5 Year Anniversary and a trip to San Diego

Well it hasn't quite been a month since I last posted but I have a few things to talk about!  The day after I last posted was my 5 year anniversary!  Mike gave me a beautiful and fancy picnic basket with champagne!  I gave him a frame with the inital "B" made out of wine corks we have collected over the years.  There will be pics below.  Then Mike surprised me with a limo to take us to dinner at the Sky Room in Long Beach.  Our dinner was perfect.  Great food and views!  Oh and there was a yummy edible arrangement of chocolate covered strawberries and bananas!

That same weekend, we headed to Malibu to meet up with a couple of friends at the beach.  Kaylen loved playing in the sand and we let her put her feet in the cold ocean water.

Somebody was worn out from a day in the sun.....I love it when she cuddles with me!

Now on to our next adventure.....LaCosta Resort and Spa in Carlsbad.  This was a work trip for Mike but Kaylen and I had the privilege of tagging along.  Mike was in meetings during the mornings and playing golf in the afternoon.  Kaylen and I had our own adventures.  We played in the pool for a couple of hours each day.  They had a nice kiddie pool that was only 3 foot deep and it had sand on one end for the kids to play in.  Kaylen loved it!  She loved interacting with the other kids too.  On one of the days I dropped her off for 2 hours at the "kidtopia" and I went to get a massage!  It was an early Mother's Day present from my hubby.  It was a much enjoyed massage.  And Kaylen took an hour nap and then played with all the toys while I was away.  We also checked out the Carlsbad Outlets one day, but didn't end up buying anything.

We checked out of LaCosta on Thursday, May 10 and headed to the San Diego Zoo.  This was Kaylen's second visit to the zoo.  I think it was still a little overwhelming to her and she just took it all in.  When she was in her stroller, she just looked around and kind of zoned out.  She wanted to run around and play but it was just too hard to let her do that for very long.  She would get run over by other kids.  But we had a good time.

Kaylen was not interested in petting the goat......

Here are some great pics of Kaylen laughing at Mommy.......check out that molar!

And here is a great one of Mike and Kaylen......

And then she passed out.....

We then headed to our friends The Guymons house in Coronado.  They recently moved back to San Diego after being in Washington and Oklahoma for several years.  They have an almost 4 year old son, Stanley and an 8 month old daughter, Elizabeth.  They had lots of fun playing together.  She was definitely worn out when we got home.

We headed home the next day but not before stopping at a great restaurant called Hash House A Go Go.....so yummy.  We had such a great mini vacation!

Last subject for this post...Mother's Day.  We had a great day!  It started with an awesome gift from my hubby.  A wall gallery from Red Envelope which consists of 7 frames that hold 13 photos.  It is similar to the one I got last year but different configurations.  Everybody knows that I love pics!  Especially ones of Kaylen.  We had a nice brunch at Parker's Lighthouse overlooking the bay with the Queen Mary in the background.  We got home and had some fun pool time with Kaylen.  She really loves the water!  She can hold her breath and go under water!  Quickly, but she does it without choking on too much water.  Then she took a nap and we had some of our own pool time.  What a nice relaxing Mother's Day!  I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day surrounded by loved ones!

Molars!

Hey everyone!  Time for another update.  Kaylen is practically running these days.  She gets faster and faster.  She is loving being outside.  We try to take her to the park as often as possible.  She loves to run around, play in the sand and pick up whatever is on the ground.  She does like the slide now and tries to climb back up to do it again. 

Kaylen has gotten 2 molars on the left side of her mouth and seems to be working on some on the right side. Some days she is cranky and other days she is that happy kid we all love.  She hasn't said any more words on a regular basis but she talks a lot.  She is understanding more of what we say.  She will now give us a kiss when we ask for one.  Its the highlight of our day!

She also has started using her fork to eat.  Not all the time, but she can definitely stab the food then put it in her mouth.  That's our girl!

Well I had the privilege of going to a concert and enjoying a night out with my friend Jaime Richardson.  I had wanted to see the band Super Water Sympathy on their west coast tour.  Mindy introduced this band to me and I fell in love with their music!  Jaime and I had a great dinner....very LA....farm fresh to table and they grow their own herbs on site.  We then headed to the Viper Room to hear the band.  They were amazing!  They will be famous one day for sure. 

We also attended the one year old birthday party of our friend Kyla.  They had a great time playing in the ball pit and sand.  It was one hot day for southern California!

We also had lunch with Kyla on her actual birthday.  She liked the ice cream as did Kaylen.

We celebrated Easter with our friends The Flynns.  We had a yummy breakfast with mimosas.   The kids had a blast with the Easter eggs.  I let Kaylen try a marshmellow peep for the first time, but she didn't like it or the way it stuck to her fingers. 

Giving Daddy kisses.....

 

Well we finally got in the pool for the first time this year!  Well Daddy and Kaylen did.  Kaylen LOVED it and didn't want to get out. 

Kaylen and her squeaky shoes....she didn't like them very much. 

Kaylen on the slide

New Foods and New Words

Hey everyone!  Another month has flown by!  And its officially spring now.  There's hasn't been too much going on this month.  I enjoyed my month off and am back at work where things are getting busier.  We have a new computer system that is really frustrating to learn.  I just come home and hug my Kaylen and things are all better.  She just makes me smile.  She is really exploring the world now.  She is very curious about the back yard now.  We can't wait to put her in the pool again!   Soon, very soon. 

Her new word is "bye" and "byes"  and "go bye"  She says them all the time.  I believe she knows what she is saying.  Anytime Mike and I go to work, she promptly says bye.  She also likes going "bye bye" now.  We have taken her to the park a few times and she loves it.  She loves running around and interacting with other kids.  She is very social.   She is always waving at everyone.   She enjoys chasing the birds at the park and playing in the sand.  And she loves the swing.  The higher the better.

Kaylen likes to stack cups and tupperware.  She likes to put things into containers.  She is just figuring out how to put her sea creature puzzle pieces in their place.  She gets frustrated if they don't fit just right, so we help her out.  I am trying to teach her to put her toys away at night.  She likes to put them in the basket. 

Kaylen is officially drinking milk out of her sippy cup now.  No more bottles!  She eats pretty much what we eat now.  We have been exploring new foods.  She has two more teeth on the bottom, so that makes 4 on top and 4 on bottom. She loved the watermelon, banana pudding and ribs from Lucille's.  She sucks on lemons from our water and makes some great faces while doing it.  I made spaghetti and she liked that.  She likes fruit for sure.  I am not sure what this kid doesn't like.  I hope she stays like this!  I hear that toddlers become picky eaters.  Oh, and we let her try chocolate.  We went to brunch and they had a chocolate fountain, so we dipped strawberries and marshmellows in it and she loved it! 

We love our little girl so much, if you can't tell!  She brings such joy to our life every day.  She makes us laugh and smile.

And just when you thought you had a bad hair day!

So everyone remembers 2 years ago when Barb won a car on The Price Is Right, right?  Barb won a car!  I finally made her a collage to commemorate the occasion.  She loved it.

Now for some videos......

Kaylen eats a lemon for the first time




Playing in the sand



Playing in the park



Going crazy with the curtains

One Year Old!

I can't believe that our baby girl was one year old yesterday!  Happy Birthday Kaylen!  It has been a fun year!  And yes, the time has just flown by!  We saw Dr Bennett today for her one year checkup.  She weighs 22 lbs 8 oz and is 31 inches long.  She is a tall girl!  She got more shots but only cried for a minute.

Kaylen is mostly walking now.  She is getting faster every day.  She still hasn't figured out to avoid objects in her way, especially our feet.  She gets tripped up very easily.  Yes, we have had a few bumps and bruises.  We did install a gate at the top of the living room.  She doesn't like it if we leave her alone in a room though.  She likes to go exploring in all the rooms so I find myself closing the doors.  She likes to pull the toilet paper off the roll.  She also likes to play hide n seek with us and runs behind the couch to hide.  It's too cute!  Kaylen is talking a lot.  Not that we can really understand her.  She does say Mama and Dada in reference to us, on occasion anyway.  She always sounds like she is saying certain words, like baby and ball.  She has started giving us kisses, which is just too adorable! 

Well Nanna and Mindy were here visiting and we had such a great time.  Kaylen loves her Nanna & Aunt Mindy!  Mindy can just look at KJ, and she just starts giggling!  I love it!  We spent a lot of time with Aunt Barb too.  Lots of girl time since Mike was in New Orleans on business.   We had fun playing with Kaylen and planning her birthday party.

We celebrated Kaylen's first birthday this past Sunday.  We had a great time even though it was windy and cold.  We held her party at a local park in Lakewood.  The guests were:  Nanna, Mindy, Grandpa, Aunt Barb, Uncle Steve, Aunt Cyndi, Sharee, Uncle Don, the Flynns, the Tysons, the Taylors, Nikki Ricker, the Wolters, and us of course.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.
Kaylen wasn't sure what to think of her cake.  I had a blast making and decorating it.  She made some funny faces while eating it.   I just kept waiting for her to head dive into it!

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day!  We just stayed in and enjoyed each other's company.  We made our own dinner and gave Kaylen some too!  I also made us some chocolate covered strawberries.  Yum!



Now for some pics......