got up and went for it!! She LOVES chasing Jack around the house!! It doesn't look natural for such a tiny little thing to be running so fast! She adores her big brother and has a smile and a wave for everyone she sees!! It melts our hearts! I can not believe that in just a few weeks, we will be singing Happy Birthday.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD MISS KENDALL AUBREY SAUNDERS

Sadly, it has been a year since I posted last!!! And clearly a lot has happened!!!The beautiful Kendall Aubrey has joined our family and we are now complete :) With the hectic adjustment to becoming a family of four, I did not post every little detail of her first few months like I did with Jack and I feel terrible about that. But I'm determined to keep up to date now that we are settling into our routine with her. Kendall made her grand entrance May 30, 2012 at 11:33am. Aside from the first trimester morning sickness, it was a relatively easy pregnancy and I was able to work right up until my due date!! She even waited for her daddy to finish out his best baseball season of his coaching career! We scheduled our induction for the morning of the 30th and arrived at the hospital at 6:45. Even though I was nervous about being late, Scott kept reminding me the whole way to the hospital not to worry because nothing could happen without us lol. Dr Lo came to check on me at 8:00 and started the pitocin. He also told me he would break my water immediately to get the process moving and hopefully have a baby by the evening. Scott and I both knew that once my water broke, she would be here quickly. I was extremely excited to hear they would break my water right away and I didn't have to wait to see if it would happen on it's own. 8:30 my water broke and I was comfortable for about two hours. Once I reached 4 cm I requested my epidural. It didn't take long for me to get it, however, I progressed so quickly, that it didn't work!! The nurse checked me at 6 cm and I swear, as soon as she left the room, I needed to push!!! I basically went from 4-10cm in about an hour. Kendall wanted out!!! I gave a few quick pushes, for about 2 1/2 minutes (THANK GOD!!!) and she came flying out like a rocket ship!!! My poor little peanut's face was purple from such a quick delivery. I found out later that Scott and MiMa were worried when she first came out because her face was so purple. Thankfully she was 8lbs 13 ounces of PERFECTION!!! Similar to Jack's delivery, my doctor was not in the room when it was time!! An amazing nurse named Annette and another on call doctor were there for the delivery while my doctor was stuck in an emergency c section. And of course, Scott and MiMa got me through it all once again. Best coaches ever!!! There is no way I could have done it without them there cheering me on and comforting me. My biggest concern of course was Jack and how he would be, waking up and not having mommy and daddy there. Pop Pop was home with Jack and he had big plans for the two of them to keep him occupied while I was in labor. Funny part is, I had Kendall so quickly, they never got around to any of them!! By 12:45 they were already at the hospital ready to meet her!! I had finally calmed down from the emotions of seeing beautiful baby Kendall for the first time, and in came Jack. That was a whole new level of emotions for us!! I was so excited to see how he would react when he saw us/her for the first time. Once he popped his perfect little head around the corner in Scott's arms, I knew he would be fine!! He was so so excited to see us and was greeted with a boatload of "Big Brother Treats!!" He was awesome. Watching Jack see Kendall for the first time is definitely one of the most amazing moments of my life. After a few nights recovering in the hospital, we were able to bring Miss Kendall home with us and the rest is history!! She is so similar to Jack in every way... especially in her looks. She is slightly more high maintenance ... which is to be expected from a girl :) She loooooves to be held. Jack was a "plop anywhere all day long baby" while Kendall prefers the warmth and closeness of someone snuggling her. No complaints here!!! So now I just have to make it a point to keep up with the blog. We don't want Kendall holding it against us 20 years down the road :) Now onto the pics :)Which are in no particular order and a few are missing because the computer is not cooperating