Mind your manners...

Like most parents we know, Sean and I pride ourselves in continuing to teach Kylie about manners. She started saying her "please" and "thank you" as soon as she started to talk. We kindly had to remind her every now and then but it soon became second nature and Sean and I would just glance at each other with great delight and satisfaction when Kylie would mind her manners without being prompted. Kylie to this day will pick up her bowl and slurp her milk or soup which doesn't seem to bother me as much as it does her Daddy. She still tests the limits every now and then when she tries to put her foot up on the dining table and giggles although she knows we are not pleased. Well, I should not have been surprised yesterday when a co-worker informed me that Kylie had frosting on her hair from eating a cup cake in honor of said co-workers son's birthday in school. Huh? She then went on to tell me that Kylie had the spoon in one hand and then dived in face first to eat her cupcake! I laughed out loud at the vision in my head and then I just about fell off my chair when I received pictures via e-mail of our pumpkin's face planted on her cupcake! This one will be another one of those priceless pics in my library of photos. It just goes to show that no matter how much we try to instill good traits in our kids, they will do their own thing as soon as they are out of our sight...sigh.

Happy Chinese New Year!

The year of the Rat!

We got together to celebrate the event at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Nagoya Sushi. The servers are wonderful and the food is fantastic! I forgot to take a pic with Kylie and my favorite server Vivian. We are regulars there so I'll make sure to follow up with a pic:-) The girls looked great and played wonderfully together. I love looking back at this pics. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I love seeing their happy faces.

House o' mouse

Kylie continues to impress us with her vocabulary each day. Just the other day we heard her tell her teddy as she was getting into the tub for her bath "teddy, watch me take a bath". Yep, 5 whole words together. Lately when Sean or I call her pumpkin she corrects us by telling us her full name. She is starting to count to 20 although the teens get a little mixed up. Too darn cute!! But if you are not a regular visitor with Kylie, don't expect her to communicate with you any time soon. She will often stare blankly so as not to make eye contact and she will not say a word. That is just fine with me because at some point I will be preaching to her to not talk to strangers so why pressure her now? Kylie is also refusing to nap on the weekends. I know that in daycare they can get her to nap even if it is for an hour but refusing naps already? She is only 2 1/2 aren't kiddos supposed to take naps until they are at least 5 yrs old? Also, although we have an evening routine, she is also not wanting to go to bed by 8pm. So needless to say, things have been quite interesting around here with our little 'spicy' girl and this mommy tends to be tired...alot. Our little girl is expressing herself vocally, pushing the envelope towards independence and we wouldn't have it any other way. We LOVE our sassy girl who can also be a little dainty princess.

And now the reason for the post title. We went to the house o' mouse today and I keep wondering if this place ever has a 'non-peak' season. We had a wonderful day and both Sean and I enjoyed the precious smiles and animated personality that come to life when Kylie is having a blast. I was particularly excited that Kylie enjoyed a hug from Minnie and even better, Kylie flashed us a cheese smile to our delight. Usually Kylie will mimmick her friend Ellie when hugging one of these characters but today she was on her own and boldly venturing out. We were all too happy to snap away hoping for that one fantastic photo. Too bad the sun was in her face as you will see. We finally redeemed our season passes today so we will try and try again for that great shot! Enjoy the pics!

Kylie's favorite thing to do whether we are at a theme park, zoo or grocery store! Up Daddy, shoulder!

Train ride!

Check out the piggies in the wind

According to Kylie all castles, whether they are in fairy tale books, movies, the fancy Morm*n temple not too far from our home or even the castles she builds with her blocks, they are all Cinderella's castle:-)

Waiting not so patiently to visit Minnie!


Isn't this Minnie wonderful? Is as if she had been waiting for Kylie all day:-)

A little dance

The sunny shot!

CHEESE!!

OMG! Did she really fall asleep in the car!?!?! Our sweet angel.

Our favortie pic!

How does anyone pic a favorite pic out of hundreds...dare I even say...possibly even thousands of photos of their children? It's not easy for me! This one in particular warms my heart and it so happens it was taken this morning after breakfast. It was a cloudy day but as you can see there are no cloudy days with all of the sunshine radiating from our little princess. I hope she brings a smile to your face and your world as she does ours.

Enjoy the pure cuteness!

We had a great holiday with Kylie. Sean and I were really excited to plan ways to surprise Kylie on Christmas morning. It is especially exciting to see things through her eyes and we get caught up in her excitement. It seems like she totally gets the story we were telling her, too! She repeated it back to us like this "Santa?? Chimineee (Chimney)?? Stocking?? Presents! (with a satisfied smile on her face). Tree?? Presents! (another satisfied smile). Chimineee?? I am not embelleshing. She repeated those same words to me one evening while going through our nite, nite routine. Our two year old totally got it! We are amazed by just how much she understands. We are starting to curb our conversations in front of her because she repeats everything back to us. This has got to be the perfect age for toddlers. Kylie is such a joy to be with and she keeps us smiling constantly. She is now transitioning into the 2 1/2 year old classroom at school. Next thing you know, we will be celebrating her 3rd birthday in August. I'm not ready for her to keep growing up so fast...sigh.

Christmas morning

Christmas Eve in Tampa

SN - QP Christmas 1

From our family to yours. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!

Catch up

I'm not ready for Christmas, really. I started decorating late, I started shopping late and well now there are just three, no make that two more weekends left until Christmas. Don't get me wrong I'm very excited about the holidays. Kylie is much more animated and expressive and we are looking forward to watching her open presents. She enjoys the lights, music and holiday decorations. When I hung up the garland over the fireplace and plugged it in she got so excited and said thank you mommy 3x in a row. I just stared at her in wonder and of course it made my heart melt. She brings so much love and joy into our lives. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun:-)

Well alot has happened since my last post. I've posted pictures with blurbs to fill in the gaps. I am however happy to announce that there have been no poopy incidents since the last post:-) She used to wonder off to do her business and after alot of conversation from her Daddy and I that she should not poop in her princ*ess and D*ra panties because we would have to throw them away, she finally got it. Yes licensing works and we've given in to it. Kylie loves her big girl panties and we always let her pick out her own each day. In the past several months she's only had one pee accident in school and it happened right after nap time. She is one of only two kids in her class who have mastered the potty training. Sorry if this is too much info on the potty process I often enjoy reading what works and what doesn't when I come across it on other blogs:-) I would say from start to finish it took Kylie less than three months to successfully use the potty. Whew!

Here is how we've been keeping busy



Baking cookies with Grandma

A nice cup of milk and a kiss & hug from Dad to go with the cookies

I had the pleasure of watching Natalie one Saturday and the girls had a blast together

My SIL came to visit with the family. We were all quite impressed at how Sean can turn a simple soup and salad lunch into a gourmet meal. Yep, I'm a lucky lady as my husband enjoys preparing meals for us pretty often. Thank you honey!

Soup, chicken sandwich with mixed greens, avocado, brie cheese and chips - Doesn't it look Yummy?

We are enjoying the new long awaited state of the art park that just opened up walking distance from our sub-division. The pictures do not do it justice. It has 2 volleyball fields, soccer, baseball, and a basketball court to name a few, a huge water play area for the kids, doggie parks 1 for large dogs and one for smaller dogs, ampitheather, picnic areas, and an awesome playground all of it over looking a gorgeous lake. We load up the red wagon for Kylie and take a nice leasurely stroll to the park. I am soooo excited and so is Kylie. I have pics of Kylie having a total melt down as we were leaving the park the first time we visited. Feel free to come over and visit with your little ones, you will not be dissappointed.

I'm not sure what this thing is called, but Kylie had to hold on tight as it spins her around based on her balancing on it. What you don't see is a nervous Dad just an arms length away reaching out as Kylie was trying to find her balance on it:-)

We went to Downt*own Disn*ey with the Zanegoods for our first picture with Santa... Thank goodness Ellie was there or else I don't think Kylie would have even been bothered with sitting on Santa's lap. Ellie is quite experienced with Santa but look at Kylie's face...can you just feel the love?
"It's not you Santa, it's just me"


Speaking of Ellie...the Zanegoods are expecting their beautiful Korean delivery this Friday and I couldn't be happier for them. We are all awaiting to see Sagan's beautiful sweet face in person.

Thankful

Has Thanksgiving really come and gone already! Geez, I guess time really does fly when you are having fun:-) So many activities have occurred this month that I will have to recap at a later time because I am really pooped tonight. Oh, did I say poop?!?! Kylie poops in the potty in school and at our friend Jeanne's home but she decides to take a break when she is at home with us. Sometimes it is a bit frustrating to me but I try to remind myself that this is a stage she is going thru. I bet she will love reading this part when she is a bit older:-) She is also talking up a storm! We are definitely enjoying this stage. She is easily amazed and our favorite part is when she yells WOW Daddy or WOW mama. It just melts our heart. She occassionally says 3-4 words together which is great. She is enjoying the holiday decorations around the neighborhood and we are looking forward to all of the new excitement this holiday season is sure to bring.

A new princess has arrived!!! Not in our home but close enough as we get together often with our dear friends John and Lissette. This morning they welcomed Alyssa to the world at 4:30am and we couldn't be happier for a nicer couple. We look forward to having Alyssa join in our gatherings. We love you Alyssa!

Proud new parents on the left...excited friends on the right:-)

PRECIOUS!!

Thanksgiving luncheon at school. Kylie loves Ms. Ashley!

Movie star sighting in Disn*ey

Thanksgiving Day. Fun with Grammy

First haircut

Yep, we finally did it. First haircut. I know you are probably thinking she didn't have much hair to begin with and you are right. But the little bit she did have was driving me nuts. I can't stand thin, stringy, mullet looking hairdo so I took her to the pro. Now an inch or so off the ends and Kylie is now sporting a healthy, thicker head of hair. Kylie was so sweet and quiet throughout the process peeking at the mirror every now and then to see what was going on. She as well as her mommy were very pleased with the results. Enjoy my amateurish layout. It is still a work in progress as I continue to learn my new hobby:-)

Template by THD

Happy Halloween!

Happy belated birthday to my DH who was more than happy to share the spotlight with his daughter on Halloween. We went trick or treating on Wednesday for the first time with Kylie and our neighbor friends. We had a great time and Kylie barely made it through one lap before she asked her daddy to carry her the rest of the way home. I can't believe I didn't take a pic of that! It was a bit overwhelming getting out the door and meeting up with friends to beg for candy:-) We have some great neighbors who really got into the halloween spirit though and my mind is racing with ideas for next year:-)

Trick or Treat!

We've been keeping busy every weekend and so far we've enjoyed going to Sea W*rld the best. They have trick or treating for the kids on weekends and Kylie sure got the hang of it from day one. At first she was very cautious and barely audible and now...she still is! Ha, nothing has changed except for the fact that she is not shy anymore about running up with her bag wide open for treats. She will not say a word unless we remind her to say thank you. The more we go, the more open she is about letting us take her pic with sea creatures and mermaids. The first day we went, she did not crack a smile for photos and now she happily gives us a cheese smile.

Kylie was sick this past week. Her Dad and I missed work due to a fever that lasted four days! We found out on the 3rd day that she had a double ear infection and bronchitis! Poor bean! She is doing much better now thank goodness.

The past few months, I've been staying up late at night surfing the net for items related to my new obsession...digital scrapbooking! I've collected freebie stuff for the past year and just recently decided to give it a whirl! I've had help from my patient hubby! Yes, I said patient hubby:-) He has been very patient teaching me how to use Photoshop and answering the same questions that I've asked again and again. I finally decided to take notes. I admit I was a bad student but I'm loving the results now so I'm getting serious about learning. I've also purchased a software called Fo*to Fusion which I primarily like to make collages with. I decided to share what I've been working on for your viewing pleasure:-)

Our familyThis template is by K&Company

We made an unplanned trip to the pumkin market and Kylie loooooved it! We had to keep up with her as she ran around like a crazy girl yelling "punkeen, punkeen".

Template by ladie sue

I don't remember where I got this template from. This was my first try at digi scrappin and my hubby helped....alot:-)

This layout is a work in progress. This was our second weekend in Sea W*rld. We met up with new friends Matt, Moly & Malone along with other wonderful families who have adopted from Vietnam. I wanted to share the photos of Kylie in full costume for the first time. She was our little angel:-)
Sampler from Digitreats

Finally our sweet Belle! This was taken yesterday. We met up with our wonderful friends the Zanegoods at...you guessed it Sea W*rld.

This pic is for my friend Jeanne who I informed that we needed to go because it was now Kylie's nap time. This was 2-3 min into our car ride.