Monday, March 29, 2010

March Fun with Ella Baby!

We went over to the Pilkington's house for Merrick's birthday last week. Kavella loves spending time with Merrick and Eden! Eden seems to enjoy seeing Kavella, too! Eden is especially good at giving hugs. Kavella hasn't quite learned how to hug, but I think she'll catch on with how much practice she gets!

"Give Eden a hug, Kavella...." She was just looking at me like, "A what?"

"A hug, Kavella, a hug!" Okay, so she needs a little more practice....

Then, we tried to take a picture of Eden, Corban and Kavella, but it just turned out awkward for everyone involved...

Merrick got a brand new bike for his birthday! Kavella immediately tried to ride it. Thankfully, Merrick was distracted with all his other presents!

The Pilkingtons have a TON of cool toys! When she's not playing with the life-sized kitchenette, Ella loves to push around the shopping cart. I went to Target to see if we could buy one, but they were $22.00. Twenty two dollars for a tiny shopping cart!? Forget it--she can just keep pushing her stroller around.

Oh, wait, she does like pushing this laundry basket around, so that will work. She also likes to climb on it, sit on it and fill it with her toys. Seriously, forget the shopping cart, Kavella.


My little sailor!


Babies have to be some 25 lbs before they can switch to the forward facing carseats. This proves problematic for K because she is far from weighing that much, but she is so stinking tall that her head is almost past the carseat. It's probably totally safe, right? She loves when I open the sunroof and the back sliding window!

Singing with Daddy!

This is the first blanket I ever sewed! It's not perfect, but since I'm giving it to family (Shane), I figure he'll forgive all the flaws in it. Subsequent to making this blanket, I bought a fabric pencil and ruler, which will help with accuracy.

I also made this wipee case for our new newphew Jared (Shane's baby). Again, it was my first one, so it's definitely got flaws, but I highly doubt Shane will use it that often anyway! I'm excited to keep making little crafty things--it's like I'm a real mom or something!

And.....she's off!

My little chicklet-toothed cutie! I love this swimsuit that Aunt Darci gave Kavella! I'm bummed because it's made for 18 month olds, which Kavella is not, but she is so tall that it doesn't fit--and this is the first time she's ever worn it! Argh! She had baby chewy the whole time at the beach. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to save it for our next girl....if we have one.





Tasting the sand...


After her bath one night, Kavella was intent on pulling her beach chair around while holding a spatula. She looks like some hollywood hairdresser using the latest trend of spatula-hair-styling--"now, if you'll just sit here, we'll get started...you want your hair to look exactly like mine? Then, I'm going to mix your hair a bit like this....and a little here....we'll give it a quick swirl here....oh, this darn short robe keeps creeping up!"

Well, I've been put in charge of play group. Yes, folks, there is irony in that since I NEVER attended play groups before. (Side note, I'm also on the Enrichment Committee, which is even more ironic. Apparently, the only thing left to do in this series of ironies is give me jurisdiction over any aspect of Visiting Teaching....) Anywhooooo, we had our first play group at Lake Park and it was a success! There were at least 9 or 10 moms there and a load of kids! The weather proved gorgeous, so that was a bonus! It was fun spending time with other mothers!

Pretty sure she wants to go somewhere....


A dolly ride! Look at her dirty, little foot! She was running around bare footed outside for a bit.

I got to meet up with some of my Credential friends! It was fun to see everyone and catch up a bit--(L-R) Carrie, Julie, Christine, me, Ally, Kim. These are really sweet girls!

Kavella likes these bouncy horse things. Of course, the Pilkingtons have one....this isn't theirs, I just wanted you to know how many cool toys they have.

When I was younger, I was able to sneak around quite easily. I could sneak down the stairs without a sound, I could sneak into Mom/Dad's bedroom without waking Dad up, I could sneak out without disturbing anyone..... Now, it's a different story. At night, I'll try sneaking into Kavella's room to get something and my stupid old bones crack, creak and pop. I mean, how many times does my ankle need to pop before it's lost all its air? I try to turn her doorknob quietly...it's not the handle that makes noise, it's my wrist! I try to tiptoe past her crib and my toes seem to be filled with bubblewrap. Really? I swear, if I blink, my eyelids make noise now. Oh, getting old is ridiculous. Enjoy the sunset above.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Video Time!



(Above video) Kavella sure loves the ocean! When she was crawling, I used to think, "Man, I'm in serious trouble when she starts walking..." Sure enough, this girl RUNS for the water, which is always nerve-wracking for any parent, right? It's not like the water was a balmy 76 degrees or anything--it was freezing! Yet, Kavella wanted to dive right in, which makes her Daddy happy bc maybe she'll go surfing with him! I sure love going to the beach with my family!



(Above video) Oh, yeah, I took Kavella down to the boardwalk for breakfast one morning--yes, she has yogurt all over her face--and she discovered an echo in her cupholder. Instead of making a beautiful singing noise or saying "mom" or "dad," she just grunted! It was funny! She's a little cutiepie.



Dad brought a dolly home from work in order to move a fridge that Deina gave us from the garage into the kitchen. Naturally, Kavella wanted a ride, too! She was loving her new, shiny dolly ride! Some kids receive those hot wheels, kid-sized cars....our kid receives one dolly ride per year. That keeps her thankful for what she gets, ha, ha! :)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

February Beach Day!

On the day that Colleen and Chris left, the weather proved unseasonably warm, so we met Chante and Adam in Newport for surfing and playing! Merrick and Kavella went straight to building a sand castle.


Eden girl!

Adam and Dustin went straight to surfing!

Chante and I went straight to parenting. It was a fun day!

I don't typically write ABOVE photos, but I want you to understand what is happening in the next two pictures--Kavella's first taste of chocolate shake. It's all quite routine drinking-from-a-straw-business at first....."yeah, yeah, Dad, I know how to drink from a straaaaa....ahhh...ahhhhh, that's so good..."


"That's the best stuff, ever! What's this water junk you've been giving me?! Chocolate shake is tasty goodness!"

Poppy and Granny took Kavella to Ruby's while they were in town! Isn't Poppy so handsome?

"I love my Granny and Poppy! Now you know from whom I get my beautiful, blue eyes!"

This is where I put Kavella when she is naughty. "To the shoebox!" says I.

"Corban came for a visit, but I was playing hard to get. Worked like a charm--he totally called me later!"

Check out the exquisite velour suit she's wearing! I got it for $5.00! Five dollar foot long. Okay, I don't know which marketing exec. approved that little jingle--am I the only one who feels uncomfortable watching Subway commercials with the opposite sex? Anywho, just enlarge this photo and tell me you don't want to take a little bite out of her when she's wearing these cozies. No, you can't because you do.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!! Kids trying to blow is funny!


Vacuuming....with the whole family!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A Few Videos...



Kavella and Choco dancing, courtesy of Ricky and Dustin!




Mom and Vella on a bike ride.



Daddy made a fort tunnel!



Trying to blow....the funniest one of all!

Monday, March 8, 2010

LOVE

Here are the rest of our Valentine's Day excursion to Laguna Beach pictures. Perhaps they all appear similar to you, but to me they are all pretty and unique! I love my Kavella baby!






On the last morning that Chris and Colleen were here, they treated themselves to a breakfast at Ruby's on the pier! After which, they met us in Newport to watch Dust surf! Because of the previous storms during the week, the beach was pretty messy, but we didn't care--we just wanted to spend time as a family!

This jetty is usually pretty empty, but the rain helped to make it full!

"Wilson" washed ashore! Kavella developed a little crush on Wilson--she began talking to him, creating a face for him using her own blood, giving him some spiked hair with old sticks....don't tell Hanks we've found him because Kavella is too attached now!

This one (above) reminds me of some sort of high school athletic photo--maybe she'll be a volleyball player like her Aunt Colleenie!!



Our last picture. I don't know why I do things like that...take a "last" picture and all....just in case their journey proves tragic, I guess. Morbid.

LOVE.