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!