a girl and her momma....

oh how I love this little girl. She keeps me going on those tough days that seem oh so frequent these days. I am usually the one that has my glass half full (or I thought I did) and one who often times was told I lived in "Kandra-land." Lately my days have seemed like the glass is half empty and I struggle at times to live in the moment. It's not a good feeling to be in that place because I really liked that other land of bliss. Although I have SOO much to be grateful for (and I am) it seems that I am having way too many moments of feeling beat down and emotionally tapped out. But.... then I lay down next to this BIG girl at bedtime and it brings it all back in perspective. These moments pass by FAST and I have to (and want to be) "present" and enjoy every second of the madness. I love my girls more than I could ever imagine.

New York...

Aunt Kate & Uncle Davide left for New York last week. They will be there for 9 months or so. David is on sabbatical (he's an art professor and spending his days in New York painting and visiting galleries to carry his work) and Kate is lucky enough to be along for the ride. Although we miss them terribly, we are so excited for them and this amazing opportunity. We are also anxious to hear all about their journies through their newly developed blog:)

Tonight out of no where, Harper was laying in bed and says "I can't wait to see Aunt Kate and Uncle David in the morning." This is when I went over the fact that they moved away for awhile. Even our peanuts miss them already:) A skype date is in our near future!

Liv's 1st Birthday-take 1, 2, 3, & 4

Great Grandma Donita
The weekend before Liv's Birthday (Aug.11th) we spent Saturday and Sunday with Lateaf's side of the family. On Saturday (take 1) we were off to Lateaf's mom & step dad's house for Val's pizza, cake, and presents. Brother J.R., step grandma Donita, Frank's mom Shirley, aunt and uncle Randy and Jeanine were all in attendance to share the special occasion. Sunday (take 2) we headed to his dad and step mom's house for Jimmy John subs and more cake & presents. My camera bit the dust..aka I ruined it:( so there aren't many pictures from either day. This year we decided to have a few gatherings instead of one big one. We ended up celebrating her birthday four different times. WHOA! They were all real intimiate and informal so it was nice.

On her actual birth-day (Take 3) Aunt Kate and Aunt Amy came over and we had dinner, cupcakes, and more presents. Liv was NOT a fan of her cupcake as seen here on footage from that gathering via my cell phone...

Take 4- was spent at the lake with my side of the fam. More food, more presents, and more cake. The funny thing is that she didn't eat ANY of it. She put it to her lips once and that was it. Therefore we ate lots of birthday cake on her behalf:)

singing to the birthday girl & her assistant who blows out the candle for her:)

playing with our new presents w/ Aunt Kate

Birthday girl was wipped out. We didn't start "celebrating" until late after we took a sun set boat ride so it became a late night. She was a such a trooper. Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet and perfect 2nd born child. (4 takes later;)

Me @ the 2011 Dorsey Fam reunion...

I played photographer, got 2nd place in the balloon toss, tended to kiddos, did sparklers with Harper (who wasn't a huge fan but tolerated it for momma's sake:) and had so much fun taking in all the festivities. It was the best family reunion I've ever been too. Extra huge props and thank you to my parents, Grams Dorsey and Uncle Tim & Aunt Tracey for working so hard to make it all happen.

The Hubs @ the Dorsey Fam Reunion...

helped set up, tended to the kiddos, took guests on a boat ride, was my partner for balloon toss, mingled with the family, and had a blast on the motorcycle...

Tough biker dude?!

Notice the hubs? He's catching the water balloon with some intensity:)