November 2015: Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Birthdays

November is the month of birthdays in our family. Not only do we have several siblings/cousins/nieces/parents with birthdays during November, it's also David and Kollyn's birthday month as well. So we were definitely busy with birthdays and holidays and spending time with friends.

But we've also had our fair share of downtime too, which has been really fun. :) Currently, K is all about her dollhouse and books (always books) and we spend hours upon hours with those in the living room while she arranges and rearranges the furniture in her dollhouse and has me read books to her while she plays.

David's birthday is November 5, and per tradition, we went to Tucano's with our friends Brook and Amy, and Colin. Colin's wife was going to join us, but she wasn't feeling well. K spent the whole time trying to eat the ice that was in my glass, and ate nothing on her plate, until right before we left she started eating a roll and asked for more, but by then we'd already left and she couldn't have another one. It was really weird because she usually loved and chows down like it's going out of style. Oh well, more food for us. ;)
As far as David goes, I am constantly amazed by this guy and how lucky I am to be able to watch him tackle life. He is so hard working and so ambitious. He started a company with his friends Brook and Colin (Sirviso, check it out on Facebook!) and has been working so hard trying to get it off the ground and make sure it's successful, while working a full-time job and going to school. And he always makes sure to take time for K as well. He is amazing with how he juggles things and he usually handles it pretty well. There have been a couple times where he has had to step back, but he regrouped really quick and was back in it. He is loving it though and wouldn't change it for anything. He's wanted to start his own company for a while and this has been the perfect opportunity for him. We also realized that if K hadn't been born when she had (albeit about 2 years before we would've originally planned) he never would've met Brook and gotten involved, so we have her to thank for this amazing opportunity. :) David keeps saying he owes her big-time. haha

A few weeks ago, K and I were in an accident. My car was rear ended at a stop light by a guy who thought our light had turned green, when it very much hadn't. It definitely could've been a lot worse and we were very lucky that it was such low impact. Both she and I are fine, baby boy is fine, and the only thing she really remembers from it is that her bucket fell down onto the floor of the car and she was not pleased about that. So we were very lucky and blessed it wasn't that bad at all.
My car however, may not agree. There was some pretty severe trunk damage (when we were trying to get the trunk shut and shaking the car is the only time K cried during the whole ordeal) and a cracked and chipped bumper. So the guy's insurance provided us with a rental car and we have loved driving it around the last few weeks. We had to return it yesterday because my car was repaired and it was a little sad. One day maybe we'll be able to afford a new car. In any case, I am glad that my car was fixable, that the damage wasn't as much as the car (though it was pretty close), and that it took them a little while to fix it so I could feel really fancy driving around in a fancy shamncy car. ;)

K came to me asking if we could have "cute hair". She would hand me a clip and tell me to put it in my hair or her hair. So naturally, we had to take a picture afterwards. She has really gotten into me doing her hair lately, which has been a learning experience for me because I'm not very good at doing my own hair, let alone someone elses. But she loves it and gets so excited about it. She shows everyone she sees her "cute hair" and just seems to happy

She loves pomegranates. We haven't tried them in a while, I was worried she wouldn't really know how to handle them, but she munches like a champ. She ate probably close to half a pomegranate by herself. She did love to share them with us though. She'd put one on the table by David, one by me, and then eat one herself. Then she'd repeat that until all the seeds in her bowl were gone. :) She is sometimes good at sharing!

The week of Thanksgiving we decided to bite the bullet and take the front off her crib to prepare her for a toddler bed, because when this little guy comes, I do not want two cribs. She has done amazing! We were really nervous she'd just get up and play and come out of her room and we'd be up all night trying to keep her in bed, but she has only gotten out of her bed for two naptimes and never comes out of her room. Even in the mornings, she waits until I come in to get out of bed. She loves being a big girl and will always tell us how she's a big girl because she stayed in her bed all night. The first night, I told her if she stayed in her bed all night, we'd go get a donut for breakfast so that definitely helped I think. haha. But she hasn't needed any bribing since then. We did have to put her front back on once when she kept getting out of bed at naptime, but she hasn't done it since then and has even napped in an actual bed twice without getting out! We lucked out, that's for sure and I just have to hope she keeps it up! We are so proud of her and how quickly she has caught on. Definitely less stress for us this way.

I didn't get many pictures of Thanksgiving, but that was because we were having too much fun and I didn't think about it until later on. We spent Thanksgiving day at Karin's house with them and Adam and Carlee. It was a lot of fun for K to be around so many cousins and have so many people who play with. She and Luke and Jane just have so much fun running around together. And Miriam is so sweet with them. She was following them around, carrying the bucket, playing with them, and was making them laugh a lot. It was nice to not really have to worry about her and spend time playing games like Heads Up (My 90s and Superstar knowledge are definitely rusty haha) and Pandemic. David was in charge of cooking the turkey and he had been talking about it and researching how to make the most moist turkey for about a month, if not longer, and was SO excited about it. It turned out really good, even if no one there was super proficient in how to carve a turkey. The meal was all awesome and we were definitely well-fed. It was a really fun day with family and good food. I can't really ask for much more than that.

 Friday we spent at my parents house doing Thanksgiving with them and my sister's family. Kollyn is so lucky to have so many awesome cousins on both sides of the family that just love spending time with her. The girls always get so excited when she comes over and she loves being the center of their attention. She also loves being treated like a big girl, and they do a great job of including her in everything they do. :)

It was a lot of fun watching her play the dog game with the girls, try to play Old Maid with us, and eat all the popcorn that she could get her hands on, even if most of it did end up all over the floor. She just really loves being big. I sometimes forget that she's only 2 and think she's older than that. Most people who meet her assume she's 3 or almost there, and I think sometimes I feel the same way. She just loves being big. :)



Speaking of birthdays, November 30, K turned 2. It's hard to imagine that 2 years ago, we were adjusting to life with a newborn and now here we are with a toddler and expecting another one. So much has changed, but for the better. :) In the days leading up to her birthday, I kept remembering what I was doing 2 years ago, not knowing that sooner than expected (I was expecting to hit my induction date because I hadn't progressed at all) we'd have our little girl.

Saturday the 28, we went to Airborne in Draper with Karin, David, and Luke. She LOVES to jump and is always bouncing around on something, whether that's her bed, the couch, the little trampoline at Karin's house or at my parents house, the big trampoline at my parents house, or just bouncing around the house, she just jumps all the time. So this was a no-brainer. We were there about an hour and a half and when we left, she was not happy about it and glared at us the whole time we were getting shoes on, getting her into the car, and driving home. She did not want to leave. We'll definitely need to get her in a gymnastics class as soon as we can. :)

Sunday we had a little party with the cousins, just cake and ice cream at our clubhouse, and Kollyn had a lot of fun running around and playing with all the cousins. We love having so many family members so close!! And because she is obsessed with sharks, of course it was shark "themed".

She hasn't put down the inflatable sharks since, and it's been almost a week. haha. She takes them everywhere, even to my physical therapy appointment. But everyone there thinks she's the cutest thing ever and the fact that she loves sharks makes her even more adorable to them. :)

I'm really pleased with how the cake turned out. :) David and I were a little nervous about how it would look, but it turned out better than I even imagined! :)

She was really excited about all the sharks on her cake, and that it was a "hammer head shark" on her cake.

She wasn't sure about the candle though, and so David had to blow it out for her.

She loved opening her presents and being the center of attention. :) I love how she has her little tongue stuck out while she concentrates on opening the present. She got a bunch of new books and she has been loving reading them all!

So, because of her love of sharks and other marine life, we were really excited to find out that the Living Planet Aquarium was free on Monday, her actual birthday!! And it's right by my chiropractor so we were already going to be up there anyway. Talk about the perfect timing. :) So we went over after our appointments and got in line. Naturally, because it was free day, the line was long, but it only took about 10 - 15 minutes before we were inside looking at all the fish. She'd been asking me if we could "watch fish" since I told her we were going that morning and she was very excited. Sadly, David couldn't join us, but it was a fun outing for the two of us and she was so fascinated that we were there for almost 2 hours.

It was cold so she sat in the stroller most of the time with her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. :) 

The otters were definitely one of her favorite exhibits. She loved watching them dive and jump and swim around. She is still talking about how the otters "jump the water and swim!" and gets really excited about it. We watched them for about 10 minutes because they were so active and playful. She didn't want to leave.

She also loved watching the penguins swim around, especially when they got right by the glass so she could see them better. 

She started yelling when she saw the Megladon jaw, "MAMA! BIG SHARK! LOOK! BIG SHARK!" so naturally we had a stranger take a picture of the two of us in the jaws of the giant. She was really excited about it and talked about it the rest of the day. When I put her down for her nap later, she kept saying her favorite thing was the "big shark picture".

This was her watching the actual sharks. They didn't have this exhibit the last time we went, and so we were both amazed by it. The stingrays and sharks would come swim right up by the glass and she was so fascinated. We sat there watching the sharks and fish and stingrays and the sea turtle for 20 minutes. She would get so excited when she saw a shark swim by and honesty could've been there for a lot longer than 20 minutes, but it was getting late and we needed to get home.

And for your watching pleasure, this is a snippet of the time we spent at the shark tank. :) I love how curious she is about things! She loves to learn and picks things up so quickly. It's so much fun watching her learn and grow!

It's been a busy, yet really fun, month. I still can't believe I'm the mom of a 2 year old, but I also can't believe she's only 2 because it feels like she's been in our lives forever. We have so many good things happening in our lives right now, and more to come. We are definitely blessed in many ways!

October 2015 - Additions, Crafts, Leaves, and Halloween

We got some family pictures done during October and we were very pleased with how they turned out. :) Yes, it was a Batman theme and I did that on purpose. Our photographer was awesome, super sweet, and a blast to work with. She captured K's personality perfectly and we all had a great time during the shoot. :)

She just wanted to play with her ball the whole time, so we got several adorable shots of her kicking the ball, but this one is our favorite.

She also loved that flower that David picked for her. She wouldn't put it down during the entire shoot.

 I just love her faces in pictures. She's so unpredictable.

Kollyn is also excited to be getting a little brother in March. :) I don't think she really understands, but she seems to be catching on slowly to the idea that soon we'll have a baby around all the time, instead of just when we go see our friends with babies. ;) We're really excited about this new adventure, as nervous as we are about having a little boy, and I am excited to watch this one grow up just as we've been watching K grow up. I am anxious to see his personality, how he and K interact, and watch him grow up into the little person he will be.

K still adores Daddy above all else. She is really excited on weekends especially when he's home and cooks breakfast (because he makes tatoes and bacon). They build towers, have races up and down the hall, and she just follows him around wherever he goes whenever she has the chance.

 We had a great craft day this month with friends. K wasn't sure she wanted the spider hat on, but was willing to wear it for a couple pictures. She was most pleased with the pumpkin and the mummy (who is also called boy). I think we're going to try to make this a monthly thing, have a craft day with a craft that kind of represents that month. It ended up mostly being me and my friend Alyx while K played with her friend, but it was still fun. She likes to show off her crafts whenever someone comes over so we put them up on the wall so everyone can see them. She was very proud of herself.

We've been doing a lot of travelling lately, mostly driving around running errands or going up to my parents house. K loves going up there, and is always super tuckered out when we come home because she's been playing so hard. She also loves to wear her sunglasses, but mostly puts them on upside down, and then says, "Ooooo, look at you" because that's what I always say to her when she puts them on. :) It's so cute!

This was the first year that K really understood leaf piles and once she figured out how fun jumping in them was, she just kept jumping and throwing handfuls up in the air and giggling about it. It was so much fun to watch her experience that. She even wanted to try to rake a little bit. She had so much fun with the pile. The only reason we stopped was because I got stung by a wasp and I didn't want to have that happen to her. 

Enjoy this adorable video of her jumping and throwing leaves. :) And feel free to ignore my constant talking.

We kicked off the Halloween festivities with the Apline City business walk around the businesses by David's office.We had changed her costume a few day before so this was the trial run. It was a success. Originally, she was going to be an alligator, but as the day got closer, she decided she didn't want me to put the costume on her, so we had to find a different plan. Our friend Amy had a great idea to make tutus for our little girls and it was a huge hit. K didn't want to take it off all week. We have glitter all over, even though we've vacuumed about 5 times since then. Her costume became a fairy instead.

When David heard I was making K a tutu, he asked if I could make him a yellow and black one so he could wear a tutu with her and a Batman fairy. I love that he was so into it and excited about it. He wanted to match her and I think she loved that we all wore tutus and had wings, even if she was the only one that had a wand. :)

She had so much fun walking around with Dada, getting candy, and having people "Oooh" and "Ah" over her costume. 

We went to Hee Haw Farms with my mom the week of Halloween. K wasn't feeling too great so she wasn't super into it, but by the end of it, she was happy enough to take pictures in the face holes, and ride the little train. 

The real fun was Halloween. We upgraded her costume so she could be a Batgirl fairy with David, and once she realized that she could knock on someone's door and get candy, she and Luke were runnIt's ing around the neighborhood. 

Our little fairy family. :)

It's been a pretty crazy month, with all kinds of unique challenges, but it's been a lot of fun. 

David has been involved with a start-up company for a few months now and they're finally getting close to launching their product. He's so excited about it and talks about it all the time. I haven't seen him this excited in a long time, so it's been fun to experience this with him. And because all the founders are close to the same stage of life, I've been able to make friends with the other wives and K has been able to make friends with their kids. It's been a blessing in a lot of ways already and we're just hoping that it continues to bless us. He's still working at PCG, but is hoping that soon their company will take off to the point where they'll be able to quit their current jobs and just work for their company. David is most excited to be his own boss I think and be able to be the boss that he has wanted to have, so that other people won't have to deal with the craziness that he's had to.

I've been dealing with pregnancy issues on top of having a very stubborn, curious, and very independent toddler. It's been a rough go, that's for sure. I have pretty severe morning sickness, this time I lost 25 pounds in the first trimester because I was so nauseous and would throw up quite a bit and never wanted to eat anything, but would make myself eat only to be filled up after a few bites. Discovering the Unisom and B6 combo has helped significantly. I'm no longer overpoweringly nauseous every day like I was. I still don't have much of an appetite, but I've gained about 3 pounds in the last month though, so my OB is no longer concerned. I'm very happy with the OB that I have. He's in the same practice as the OB I had with K, but sadly, my original one, Dr. Lind, retired not too long ago. I cried when I found that out because I loved him. I have been very impressed with my current OB though. I recommend their practice to everyone who asks. :) I love how awesome the nurses are and they always answer any question I call in with, even if it is a silly question. They always take the time while I'm there to answer any questions too and I never feel rushed which I love.
We had our anatomy ultrasound on the 14 and it was really fun. I'd been feeling like this one was a boy, but kept trying to convince myself it was a girl because we have a ton of girl stuff and then we wouldn't have to buy any new stuff, so when the tech put the picture up on the screen and labeled it boy, I didn't believe her. It took a minute or two for me to really let it sink in. :) But he is definitely a he, and not shy about it. I now have to wrap my head around the idea of having a boy. But I'm excited about it. And I know David is also really excited about it as well. He's measuring about a week behind what my due date is, March 3, so I have no decided to tell myself that my due date is March 11 so I don't get frustrated when he doesn't come until closer to the 11, since K was 5 days late. She was also a little small, so who knows when he'll come.
Any advice about the transition from one to two would be super helpful! I'm really nervous about it if I'm being totally honest.

We are really excited to see what November brings. And we're excited to kick off the holiday season for the first time that K really understands a bit of what's going on. :) It's going to be great fun!

September 2015: Friends, Family, and Chocolate Donuts

September started out with Swiss Days (naturally, why wouldn't it?) and Kollyn had a lot of fun! :) She loved the parade, especially the horses and "old cars", and even the weird on/off rainstorms didn't deter her from watching. We wandered around, got her some new wooden blocks since she loves to build things and a little wooden truck and horse trailer with handcarved horses. She has been in heaven playing with them the last few weeks. :) It was a hit. She ate a lot of food (the cheese curds were especially popular) and loved seeing her aunts (she kept saying BEANY all the way up the canyon) and of course hanging out with Grammie and Poppa. (and the bach-bachs because life isn't complete without some chickens in your life).

Beany helped her go get the eggs, another one of her favorite pastimes at Grammie and Poppa's house.

Showing off her tower that she and Dada built. She loves to build towers. They are seriously some of the only toys we play with anymore, and she is content for a good while just building her tower and making sure everything is just perfect. The other day, she built a tower so perfect, that she refused to let anyone, including herself, destroy it.

So much cousin love going on between these three. :) They love to hold hands, run around, and play together. 

We had a ton of fun going to Airborne with Karin, David, and Luke on Labor Day. :) Kollyn seriously couldn't get enough of it. She was running around, jumping on the trampolines, diving into the foam pit and climbing around in there. She was seriously having a blast. It is definitely what we will be doing for her birthday. :)

Sometimes, our friend Lily comes over to play while her mom's in classes. :) And we love having her. Kollyn adores her and tries to share all kinds of things with her, even if she doesn't want it. For days afterwards when I asked Kollyn what her favorite thing that we did that day was, she would always respond, "Lily play house" because she loved having her friend come play. :) 

This gem was when we went and visited them. Kollyn sat on Lily's elephant and Lily pushed her around the living room. :) They were both totally entertained by this game and kept at it for a while. 

Every once in a while, when we go grocery shopping, we let Kollyn have a donut. And sometimes, if she's really good, we let her eat it while we're shopping and pay for it at the register. And sometimes, she gets chocolate all over her face and hands. ;) But she's so cute it's not a big deal. That's what wet wipes are for, right?

She loves to sit in things. Boxes, her laundry basket, the bag her blocks are stored in, anything that can be sat in, she sits in it. And loves every minute of it.

This is her being "sad". Usually she does this when she doesn't like me saying no, or when she can't have something, or if she's SUPER tired (which has happened quite a bit lately because she's getting her 2 year old molars and hasn't been sleeping as well). She just lays on the floor and says, "Sad" with her face in her hands. Better than her throwing a tantrum, right? I think it's adorable.

She likes to tuck Dada in as she's getting ready for bed. She just adores him and they are just so cute together. :) He basically turns into a kid around her and they have so much fun, she is definitely a daddy's girl. :)

She LOVES books and loves to read. She's always reading a book, and thanks to the Endless Alphabet app is getting really good at identifying letters, and even knows the sounds some of them make. She loves to learn and is always finding new books to read and remembers things so well! I can't ever deny her when she comes to me with an armful of books and wants to sit and read them. :)

David is really liking his job at PCG, He's been moved over to more database stuff, which he really enjoys, and less accounting. He is always talking about how much he likes the people he works with and how he's liking what he's doing. I'm glad he's found a job that he actually enjoys, especially after what he went through at Vivint. :) We were very blessed to have this opportunity.

I'm just enjoying my time with Kollyn. She learns new things every day and loves to entertain. She always asks me for snuggles before naptime, "Snuggle minute?" And likes telling me about her day. I love seeing what her favorite things are that she does. If she truly loves it, she talks about it for days afterwards as if she did it just that morning. :) Being her mom is hard sometimes, but definitely rewarding. :) I'm glad I get to do it. :)