The Latest with Kendall

A Dora Look-alike

I love Kendall's imagination and the way she thinks. Lately, everything is about Dora the Explorer. She calls her "Do-do" and she even attempts to sing the songs. At first, I really didn't want her to watch Dora, just in case she became obsessed. And sure enough...she's obsessed. I really don't care. I've decided that if it makes her happy...why do I care?

So, I bought her a couple Dora sippy cups. She, of course, LOVES them! The other day, Kendall decided all on her own that she wanted to dress up like the Dora on her cup.

She did the sign for "skirt" then, ran into her bedroom, pulled out a skirt, ran back out wanting me to put it on her. Then, she picked up her cup to see whatelse she needed. She patted her head and ran off to get her hat. She returned with her pink hat on, check the cup, then ran into my bedroom for shoes. Lastly, she pointed to Dora's wand and looked at me very perplexed. Almost to say, "where am I gonna get that?" In a very sing-song voice, she said, "ooohh nooo!" as she often does when something is not right.

I looked at her and ask, "Do you want mommy to make you one?" She literally jumped for joy screaming "yes!"

I grabbed a plastic chopstick, some construction paper, cut out a star and stapled it to the end of the chopstick. It wasn't the best wand ever made, but she didn't care. At that moment, she was the happiest little Explora Dora on the planet!

I love making her happy and it's easy to do!

See for yourself...don't they look like twins???

Our Little Islander
I love Kendall's creativity! She is really into picking out her own clothes lately...mostly skirts without tops or sometimes it's 4 layers of clothing... it just depends on what mood she's in! She also really loves picking out her own bows to wear...whether they match or not! I love the photos below of her. She concocted it all on her own...her skirt worn as a moo-moo, her bracelet worn as tribal jewelry, and her floral headband makes for a lovely combination!

Say "Cheese"

I love Kendall's laugh and sense of humor. She really is hilarious! She has been practicing her photography skills and needed a subject. I gladly volunteered and this was the outcome...

She did a pretty good job considering it was her first time. ;-) She laughed and thought it was so funny when she saw her pictures. Now it was her turn and mommy's turn to take the picture. This is what she decided to do...

Legs Crossed

...still.

As a baby she always crossed her legs. Click here to see. Somethings never change, but other things change way too quickly. I'm so glad that we are able document all of these things. I hope I never forget to little things that give me so much happiness!

The Latest with Kaden

So Serious!

I love these expressions on his face. They crack me up!

Future Limo Driver

I love his chunky-monkey-squishy-rollie-pollie legs! He is so handsome! He is doing a great job at pulling himself up on stuff and standing. He requires some spotting because he topples over quite often. He is so much fun to watch.

Baby Bathtub Blues
I love how blue his eyes are! He and Kendall love to take baths together. Kendall splashes and he laughs. It's great entertainment!

Good Morning, Sunshine!
I love getting Kaden out of his bed in the morning (or anytime). I am always greeted with the biggest juicy loveable smile. He is such a super happy baby!

Our Little Traveler
I love his determination! Nothing stops this kid...when he wants to go somewhere, he gets there! He crawls up and over pillows, door walkways, boxes, and large toys. He goes where ever the action is...if I'm in the kitchen, he finds me, if Kendall is playing in her room, he will go find her. I also love when he crawls to my feet when he wants to be picked up. He is so much fun!

Barbershop Baby

We finally did it! We cut his hair. Part of me loved his little comb-over and the other part of me wanted it gone. I figured it had to go sometime. Shane got out the clippers and away it went. Even his crazy little duck tail in the back is gone. So, our little handsome man now has short hair and he looks just as handsome!

Watch out ladies...here he comes!

How old are you?

We are a few months ahead of schedule, but I wasn't sure how long it was going to take her. She picked it up really quick. At first, she had a hard time coordinating her fingers, but she figured it out. It was cute to watch how hard she was trying. Now she goes around the house with her two fingers saying, "two" all the time. She is super funny. Now we'll have to see if it carries over to other people asking her. That's the real test! When you see her, ask her!

Enjoy the video of our not-quite-2-year-old!

Stickin' Around AND Spicing Things Up!

After much thought...we decided that we are staying put here in CA and our move to AZ will have to be put on hold for a year or two. Although, I'm sad that I'm not living closer to my family, it's what needs to be done for Shane's career and schooling. I'm okay with it...really I am. We will get there eventually.

Until then, I am going to make the best out of where we live. It's not the most happening town, so I am going to make things happen. The people in this area have tons of knowledge on doing food storage, canning, gardening, homemaking, etc. I really want to learn how to do those things. I have started canning. A good friend helped me can tomatoes (fresh from her garden), and next week we are going to do peaches and pears. I'm excited. It's a lot of fun...especially doing it with someone else. I'm going to soak it in while I'm here.

Shane recently was hired as a teacher for the emotionally disturb students at a Jr. High School right here in our very own city. His commute is less than 5 minutes and he gets to come home for lunch on some days. Pretty good deal if you ask us. He was also just accepted to the master's program for Educational Administration at Chico State. His classes meet one Saturday a month. He is super excited about starting school...both teaching and attending.

So, since we are staying, we moved some funiture around to spice things up a bit. What is it about rearraging your house that makes it seem like a whole new place? We switched the family room into the living room and moved the dining room into the living room. A bit strange, but it works...for now.

We also got rid of the guest room and made it into the baby's room (Kaden's room...for now). We gave Kendall the queen size (guest) bed and made her room all girly. She absolutely LOVES her new bed and room. It's so cute to see her in her big bed all by herself. She lays in it, throws the covers on, then pats them down around her. She thinks she's a big girl!

^"Oooh!"^

^Happy girl!^

^"Shhh...sleeping"^

^On her ceiling above her bed^

^She loves looking at her butterflies and dragonflies.^

^Kaden's room^

Caught Making Out with a Girl....Already!

I went to check on Kaden and this is what I found...

^Crazy-funny boy^

^I love how he's holding her head^


^"Uh...hi, mom!"^

Can you believe it...only 6 months old and he's already sucking on some chick's face???

OH, the things we have to look forward to! Can't wait!

Teppanyaki-style Restaurant

Shane's Aunt Sandy had her 50th birthday party at a really fun restaurant called um...i can't remember. It's kinda like a Benihana's type place. I remember going to Benihana's with my family when I was younger. I loved it just as much then as I do now.
We all had a great time. Kendall really enjoyed herself. She really liked it when the chef set the grill on fire and also when he tried tossing food into people's mouths. She even got to try it and with a little assistance from dad, she caught it in her mouth. She also thought it was cool when the chef made a volcano using an onion, then he made smoke and fire come out of it. Impressive. I love all the picture below of her expressions. She loved it! I highly recommend going to a restaurant like this...entertainment and great food!

Picnic at the Park

One Saturday evening, we went to a park for a picnic. We ate some finger lickin' good KFC and played at the park. This particular park has a water feature along with a jungle gym. Needless to say, Kendall had a blast. Every time the water would spray out, she would yell and scream. It was pretty funny. It was great to get out and enjoy the outdoors. We're definitately going to have to do that again sometime soon!

21 months and 6 months

BFFs in the making!

These two are so cute together. Kendall is so sweet and gentle with him. She loves to give him kisses. And he laughs and thinks it's funny. The photos below show all of her attempts to give him a kiss on the lips. She knew each time that she was off just by a little bit, so she tried again until she won. I love how she is grabbing his face. They are funny! I can't wait to watch them grow up and become best friends.

6 months {Kaden}

Kaden probably thinks his name is Handsome...I call him that ALL the time. He is such an adorable little guy. He is so smiley and happy. At anytime of the day, you can look at him and he will give you the cutest little smile.

At 6 months, Kaden:

• weighs 23.8 pounds and 29 in. long
• wears 12-18 mos clothing
• wears a size 4 shoe
• eats all sorts of fruits, veggies, oatmeal, and yo baby yogurt
• sleeps well (he wakes for his pacifier, then goes back to sleep)
• moves all over the house doing an army crawl
• crawls to your feet when he wants to be picked up
• gets up into a true crawl position
• gets into a crawl position from sitting
• does the "downward facing dog" yoga position
• loves to watch Kendall
• has the best laugh ever
  

Kaden brightens our days. We love having Mr. Man in our family.

He is such a sweet, sweet little boy.

One of my favorite things to do!

I absolutely love sitting on the couch with my 2 babies...one in each arm! They are such snuggley little cuddle bugs. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being their mom!