Christmas

I was a BIT of a slacker this Christmas with my camera.

I am a giant whale at the moment and sooooo ready to have this baby. 

I have been so tired this pregnancy, I think chasing around a 3 year old while carrying around an extra 30 pounds will do that to ya!

I literally didn't even take one picture Christmas Eve at Grammy and Aitachi's house (oops).

I did snap a few of our sweet girl with her Stompeez Christmas morning.

These slippers were literally the only thing she asked for this year.
Her face lit up as soon as she opened them. 

This kid and her love of pajamas and slippers...

After getting pretty we headed over to Titi's and opened more gifts, ate some yummy raviolis, and I got to sit down some more (I know it sounds ridiculous... but everything else is a lot of work at this point!)

She had to rock her black boots for the second Christmas in a row this year. 

She definitely pulls it off :)

And on another note... straight hair makes her look way too old!

After a few hours we headed to our third Christmas destination... Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Kenna got to open MORE presents and play with all her cousins.

She definitely made out with the toys this year. 

I requested "busy activities" for when the baby gets here, and everyone listened well!

I put about half of her gifts up and I can't wait to pull some out when the baby is here, it will be like Christmas all over again!

Merry Christmas from our little family of 3 (last time I can say that!)

These Days...

I live for days like today.

Cold weather outside, sweats, snuggling and time spent with my little love.

We decided to get in the Halloween spirit and make rice krispie treat pumpkins.

Slight Pinterest fail (not so pumpkin-ish) but hey, they tasted good.

And more importantly, it's a memory.

She might be too young to remember these days but I can guarantee I will.

First Field Trip!

We had our first field trip this morning to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm.

(Have I mentioned this is pretty much our favorite place in the world? I might have been ridiculously excited and counting down the days before we went.)

Chick made sure not to forget fashion first, obviously, even in her preschool shirt. 

We got there early in the morning, and set off for the hay ride to pick out our pumpkins.

Mikenna picked her 2 "most perfectest" pumpkins, we wrote her name on them, and then headed back to pet some animals and play for a little bit. 

I was so excited to meet all of her little friends and watch them play together. 

 They took turns driving the little cars and they were just the cutest little things!

After playing for a bit we watched the Pig Race and headed over to the train.

Leave it to my kid to pick the train cage (that's what I'm calling it anyway) where everyone sits on the floor. 

That was not an enjoyable train ride for this pregnant lady.

But, if it makes my girl happy, it's ok by me.

She had a blast and I'm so happy I got to spend that time with her. 

I hope she always thinks I'm cool and wants me to go on her field trips! (One can wish, right?)

The "big girl" class

It's official, my baby is growing up.
She moved up to the 3 year old gymnastics class this morning (a month and a half early, if I can just brag for a minute.)
This is her first class on her own, no more mama doing it with her.

A part of me was SO nervous for her, but so excited to watch also. (And let's face it, my big ol belly is sucking the energy out of me just walking, I'm thankful to have a 45 minute break every week.)

As soon as we pulled up I could see her get nervous.
But, she had no problem going in on her own, even if she was a little shy.
Her nerves got to her about halfway through class and she fell down on the ladder and the poor girl just lost it... huge tears everywhere.
She came out, I hugged her and told her we could go home if she wanted to, but she told me she was ok and wanted to go back.
She walked back in and finished off the class with a smile. (Proud mama moment!)

I love this girl and her tenacity.
She does not stop trying until she masters something, no matter how hard it is.
After going back in she did amazing and kept up with all the older kids easily.
It's amazing how you can watch her confidence soar when she masters something...
And I can't wait to see what this year in gymnastics brings us!

Just a little surgery... for fun on a Friday

Well, I'm not winning any wife of the year awards this month. 

Ryan has been complaining for a few days about a dull ache in his abdomen.

He rarely ever complains about anything but I think I might have told him a few times to drink some water and rest and I'm sure it will be fine.

Well,  whoops. He finally decided to go to the ER as the pain was getting worse Friday morning.

They checked him in and started running tests. 

By the time Mikenna woke up from her nap I figured we would go down and visit him since he had been there for so long. 

Mikenna got tired of sitting in the ER and thankfully my sister Heather was able to take her while I went back. That night they concluded it was his appendix and scheduled emergency surgery right away.

So at about 11:00 pm on a Friday night we were partying it up at Sutter getting a little surgery.

Ryan came out fine (although he's pretty hilarious when he's groggy.)
I planned on going back home to be with Mikenna but my sad, drugged husband looked up at me and said, "please don't leave me!"

I talked Grammy and Aitachi into going to stay at our house and thankfully Titi had already put Mikenna to bed.

I got to find out how it feels to sleep on those teeny tiny window beds taking care of your spouse all night. (FYI, not fun at 22 weeks pregnant, in case you were wondering.)

Ryan felt a lot better by morning and they told him he would be released later in the morning. 

I didn't have time to eat dinner the night before and my growling stomach kept me up all night so I decided to head home, grab Mikenna, and shove some food in my mouth before coming back. I ate two breakfasts in a row. (Hey, it's for the baby.)

Kenna was very happy to see that her Daddy was doing ok.

She was worried after seeing him in the hospital the day before. She took his food order, tried on some gloves and band-aids, and did a good job of keeping our spirits up. :) 

We are so glad our favorite man in the world is ok after that little scare and that bad appendix of his is gone!

Preschool = SAD Mommy

My little boo is almost 3.

3 means preschool.

I cannot BELIEVE she is old enough to go to school yet, but... she is.

I took her to tour some schools in the Spring and told myself I would base my decision to put her in school this year or wait until next year on how those tours went. 

Well, my independent girl would have been perfectly fine with me leaving her there during those tours...

and for the next month BEGGED me to take her back to school.

So, here we are....

first day of school for my first baby.

She is going to Rocklin Montessori Preschool, the school I felt fit her best when we toured.

She was the most "herself" there, but I can't help but question my decision.

Being a parent is HARD... are you ever at peace with your decisions?

I know it's a great school, I know it will foster her independence, I just hope I'm making the right choice for her.

I dropped her off with no tears this morning (from her anyway, I cried like a baby as soon as I got in the car), and picked her up happy after 3 hours.

So that's gotta be good, right?

As much as I will miss her every Tuesday and Thursday morning, I am so looking forward to hearing her stories everyday when I pick her up, and seeing the friends she makes, and bringing her artwork home.

I am so unbelievably proud of the independent, brave girl she has become... I can't wait to see how preschool will influence her as she grows.

Miss Mikenna, I hope you enjoy every second at school, I hope you love your teachers, make tons of friends, and always feel as confident in yourself as you do today on your first day. Good luck this year, sweet girl!

(And if you want to be a space man... reach for the stars, chick!)

Mini photoshoot with my funny little (almost) 3 year old

So, that whole catching up on the blog thing? 

Yeah, I'm only about 9 months behind.

But I really do want to keep this up especially with baby #2 coming... so I'm starting out with a new post and I'll (try to) go back and add older ones when I have the time. (Again, thank you back-dating!)

Anyway.... I take a billion pictures, we all know this.

But, I hardly ever take the time to just sit down and photograph Mikenna being Mikenna.

We do birthday shoots and I did a shoot in Santa Cruz this year, 

but she has so many funny expressions, quirks, little things I hope I never forget.

Like the fact that she will be the first to tell you she isn't 2, she's almost 3.

And the way she tries to debate anything and everything... she will make a fabulous lawyer someday.

And her voice, I have so many videos of her just talking. I hope I never forget that squeaky little voice of hers.

So, I decided to sit her down yesterday for 5 minutes in the dining room to capture a little bit of my almost 3 year old's personality. No props, no fun backdrops, just her.

I got a ton of pictures that I just love, all of them showing a piece of her personality.

My personal fave.

Silly girl.

Love this one too. Anyone who has seen her "pretty eyes," that's what's up with the head tilt.

A few of her many faces.

Oh, I love her. 

How could you not?

(And side note... can you believe she is starting preschool next week? I can't! This is going to be one emotional mess of a mama over here!!)

It's a BOY!

Well.... we had our ultrasound today, and it's a BOY!

WHAT?!

Tears were streaming down my face for the entire ultrasound, and as soon as we saw those little boy parts I was choking back the sobs. (Damn you pregnancy hormones.)

I have so many emotions and thoughts right now.

I'm excited for a new adventure, I feel so blessed to get to experience a son.

But I'm also nervous, I've got the pink and the tutus down, can I do cars and superheros?

Will I be a good mom to a boy?

Will I love him as much as I love Mikenna?

No matter what, I'm truly thankful, I always feel so much better after the 20 week ultrasound. 

Baby is completely healthy and I am thankful most of all for that. 

We can't wait to meet you cute boy... you look just like your sister so far!

...And I hope you enjoy her singing to you each day.

She loves you already.

living in a bathing suit.

This girl has spent alllll summer in a swimsuit.

If we aren't at the pool, she's outside playing in the sprinklers or her water table.

Those bleach blonde curls belong in the water anyway, don't ya think?

Keep bringin on these hot days, we are soakin em up!

Family of Girls

Growing up it was just me, my mama, and my 2 older sisters. 

My sisters started out being more like parents (they are 10 and 12 years older than me)...

...but they've become my best friends.

It was a little crazy, a little emotional, and very dramatic growing up with all women, but I wouldn't change it for anything. 

I have 3 amazing, strong women who have all made me who I am today.

I'm lucky to have my sisters to call anytime I need someone, and I can't wait to give Mikenna a sibling for that reason.

They are my rocks during the hard times, my people to call when I'm in the "new baby trenches," and they can always make me laugh when I need it the most. 

I am so lucky to have them... I hope my babies will love each other as much as I love my sisters someday!

Swim Lessons

We put our little fishy in swim lessons this year!

She LOVES the water, always has.

I wasn't too sure how lessons would work this young, especially with me in the pool with her, but she amazed me as usual.

 By the end of the two weeks she was jumping in on her own and swimming to me, or to the edge.

 Just about the only thing she wanted to do was climb out and jump back in.

And she did, over and over and over.

This brave little chick was even the first in her class to jump off the diving board. 

She loved every second of it.

She has been a little more cautious of the water this year, so I'm so glad we put her in these lessons.

She is able to swim to the edge and climb out, which is all I wanted for her safety!

She did so well that 2 of the teachers even recommended putting her on the swim team in a couple years!

I don't know about that... but I am so excited to see what her future holds.

It seems no matter what physical challenge is in front of her, she crushes it.

She will definitely be an amazing athlete someday, no matter what she chooses to do. 

Now if you need us for the rest of the summer, we'll be in the pool!

Fourth of July

One of our newest traditions is spending the 4th of July at Titi and Unco's house.

We all buy tons of fireworks, BBQ, play some kickball, and once it's dark Unco puts on the BEST fireworks show... complete with a full narrative for each and every firework.

Doesn't he look excited?

Really though... he makes the whole show.

Mikenna loves anything that requires staying up past bedtime, so naturally she's always game for a good 4th of July party... especially if there's cupcakes.

"Hey Kenna, did you eat one of the cupcakes without asking?"

"Umm.... nope!"

We went crazy and let her play with sparklers this year.

I know, I know... livin on the edge.

Don't worry though, I put it in a red cup so she wouldn't burn her fingers.

(Thanks pinterest, you're always there to help with my crazy overprotective parenting tendencies.)

After burning up the street with 10,000 sparklers it was time for the real fireworks.

Ryan helped out Master Randy during our show...

And miss Kenna had a blast. She sat patiently with Titi watching every one.

And clapping after every one, naturally.

Hooray America! And holidays!

Graeagle Vacay

Every year around the 4th of July we head to Graeagle.

It's kinda like Tahoe, only so much nicer.

They put on an amazing fireworks show and have a really fun parade on the weekend of the 4th.

Heather and Randy and the boys joined us in our house this year which made it even more fun!

We stayed on the golf course and the kids spent most of their days playing outside (including Ryan.)

Grammy bought Mikenna her own set of golf clubs this year so she played right along with Daddy.

We're working on her form... but she can definitely hit the ball!

Saturday night we headed out for fireworks and had an awesome spot to see them.

However we got there really early and had a while to wait.

But we kept ourselves entertained. 

GLOW STICKS! Best entertainment ever.

Don't let that face fool you... Jala loves it.

The boys worked hard on their "blue steel" look while we were there.

...and here's typical Kenna and Daddy.

Love them.

We stayed up way too late, then woke up and headed to the parade the next morning. 

Prego and nauseous mama was not feeling so hot so didn't take any pictures :(

<insert imaginary marching bands and cars and Mikenna looking excited here>

My little boo was so worn out.

She even fell asleep that night while I was reading stories (that NEVER happens)

The next couple days were lazy days.

We did a whole lot of laying around, taking walks...

...and crab walking through the house.

On Monday, our last full day, just the 3 of us went out to breakfast (my newest craving),

played by the pond and fed the ducks...

...and then watched Beauty and the Beast together with popcorn before bed.

It's so nice having so much time with all of us together.

Can everyday be vacation? Please?