Staycation Day 3 & 4

Day 3 was rainy so we just took the kids to Chik-fil-a for lunch. It was the usual chicken and waffle fries for lunch, a balloon and some play time in the indoor play area. We spent the rest of the day playing at home.

On Day 4, we went to Mt. Baldy to show the kids snow and to go sledding. We left around 11:30 am and got up the mountain in less than an hour and a half. It's one of the great things about living in southern california -- both the ocean and mountains are a hop, skip and a jump away.

It was bumper to bumper up the mountain and cars were parked everywhere. It was packed! Thankfully we found a small spot that had a place to park, so we pulled over and spent about an hour there.

We sled down a very tiny hill but it was perfect for the girls. They both loved it. When the sled came to a stop, Karis immediately said, "More" every time. Makena and I went down a few times and she was smiling and enjoying it too.

Yes, I am one of those mothers that bundles up their kids so much they can barely move.

Staycation Day 2

On Day 2, we took the girls to Zoomar's petting zoo. Karis had a great time feeding all sorts of different animals. She rode a horse and the little kiddie train -- she cried for brief moments while on both. It was quite uncharacteristic of her. She was probably just tired since she had gone to bed late the night before and it was her nap time. Or else, she thought we were sending her away.

I thought Makena would love the bunnies and guinea pigs, but she was winding down and pretty tired by the time we went to see them. She was interested in them but didn't get that excited. When I gave her a carrot to feed them, she tried to eat it. I guess she's still a little too young. Here are some pictures of our visit.

Staycation Day 1

Since Derek has the week between Christmas and New Years off, I took the week off as well. We thought about doing a road trip, but decided to stay home and do a few day trips/activities throughout the week.

On the agenda for Day 1 was some fun around the neighborhood for the girls and rest for us -- we needed to recover from Christmas!

Highlights:

For me, taking the girls out one-on-one. Karis loves to be outside, but we can't go outside a lot because of Makena's naps. While Makena took her morning nap, Derek stayed home and I took Karis out in her new pink car, we went to the playground and just ran up and down little hills across the street. Later, I took just Makena on a long walk in the stroller.

For Derek, he loved taking Karis out on her new bike seat. She even fell asleep at the end!

We also saw Makena take a couple steps on her own!

Christmas Day 2010

It's so much fun watching kids open presents. Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Karis and Makena got a new car. You can tell how much Karis liked the gift from the photo. Unfortunately, Makena didn't really get a chance to take it for a spin. She ended up pushing Karis in the car.


Makena playing with a few small toys she received.

Karis with her new Dora bike helmet.

Karis playing with her Smart Cycle. It's a video game that is controlled by the bicycle. Her feet can't reach the pedals yet, but she likes to push the buttons and watch the video (and stand on the seat). Makena also likes to play with it. She stands next to it, pushes the buttons and tries to get the handle bars in her mouth.

Happy 1st Christmas, Makena!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Karis and I made a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve. I thought about letting Makena help us, but then I remembered how much raw batter Karis ate last year. I think it was best not to have her be a part of this tradition until next year.

This year, Karis was able to do most of the pouring and mixing.

I rolled out some fondant and she cut out some shapes so that we could decorate the cake. She poured, I mean put sprinkles on top of the cake too! It was a white cake with strawberry jam and chocolate buttercream.

We went to my sister's house for dinner on Christmas day. The kids enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Karis was so excited to finally get a "bite" of the cake we had been working on for two days!

Makena at 9 Months

Here is a snapshot of what Makena has been up to:

* She babbles a lot!

* She has four teeth

* She loves to eat solid food. Sometimes she’ll sit at Karis’ feet while she is eating and feast on whatever falls on the floor

* She crawls and cruises all over the place, yet she hasn’t taken a first step yet

* She can climb a full flight of stairs (and often does when we’re not looking – she’s quick!)

* She takes great naps – usually 2 hours

* She’s been sleeping through the night since 6 months and has rarely, if ever, woken up in the middle of the night in the past three months

* She is starting to understand the word “no” as we’ve had to use that word more often lately

* She loves to take baths

* She has stranger anxiety, much more than her sister ever did

* She weighs about a pound heavier than Karis did at 9 months, even though she weighed one pound less than Karis at birth

* She sleeps with two pacifiers (one in the mouth and one in the hand) and has not yet taken to her bunny blanket that is in her crib

Here are some recent random pics:
Checking out the Christmas tree for the first time:
Fun in the tub (and showing all four teeth):

Everything in the mouth!

Santa in Our Neighborhood

Earlier tonight, we bundled the kids up, grabbed the umbrella and walked over to our neighborhood clubhouse to meet Santa. I wanted to get photos of the girls and Santa, but I was trying not to get my hopes up too high. If you remember, last year didn't go so well.. (click here to see photos from last year).

Right before we left, I quickly showed Karis a Dora show that had Santa in it. I told her we were going to see him (she hasn't heard much about Santa yet). When we got to the clubhouse, she saw Santa across the room, walked right to him, and got on his lap. Yay!

Makena, on the otherhand, was a different story. She wasn't in a good mood before we arrived and she certainly didn't want to hang out with Santa. She tried so hard not to cry but she couldn't hold back for long. That's okay... I think the crying photos are just as cute!

We had some Christmas cookies, did a craft project, and then watched the train for a little bit. We then headed back out in the rain to go home for dinner. Karis hopped in puddles all the way home...

Happy Birthday Karis!

We threw a party to celebrate Karis' 2nd birthday. We debated whether we wanted to do a party since we could have easily gotten away with celebrating with just a little cake for the four us. But, Derek really wanted to get Karis a jumper because she LOVES them.

We created a guest list with mainly her friends and the adults that have watched her and cared for her. The theme was ladybugs with a Dora jumper (her favorite TV show as of late).

Leading up to the party, we showed her the party invitation and told her she was having a party with all her friends. She seemed to understand and she was excited. I don't know how many times we heard her saying, "happy" throughout the week.

Derek also began "training" her on how to blow out candles. With candles or with his fingers representing candles, he made her practice blowing out as hard as she could. I laughed every time they did this, but it paid off because she did a great job blowing out her candles!

Karis had been sick all week, but we knew she wouldn't be short of energy for her party. After sleeping in that morning (since she woke up at 5 am having trouble breathing with her congested nose), here is a video of her seeing the jumper for the first time in our frontyard.

Here are some photos my sister took during the party.

Daddy and Karis in the jumper (I told you she loves them!):

Mommy and Makena in the jumper:

The ladybug cake and cupcakes I made for the party:

As her birthday approached, we tried to get Karis to hold up two fingers when we asked her how old she is. The best her little fingers could do was hold up three fingers. When the cake came out, we asked her how old she is. In the excitement of it all, she held up six fingers... eh well, I guess we should have practiced that one a little more.

Karis reveled in all the attention as everyone sang her Happy Birthday:

Karis blowing out her two candles. She did it!

High-5s all around:

She loved blowing out her candles so much that she wanted to do it again. We re-lit the candles and then she made everyone sing to her again. Everyone was so great to indulge her and sing another round.

Our guests snacking and hanging out:

Karis and her buddy. She was a little "high" from all the m&m's he was letting her eat.

The girls were finished with lunch and ready to go back out for more jumping: