Keepin' up with the Joneses

Snow Day!

2008-12-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow of the year last night. It wasn't much but of course Mahayla was excited to play in it. We didn't go out last night so I got woken up by a very excited 3 year old at 7am. I made her eat some breakfast and we were outside before 8:30. Here are a few pictures of use...when did I start looking so old?

We also went and saw Santa today at Redmond Town Center. The girls did great but it was SOOOO cold out. It is supposed to be in the lower 30's and upper 20's all week long!

Christmas Crafts

2008-12-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Since Kellah was born I find getting out of the house much more difficult so we are not going out as often as we were before. This causes a bit of a problem because Mahayla gets borred so instead of being Take You Fun Places Mom I have to be Fun Craft Mom. This isn't really my forte but I am working on it (Note the snowflakes on the sliding glass door). I found this cute little book about Christ's birth and it came with some blank stickers of the nativity scene that the kids can color so Mahayla spent some time coloring them yesterday.

Mahayla in her sassy new boots!

Our Tree

2008-12-13T07:46:00.000-08:00

We don't make much of a tradition out of getting our tree I guess because we already do so much during the holidays. There is a Home Depot down the street from our house and they trim off the bottom branches, cut of the bottom a little bit and put a net around it so it makes the whole process pretty darn easy. Maybe as the kids get older and we get a bigger car, we'll go cut down our own tree. We do have a great time decorating it as well as the rest of the house.

These pictures absolutely crack me up. Mahayla was laughing hysterically when I was taking them so Kellah was a bit annoyed.

A new tradition

2008-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Ever since Mahayla was a little baby she has been obsessed with the Nutcracker. Even when she was just nine months old she would stop everything she was doing and crawl towards the TV when a commercial came on. This year my Aunt Klair was able to get tickets at a really good price so my Mom and I took the girls to The Nutcracker last week. Miss Kellah wasn't really enjoying the play too much so Mom spent the majority of the time outside while Mahayla and I watched the play...thanks Mom!

Mahayla really loved it and I have to say I was really impressed. The dancing was obviously wonderful and the set was so darn pretty. We will definitely be doing this again next year!

Miss Kellah Mae

2008-12-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

Kellah is getting so big already! One of the nice things about her being our second baby is that we know how quickly each stage goes so we are really enjoying it. She is such a happy baby and has such a huge smile that you can't help but smile back at her. She also loves, loves, loves to talk so the majority of her awake time is spent in serious conversation :)

Are you having trouble viewing pictures?

2008-12-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

A couple of you told me that you couldn't view the pictures on my blog. I couldn't figure out what the problem was until I saw it from my Mom's computer. It looks like the emails updating you on new posts are directing you to the google group and not my actual blog. The google group is used to send updates only. Until I figure out how to fix this problem please just save the link to our blog in your favorites so when you get an email you can just get to the site that way.

Here is the link:

http://blackwhitelovedallover.blogspot.com/

A few new pictures

2008-12-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

Mahayla in a towel Aunt Holly gave her.

I love those eyes!

Speaking of eyes, why does Kellah always do this? I love those little lips and cheeks.

Kellah's newest obsession....her tounge!

The Ghost of Christmas Past

2008-12-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

First Christmas

Second Christmas

Last Year

I was looking through old pictures yesterday and I seriously wanted to CRY! How did my little girl get so dang big?

Trick or Treat

2008-11-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

This was the first year that I have taken Mahayla trick or treating here. She's been once at my Dad's but last year we were at the church festival and her first Halloween she was just a baby so we obviously didn't take her. Greg had to work at a football game so I took the girls to my friend Danielle's parents house since they live in a huge neighborhood up the street. I had Kellah in her new fleece sling (Thanks Beth!) and I think she got more attention than the kids!

Apparently my kids look alike...Part Two

2008-10-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

I've been going through some old pictures and I couldn't believe the similarities!

Mahayla:

Kellah:

La Leche Leauge Video

2008-10-31T10:46:00.001-07:00

I thought this video was really neat. I didn't realize that the LLL was formed by Mothers just helping other Mothers...What a beautiful thing!

Apparently my kids look alike...

2008-10-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

I honestly haven't seen tons of resemblence between Mahayla and Kellah but everywhere I go people are telling me they look alike. I guess I just look at Kellah and see the ways that she doesn't look like Mahayla. So here is a comparision...The first one is of Mahayla at six weeks and the second one is of Kellah at five weeks.

Pumpkin Carving with Daddy

2008-10-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

We went to a great little pumpkin farm this weekend with some family and Mahayla picked out a great big pumpkin for her and Daddy to carve. It took forever but I think the finished product is pretty good!

The World's Cutest Ghost

2008-10-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

I picked up this cute hat the other day at the Dollar Spot at Target because it was obviously too cute to resist. To complete the outfit I made some Baby Legs out of some Halloween socks that my Mom brought over. I think the finished product is pretty adorable.

Update on us

2008-10-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a month has passed already! The days seem long sometimes but, man, the weeks sure do fly by! We are adjusting well to having two kids, in fact, we are loving it! Kellah is a great little baby and to our surprise she is a great little sleeper unlike her big sister. Mahayla is doing pretty well at adjusting to being a big sister. She really loves her little sissy and thinks that all her baby talk and faces are quite funny. It's been a little harder for her to adjust to not having all the attention so we are dealing with some bad behavior but I really expected that for the most part. She really gets upset when Greg is giving the baby attention so we have decided that he will come home and give her about 15-20 minutes of undivided attention before he holds the baby. It's helped a little bit so hopefully it will continue to get better.

Kellah is the sweetest little girl and is already bigger than her sister was at this age which is due to the fact that she eats CONSTANTLY. I am not looking forward to her growth spurts as she already eats every 90 minutes. One really fun thing about Kellah is that she smiled the night we brought her home, we thought it was just a fluke incident but she is smiling more and more and is now doing much more cooing which is one of my absolute favorite things in the world.

Kellah Mae Sylvia Jones

2008-09-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went in to see my midwife at about 2pm. She did a stretch and sweep to see if we could get things going but we scheduled me to come back in at 7pm that night to break my water since I was 5 days overdue and the baby was low enough. I went back home and Mahayla and I walked around our neighborhood about 5 times to see if we could get things going. I was starting to feel a little crampy but nothing crazy was going on so we went in to pack Mahayla's bag so she would be ready for her stay at Auntie and Shaya's house for the weekend. I did a bunch of last minute cleaning and chores and then my Mom got to my house so she could stay with Mahayla until my sister arrived. Greg got home around 6:15 so he got ready, ate some dinner and we took off.

When we got to the birth center they were lighting candles and getting the room ready. At about 7:20 they broke my water and things started moving along. I was able to work through the first part of the contractions pretty well by sitting on the exercise ball and using one of the candles as a focal point. I had put together good playlist and Greg made me some CD's so listening to the music really helped me to concentrate as well as Greg applying counter pressure on my lower back. My Mom arrived at about 8:30 and did whatever she could to help me feel comfortable. I went through those managable contractions until about 9pm then they got more intense and it was a little harder to remain calm. I stayed in that position until about 10 o'clock when I got into the jacuzzi tub. The tub felt great but I was still in some major pain. Greg was awesome coaching me through each contraction and my Mom was applying cold wash cloths to my face, neck and back depending on what position I was in. By around 10:30 I was not a happy camper and began begging for an epidural My midwife informed me that my statement probably meant that I was ready to push so I tried to do so through my next contraction but I just couldn't get into the right position so I decided to get out and got on the birthing stool.

I cannot begin to describe the kind of pain I was in at this point. I was caught between being in so much pain that I just wanted the baby out and being afraid to push because of the pain. I pushed through about 3 contractions and felt like I wasn't getting anywhere (Again, fellow mothers will understand this) but I was finally able to push her to crown and then I entered my own personal hell called "The Ring of Fire" I literally felt like the lower half of my body had spontaneously combusted...NOT fun! I promptly pushed her head out and felt a sense of relief until I was told that I still had to push her shoulders out. At this point I started yelling at everyone around me to just take her out because I could not do it. Greg kept trying to encourage me and let me know that she was right there and that she was so pretty. He was so cute....already in love with her before she was fully born! Obviously, I made it past that point and pushed her out with the next contraction. She was born at 11:16 so that was about 4 hours of labor....MUCH better than the 19 hours I had with Mahayla.

Once I delivered her they handed her right to me and she didn't make a peep as I held her. She just hung out and got used to being in a new place. I think that my midwife was a bit concerned that she wasn't making any noise but as soon as Greg cut the cord and I handed her off she let out a huge wail. I delivered the placenta then somehow made it over to the bed where I just sat absolutely zoned out for about 30 minutes. When I finally had the strength to speak and actually hold her Greg brought her over to me and she began nursing like a champ! We hung out at the birth center for about 3 hours while they checked out the baby and watched me and my Mom went and got Greg and I some food. At about 2:30 am we left and headed home. It was so great to spend our first night in our own bed with no one to bother us!

Here is our sweet girl:

Kellah Mae Sylvia Jones

Born: September 19 at 11:16 pm

Weight: 7 lbs 12.5 oz

Height: 21 inches

Not so fashionably late

2008-09-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

It appears that our baby has decided that she is not ready to enter the world yet. My due date came and went yesterday with no sign of her arrival. I am pretty disappointed but I also know how much work these kids are once they are born so I'm trying to not let it upset me too much. I'm just going to get in some one on one time with Mahayla while I can and get some last minute stuff done around the house. My biggest concern is this baby staying healthy and I'm also hoping that she won't get TOO huge!

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go...

2008-09-10T14:54:00.001-07:00

Well I have FOUR days left until my due date. I would love it if this baby would make an early appearance but I really just don't want to go past my due date, that would definitely not make for a happy Mama. I have been doing all sorts of nesting and Greg has painted both our bedroom and Mahayla's bedroom. Thanks to Craigs list and Freecycle I have literally spent no out of pocket money because I sold a bunch of our stuff and then got loads of stuff for free off of the two sites. Here are a few pictures of our room:

I still need to put some finishing touches on the walls and decor on the dressers but that can wait!

Apparently I am not the only one that is ready for this little girl to get out. She is a mover and a shaker that is for sure! You have to be a little patient there is definitely some major movement going on.

The other day I was at a friends house and we decided to straighten our girls hair. I can't believe how different Mahayla looked!

I am trying to keep myself busy so that I don't go nuts while I'm waiting for this kid to be born. Yesterday Mahayla and I had a Mommy/Daughter date and went and got our pictures taken. You can view them here:

http://smilestore.picturepeople.com/pn/tpp/claim?em=kattiedewall@hotmail.com&acc=59945a75d7

Access Code: 59945a75d7
Email: kattiedewall@hotmail.com
PW: gregjones

One of the things that I love about delivering at a birth center is that I can bring Mahayla to the appointments and she really gets to be a part of it. I never feel like she is in the way or unwelcome. She LOVES to hear the heartbeat and talks about it all the time. I really think she is going to be a great big sister! Every morning she tells me that she loves her baby sister and she gives her kisses. She knows all about the "hospital" and that we are going there to get her sister. When I was packing my bag she asked me if it was the bag I was taking to get her sister. I have NO idea how she knew that! Here is a picture of her "helping" at my last appointment:

Well, this should be my last post before we have the baby. Wish us luck!

In the clear!

2008-08-24T20:50:00.001-07:00

Well, Baby Jones is officially full term! I simply CANNOT believe how fast this pregnancy has gone....with the exception of these last few weeks of course. I have definitely entered the uncomfortable stage and am not sleeping much but I know it will be over soon. I am getting more and more excited to meet our little girl and see what she looks like. About a month ago I decided to leave my midwife group at Evergreen and decided to deliver this one at a birth center. I received excellent care from my previous midwives but I just decided that I did not want to have this baby in a hospital setting especially since I am going natural this time. It took Greg and I a long time to come to this decision but I am really happy with it. The midwives are absolutely awesome and the facility is wonderful. Go here to check it out.

We still are not closer to a name but I am not worried about it. When I was pregnant with Mahayla we had a list and we chose a name once she was born and that is exactly what we will be doing with this one. Mahayla would like to name the baby Sara but that is not on our list. Earlier this week I took her to Build a Bear and she made a little teddy bear for her new sissy and named is Sara so I have informed her that we cannot name her sister after her bear. She has been so cute about this baby all along and I think (read: HOPE) that she will be a great big sister. She lifts my shirt up in the morning and says good mornign to her and gives her kisses all through the day. I swear, if this next baby is just half as sweet as Mahayla is we'll be happy!

Ehow

2008-06-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Greg recently informed me that you can make money writting articles for Ehow. I have no idea how much you make but apparently it is based on the amount of views to your article. I think I will start off with recipes since I love to cook and i have so many of them. Here is my first article. The key words I used were: tart, moist, filling, muffin and berry. If you see a way for me to fit those into my article more please let me know.

It's a girl!

2008-04-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

We found out on Wednesday that we are having another girl!

Mahayla's Birthday

2008-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the day. As you can see, the poor girl did not have any fun at all.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I give up!

2008-03-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

I tried editing the last post I did about Mahayla's birthday about 987 times but for some reason it won't put the correct titles with the pictures. I'm sure you can figure it out though :)

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

2008-03-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Today is our our baby girl's third birthday. When I was pregnant everyone told me how fast everything would go but I didn't realize it was going to be *this* fast. On one hand she has changed so much but on the other she looks so similar to the way she did on the day she was born.

The day she came into this world:

Her first birthday:

Her second birthday:

Today:

Being a goof!

Blowing out her candles (the third and last candle that I had was a dud):

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!

It doesn't get much better than this!

2008-03-05T18:06:00.001-08:00

We went in for our first ultrasound today and got to see the baby movin' and shakin'. Mahayla went with us and I really think that she understood what was going on. We got to hear the heartbeat and Mahayla kept telling the tech to "try again" because she wanted to hear it more. The baby is looking great which is all a Mama can ask for!

In case you haven't heard...

2008-02-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

We are going to be expanding our family! I am due September 14th. I am already showing which is just nuts to me considering that I didn't show until I was about 18 weeks with Mahayla and I am about 11 weeks now.

I think that I am actually feeling this baby move too which is very cool. Here are some semi-recent pictures of the big sister.

Hmmm...Is that sassiness that I'm detecting?

2007-12-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

The other night I was making dinner and Mahayla rushed into the kitchen freaking out because "The twee fell ober". Considering that I didn't hear any sort of crashing noise I figured that our Christmas "twee" was, indeed, fine and told her that I would be there when I was done. She wasn't having it. I continued to ignore her pleas about the fallen "twee" until she urgently grabbed my hand and rushed me over to where our Christmas tree is standing. She laid down on the ground and showed me how the tree was "falling".

This is the conversation that followed:

Mahayla: (pointing at pine needles) See Mama, twee falling
Me: Oh, honey that is what happens to Christmas trees. When we take them out of the ground they stop growing and their needles fall out
Mahayla: (pointing to the back of the tree) OH NO LOOK, lots of twees falling!
Me: I'm sorry but I can't do anything about that right now.
Mahayla: (questioning look on her face) Um, maybe you could vacuume it?

Fall in the North West

2007-11-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today was such a beautiful day and Greg didn’t have to work on his day off so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to what I thought was a small trail that Mahayla and I had been to before. I’ve been having a hard time getting her to stay in her stroller so this trail is perfect because it’s not nearly as busy as the Burke Gillman trail. We took some bread to feed the ducks and started down the trail. The ducks weren’t at their usual spot so we ended up going on a “benture” as Mahayla calls it. As it ends up the trails is probably about 5 miles long and is absolutely beautiful so we ended up walking for an hour and a half. We got to feed the ducks which was a “benture” in itself because we were almost mobbed by about 100 ducks that followed us about ten yards after we were done feeding them. We continued to walk and explore and Mahayla spent most the time on Greg’s shoulders reaching for the leaves on the trees. We could have probably walked even further but had to run an errand and get back for nap time. This is definitely a walk that we will be doing again soon!

"Wook at all the LEAVES Daddy!!"

"I kicka leaves!"

Right before we were mobbed by angry ducks...

Mahayla's favorite spot!

The best face ever!

Halloween

2007-11-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

This Halloween was such a blast. This was the first year that Mahayla really knew what was going on so she really got into it.

We went to a Halloween party on Tuesday and one of the gals there had a great camera so she got some great shots of Mahayla.

On Halloween night we went to our church Harvest Festival. The kids got to trick or treat around the offices for a bit then there was a carnival all set up like the Land of Narnia. It was VERY cool to say the least. Mahayla was a bit overwhelmed and kept running from candy bowl to candy bowl like she was obligated to get candy from everyone. It got a little overwhelming after awhile so we headed home after about an hour or so.

I never thought I would have this argument!

2007-10-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

This morning Mahayla was watching Curious George while she at breakfast. In this particular episode the Man in the Yellow Hat and George go up to space in a rocket. Mahayla was watching intently and asked me where they were so I told her George was in space. Her response?? "I WANNA GO TO SPACE MAMA!" I obviously told her that she most certainly could not go to space but she wasn't having it.

This is pretty right on!

2007-10-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Back in the saddle again...

2007-08-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Like I said in my previous post I am back at it in the mortgage industry. If you or anyone you know needs to purchase a home, do a refinance or take out a second mortgage to pay off credit card debt or make home improvements please email me at kattiejones@comcast.net.

Thai Fried Rice

2007-08-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

This recipe was requested by one of my most favorite people in my life so I thought I would post it here. Be prepared...this recipe is REALLY, REALLY good so if you take it to a potluck make sure to take copies of the recipe with you. I actually adapted this from Emerils "Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe".

THAI FRIED RICE

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined OR Chicken
1 pound jumbo lump crab, picked of shells
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup minced yellow onions
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
2 Cans Coconut Milk – the full fat kind
4 cups jasmine rice
1 Tbs Green or Red Curry PASTE (Don’t use the powder)
1 - 2 tsp fish sauce depending on how much you like it
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
3 eggs, scrambled firm, cooled and chopped

To cook the rice put the rice and coconut milk in a sauce pan. You will need to stir this together so the coconut milk gets dispersed. You will also need to add some water so that it is ABOUT half an inch above the rice and coconut milk mixture.In a large wok or large, non-stick skillet, heat the peanut and sesame oils over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, 1/4 cup of the green onions and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring continuously so they do not burn. Add the onions, carrots, and shrimp and continue to stir fry. When shrimp begin to turn pink, after about 30 seconds, add the rice and mix thoroughly. Add the soy sauce, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and black pepper, and stir to mix well. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Gently fold in the crabmeat and the cooked eggs and just heat through.

~~~~I have made this recipe with all sorts of meats so if you don’t have the meat that is called for don’t worry. You can also add other veggies like broccoli or bell peppers. ~~~~~

Update on The Jones Family

2007-08-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well it's been awhile so I figure I should be updating everyone on the recent happenings of our life. I know that Ive seen many of you and didn't really tell you what was going on but I *really* didn't want to tell the story again...Don't worry its a good one.

Greg - At my last update about employment I told you all that he was working for a carpet cleaning company. It started off fine...but ended up being not so fine. The guy who hired him sold his franchise back to the corporation and it all went down hill from there. The guy they sent out to run the place was a COMPLETE douche bag and long story short...both Greg and the other employee, Shae, (it was a small place) left. Within a week Greg got a job working at a collections agency that Shae had previously worked with. He has now been working there for about three months and is actually doing quite well. It's really amazing how you *think* your life is going to be perfect if it will only work out the way you have planned and you think its a disaster when it doesn't. Funny how God works in your life when you let Him! When Greg first took the job I thought the hours were wacked and that I would NOT be liking them. Tues-Thurs he works from 12:30pm - 8:30pm and Fri and Sat he starts at 8 and works until 5 on Fridays and 6 on Saturdays. He then obviously has Sunday and Monday off. I'm definately glad that we can all go to church as a family and the schedule actually was a blessing in disguise (IMAGINE THAT!).

Me - For some time now I've been trying to go back to work in some capacity while trying to avoid taking Mahayla to daycare. Greg's schedule has completely allowed for that! Back in June I started working for a loan officer processing her loans. She is also a Mom and is TOTALLY flexible with my hours which is pretty much un-heard-of (sp?) in this industry. She is actually paying for my licensing and we decided to go ahead and just get my loan officer license since they can process AND sell loans. I started out working in the mornings from my home office early each morning until Greg goes to work. I'm pretty darn excited and we actually just funded our first loan together on Friday!!! My ideal situation would be to work just for her processing and selling loans but it hasn't been busy enough so two weeks ago I started my SECOND job two weeks ago. Back when I was in school I had a house cleaning business. It was great because it was flexible and I made pretty good money. Once I got out of school I wanted to be a bit more of a professional so I got into the mortgage industry....Soooo about a month ago I get an email from a friend of mine that was going to have to quit her job cleaning a mansion in Bellevue. Anyhow she remembered that I had previously cleaned houses and wanted to recomend me. At first I was going to say no because of my processing work but I decided to go for it and Im SOOO freaking glad I did. The house is 7000 square feet so I go for 6 hours on Mondays since Greg has that day off and Tues-Thurs I work from 7:30 - 11:30 so that I can be on time for Greg to get to work. Once I get home we do the switch off then I feed Mahayla, lay her down for her nap and get to work on my loans. I am one tired puppy but am SO glad to have the cash! The situation could be somewhat temporary as she is looking for someone with a 1 year + commitment and Im not sure that I want to do it that long but would like to have the money at least through the end of the year. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I will be talking with her about this in the next few weeks.

Mahayla - Well, she is a real goof these days. The stuff that comes out of her mouth has us cracking up on a daily basis. She is also getting to be such a smart cookie and can count to "eleben". She loves to dance and sing and "read" out loud. Its so sweet to listen too. She is still a little mama's girl and will NOT go to sleep very well so that is going to be worked on this week. Her newest trick when I am getting her dressed is to say "NO I don't WIKE IT!" about anything that isn't Dora or pink....or purple...depending on the day.

Well there you have it...Thats us in a nutshell. Im sorry that I've been so bad about updating you guys. To be honest I was REALLY getting tired of how things were working out for us and I just didn't want to talk about it and I also felt like people were most likely getting tired of it. I feel like we have finally found our place though and have really been blessed! God has totally been at work in our lives and we are seeing the fruit of it.

2007-08-19T16:47:00.001-07:00

Slideshow of The Stinker

2007-07-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Scroll down and take a look at the slideshow of Mahayla. My friend Jessica took these pictures and I know I'm a bit biased but I think that they are amazing. If you live locally and would like her to take some pictures just let me know and I'll get you her contact information!

Mahayla's First Movie

2007-06-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

I took Mahayla to her first movie in a theater today. Regal Cinemas does free movies at 10 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesday which I thought was a grand idea since I wanted to see how she did at a theater but wasn't loving the idea of paying $12 to see the movie only to walk out 10 minutes later. This was my perfect solution...if she loved it great but if not I didn't have to waste the money. The movies are not first run by any stretch but who cares?

Today we saw "Over the Hedge" and even though she has watched this movie before with her Daddy she still was totally enthralled by the whole experience. When I told her this morning that we were going to go to a movie she started running around the house screaming "MOVIE! MOVIE! MOVIE!" and wanted to leave that instant. Unfortunately she was still in her pajamas and I was not ready...Note to self: Do not tell Mahayla that we will be going to a movie until we are actually sitting in the theater....So we arrived at the theater and bought the kids meal: A small pop, pop corn and mini bag of skittles for five bucks which is an absolute steal by movie theater standards. Once we got our food we headed to the theater. All the while Mahayla was demanding to see the "MOVIE!" We got great seats and she was positively beside herself with joy once it started. There was a little cartoon before the movie that she laughed at hysterically and the same went for the movie once it started. It was so cute to look at her sitting there on her own chair munching on pop corn and holding her sippy cup. She was so excited that she kept leaning back and kissing me which is not a bad way to spend a morning in my book. She got a little distracted towards the end and started playing with the baby in the baby carrier next to us but all in all it went great, I just wish I would have gotten a picture......

Goofy Girl

2007-06-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

First off, Mahayla LOVES Goofy so I had to use that in the title. Whenever she sees Mikey Mouse Clubhouse and Goofy comes on the screen she comes running up to me with her face scrunched up yelling "GOOOPY!!!" Anyway, I digress, this is not what the blog is about...Today is our was our last day of MOPS. I love going but it's been sort of a struggle because Mahayla was NOT loving the nursery. She would pretty much cry herself into hysterics every time I left her and I would have to go get her because she was upsetting the other kids. Not fun for mom or baby. A couple of months ago I received my saving grace because the nursery attendant started bringing her 8 year old son and Mahayla pretty much attached herself to him. Mahayla would still cry when I left her but I didn't have to go get her and when I would go pick her up little Nhamdi would be reading to her or playing with her. It was pretty dang cute. This week she walked into the nursery on her own, which was a triumph on its own, and started playing with her buddy. She even didn't cry when I left! When I went and got her she had this little crown on her head that she had made. First off I can't believe my baby is big enough to do crafts on her own but secondly...How cute is she with this silly little crown on her head? Sorry for the poor quality. I took the picture with my phone.

Chatty Cathy

2007-06-07T09:13:00.002-07:00

Mahayla is talking up a storm these days. Literally every day she surprises me with something new. Here are some of the latest and greatest:

- Our 80 year old neighbor was walking by and M looked him and said "Thats a grandpa!" This is especially funny because we don't call any of the "grandpa's" in our life that name. My dad goes by Papa and his dad goes by Poppy.

- We were about to get on the freeway the other day and she looked at the words on a street sign, scrunched up her face quizzically and said "Is that a number?"

- These days she is loves to talk on the phone to my family. She thinks it is pretty funny to spurt out a bunch of gibberish mixed with understandable words and then say "bye bye" It goes something like this..."Youomoour ouoou door ouroesre Mama ouolerelnm wereagel Car womgoeyn BYE BYE!" Followed by hysterical laughter. Pretty funny if you ask me.