Weekend Wrap Up

We had a really fun 3 Day weekend. It started on Friday when we got to babysit cousin Jadon. Jim and Rachel attended an award's show where To Save a Life was nominated for the Epiphany Award. Unfortunately, Chronicles on Narnia won it. I guess it's kind of hard to compete with CS Lewis.


It's been fun to watch Kylie and Jadon be able to interact more and more. Jadon has just started crawling on his knees and pulling to a stand, all in one week. On this visit, Kylie enjoyed patting Jadon's head and Jadon enjoyed chasing Kylie while she cruised around with her walker. Aargh, I can't get the underlining to go away- so annoying.




Watching Daddy/ Uncle Jimmy pack up the car.

Saturday was quite uneventful. Jim and Rachel left after breakfast and Matt and I actually stayed in our PJs til 2:00! We both read in bed and took naps while Kylie took hers.


After church on Sunday, we went to the Long Beach Aquarium with Dave, Megan, and Levi. It was pretty crowded but both kids were excited about seeing all the fish.





It was nice that there were no signs that said stay off the glass. Kylie hasn't really had much exposure to fish tanks and she sure didn't seem scared of them at all.


On Monday we took advantage of the nice weather and drove to the Terranea Resort in PV with Tim, Sheri, and Stevie. We ate lunch on the bluffs and enjoyed a beautiful walk.


The girls were so well behaved they even let us 4 adults play a few rounds of pinochle.

Kylie sure seems to be into patting heads these days. See both the water bottles- I never would have guessed before having Ky that they would be such a handy toy.


That's one of the Terranea pools in the background...we were hoping the waiters would walk over to us and offer us the drink menu, but they never did.

Thanks for being such great troopers girls!

Valentine's Weekend Fun

For Valentine's Day, Matt planned for us to take a super fun cooking class with friends. It was a blast and we made some delicious Italian food. We had taken a class from the same chef a few years back but it was much more fun cooking and enjoying the food with great friends.





Matt's family was in town on Sunday and we enjoyed an afternoon stroll on the strand.



Kylie also got her first haircut from Yassmin, who cuts both Matt and my hair. Note: this picture was staged. Kylie sat on my lap during the hair cut but there was no one to take our picture. Yassmin makes super cute hair clips and gave Kylie one after the cut...maybe someday she'll actually be able to leave the clip in.

8 on Monday

1. I ran my first race in 2 years yesterday, the RB Superbowl 10K. In fact, the last race I ran was this same one 2 years ago (just a month before finding out I was pregnant)...can't believe I haven't raced in that long! Anyways, I ran with my friend Meghan and felt great. I did it in 53:36 (2 min. slower than 2 years ago) but I just wanted to break 55 so I was happy.



2. I'm excited to watch Meghan (same one as pictured above) and Mike on Wheel of Fortune tomorrow (Tues.) night!!! I've been excited to watch it since they filmed in Vegas in July.

3. I'm getting a little anxious for Kylie to walk and talk. We're going on 16 months already. I think she's close but who knows, could be another month away....The flip side is that b/c she's still not walking or saying anything definitive, she still seems more like my little baby rather than approaching toddlerhood which I like.

4. I've been making fun bows for Kylie's hair (she's kind of going through an awkward hair length) but I can't get her to keep them in...anyone have any suggestions??

5. I never knew I had any followers of my blog. I just assumed that since I didn't have that icon on my site, I didn't have followers...but while editing a post, I discovered I had 6 followers. Thanks friends! And actually, I don't even know what that means. Do they get an email or something when I do a new post?

6. My 2 favorite shows this year are Parenthood and Modern Family- LOVE them both!

7. My friend Julie just mailed me her old Pottery Barn red striped valances for my kitchen- so fun to get them in the mail today! Thanks Jules!

8. Matt's sick and might stay home from work tomorrow. We both were feeling crummy yesterday afternoon- I think Kylie gave it to us but I feel better now. I wonder if it's because I got the flu shot and Matt didn't???

Kylie's Favorite Hangouts...

The dishwasher...

How much weight can it hold?

Mommy's closet....

Is she already into shoes?

And the park of course!

You lead the way Kylie

Rearranging Furniture

On many of the decorating blogs I'm addicted to (Penny Pinching Designs, Jones Design Company, The Inspired Room, and The Nesting Place are my faves) they talk about simply rearranging the furniture/ decor you have to create a fresh space.


I always think, but I don't have anything to rearrange. Until this evening! Matt did a lot of projects around the house today and even agreed to cook dinner. So when I suggested that we finally move the Pack n Play out of the front room (it was to the right of the TV console), he gave me an unmotivated look to say the least. However, he obliged. We have an old chair that desperately needs to be recovered in the garage that I figured we would someday move in here. But Matt had a brilliant idea. Move the chair from the office to the front room. I love the extra seating it creates for this room. The pack n play had become a catch all for Kylie's toys so I did purchase the seagrass basket today from Target to hold all her stuff. Again, my smart (he he) husband really pushed for getting a basket with a lid to hide everything. I wanted this cute smith and hawkins one that had a little chalkboard sign attached where I could write toys, but it was uncovered. Okay, this is way TMI, but I'm so glad I got the covered basket. Everything else we already had. And I just switched the lamp with the books on the TV Console because what I'm MOST excited about is I think this will be my new perfect Quiet Time/ Read my Bible spot in the mornings. The chair is super comfy and there's a great spot for me to set my coffee. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow morning. Thanks for working so hard today, Matt, you deserve more hugs:)
*Oh and for those of you that come over with babies, we moved the Pack N Play into the office so there's still a place for you to put them down, and a quieter one at that! (If you're even still reading this far down:)

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving

Well maybe not flirty, but definitely thirty and thriving:) Since turning 30 (since it's been a whole day now), I've learned to be thankful for what I have...and this weekend, I had a ton to be thankful for!



On Saturday night we went out with 6 other couples for a DONK (Dinner Out No Kids) to Petros in MB. If you haven't gone, I highly recommend....delish! Just be sure you're clear on what you're ordering first, I had a bit of a surprise...anyway. The guys were there too but the table was so long so we just got a girls shot instead. Thank you friends, I so enjoyed my time with you all! And thank you Mom and Dad for all the babysitting you did!


On Sunday, Matt and I headed to Santa Monica to stay the night at the Huntley hotel. This was my first night away from Kylie, it felt good to wake up on my own timing. We enjoyed the Huntley restaurant on top of the hotel for before dinner drinks to watch the sunset and after dinner dessert.




We came home on Monday (my official bday) to a warm bday welcome!


Jim, Rachel, and Jadon drove up for lunch and hangout time. Jim and Rachel made me this awesome book of 30 wishes filled with my favorite things! It's so cute, I don't want to take anything apart.


Matt got me a cute outfit from Katwalk and their giftwrap comes with these super cute headbands:)


After lunch we went to the park. And yes, the 3 of us have very white legs. I know it was almost 80 degrees, but it's still the middle of Jan!


We got to watch Jadon do a lot of "firsts" at the park- swing, slide and he even beat Kylie on a race down this slide.


Group shot- 7 out of 8 looking at the camera is pretty good I think!


Thanks again everyone for making my birthday so special! So far I'm embracing 30 and looking forward to a great year!

Christmas in Davis

We spent a wonderful week in Davis with my family.


Kylie got to hang out with her buddy Kayli during the Christmas Eve Service.


Opening stockings Christmas morning


Grandpa helped Kylie open hers


The 8 of us went to a Kings game. So fun! Thanks for the tickets Jim and Rachel.


The cousins were able to interact a little more this time, I can't wait for them to be able to actually play together.


My good friend from college, Jess, came to hang out one afternoon with her baby Riley. Kylie was really into Riley. Thanks for making the drive Jess!


Kylie loves her Uncle Jim- esp when he lets her crawl on the dining room table.


Heading out for New Year's Eve dinner fun with good friends Matt and Cara. Thanks for babysitting Mom and Dad!