Our Year in Pictures

So the innerwebz seem to have eaten the lovely year in review post I was working on.  In frustration I present a year in pictures...

JANUARY

Kayla at 6 months, still sporting the crazy-awesome spiky hairdo. 

FEBRUARY

First venture out into the snow. 

MARCH

Self feeding in full swing already... Kayla starts crawling this month too. 

APRIL

First Easter, not liking being placed in the grass. 





MAY

So much fun.  We celebrated Pepere's 50th birthday this month, although his birthday is in April.  Kayla's first teeth finally appear in May. 

JUNE

We celebrated Aunt Dena and Uncle Jaime's wedding this month.  Kayla's first steps also came in June; just in time to be fully mobile for her party. 

JULY

Pictures in the dead heat of summer - dead referring to the grass of course - on her FIRST BIRTHDAY!  We went to Avalon in July too. 

AUGUST

Kayla did a brief stint as a vampire when her lateral incisors popped through but the centrals took their time making an appearance.  We also paint, rearrange and re-accessorize the living room.  Little improvements make a big difference. 

SEPTEMBER

We took a mini-vacation to Ocean City.  Our first trip as a family.  <3

OCTOBER



The first time she was actually awake and aware for Trick or Treat night. 



NOVEMBER

Her second Thanksgiving - third if you count the fact that I was pregnant in 2008.  Hard to believe how much things can change in 2 years.  This month we celebrate Nana's 50th birthday too. 

DECEMBER

Spoiled silly at Christmas.  We are so very lucky. 

And that my friends, is the short version of our 2010 in review.

We hope that your 2010 treated you well and that 2011 is even better!

Merry Christmas to all

I'm expecting a busy week so I wanted to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, from our family to yours. 

We are all alive and well

So once again it looks like I've fallen desperately behind on both blogs.  Last week I was dying of strep throat.  This week we are temporarily without internet while we redo our office and assemble our new desk and hutch.  I promise I will be back next week!

Things to come:

*Christmas cards are sent.  I need to give the one going farthest away (Colorado) some time to get there, and then I can share the amazing Shutterfly card that we made this year.

*I have the weirdest toddler on Earth.  She actually WANTS to wear a hat and mittens. 

*This weekend begins the Christmas festivities in our house.  I plan to document with lots of pictures. 

*Working on the 2010 recap… hope to have that posted soon. 

Please friends, don't be fooled

I know that I totally have seasonal ADD.  Just last night I was prattling on about cards and photos and I am serously dying to get our Christmas decorating going (10 more days... just 10 more days).  At the same time I'm sitting here sipping tropical Juicy Juice (don't tell Kayla) spiked with just a hint of rum.  Despite the fact that I seem to long for summer while looking on to the days and weeks ahead, don't think that the significance of tomorrow is lost on me.  It most certainly isn't. 

I have so very much in my life to be thankful for; it seems trite to try to sum it all up in a blog post but I am going to try anyway. 

I am thankful for my home.  I am thankful for all the love that is contained within these walls and the joy of those who live here.  I am thankful that I come home every day to arms that are ready to hug and a little angel who exclaims "mommy, mommy, mommy!  Mine, mine, mine!" when I come through the door.  I am thankful that we are healthy and fed and truly we want for very little.  I am thankful that we both have steady jobs and have had very little turmoil during these tough times when so many have had to go without.

I am thankful for my family; the family I was born into, the family I gained when my dad and step mom married and the family I married into.  Together, they form a support system I don't know what we'd do without.  They are happy to babysit when we need a break.  They keep me fed and sane when I am on my own with a toddler for the first time.  They are here every weekend to play, to go to the park or walk for ice cream.    I have parents and sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents and nephews who I adore and I am thankful that Kayla will grow up in such a large, loving family. 

I am so thankful for these two.  Without them I'd be wandering, lost and lonely.  They really do complete me, and I am ever so grateful that I have them.

So tomorrow while I am eating turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes to my heart's content, I am going to be thinking of these things, and more.  I hope all of you have something to be thankful for too.  Happy Thanksgiving all.  

Looking forward to the little things about the season...

This time of year is so much fun for me. There’s so much anticipation and joy for all the things to come; decorating, baking, meals together with family… I really adore it all. I always have, and now that Kayla is a part of it all everything seems new again. Knowing that she probably doesn’t remember last Christmas means that this year it will be a new experience all over again. She’s so much more aware and interactive than she was last year at not quite 6 months old.


One of the silly things I always look forward to is sending and receiving Christmas cards. I love getting cards from friends and family in the mail and putting them on the front door. It’s one of the few times that I actually look at the inside of our front door. Even more than that I love going on a search for the perfect card to send out, and now taking the perfect photo for our cards.

Last year we went the route of a traditional card with a wallet-sized photo inside. They were nice, but somehow I can’t imagine finding the time to address and sign cards and write Kayla’s name and age on the back of each photo again this year. This time around I am definitely going with a photo card from Shutterfly. Now my hardest decision becomes which one?

I love the simplicity of this one:

Just as I love the whimsy of these two:

Be sure to check out all the holiday card, invitation and new year’s card collections too and tell me what your favorite is!

Been caught slacking...

Almost a month since I last wrote... where to start...

Well, after Halloween we had a few busy weeks.  The first week of November was relatively normal but ended with Shaun and I at Lincoln Financial Field to see the Eagles take on the Colts.  What a great game it was!  It was a little bit more fun for me than Shaun, but we both enjoyed some good cheesesteaks and yummy beers while we were there.  I did my best not to brag too much that we came away with the win that night.  ;-) 

The next day Shaun left for Oklahoma City for the week.  I wasn't sure I could keep it all together here, but truthfully the week went really fast.  I have my parents and in-laws to thank for helping so much to keep me fed and sane... but really I almost enjoyed it.  Being home with Kayla that Thursday (Veteran's Day) and Friday was a nice treat. 

Trying to figure out whose toys are in the basket...

Last week was a little crazy for me since I was on the road for work on Wednesday - Friday.  I had to drive to King of Prussia and back for training on the software that I am our administrator of.  I hate training (so boring!) but I try not to undervalue time NOT spent at my desk.  I am dreading finding out what my inbox looks like right now, but that's a bridge I will cross tomorrow morning. 

This weekend we got to take my mom to lunch for her birthday, which was great.  Today I cleaned the house... not so great, but I feel like I actually accomplished something.  Every day life is really all that's happening here, and I'm 100% OK with that. 

The holiday season is just about ready to kick off and I am so excited.  I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving with our families.  Then it's just 1 week until we start our Christmas preparations.  The weekend after that is our 4th anniversary and hopefully when we'll get our Christmas shopping done.  We're pretty focused on just getting stuff for Kayla this year; the Wii was our gift to one another.  I know me and I will still get something small for Shaun to open on Christmas morning, even if it's just stocking stuffers.  But I'm getting ahead of myself... turkey first.  You must respect the Turkey. 

Trick or Treat!

Kayla was definitely the cutest duck on the block this year!

She rode around with these goulish characters

It was cold but she was a real trooper! 

I found out that she knows some more words I hadn't heard her say - I'll be updating the post below!

At 15 months:

Kayla can find her:

• Fingers/Hands
• Toes/Feet/"tootsies"
• Nose
• Ears
• Mouth (moves her jaw up and down)
• Tongue (sticks it out)
• Teeth (grins)
• Belly and belly button

And she can say:

• Baby
• Ball
• Bear
• Belly
• Belly Button (sounds like baby)
• Book
• Bubbles
• Bye Bye
• Car
• Cow
• Cracker
• Dada/Daddy
• Duck
• Green beans (guh buh)
• Hi
• Mama/Mommy
• Moo
• Outside
• Puppy
• Quack
• Squirrel
• Waffle
• Woof

She also says the phrases:

• Uh oh
• Oh no
• I don't know
• I did it

She loves "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Old MacDonald" and "If You're Happy and You Know It."  She adores being read to.  It seems like she's picking up more and more every day.  When we hold her up to our family photo wall, she can point to all of her grandparents, herself and Shaun and I when we ask her to.  It's so funny that apparently she's a mouse at daycare because at home she is a whirlwind.  I'm totally loving it though. 

I just crossed three things off our baby bucket list.  I'm a little surprised at myself that I have nothing to add to it right now - but I'm sure more will come as she gets older and is able to do more.  I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.  I'm still enjoying her being little.

Fall is here

This weekend was truly divine.  I love the days when the air turns cool enough to merit long sleeves all the time even though the sun shines so bright during the day.  I love the amazing colors. 

I love mums and jack o'lanterns and funny little pumpkins on my front porch.

And I love the treats. 

This weekend it was roasted pumpkin seeds and cake pops a la Bakerella (I can't believe it took me so long to really pay attention to her and try these things out!).  I made cinnamon french toast for breakfast and Shaun made an amazing chicken and gnocchi soup for dinner.  Delish.   

My mom and I took Kayla to the park on Saturday.  We met some friendly dogs and Kayla chased the ducks.

Then we carved and colored our pumpkins for the front porch.

My camera got quite the workout this weekend too.  I'm finding myself becoming more and more comfortable with my camera in my hands - capturing the moments as they happen.  I'm finding that I'm grabbing a few more "wow" shots among the usual so-so stuff, and that makes me happy.  Sometimes I really have to debate with myself when chosing shots for my Project 365 blog.  It's a nice feeling. 
We're quickly coming into my favorite time of year.  Halloween is right around the corner and then it's on to Thanksgiving - from then to New Years I am in full out holiday nerd mode.  We're slowly but surely starting to establish our little family traditions and it's so much fun.  This is exactly what I'd hoped having a family of my own would be like.