The only thing wrong

Last night you went to bed around 8:45 and I thought we were in for it. I just knew you would be up around 1. Nope... Not only did you sleep alllllll night, you didn't get up until 10:15??? What's up with that? The only thing wrong with that is that you had pee alllll over the bed. It went through both pairs of pj's (it's a little chilly these days) and all over your sheets. So once you were up, we headed straight to the tub. After the bath, we had some oatmeal then you watched Shrek the Halls, while I did the dishes. Before I knew it, you were falling asleep again? You crashed at about 12pm? I guess you are just storing it up for the New Year's Eve/Daddy Bday party tomorrow night:) Love you sleepy head.

Cheeeeeese

Lately, you have really started to understand what a lot of words mean. For example, everytime I pick up the camera, you now say, "Cheeeese." And what's really cute is you'll now pick up my old camera and walk around saying, "cheese," while looking through the lens. It's awesome and so are you. Love you so much and I am sooooo enjoying these days off with you.

Flashbacks

Those of you who are in my immediate family will understand why, when I saw Kendyl crawl in this tub, I almost freaked out. Especially when she tucked her legs in and almost got stuck. Those of you who don't know the story, just imagine... me and mr. trash can became very aquainted like this many years ago :(
Love you, Kendyl. I'm glad you didn't get stuck like I did.

Happy Birthdays

Today is Mallorey's 9th birthday. We celebrated with an awesome bowling party followed by an "after party" at the Seyfried house. We had a great time. At Mallorey's house we played with the new Wii they got. You were a great girl, and you even stayed awake the whole night. In fact, Daddy is trying to get you to sleep right now and it is 12 :39 am. So, I guess technically it's no longer Mallorey's birthday. It is now Uncle Mark's birthday. What a crazy few days we have at this time of the year. But through it all, I guess we should feel pretty lucky that we have such a great family to share it all with. Happy Birthday Mal-Mal(26th) and Uncle Mark (27th).

Thank You, Santa

Here is a video of you right after you woke up this morning. Santa brought you a swing and slide set for the backyard, an Elmo Live, a computer learning system and a bunch of other stuff. You must have been a pretty good girl all year.
I love your expression when you really see the toy, and I love even more how you run in to thank Santa (even though you really don't know what's going on) :) After we opened all your presents here, we headed over to the Seyfrieds for breakfast and more presents. Then we came home and rested until Daddy's side of the family came over for dinner and more presents. You had such a fun day and are such a joy to be around. Love you, frech fry. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Sleeping Beauty

For the past 5 months or so, Daddy has been spoiling you rotten. Every night when you get up around 1 or 2 he goes in, picks you up and holds you while you both sleep until I come get you guys up around 6. So since I am off for 2 weeks, we've decided that it's time to break that. So Sunday night you went to be as normal, and then 1:30 you were up. After about 25 min of screaming, I went in and laid you back down. You actually fell back asleep for about 10 minutes. Then Daddy tried and he rocked you to sleep and laid you back down, but that didn't work so he picked you up and off to the couch you went. What a softie:)
Yesterday after Daddy left, you slept until 9:30. Then we played all day until you took a nap from 1:30-3. I think you would have slept longer but the gardner hit a rock and shattered the sliding glass door. It was really loud. So up and playing you were. Evonne and Abbey came over for a little while and before I knew it you were asleep again. You took another nap for about an hour. After daddy came home you played with him while I went out and did some last minute shopping. When I came back around 9:30, you were up and raring to go. We watched Shrek the Halls (for the 30th time), I took you in your room to change your diaper and then I just laid you in your crib. You have never fallen asleep like this, so I knew I was in for it. The minute I shut the door you started crying. About 15 minutes later, you realized we weren't coming in to save you and it was real quiet. I looked on the monitor and found you reading a book that we left in there earlier :) You were just flipping the pages like no ones business. I kept watching you and about 10 minutes later you rubbed your eyes, toppled over and crashed. A small victory I thought to myself.
Then 4:30 am came and you were up screaming. Me and Daddy did everything in our power to not come get you and we didn't. Wouldn't you know it, you fell back asleep where you still remain at 8:45 am. I am so proud of you, but am wondering why you are sooooo sleepy. Maybe you are just storing it up for the craziness that is about to happen over the next week or so. Love you, french fry. Merry Christmas Eve

Mama Mia

Apparently you are a fan of Mama Mia. Listen to the end when she actually sings. Love it. Boy, did I get lucky... Love you french fry. 3 more days til Anta comes.

How U doin?

Still not a fan

After weeks of coaching, you are still not sure about the "live" Santa. You love the fake one in your room, and the ones in your books or on TV, but the real life thing.....still not a fan. I guess that means you won't be disappointed when he doesn't bring you anything this year :) just kidding....
Love you, french fry.

Prayers for Brandon

This morning your boyfriend, Brandon, was admitted to the hospital. He has been diagnosed with Infantile Spasms and we are all very worried about him. They are running some tests to find out what is causing these spasms/seizures, so that they can make him all better. So tonight we want anyone who reads this to say a special prayer for Brandon and for his mommy and daddy. We love you, Brandon.

Goodnight Moon

Kendyl, you love to walk around and "read" any book you can find. I love how you actually try to read the book. You are really starting to make connections, too. Last night I watched you "read",Are you my Mother, and when you got to the cow page, you actually mooooed. It was quite ingenious, if I do say so myself. Love you french fry. Thanks for being such a good cuddler in this cold weather.

Cookie Day

Yesterday we went to Cici's for our annual cookie baking day. You were a great girl. We made alot of cookies and you even tested a few.

Obviously you were a fan of them :)

Here you are with Mal-Mal decorating some sugar cookies.



You finally took a nap around 3:30 and were up an ready to go by 4:30. About an hour later, the men showed up for dinner and an "interesting" game of charades. You were a trooper the whole time. We bundled you up real tight and headed home.
Just another day filled with fun family traditions.

All by myself

Here is another one of your favorite things to do these days.

At times, you even get a little angry if someone tries to help you. I love your independence, but at the same time, I was expecting to have at least a few more months before it.
Oh well, love you just the same.

Picking a winner

So all my months of torturing you by picking your nose has really NOT paid off. You have now found as much pleasure in sticking your finger up your nose as I do. The funny thing is, I spent 15 months digging in your nose and now that you do it, what's the first thing I tell you? "No, get your finger out of your nose." What a bad role model I have been for 15 months. Of course you are going to do it yourself, I have trained you to love it as much as I do :) Sorry, Kendyl. I know I'm gross, but I just want you to be able to breathe well. And please stop enjoying it, you're taking away part of my daily fun. hahahaha
Here's to picking a winner.
Love you
Here's a pic from when you were 2 months old... I should have know then that you were a picker.

Christmas Pictures

I can't believe I haven't posted these yet... How could I have deprived the world for so long? :) Anyway, you are the most beautiful little girl in the world. Sooooo excited for Santa, or as you like to call him, "Ansa". Love u

The facts of dating

Tonight you had another date with Brandon. This time he took you to dinner and on a shopping spree. I think we may have found a winner:) We went to Olive Garden and you had your favorite, spaghetti. While we were there, you two did some serious flirting...
I can only imagine what you both were thinking in these pics. I'll improvise for the fun of it....
"How can I torture this little boy."

"I know, I'll steal his coaster."...... "Oh no you won't!" said Brandon.
"It's ok, you'll get used to us women. We always get our way."
"and we push our men around like litle babies."
Ok, so I could have come up with something better, but I am exhauted and my allergies are acting up. So deal with it. Love you guys, thanks for being so easy to chaperone.

Disney fun

Last night we went to Disneyland. Saying you had a great time would be an understatement. We got there around 8:30 PM and you were ready to go. You were amazed at the lights, which have become your newest favorite thing to look at. You must have said, "Wow" about 100 times. We went on Snow White, The Merry-Go-Round, It's a Small World, and the tram (twice) :) We saw Santa and Mrs. Claus and even saw their reindeer. We even witnessed it snow twice. Only in California can it be 80 degrees during the day and snow at night :) Well, here was what you looked like pretty much all night.
Here is a picture of you and me on the Merry-Go-Round.Here is you and Daddy right after the first snow fell.



And here is a video of you rocking out after we got off It's a Small World. They were blasting Christmas music that you apparently loved. Well, I hope you had a great time. I know I had a blast watching you enjoy everything. I know it was a LOT to take in. Thanks for being such a trooper and hanging in with us until we got to the car. Love you.

15 months

Today you turn 15 months old. You have become a little girl way too quickly. However much I miss you being a baby, I love every minute of who you are becoming. I love the fact that no matter where we go, you always make someone's day better. You have that thing about you that just makes people want to smile and realize that life is a gift. You make it very hard for people to be sad around you (except when you smack them). You have such an innocent and sweet soul and I can't say enough how lucky I am to share every day with you. You are the joy in my life, the apple of my eye, the whipped cream in my hot cocoa, my everything.

Lately you have accomplished a few new feats. Not only have you expanded your vocabulary with words like "anta" (santa) and "elehan" (elephant), but you also have learned how to count to 3. It is really cute. I say One... and you chime in with two then you pause for some reason and then shout theeee. I'll catch it soon to share. You now have a full dozen, teeth that is. Yep, 12 big ones, and you use them well :)
You still love books and pretend to read them constantly. You are also learning many new animal sounds. You can do dog, duck, monkey (which is awesome), cat (sometimes), and today we tried to teach you the cow. You seemed to like that one a lot.
Your walk has turned in to a full sprint that is almost too fast for me to keep up with. (guess, I better get that treadmill out after all) You still love Shrek and Elmo, and are slowly less interested in The Backyardigans?

You have discovered my headbands and put them on constantly along with any pair of shoes you can find. You actually di a pretty good job of getting both mine and daddy's shoes on and you somehow find a way to walk. You still have a pretty bruised ring finger and I am afraid that you might lose your fingernail, but you have 9 more, so no sweat. You also appear to have a slight case of eczema, but we are working on that as well. Other than that you are still pretty much the coolest thing around. And did I mention the prettiest.Here is a short video of your newest phrase..... enjoy

I hope you have had as much fun as I have these last 15 months. I can't imagine life without you. Thanks for being you... I LOVE YOU! Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Auntie Lenee

Hope you have a great day. Thanks for inviting us to dinner the other night. We had a great time.

Oh Christmas tree!

This morning we got up, went to breakfast and then you picked out the best christmas tree ever. It is so cute and little, just like you. We were a little hesitant to get one, knowing how curious you are. I just wonder how many times you are going to pull it down?? After we got the tree, we came home and decorated it.
Last year, I remember you just swung in your swing and stared at the lights. This year.... pretty much the same, minus the swing.
You love the lights. After we finished, we all took naps and then got ready because we were having a family dinner. You put on your cute pink dress and we headed out.
After dinner, we came home and grandma and grandpa came to see your tree and all the decorations. You even showed them the Santa in your room. We attempted to take some pictures for the Christmas cards that I still haven't done, but you didn't want to sit still. So, maybe tomorrow. Well, thanks for another great weekend. Love you french fry.

Fashion Show

Here are some pics from our fashion show last night.

Fashionista

Tonight you had a date with your boyfriend, Brandon. Aunti Cyndi, Uncle Eric, Daddy and I all chaperoned, so it was ok. The Nordlanders came over and brought us some yummy Super Mex for dinner. Then we all just played and watched you and Brandon. He is getting really good at scooting around and he rolls with the best of them. You, on the other hand, are getting a little too good at using the word "no" and trying to smack things/people. While Brandon was having his bottle, you decided to put on a little fashion show for us. You went in your room, threw all of your pj's out of the drawer and then every minute or so you would come out with a few in your hands. You just smiled and laughed everytime you turned the corner. Uncle Eric started putting pieces of the pjs on you and before we knew it, it was a real fashion show. Of course when it was all over you had a timeout or two because you kept smacking me and telling me no when it was time to put your pjs back. Oh what fun.. and I know this is just the start of your "independence." Not sure how I'm going to handle it all. Well, luckily you have the prettiest face in the world, so that helps. Thanks for not trying to attack Brandon tooooo much. I know he's cute, but you gotta slow down a bit. Love you french fry.

I did get a few pics, but I'm waaaaaay too sleepy tonight to upload. Maybe in the morn?

Left alone

Apparently this is what happens when you leave a one year old alone for a quick second while you use the restroom. Guess you'll be coming in with me from now on.
Love you, and thanks for helping me clean up - NOT!

Storytime with Mal Mal

Here is what storytime with a one year old looks like. I love how it was 40 degrees and you were in a diaper. What was wrong with me?? At least we were in the trailer and not in a tent. :)
Love you, Kendyl. Thanks for making everyone so happy.

Happy Camper

I have to say that I am very amazed at what a great weekend we had. Not only did we have so much fun, we never once had any real problems. I was so scared that you were going to put everything in your mouth and fall a million times. And even though you fell pretty close to a million times, you just got right back up and continued to have a great time. I was worried that the fire pit was going to be an issue, but you never once even came close to it. You were the best I could have asked for and the funniest as well. You really kept me and everyone else laughing the whole weekend. Thanks for giving me yet another reason to be thankful for you. You really deserve the "Happy Camper" award for the weekend. Love you sooooo much, french fry.

Thanksgiving Day

We left our house at 4:30 am and headed to Sunnyslope Campground. It took us just about 4 hrs to get there and you slept almost the whole way. At one point, I could tell you were ready to be there already, which is evident in this picture.

Once we got there, we unpacked and got situated. We headed over to the spot where we spent most of our time, right in front of Aunt Heidi and Uncle Eddie's place by the fire pit. A little bit later, Mal Mal and Livi took you over to the playground and put you on the swings.

You clearly enjoyed it much more this time. Then it was nap time. So me and you hung out and took a nap for about an hour. Next thing we knew, everyone was at the volleyball court. They were playing girls against boys. Here is daddy showing off his great skills.

It was quite a sight from the trailer. So we went over there to watch. Then we went back to the trailer to get ready for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Aunt Cici made an awesome meal for all 18 of us. It was the best Thanksgiving dinner we ever had. You even loved the turkey, but especially loved the corn and mashed potatoes (just like me). After dinner we all hung around the fire pit and everyone listened to you say "applesauce" at least a million times. It was pretty funny. By 7:30 everyone was pooped. Luckily for us, it was time for pie. Me and you shared a piece of apple pie and then Daddy held you while you started getting sleepy. Shortly after that, we went back to the trailer, put you in your jammies and went to bed. This was a great Thanksgiving. We had so much fun. Love you, french fry.

Friday

On Friday we woke up after a pretty good night's sleep and headed over for Aunt Heidi's yummy breakfast. Then we all just hung out around the fire and kept warm. Eventually me, you and Daddy decided to go for a ride. We drove down by the lake and then wanted to try to see if the road would take us all the way around....bad idea. We ended up about 2 hrs. away from camp in the middle of nowhere, on a single lane dirt road, about 6,000 feet up and next to straight down cliffs. You can imagine how scared I was. Yet, for some reason, I couldn't turn around. I was too curious. It wasn't until the navigation in the car no longer could figure out what road we were on or what city we were in, that we decided to turn around and come back. I must say we let the adventure get the best of us. Luckilly you slept through most of it. On our way back, we stopped near the Pine Flat Dam and had some lunch and just explored (on foot) the area. You loved it. It was really cool. When finally returned to camp(4 hrs later) and had another great dinner. The we hung around the fire, and you played a game with grandpa and daddy, until it was Smore time. This video tells it all...
Not long after that we headed to the trailer to go to bed. Another great camping day. You rock, Kendyl. I love you.

Saturday

We woke up really sleepy on Saturday, because you didn't have a very good sleep Friday night. I'm thinking it was all the junk that you consumed on Friday. After waking up, we went over to Auntie's spot and had another yummy breakfast.
Then we got cleaned up and the girls (and Logan) went for a nice drive. We were headed out to Shaver Lake because Santa Clause was going to be there. It was about an hour drive through the mountains, and it was such a pretty day. Too bad you slept through most of the drive. When we got there all the kids were so excited to see Santa. Except you! You started out ok, then you really wanted nothing to do with him. After you saw Mallorey and Logan with him you gave it another shot, but came to the conclusion that he was a bit too scary for you.

After our visit with St. Nick, we headed over near the lake for lunch and you colored for the first time.
That lasted about 3 minutes when you decided to try to eat the crayon.
We came back to Pine Flat a different way. We took the scenic route and boy was it pretty. Again, too bad you slept through it. At least this time you had a nap buddy. The rest of the evening was filled with playing, wagon rides, football games, amazing story telling and a few good BM's. You were a great girl again today.
Love you

Sunday

Today we got up and hit the road pretty early. You slept much better than last night, although you did keep kicking me in the face while you twisted and turned. After we woke up, grandpa took you for one more walk around the campsite, and then we took off. You slept the first hour in the car as we drove through the thickest fog I have ever driven through. It was really scary. Not as scary as yesterday's drive, but scary nonetheless. Of course I had to video it...
When we got off the mountain we stopped for gas, where you woke up. You were up from then until we got to the grapevine, where you slept the rest of the way home. Once we got home, we all napped then just relaxed the rest of the day. Thanks for such a great weekend. You are the best camper baby ever. Love you.

Happy Thanksgivng

From one very accessorized turkey.....


the headband is a story for another day (when it's not 3:45 in the morning) :) Love you. Now let's get in the car and start our adventurous weekend.