My Irish Babies

TGIF!

2012-01-27T23:30:00.000-08:00

Our happy girls were very content standing and digging in the mud to celebrate Friday. We continued to enjoy the 70 degree January day having friends over for happy hour outside. The costumes were on before they stepped in the door :) The princess and the wolf had a ball pushing each other on the digger and having dinner alone at the big kids table!

Kendall is SIX Months Old!

2012-01-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

Our sweet baby girl is six months old.

Six months has brought lots of blowing raspberries, squeals of delight, rollovers, finding her feet, standing up and being proud of it, cereal, bananas and sweet potatoes, two big teeth, sleep (again) and of course the bright eyed smiles. The biggest highlight is the extreme joy Kendall gets from her big sis. Kendall adores Mollie, watches her, laughs at her... and the adoration goes both ways. Mollie rushes to her side when she crying and is SO proud when she makes her laugh. Kendall squeals when we chase Mollie around the house and Mollie loves to entertain with peak-a-boo. Kendall loves watching Mollie do dance recitals on her stage and Mollie loves dressing Kendall up in tutus and angel wings.

I would never guess a six month old and three year old could have this month interaction and find this much joy in each other. It is truly heartwarming to watch.

Which leads me to.... the photo I've been waiting for... my six month old baby girl and big girl SMILING together - it's harder to capture on picture then it sounds :)

And the balloon pics of our six month old (showcasing her standing, sitting and teeth)...

Love you KK!

Fireman Fieldtrip

2012-01-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

We walked across the street from school to the UP Fire station for Mollie's first field trip.

"Mollie, do you want to be a fireman", I asked, seeing if she wanted to try on the jacket.

"No, a firegirl Mommie!"

Happy Weekend

2012-01-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

Another sunny day and some good girl time!

Dallas in February

2012-01-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

75 degrees one day...

40 degrees the next...

Little K has been playing with her ball. Looks like we may have our first tomboy :)

Mollie Ballerina

2012-01-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Observing a three year old ballet class is the sweetest thing ever!

Giggling and Hugs

2012-01-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

The highlight of this sequence was Nana's Donald Duck impression and Kendall's laugh attack, but my video isn't cooperating... so here are some stills that capture that cuteness, and a family hug following.

The week of dress up

2012-01-19T11:33:00.000-08:00

The dress up didn't end at Nana and Papas house. And Mollie has gotten Kendall involved.

Donkey Fights

2012-01-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know why these two call their rides donkey fights, but they have fun. Again, the highlight is Mollie's laughing in the video. I will try to fix and load so you can hear that sweet sound!

Sweets already?!

2012-01-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

Since Kendall has advanced to using the spoon by herself and licking the bowl clean, we decided to explore beyond rice today. So, we went for the sweet treat of sweet potatoes.

You can see the excitement in her smile!

Hmmm...

Not bad, I think I'll have more.

And she didn't even get very messy!

Nice work KK!

Teeth

2012-01-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

I have two now!

A Day off from School

2012-01-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

Was a fun day at the park

A Daring Undertaking

2012-01-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

Both girls were very excited to share a bath. It actually went quite well with the exception of the huge pale of water Mollie dumped over Kendall's head to "help". Kendall actually recovered from the shock relatively quickly to go on enjoying her exciting bath.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2012-01-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

Daddy's birthday kicked off with a 5am wake up call from his youngest, then some fun gifts and hugs from his three girls.

Then we headed to Nana and Papa's for some excitement with the whole fam.

The parade.

The bigs.

The littles.

The poodle skirt.

The cake.

Love you so much Daddy, and thank you for all of the laughter and love you bring to our lives. We are three lucky girls!

They say we look alike.

2012-01-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

Cuddle Time

2012-01-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

"Hello"

2012-01-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

Love this girl

2012-01-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

Playing Outside

2012-01-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Story Time

2012-01-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

The Carousel

2012-01-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

Mollie and I headed to the zoo on a perfect 55 degree January day for "Mommy and Mollie day". The plan was just to ride the carousel round and round, but after the horse, the nest and the wolf, I did convince her to go check out at least few animals :) Perfect day with my big girl!

Little Model

2012-01-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Mollie were away playing, so Kendall and I decided to have fun with a photo shoot. It's the perfect time with the sitting and pudgy leg rolls! She knows how to pose!

Ab Blast

2012-01-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Kendall has a great little pilates workout routine working! She will have a six pack before we know it.

Hibernation Day

2012-01-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

Mollie's class wore pajamas to school for hibernation day today. So adorable, and such a treat!

Getting Better with the Food

2012-01-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Much more going in this week, but 98% still coming back out!

"She makes me happy wherever I go"

2012-01-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

A wonderful quote from Mollie about her sis

Go Bucky!

2012-01-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

We put on our Badger read to cheer for Bucky at the Rose Bowl.

And it's official

2012-01-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

the tooth has arrived!

Happy 2012!

2011-12-31T14:41:00.000-08:00

This video should kick off your new year with a smile. Daddy said that listening to his two girls interact and laugh together was the highlight of his year. If this is any indicator of what's ahead, we have so much we have to look forward to in the coming year!

Cheers to a year full of wonder and joy, laughs and hugs, tickling and cuddling, singing and dancing, fairy tales and imagination, and the arrival of our Kendall Kailin.

A Tooth?!

2011-12-30T19:42:00.000-08:00

Or is mama just desperately imagining things to try to explain the recent 4am wake up call?!

I do think our baby girl is sprouting her first tooth.

I feel a little bump and might have just seen some white showing through. If we don't see it soon, my delusion can be explained by my lack of sleep ;)

Update on January 2... I have confirmed my sighting of two bottom teeth :)

The Carousel

2011-12-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Who needs to see animals at the zoo when you can ride around and around on the carousel!?

Cereal

2011-12-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

We tried it today. The pictures are worth a thousand words :)

The Happiest of Holidays

2011-12-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

I can't even believe that Christmas has come and gone. Even though I started preparing in June (8 months pregnant and no nesting left to be done) and the festivities started in November, it was such a whirlwind!! Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a three year old allowed me to be a kid again, and cuddling an infant in her Christmas best just added to the holiday wonderment. We jammed in every activity I could think of, and included the kids in everything we could... cutting down our tree, putting up lights, Christmas parade, advent festival, two visits to Santa and a home visit at the lake, rounds and rounds of Christmas baking (including three generations making the famous Kamla family poppyseed bread) reading every Christmas book imaginable, ornament craft projects, school Christmas parties, the third annual Hanratty ladies trip to the Nutcracker (where Mollie got the chance to actually meet the nutcracker and some mice... "they were nice mommy"), gingerbread house decorating, a driving tour of Christmas lights, lobster shopping for our new Christmas eve dinner tradition, and of course the shock and awe of Christmas morning. The photos below are a mixture Christmas eve and day and just make me smile. Our first Christmas as a family of four again made me so grateful for our many blessings and gave me so many memories I'll never forget...

Masterpieces.

Mollie wasn't so excited to pet our little friend.

tracking Santa in India...

The Nutcracker

Cookies for santa.

WOW - Christmas morning...

Hanratty Family Christmas evening...

Surprise...

The concert i refer to below.

I will never forget dressing up my two girls in matching Christmas dresses (I bought them last year just in case... and voila) and pajamas. I will never forget Mollie walking down the hall singing "I'm going to Bethlehem, I'm going to Bethlehem" to the tune of "hi ho the dairy-o", the excitement in her eyes when she got to watch Frosty, her first movie in the theatre (our big tv upstairs) with popcorn, decorating and setting out cookies for Santa and Rudolph after resisting ever urge to eat them all herself, memorizing the words to every single Christmas song and performing a very long and hilarious concert on her new microphone and our piano caroling while Mollie and Grandma did ballet after Mollie did a piano concert and carols for her audience! I will never forget singing Silent Night to Kendall when I was rocking her to sleep, sitting her under the tree between the gifts and getting the biggest smile, cuddling her while listening to Christmas music and counting my blessings and the 4am wake up call we got on Christmas morning that kicked off the holiday. Girls, thank you for a magical Christmas season!!

Kendall is FIVE months old!

2011-12-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe this happy girl of ours turned five months old today! As of today, she is on roll over #2, can sit unassisted and play with her toys, still has no interest in tummy time or long naps, has decided it's fun to wake up and play in the middle of the night, is loving blowing raspberries and is getting big kick out of Charlie and chasing after her sister, and is still happiest in our arms. Kendall, there is nothing quite like your big blue eyes and beautiful smile that lights up your entire face! I can't wait to see what the next month has in store.

p.s. It appears this goofy facial expression runs in the family :) Here is big sis at 5 months old

A Holiday Photo Shoot

2011-12-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

It turns out it is extremely challenging to get a three year old and five month old to focus and pose for the camera. Here is the disastrous attempt at a cute holiday photo shoot.

Happy Holidays from the crazy Hanratty girls!

It's getting cold in Dallas

2011-12-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

So we finally have reason to bundle up!

Merry Christmas from the Hanratty Family

2011-12-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Kiddos on a VERY special day!

Leaving her homemade treats for Santa and his team!

These smiles melt my heart. After an amazing church service with my girls, all I can say is I am so very grateful for this family! Again... isn't life amazing!

The Christmas Festivities Continue

2011-12-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

We started our Christmas week with a fun wagon ride through Highland Park to look at the lights with the Johnson family. Although the reindeer, music boxes and nutcrackers were exciting, the high-speed wagon ride was the highlight. And Kendall stayed awake and bright eyed through the entire ride!

Then we hosted the Strauss family for a holiday play date. It was a LONG overdue introduction of our babies, and the first play date with all four kiddos. It was so much fun to watch Aidan and Mollie pick up just where they left off before their move, and watch the little ones hold hands while they were mesmerized by the Christmas snow globe. Year two of the annual gingerbread house decoration showed some promising improvement!

Santa Clause is Coming...

2011-12-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

To the lake?!

What the big kids thought was a weekend getaway to the lake with Nana and Papa turned out to be a surprise visit from Santa himself! He pulled up in a fire truck, chatted with the kids in the house, and left them with a cookie (the highlight... ha!)

They also fit in some Christmas baking, Christmas movies, cuddle time, reading and a bonus of outdoor play on the beautiful winter day. Thanks Nana and Papa, for hosting a great weekend for the big three!

The Real Thing

2011-12-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

We met with Santa (the real one this time) once more time to confirm our wish lists.

Both girls were perfect!

Ho Ho Ho

2011-12-16T15:09:00.001-08:00

Dressing up for Christmas

2011-12-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2011-12-13T15:58:00.001-08:00

Cookies!

2011-12-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

The baking, and more importantly, the eating, have begun!

Where did my baby go?

2011-12-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

Sitting and playing and way too busy to cuddle... where did my little babe go?

Sisters

2011-12-11T20:10:00.001-08:00

December, 2011

December, 2008

All-star Week!

2011-12-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Mollie had her first week with four stars at school! YAY! Great reason to smile big girl.

I rolled over!

2011-12-06T13:20:00.001-08:00

My mom was quite impressed due to my lack of tummy time (I prefer to be held than ever put down!).

Isn't life amazing?!

2011-12-05T19:40:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe these two beautiful girls are mine!

I hope they grow up to be as great as gifts to each other as my sister is to me!

Action Packed Holiday Weekend

2011-12-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

Mollie and I kicked off the weekend with some Mother/Daughter time at the Dallas Holiday Parade downtown. It is actually quite impressive and Mollie was excited to see her favorite characters from Curious George to Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers, with Santa closing out the show.

Then we threw in a little random fun by hitting up a karate birthday party. It took Mollie a little bit to warm up to the idea, but she was hitting with the best of them before she left.

We rounded out the weekend with an Advent Festival at church. Although she focused on snacking instead of the craft projects during the festival, as soon as everyone left, she found the empty stage and took it over in no time. She commanded us to sit in the audience and watch her show. It was amazing, and there were tons of other kids up there joining in her fun shortly after her solo performance.

Have to love the holidays with a three year old!

We miss you Grandma!

2011-12-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Kendall is Four Months Old!

2011-11-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

Our happy girl weighed in at 16 lbs 12 oz and was 26 1/2 inches tall on her four month birthday. Healthy, thriving and off the charts in both categories :) She continues to spend most of her days smiling and laughing (as opposed to any time napping), cuddling in mommy's arms (as opposed to hanging out on the floor) and surviving her sister's snuggle attempts. She sleeps 12 hours a night unassisted, which seems to keep her smiling through the day without the naps. She is truly a joy. Her eyes shine when she smiles and her cheeks are something special. I cannot believe our little baby girl is four months old! Love you Kendall!

Check out this flashback. No questions these smiles are related!

I will add some video to this post tomorrow to show off our pretty girl laughing!!!

The Grizwold's

2011-11-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

We trucked out to East Texas to pick out and cut down the biggest Hanratty family Christmas tree yet!

The 2011 Family tree!

And the lumberjacks cut it down while Kendall and I cheered.

It made it safely home, so Ryan was able to top it with the star while Mollie took the lead on trimming the tree.

Merry Christmas season!!!

It's CHRISTMAS TIME!

2011-11-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

Turn up the Christmas music, Thanksgiving is over and it's time to decorate!

The Triple Christening

2011-11-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

It seemed appropriate to have this blessed day follow Thanksgiving... here we are counting our blessings once again. Having Kendall baptized along side her two cousins, Gavin and Libby, was a day we'll never forget, and we are so grateful to have been surrounded by so much family today!

Kendall charmed Father Tom with her big sparkling smiles. He even told her "most babies your age could take a lesson from you on how to act". Well done Kendall :)

After the baptism, Kendall was ready to party! While she grabbed some quick zzz's, we enjoyed brunch and some time running free on the golf course... this, of course, was Mollie's highlight!

Kendall with thrilled with her special day!

Hanratty Open 2011

2011-11-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

We hosted the third annual Hanratty open at our house this Thanksgiving. We welcomed a crew from all over the country, with Grandma and Grandpa arriving from Wisconsin, the Greens from LA and Seattle and the Butlers from Indiana and Florida, as well as the usual Dallas suspects. We enjoyed a full house of 6 babies and 18 adults.

We kicked off the day perfectly with tractor rides from Grandpa and gorgeous new handmade hats for a cool morning walk from Grandma and continued the excitement with a bags tournament, annual tee shirt presentation, more tractor rides, swings and babies hanging around being adorable. We capped it off with Frosty's arrival in the front yard and a fantastic turkey dinner. Thanks to all who made it a success. The only thing missing was Auntie Annie (although you were here in photo :) and Crazy Uncle Josh.

Lots of pictures of Kendall in her hat because I couldn't get over the cuteness.

We have so much to be thankful for!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2011-11-24T09:03:00.001-08:00

As sweet as tupelo honey!

2011-11-22T20:34:00.001-08:00

Blue eyed babies

2011-11-21T08:18:00.001-08:00

Gavin is back to visit his cousins and the two kiddos were just adorable together!

We also enjoyed the opportunity to have an early celebration of the big 3-0 with Aunt Meghan... especially Mollie! Happy Birthday Aunt Meghan, we love you!

Practice and Progress

2011-11-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

Mollie is practicing her letters and numbers.

Kendall is practicing grabbing her toys and tummy time.

Lots of progress in both departments in the past couple of weeks!

It's not even Thanksgiving...

2011-11-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

... but Christmas has arrived in our stores. WOW, was Mollie excited to see a Christmas tree and meet a Nutcracker that was as tall as she is!

Some make your day faces!

2011-11-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

No better place to pray!

2011-11-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

Speechless

2011-11-14T07:41:00.001-08:00

I can't believe our girl is this big.

I can't believe the photographer got all of the children to look and smile.

I need to get her to photograph our family!

So proud of you Mollie. This picture melts my heart!

Happiest baby on the block!

2011-11-12T13:23:00.001-08:00

"Tickle tickle"

2011-11-12T13:06:00.001-08:00

Finally, Mollie's love and aggressive tickling brings a smile!

From Four Jesuit Boys...

2011-11-12T12:02:00.001-08:00

...come eight beautiful girls!

We had a crazy girls night with a four year old, two three year olds, a two year old, an 18 month old and three babies!

Picnic Playdate

2011-11-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

Mollie had her first playdate with a new friend from school today. They were sweet to include Kendall in the sunglass party picnic. It started with food, which was quickly abandoned for a butterfly dance party.

Papa's Night

2011-11-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

Mollie was excited for Papa to step in and take her to Dad's night at school when Daddy was out of town. There was a western theme, so she dressed up in a Halloween costume Nana dug up ("Mama, is that a cowgirl costume?"... how does she know that?!) and spent a special night with Papa showing off her classroom. Thanks for being there Papa!

Girlfriend Time

2011-11-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

And this was just cute

Cordillera Ranch

2011-11-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

We headed to the hill country for a weekend with the Mangums. We enjoyed beautiful views, endless areas to run and explore, as well as some wonderful family time and time with good friends!

Swinging

2011-11-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Ryan dropped Kendall into a baby swing and she LOVED it. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't quick enough to capture all of the smiles and didn't have video for the laughs, but this made her day. And big sis was thrilled to jump on the other side of the swing and join her.

My silly goose

2011-11-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

A Thursday

2011-11-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Nana

2011-11-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

The girls were happy to cuddle Nana, celebrate her special day, and share the cupcake!

We love you Nana!

Zoo at School

2011-11-01T12:17:00.001-07:00

Mollie's class had a petting zoo come to school today and apparently it was a big hit. The teachers were sweet to send along this pic.

The Princess and the Pea

2011-11-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Two kiddos, twice the costumes, twice the fun!! Halloween was once again a bit hit and the princess and pea were adorable! Mollie started the night by trick-or-treating at our house, then we hit the neighborhood block party where we picked up her fire fighter friend and hit the street for the candy.

The princess and the fireman.

Off we go. They were quite a team.

Cinderella had to pick up her hoop dress to avoid tripping with her beautiful glass slippers. She learned early to put up with pain for beauty because even though she had blisters on her feet, she wouldn't take off her glass slippers. I guess she knew they completed the outfit :)

Sorting through the loot. Successful night of trick-or-treating that ended in a bag of goodies for Mollie and a nap in the crisp fall air for Kendall!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T19:31:00.001-07:00

Plano Picnic

2011-10-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

We headed to Plano today to explore a new outdoor spot. We discovered hiking trails, a creek, a huge park, picnic spots and lots of photo ops.

We miss you Wisconsin!

2011-10-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Family Time

2011-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Family walk, family dinner. Happy weekend!

Letting Charlie do the dirty work.

Fall at the Arboretum

2011-10-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Kendall's intro to the arboretum was on a perfect Dallas fall day!

After spending some good time running around the green grass and flowers, we hit the pumpkin patch. By then, it was nap time.

Cheers to fall!

Smiles

2011-10-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sleeping on Mom

2011-10-28T20:41:00.001-07:00

Kendall has decided not to nap in her bed anymore... or in her swing... or in my bed. Only my arms will do. This is my view for the two hours she is asleep in my arms.

Kendall's Three Months Old

2011-10-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our happy girl is three months old and smiling, laughing, cooing and sleeping. Thanks for making us smile with your bright blue eyes and big smile Kendall!

Chef Mollie

2011-10-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Darn Cute

2011-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Strep

2011-10-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today we found out Mollie had strep. she was feeling pretty bad, so we went for some ice cream and as you can see, she perked up pretty quickly and was dancing around the store. "Ice cream makes me better Mommy"!

Temperature

2011-10-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is what 98.6 looks like -

This is what 103.2 looks like -

Halloween is Here

2011-10-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our third annual pumpkin carving party with the Kuchlers. We hit up the Halloween party down the street, where Mollie jumped towards the sky and rode a sparkly pony, before we headed back to our house to carve pumpkins.

Smiling with Dad

2011-10-22T13:04:00.001-07:00

Friday Happy Hour

2011-10-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

With the Manions. Great way to start the weekend with three blue eyed babies.

The many faces of KK

2011-10-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Showering Kendall

2011-10-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Auntie Babs hosted a gorgeous baby shower so all of the Madison ladies would have the chance to meet the newest Sieger baby and hug the oldest. Everything was perfect, especially Kendall, and Mollie had a blast because she was lucky enough to get showered with big sister gifts too. Thanks Barb, for hosting a warm welcome for Kendall!

Baby Bucky Badgers

2011-10-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our girls dressed up in their badger best to cheer for UW. They hit up the homecoming parade on the eve of the game and a morning tailgate on a crisp 50 degree fall morning. Then they spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa while Mom and Dad hit the game.

There is nothing like the sea of red surrounding Camp Randall Stadium on a football Saturday in Madison!

A Warm Wisconsin Welcome

2011-10-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

We jumped on a plane to visit Grandpa and Grandma for Kendall's first big trip. She was a whiz on the plane and we arrived in Madison with the warmest welcome for the girls from their grandparents!!! It's always good to visit home, and even more fun when I get to show off my two beautiful girls!
As always we kept busy with runs around the capital, great meals out, happy hours, visits from friends, etc. But the highlights were a brisk trip to the garden, our first outing on the Cutty JARK (and Mollie's first sailing trip), the homecoming football festivities and Kendall's baby shower. Some highlights...

Sleeping Tight

2011-10-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

SHE LAUGHED

2011-10-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

A baby laughing is the best sound ever. Kendall, thanks for warming my heart with the sweetest sound and thanks for being the happiest baby!

Missed my girls

2011-10-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Ryan was a rock star and had the girls all weekend so I could get a little adult girl time in Newport. It was a perfect trip, but I was thrilled to snuggle my girls in bed this morning and soak them in! And Mollie was thrilled that Mom brought her back a treat.