Will Rogers' Home State!

I love swimming with Kavella! Ever since she was newborn, she has seemed to enjoy water! When she had her first bath, her eyes started fluttering and she practically fell asleep!

Wrestling match with my sisters! Of course they couldn't get the best of me!

I have the best sister in the world! Plus, I'm lucky enough to have an older sister and a baby sister!!

My other sister (in-law) is also the best! She is sweet, talented, crafty and thoughtful! Isn't she so beautiful, too?

My older brother Shane is such a handsome guy! I'm proud of him for becoming a Chiropractor--he's worked so hard in his schooling and now he's almost done!!

We celebrated Dalin's birthday at Grandma's house! I can't believe he's TEN!! Ellie decided to test the cake for us all....

Playing the piano with Grandma Roberts!

Bryce, taking the bull by the horns.

Dalin, Bryce and Beanie

Grandpa Roberts took us to Cheddar's for Dalin's birthday!

Early in the morning, say 5:30 a.m., Dad and Colleen went walking. That is 3:30 a.m. our time (CA)! Kavella and I were up eating when they returned, so we decided Kavella could do a little skinny dipping with her Gramps and Aunt! Is that awkward? Nah, we love nakie baby!

Yellow Sunday dresses!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I have an amazing father--he is righteous, caring, hardworking, dedicated and fun!! I sure love my Dad and wouldn't want any other father! Unfortunately, Kavella and I weren't with Dustin for his first Father's Day....:( We gave him some socks and framed photos of Kavella for his office! I love Dustin! He is such a sweet father to Kavella. He works hard, plays nicely, gently rocks her, carries her around and provides for all of her needs. I am so thankful that Dustin is my husband! He's the cream of the crop!

Bean is a gem...taking a little morning snoozer with Kbaby!

We let the pool skimmer babysit Kavella for a bit so we could dive off of the board. jk.

Grandma and Grandpa Roberts just lounging in the pool--getting soaked by the fountain! Don't you love Mom's goggles!? Ha, ha! Oh, and her pants swimsuit!

So, one sweltering day, Bryce and I decided to take a bike ride, which we used to do almost daily. Since we couldn't find two single bikes that were ready for riding, we decided to take the new tandem bike. We pumped up the tires, hopped on and started riding! No sooner did we get to the end of the neighborhood then the entire gear shifting unit broke off! Pieces of metal were flying all over the place, then it wrapped itself around the spokes. Great. So, while I steered the front, Bryce carried the back of the bike all the way back home. Plan B.

We pumped up the tires on the older tandem and took off again! This time, we made it all the way out of the neighborhood, down 71st street, to the creek on Oneta and turned right onto 81st! Then....PPPoooowwww!! Ga-gun-ga-gun-ga-gun....a flat tire!! Argh. No way we could walk home that far, so we had to call Dad to come pick us up. I guess bike rides just weren't going to happen! We went swimming instead!

Bryce sitting on the bridge on Oneta...

Well, you know what happened.

Oklahoma O-K!

"OOOOOOOOklahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains.....and the waving wheat can sure smell sweet...." Well, it's back to the cowboy hats, greasy delicious food and good folks of Oklahoma! Besides getting to meet her Grandpa, Uncle Bryce, Uncle Shane, Aunt Erica and cousin Luke for the first time, Kavella also got to go on her first plane ride!!

After saving our "AAdvantage" points for a solid decade, we were finally able to redeem a "free" plane ticket! First class, nonetheless! Luckily, Kavella flies for free on my lap until she's two, so off we went on another adventure! I was ecstatic when she had a big b.m. (if you know what I mean, for those of you who watch "Monk") the night before we left because I figured she'd have it all out of her system (pun intended) for the flight--I certainly didn't want a huge blow out on the plane! Trying to pack lightly, Kavella and I shared ONE suitcase, which I'm quite proud of! When we checked that in, we were delighted to find out that Dustin could escort us all the way to the gate! This eased my anxieties temporarily, for I was quite apprehensive about forging the task at hand solo! After a few delays, we were finally boarded!

The first leg of the trip(Orange County to Dallas) started off swimmingly. Someone traded me a window seat for an aisle seat, so I found it easier to move around, make bottles and grab things from my diaper bag. Right after the flight attendants served steak dinners, which I didn't get to eat, I felt a slight rumble from Kavella. Hoping it was just gas, I lifted her up and smelled her booty. Not too bad, but definitely something. I decided I'd better go check how full her diaper was early on, as to avoid a blowout! Well, I can't get all the way into my diaper bag with Kavella on my lap (to retrieve the changing pad) so I just grabbed a single diaper and the wipes. Then, I asked the flight attendant for a cloth napkin (the ones they served with dinner). My plan was to just use that as a changing pad. The lady comes back with a stack of paper napkins. "No, no, I mean the cloth napkins that you served dinner on and gave everyone to wipe their faces." So, she returns with a dark blue cloth napkin for me to use. Now I've got the baby, a diaper, wipes and a "changing pad."

Turns out, there is no baby changing station in the front of the plane(We were in the SECOND row from the cockpit), so I had to maneuver my way some THIRTY + rows to the very back!! Of course, everyone was saying how darling Kavella was, admiring her bow and outfit, etc. When we finally arrive at the restroom, I discover that she has had the absolute, biggest blowout of her entire life!! There is poo covering her stockings, skirt and onesie....oozing out of her diaper at all seams and halfway up her back! Oh...my...gosh. Inside the bathroom, it is loud, uncomfortable and scary for her, so she immediately begins SCREAMING! So, here I am trying to take every last stitch of clothing off of her and she is freaking out--arching her back, twisting, crying. It was a mess trying to get wipes out, wipe her butt, throw them in the stupid trash receptacle that you have to push open every time, hold her down, not let her roll and spread poo everywhere--it was bad.

After getting her clothes off, I keep one hand on her, open the bathroom door and ask the first person I see to hand me a plastic bag. He looks around like he doesn't speak english, so I pick her up, leave her poopy clothes on the table, tell the next person in line to just hold on and I go explore the flight attendant's quarters for a plastic bag. Found one! I threw all of her soiled clothes in it, including the borrowed cloth napkin. So, here we go, back to the front of the plane and Kavella is donning ONLY a diaper. A little nakie baby! The comments are less forthcoming this trek, mostly just wide-eyed looks and sympathetic "awwws." I think they all heard her crying.

Once we get to our seats, I ask the attendant for a bag, which she produces, then I carefully pull out her cloth napkin from my bag and place it directly into her bag. "You're going to need to wash that." I get Kavella dressed in her backup outfit and just plan on bathing her when we land. It was a fun first flight!

My sweet baby boy! Just kidding--my loveable baby Kavella!

Smooches!

Swimming in Grandma Roberts' pool!

ALL the grandkids in the pool! Two seconds before this picture, Kbaby's face was in the water, so she's not too happy!

Colleen and Kelly

Grandpa was so happy with his granddaughters!

Jenn and Kavella, just laying on the bed!

Bryce and Scottypie!! Bryce is Scott's favorite person! They wrestle and play all the time!

One of the best things my Mom makes are cinnamon rolls--Kavella is obviously stoked on them, too!

Annie pulling Bryce on a walk!

Delicious munchkin!

In Oklahoma, we could only take walks early in the morning or just before sunset because it was so stinking HOT!! Nasty hot, as Grant says. This was an evening stroll.

Wrestlin' with Grandpa!

Watching Baby Mozart with her doll!

Grandma and our Egyptian princess.

Jenn forgot her swimsuit, so she just wore one of Dad's old ones!

Dalin is great at diving!

I'm not sure how much more awkward I can make this three generation picture.....but, look at K-baby's tutu!

"I just pooed my pants."

Kavella made it through her first flight--safely on the ground in Tulsa! Whew!

Kbaby meets her Grandpa and Uncle Bryce E. Boy!

This is before we left--Choco will squeeze in between Dustin and Kavella ANY time there is room!

Lifelong Practical Joke

While most people are born with birthmarks that resemble lakes, ponds or puddles in shape, our daughter was marked much differently. You see, my sister Jennifer thinks she is quite hilarious. In heaven, she must have decided to write on Kavella with some sort of permanent marker....for, on the back of Kavella's head, her birthmark reads....yup, "JeN." Furthermore, it is upside down, which leads me to believe that Kavella was sleeping during the alleged marking, therefore having no knowledge of or ability to rectify aforementioned birthmark before coming to earth! Thanks a lot Aunt Nennerpoo! It's actually not as clear in the picture, but you get the idea...remember, it's upside down...do you see it?

Speaking of writing your name on other people's stuff, this reminds me of my scrapbox growing up. Mom made a box for each of the older kids (Jenn, Ricky and Kelly) that was filled with memorable items, awards and achievements. Each box was neatly labeled with our names using permanent sharpie. One day, Ricky was teasing me and decided to take claim of my scrapbox. As I reached for my scrapbox, I discovered that he had put a large "X" through my name and re-labeled it with his.....using pen. Not only that, but he also wrote his name on all four sides of my scrapbox. What a punk! Ha, ha! I won't even go into how many times I thought Ricky would end my life in the swimming pool...that's a different post.

Oh-my-goodness! What a tasty little hat THAT is! Aunt Erica gave Kavella this treat and I think she looks quite stylish in it!

Thanks, Aunt Erica and Uncle Shane!!

The next two pictures are from our walk down to the pier. Things really start getting busy during the summer where we live, so it's great to go "people watch." People-watching is probably one of my favorite things to do, especially with all the tourists coming through!

After church, we are sometimes invited to Auntie Deina's house for dinner, which we love! Deina makes tangy, delicious food! Granny and/or Poppy get to come when they're in town, too! We sure like living in the same town as the Wakehams and we dread when it changes.

The above picture is one of Kavella in her swing pod. It has this mobile attachment, which she just loves to suck on! I love her toes. I just smooch them all the time! The picture below is Kavella's first time eating "rice cereal." It was so cute--she didn't really open her mouth, but instead just sort of sucked it up--kinda like she was still trying to suck a nipple!

The next picture is of an outfit that Granny made for Kavella! It is ridiculously darling! Well, first Granny bought her the bow, but I didn't have anything that matched! So, sure enough, Granny built an entire outfit around the bow--genius! We love Granny!

Last, Brian came to California on a work trip, so we were excited to have him visit for a few hours! Uncle Brian took the train from Ventura and we picked him up in Irvine! We went to TK Burger for dinner and then he had to continue on to Oceanside!