All things Christmas!

Does everyone make a huge deal out of Christmas at their house? 

We love it, and it's about a month long process over here.

We always put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving, and from there we bake cookies, read Christmas stories, sing carols, watch Christmas movies... all month long.

I'm always looking for more fun things to do in December, so if you have more ideas, please share!

A few days before Christmas we baked some Santa cookies.

This was the first year Kenna was able to help, she decorated her Santa cookies all on her own.

Santa may or may not have OD'd on sprinkles. (Sorry Daddy)

We spent Christmas Eve at Auntie MaryAnn and Uncle Ray's house.

The kids played, opened presents, and we had a yummy dinner.

I forgot my camera (I know I know, bad mom)... but look how cute my little munchkin looked before we left!

Is she a walking GAP ad or what? 

No really, she is... it's the only store I can find that makes clothes that fit her long and lean little body.

Anyway, Christmas morning is the most exciting for ME!

I woke up at 6 am ready to go shake my child and wake her up... SANTA CAME! GET UP!

But, parenting rule #1: never EVER wake your sleeping child, unless you absolutely have to.

So I waited around, got ready, and as soon as I heard a peep from her we grabbed her and ran downstairs.

This is the first year Mikenna completely understands and loves presents, so it was so much fun.

Every time Mikenna pulled something out of her stocking she would walk away completely satisfied.

Nope, keep going kiddo.

Daddy Santa didn't realize that Mommy Santa had already shopped, so Kenna ended up with WAY more presents than she could have imagined.

She got Monster's Inc., some nail polishes, chapsticks, a dancing Dora doll, some puzzles and learning toys, fruit snacks, M&M's, and a bunch of little toys in her stocking.

Happy girl. (And check out that sweet morning hair!)

Jala got some new balls and treats, all he needs in life.

Before we left for Titi's house we took a few pictures.

I never EVER get in front of the camera so on Holidays I make sure I slip into some.

I'm so proud of my husband, he's getting good with that camera. 

I love love love these pictures and they will soon be framed!

We spent the rest of the day at Titi's and then at Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's house for dinner.

Christmas is always crazy, we just have so much family!

But I love the fact that we get to see everyone, it's worth the chaos.

Mikenna got unbelievably spoiled (I will be spending the next few days cleaning out old toys to make room for new ones), we had some yummy food and got to spend some time with ALL of our family, couldn't ask for more! 

Baking cookies with Hannah

Best thing about winter time?

Baking cookies, of course!

We spent some time baking and decorating cookies at Hannah's house this morning.

Our little "helpers" had a blast.

(Evidence that at one point they were actually helping)

"Girls, are you eating it?" "No mama!"

Licking the beaters is the best part!

Decorating their cookies... frosting and sprinkles.

(And again, evidence that at one point they were decorating!)

Caught! Sprinkle thieves... 

We originally had planned on sharing some of these, but clearly we just kept them for our own houses.

At least they had fun... we'll try again next year! 

DISNEYLAND part 2

Our second and third days at the park were even better.

Little miss knew what to expect so she was ready to party as soon as we woke up!

We headed to Toon Town to start our Saturday morning, since I knew there was a lot to do for her age range there.

There actually is a LOT she wasn't able to do this time at Disneyland.

Well, there was a few things I decided we would avoid this time also.

She doesn't know about ghosts or goblins, doesn't understand "scary" things quite yet, and although lots of people take their 2 year olds on rides like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean, I wasn't comfortable taking her on those rides and exposing her to those things.

You only get to be little once, I'll keep her sweet and innocent and nightmare free as long as I can :)

Anyway, enough with that rant (apologies if you disagree with me on that one), on to Toon Town....

Kenna loved exploring through the little houses and playing at the park (although she was a bit puzzled why the little doors wouldn't open, ha!)

We got to meet Mickey after a short wait and some cartoon watching in his house.

Kenna LOVED Mickey (shocking!)

She gave him hug after hug.

I think the characters secretly liked her more than the other kids, but that could just be my biased opinion. She seemed to get a few extra hugs.

We met a few more characters, rode the creepy Roger Rabbit ride (she wasn't a big fan) and played a bit longer with Grammy and Aitachi.

Anyone going to Disneyland with little ones, I highly recommend Toon Town!

It's the only place they can really get out, walk around and play on their own, Kenna loved it (minus the ride).

We headed back to Main Street for some lunch and caught the Mary Poppins Parade.

My little dancer was in heaven!

She would dance along with every song and clap as soon as each one ended. Gotta love her.

We even had time to sneak in a family photo in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. 

(Have I mentioned the Mickey gloves yet? Ryan wore those things the entire trip, and high-fived everyone who walked by. One of the reasons I married him... he's so much fun!)

After a loooooooong morning we headed back to the hotel for a family nap.

Kenna crashed before we even got out of the park.

Oh, and the best part of our trip? Fire alarm went off in our hotel and we had to evacuate 45 minutes after we got back that afternoon. So much fun to wake an overtired toddler, grab your things and run outside to the parking lot (except not at all.)

It was a false alarm luckily but since we were all awake we decided to head to a dinner with just the 3 of us.

It sounds funny but we do dinners with other people so often, sometimes it's really nice to just go out with us, we rarely do it!

After a yummy dinner we went back to our hotel to meet Santa. 

Mikenna definitely wasn't as into Santa as the Disney characters,
but I was proud she was willing to say hi and sit on his lap!
I'm so glad she isn't shy or scared, she is a brave girl and willing to try just about anything.

After dinner and a little time at the park we headed up to the top balcony at our hotel to check out the World Of Color show.
You could see everything up there, it was awesome!

Was my kid watching this amazing light/water show?
Nope, there was music on... she was busy dancing.

We may or may not have given her a massive lollipop sugar high to keep her going that night.

We decided since it was our last night that we would try to make it out at the park as long as possible.
We lasted until about 11 and then we were all ready for bed.
The park is amazing at night though, I'm so glad we went back out!

We spent our next day (Sunday) at California Adventure until we headed home around 3.
I vowed not to take any pictures this day and just spend time enjoying my family.
So, sorry nothing to show... but sometimes I have to remind myself to stop capturing the moment, step back, and live in it!
We had an amazing time and the drive home went really fast which made it even better.
Mikenna did SO much better than I expected for her age, I don't think she cried once!

Goodbye Disneyland, until next time!

 I can't wait to go back... trying to talk Ryan into another trip!

DISNEYLAND! Part 1

I was just a teensy bit excited about DISNEYLAND this year!

Not gonna lie, I hardly slept the Wednesday night before we left.

I jumped out of bed at 5am Thursday, we loaded up our car and headed out!

We thought leaving Mikenna in pajamas would be a good idea and she would just sleep on the drive...

Negative.

(Seriously... I thought all kids slept in the car?!)

She did great though, no complaining, no tears... not bad for a 2 year old on a 7+ hour drive!

We arrived late that afternoon and got settled in, went to dinner with everyone (lots of family joined us), and decided to get to bed early that night so we could rest for the park in the morning.

Well, we woke up that morning to a grumpy girl.

Have I mentioned Mikenna is my child?

She takes a while to warm up to EVERYTHING, and until she does, she is very serious.

I think she was a bit overwhelmed with everything at the park... the people, the noise, the rides.

She asked to ride some rides though and even though we couldn't tell if she liked them or not, her first words once we got off were, "Go do it again now?"

She loved the Dumbo ride and LOVED the Casey Jr. train.

We spent the rest of the morning riding a few rides with Grammy and Aitachi.

THEN... we found Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore.

As soon as she saw those characters, Mikenna was a happy, HAPPY girl!

 She couldn't get enough of Tigger.

That excitement on her face when she got to hug the characters made the WHOLE trip worth it.

That was all she needed to make her happy for the rest of the day.

We spent a few more hours at the park spending some time with Grammy, riding rides, eating treats, and meeting more characters.

After a few more hours of fun my tired girl was more than ready for a nap.


We headed back to the room for a late afternoon nap before dinner with everyone that evening.
After an awesome nap and a yummy dinner at Rainforest Cafe, we headed to California Adventure with Aitachi.
We were dying to take Kenna on the Monsters, Inc. ride (her favorite movie) and the Little Mermaid ride (her favorite princess).
She loved the rides and we found so much more she was able to do at CA Adventure, it was awesome!
We made it back to Dinseyland just in time for the fireworks on Main Street.

And what are fireworks without a little sugar, right?

It was a looooooooong day, we all slept pretty darn well that night!

2 Year Checkup

I procrastinated a bit on scheduling Mikenna's 2 year checkup.

I called 3 weeks before her birthday and her Dr. was booked for 2 months!

Apparently he's popular...

But we love him and if there is ever an emergency they see us immediately, so can't complain too much. 

Everything went great as usual at her appointment!

Age: 2 years, 1 month, 9 days

Height: 37 1/4 inches (99th percentile)

Weight: 28 lbs 6 oz (62nd percentile)

We always start preparing for her appt the day before, explaining what's going to happen.

That has seemed to work out very well for us, she is always happy and friendly while we are there.

I thought she was going to get some shots at this appt so I prepped her for that as well, but no shots this time, yay! (She was a bit sad about not getting a lollipop though.)

She was chatty as usual with the receptionist and the nurses, and was happy to strip down and read some books while we waited for the doctor.

The Dr. came in and did his quick check-up.
He is awesome, he does her whole check-up with her on my lap, she never even sits on the table.
As we already knew, she is healthy (and TALL!) as can be.
I have noticed lately she has been getting these bumps on her cheeks so I asked about those. It is a common issue that is caused by protein not breaking down correctly in the skin. He recommended a cream that will make it go away if you use it consistently but said it doesn't bother her or affect her at all, and we can choose to use it or not. We will get the cream and use it when she's older and aware of it. For now you hardly notice it anyway, and I think she's perfect even with her bumpy little cheeks.

Some fun things about Mikenna at 2:

The kid LOVES fruit. She would eat fruit all day long.

Actually, she'll eat just about anything. She is by no means picky and eats whatever you put in front of her.

She introduces herself as "Kenna," and finds the letter 'M' everywhere we go and says "a M for Kenna!" 

She knows just about every letter in the alphabet.

She has officially stopped calling me Maymi and Ryan Da-y, and now we are Mommy and Daddy (a little sad)

She has really started pretend play-she loves her babies and changes their diapers and feeds them often.

Her new favorite activity is play-doh, all. day. long.

She is still my outdoors/water baby. Rain or shine, the girl wants to be outside. On cold days we take mid-day baths so she can get her water fix.

The "terrible twos" have set in. But as much as I thought it would be rough, I love every minute of it. I love that she fights for what she wants, and that she is stubborn, and that she is strong-willed. These are great adult traits and even though it can be frustrating in the moment, every night I go to bed proud of my girl for standing up for what she thinks. She will be a very strong woman someday, and that makes me a very proud mama!

Life with a 2 year old is by no means easy, or glamorous, or fun all the time... but I wouldn't change it for the world. In those "I need to run away moments" I try to remind myself that someday I'm going to miss this, meltdowns and all. I'm soaking up each and every one of these moments knowing that before I blink she will be 3!

November (in June?)

I REALLY am determined to get back on schedule here...

I've been slackin, BIG time (only like 7 months behind!)

If you were to look at my computer you really would think I'm on it...

I've got everything lined up with pictures ready for zee blog.

So really, I need to get on it. (Again, thank you back dating!)

I don't have much to post from November because we were busy with fun things like Wacky Tacky and Bounce-U where I end up playing like a 3 year old, hence not having my camera on me.

I did have my phone and took a few pics of my girl... she loves those "raining balls."

And those tunnels... have I mentioned what a great workout Wacky Tacky is for ME?

I swear miss Kenna's energy never runs out! (Share some with mama? Please!)

I do wish I had made more of an effort to take some more photos this month, but I promise December will more than make up for it!

We did get the chance to snag a few family photos on Thanksgiving though:

I love us! :)

"Chicka Tree" Day

As soon as we get done with the birthday/end of the month madness each year it's Halloween time!

I feel like we never have enough time to do "Halloween" things in October because we are so focused on Kenna's Birthday.

We start prepping for Halloween on the 29th after the birthday madness is done.

Halloween has a whole new meaning for me now that we have a little one.

Our first Halloween as a family of 3, all I can remember is being so overwhelmed... I was happy just to get a picture.

Now, we are decorating, doing crafts, getting dressed up, and trick or treating.

Here's our last 3 Halloween's in a nutshell:

Pumpkin, Tinkerbell, Ladybug... love em all.

We got to go to a costume party early this year to practice dressing up.

Mikenna kept asking, "chicka tree (trick or treat) day yet?" even though she had no clue what that meant.

When Halloween day finally arrived she was begging to "chicka tree."

We got out her bag and some candy and did a little practice run at home.

She liked taking the candy in and out of her bag more than anything...
But she had the "chicka tree!" and "thank you" down.

We headed out in our neighborhood with her friends Eli and Bella.

Mikenna and Eli have been buds since birth.
They just so happened to be a ladybug and a bumblebee this year,
so we HAD to take them out together!

Love those little bugs!

Mikenna treated trick or treating like an event.
She would get candy, say a quick "tank-you!" and run off to the next house saying "next one, come on next one!"
Eli and Bella weren't in such a hurry, we repeatedly had to tell Kenna to slow down and wait.
(She is definitely her mommy's girl)

After a long walk around both loops and an overflowing candy bag we came back home and let Kenna choose one piece of candy to eat.

She chose a fruit roll-up. (Have I mentioned that I love her?)
She is so excited that she got fruit snacks and roll-ups in her bag, I think we may be giving some of those out next year :)
Happy chicka tree day everyone!

2 year photo shoot

I was hoping to get a few good shots of my girl for her 2 year pics, and ended up with a ton!

We "practiced" a couple days before Mikenna's shoot in her room.

 She loves the camera and as soon as I pull it out she starts giggling.

A few days later we went out to a park/nature preserve near our house.

It ended up being HOT but Kenna was a trooper.

Ready for picture overload?

Apologies... I just love them all! 

 LOVE.

A quick wardrobe change... what's a photo shoot without a tutu?

Do you want to pinch those cheeks as much as I do?

Fave.

I couldn't ask for a more perfect 2 year old to photograph running through the woods in a tutu.

Thanks for cooperating and showing me all the beauty the world has to offer, pretty girl.