Cienna - 3 Years, 5 Months... Kaylee - 1 Year Old!

Daddy took a solo drive for the opportunity to hang out with Poppa, Nana, and the Marty's as well as meet Charley and see her parents.  Meanwhile the girls went to a Summer party at the Geithmans and headed to farmville with the Ordonez's.  That week we took time to visit our animal friends at the zoo with Kristi, Kai, and Isla.  Uncle Joe brought his friend Dana over that weekend and Mommy played a six game soccer tourney on Sunday.  We then prepared for (we can't believe it) a first birthday party, which attracted family visitors!

Auntie Carrie stopped by for a night toward the end of her 3000+ mile motorcycle trip around the Western US!  Grammy and Grandpa came to play for a while and introduced us to little Bella, better known as "chicken dog!"  Many more friends came to celebrate Kaylee turning 1 with some backyard fun.  Following a week of being spoiled by Grammy and Grandpa (presents each day for the girls including more beautiful cards and Hawaiian outfits from Grandma Betty, and a gate for Mommy and Daddy) the Natal's showed up!  RJ and Megan got some time alone as they headed to Catalina for a night (morning to sleep in).  But we got the joy of playing with the amazing little June!  The three little girls had such a great time together!  We all got to celebrate Father's day and Megan's Birthday with alot of relaxing, Kan Jam, and a spicy rib dinner!

Cienna has proven to be the hula hoop champion of 3 year olds at many of parties this month.  She is still loving her swim lessons at the Y and loves to count to 100... and beyond.  She has also began to sound out her words as well as write all letters of the alphabet.  We've done many crafts in attempts to challenge her.  We just can't believe that she is becoming (OK, is) a kid and no longer a toddler.

We couldn't have imagined a more perfect addition to our family when we imagined what a new baby would bring!  We wouldn't have thought it possible, but Kaylee has made all of us better.  It's unbelievable that the first year has come and gone, yet we did enjoy every minute and try and make the best opportunities for us all.  Again we are lucky to have a good listener (although she gives a second try when told something isn't a good idea after an adorable smirk of a smile, but usually not a third).
Crawling is a thing of the past now that walking seems to be the preferred transportation, especially following a weekend trying to keep up with June!  She has mastered the sippy cup and now that the water has been replaced with milk, loves it even more!  The words and communication are becoming very apparent and she has taken a greater interest in books as well.  She even gets to pick the bedtime story at least once a week now!

We are all looking forward to even more summer fun beginning with a camping trip next weekend, details to come next month!

Here's the proof of all that happened!

Click below for more photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PjPXi3LYFBCCsyoH6

Cienna - 3 Years, 4 Months... Kaylee - 11 Months!

Preparation for the Easter bunny led to a fun filled Easter with a visit from Uncle Joe and the Easter Bunny, a morning egg hunt, fantastic breakfast made by Daddy, showered with love from the neighbors including, a thanks to the Hanafords got amazing tickets to an Anaheim Angels game (Cienna's and Kaylee's first baseball game) .

Daddy got to enjoy his "birthday" brewfest, and got to actually contribute with a keg (good use of an early birthday gift) of our own which was a big hit amongst friends!  Daddy got a lemon meringue pie with a joyful "Happy Birthday" and candles at home to celebrate.  We continued the birthday/mother's day celebration with BBQ ribs that weekend along with a traditional trip to the hardware store and working on the house for Mother's day.

The girls Spring Break  took some altering of work hours and luckily co-insided with a family Graph trip to Southern California.  They let us join them in their Legoland festivities which Cienna is still talking about!  It was great to be able to make that work!  Shannon, Georgia, and Gracie got a chance to come over and play, and we got to hang out with the Geithmans a couple times to ask about their Ireland trip and watch Cienna bowl for the first time!
The garden is continuing to thrive thanks to help from the girls and we are talking about how to preserve all the extras.  We started swimming lessons at the local Y which has worked out great!

Cienna had her first dentist visit which couldn't have gone better, after a quite a few discussions and rehersals at home she was a perfect patient for Dr. Worden.  When it was her turn she sat right down and opened her mouth as wide as possible until the hygienist said she did great and was all done.  The hula hoop was introduced at school and while on a trip for a birthday present for a friend at school we decided they should both get one.  Not so much at first, but not before long she was keeping going with her wiggle!  Pony tales are finally an option and sometimes opted for, very cute as well.  She has really excelled every swim lesson thanks to Daddy's help, and starting next month is signed up to go with just friends and a teacher!

Kaylee has adapted an Elvis dance and a real rhythmn for music.  She now has 3 full teeth and looks like she'll be getting 20 (exagerating) more in the near future.  This helps when large strawberries need to be eaten!  She is turning everything that she can into a "walker"  and has taken as many as 8 steps on her own.  Now that she is more mobile and loving to open and investigate cuboards etc. we have been able to see how well she understands and listens!  She has also amazed us with her helpfullness when asked to put her toys back when we are done with them!

Family is amazing and we are lucky to have such a great support system, we are always thinking of and wishing the best for ours and our friends!

These girls are just so darn cute, take a look!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/87GAbgnARmgQUwSm9

Cienna - 3 Years, 3 Months... Kaylee - 10 Months!

The month was off to a good start with Ryan's Birthday at U-Bounce (after some coercing until Cienna was comfortable).  Nana and Poppa came to enjoy the rest of the month with us which was quite eventful.  Auntie Kimmie celebrated her birthday in Vegas and Mommy had her favorite brownie cake specially made and decorated for hers!  Mommy and Cienna got a special play date at a local Library story time and lunch with the Geithmans while Poppa and Nana stayed with Kaylee.  Since Kaylee wanted to see them also they came by the next week for a while so we could all play before they headed to their Ireland vacation!  Brian, Erin, and Alexa stopped by and had dinner.  The girls all had fun playing together.

We fit in some play time at the park and a baby shower for the Shiroma's for Brandon who should be here any day! We got to share our local Farmer's Market with Nana who loved all the delicatessens.  Although there were some unfortunate circumstances with Poppa we still enjoyed having them around and were also able to hang out with Uncle Mike for a day!  Mommy's office mate and good friend from work decided to move on to a new company, we wish him good luck.

At the end of the month Cienna, Mommy, and Kaylee went to see Darcie at her Regionals gymnastics meet in Anaheim.  It was the girls first time watching a meet and they both had a great time!  It was nice hanging out with Jason and getting to see Darcie in action!  That day, Daddy got to enjoy a VIP event at the Long Beach Grand Prix!  Cienna had a doctors appointment. which was smooth sailing especially since we had lots of pretend doctor play time with Dora!  She was telling Dr. Sherman what she should check next!

We got a few projects completed including fixing up Nana and Poppa's motor home with a new flat screen!  Mark also worked hard and finished Kaylee's letters to put on her wall which turned out beautiful, glitter and all.  We took advantage of some good weather and got the garden in tip top shape and finally started some planting!  We also made a dent in configuring the garage to fit a perfectly timed donated Refrigerator from the Snow's.  The frig will hold Daddy's new keg that he got as an early birthday present from his girls and boys for our home brew!

The greatest event of the month was the birth of Charlotte Marie Payne weighing in at 7lbs 9oz born on April 19th with both parents overjoyed and healthy!  We welcome her with hugs and kisses from a far!

Cienna now at 34.5 pounds and 38 inches tall has excelled in reading/sounds this month, actually sounding out words she does not recognize and remembering the ones that she has seen.  She also loves to trace letters and has made numerous cards for friends!  Most of the cards now include stapled on bracelets since that is a new craft we enjoy together.  We still all continue to enjoy the new outfits that she puts together!  A great quote while we were at the gymnastics meet was "Mommy they are all wearing shirts that are attached to their underwear!"  (Leotards)!  Check out the video below for our first attempt at blowing up a balloon!

Now waving, giving high/low fives and kisses (the cute open mouth baby kisses) are her new and safest accomplishments.  Kaylee has also mastered climbing up the stairs (which she is only allowed to do when Mommy and Daddy are there), not so much going down although she'd love to just go for it.  She is also walking while holding just one hand and cruising like a champ along any item she can find.  She is a go and get um type which has earned her first black eye and forehead bump all in the same week!  She is luckily following in Cienna's footsteps listening to what we ask of her for the most part (she may try to push buttons a bit).  She even helps in the garden without putting dirt or rocks into her mouth too many times. 

They both are growing to quickly as might have been stated before but we are truly enjoying our family and are lucky for all that we have.  It is great to be able to create these blogs each month although they are lengthy you get to realize time isn't just flying by but we are enjoying each minute!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HHjxuiTQ7REPtCnH9

Cienna - 3 Years, 2 Months... Kaylee - 9 Months!

Amazing how much you can fit in a month but yet time still seems to go by WAY too fast!
More Birthday Cheer for Kai's 3rd Birthday at the Geithmans, then on to Stone's 4th with another Jumpy!  Mommy and Cienna ventured to the Farmer's Market within a mile from the house with tons of local grown and crafts galore.  We followed with a PERFECT weekend vacation for the four of us in a small cabin in Wrightwood.  A very welcomed vacation for just the family in the perfect snow weather.  Snowed just before we got there and then 60's the whole weekend.  Thanks to Carter and Logan for the Sled and Kai who lent Cienna his snowboard and boots for the best learning opportunity!  We came back and got to celebrate Jake's (new friend from school) 4th Birthday at the park!  Soon after we had our first parent/teacher conference!  We can say that we are off to a good start!  Cienna got rave reviews (of course as we expected)!!  Auntie Kimmie watched the girls while we met with Miss DeAnna.  Toward the end of the last month Poppa and Nana pulled up in the RV and we got to celebrate St. Patty's day all in green!

Cienna is on her way to snowboarding with Mommy and Daddy, we've also found that she has a lot of friends with birthdays in the beginning of the year!  She is really working on her lowercase e's but has mastered the upper case with the goal of writing her name perfectly!  She is excelling on sounding out her letters and has started understanding reading with the sounds.  Her favorite songs include the 7 Continents, 12 Months, and 7 days of the week which she gets to sing at school each morning and all day long at home!

Kaylee is growing beyond our belief and too fast for any of us to comprehend!  She is very vocal and most definitely knows her name and all of us around her.  We believe she is directing her mama and dada, and baba for Cienna (at least Cienna likes to think she is Baba since it'll be a while till Cienna actually happens).  She pulls to a stand on everything that she can after crawling over to it and has now learned to get back down as well!  She also loves the slide that she can crawl up the ladder side all by herself and then get her slide reward on the flip side!  We had a doc appt and all is perfect!  16 1/2 pounds and 26 inches "tall".

Cienna is in transition with Kaylee getting "close" to playtime yet still unstable on her feet!  There is a lot of "careful" statements but she's 3 and a great listener so we're good to go!  They can both make each other laugh at any moment by being loud or silly in any way!  Wish I knew this love would last at all times forever!  I know it will for our whole family!

Hope all is well and happy Spring!

Check out the pictures and video below:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/997h6bYQ2SnNReNc7

Cienna - 3 Years, 1 Month... Kaylee - 8 Months!

Never quite realized how many people were born in the beginning of the year!  We had so much fun with Birthdays and have even more over the next couple of weekends.  Of course one of these includes our very own Cienna!!

Cienna was as excited and thankful as a 3 year old could possibly be!  She had such a great time with, and felt the love of, all of her friends and family for her 3rd Birthday.  She ran her own party... when we should eat, do cake, and open presents, it was all on her timeline.  Also suggested by Cienna, there was a princess castle cake and a Dora jumpy.  She was the perfect host!

The following weekend we headed to Newport Beach for Jocelyn's 1st birthday.  They went all out with the "must have" jumpy and also a real live Elmo!  During the next week, we got to spend time with the Geithmans and see how big Isla is getting.

The next weekend we all had a great time at a wine tasting birthday for Kristin (no wine for the kids of course... but plenty of fun).  We followed with hosting a perfectly small Super Bowl party which was a hit like always thanks to our friends, good food and drinks.

Then we headed out to the Ordonez's to a double birthday for Georgia's 3rd and Gracie's 1st Birthday party!  The day was filled with run away chickens, bunnies, goats, sheep, 4 wheelers, fantastic food and friends, of course the "must have" jumpy, and a water balloon toss to boot!

As mentioned Cienna had such a great birthday and thanks again to all of you sharing!  She really got a lot of practice with, and has gotten quite good at, writing her own name with signing her thank you cards and filling out her valentines cards for pre-school!  She has began to excel at sounding out her letters and has been recognizing them / pointing them out all over the place (clouds, bushes, etc.).  We still get plenty of dance recitals all the time with the new moves shown each Monday after dance class.  She has also begun music class at pre-school every other week alternating with Yoga class.  Each time we look at her in disbelief that she is now a kid and no longer a baby!

Kaylee continues to melt our hearts with her growing personality.  She is now VERY mobile and even pulling to a stand.  The crib had to most definitely drop down a notch, probably a little later than it should since we watched her in the monitor just about to get to her feet as soon as we ran up there!  She now has the two full blown bottom teeth which has helped guide her into finger foods.  She took all to quickly to the pincer grab when food was the object!  She is quick and likes to go after and reach anything that is around, especially if she hasn't gotten the chance to hold it before.  This is why she has adapted many nick names such as Miss Velcro. 

Some how we have also managed to finish our 9 interior door jam/casings (install, filling, sanding, painting).  On to window casing, and someday floor moulding.  We are all looking forward to a first "immediate family" vacation to the Southern California snow in a couple of weeks!

Stay tuned for next month and enjoy the pictures for now.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HcR8YMmTtrMNEGp89


For those interested in pictures from a "new perspective," Cienna has now begun her own album with her very own camera.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FamjoERfEkaYBfRe7

Cienna - 3 Years... Kaylee - 7 Months!

We love the adventure that the holidays bring!  We had 5 or more Christmas's in one fun filled road trip to Northern California.  We can start by saying how grateful we are to have a wonderful traveling team!  The four of us headed off a week before Christmas day and, even though we had one the longest trip up North that we have ever had, everybody stayed happy the whole way.

Our first stop was Kenwood where we had our first Christmas of the trip.  The Marty's and Kyle's joined Nana, Pappa, and us.  After a couple of days of relaxing and good times, we headed to SR to stay at Grandpa and Grammy's house which is always filled with music!  While in SR we went to Auntie Carrie's house to go to see her rocket bike.  Then we made some time to visit Grandma Judes and thank her for all the wonderful clothes that she sends.  We also had a "band back together" night at the Payne's, which included our second Christmas.

On Christmas Eve Cienna set out some cookies and milk for Santa in front of Grammy and Grandpa's chimney.  It was quite adorable to see her reaction in the morning of a bite taken out of the cookie and checking to see if there were footprints in the chimney.  After Christmas morning at the McFarlands we headed out to Martinez to meet up with more family including Uncle Sean and Auntie Jamie along with the Erker family for an awesome brunch hosted by the Natal's for the fourth Christmas!  That evening we make the uneventful trek back home.

Upon our return we were bombarded with more gifts from the Snow's for yet another Christmas gathering.  Mommy still had another week off so we took a trip to the Pretend City and another to the Santa Ana zoo with many good friends!  We also got the chance to meet up with Vera at the Getty Museum.  It was great to see her and also finally get a chance to visit the Getty.

Then came the new year which we celebrated with neighbors at the Snow's.  Lastly we had a great surprise visit from Hammer and her family, one of Mommy's college buddies that we haven't seen in about 10 years.  We've also managed to get a few things done on the house, but still have about 90% of our moulding still sitting on the floor.... it was a busy month.

Cienna has been growing like a weed and can't believe that she turns 3!  She is such a big kid now, getting up all by herself when the clock turns the right time.  Then getting dressed and coming down stairs all on her own.  She has loved playing dress up and of course can't get enough of ALL her new presents.  She still loves dance, reading, singing, and just being silly!  Her vocabulary is like talking to an 8 year old and although she may try to see how far she can get with some things she is easily reasoned with and just wants to be happy anyway.

Kaylee has also been expanding her vocabulary "sounds" quite a bit and exercising it even more.  She is interested in everything and what they mean to all of her senses.  She really likes the taste of books.  On that note she has a large variety of food under her belt and hasn't turned anything down.  Not quite getting the sippy cup yet, but does like to try.  She figures since she is such a big eater now it was time to get her starter 2 teeth!  Sitting up has now been mastered and crawling has begun! 

So much family equals so much fun!  Enjoy the pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CnZKa5M47x3fWUX98

Cienna - 2 Years, 11 Months... Kaylee - 6 Months!

A November party is what we had!  The Marty's along with Nana and Poppa joined us first then Grammy, Grandpa, The Natal's, Auntie Carrie, and Uncle Sean joined the party about a week later for a Thanksgiving to remember!  We were so greatful to have so much family around all at one time.  All the kids (which includes the adults) had so much fun playing all day long.  We also made our way to the annual USC vs UCLA party at the Ferrario's having no luck in the pool.  But Mommy and Daddy got to go back to the party after the kids went down thanks to Poppa and Nana monitor watching!  Soon after the decorations went up inside and outside including our tree which was great to watch the kids enjoy hanging the ornaments.  We spent any other free time that we had getting some casing around the doors and getting ready for our Christmas vacation.!

Cienna has really enjoyed her new pre-school and all her new friends that she has made there.  There is a dance class on Mondays which seems to be the highlight!  She has also learned many more Christmas songs and loves to belt them out.  Rudolph is currently the main hit.  She also makes up songs quite often which actually include rhyming the lyrics.  Sometimes they're not actual words but they do rhyme!

Kaylee has now joined the world of solid foods.  Of course she loves every minute of it which makes it a bit difficult to eat when she is laughing/screams of joy most of the time.  She has had all her cereal and just tried peas for the first time which were a big hit also.  She sits quite well all on her own, opening up a whole new look to all her toys.  She is really working her legs and loves to jump and can stand on her own with something to hold on to.

It's great to see more and more interactions between the girls.  Although it's still mostly one sided with Cienna interupting anything Kaylee is doing to get in a HUGE hug and kiss.  We are so lucky to have so much love for each other and get to share such amazing girls as well.

Enjoy the pictures!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AotAJjmEbbGMcREk8