Making Memories

Kinley - Fall 2013

Memories tumbled down faster than the autumn leaves last week. We picked up Kinley in Manhattan on the evening of October 21 and delivered her back to Topeka after the K-State ballgame last Saturday.

Toddlers are busy. We crammed a lot of living into the five days we had Kinley here on the County Line. But, just in case you're counting, I am about 23 years older than I was the last time I had a toddler around here. It's taking me a bit of readjusting to return to life without a little helper.

Kinley is her own little person. But I guess it's just natural that I see some of Jill in her. I wanted to recreate a photo I'd taken of Jill when she was close to Kinley's age. My current model didn't want to sit. (And I didn't really want her to, since we were dressed for the K-State game.) The vine on the house is no longer as lush as it was back in 1987.

Jill - Fall 1987

But I still see some similarities between mother and daughter - 26 years later. Family and our very DNA are as entangled as that vine that clings to our house.

And I'm thankful.

More to come from Kinley's adventures on the farm!

Carbon Copy?

From the cocked elbow holding her purse in place to the tight grip on the baby in her arms. two little blue-eyed girls make the years tumble together.

After the K-State ballgame Friday night, we drove to the Ladd B & B. At 6:45 AM Saturday, I opened the door to Kinley's room and she was standing at the end of her crib, quietly waiting for someone to arrive. Surprise! It was Grandma!

We played with baby dolls ...

... just like her Mommy used to. (Even though Jill is older in the photo, I still see the resemblance in their profiles, but there's definitely a little dose of Daddy, too.)

 

Just like Mommy, Miss Kinley loves shoes. When Jill was little, she wore everything from Daddy's work boots to Grandma Marie's high heels.

This Grandma doesn't do high heels. But Grandma Marie loved them. Is it any surprise that Kinley Marie does, too? (I finally gave up trying to find a photo of Jill tottering in Marie's heels.)

This Grandma may not like high heels, but I definitely love books. So we read book after book, including the new one that Uncle Brent sent about Beaker, the Morehead State University mascot.

Back when Jill and Brent were little, books on tape were high-tech. It seems almost prehistoric these days, since 20-month-old Kinley is quite capable of operating Mommy's Ipad. But she still loves crawling up on Grandma's lap and opening an old-fashioned bound book, too.

After a hot night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a late night arrival in Topeka and this go-go-going girl, this Grandma was ready for naptime, too!

Ode to Sesame Street

Remember that song from Sesame Street where they ask, "One of these things is not like the other?"

I'd say these two are quite a bit alike.

The photo at the top is Jill. Unfortunately, her mother was not known for labeling photos with dates. But Jill is probably about 3 in the photo.

The photo below is of Kinley this past weekend. She is 17 months old. Do you see the family resemblance? Yeah, we do, too.

Here's Jill with a baby doll ...

Kinley had fun with a baby doll this weekend, too. (The shopping cart was the same; the dolly was not.)

 

Just to give a bit of equal time, I found a photo of Kinley's Daddy that we used in the wedding slide show.

What do you think? Do you see a little of him in Kinley, too?

Grandma may have taken 193 photos this weekend. So there just might be another photo and story (or two or three or four) to come. What a fun weekend!