I love this season!

Hello, my name is Alison... [Hi, Alison] and I am a SUCKER FOR CHRISTMAS.

For real. I love everything about it. The lights, the music, the decorations, the smells, the food... all of it! Ok, well, maybe not being almost backed over by a crabby woman on an electric shopping cart at Target this evening, but I guess that just comes with the shopping territory. I can handle it. The ratio of awesome : not so awesome is in my favor.

I gave in this year and we went with a fake, pre-lit tree. I always said, NEVER!, and scoffed anytime Matt brought it up. But it was time. My sneaky two year old still puts everything in her mouth (umm, seriously- isn't she supposed to be over that?) and I didn't need to have a panic attack about all of the pine needles dropping by week #2. So, we went pre-lit and I have to say... I'm happy with my decision. Its super pretty, really easy and we can put it up much earlier than we could keep a real tree fresh for. I'm all about decorating early... did I mention I'm into the whole Christmas thing?

In the spirit of the season, we took some cute pics of Kate for our Christmas cards... isn't she the most?!




Well, it's late and I'm beat, but I promised myself I'd actually get this thing updated before a full month passed. Phew! Now if I can only make sure to get the Christmas updates up! We'll see how that goes. Baby steps.

Two Years Old!

How could it be possible? How can two years have already passed?

One of Kate's favorite things is watching movies of herself, so this morning we watched a few short clips on my laptop of when she began walking last year. I could have cried. Okay... I did. A little.

On Wednesday, my baby turned two. Two. Two years. I am that sappy girl who all day thought about the different things that went on that day two years earlier. When we started counting contractions, when we called the family, when she arrived... it doesn't seem like that could have been that long ago. But, here we are, 2009 and two years into my beautiful daughter's life!

We celebrated on the 14th with a little Yo Gabba Gabba party, since that is her favorite. Here are some highlights :)









This is while everyone is signing happy birthday to her... can you tell she digs the attention?


I bought her birthday shirt from GoldenShop on Etsy... she is fabulous! If you're in need of a custom tee, bib or party hat, she is your girl!

It was a fun day and she is loaded up on toys for the year! We need a bigger house! And now Christmas is coming! Where has 2009 gone? As much as I am freaking out about another year being over, I am excited. 2010 is going to be a great one!

Who are you?!

The past few days, this is the question I have been asking my daughter. Who ARE you and WHAT have you done with my Kathryn?!

It started with the anti-breakfast movement. Waffles? No! Fruit? No! Cereal?! No thank you. Well, at least there was a thank you in there. So the battle raged on.

The other night, after being told (for the 100th time) that the remote isn't a toy, this child threw herself on the ground in a full-blown temper tantrum, complete with kicking legs and screams. I pointed at her, looked at Matt, and asked [all together now...] WHO IS SHE!?!?

The latest assault has been launched at bed time. We go through the same routine. Every night. We do not stray. Every night. Then suddenly, one evening this week, it was as if I'd left her in that room with a savage pack of lions or something. She stood at the end of her crib (we have a video monitor), armed with her blankie and her treasured copy of Guess How Much I Love You, screaming at the top of her lungs. As I recall, it goes something like, "Na-na-NA MOOOOOOMMYYYYY!!!!!" Throw "DADDYYYYY!" in there a few times, too. Holy love.

But hey, I still love her.

Time flies...

Ok, so I let another month slip by without updating. How did a month already pass? People always told me, "If you think time goes by fast now, just wait until you have kids." So true. It's like I blink and suddenly we're in the middle of a new month already. August 17th? We're even more than halfway through the month... summer is almost over and fall is quickly approaching. My birthday. Kate's birthday. Thanksgiving. Christmas... aahhhh!

Though it's been a busy month, its been a good one. We spent some time with Kate's cousin, Madison, at the beginning of the month. Kate just adores her... and I am looking forward to having a great babysitter in a couple of years ;-) We visited Zoomar's Petting Zoo down in San Juan Capistrano one day- always a good time. My little miss Dr. Doolittle loves any chance to play with animals (or 'ammals' as she calls them). She couldn't get enough of this giant rabbit- which I'm pretty sure could've devoured her if given the chance- and made friends with one particularly greedy guinea pig.





We also spent a little time this summer down at Lake Mission Viejo. It's really great for little ones, since they can play in the sand without risk of big ol' waves knocking them over. She is a water baby for sure; never wants to leave. While getting ready to go down there the other day, I put her swimsuit top on (the rash guard kind) and kept her in a regular diaper and shorts until we got down there. As I got her bag together, she grabbed her swimsuit bottoms and proceeded to put it on as her hat. Hilarity ensued:


I promise- she was in no danger of strangulation. Just wanted to make that clear. No need to call CPS.

Looking around our home, I've finally decided (after almost 3 years) that we need more pictures on the walls. I wanted to put one of Kate in the tub in my bathroom, so one night during bathtime, I snapped a couple of my bubbly little love bug. Both will soon be hanging in my bathroom because... well, because they're too cute not to do something with.





We have a huge blank wall in our living room that I am trying to make some decisions about. I think I had the attitude that we're just renting and that I didn't want to put a lot of work into it if we were going to end up moving anytime soon, but its looking like we'll be staying put for a while, so I am feeling the need to make our space more "homey". I have no clue what to do though... I am craptastic at decorating. Photos? Mirror? Shelves? A little of each? Ugh. Who wants to come design a cool looking wall for me?!

It must be one of those phases, because I am feeling like I want to redo everything in our home. Though I've wanted to redo Kate's room for a while now, we can also add to the list new towels, new linens for our bedroom and new lamps (ok, well... I've wanted those for a while now, considering they're the same crappy Target ones from college). I've got the itch, what can I say.

I've also decided that someone should nominate me for "What Not to Wear". Yeah, I know... it doesn't really work that way. While my wardrobe may not really be all that offensive, it would be stinkin' sweet to get a whole new one courtesy of TLC. I'm just sayin'- Stacy and Clinton can pick out a sleek new look for me anytime.

I think I'm in a rut. Hmph.

Catching Up

Let's see, let's see... I've been neglecting my blog a bit to keep from neglecting everything else in my life: husband, daughter, job, friends, hobbies... life is full of things that need to be done!

I'll try to recap since my last post. Where to begin?
We celebrated Father's day a day early, since our friend's planned their wedding on the actual day (which turned out to be pretty nice... very sweet moment for the proud father-of-the-bride). We spent Saturday at Matt's parents' house, hanging out and BBQ'ing. For Matt's gift, I set up all of his fly-fishing gear on a backdrop and tried to get a shot of Kate... didn't work. She screamed the whole time. Then, I took her to a lovely park to get some great pics for Matt... unfortunately, they didn't turn out, either. Parks + running toddler = no good.

Finally, I re-attempted the fishing gear on the backdrop and came up with a set of three pretty adorable shots... here is one we ended up with...


I can't think of anything else particularly eventful, so we'll fast forward to July. On the 3rd we celebrated with another pair of friends at their wedding in Malibu. We decided to book a hotel, to avoid a long drive home... glad we did! Kate was such a trooper, and proved how resilient she is by falling face first off of a chair. I know... mom of the year let her fall... way to go.

We spent the 4th up at my mom's place... Matt spent a lot of time these past few months totally redoing the front yard and patio and it is awesome! My mom's place has fantastic, 180 degree views of the ocean, so we spend our time in that front yard. Then, on the 4th of July, a woman in Palos Verdes pays for her own firework show (rumor has it that it is in memory of her son). Conveniently for us, those fireworks position themselves perfectly in front of the front yard. Woohoo! Here are some pics from the day!









I had my first go at trying to photograph fireworks... I learned a thing or two, and hopefully they'll turn out better next time!

All in all, good times for the C fam!

I heart fingerpaint.

While at the store a few weeks ago, I had the genius idea to buy some finger paints for K, thinking what fun it would be since she loves to color. Realizing what a disaster it could be, I'd hesitated to bust it out. So the other day, I taped some trash bags to the floor, pulled out the big paper and let her have at it. Oh how this girl loves a mess...





Lessons learned:
1) Taping bags to the floor = good plan (because the paper practically disintegrated because of that wet paint).
2) Use clippies in her hair... the paint on her face is due to her desperately trying to sweep her hair out of her eyes.
3) Have the bathtime stuff READY. Oops. Thought I had this nailed- cleared the path to the bathtub, had her in just a diaper... aaaand: forgot a towel. She was covered in paint, I was covered in paint and we didn't have a towel for post-bath needs. Good thing she is small- a hand towel did the job. I just prayed we'd make it back to her room before she peed on the floor. We made it- phew!

Last week we took a trip down to SeaWorld for some fun with family and fish. Matt's parents, aunt, sister and her two girls were in for the fun, too. It was a lot of fun and Kate was awesome (but definitely tired, since napping wasn't even on her agenda). I appreciate that she keeps life simple: every animal was either a fish or a dog (minus the penguins- they're boops [Kate speak for "bird"]). Dolphin? Fish. Whale? Fish. Sealion? Dog. Yep.











Lots of fun! It's been a busy month, and it probably won't calm down much until... well, maybe August?? But probably not. I feel like our calendar is always so full of stuff... church stuff, family stuff, friend stuff- which I guess is a good thing, but I get exhausted even looking at my calendar anymore. Phew! I guess I could just go ahead and get to bed now for some rest (since everyone else in this house has been asleep for at least 3 hours), but I'm sure I could figure something else out that needs to get done!

Piggies!!!

Okay, okay. So the very moment the ultrasound tech said, "Looks like it's a girl!", I began the dreaming. Dreaming of pink. Dreaming of tea parties. And of course, dreaming of pigtails. Who doesn't love seeing a little girl with two, precious tufts of hair poking out the side of her little head? I know I'm a sucker for them.

But months went by and my beautiful daughter had little hair. Very little. Not really even enough for a little clippie.

Then came yesterday. Oh, yesterday! I was admiring our amazing little creation while she was watching Sesame Street and thought, "Hmm... I bet I can..." So I grabbed the hair bands, a comb and crossed my fingers that she wouldn't fight me...
AND IT WORKED! PIGGIES!!!





Too stinkin' cute. It really is a big milestone ;-) She also had her 18-month well check yesterday. Her stats, you ask?
Weight: 27.5 pounds (80th percentile: chubba-roo!!)
Height: 32.5 inches (75th percentile)
Head: Big. Yeah... 95th percentile. "Lots of brains" is a nice spin the Doc puts on that one.

Doc said she looks great, is ahead with vocabulary and the best thing: we're done with shots until she is 4-years-old! Woohoo! I hate seeing her cry when she gets shots- it is so sad. Glad that is behind us for a while!

The other day, we came home from my mom's house in the South Bay and she fell asleep in the car. She was still beat when we walked in the door, so I laid her down on the couch for a little bit. I couldn't believe how long she looked! My baby, who used to not even stretch from one side of the cushion to the other, is getting so big!



Crazy. I wish time would slow the heck down.

One and a Half!

While I was pregnant with Kathryn, we received so many generous gifts from people... it was unreal. Among all of the amazing things, we received quite a bit of 18-month sized clothing- for her to "grow into". I thought it would be impossibly long before she could wear those- after all, 18-months seemed like such a long time; so far away.

And here we are. Kate turned 18 months old yesterday. 6 months away from being a 2-year-old. Even her 1st birthday had seemed so far away, and now the 2nd birthday is coming. Fast. It is very strange for me... I have to admit. I'm really not sure how time has slipped by so quickly.

We spent yesterday afternoon playing in her $5.99 kiddie pool in the backyard. It was hot and sunny- perfect day for a dip. It makes me laugh that the smell of water from the hose takes me back to when I was little, playing in the front yard and drinking from the hose (which we ALL did when we were kids, but as it turns out, modern science and medicine say is a poor choice; how did my generation and those before me ever live...).

She loves the water- definitely a little fish. Guess we'll need to sign up for some swimming lessons for the summer!







This last one kills me... she is a classy girl.



I sometimes catch myself staring and smiling at her like a total goober. She really just amazes me! She is so curious and wants to explore everything. She talks so much now- and it's often hilarious. The other day, when she woke up from her nap, I walked in to her room and she immediately popped up and said, "I pooped!" Sure enough. Nice. She is a dancing machine, too. She is so fun... I think I still have to pinch myself every now and again to make sure this is all for real!

Happy one-and-a-half, baby!

Mother's Day

Since Sunday is technically a work day for me, we have little time to celebrate Sunday holidays- namely, Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Much to my surprise this morning, I was awakened by my littlest love standing by my bedside in her sweetest set of pajamas saying, "Moooooommy! Moooooomy!" I opened my eyes to see Matt carrying in a delicious breakfast in bed, complete with coffee, juice, french toast sticks, eggs and bacon; with a vase of red roses to go with it! It doesn't get much better than that! I ate up, snuggled with my loves for a while, then got up for the day.

After I got out of the shower, I could hear Matt milling around in the kitchen. When I came out to investigate, he was packing up our picnic set for a lunch on the beach. We grabbed the blanket, food, beach umbrella and the kiddo and headed down to Laguna Beach, right below the Montage Resort (fabulous, not crowded, beautiful landscaping on the walk-way above the beach). What a great day!

Zoo Day

Today we made a trip over to the Orange County Zoo. Matt and I had gone once before- before Kathryn was a part of our lives. It is a perfect zoo for a younger toddler- it's small, free admission for under 2 and only $2 for adults. There's a petting zoo-ish type area, which was where Kate clearly had the most fun.

I didn't really notice it while we were there, but now looking at the pictures, I have to laugh at her "bodyguard" of a father. Please observe.

All seems well here. Daddy and daughter are smiling and happy.


Still visiting the sheep. Daddy's hand making sure fingers aren't jabbed within biting distance. Note, daughter's other arm is also restrained.


Carefully approaching tiny goat in petting area. Note daddy's eye contact with mom, warning her to speed up picture taking process before tiny goat turns on daughter. For future reference, I believe we may see this look again when I am taking photos of Kate and her prom date...


Ahh... daughter is finally allowed to walk around on her own. Kind of. Note "hand-of-safety" attached to back of dress.


This is so typical Matt... but I love it. He cares so tenderly for Kate and it is apparent in every way. We had a fun day walking around the little zoo, checking out animals and hearing Kate refer to every animal as a dog (coyotes, peccaries), a kitty (bobcat, raccoons, fox) or a bird (well... yeah, she got those right).

Life is Busy.

March and April are crazy months for us. Between all the family birthdays, Lent and Easter (when you work at a church, its ridiculous), I feel like there is little time to do so much as breathe! So... yeah, a month has passed since I last updated here. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened, really.

Kate had her first gig as a flower girl at Carly & Chris' wedding on April 3rd. They got married up in Lodi at this fantastic winery called Wine & Roses. Everything was beautiful and Kate was a super star! She does love the spotlight :)





So far, I have to say that this is my favorite age. I know- I've said it probably every month since Kate has been born, but seriously. She's this little walking, talking, curious ball of fun now days. She's discovering so much and is such a little sponge. My current favorite things about my [baby] little girl:
* Dragging her blankie around, laying in the middle of the floor and saying "Niiiigh-niiiiigh".
* Giving big ol' kisses over and over again, complete with "MUAH!" sound.
* Dropping her blankie & lovies out of the crib and exclaiming, "Ohhh NO!" as they hit the floor.
* Touching her nose and saying, "Beep".
* Uncontrollable giggles when we chase after her (extra giggles if we crawl on our hands and knees).
* Her undying passion to use a spoon all by herself (always followed by bathtime).

Yeah. I could go on forever. She's fantastic.

Genetics

There is a tradition that runs in my family. It was passed down to me from my mother, to her from her mother... maybe even to my grandmother from her mother. It is well known among family to be something the women in our family have in common. Perhaps genetic.

What is it, you ask? Ok... I'll tell you. Come closer:
We're terrible housekeepers.

It's true. I've always wanted to be Suzy Homemaker, but I am afraid it may not be in the cards. There are times when I look around and think, My word. If some old friend showed up at my door right now, I'd have to poke my head out through the door and give them directions to meet me at the nearest Starbucks in order to avoid complete embarrassment. That's pretty bad.

I went on a cleaning kick the other night (which happens oh-so-rarely). The strange thing is, I feel SO good when my house is spic-and-span. Really good. Like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. Like I can breathe a little easier. So it should be easy to keep things clean right? Hmm. Funny how that never works out.

I've informed Matt that once we're homeowners, I intend to hire a cleaning service. Once I have that pride of ownership, instead of that crappy "eh, it's a rental" attitude, I hope I'll feel a bit more motivated. I hope. But just in case, I plan to hire the professionals.

In the meantime, if you intend to drop by... could you give me 24 hours notice? I'll have some tidying up to do.

Where's your....?

I've started my own little project- a 365 project. One photo every day for 365 days! It will be tough to actually commit to taking and posting a photo every day, but I like the challenge! www.onephotofor365.blogspot.com

Today Kate and I went out in the yard to play and take some pictures. To keep her attention, we played the "Where is your _______?" game!

Where is your mouth?

Check out the CHOMPERS! These "first year" molars are intense! They must h.u.r.t because she has been extraordinarily whiny! They look huge- I can only imagine how much they must ache :(

Where are your eyes?


Where are your feet?


She is so cute- it really is unreal. She is just so much fun.

All I have ever wanted was to be a mommy. When I was little, I wanted to be a mommy. In high school, I knew one day I wanted kids. When I met Matt, his desire to have kids in the future was a big plus. When I got pregnant so quickly, my dreams were coming true. Now I have this perfect little bundle of love... and I am so blessed. But sometimes I find myself wondering: how could I ever love another child as much as I love Kate?

I know I will (presuming that we're blessed with another baby one day). But it was difficult to imagine loving Kate as much as I do before she was born. Now that she is in our lives, I wonder... could I love another little person as much as I love her? How can someone have that much love? The love I feel for her is sometimes overwhelming. The natural love and protection I have for her is sometimes even frightening- like I would do ANYTHING to protect my daughter. As an only child, I never felt any competition for love. I am excited for the future- for God to teach me how much a human being is capable of loving. I think that I am sadly unaware of how much capability to love we are actually given as humans. It really is boundless, I am sure.

I'm off to bed... before I crawl under the covers tonight, I'll no doubt turn on my video monitor, take a look at my sleeping sweet pea and thank God for that girl. That girl! She is a blessing beyond words. And Matt will, no doubt, get a kiss too. :)

The "Eyes" Have It

EYE! It's Kate's new favorite word. At any given time during the day, she can be found jabbing her finger into my eye, Matt's eye, or her own and excitedly exclaiming, "EYEEEE!!" It is usually followed by "Nooonse!" (nose) or "Ayyyre!" (hair- which she pulls out of my head, thankyouverymuch).

She cracks me up. Today while watching Yo Gabba Gabba, she was trying to imitate Elijah Wood's "dancy-dance" by picking her foot up and then swinging her arms around like a crazy person. I swear, I try to get these things on video... but the second I bust out the camera she just stops and stays perfectly still. Little bugger.

A few weeks ago, Kate and I had a lovely lunch with my friend Summer at Corner Bakery in Irvine. When we left, I, being a total airhead, left Kate's high chair/shopping cart cover on the high chair. I didn't even realize until a few days later... by the time I called CB, it was long gone. However, Etsy always makes me happy again. I found a fabulous seller, MichaelMoooDesign: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5862007 I sent her my own fabric and she put it together SO fast! She is phenomenal- if you need a cart cover, she is the one to go to :) Here are a couple of shots from our trip to the grocery store today:


I don't know where the heck those blue eyes came from, but all I can say is God Bless recessive genes!


Since pictures are always fun, here are a few from how we spent our valentines day. The two loves of my life and I headed up to the park to play, since the weather was perfect- crisp, but sunny: my favorite kind of day! I am so blessed... it is ridiculous.







Her new trick is "jumping". She tries to jump up and down... which basically amounts to bending her knees, then standing up tall. It's so cute- but again, she turns into stone when I get out the video camera. Ugh.

I had to have Matt take a picture of me today for church's new website. Ugh. I'm just the youth director- can't we skip my picture? I looked at the picture and realized just how fat I have let myself get in the past year. I was looking good before I got pregnant, since Matt and I had been walking the 4.5 miles from home, around MV lake and back. It's just gotten progressively worse after being pregnant. I need to get my butt in gear, because seriously- yuck! Oh well- maybe this will serve as some inspiration. If I got in front of the camera more instead of being behind it so much, maybe I'd think a little harder before settling into the couch instead of going for a run ;-)

Off to change the laundry and get everything ready for tomorrow morning... its tough to get ready for church anymore without proper planning the night before!

My Little Caged Bird

Now that Kate is a mover and a shaker, being locked up in my office for 4-5 hours a day is an absolute tragedy for her. She stands at the chair that blocks my office door (yes, chair... she can pick up and move the gate I bought) and whines and throws her toys out, trying to coax any of the ladies that work in the office to let her out. Inevitably, someone always comes to her rescue.



I try not to feel bad- we have definitely developed a schedule now (and hey, she naps better at the office than she does at home, now) and there are so many people here who love her. I am sure that being around so many people so often has contributed to her socialness- she is definitely a people person. I do feel kind of bad, though. She just wants to fly and I have to keep her caged. It's just part of being a parent, though, as I need to keep her safe.


I am so amazed by this kid- she's just so stinkin' smart! Her vocabulary is growing every day. She has mastered Daddy, Momma/Mommy, doggie, nana (banana), night-night and moon; she definitely gets her point across in other ways too. She knows her nose, eyes, ears, hands, toes and belly. She grabs her socks or shoes and tries to put them on. Maybe these aren't unusual for kiddos of this age, but in general, it really is an amazing feat... kids this age just learn SO much SO fast. Impressive!

At almost 15 months, Kate's new favorite things are spinning around in circles, bubbles and eating kiwi. A day with any combination of those three things is a good day!

Perspective.

I need to stop being such a whiner. I complain too much. About dumb things. Trivial things. Things that some people should be so lucky to complain about (cell phones, slow internet, car trouble...).

Then something happens and throws everything into perspective. In hearing of a friend's great loss, I woke up (if you pray, please pray for E- for her comfort, healing and health). Life is short; it is precious; it is unpredictable. And the less time I spend whining, the more time I'll have to notice everything precious and joyous about life. There. I said it.

This evening I looked at Kate and had one of those, "I can't believe she's really mine" moments. This perfect, silly, sweet, blue-eyed little girl. Ours? Really?! It's still amazing... 14 months later and I'm still baffled by this little miracle.

I bought her a tutu off of Etsy recently, and just today had some time to take some photos. She is not a fan... and I almost cried from laughing so hard at how silly it all really is.


After I changed her out of the pink-fluffy-ridiculousness, she was considerably happier and gave me that killer smile... with her head against the floor. Why? I dunno. But I love it.


On another joyous note, 2009 is going to be the year of weddings for many of my friends! Hooray (and it's about freaking time, kids)! Now if only they'd make some honeymoon babies... kidding, friends! But in all seriousness, I am so excited for all of them and am really looking forward to this special year. I did get to practice my photography skills and take some engagement pics for Scott (my friend since 10th grade) and Emily (his beautiful fiancee- seriously, Scott, you're marrying up)!

It was so fun and a huge honor- thanks guys!

Off to bed... and to say some prayers. I'll say one for you, too. ;-)