Utah In February

We just got back from visiting our Pond family in Utah. It was so much fun to see everyone and we were busy all week! Kiera enjoyed spending time with everyone. We went by Edgemont and Canyon Crest (the schools me & ryan worked at). It was great seeing our kids & our friends/coworkers. We miss them so much. We hung out with friends and kiera spent lots of time with grandma. One morning we took a drive up to "our park". We had never been up there this time of year & there was tons of snow. We even saw some deer. I love seeing them out in the wild. The time always seems so short but i'm glad we were able to go up and visit.

SiXTeeN WeeKs!

*Kisses*

A NeW YeAr

We decided that every january first we would go out as a family and "do something fun". So for our inaugural new years day we went to the discovery science center. I'd always wanted to go there and i thought kiera is getting to where she loves to look at things and thought she'd enjoy it so we went. It was so cool. The theme for the month is bats and everything was just amazing. We had a great time. There's huge dinosaur displays and so much interactive stuff, me and ryan enjoyed it more than anything. I even got to lay on a bed of nails...very cool. They were so sharp. The guy kept saying "if you're experiencing any discomfort, let me know.." and i was thinking "bring it on." It was fun going out as a family and spending the day enjoying ourselves. Between the holidays and moving, we've been so busy and most of our free time is spent cleaning and trying to fix up our house.

*NeW YeArs EvE*

I made this doll for Kiera and they're currently the same size. It's pretty cute. So i decided that i'd take a picture of her with her dolly every NeW YeArs EvE and track her growth. Here's picture #1.

Baby's First Christmas

MaMa...Who's ThAt PuRdy Gull In ThA MiRRa...?

Kiera @ 10 wEEks!

Well, my baby is getting bigger and more beautiful everyday. She's becoming so much more aware of her surroundings and people. She's such a smart little girl. She's sleeping well through the night, she talks alot & she has just started laughing, it's so cute. She's veeeery ticklish! (she didn't get that from me) She's such a sweetheart and the best little baby in the whole world, i love her to death. I love being able to stay home & spend so much time with her seeing all the fun things she does. I love being a mom. It's not easy, by far, but it's so worth it.

Kiera @ 6 weeks.

So, i had a date with my cousin anna. I was totally pampered and it was so much fun! It's been such a long time since me & her had spent time together, much less doing what we love...talking about M*A*C. First we went and got our eyebrows waxed, who doesn't love a good clean up.. we just kept staring at each other going "wow, yours look good!" Then we cruised down to South Coast Plaza & spent the morning in Nordstroms just hanging out. There was a MAC show going on that'd she'd invited me to. They have so many new things. And then of course, we had our make up done & hung out. (on a side note, we found out that fashion island is so posh that people can bring their dogs into the mall & they can even p00p as long as they pick it up! I saw it.) Anyways, it was so nice to have a break from being "mommy" but i sure missed that little girl, even for that short time. It was a special day for ryan too though, it was his first time spent alone with kiera. It was just her & daddy. When i came home, we took her for her 6 week pictures. It was quite an experience trying to get her to smile & hold herself up while trying to all let go & move at the right time to get the picture. lol It was so fun though & they came out adorable.

Thanksgiving

Since thanksgiving is coming up, i thought i'd share a few thoughts about what I'm thankful for. I'd also like to say, it's so sad that between Halloween and Christmas, thanksgiving gets buried and forgotten. It's like, as soon as Halloween's over and the things get put on clearance, the Christmas things get put out and nobody thinks about thanksgiving. Anyways, I'm thankful for my parents. If i lost either of them, I'd lose myself. I'm thankful for my brother, he always makes me laugh. He is also one of the most caring and softest persons i know. He's got a huge heart. I'm thankful for my Tia Silvia. (or mom #2 for those who know her) Her love and caring is never ending. Which brings me to this last Sunday. We got in a bad accident and my tia came to the scene to pick us up. We were driving straight thru a green light and a lady in an expedition made a left turn right into us, and pushed us up onto the sidewalk right into the corner light post. I was so scared. I hit my head a few times pretty hard on the window. I suffered a head injury but the ct scan showed there was no concussion. I was just a little out of it for the remainder of the day. My head is still hurting. My left cheek and lip are bruised and swollen. As we came to the stop i couldn't undo kieras car seat buckle fast enough. She was crying and screaming from fright but i knew she was ok. I pulled her out and got out of the truck. The police came quick and did all their reporting. I was just crying and holding my baby. My first thoughts were filled with anger. I was so mad about so many things, it was horrible. But when my tia came, the first thing she said was "as long as my baby (kiera) and you are ok, everything is ok." She's right. All the anger faded away. We're ok. That's all that matters. Now i'd like to say. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. He's my everything and i'm so thankful he's ok. He received the impact of the crash and all he got was shaken up and sore. I like to think i'm a grateful person and i always pray that i continue to be grateful but am i really? It takes some shaking up like this to wake us up and let us know "YOU ARE A SELFISH BRAT AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT!" Well, maybe not in those words. I love you Ryan. I'm sorry i'm so grouchy with you all the time. And i don't tell you i love you as much as i should. But i do, i love you with all my heart and as our wedding anniversary approaches, i hope to show you and remind us both of all the reasons we got married. I love you. I'm also really thankful for my beautiful daughter. She's so small and delicate. I'm so grateful that she was kept safe. I have the most most perfect little family and for thanksgiving this year, i'd like to promise that i will make more of an effort to enjoy and appreciate the time i spend with them.

Moving!

We are officially in our place. It took ALOT longer than we had anticipated and we switched potential locations several times but we have finally arrived to OUR place. It's a great feeling to finally be able to unpack things. They've been in storage for so long. I'm most happy to be pulling out my pre preggie clothes cuz i'm swimming in the maternity clothes now. Ryan's most happy cuz his drive is significantly shorter now to and from work. He used to leave at 5:30 am to get to work at 7:15...he now leaves the house at 7:00. It's wonderful! And he gets home at 3:45 pm instead of 5. We get to spend more time together now and it's so nice. We are now living in orange, in a 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a swimming pool and a basketball hoop. I actually lived here from the time i was 15 and on for about 7 years collectively. It hasn't really been well cared for so it needs alot of tlc and work but i'm excited to get things moving and turn it into a beautiful home. I'm also excited for Christmas cuz i've always loved decorating this house, it's so cool. And it's also always been the place where my whole family would all gather for holidays and special occasions cuz there's room for everyone.

Halloweenie

So, halloween is one of my absolute favorite holidays. This year, however, it came and went before i was ready and i totally missed it. So sad. First, kiera has been so congested so we were at the drs on halloween, second, we tried to carve pumpkins but the carpal tunnel i got during my pregnancy didn't let me do it and third, we're still at my dads house.so... our halloween box came out of storage and a few things went up but we didn't decorate like we always do. This is kiera on halloween and i have to say, seeing her dressed as a pumpkin makes up for it.

Kiera Soleil Pond has arrived!

Kiera was born on October 2nd in the evening. She was 7 lbs, 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Towards the end of my pregnancy, i felt like she was never gonna come but since she was born the time has just flown by. She's almost 3 weeks old now & growing a little everyday. She is so smart & so feisty, i love it! I can just sit & stare at her for hours, it's so amazing to think i made her. She has beautiful dark hair & we think her eyes are brown. She's so perfect. And her dad is absolutely in love with her. It's so funny to see how protective he is of her & how he just hates to see her cry. He's so gentle with her & she just looks so tiny when he has her. It's fun to watch him with his little girl. It's a whole new side of him, the daddy side. We have the most wonderful little family. And I also have to add, skye loves her! We don't really let her get toooo close for safety reasons of course but when the baby cries if i'm in the bathroom she sits outside the door barking until i come out & when i ask her "where's the baby?" she runs over to kiera and sits at her feet. She has done so well adjusting to the new addition. Here are some pictures of my beautiful princess.

38 weeks!

Haaappy Biiirthdaaay Tooo Meeee...!

I had the best birthday. On Saturday i went out with a select few to Red Robin, (while my sis in law melissa was getting married...i couldn't go due to the basketball under my shirt but ryan went and had a wonderful time, he said it was beautiful) Then we bought a cheesecake and went over to my tia silvias. It was a good day. Then, on my actual birthday, we bbq'd carne asada and just hung out. Me, james, and chris decorated the house with tons of balloons and streamers and star confetti that ryans family sent me (thank you guys for everything, it made my day so much better) and to finish the day my mom made me a birthday cake. It was a very simple, chill out day but it was one of the best birthdays i've had because i had my family with me and everything just went perfect. And Ryan bought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers! I wish i could keep it forever! Last week was long and full of ups and downs but when i finally stopped and remembered how much i'm loved by He who holds the world in His hands, I stopped stressing and began to see the good start to sprout. Life is good.

Ready to Pop Or Not...

Here's a random belly picture for those who like keeping up with my progress. Some people say i look like i'm ready to pop and some people say i'm still really small. I think it depends on what i wear. I just like to think of how great it'll be when my belly is flat again... 33 weeks.

Orange County Fair!

So, we went to the orange county fair this week and it was so much fun. We didn't do rides or anything but it's ok, i just love the atmosphere. And of course the funnel cakes! You can't do the fair without the yummy treats they have. I was so surprised at how well my body handled all the walking and everything. I was tired by the end but i'm so glad we went. It was so much fun!

30 weeks!

We're now at 30 weeks and getting anxious! I'm so ready to see jo and be able to give her kisses. She's getting so big and moving so much. It's really fun, except for when she plays my ribs like a xylophone. Ha. So, we've been back in california for about a month and it's been nice to be around family. So many things are different than i thought and our plans with moving situations have changed but i feel in my heart it's the best thing. Ryan has been so patient with everything, (he leaves the house at 5:30am to be at work on time) He's wonderful! We're doing great and are so happily awaiting our bundle of joy. It's really good to be able to see my mom whenever i want and hang out with her. It's fun to see how excited she and my dad are about being grandparents, they are gonna be great and will love it!