freckle lip

the thing is a freckle lip is not flattering on a 26 year old female.

i am a williams by birth and the williams that i spawn from are not hairy people. the williams men have 3 chest hairs, wispy leg hairs, don't usually start needing to shave well into their 30's, and have barely enough hair to cover their heads (in some cases none). the williams women and i guess ausman women too, have little or no arm hair and NO facial hair. i, kennan, am no different.

however, the past few summers i have gotten freckles on my upper lip and they look like GASP facial hair. yes, i look like i have a mustache. its depressing and i don't know what to do about it.

so if you see me in the next few months, rest assured that its no mustache you are witnessing but really just a case of female freckle lip.

don't you judge me.

utah day @ nannie's

how great is it that in utah we get two 4th of july's?

it's pretty great.

this lil lady sure knows how to have a celebration. nannie had all of us kids that could come (us and the jackson's) down for lunch and a little sidewinder falls. nannie's has the best lunch parties that include precious delicious make your own sandwiches. really, its not all that different than any lunch at home but everything taste's better at my mom's. she truly is the greatest and that husband of hers? well, he's not half bad either.

saying that greta LoVE's the water is somewhat of an under statement

dusty always makes my day better, i am a HUGE dustin fan.

part of the reason i love dustbin so much is his better half. please, brooke? she is the most amazing sister/ best friend you could ask for (once you get over being jealous of her).

this 15 month old crawler is the apple of my eye

brooke love's doing jumping pictures (see here and here and here) and neither of us are strangers to a camera.

what?

we are williams that's what we do.... put on a show (even if it is just for our own entertainment).

even jude loves a little jump shot

we are darling and available.

hope your daytime 24th activities were as fun as ours.

t-ball finale

jude's first year of baseball has come and gone. it definitely had its ups and downs but it was all worth it in the end to see jude get his trophy for being a "valuable player" (what happened to most valuable player?). he loves having his own trophy on his bookcase in his room. of course, his last game was his best game and he finally had the whole t-ball thing figured out, he may have even enjoyed himself. i guess we will have to start fresh in the spring.

as i have mentioned before...... jude did great in the outfield as long as i was there right beside him. i am cherishing the fact that he still wants me by his side as long as i can.

greta got the MVCS (most valuable and cutest spectator) award

what a great way to end the season..... with your dad and grandma coordinating in their orange shirts and seer sucker shorts, so adorable.

GOOD SEASON SIR JUDE!

annual lagoon update

listen up and listen good..... i am a huge lagoon fan. i know its not some amazing theme park but for me it is a little slice of heaven. every summer when trevan's uncle scott comes to town its pretty much a non-stop party. we started the party off right with a little lagoon, and it has yet to disappoint. i only managed 3 rides because i can't stomach most of them but they were well worth it (and so was the funnel cake).

jude a big "thumbs upper" these days

daddie and jude on puff

grets was anxious for some "alone time" with the reefer of diet coke..... can't say i blame her.

yaya and jude on the ferris wheel

these 2 are best friends {for now}

the ferris wheel was the only ride greta got to go on this year but she really liked not being in her stroller for at least 20 minutes. next year she should fare better as far as lagoon ride go.

my kids and their ADORING uncles

yaya couldn't resist buying jude a souvenir and he could not have been happier

scott and chelly

meet me at lagoon next year?

ok.

more t-ball fun

i am ready to be a baseball mom.

we have been doing jude's t-ball for a few weeks now and each game gets better and better. jude can now hit the ball when the coach pitches to him and no longer uses a tee. he also somewhat gets how baseball is played. the best part about jude's game's would have to be his entourage. as of late, the crowd has been as follows..... mommie, daddie, greta, nannie, papa mike, yaya, papa rog, momo, landy, brooke, dustin, minie, and poppy. we make up half the crowd but i guess that is what you get when A. you are the only grandson or B. you are the only grandson within 300 miles. its a good time.

contact!

my fweetheart....

hubba hubba.

grets is the ultimate side line party girl.

(some of the entourage may be there to see her as well)

this is how fielding works with our son jude:

1. he is distracted and bored

2. distracted, bored, and mad at dad.

3. distracted, bored, furious at dad, and screaming for mommie.

we have (finally) figured out that jude needs mom for a fielding coach, dad as a hitting coach, and papa rog as a base coach. its a team effort. i think i am the best at fielding because i am an expert at the art of distraction, really i should write a book. jude is THE most determined kid i know and only through perfect distraction can i get him to change his course. its the only way i can get through my day... white lies and beautiful distraction.

and i will leave with an image of this gorgeous child.

p.s. she doesn't even have to try, those eyes get you every time.

15 month stats

pretsie had her 15 mo. check up with this guy today and it went great. dr. cramer was shocked to see greta and the progress that she has made since he last saw her. duh, she is a totally different baby than she was 3 months ago. i couldn't be more proud!

weight = 21 lbs (20%)

height = 30 1/2 in (50%)

last week greta also had her IFSP testing for early intervention. EI does these tests every 6 months to monitor the kids development and also to make sure they still qualify for the program. of course, greta still qualifies but her progress is so wonderful.

gross motor = 9 months

fine motor = 14 months

cognitive = 15 months

language = 18 months

self help = 16 months

social emotional = 18 months

WOW!

i will take it! i knew she was still significantly delayed gross motor wise but as soon as she starts really crawling she will jump a few months which is great. its like dr. cramer says, as long as she can talk and shop we should be fine!

go greta go!

greta's birthday (3 months later)

remember how greta turned one 3 months ago? well today i finally got my hard drive off of my old computer put onto this one (thank you brad) and i knew the first order of business would be posting greta's birthday. after all, a girl only has one 1st birthday.

a little drowsie

cousin time

she still LOVES this horse and rides it like a weathered rodeo queen.

yaya's birthday hat making skillz are unbelievable.

happy belated birthday post sweet, sweet grets.

you are entirely edible.

our 4th of july

because we party from dawn until {way past} dusk on the 4th this may be my biggest post yet. i love this holiday for everyone reason possible, its mcmazing.

the day started off at nannie's for the hidden oaks annual parade and breakfast. this year was the first year that the mike williams family participated and we came big! we borrowed "big tex" from dustin's parents and decorated it full force. we even decorated the jeep into a patriotic party jeep. inspirational music was blared though the jeep's speakers as we drove through the neighborhood. the kids loved being on a float and we were happy to have roen join us on the float, he is after all basically our nephew.

dustin in the party jeep

our girls were in their homemade 4th of july outfits. yeah, we made them, we are so crafty like that. unfortunately, i didn't get any more pictures of the girls in the dresses besides this so it will how to suffice. needless to say they were magnificent.

such wonderful hosts.... papa mike and nannie.

after the parade and breakfast we blew back up dustin's "sidewinder falls" and a great time was had by all. i wish i had more pictures to document this because dustin attacking the slide in my dad's whitey tighties is something that needed to be seen.

as much crap that i have given dustin for purchasing a $500 blow up water slide for min's birthday it sure did come in handy and both the real kids and the adult kids loved themselves a little sidewinder falls. this will be at every family function for the rest of the summer.

after a long summers nap we were up to sugarhouse park for the annual gregory/kailan 4th of july festivities. this party has been going on for about 24 years and it may or may not be my favorite gregory tradition to date.

this is greta's other 4th of july outfit i made. i LOVE this style of children's clothing, the vintage 50-60's look. i ordered a bunch of vintage patterns online and have been loving making greta some adorable little numbers.

this picture totally captures my jude.

sweet prets lost her bow as soon as we got there. i was a little sad but she still seems to manage looking cute without a bow. look at that drool!

only the best grandma's know to bring a toy to make a 3 year old the happiest boy on earth.  {side note: jude's version of the transformers theme song is slightly reminiscent of frank sinatra, and its hilarious.}

i told you she was close to crawling!

our yaya

greta loves her uncles, each and everyone of them. i am pretty sure she has every gregory male wrapped around her finger, including her older brother.

the gregory clan.... its been 3 years since we have all been together on the 4th. now if some of them would get married we could have some cousins in the mix.

yaya and papa

bubby and grets

the 5 gregory kids. 

landon, brennan, trevan, cameron, and morgan

the kalian clan. 

in less than a month all their family will be complete again and i am sure they cannot wait until next year when their party will almost match the gregory's number.

7 fourth of july's and still head over heels....

i hope your 4th of july was as fantabuous as ours!