Three

April 30, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 4 Comments

Kaili woke up another year older. Three years old. In some ways it seems like time has passed at lightening speed but when I look at the picture below, well, it seems like three years ago.

Kaili knows her birthDAY, if you ask her when it is, she will say “April 29.” But she couldn’t understand why their wasn’t a party going on. I tried explaining it to her but it went way over her head and in the middle of my sentence she wanted to talk about something else. Typical girl.

She LOVES animals but most of all dogs. She talks about the next-door neighbors dogs as they are her own. When she sees letters in their names she will say R for Roxie, her own visualization. It doesn’t matter where you go, if there is a dog she wants to “meet’ it.

She LOVES cookies, chocolate and cake, who doesn’t? “Kaili, what do you want for breakfast?” “Cookies.” She is a good eater when she is really hungry so I find that starving her throughout the day makes her the best eater EVER at dinner. She will eat spicy food that some of her family members wouldn’t even touch and knows she needs to try everything at least once, that works about 95% of the time. It just so happens that she ends up liking it…95% of the time.

She is still a great sleeper but has an internal alarm clock than canNOT be reset. We are lucky to have her sleep to 6:30. It doesn’t matter what time she goes to bed. Actually she sleeps in a tad longer the earlier she goes down.

She might ask to see your nipple and I apologize for that…awkward. She doesn’t actually want to see your nipple, she is just performing a routine skin test and wants to check out your freckles and pimples. I don’t know why she can’t get that word out of her vocab, probably because it makes me laugh every time she says it.

She enjoys the beach but won’t go near the ocean…still. I try to get her to put her feet in each time we go but she clings to me as if I am dropping her off at a concentration camp. One day she will let go.

Kaili woke up to a present and then we hit the beach.

After we were all tan and covered in sand we walked to Belmont Park for a ride on the Carousel and some ice cream.

She was wiped at the end of the day. I would say she had a pretty good birthday, even if it was with just mom.

Happy birthday my sweet girl, I love you to the moon and back!

Birthday Fiesta!

May 3, 2012May 3, 2012 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

I can’t believe my baby is entering toddler hood. Kaili’s Fiesta was a hit and we had some pretty good food: tamales, carnitas, guacamole, rice, beans and for dessert, cupcakes! Recipes coming soon.

I had a blast planning her party, my creative juices have been put on hold since I stopped teaching so this was a fun outlet. I printed her monthly pictures in black and white, used a corner rounder on them and strung them above the table. I struggled with the umbrella topiary, they didn’t turn out like I wanted them too, but they were still cute. My mom helped me paint her name banner and helped me with the cooking. It was great having a bunch of our friends and family to help with everything and here to celebrate her big day. I love you all!

Kaili had a super fun day, maybe too much fun. She had a hard time winding down and it took a few days to get her back on schedule. I think she’s had enough sugar to last until her 2nd birthday.

Here is a glimpse through photos friends and family took.

IMG_20120428_103255 — Chocolate cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting

IMG_20120428_103304 — Red velvet cupcakes

IMG_20120425_145543 — cocktail umbrella topiary

After getting covered in cake she took a dip in her new pool

Happy Birthday to my amazing daughter. Being your mom is the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you more than you will ever know!!

xoxo,

Mommy

All {in a} Year

April 24, 2012 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

6 days! Less than a week and my sweet baby K turns 1-year-old. This has been the longest and shortest year of my life. It seems like just yesterday when Shane and I headed to the hospital to begin the induction process but when I see the pictures of her when she was a few months old and so tiny, it seems like ages ago.

We didn't waste any time getting you out of the house.

I look back at the past year fondly {excluding the delivery and recovery} . Kaili has been a happy and easy baby for the most part. I have heard horror stores about parents who end up dealing with major sleep issues, food issues, bodily issues, sippy cup issues ect. ect. I think we have had it pretty easy and Shane and I will be the first to admit that when things seem difficult, we really have been lucky. Someone told me once that it’s all a trick to get us to have another one, haha.

She has become such the little lady. She is determined and focused and has become quite the copycat. It’s been amazing to watch her go from this

to this.

I am really looking forward to what the next year brings. I am excited to start our trips to the beach, Sea World and the Zoo. I can’t wait to watch her take it all in.

Someone asked me if parenthood was everything I thought it would be. Yes, yes it is. I was very well prepared to have a baby and I haven’t been surprised by much. But thinking about this more over the past few days, there are a few things I wish I knew before having Kaili.

I really really wish someone would have told me I could have insisted on a c-section any time during the 36 hours of labor instead of having to wait until it became an emergency.
That finding normal moms to be friends with may prove to be impossible.
How many hours I would spend online researching different ailments and the amount of time I will spend worrying about her.
That I would still be numb at both incision sites and have sporadic pain when working out a year later.
How amazing it is to be able to stay home with her and get to watch her grow and learn in every way.