Our Life With Makenzie Faith

2012 So Far

2012-01-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

So far 2012 has been good to us :)
We haven't been up to much!

Jeff started at a different job so he's been working about 60 hour weeks so Kenize & I have have had a lot of mommy/daughter time and we've been missing daddy!!

Kenzie has been busy playing with all her new toys from Christmas!! :)

Jeff's sisters' bought Kenzie the V-Tech Innotab....she loves it!
Jeff & I really need to buy rechargeable batteries b/c this girl goes through batteries like there's no tomorrow with this thing! :)

Kenzie and I have also been playing a lot of games!! She got 3 new games for Christmas and I must say I really enjoy playing them! :)

Not sure what to even say about this...hehehe
...or this...
Last week we had very nice (for January) weather!!

I couldn't believe we went for a bike ride in January in NY....that's unheard of! :)

We have also had many play dates with BFF Abbie...this is a blog post in itself!!

These two have become inseparable this past month or so!

They use to fight a lot (and their fights were vicious at times!)....but lately they really have become such good friends! Kenzie is constantly asking for Abbie to come over! Abbie will cry at church if Kenzie is not there....Kenzie cried when Abbie couldn't come to story time at the library and through her sobs she would say "but I love Abbie, I want her to come" hehe :)

And they have also been a little devious t/g....

Example: Jeff took Abbie and Kenzie to open bounce the other day (by himself) and afterwards he took them to Wegmans for lunch and to pick up a few groceries.
Well...they decided to run around, hug each other until they fell and chant "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie" in the store! I guess Jeff was a little "grumpy" (Kenzie's words!) b/c he told them to behave and Abbie goes to Kenzie "Come on Kenzie, just ignore him!!"

They are so cute, but so naughty sometimes too! :)

Kenzie has a had the "post Christmas blues" hehe...she has prayed for it to be Christmas Eve, she's prayed for Jingle our elf to come back and the other day I found her doing this....

....I wasn't sure what she was doing at first but she told me she was flying in Santa's sleigh (the chair being the sleigh and the stroller being Rudolph! :)

And I'll wrap this post up with pictures of sleeping Kenzie just b/c she's cute :)

Our Snow Day!

2012-01-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our own little snow day!

No, the schools were not closed around here but we decided to declare it our snow day since it's the 1st big snowfall of the season!!

Reading her library books as she is patiently waiting for mommy to get ready to play outside!

Pups went outside to see the snow with us too! :)

Wouldn't this have been pretty on Christmas!?!?!

Frosty! :)

She made me walk in circles around Frosty and sing "Frosty the Snowman" as we were circling him!

Even though she could have stayed out a lot longer, this Mama was cold!! So I might have bribed her with Hot Cocoa! :)

Later Kenzie painted her piggy bank she got for Christmas! :)

(doesn't her hair look blonde in this picture!?!)

Luckily the weather got a little better and we were able to enjoy Family Fun Night at our church....Kenzie loves these nights!! Last night it was the Cars 2 movie....I'm not sure if Kenzie was a fan of the movie...she had more fun running around playing and eating popcorn! :)

Disney on Ice

2012-01-07T16:51:00.001-08:00

Today Jeannine & I took the girls to Disney on Ice...thanks to my brother & sister in law, who bought the girls the tickets!! :) They were all VERY excited!!

Kenzie woke up this morning and told Jeff that today she's going to see princesses! :)

When Kenzie saw the very girly/princessy/sparkly outfit I picked out for her she said "oh wow!" haha...Sleeping Beauty shirt, ballerina/princess skirt, and sparkly tights...I knew she'd love it! :)

All 4 of the girls loved it!!

When I asked Kenzie what her favorite part was she listed all the princesses but I think her favorite was Jasmine & Aladdin! My favorite was the Lion King! :)

Rapunzel & Flinn....

Snow White....I wish the pictures weren't so dark!

Even Pups came along! :) (surprise, surprise! hehe)

Afterwards the girls really wanted to pick out a toy from the venders at the show but Jeannine & I had a brilliant idea....instead of buying them a WAY overpriced toy, we took them to the Disney store after to pick out something little!!! Seriously, same exact toys and 1/2 the price!! :)

Happy New Year

2012-01-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

We spent New Years in NJ with Jeff's family!

On NYE we drove down after Jeff got out of work for the night! It was a spur of the moment decision (those are the kind of decisions I'm usually not good with!) but we decided to go down for the night since Jeff just started a new job so his hours might be kinda crazy for the next couple months!

Kenzie was very excited to see her Abuela, Tia, Titi & cousin Drake! :) She asked all day if it was time to leave yet and since we had to wait until 4 when Jeff got out of work she asked me a million times "we going to Tia's house now?". :)

The drive down started well...a quick stop at McDonald's for dinner and then Kenzie watched a movie and was very good! A hour before we arrived at their house Kenzie said she had to go potty....I wasn't too concerned she's held it for longer than an hour before so I knew she could do it. A 1/2 hour after that she started complaining of her belly hurting. I just blew it off thinking she's tired of sitting in the car and she has to go peepee...no big deal. Even when she told me she had to "pukie" I still thought no big deal...she's just tired of being in the car! Well.....should of listened to my daughter b/c sure enough she "pukie'd" all over herself, her carseat and car! And...while she was puking she couldn't hold in her peepee and went potty all over herself, carseat and car! Poor girl had to drive another 1/2 hour covered in pee and puke! I felt so bad for not believing her and to make matters worse she said she was sorry for puking! :( And when we arrived at Jeff's family's she didn't want to go in b/c she didn't want anyone to see her all messy!!! So we had to take her in another door to go right upstairs so noone would see her before she went in the bath! Poor girl!

But once she was all clean and in pj's she was ready to play! :)

She had so much fun with Drake....it's so cute watching them run after each other! :)

Kenzie always does fun crafts while she's there....this time she made a gingerbread house with Titi!
Wrestling with Drake....

On the way home we took Kenzie by this house to see all the lights...you can see it from like a mile away....I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture but this house brightened up the whole neighborhood! :)

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-30T17:51:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

We had a great day! I can't believe Christmas has come and gone already!

Kenzie woke us up on Christmas morning by coming into our bed (nothing out of the ordinary). It was only a little after 6 or so and Jeff & I weren't sure if she remembered it's Christmas morning! I said "Merry Christmas Kennie" and she goes "Merry Christmas Mommy, now go to sleep!" Hahaha....not quite the reaction I was expecting! Hehe...at this point I think Jeff & I were too excited to go back to sleep so we asked her if she thinks Santa came. I think she might still be a little confused by Santa b/c she goes "no I didn't see him".

We encouraged her to go look under the tree....

Her expression was priceless when she came into the room!! We have it on video....it's the cutest thing! The first thing she did was go to her new mini zebra pillow pet and said "mommy Santa knows I like animals!" Then she ran back to get her old pillow pet so they could meet! :)
I told her to go through her stocking first....so she takes it and tips it up side down to dump it out! Hehe....luckily not everything came out at once so we could watch her go through it! :) Her favorites from stocking: My Little Pony & silly putty (since Christmas silly putty has been put up on a high shelf...did you know that it stains?? Neither did I until I found it stuck on her pjs like gum and it left a nice pretty little brown stain!)
Doesn't it look like I straightened her hair?!?!

She was so cute to watch unwrap presents...she got excited about everything (except for a Dora puzzle which she stated she wanted the Princess one! She got over it quickly and now loves it! :)

After presents we got ready for church!

At church they had a big birthday party for Jesus! :)

We would ask Kenzie who's birthday is on Christmas she would say "Jesus....and pups!"
Pups shares a very special birthday! :)

After church we came home for a little bit and my mom came over before she drove up to Syracuse. A little later we headed over to my sister's house for dinner, presents

and playing (kids)...

We hope everyone had a great CHRISTmas! :)

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas Eve!

I actually think the week before Christmas is my favorite week of the whole year!

Everyone is happy (well I'm sure there are a few "bah humbugs" out there! hehe).

The kids are excited which makes me very excited!

Usually I don't work a lot right before breaks but this year I subbed a couple days and I just love working at a school this time of year.....definitely beats retail! The kids might be crazy but it's such a good kind of crazy! :)

Anyway, back to Christmas Eve. Jeff worked all day :(....so Kenzie & I wrapped some gifts, made cookies for Santa & watched Christmas shows until it was time to go to my sister's house for an amazing meal made by my brother-in-law's parents! So yummy! We stayed there until it was time to go home to get ready for candle light service....another reason I love Christmas Eve!

Before we headed to church I wanted to stop by to see Jeff at work so I was in a hurry trying to get a picture of Kenzie....so I just took a bunch of pics hoping at least one of them was good! :) I had to laugh when I saw some of them later on....

The only down side of Christmas Eve service is that you have to take the little ones in with you....Kenzie wasn't horrible but she could have been a lot better! :)

After church we went back to my sister's house for chocolate chip pie and then back home to see if Santa had left pj's for Kenzie while we were out! :)

And he did.....

Kenzie loved her new night gown....I think Santa knew she would! :)

Before bed we left some cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer....

I tried getting a picture of Kenzie holding her stocking but she wasn't being a good sport! :)

But to her defense it was the night before Christmas what little kid wouldn't make a face like this when mommy's trying to get a real picture....

Santa came!!

Christmas card pics.....

2011-12-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

This year taking a Christmas card picture wasn't too bad! I guess promising candy after the photo shoot works well! :)

It started a little rough with the famous fake "cheese" smile while looking out of the corner of her eye at something else....nothing irritates me more!! haha...I'll be yelling Kenzie look at me!! And then she'll stop "cheesing" to say she "I AM" of course in a sassy way! haha....but I was very happy with the final product so I can't complain! :)

Here are some pictures that did not make it on our card...

I love this one....it's an actual real smile! :)

Our card....

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!! :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T03:43:00.000-08:00

Our Weekend

2011-12-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

We had a relaxing weekend! Well for me....Jeff worked all day Sat & Sun.

On Saturday Kenzie and I went grocery shopping and stopped at Sonic first for lunch!

Although we go to Sonic often we rarely eat at the car hop so Kenzie thought she was very cool sitting up front with me! :)

We actually took these pictures to send to Jeff b/c ever since we bought our car he has been very ridged with food & drinks in our car! :) I made sure I texted him these pictures and especially the one with Kenzie eating a messy cheeseburger...with ketchup, mustard & pickles! :)

Usually I'm the more uptight one...but not when it comes to this!! hehe Love you! :)

The rest of the day we stayed in and played with Kenzie's train from last Christmas! :)

She carried this ribbon around with her for most of the day too...not sure why!
She would cover her eyes and she'd want me to surprise her with a present....Every time I would just grab a toy nearby and every time she was disappointed! Haha...not sure what she was expecting! :)

Playing with her princesses and her train...such a girl! :)

On Sunday we brought Abbie home with us after church!
I tried to get a picture of them lookin' pretty but this was the best I could get....

They both were yelling "cheese" in this one....it started out soft and quiet but they both were trying to yell over one another so it got quite loud! :)

Later we made our gingerbread house! :)

She's just too cute when she sleeps...I think it's b/c for once she's not being sassy to me! :)

On this night Jeff was heading to bed and peaked in to check on Kenzie and she was off her bed sitting up against her bed sleeping!! Haha...he woke me up to see but by then she had moved! Otherwise I'd have a funny pic!

Last week I subbed in a 1st grade classroom and got some cute Christmas craft ideas to do with Kenzie....so today we made reindeer!

The one on the left is Clarice and on the right is Rudolph!

She made Clarice's bow all by herself.

Their head is made out of Kenzie's foot (now that's a sentence I thought I'd never say! haha).

I kinda think Rudolph looks like a turkey and Clarice looks like a blob w/a purple nose...but Kenzie enjoyed making them! :)

Right after I took a picture she ran away....

to take pictures of me....haha!

a taste of my own medicine?!?! :)

More Christmas Fun :)

2011-12-16T19:08:00.001-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is almost a week away!! How crazy!! I love Christmas but I love Christmas time too....so I always find it sad how fast it goes!

Last night we went to the Polar Express at our library!

I remembered from last year that a lot of the kids were in their pjs.....so Kenzie was very excited to wear her Christmas jammies! :)

I tried to take a picture before we left b/c she looked so cute but Kenzie just decided to make funny faces instead of smiles...

(her legs don't even look like they belong to her here....not sure how she's sitting)

The Polar Express "conductor" was actually 1/2 hour late so a woman who works in the library had to read the story....but the kids didn't seem to mind at all! :)

After the story they enjoyed some cookies and hot chocolate....and Santa! :)

Santa showed up to say hi.....but Kenzie was not having it! She wouldn't even go near him!

I blame the hot cocoa (and maybe the 2 hour nap she took with daddy during the day!) for this "show" Kenzie put on well past 8pm!! I haven't seen this girl so hyper in a long time....I think she was a little excited about Christmas too! :)

Today I had to finish up some shopping and we decided to take Kenzie along to see Santa at the mall b/c she told me yesterday she was going to "talk to the Santa at the mall"! Well actually we decided to take her b/c she needed a flu shot, but that's not Christmasy or fun so it doesn't go with this post! :) So after the flu shot we headed over to the mall....she was very excited to talk to Santa and sit on his lap!! I wasn't going to push a picture on his lap so I was very excited that it was her idea! She told us what she was going to ask for...she was very excited....

...until it was her turn....then she turned into the worlds strongest 3 year old....she had a hold on Jeff's legs and would. not. let. go! She wouldn't talk, wave or even look at Santa!
...but she was very happy to pose in front of baby Jesus! :)

I guess a flu shot and Santa is too much for one day... Later on (after she changed into one of her "uniforms"....purple leggings! She loves picking out her outfits now...if we are going somewhere I usually have to quickly pick out her outfit before she gets the chance to b/c I know once I hear her drawers opening she is picking out her own outfit and it's going be a struggle!) we went for a little walk around the town to see Christmas lights...she loves this Snoopy! :)

Christmas Fun!

2011-12-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

We've been busy enjoying our Christmas season!!! I just love this time of year, but it goes by way too fast!!

A couple weeks ago we put up our tree...Kenzie loved helping!! :)

We were suppose to put the tree up right after Thanksgiving but I came down with some nasty bug and was in bed for almost 5 days....so Kenzie had to patiently wait! Every day I thought I would feel better the next day so I would tell her we'll put up the tree tomorrow but it didn't happen! When I was finally feeling better we realized the tree got wet in the flood so we weren't expecting any of the lights to work. Turns out only the middle lights worked...I really didn't want to postpone this any further so we just added a string of lights to the top and bottom! :) It works for us! :)

Kenzie even did a little "happy dance" after she hung ornaments.... :)

A couple weeks ago we went to the craft fair at the elementary school....kenzie painted some ornaments for our tree! :)

We were quite surprised to be met by "Jingle" our Elf the other morning! Kenzie loved my nieces' Elf on the Shelf and talked about it a lot so I think Santa sent another one of his elves this way! :) This elf is actually my mom's old elf that she would always put out when we were younger as decoration! :) But of course, to Kenzie this elf watches her everyday to see if she's being good or naughty and reports back to Santa every night! Kenzie loves getting up every morning to find Jingle! :)

Painting...

Abbie & Kenzie after story time at the library...
They made "winter people"

On Saturday Kenzie & I took a little trip to Oneonta for a little college reunion/holiday party with my old suitemates!! :) Before we went Kenzie & I went shopping for the ingredients for chicken wing dip....

(she loves these mini carts so much!! and I think it's the cutest thing watching her "shop")

We had quite the holiday party with 7 kids 7 and under!! :) They were all very well behaved and they all had so much fun!!

Seriously, look how cute they all are... Kenzie & Ayana had so much fun spinning each other in this chair. They took turns spinning each other and then of course Pups had to have a turn! :)

I tried so hard to get a good picture of the 2 b/c they were both laughing so hard but they just wouldn't stay still long enough!!

Kenzie wanted me to take a picture of her on this horse.

Lookin pretty before church!
And...with all this holiday fun some of us just can't stay up until bedtime! :)

Holiday Weekend

2011-12-04T17:14:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was our village's Holiday Weekend! I love our village and I love Christmas so this is by far one of my favorite weekends!!

We started our weekend at the annual village tree lighting...

(I didn't bring my camera for the purpose of enjoying the moment....but then I just got my cell phone out and took pics....I guess I need to work on that!! :)

Saturday morning we went to Breakfast with Santa! Kenzie was very excited for this....she woke up and the first thing she said was "we have to go to breakfast with santa!".

The week prior she announced that she is a big girl now....she's three....she will sit on Santa's lap...so I was very excited to see how it would turn out!

Just what I expected...she got freaked out as soon as she saw him! Hahaha....but she did have fun looking at him from afar! :)

After BWS, we headed over to a local church for some Christmas crafts!
Boy, was I impressed with the crafts!!
I expected some coloring sheets, paper ornaments, etc.....which would have been fine, but there were so many neat crafts, cookies to decorate, prizes to be won and a book about the real meaning of Christmas!
Kenzie had a great time!
Decorating a gift bag....

This by far was her favorite part....she loved decorating the cookies!!!

(and mommy loved eating them later! :)

Later after crafts and lunch (which we ended up eating right there at the church!) we stopped by the library for a horse drawn "sleigh" ride!

Meet "Butterball" Kenzie's new favorite doggie! She has not replaced "Pups" she now carries them both everywhere....She explained to me that they are friends and when she leaves them home they miss her! Aww :)

We ended the weekend with church on Sunday!

It was such a great message and fit perfectly into this weekend!

Jeff and I are trying very hard not to take the true meaning of Christmas away and making it all about presents! It's very hard to do but we are making an effort to not buy tons of meaning less stuff just for the sake of having something to unwrap Christmas morning. We really don't want Kenzie to just expect tons and tons of presents and ignore what's truly important! It's hard since we would love to just keep buying but we really don't want her to be greedy and expect so much from us, Santa or our families! With that being said we are trying hard to follow the advice given by our pastor for the holiday season (2 things not to do, 1 thing to do):

*Do not buy what you can not afford

*Do not covet

*Celebrate the birth of Jesus

Kenzie lined up her dogs and asked me to take this picture....she loves her doggies! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-29T17:14:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone had a great holiday!!

We had a great day with my family!

(I think this might be our first couple picture since our wedding!)

Kenzie loves her Ella!

We tried a cousin picture...

Jeannine was a little apprehensive....Emily & I thought it was a good idea! :)

I think they turned out well....
(the second picture I had to steal from Emily....I cut my poor daughter out of my pictures! The first picture I took all you could see was her dress! I think I was in such a hurry trying to get a picture of 6 kids 6 and under!)

Ella being Ella :)

My loves! :)

My sweet grandparents

Brayden just chillin before heading home!

We have so much to be thankful for!! :)

a very random post!

2011-11-21T16:50:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile! We're doing well over here!! I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving!!

Seriously, where did November go?!?!

I wanted to catch up on some random pictures and stories from the past month or so before the holidays!! So warning....this will be random & will have lots of pics! :)

Oh, and it's also my 300th post!! Woohoo! :) Wow....that's a lot of posts about Kenzie! :)

Here is the last month of the Soto's....

*Kenzie has fallen in love with kittys!! A stray cat has found her home at my sister's house and Kenzie is in love! She even prays for a kitty of her own! :)

*in kenzie's world every princess needs a pony...

and yes she has prayed for a pony of her own too!

*For the past couple of months Kenzie and I have been doing "school" at home! She loves it and I love that she loves it! Although I spend a lot of time with Kenzie there are days when I go to bed feeling bad that I didn't spend enough quality time with her. If I have "school" planned for us she gets my undivided attention and she learns a little bit too! :)

*Let me introduce you to "Pups"! Kenzie has had this puppy dog for awhile but in the last month or so she has been glued to it!! I think Kenzie lives through Pups (aka Emma....yes, the puppy has 2 names!) I'm not sure if Pups and Kenzie share a brain or Kenzie is living through Pups at times....for instance....the other day I was sitting down and "Pups" smacked me VERY hard in the face (for no reason!). When I asked Kenzie why she did that she calmly explained that Pups did it! Also, apparently Pups also loves princesses and barbies b/c while at Target the other day "Pups" wanted everything!!!

*Some little things that just make me smile...the other day I looked above our bed and Kenzie spiced up our wall with some monster stickers... :)

....and I don't think a day goes by where our "Family" blocks get stacked, saying anything but family! :)

*Kenzie has had more decoration parties! :)

....and she's put on some shows! :)

*The other day Kenzie woke up from her nap so I went in to get her and realized she was in a very cranky mood. I told her to call me when she was ready to be nice, then I would come back in. I went in the other room and I heard her getting up so I thought she was going to follow me. A couple minutes later I went in to see where she was and I found her dresser like this...

....she explained to me that she was mad so she opened up all her drawers! haha! Can you imagine doing that when you're mad!?!? I think the world would be a lot nicer place if people just pulled out their drawers when they got angry! :) So FYI next time you see me, if I'm pulling out drawers, just know someone really made me angry!! :)

Other random stuff going on around here....

*We got out our Christmas pjs! :)

*We looked cute going to church! *We looked cute napping with Pups!

*We spent last weekend in NJ with Jeff's family! :) I didn't take a single picture!! Kenzie had a lot of fun with cousin Drake! I love that they are getting to the age where they can play t/g! :)

*We bought a new (to us!) car! :) Our old car finally got to the point where we were putting more money in to it than what it was worth so we were forced to buy a new (to us...hehe) car!

That's about it around here...hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving week! :)

pumpkin fun!

2011-11-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

This year we waited until the last minute to carve our pumpkin! We actually waited until the day before to buy one and by then they were all picked over and some places were asking $10!! Luckily, my sister had extras....so we went pumpkin shopping over there! :)

Kenzie was very excited to carve but wasn't sure about the "guts"....she enjoyed it a lot more once I gave her a big spoon to scoop out the seeds!

....outtakes....(I just had to include these....some days it's so hard to get a good picture!!)

last but certainly not least....hahaha!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

We had a "fairy" good Halloween this year!! Kenzie loved her costume and was sooo excited to trick-or-treat! :)

It was a pretty cold out there so we had to bundle up...I was determined not to put a coat over Kenzie's costume so I kept putting more and more layers on her....before leaving I think we might have been nearing a meltdown (b/c of the layers!) but luckily she was too excited to trick-or-treat she quickly forgot about it! :)

I was going to put a little make up on Kenzie to make her feel extra special but she informed me that she has her own make up (Daddy bought her Rapunzel make up!). She even brought lip gloss with her and reapplied it several times! :)
Not sure what this face is....but....

....it might be a Halloween thing b/c she did it last year too! :)

Patiently waiting for Daddy to come home from work!

Looking for Daddy....Can you tell she was a little excited?!?!

Posing with our beautiful fairy...

We met up with these 2 ice cream cones & cupcake....

Looking through her goodies...

I just wanted to add this so I wont forget...I wanted to buy Kennie a pair of sparkly princess shoes to go with her dress, but good thing I didn't b/c she had her mind set on her brown princess shoes (as you can see from the pictures!). I don't know what it is about those shoes-she LOVES them!! She calls them her princess shoes and would wear them all. the. time. if I let her! :) Good thing my sister just gave her the next size up so she has another pair waiting for her! :)

Our day in pictures :)

2011-10-25T18:34:00.001-07:00

Lately Kenzie has been drawing a lot (always people!)....I love seeing the people she draws!

Last week I was going through a notebook and page after page after page were drawings of "people", every single page had a person on it! They were just the cutest drawings ever!

Today I had to take a picture of her people....look how cute they are! :)

(She's also started writing her name on her pictures, which usually includes a "M" and "A" and a "i" and "r"- she doesn't even know any lower case letters so it's completely random which letters she chooses!)

During nap time I was on the phone so I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing....

Yea, there was definitely no sleeping going on or even an attempt to sleep...

The crazy girl threw every book from her book basket on the floor...

Haha...luckily mommy found the humor in it! :)

Later in the day we went outside for a little playtime! :)

I found it crazy how filthy a princess loving little girl will get!!

But then again I shouldn't be too surprised...I watched her crawl on the driveway, roll around on leaves/dirt, dig through a bucket of sidewalk chalk, throw leaves on herself, etc....I guess I should be happy all the dirt comes off in the bath! :)

Sunday

2011-10-24T17:12:00.001-07:00

Pictures from after church yesterday....

I asked her to smile and she did this...

....and then this... She sure knows how to push my buttons when taking pictures...good thing she's cute to make up for it! :)

After church Jeff & I took Kenzie & Ella to a fun little Halloween event in Vestal! It was the first time going there but it wont be the last! We had a great time watching the girls have fun! At first I wasn't going to dress Kenzie up b/c I wanted her costume to be new on Halloween but luckily Jeff (the fun parent!) convinced me I was being crazy and I stopped being a control freak and dressed K up! :) Good thing I did b/c today I asked Kenzie what her favorite part was and she said "my fairy costume!"

It was a beautiful day....perfect for outdoor fun! They had bouncy houses, hay maze, cider, donuts, candy and a huge playground! :) And...everything was free! :)

Kennie loves Ella! :)

Abbie & Kenzie

2011-10-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today Kenzie & Abbie had a little play date and I thought it would be a great day for a little photo shoot! :)

The shoot didn't start off well....

Abbie didn't want to take pictures and Kenzie's smile looked like this....

But then I let them make silly faces...and they forgot I was taking pictures! :)

(( Almost 2 years ago...))

Our Weekend

2011-10-16T16:37:00.001-07:00

Our weekend started at Family Fun Night at our church on Friday! As always, Kenzie had a great time....she always does! It was suppose to be "Trunk or Treat" but the weather didn't cooperate and it was rainy and wet so the activities were moved inside! It didn't matter though all the kids had a great time! There was pumpkin carving, necklace making, a leaf pit (with prizes hidden in the leaves!), tons of games, fall crafts, a lot candy and a message at the end for the kids!

Kenzie loved being Tinkerbell! This is not her actual Halloween costume (although she'll be a fairy, just not Tink! A pink/purple fairy! so cute!) we shopped through the Whitacre girls' dress up clothes for this costume! :)
On Saturday we headed over to my sister's for Ella & Sophia's 6th birthday party! How crazy...6!!! I still remember when I got called early in the morn that baby Sophie was on her way and I made the 3 hour drive from the Bronx to be there for her birth!! And it feels just like yesterday little Ella came home from China and I talked to her on the phone for the first time! :)

And today we went to church....and that's about it! :)

Apple Picking

2011-10-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kenzie & I went apple picking with my mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephew Brayden! It was hot and crowded but we still had a good time!! I'm not sure what I was thinking....I knew it was suppose to be like 80 degrees, but still bundled us up!?! I was able to take off the shirt under Kenzie's dress but she still had pants and sneakers on! Such a difference from last year when it was freezing!! Maybe next year, we'll have the perfect weather! :)

We Heart Fall!

2011-10-10T18:50:00.001-07:00

We had a beautiful weekend!!! It's been very warm and sunny! I can't believe I'm going to say this but I think it might have been a little too warm (for fall)! I know I know...I'll probably regret saying this in a couple months!!

Here are some cute pictures from over the long weekend...

After church...

Today we took Kenzie to the playground...

Last night I walked by Kenzie's room and she made a little bed for herself on the floor! Haha...she even brought down her blankie and blanket!

Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jeff had a random Monday off so we decided it would be a great day for the pumpkin farm! Usually this farm is so crowded (on weekends) but yesterday we pretty much had the whole farm to ourselves! :) At first I was ~~in a horrible mood~~ a little bummed...it was a lot colder than expected and I didn't think they had cider and donuts or the hayride working, but my bad mood was pointless b/c they did have cider & donuts (my favorite part!), the hayride was working (and we only had to share it with a few other families!) and despite it being a few degrees cooler we had a great family day! :)

On the way home I asked Kenzie what her favorite part was.....she said the baby goats! :)

(They were very cute!!)

Kenzie's pumpkin she picked out :)

Hunting for Leaves!

2011-09-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

This morning Kenzie & I hunted for leaves for our library's story time "homework".

Today's story time was centered around Fall and leaves so we had to fill a bag full of different kinds of leaves!

Kenzie had so much fun filling her bag....I absolutely love how excited she gets about the little things! :)

Our loot...
My fun quickly ended when one of the leaves she found had a tiny snail on it...Gross!

She thought it was the coolest thing ever and even told everyone at story time!

Kenzie wanted to save it for Sophie but luckily I was able to convince her to let it go back with his snail mommy and snail daddy! :)

(Had to take a picture by the pretty flowers!)

Our Day!

2011-09-27T17:17:00.001-07:00

For lunch today we made english muffin pizza!

Yesterday as I was reading one of my favorite blogs (she blogged about english muffin pizza) I realized this was a lunch I had to try with Kenzie!

Kenzie loves helping me make breakfast and lunch but if you've been in our kitchen you know we have the smallest. kitchen. ever! So unfortunately Kenzie doesn't get to help as much as she would like...but every now and then I let her help! This might be her favorite thing to make so far....even though she loves making the very easy chocolate chip muffins too (which only consists of adding a 1/2 cup of water and stirring!)

Patiently waiting to eat her pizza.....and pretending to sleep...

Kenzie enjoyed the finish product.....we will definitely be making more english muffin pizza in the future!

After nap we took a short walk to the post office and we were caught in a huge downpour!!! When we were leaving the post office Kenzie wanted to go the longer way home...I knew it was going to rain based on the very dark clouds but I figured we would have enough time to make it home before the rain. But then again I forgot I was walking with Kenzie and her doggie...she had to stop a million times to ask doggie if he was ok, or to put him down on the side walk and to let him walk (she brought a play leash too) and then to clean him off after he was dirty from being on the sidewalk and then my favorite made us stop b/c doggie was afraid of leaves! Doggie better be happy he joined us on this walk b/c he made us get drenched!!

And FYI this isn't the dog that went for a walk with us, she dropped him as soon as we came in the door and grabbed a clean, dry dog! haha

(at least Kenzie thought it was very fun to get caught in the rain!) After dinner I had promised Kenzie to do a craft with her so we made pumpkins....I bought this little kit from Michael's for $2....so cute and easy! I'm not crafty what-so-ever, so it's great when fun kid crafts come all together and easy to figure out! It's been awhile since I've done a craft with Kenzie and it's crazy how much better she got at them! She's so good with the glue and she pretty much does them on her own....aww just reminder how big my baby is getting....tear!

Short Little Post :)

2011-09-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

I don't really have much to say...just thought I'd post a few pictures...

....and share 2 cute little stories that I don't want to forget....No, they might not be funny to anyone else but they sure make me smile! :)
Story #1....Kenzie was complaining of her bottom being sore....so I told her I'll go get the cream (diaper cream)...and she gets all concerned and yells "mommy, not sour cream!" hehehe :)

Story #2...Kenzie was riding her bike on the sidewalk....she wasn't listening to me very well and was going way too fast and too far away from me...when I caught up to her I told her "Kenzie you need to put your listening ears on"....she thought about what I said without saying anything at first and then after thinking about it she goes "you just leave my ears alone!" Haha....I think the poor girl thought I was going to take her ears off and put on new ones! :)

Goodbye Summer!

2011-09-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Since tomorrow is the first official day of Fall, I thought I would post the rest of my summer pictures that never made it to any other posts!

Future gymnast?

Look at that spilt! :)

Even though our Labor Day was VERY wet we did manage to have fun at the parade before the rain came....

(It's crazy to think 2 days later our area got hit with a huge flood!!)

Honestly, I'm over summer already....I'm ready for pumpkins, apples, Halloween, Thanksgiving, leaves, cool weather....I could go on and on...I love Fall! :)

Doesn't get any cuter....

2011-09-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

...than skinny jeans! :)

Kenzie at Play

2011-09-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I just love watching Kenzie play!

I could just listen to her all day play with her dolls....sometimes it's crazy to realize how much she picks up from us daily b/c I can hear it through her play! I love it when she plays different rolls and changes her voice to fit the role....too cute!

I love this age!

I also love finding little treasures like this....I just couldn't help myself, I had to take a picture of it!

She explained to me these dolls were doing exercises.

I also love her drawings....

(she had to get her feet in the picture....can't help but laugh at the crazy pinky toe! :)
My favorite is when she is napping or sleeping and I see her toys set up as she was playing with them...Have you ever been driving down a road and had jeep pull up next to you with a mermaid driving and a princess being pulled in the trailer?!?!

Kenzie had also been throwing "decoration parties"! Don't know what they are?? Well, maybe Kenzie will invite you to one! Let me explain what they are.....Kenzie will take all her books off her shelves and lay them out and/or make book piles, line up her toys and stack books on her dresser!

Here is the party planner at work, getting her party ready!

(we weren't allowed to look in before she was ready...but as I walked by her room a few times I saw her walking back and forth over and over placing all her books and toys on the floor)

She was so excited to show us the party!

She yelled "surprised"....and to be honest I wasn't quite sure how to act at a "decoration party" so I just "oohed & awwed" a lot and admired all her decorations (just so in case you're ever invited to a decoration party you will know how to act!)

Oh yea, and blankie always has to be on her toy box like this...

And I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Kenzie playing outside...

Cole Park

2011-09-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sad summer is over...but we did squeeze in a couple trips to Cole Park in the last couple weeks of summer!

This pictures cracks me up...

Until next summer Cole Park.....

NY State Fair

2011-08-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we headed up to Syracuse for the State Fair! I know the fair is always the same, it's dirty, it's crowded, it can be obnoxious but I just love it! In fact I love it so much that we stayed about 10 hours! Wow...we had lunch, dinner and even squeezed a nap in (Kenzie, of course!).

One reason I love it so much is the fact that it never changes....Kenzie gets to see the same things I saw as a kid! I remember getting excited about the animal barns, the junk food, the rides, the shows, etc...now it's so exciting to watch Kenzie see all the same things!

Kenzie was scared of the rides but she did like the giant slide...and I enjoyed it too! I was pretty happy to go on it 3x with her!
(not sure why she was angry in this pic...for anyone who doesn't know, this is her mad face!)

Kenzie loved the baby chic!!

Just like last year, Kenzie took a little snooze! We propped up her stroller and she slept while we ate!

She also had a lot of fun on the foot massage chairs....

We spent a big chunk of the night at the petting zoo...

at first Kenzie was scared to feed the animals but quickly warmed up to them (and couldn't get enough of them!)

I couldn't help but laugh at this guy...

or this guy...

Her favorite was definitely the zebra!

Sitting next to the sand sculpture...

Kenzie fell asleep within 10 minutes in the car.....but I was very happy she woke up (when we got home) long enough to give her a bath to wash off a day's worth of the Sate Fair! :)

Syracuse Zoo

2011-08-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today my mom & I took Kenzie to the Syracuse zoo! I have been wanting to take her to this zoo since she was born but for one reason or another it didn't happen! I told Kenzie a few days ago we were going to go to the zoo and she had been talking about it ever since. She went to bed with a zoo book, she kept on asking me "where we going tomorrow, mommy?!?!" and then I'd have to say "zoo"....and then yesterday she woke me up saying "mommy, get up! You have to get dressed for the zoo!" Too cute!

And the zoo didn't disappoint!

Kenzie had a great time!

You can't really see the lion in this picture b/c of the glare but this lion was completely lounging....we went back later and he was pressed up against the glass, on his back with his tongue sticking out!

We were looking at a monkey and Kenzie asked me why the monkey is mad....I told her that he's not mad and she goes "yes he is, he looks like this".....

(and then she made this face! hahaha)

Daddy's favorite....penguins! :)

Does her outfit look familiar?!?!

Look who wore the same dress last year to the Binghamton zoo! :)

Long Island

2011-08-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jeff, Kenzie and I drove down to Long Island to celebrate our wedding with Jeff's friends! It was very important to Jeff to celebrate our wedding with his friends and this was perfect! :) Jeff's best man hosted the party at his house and we all had a great time! Kenzie had a great time she did not want to leave the next day!!

Dylan and Kenzie

(on the way home Kenzie announced that Dylan is her bestfriend! so cute!)

Kenzie also had so much fun with her friend Julia....
We had a very yummy cake with a bride & groom on top!
(The girl in the blue dress was added in the spur of the moment..it's suppose to be Kenzie! hehe :)

The Soto's! :)

I was sitting next to Kenzie while eating our cake and she looked over at me and said "it was very nice of you to marry me, mommy"...so cute!

All the kids had so much fun....to prove it, they were all filthy by the end of the day! :)

The Boys....

The guys had to keep the tradition of lifting up (literally) the bride and groom ...

Jeff trying to run away....

At first it wasn't too bad....

....but then they took it to the next level and lifted me a lot higher...haha!

We had a great time....thanks again Rob & Jackie! :)

Summer Fun!

2011-08-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

I have been such a bad blogger this summer!! Maybe we have been having so much fun that I've been forgetting to blog!?!?! Or maybe I was busy planning a wedding!?!?! (Pics coming soon btw!!) Or maybe I'm just thinking of excuses?!?! :) We've been busy having some summer fun lately....which means nothing crazy just some slip 'n slide action, sonic soda/slushie runs, riding bikes, playing outside.....

This past weekend Jeff, Kenzie & I went to Long Island to celebrate our wedding with his friends! Since we had such a tiny wedding his best man planned a bbq for all his friends to come and celebrate..it was great! I will post some pics soon! :)

Here is what we've been up to....

Having fun on the slip 'n slide.....

Having a peanut party....

(all 4 girls sat on at the table for about an hour just cracking and eating the peanuts....obviously we don't have any peanut allergies in our family!)

We've spent our rainy days either inside coloring....

or lining up our princesses and then adding the biggest princess (Kenzie) to the line! :)

Miss M has spent a lot of time in this particular dress...I think this dress might go in Summer 2011's Hall of Fame! :) She loves it...and so do her cousins (they all have one too, in different colors). Dressing kids can be so cheap....$5 for this dress @ Walmart! :)

(on this day she added a little touch....2 bows! :)

On this rainy day we had to pull out the bean tub!

But of course, all this fun makes us thirsty....we've spent a lot of time slurping on slushies...

And with all this fun we get super tired! :)

Phone Photos

2011-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kenzie's 3rd Birthday

2011-08-08T18:45:00.001-07:00

This year we did not have a party for Kenzie! Our wedding kinda took priority this summer! Sorry Kenzie! Speaking of our wedding...we had an amazing day! Everything turned out perfect....I will definitely be posting pictures as soon as I get them!!

But back to Kenzie's birthday...since we didn't have a party we wanted to make the day was as special as possible for her! Unfortunately, Jeff just started Radiation the day before so he couldn't spend much time with us! Luckily he didn't have to be hospitalized but he still had restrictions on what he could/could not do...and for the first 3 days after the treatment he was suppose to keep 3 feet apart from people! So Friday night Kenzie and I spent the night at my sister's house....which Kenzie was very excited about!!

Sophie and Ella decorated this box for Kenzie and inside was a pony, horse, homemade card, yarn ball (made my Sophie), homemade envelope with stickers inside, a rock and a piece of yarn! The girls were so excited to give it to Kenzie....and Kenzie was just as excited to receive it! :)

I brought over one of our presents to give her in the morning and waited until later to give her the rest (when Jeff could watch too)...

This was a soft Rapunzel doll that she had picked out at the Disney Store, but did not know I bought it!

I let her pick out what she wanted to do on her day and she chose Chuck E Cheese....

(Here she is practicing blowing out candles....while waiting to leave for Chuck E Cheese)

Unwrapping gifts from Grampy....

Later that day before we had cake she unwrapped her gifts from mommy and daddy! :)

Playing with her new dry erase crayons and board (She loves this and uses it constantly!!)
Trying out her new skates...

After presents Kenzie and I went over to my sister's for cake and ice cream....

(I let her pick out her cake and she picked this one with dinosaurs...hehe)

We hope you had a wonderful 3rd Birthday Princess!! We love you sooo much!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Makenzie

2011-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this was our little Kenzie 3 short years ago....

Kenzie-I can't believe you are 3 years old!! Time is flying but Mommy & Daddy are having a blast watching you grow up a little everyday! We love you so very much and we love every inch of the sassy, princess-loving, rough playing, beautiful little girl you're becoming!!

Here are a some things Miss Makenzie is up to at 3....
*Loves Disney princesses!

*Loves to ride her bike and will often try to do funny tricks on it (pedal with one foot, hold on with one hand, etc.)

*Will talk about her friends in her class (Sunday school) all the time (even though she doesn't know any by name!) and will often put aside markers and paper to bring to them at church!
*Loves to play rough....I don't remember the last time I played with her without me getting hurt! hehe I think she longs for a brother! :)

*She's pretty sassy...well actually very sassy! I can't believe the attitude she has for being 3! Her favorite line is "I no care....you're so mean" (while singing it)

*Talks about poopy ALL THE TIME! We've tried to ignore it, we've tried to address it....nothing works, this girl cannot say a sentence without poopy, peepee, fanny, poopy dance, etc....

Some of her recent poopy talk:
Me: Kenzie what do you want for your birthday?

Kenzie: poopy

Me (on a different day): what do you want to do on your birthday?

Kenzie: Um...just play...with poopy

**

Kenzie (while playing with her Rapunzel tower): "Rapunzel let down your poopy" (instead of let down your hair)

And last but certainly not least was a conversation I had with her on the phone while Jeff and I were in NYC...

Me: How are you hunny?

K: poopy

Me: I miss you sweetie!

K: ok, poopy

Me: what are you doing?

K: nothing, just poopy

((I love this age but this poopy stage can certainly pass at any time!!))*Still has a massive amount of curls that I have yet to cut....

*If I let her she'd wear her blue dress from Walmart and Princess nightgown (that use to be Tati's) every day and night! I think she's just frugal....Walmart & hand-me-downs! :) She gets sooo excited when she knows that I have washed them!

*Lately she's been saying the cutest things....I wish I could just record what she says! She will say "that feel good mommy?" instead of "sounds good mommy?" Example: Kenzie-Mommy I put my toys here instead of there, that feel good mommy??"

*In the past few weeks loves to color, esp. with markers!

*For the past month or so she has been talking about her birthday non stop! When she sees something she would like she will always say "maybe for my birthday". The other day we were passing a construction site and she saw a huge cement mixer truck and she goes "mommy look at that....maybe I like that for my birthday!" hehe :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Girl!! We love you soooo much!! We can't wait to see what this year has in store for you! :)

Summer Fun....

2011-07-15T10:04:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks! Last week Jeff & I took Kenzie and Abbie to the lake...they had a great time and didn't fight at all (which is huge since they have been fighting non stop lately!!).
Abuela gave Kenzie an early birthday present and she's been lovin it!! :)

Not sure why she had the pink Dora gloves on! She ran to her toy box before going outside to grab them....after she put them on she said "I have gloves like Uncle Greg" so apparently Uncle Greg wears pink Dora gloves! :)

Last weekend Jeff & I went down to NJ for my freshmen year quadmate's wedding!! We had a great time!! Jeff still doesn't have his voice back from surgery so he either sat in silence or I had to speak for him! :) I said he should of brought a chalkboard to communicate with people! hehehe :)
Hope everyone is having a great summer! :)

4th of July

2011-07-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Happy (belated) 4th of July! We had a great day at my uncle's house in Syracuse! July 4th is definitely one of my favorite holidays! We had so much fun spending time with family, eating very yummy food, swimming and playing corn hole...

We tried to include Levi in the picture but didn't turn out well....

Kenzie playing corn hole...I wish these pictures weren't so dark!

Summer So Far...

2011-06-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

It's officially SUMMER! Yay! What's not to love about summer!?!? So far the summer started a little rough though! Jeff had another surgery yesterday! He has cancer again....another kind, completely unrelated to his Testicular Cancer he had 6 months ago! This time it's in his Thyroid Gland but again it's a VERY beatable cancer with great survival rates (like almost 100%!). So yesterday he went in and got his whole gland removed and he will need radiation to kill off any remaining cells. But so far he's recovering a lot quicker than from the previous surgery and now he's home and Kenzie & I are taking care of him! :)

We hope he recovers quickly b/c another thing we are doing this summer is....getting married! Woohoo! July 30 to be exact! It's going to be a tiny with just immediate family...we wish we could invite all our friends but we have to keep it small and simple! :)

So besides surgery & wedding planning we've had some fun here and there....

-We played with our shadows and took pictures of them!

-I took a picture of Kenzie's perfect curl in the middle of her forehead....it reminds me of the Mother Goose rhyme! :)
-I figured out how to keep Kenzie from falling off her bed in the middle of the night! I was looking through a catalog and saw a blow up pillow to go under a child's sheet to act as a bumper....but they were selling the pillow for like $40 so I took the idea and rolled up a blanket and stuffed it under her sheet....and she hasn't fallen off again!

-Kenzie made a cross out of her puzzle....she was so excited to show me!

-We had a picnic outside....which was horrible! haha...Kenzie complained the whole time about bugs on her, I dropped my pizza and a fly landed in my soda!

-We survived a flash flood! This happened within 15 minutes! So crazy how quickly it can happen!

-Kenzie decided to pass out right before shopping!

-Kenzie gave herself a manicure! I would have normally laughed at this but just 5-10 minutes before this I specifically told her not to get marker on her hands b/c the markers were not the washable kind and we were leaving soon...and I came back into the room to find this! hahaha...not bad actually...maybe she can do my nails for the wedding!?! :)

-Kenzie looked pretty modeling a dress Abuela bought her in Colombia!

-And lastly, we've had some fun playing in the kiddie pool! (love her big hair!)

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Jeff had a nice Father's Day this year! We started the day at church...then lunch at Applebee's...followed by a kiddie pool party...and we finished the day up at my sister's toasting marshmallows and making smores! :)

Giving Daddy some kisses!
Pool party!

Doesn't it look like she's flashing a gang sign...haha...she doesn't want people to forget her roots....she was born in the city! hehehe :)

There's our sweet, little lady (no more gang signs Kenzie!)...

Stuffing her mouth with marshmellows....

We hope you had a wonderful Father's Day Daddy....we love you!! Thanks for being an amazing daddy to our little Kenzie Faith! :)

Bounce House & Dairy Days

2011-06-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Justine & I took the girls to open bounce! They had so much fun and Justine & I got over an hour of talk time with little interruptions! :)

I always forget how hard it is to get good pictures at a bounce house! I took like 30 and all are blurry except a few! I wish this one was not blurry....It looks so cute!

On Saturday Jeff & I took Kenzie to "Dairy Days"...it's the first time we've ever been there and Kenzie had so much fun! They had a petting zoo, tractors and some farming activities for the kids! Kenzie even milked a real cow (well she tried to....once she felt the utter she jumped back!).
Enjoying her chocolate milk...

Kenzie could have fed this little guy all day long...look how cute he is..

And we met up with this little guy there...it was his birthday! :) Sometimes I really think Kenzie & Levi can pass for brother & sister!
Playing in the hay...she was a little afraid!

Enjoying a snow cone before leaving...

Big Girl Bed & Bike!

2011-06-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I think our baby girl has grown up a few years over the weekend!
Sunday night Jeff & I decided it was time to say goodbye to Kenzie's crib....and hello to a big girl bed! At first (a couple weeks ago) I told Kenzie about a big girl bed and she did not seem to like the idea (I don't think she's a fan of change!). I've been getting her excited the past week and it worked....she was sooo excited for her own big girl bed!!

The first night I was anxious to see how she would do...and she did great! No problems...went to sleep (with Daddy on the floor but that's not any different than when she was in a crib!) and stayed asleep until the AM! In the morning she even forgot she could get out by herself and called for me! :)

On Monday I came into her room and saw her reading her books on her bed! Made me think of a tiny little teenager! But instead of a reading a book about bugs she'll probably be reading Teen Bop (if they still have those), instead of a Dora shirt she'll be wearing Abercrombie and instead of having blankie by her side she'll have her cell phone! Aww... baby don't grow up just yet!! :)

And then Abbie came over and was very happy to play in Kenzie's bed with her....until they started fighting like 2 minutes later!

Unfortunately last night wasn't as good as the first....poor girl kept on falling off the bed! She didn't cry but we found her 2x on the floor and then the 3rd time she was hanging 1/2 way off the bed and then slowly fell to the floor and wanted to stay there! I brought her into bed with me after the 3rd fall....thank goodness it's only a toddler bed and not high off the floor! :)

Hoping for a better night tonight! :)

* * * *

And on Friday night Jeff made Kenzie one happy little girl when he put together her new big girl bike! She's been riding it ever since..

On Saturday we went to Levi & Abbie's birthday party! And of course Kenzie had to ride her bike! Well, actually this one is Abbie's bike...Jeannine had 2 so she gave the extra to Kenzie! :)

She goes so fast it's hard to get a clear picture of her!

She seems so old on her new bike....a lot older than when she's on her tricycle!

Well I guess it's time to face the fact that my baby is almost 3!!!

Tuesday

2011-06-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

June So Far...

2011-06-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

Happy June! The weather has been gorgeous! Sunny & warm!

Just b/c I have neglected my blog here are some pics from the last week...

Kenzie has been lining up her toys and then asking me to take a picture of them....

She has been saying the funniest things lately...I have been meaning to write them down and now that I sit down to post I can't remember! Ahh! Here are things I don't want to forget:

*She has a song she made up that she sings....it goes like this "Happy Birthday to you, you make me happy, 1-2-3-4"

*We were eating at a Chinese Restaurant right in town and every time someone would come in she would stare them down and say "what's the big idea!?!"

*She got mad at me the other day and in a mad voice sang to me (with a mad face too)"I know you, I know you, you're Kee Kee you're Kee Kee" (weird, I know!)

*I was trying to get Kenzie to go potty but she was too busy looking at everything around the toilet instead of actually peeing...so I said "Kenzie, just go peepee!" And then she goes "I is going peepee....just r-e-l-a-x"

*Lately she has been saying funny things in her sleep...the other day she was sleeping with me and she gets up at like 4 am and wants ice cream! I laughed thinking she's talking in her sleep but then she gets up and walks toward the kitchen! haha...I quickly get her and put her right back to our bed and then she sings herself back to sleep..."I want ice cream, I want ice cream...laa laa laa...I want ice cream I want ice cream...laaa laa laa"

*During the same night she woke up to tell me Abbie pulled her hair, which I think was a dream! Haha I don't think Abbie snuck over here in the middle of the night to pull Kenzie's hair! :)

*A few weeks ago Jeff came home after getting his hair cut and Kenzie said "look mom a handsome man!"

*The other day we were out and about and Kenzie was being pretty naughty. We were in the bathroom and she looked at me and asked "mommy, why is your face red?" And I told her it's b/c I'm mad that she's not being a good girl. The next day she walked up to Jeff with her hands crossed and said "I'm mad, my face red!"

*Jeff & I were talking about a wedding we are going to soon and Kenzie asked to come with us. We just agreed since the wedding is not until July (knowing she'll forget by then) and Kenzie gets excited and runs to her room and says "ok I go get my princess shoes!"

I guess I remembered more that I thought....but I know there are more cute and funny things that I can't remember! As difficult this age can be....it's definitely so much fun!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day weekend! :)

We (Kenzie & I) had a nice, fun and relaxing weekend! Jeff worked all weekend...booo! We didn't do much but we had a great weekend. On Saturday Kenzie & I went to my mom's house to visit...

On Sunday my mom, Kenzie, Levi & I went to church...

And then came home to have our first pool party of the season....

And today we went to our town's Memorial Day Parade! Days like this make me love living in such a small town! :)

After the parade we went to my sister's house to have a bbq and some water fun!
Love my little country girl....

I know Kenzie had a great weekend b/c she crashed at 6:45 tonight watching Mulan on the couch! She hasn't gone to sleep that early in years (yea, I know she's only 2) but it's been awhile!

Our Week

2011-05-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've realized I have totally neglected my blog....I'm not sure why!?! I haven't had the motivation to take a lot of pictures recently so therefore don't have a lot to post about! In the past week we went to 2 birthday parties...my best friend's little girl's 5th birthday & our nephew Brayden's first birthday in Syracuse!! I brought my camera to both with the intention to take a lot of pictures but for some reason I was very camera lazy (and didn't take any!)....but actually sometimes that's better...I can actually enjoy myself instead of trying to get the perfect pictures!

One day Kenzie & I took Jeff to work and went to lunch at Sonic & then the park to play! Although I'm with Kenzie all the time I rarely go places with her alone (besides my sister's house and stores nearby)....so this was fun!

I think she was looking for Abbie....

We had our first corn on the cob of the season! :) And she's also been spending a lot more time in our bed...Ahhh...not fun! And did I mention that she sleeps sideways!?!? I'm definitely not a fan of sharing the bed with a 2 year old!

Today before church.... I asked her to smile and she gave me this weird, growling face....

Spring So Far...

2011-05-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've updated! I tried last week but blogger was acting funny so I ended up deleting the post I started! So here are some pictures from the last month.....

We celebrated Jeff's Birthday!

Kenzie & I made him a cake...

We have tried to play outside as much as possible....

We had a flood...but surprisingly we were able to swing on these sings within days of this picture!

We ate a lot of ice cream....and it's not even June yet!

Went to the playground....

Went to the track...

(I think we may have a runner...we got to the track and she just took off...she ran around the whole track, 1/4 of a mile, without resting!! She would slow down to look to see if I was still behind her and then take off again!)

And lastly, we've spent the last month wearing pretty Spring dresses! Yay! :)

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

I had a very low key (but very nice) Mother's Day this year. We started out our day at church then came home to change & have lunch then we took a walk to get some ice cream. For the rest of the day we relaxed and Daddy made dinner later. We were all very tired from the weekend. We went to Long Island for a wedding and we were still pretty tired from our night out! Man, we are getting old! :)

Kenzie saw a bug...

On our way to get ice cream! :)

Easter 2011

2011-04-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

We had another wonderful Easter!

We started the day going through the goodies left by the Easter Bunny....

(looks like a lot more than it actually was!)

Realizing that the Easter Bunny ate the carrots we left for him! :)

Finding eggs!

The Easter Bunny left a little note and some goodies in her room!

After we went to church for a great service!

....luckily we got ready early and were able to take some pictures before the rain started!

Twirling...

After the adult service at church I went downstairs to get Kenzie & was told by her Sunday school teacher that both Kenzie & Abbie were not well behaved!! They were after each other throughout the whole class...and wouldn't stop! It was described as horrible...by their sweet and very patient teacher...so I can't imagine how bad it must have been! From what I got from Kenzie I think it started b/c one of the 2 had a crayon that the other one wanted and then some hitting followed! Ahh....maybe it was the candy breakfast they had?!?!

After we went to my sister's house to have a dinner with my family!
Going through the basket my mom gave her...

Watching Tangled with Sophie

Kid's table...

Brayden...

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt! :) It was lightly raining outside but it didn't stop the kids from having fun!!

Going through the eggs....can you tell by her ringlets that it was raining outside?!?! (her bow looks huge in this pic! haha)

I think she was asking for chocolate in this pic!

After we went through the eggs Kenzie fell asleep on my lap for a short little cat nap while eating dessert...and then not even 10 minutes later Abbie fell asleep on Greg lap! We had some tired little ones!! Sorry for the super long post!!! We had a great day! :)

Easter Eggs

2011-04-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kenzie & I painted Easter eggs! She had a lot of fun! And, it wasn't as messy as I had imagined! Her hands were dyed green but luckily most of it came off in time for church the next morning!

After we let the eggs dry Kenzie stuck princess stickers on her eggs!

And then we wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny...I read the beginning to Kenzie and asked what else should I write....she said "Thank you for Rapunzel" and when I asked what else? She said the same thing 2 more times! :) (that's why the same sentence is written 3x!)

After the note we put out carrots for the Easter Bunny!

She was so excited Saturday night! She couldn't understand that we had to go to sleep for the Easter Bunny to come! She kept on looking out the window for him and then our sweet 7 year old neighbor knocked on our door to give Kenzie an egg she decorated and when she knocked Kenzie got excited thinking it was the Easter Bunny!

Drake's Party!

2011-04-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jeff, Kenzie & I drove down to Jersey for Drake's 1st birthday party!
We had a lot of fun with Jeff's family and enjoyed spending the day with the little birthday boy!! :)

(and since this is my 2nd time doing this same post-last one I wasn't able to publish-so I had to do it all over again...I'm gonna keep this short!)

The adorable little 1 year old! :)

.....and the adorable terrible 2 year old! :) hehe jk Kenzie we love you and all your little sassy attitude! :)

Cousins Gabrielle and Kenzie Pinata!
Cousin Aiden
The next day..... On the way home we had to stop at the mall...and we saw the Easter Bunny! :) She will not sit on his lap but she wanted to give him a high five and to tell him she wants Rapunzel dvd! :)
Here she is waving the stuffed bunny...
On our way home....her new finger puppets kept her entertained for awhile but she was so cranky on the way home! I think a portable DVD player but be in our future! :)

Spring Break Odds & Ends....

2011-04-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

We've had a very nice Spring break so far...the weather could be nicer but we made the most out of the semi-warm weather! Last weekend Justine & I took a road trip to NJ to our freshmen year roommate's bridal shower! It was very nice to see her and I think she was very surprised to see us too! Tomorrow Jeff, Kenzie & I are driving back down to NJ for Drake's 1st birthday party! Can't believe he's going to be 1!!!! Where does the time go!?!?

Here are some random pictures from the past couple days....

Today Kenzie and I walked to the ball flats to throw rocks in the river and swing!

We stopped by Chuck E Cheese one day to use some of the tokens we've had for over a year!

She had fun playing with some games....

...but had more fun putting "money" (tokens) in the slots and then getting off when the ride started to move!

Yesterday I got out a new toy (Christmas present from Jeff's sister...thanks Titi!). We put it away during the winter months b/c Kenzie would ask to use it everyday! So she was very happy to finally be able to play with it! She would play and tell me she needed to rest...

another rest....

Poor girl got mommy's frizzies! :)

Before Chuck E Cheese, my mom, Kenzie & I ate at Pizza Hut and I won Kenzie this stuffed bunny in one of those claw games! :) I'm not sure who was happier....me or Kenzie!?! hehe....after I won it, she hugged the bunny and said "I love you"....not sure if she was talking to me or the bunny!?

Kenzie also learned out to pedal...finally!

This picture was taken on the way up to my brother's house but I forgot to post....love the supermodel sleeping pose! :)

Syracuse

2011-04-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today my mom, Jeff, Kenzie & I drove upstate to my hometown to visit my grandparents and my brother's family! Although Kenzie was very shy at my grandparents....I think they enjoyed spending time with her since they haven't seen her since Thanksgiving!! I wanted a picture of the 4 generations (I've been wanting one for so long) but forgot! After...we went out to dinner at Eddies....a great place I use to go to all the time growing up! They have the best haddock and banana cream pie! We had a wonderful time out to dinner with my brother, sister-in-law and my adorable nephew Brayden!

After dinner we stopped by the dad's cemetery and I took some pictures of Kenzie....

We then went back to my brother's house for a little bit before heading home....

Merry Christmas Brayden! Yes I know, it's April but between sickness and snow we have not been able to get t/g since Christmas!! (At least it's good practice for Brayden since his 1st birthday is in about a month!) Kenzie as always looooved playing with Uncle Scott

I so wanted a picture of the little ones in their pjs....but it wasn't too easy. Brayden was sleepy....and Kenzie was being a stinker (hard to believe, right?!?! haha)...

This one is very cute of Brayden...

Looks like B is going in for a hug and K is repulsed! haha

Crazy to think that when Kenzie is 8, Brayden will be 6....barely a difference!

We also got to spend some time with Mika!! She's as crazy as ever but such a sweet dog! Kenzie was so excited to see her but scared once she saw how crazy Mika is! I can't blame her....when I use to come home from work Mika use to be so excited she would jump on me, rip my bags out of my hands, rip my ipod earphones out of my ears, rip my jeans, leave scratch marks all over me, etc....but despite her crazy self we miss her! :)

Spring Is Here!

2011-04-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

(all pics from my phone)

What we've been up to...

2011-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

This past week we've been on the go.....2 bounce houses, Kid's Fair, library, play group at church, Family fun night at church, mall, Easter bunny, playground...

Here are some pictures from the last week....

Today we went to a Kid's Fair at our local community college. Kenzie had a lot of fun....the college had many different stands set up for different hands on play....she loved it!

(I think this was Kenzie's favorite....the big parachute!) They had a whole stand set up of one of Kenzie's favorite books "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom"...

After the Kid's Fair we stopped by the mall to see the Easter Bunny...no luck this year of getting a picture of Kenz with him...she was not having it...and Jeff tried bribing her with everything he could think of too! We then continued our day of fun at the park....

Look how high this slide is! Kenzie was fearless as I'm sure most kids are....so how come as we get older we get more wimpy!?!?!

We continued are day of fun with a (2nd) trip to Sonic for soda and then a walk to our new ice cream place in town!

We've also spent some time at home making chocolate chip muffins.....

and watching TV in bed...

and being a little sleeping beauty! We also tried a new bounce house....

And we also went back to Jumping Jungle too....here we are before we left! (I loved her hair in the pigtail braids!) Thankfully, I was able to convince her to trade her gold "princess shoes" for some sneakers that went a little better with the outfit!

April So Far...

2011-04-04T10:03:00.001-07:00

It's April but sure does not feel like it...like everyone else I'm sooo ready for Spring! Today I put away most of Kenzie's Winter clothes to make room for Spring....doesn't quite feel right when it's cold, dark and wet outside!

Tried getting a few cute pictures of the girls together...

this was probably the best one...

I had to laugh at the next two....

Really Abbie?

Seriously Kenzie?

I ended the not so fun photo shoot with a kiss....

I've had about enough of all of Kenzie's indoor toys and indoor pictures...I'm ready for some sunny pictures outside in bright Springy clothes! :)

For anyone still wondering...yes Kenzie is still going through "Big Baby" phase...as I'm typing this right now she is suppose to be napping but calling out "naa naa" instead. I have no idea what naa naa means....maybe a baby way of saying night night? or Mama? Who knows....but luckily for us Big Baby isn't as often these days so it makes it a little more tolerable! In this picture she decided to chew on a block rather than to smile....ahhhh my big overgrown baby!

We did venture out yesterday even though it's still a little chilly! I was happy not to have to put her Winter coat on but still had to have 2 layers underneath her vest! She played with our 7 year old neighbor and had so much fun. She talked about her for the rest of the night!

Can't decide if this picture is cute or scary?!?!

Jumping Jungle

2011-03-22T17:01:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Jumping Jungle for an hour of open bounce! I think I might have been a little bit more excited than Kenzie....we both stepped on the same inflatable and I stepped a little too hard and "popcorned" Kenzie off! Hehe....oops!

I definitely got a workout in today!
This picture is of a little girl who Kenzie made friends with....but I guess Kenzie was going a little too slow and the little girl decided take matters into her own hands and push Kenzie through the tunnel! hahaha....I think Kenzie might have done a little flip/somersault! hehe :)

She was a little too active to get any great pics but she had so much fun we know we'll be going back soon...so maybe I'll get some good pics then! :)

Happy Spring!

2011-03-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else we are more than ready for Spring! We had some nice days this past week which leads me to believe nice weather is right around the corner! Kenzie was sick this past week....she had a fever of 104.7 for 2 nights....which made me very nervous! It finally went down the 3rd day when we brought her to the doctors. I didn't think they would do anything, thinking that it would have to run its course, but turns out she has a double ear infection! Luckily I don't believe her ears hurt her at all, I think we caught the infection before the pain! She had xrays done to make sure she didn't have pneumonia....she didn't....but she was very good during the xrays! She's pretty much back to normal now...well everything but her attitude! She has been a pretty naughty terrible two lately! She's always sassy to us but lately she has been sooo cranky! We want our sweet girl back! We needed a break from our little sweetheart so we dropped her off at my sister's so Jeff & I could have dinner out! When we got home she was a little nicer....maybe she wanted a break from us too!

* * * *
Last weekend Jeannine, my mom and I took the girls to see farm animals at the mall! They all had so much fun! I didn't take any pictures in the mall but this one proves how much fun they had.....

All asleep except this little guy....who was staring at me while I was taking the pictures!

After the mall Jeannine and I took all 5 kids (all 5 and under) out to Burger King for lunch. Surprisingly it went well....at first. Jeannine had just commented how well lunch was going when within minutes everything fell apart! 4 out of the 5 kids were crying/screaming! At one point Sophia was mad at Jeannine so she told Abbie "cry Abbie cry!". Jeannine made a quick getaway to the car (with her kids) but I was left with Kenzie. She has had many public tantrums but this was far the worst! She screamed, hid in the booth, hid under the booth, went limp and then finally walked out (on her knees). It was horrible....I couldn't even make eye contact with anyone....I just kept my head down and got in the car as fast as possible!

* * * *

On a positive note, one of Kenzie's favorite things to do now is to hide! Some of her hiding places really crack me up....

This morning I came in to get her and she was no where to be found....

And then I thought she was still hiding but quickly found Kenzie under her crazy "cousin It" hair....

Just incase you're not familair with Cousin It....

The other day I was trying to get her ready for a nap and I couldn't find her....
My favorite....I came in my room....I heard some giggles and saw a big poof of hair but had NO idea where Kenzie was...
Just some cute pictures...

Please don't be fooled by this sweet face....she has been such a stinker!!!

"Princess Ballerina" and more....

2011-03-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

Today I asked Kenzie what she wanted to wear....

She said she wanted to wear a princess dress...I quickly came up with "Princess Ballerina"....twirly skirt, leg warmers, and princess shoes! She was very happy! :)

Later, I painted the Princess Ballerina's cute little toes! :)

Yesterday I took Kenzie to story time at the libary....
The theme this week was "I am special"....they made this cute name ribbon craft...I thought it was very cute!

I might have made a huge mistake...I let Kenzie use scissors yesterday and now all she asks for now is to "play" with scissors! She spent a 1/2 hour yesterday cutting paper...haha how fun! My first double stacked bow....I might have spent 3 hours on this and maybe it's not perfect but it turned out a lot better than expected! :)

Watching Diego...
Last night I put her to bed and she kept on yelling "Mommy I love you"
So I would say "I love you too"
And then she said "I love you too, too!"
I love this age!

Seriously?!?!

2011-03-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Go figure, right after I posted about playing outside, getting some fresh air and nicer weather we get hit with a huge snow storm! I had no idea this storm was going to be so big....we got about 20 inches in less than 24 hours!! There was a state of emergency in our county and nearby counties! Crazy...because tomorrow will be sunny and in the 40's! There might be a massive flood when all this snow melts! Kenzie & I played outside while Daddy worked hard shoveling out our car!

And of course we had a little meltdown...

Right now I can't quite remember why she was mad but I know she told me she didn't like anything outside (as she looked around)...

"I no like car, I no like snow, I no like shovel....."

It went on forever!
This picture is right before she fell to the ground.

SO dramatic! (she gets it from her daddy)

Actually now that I think of it...I think she was mad b/c I was taking pictures! hahaha

Fresh Air

2011-03-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today Kenzie & I ventured outside to get some fresh air. It's definitely not Spring yet but at least the temperature reached 40! We didn't stay out long but it was enough to get out of the house for little bit and give us some hope for nice weather soon!

Kenzie rode her bike...

Colored with chalk....

And then arranged the chalk in a nice line.....
and blew some bubbles.....

Cute Conversations

2011-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

Lately Kenzie has been talking a lot and saying the cutest things.
Some conversations I do not want to forget:

Kenzie: "Mommy, Friends is on!!"

Me: "I know Sweetie!"

Kenzie: "Mommy, I'm so proud of you. Give me five."

* * * *

For the past couple weeks or so Kenzie has added the word "first" to almost everything....weird being that she's an only child....obviously she's always first. I was hugging Kenzie the other day and said "I love you so much"....Kenzie then answered "I love you so much too, first!" Hehehe

She has also been going through a "Big Baby" stage (just imagine Big Baby from Toy Story 3..she acts just like her!). It can get very annoying! She can go through a whole conversation speaking in baby talk and it drives me nuts! And it's not just a baby voice, it's not even words, more like baby sounds! At 2 I know it's not too bad but lets hope by 3 this baby phase is over! The other day I was asking her a simple question like "Do you want a drink?".....she spent 5 minutes acting like Big Baby with a lot of "ahhhh" "oooh" "gaaaa"....finally I was so fed up I said "SPEAK!" and then she goes "roof!" Hahaha...Not exactly what I was looking for! I guess she's going through a weird phase of wanting to be a big baby/dog!

* * * *

Something not so cute but a little funny.....

She went though a phase of telling us she doesn't like us when she's mad. Whenever she will say it she goes straight to time out so now she has learned not to say that she doesn't like mommy and daddy...she now will get mad and say "I don't like....(looking around the room)....floor, chair, food, toys, flowers, window, etc"....anything she can see around her! It's tough not to laugh when she's being such a stinker!

Winter, Are you OVER yet?!?!

2011-02-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

These past few weeks have seemed to drag on....I'm SO over Winter!! A week or so ago we had a somewhat nice day (in the 50's) and it was just a tease. Right after we had another snow storm!

We seriously have not been up to much...

This was a highlight of my weekend when Kenzie fell asleep in the cart.

I just thought it was the cutest thing!

For Valentine's Day Kenzie & I decorated a bag so we could put some goodies in. I found the idea online and the paper bag looked adorable but I'm not creative enough and our paper bag looked like a paper bag with stickers...not at all like the picture online, but Kenzie enjoyed decorating it!

Her goodies....

The only 2 somewhat cute pictures of Kenzie on Valentine's Day...

Painting...

Moon Dough puppies....

Hide & Seek....

Our movies of the week: Princess & the Frog & Cinderella

We have also been sick the past few days. Kenzie's staph infection came back! On Sunday we noticed a small red spot on her fanny and we didn't want to take any chances so we took her to the walk-in right away. Luckily, we caught it soon enough before it turned into a huge abscess and hopefully we can just treat it with antibiotics! We took her to her Pediatrician on Tuesday and she thinks it will get better with just antibiotics! We were SO relieved to know it did not have to be drained!

Jeff has been sick with Bronchitis and I've been sick with I'm not sure what!

This is what the last two days have looked like....

Just for fun....

I know we have the whole month of March to get through still....but I just couldn't help day dreaming of little tiny bikini's with a big belly sticking out....

And pretty little sundresses...

(pics from almost 2 years ago)

We are definitely ready for nice warm, sunny weather!

Abbie & Kenzie

2011-02-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last month Jeannine had a little photo shoot with Abbie & Kenzie....They looked so cute in their matching Matilda Jane!

Kenzie in the same outfit a year ago....