My name is Mikenna, and I like to paint.

Do all 1-year-olds like to paint this much?

Artist in the making? I think so...

But... I'm probably a tad biased.

Sacramento Zoo

Ryan and I spontaneously decided to take a trip to the zoo for some family time with our little monkey.

Have I mentioned how much she loves "and-imals?"

Her favorite was definitely the flamingos, we had to go back to see them a second time.

We haven't been to the zoo since she was about 10 months old...

But when we went back then I had to pry her away from the flamingo fence.

She's a big fan.... maybe a future flamingo wrangler? (It's totally a profession... get off it.)

We also saw reptiles, fish, zebras, ostriches, monkeys, tigers, lemurs, kangaroos, and probably more I'm forgetting...

I love all of the little play areas scattered throughout the Sac zoo.

We had to bribe Mikenna away from the dump truck with a promise to come back.

When we went to see the Giraffe's we were able to pay an extra fee to be able to feed them.

Giraffe's are my hands down favorite animal so we did it without question.

Mikenna kept saying "here giraffe, get a cookie!" Kinda like a dog, only a smidge bigger.

Hehe... why are they so funny lookin?

Mmm..... lunch.

Before leaving we walked through the gift shop and Mikenna spotted a stuffed flamingo.

That thing has gone with her everywhere since we got it, totally worth every penny!

On our way back to the car we stopped to feed the rest of Mikenna's sandwich to the ducks.

I'm pretty sure this was her favorite part of our day, which reminds me... why do we pay to do things? She is so happy with the little things!

I love spending my days with those faces.

I started looking through the pictures from our previous year's trip to the zoo and was amazed at how much my little one has changed.

It's crazy what a difference a year can make...

Until next year zoo! (If we don't make it back before.)

Little Bookworm

Mikenna has always LOVED books.

We read books before she goes to bed and throughout the day when I am home.

We have read to her since the day she came home from the hospital, and it has always calmed her down.

She is becoming more and more independent and lately I hear her chattering away in her room doing this:

Always with a baby near her, mumbling away. 

The only word I usually catch is the title of the book she's reading. This one happened to be "Cyifford."

Grammy and Aitachi bought her a new, forward facing bookshelf, and she is one happy girl.

CHEEEEEEESE!

She takes all of her books out daily, and then puts them all back. She wasn't able to put all of her books away in her regular bookshelf, so I think she is just proud that she can do it herself.

Read on little bookworm...

The things she does...

My baby is 21 months old. (BAH! Closer to 2, please stop growing immediately)

She is sweet, loving, stubborn, focused, and very, very funny.

She "gets" jokes now and laughs very loudly and says "that's so funny!" (She's a great little self esteem booster.)

She is very much a mama's girl at the moment. (FINALLY!) I am soaking it all in.

She does and says some of the funniest things, and I wanted to write some of them down so I don't forget.

-Everything is a question. She raises her voice at the end of EVERY word/sentence and it sounds like she's asking a question no matter what she says. Anyone listening to her speak for the first time thinks it's hilarious. We are used to it, and actually the rare times she doesn't do it catches me off guard.

-She pluralizes just about everything. Our current favorite is the way she says "soaps" when she's in the bath. "Where'd the soaps go?"

-When we are outside walking around she tells me, "No step on the Jala poops!" or "Mommy keen up the Jala poops? It's too ucky." (Mind you, this is after all of the "Jala poops" are cleaned up.)

-I gave her broccoli for the first time without cutting it the other night and she said, "Mommy, I like the nummy trees!" The next morning she requested "trees" for breakfast.

-This morning she was jumping and trying to throw her ball at the same time and told me "I pay ba-ketball like Daddy!"

-She has finally officially figured out how to jump, and that's all she does all day long. Each and every time she says "JUMP!" It makes walking through a store extra fun... and very long.

-Every child we see is now a "Kenna" (they all used to be "babies"). Every woman or man is now a "mommy" "daddy" "grandma" or "grandpa." (Truly sorry to those we've offended, if you are over the age of about 50 you are a grandparent in Mikenna's mind.)

-She counts "1, 2, 5, 7, 4, 9, 10!"

-Letters are "yedders" and if she doesn't know what letter it is, she calls it an "R." (Apparently that's her default?)
-All of her babies and stuffed animals need diapers on, and need their diapers changed often. Mommy is changing lots of diapers lately!
-The other day I was changing and she told me, "Mommy, I like your princess panties!"

-She still makes the BEST elephant sound I've ever heard, I have yet to catch it on video, but I'm not giving up.

Mikenna is very much her own person at 21 months old, she knows exactly what she wants and how she wants it. Although it may be a little frustrating at times, that stubborn little spirit will be a great thing when she is an adult. I love the funny little sayings and things she does at each age... life is getting more and more fun! 

Happy Birthday to ME!

This year for my birthday I got the BEST gift ever.

(Kenna, I'm not sure I consider anything you have to suffer through 54 hours of pain for a "gift," otherwise this would be second, next to you of course.)

Anyway, my hubby did an amazing job at listening to me and got me exactly what I wanted.

I had no clue what he was getting me, in fact I had been a little irritated that our money had been so tight lately... little did I know he was actually putting money aside for this. Whoops, sorry babe!

I opened my present and instantly started crying.

Not the pretty, one tear runs down your cheek kind of cry either... the ugly face, borderline hysterical crying.

Here it is, in all its glory... my Nikon D5100:

Take a minute to take it all in... beautiful, isn't it?

Ok, I'm a photography freak and most people wouldn't be this excited. But I am! And that's all that matters!

I am a little bummed that I have been so busy and haven't had too much time to use this baby, but I've been playing around with it every chance I get.

Much more to come, as I figure all of these settings out (it may take me years).

In the mean time, a little sweetness for you:

Love her.

Beautiful Girl

Mikenna, my little ray of sunshine, you are so amazing. 

I love you more than I could ever begin to explain.

In your short 20 months here you have done and learned so much!

(Truly, a small part of me thinks you are a genius... you know all of your colors and a good majority of your letters at 20 months, and learned them on your own. Smarty, right? Ok, maybe I'm a little biased.)

Genius or not, you are beautiful inside and out.

I am so proud to be your mama.

That face melts my heart. 

Thank you for loving me like you do Mikenna Faith, you make me happy! 

xoxox

4th of July

Mmm-k so I'm totally behind (thank goodness for backdating).

I'm a much better blogger in the winter when we are stuck inside, but someday I will catch up I swear.

Here's some pictures of our fun on the 4th.

Mikenna and Ellie put on a show and played the drums with pens and pencils... Kenna always finds the fun stuff to play with at Titi and Unco's house!

We went outside once it cooled off enough (barely) for some kick ball and fireworks.

Kenna loved the fireworks this year.

Everytime one would stop she requested "More farworks pease!"

Did I mention how flippin hot it was? Check out Kenna's sweaty hair. Pretty sweet.

Unbearably hot or not, we had fun... holidays are so much more fun with a little one around!

See you next year "farworks!"