l0ve

Ryan & I celebrated our first valentine's day {together} 5 years ago. Yeah, five! It seems like it was just yesterday but at the same time it feels like we've known each other forever. We've had our ups, down & we've grown so much together. He's learned to live with my psychotic-ness & i've learned to love his nerdy-ness... we are complete opposites & we couldn't be more right for each other. This pic was taken valentine's 2005, ryan looks so young & cute. How could i not fall in love...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm so over sh0rt hair. i want my looong hair back. i went red... ok, fun... then i was over it. so now it's black again. cut it... fun too, liked it. alot. now i'm over it. gr0w!

this is the day i chopped it off... about 6 months ago, i was so ready for a change... love it, miss it.

I always forget what a drastic height difference me & ryan have... yes, i really DO forget. Then i'll notice somebody look at us, then double take... then look up at ryan... then down at me... and after i lock eyes with them and smile like "yup... we're not an illusion..." i realize... wow.

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Dads are the BEST!

I got my garden planted this week. I know i'm ahead of schedule but i did it more for my sanity than anything else. These past couple of weeks have been "rough" (for lack of a better word...) so i needed something to do to occupy my mind & body. Planting & up-keeping a garden brings joy to my heart for so many reasons... it keeps me busy (i don't mind weeding..in fact i enjoy it), i love watching it grow & develop, i love people's reaction to it (growing up i never knew of anybody having a garden, it's still a new commodity around here), i love being able to enjoy the fruits & vegetables & have it available right at my fingertips, i love being able to share it with others, i love spending time outside it the fresh air & sunlight with my beautiful daughter (she l0ves being outdoors)...... i just love the purpose. I decided to grow some things i've grown before & had success with, ditch some things i've tried & for whatever reason felt i could do without, & decided to try some new things & see how it goes... even decided to grow tomatoes this year. (me & ryan HATE tomatoes but kiera likes them) Last year we went to utah for a week & my garden wasn't watered...it totally dried & when we got back it was to late to salvage the roots. This time around... NOT letting that happen again. Anyways, with the area i have set aside around my house for gardening, these are the things we look forward to growing & enjoying in the near & not-so-near future. Sugar snap peas, bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, asparugus, romaine lettuce, zucchini, pumpkins, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, corn, strawberries, lemons, jalapenos, banana peppers, & i'd love love love an avocado tree but we'll see on that one!

SuperGirlll...

Kiera's been so sick this past month. She's had like 6 teeth coming in at the same time & it's been hard for her but she always manages to be happy. Her molars have made it in but now we're just waiting for her canine teeth... they've poked thru, just waiting for them to drop & we're hoping she'll get to start feeling better. Maybe she'll start eating again too! With all her other teeth, she was fine... a little fussy but nothing a lollipop couldn't fix. But with these molars & canines... wow... i didn't know teething could cause so many side effects! (runny nose, sneezing, coughing, congestion, fever, diarrhea, & of course pain...) I'm sure with all the sickness going around at this time of year, she had a little something extra but hopefully she'll start feeling better. She's had fever these last 2 days & you can just see in her face she's not feeling good. Thank goodness for chocolate & cookies huh!

......just running around the house helping mom do laundry & cleaning up... couldn't resist taking a picture of how incredibly cute she looks today!

GingeRbReaD Ho0ouSe!

This year we made 0ur first gingerbread house ever! kiera l0ved IT... well... mostly eating the candy. we sat & made it right in front of the fireplace with yummy christmas music playing. it was so much fun! look how proud she is of all her hard work!

3 y3ars & counting...

*Happy Anniversary Ryan*

c0usins

kiera always has so much fun playing with her cousins! it's so fun to see them together as they are getting older, i can tell they're gonna be really close just like we were growing up! today was full of sliding, playing, chalk drawing, & ice cream (kiera soon found out what that music was coming down the street)... the joys of childhood.

HeLLoWeeNiE!

For halloween this year we went to disneyland! Me & kiera were fairies so we had to go visit pixie hollow. Kiera rode on pirates of the carribean for the first time... loved/hated it & she went on the haunted mansion for her semi-first time... she had been on it once before but fell asleep in the line & slept the whole way thru the ride & then some! She did so good! She really liked the mansion! She also went trick or treating for the very first time. I can't believe October is over... i look forward to thanksgiving, even though everyone is all about Christmas now... Time flies all too fast.

PuMpkiN PaTcH

We took Kiera to the pumpkin patch at Irvine park and she loved it. There were soooo many pumpkins of all different shapes & sizes! She rode around in her wagon & pointed at everything. We bought some cotton candy & she couldn't decide if she liked it or not... she would totally try to push it out of her mouth with her tongue but as it dissolved, she'd do a little dance & then ask for more as soon as it was gone. Like every time!

Friends!

Our friends karen & little ryan came down to visit from utah! We were so excited to see them & had tons of fun playing with them! Ryan is a little over a year & a half so her & kiera are really getting to the age where they wanna interact. On monday we went to the zoo (where they had NO animals, just a handful of monkeys) & on tuesday we went to the Happiest Place On Earth for Karens BIRTHDAY! It was such a fun day!

*Happy Birthday Baby*

It seems like only yesterday we left the hospital with this little bundle... so nervous to be sent out into the world, feeling so unprepared. The first few days were so delicate, so new... every sound, every movement, every change in skin color... so alarming. From the beginning, kiera slept thru the night, ate with vigor & had such a love for life! She chipped away at my heart til she snuggly fit herself right inside & made herself at home. She has so much life & so much love. Anyone that knows this little girl, knows that. Over this first year of life, she's grown so much. She's so fiesty & strong willed, like her mom. And so smart & gentle, like her dad. Happy birthday baby, mommy loves you!

Music

Kiera LOVES music, just like her mom! It's awesome! And what's even awesomer...?! She loves to dance too! It's so cute, she HAS to jam whenever music starts. ANY music, even beat boxing, humming & simply just asking her to dance. She never disappoints. This morning i was driving & looked back at her... this is what i saw... so funny!



** yes... i was filming as i drove... nobody was hurt... i already heard about it from my mom, thank you.

My 10 m0nth 0ld

Kiera's 10 months old now... i just wanna freeze time. She's so small still but so independent. She doesn't like being held & sometimes gets so frustrated with herself for not being able to walk. She's almost there... just not quite confident enough to do it. I know she can, she has to know that she can. She is talking like crazy, her favorite things to say right now are "thank you, hey, skye, all done, daddy, and sarah"... yes... she calls me sarah. She mimics & repeates everything! She just soaks things up & amazes us by all that she comprehends. When i ask her a question, she responds with "yes, ok, or she'll say & sign all done". I know it probably sounds like i'm bragging or showing off, but get used to it i guess... i'm so proud of everything my little girl does. Let's see... oh, she's got teeth now! She has 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom! She definetly knows how to use them, her favorite time is when eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. There's so much that i could tell you about my little princess but we'd be here all day. She's my world, my love, my everything, my spitfire. She's a spoiled little brat & i love her more than anything!

HaPpy BirThdAy t0 Me...!

Yesterday was my birthday & it was the most wonderful day! I was able to spend it with my family at the HaPpiEst PlAce 0n EaRth! We spent the whole morning & afternoon there, then we came home for food & cake with some family, then ryan & i went back to DisneyLand for some "big kid" rides while kiera stayed home with grandma. As i was thinking about my birthday & some things i'm thankful for, i realized that i love & appreciate my mom sooo much more than i knew i did. Having experienced child birthing, i realize that it's not just my special day but a special day that me and my mom share. My mom had to put her own life through everything to bring me here & give me life. I will be eternally grateful. I'm also so thankful for my little family. I have the best husband who works so hard everyday to provide for us. He made me the most amazing birthday cake and bought me the best present ever! Thank you so much Ryan for everything! And i'm also thankful for the most beautiful little girl who broke the hardness of my heart down & can make me cry by just being her cute self. Last year on my birthday i was pregnant, and this was my first year as a mama... i just see it getting better from here!

Disneyland!

Kiera went to Disneyland for the first time last friday. She really like it! The only ride we got on was Small World, well, aside from the tram ride up to the park. She clapped the whole way, it was really cute. Then we rode the train around the park. We went home for lunch & so kiera could take a nap, then went back. We took a stroll around California Adventure (for a fresh homemade tortilla, so good) then back to Dland where we watched the Fantasmic show (ryan & kiera watched it together for their first time) and some fireworks after. She did so good with everything! It was an awesome day!

0range c0unty fair!

last night we went to the fair, and once it cooled off & i didn't feel like we were all gonna die of heat strokes, it was lots of fun! last year i was like about 8 months pregnant, so this year it was fun to have kiera there with us. we did all the fun "carnival" things that only come once a year, we rode the carousel, kiera rode a pony, saw clowns, got to pet farm animals, ate funnel cake, & of course i sat on a bail of hay eating a deep fried snickers bar while nursing kiera... it was great! i've always loved fairs & things like that, it's so fun that after years of dragging ryan along, he loves & appreciates it a little more everytime we go!

utah

friends family
playing chilling laughing
happy to be here
provo