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! 
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!
*Happy Anniversary Ryan*
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 w
e go
!
We are celebrating ryan's first summer vacation in about 18 years so we thought we'd start it off big! Let's see...Monday we went to...where else to kick off the summer but the beach! This time the weather was perfect & the water was great! Kiera loved it so much. She went out into the water with daddy & took the waves crashing over her head like a pro. (which of course makes mommy soooo nervous) The water felt great...did i already say that? This is her after the water...snuggled up in a towel to dry off.
Tuesday we stayed home and cleaned the garage allll day. We got so much done, it looks tons better & we were even able to play pool. It's so nice to get it coming along, it's gonna be a great gameroom once we're finished. Wednesday we went to the park to feed the ducks. They were being "stupe" and didn't want any bread but we had a good time anyways. Kiera loves playing on the swings. We also sat on the grass & just chilled. At first she thought it was weird and didn't wanna touch it but pretty soon she was yanking out handfuls & throwing it into the air. That evening we went to see Transformers & to In N Out with some of our coolest friends in the world. They are so much fun. 
Thursday we headed down to San Diego. We went to Old Town & hung out for a while. Then cruised up to the Boardwalk & walked around. I got the biggest ice cream cone ever. It was so good! They've got some awesome rides there but i was too terrified i'd hurl once i got off, so, not doin it. 
Friday, today, we headed up to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Kiera loved it! She loved people watching as much or maybe even more than all the animal watching. She has to wave & yell "hi" to EVERYBODY! Oh my gosh. We got to touch all kinds of cool animals. The sea lions are my favorite. Hands down. Love them. 
We went into the Lorikeet Sanctuary & those birds are everywhere. It's cool cuz you can feed & touch them but they are so grouchy. We sat kiera next to this one & he was like squawking at her to go away cuz she had nothing to offer him.Tomorrow we are chilling & possibly putting stuff out for a garage sale. Just taking it easy. It was a busy week but i loved spending every day with my beautiful little girl & of course having ryan home is the most wonderful thing, less diapers for me to change, lol, not just THAT, because i love him.
Current mood: 
aggravated
I felt really small today. As you can see, kiera does not look like me. She looks like Ryan. And apparently she is "too light-skinned" to be mine. Yes, i was told that by a stranger in a grocery store. I just threw my bananas in the cart & walked along. Ok, kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Ok, i lied, it rubbed me the wrong way alot. I knew people thought it when they looked at us but it had never come up. Well, today took the cake.
We went up to ryans school to see everyone since it was the last 'official' day. Ryan came out to the car & grabbed kiera & we proceeded into his classroom. A substitute they have come in often came over & was totally googly over kiera, doing the whole baby talk thing & saying how adorable she is & all that. Ryan let her hold kiera & had walked past her & i was standing face to face with her. She looks at me says "so, are you the babysitter..?" I wanted to grab kiera away & crawl into a cave. I politely said, "nope, i'm ryan's wife." She didn't say sorry or anything, she said something about her son doesn't look like her & it happens... like it's normal that people would assume i'm just the nanny. Nobody could believe she had said that. Pretty much everyone there knows me so i really wasn't expecting that.
My dad says i need to wear a shirt or a sign to clarify my relation to my own daughter. Why should I? Kiera is my daughter. It took me about 10 months to make her. I carried her in my belly. I threw up when food stunk. I had so many restless nights. And the worst heartburn in the world. I even have the scar to prove it. It really hurt me today. Not because of this stranger, or even the one at the grocery store. But from every single questioning look i get. All the freaking time. This was the first time it was ever verbalized. I know it shouldn't bother me, that's what EVERYONE says. "Oh sarah, don't let it bother you." But it does. It fed into my lack of self esteem. Am i not good enough to have produced such a beautiful little girl...? Why is that so hard to believe. She's perfect, in EVERY way. And yes, she's mine.
Well, it's finally happened.... I've been feeling old lately. Now, i know anybody who is older than me is thinking "ok...what does that make me...?" Age has never meant much to me, as far as numbers... In fact, i can never remember how old i am. It's true, ask ryan. If you ask me, i couldn't tell ya without first doing the math in my head. But lately, it hasn't been the numbers... per say. I've more been able to compare my age to things. For instance, the other day, a really cute jeep pulled up on the street next to us, the windows said things like "sexy", "hot stuff'', and it said "18th birthday!" with arrows pointing to the driver. Now, i've always considered myself to be 'around 18/19' still....for the first time i realized, I AM NOT. I was 10 when she was born. Oh wow. And another marker i guess would be, this month i celebrate my 10 year high school reunion. It's a weird thought. It's unreal. And i don't like it. Now, i'm very happy with my life. I have a wonderful husband. We've been married for a little over 2 and 1/2 years and we've been together for almost 5 years. To this day we are still learning things about each other. And i have a beautiful daughter who is my world. I'm in a perfect place in my life. I'm surrounded by family & everyday is wonderful. So, why is this bothering me.....
kiera loves candy. any kind.
i wonder where she got it from.
words cannot express the love i have for my little girl. she pulls my hair, pinches me HARD when she's sleepy, climbs on EvErYtHiNg, and laughs when i scold her, but...when she rests her little head on me for a brief moment to catch her breath, my heart melts.
