Disneyland 2012

So Wes and I both had off for Bereavement, I know that sounds bad, but we went to Disneyland.  The funeral was on Sat, Wes' grandfather, but we both received a bereavement day for it.  We decided last minute that we wanted to take the kids to Disneyland.  It was a blast and we were so glad we did.  Just like last year, we did the two day pass for $99, so we get to go back for Wes' birthday in June.  It was warm that day, but really not too bad, like 80, just hats and sunscreen required.  Kinley was so good and slept in her stroller for 2 hours, praise God!   Avery had a bit of an attitude for a while, but overall she LOVED it.  Her favorite again this year was Minnie's house.  She also loved the rollercoaster in toontown and the teacups.  This year we stayed long enough for the parade as well.  Avery was in awe of every princess and all of the music.  We are so grateful to live so close to such a fun place.  We are looking forward to our next visit.  

She gave him the biggest squeeze ever!  

She was SOOOO excited for this moment!

Watching the parade

On the jungle cruise.  

Kinley's first birthday/One year stats

I can't believe it already came and went, Kinley's first birthday.  It really does seem like last week that I was not sure if I was in labor and a few hours later our sweet little girl arrived.  Over the past year, she has brought us so much joy and fun to our family.  Kinley is now standing, walking along furniture, starting to talk, crawling everywhere and just a ball of fun.  She is still so little, but we love it.  Some of her nicknames are:  Kins, Lie-lie, Di-Di, Muffin Top, Peanut, Pocket Baby, Honey Roasted Peanut and so many more.  What can I say, my kids have a million names when they are little.  Her one year stats are as follows:

Height: 27.5 inches (10th percentile)

Weight:  16 pounds 11 ounces (3rd percentile)  

We celebrated her big day with a party with friends and family at the park.  The day before it was the storm of the year and rained, thunder and lightening the day before.  We were not sure if it was still going to go on, but it did!  It was a bit chilly and windy, but NOT raining!  We served Panera bread, donuts. muffins, fruit, and yogurt for breakfast.  Everybody liked the idea and it gave us a chance to celebrate without having a tired baby.  She wasn't that into her cake, but she did love the attention.  She is generally a shy girl, until she is ready to open up, but enjoyed her big day a lot.  We love you so much, our sweet girl.  

Avery, my silly girl

My favorite one of the day

Kinley and her cousins

Looking at all 60 people who came to celebrate with her.

Our little family minus Avery

We had breakfast for the party, it was a hit

Assessing the cake

Finally trying it

Having fun with the cake

Our sweetheart

For the take home gift we gave cake pops since it was morning.  Here are some of the girls enjoying them later in the day.  

I love this. 

Just the best of friends

Visit with my sister to Utah!

So this post is a little late (a month or so...)

In March we went to go visit my sister who just moved back to Utah.  For us, this meant we could drive there and not fly.  So exciting!  It had been almost two years (ridiculous, but it was just how it went).  We celebrated my nephews birthday and the cousins had a blast visiting with each other.  We can't wait for them to come here or for us to go there again.  The kids did perfect on the car ride, to much relief for us.  

The birthday cake that my sister made for my nephew's geography themed party!

Avery, Jonah, Kinley, Julien and Cooper.  They loved each other so much

My sister says we will look back and this picture and won't be able to believe how little they are.  Just precious.  

The only half way decent family shot

My sister and my kids!  I love her.  Pretty, skinny little thing and all.  :)

Easter, well at least some of it

This year we started our celebrating by dying Easter eggs, which was actually fun this year. Avery was really into it and concentrated really hard. Daddy, on the other hand didn't like the mess, but ended up helping out and they really turned out nice. Easter morning we got off to a rough start, but after reading the Easter story and attending church, it ended up being really nice. The girls opened their baskets and played with their new toys. We then went to Wes' grandparents house for our annual celebration. Once, again for the SECOND year in a row there are no pictures. This time I remembered the camera and forgot the card. So hence, no pics of my kids egg hunting, but I promise they did. Avery ate tons of candy of course but hasn't asked for any since. Enjoy the pics.

Dance class and outdoor fun

Showing off her outfit before class

Standing on her square

Adorable sisters

Kinley going for a ride

Going for a drive

Beep, Beep

I just love all of these kids

Sister kisses

So we signed Avery up for her first dance class. It is through the parks and rec. one day a week. She is adorable and loves going. Her favorite part is the end when the teacher does bubbles and gives out stamps. She kind of spaces out for half of the class which is cute some of the time, but she really needs to work on her listening skills. This is part of the reason we put her in it. I think that she thought the class would just be a free for all, where you can just dance around the room. It was a bit of a surprise for her when the teacher to do certain things. At any rate, she is adorable to watch and Kinley wants so badly to be out there with her.

We have been playing outside a lot since it is now warmer and darker later. Both girls are in heaven and are can play for hours. Kinley has decided she wants to be like Avery and ride around in the cozy coupe. Avery loves to push her around, so it really is a win-win. I just can't get over how small Kinley is in the car. Tear.

The group picture is of all of the kids (minus two) from my mom's group. One of the girls is moving to Texas and we wanted to get one last shot of them all together. What a blessing it is to have these women in my life and what a blessing it is for the kids to be together every week. They really have grown up together and just love to play together.