We Are Blessed

(Cute dresses by my friend, Jessica Jarvis Morgan...)

Where is Daddy?

All is well until the water comes up to Kaylie....and then it is all over.......which actually is EXACTLY what I would have done when I was little. I was scared to death of the ocean and the lake.....fish...and everything else living in the water!

One of my childhood friends lost her 10 month old baby, Maia, yesterday to HLHS, a congenital heart syndrome. I followed her blog http://charlestondeebs.wordpress.com/ daily and got to meet and photograph Maia earlier this year. I posted some of the photos on my work website blog http://www.karastovallphotography.com/. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family. I can't imagine being in that situation which leads me to the title of this blog "We Are Blessed". I have been blessed since the day I was born. I was lucky enough to be placed with 2 amazing parents, lucky enough to find a husband who is also my best friend and who I really do love more each day, and blessed to have 2 daughters that are quite frankly......... just AMAZING. Every day with Kaylie and Taylor is a new adventure and every day they do something that reminds me how incredible they are and how blessed I am.

Tonight after work we went to the beach. I figured out how to get Kaylie to smile when taking her photo. I have to play the "I am going to get ya" game with her. She looks at me and smiles and then runs away from me stopping to look back at me and give me an adorable little giggle. Taylor....well she was more interested in eating the sand and every seashell or anything else she could find on the beach. Neale was surfing and I would ask the girls "Where is Daddy?" and they would point to him out in the ocean. The girls are able to communicate well. They understand me and they answer me....sometimes with words I don't understand, rarely with words I do understand, by shaking their heads, or pointing. They are precious, they are kind, they are loving (and give me hugs and kisses every day), and they are silly. We are so blessed to have them in our lives.

I Love My Funny Girls

THE SHIRT SAYS IT ALL!!!!
Kaylie loves to be funny...

TAYLOR IS HER FATHER!!!!!

I put this on the girls heads and they think it is funny

So Kaylie put it on T's head

A couple shots I found of Kaylie

My little Taylor

My girls are so funny! They have some wonderful personalities. Kaylie started dancing tonight and I still haven't caught it on video but I have to!! She sticks her arms out and bends her knees, sticks out her behind, and bounces up and down and gets as low to the ground as she can. It is a sight to see! It cracks Neale and I up. The girls understand most of what we say to them. I say things that I think there is no way they will understand but they do. It amazes me. You tell them to put things back, to pick up, sit on their bottom, give that to sissy, share, etc. and they do it. I ask them if they want to go take a bath and they shake their heads yes and walk to the stairs. I ask them questions and they shake their head no and they actually are answering me. We had a good trip to Greenville. I worked but the girls got to see their Grandparents. This trip I invested in some dvd players for the car!! Worth every penny......

Happy Mother's Day

Taylor

Taylor enjoying the outdoors. She did bring a tick home with her that we found tonight when we gave her a bath.

Daddy giving Taylor kisses

Daddy trying to get Kaylie to sit next to Taylor for a photo...needless to say...there are no photos of the girls together. I may do this for a living but there is no getting Kaylie to do something she doesn't want to do......I have no idea where she gets that.

Daddy and Kaylie

Kaylie's "Bunny"

She LOVES this bunny. She carries it around and gives it lots of hugs and kisses.

Ba-Ba's before bed

Happy Mother's Day Mom and Fran and all the other mother's who check in on the blog! I have the best mother in the world so I am very grateful and blessed. I just hope some day that my girls feel the same about me. I love being a mother!!! Today we were driving in the car and Taylor said "Dada Mama". It was the first time she has said two words together. Those are the moments that just make my day. I love coming home and seeing the girls get excited when they see me and rushing over to give me hugs and kisses (which are still open mouthed but I love them). I love them coming over and laying their head on my should or my lap. I love their little giggles......and their dancing. I love how Taylor gets so shy that she smiles and has to look away. I love how Kaylie giggles and tries to be funny. That is my life and I am very grateful for it.

Playing in the Pool in the Backyard

Look at me!
I'm not really digging the pool

Kaylie being Sassy. She lifts her chin up in the air and acts silly and if you ask her to give you a hug or a kiss she will keep her chin high in the air and smile and turn her head away from you.

Kaylie is a talker...she has been full of baby talk...... She even has her hand going....she means business!

This puzzle tastes good

Grandpa George trying to help the girls with their puzzle

Rocking to music

The warm weather is here and the girls love to play outside. Taylor prefers the playhouse and Kaylie likes the pool. Both girls love the music. We play it and they start dancing....Kaylie especially. As soon as I get the video camera they stop but I am going to catch them in action because it is precious. Kaylie went potty in the bathtub tonight...that was a lot of fun. HAHA...oh well....life is good.