More Fun at School

Kendall's school is pretty good about taking and posting shots of the little ones during their time at school.  Here are some of the latest:

Ozzie's grandpa came in and sang songs with the group before Christmas:

Here's Kendall (hot pink shirt) with her friends and her teacher, Miss Megan:

Kendall brought cinnamon bread in to share with her friends on her birthday:

Here she is (black sweatshirt) rolling balls down an incline:

A letter to my two year old

Dear Kendall,

My sweet, sweet girl is now two.

Hard to believe that it's been two years since we brought you home.

Our lives have become pretty busy over the past several months, so it's not often that I get to sit back and reflect on the fact that you are becoming an amazing little girl.

Your dad and I are so thankful that we have you in our lives.  You wake up happy every single day and enjoy all that every day has to offer.  You love to run and play chase, and enjoy dancing and showing off your jumping skills.  You're constantly learning and exploring whatever you can find, which is one reason that I'm so happy that you've been going to preschool for a few months now.  You always come home singing new songs and teaching us more sign language.  You're also so proud of the artwork that you create.

We love the things that you are doing now, but it's also bittersweet in some ways.  As we approached the two year mark, it was becoming apparent that the days of having a baby around the house were quickly coming to an end.  You no longer sleep in a crib, as now you're in a toddler bed that you can climb in and out of.  You sit in a big girl booster seat at mealtimes, and like to have your chair pulled up to the dinner table with everyone else.  Your room is now filled with toddler toys, including pretend play items, an art easel, duplo blocks, as well as dress up clothes and accessories.  You're playing much more independently these days, and it's amazing to see your imagination at work.

In addition to playing independently, you're also being more independent.  "Kendall do it" and "Kendall's turn" are two phrases heard quite frequently these days, and you seem to have quite an opinion on many things, including what you wear and what you eat.  You love to set up tea parties, but these are done on your terms, and everyone has to use a certain cup that you set out for them.  

This past year brought some medical challenges; first a helmet and then a surgery for your "curly toes".  You were a trooper through both experiences, never complaining about what you had to go through, but always letting us know what you needed.  We're so glad that we went through with both of these experiences, and know that you'll be happier in the long run because we did.

I feel so lucky for so many things related to you, but I may be most happy about the fact that you are such a sweet and loving little girl.  Gram told me a story recently about sitting down to read "Are You My Mother?" with you.  You were so concerned that the birdie had lost it's mommy.  You're always willing to give out hugs and kisses, sometimes to Mommy and Daddy, but always to your stuffed animals and Lani.  Your teachers have told us a number of times what a joy you are every day, and how much they love having you in their class.  I know that this is because you are so sweet and easygoing - two traits that they probably love for their students to have.

I hope that you know how loved you are, and how many people love you to pieces.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Kiki!  Can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Love,
Mom

Yoo Hoo...guess who's 2!!

The perfect birthday weekend for a two year old...

A great day that includes sharing cinnamon bread at school with your friends, dinner out at Islands, cupcakes and presents.

Waking up the next day to celebrate again with friends.

Playing with new toys and dress up clothes the remainder of the weekend.

December Rewind

A few nights before Christmas we headed to a movie night at the Carlsbad Village Theatre.  My good friend, Sean McMahon has ties to the theatre (as in his parents own it), so every once in a while they open the joint up to family and friends when Sean, his wife, Kate, and their daughter, Sabina, are in town.  This year we were lucky enough to be invited to movie night, which included Christmas classics on the big screen and every kind of snack and treat imaginable at the lobby concession stand.  The kids were even lucky enough to have a visit from Santa!!

This was such a great night that I failed to mention in a previous post due to my lack of photos.  This is where Brian and Rachel Beld step in!  They managed to capture some great shots, and now this memory won't be forgotten!

Lily, Sabina, Campbell and Kendall

Kendall getting to meet Santa.  She was so excited before we walked on the stage, but then had nothing to say to him.

One of the funnier moments of the night came as Kendall took her turn up on the big stage with Santa.  He gave each child a new puppet after they were done sitting on his lap.  After Kendall received her puppet, some of the other parents asked, "Wow Kendall!  What did you get??"  As the lights blurred her vision of the crowd, she calmly walked to the edge of the stage, smiled, and held her puppet for all to see:

You can see Dan and I getting up in the last picture - I don't think that she was going to leave the stage once she realized that people thought she was funny.  Maybe a career in Hollywood is in her future.

Santa, kids and puppets

Ringing in 2012

It's been a long standing tradition that we spend New Years Eve with our friends Jeff and Jasmin Bethel and Brian and Rachel Beld.  Last year we weren't able to get together, but we were back together this year, and were joined by our friends Sean and Kate McMahon, Allie and Brian Lee and Brett Johnson at Brian and Rachel's house.  

Kendall had a number of friends to play dress up and ring around the rosy with, and all of the girls enjoyed ringing in the new year (a bit early) with the adults.  The horns and hats were a big hit.

For some reason, Kendall also felt the need to wear a bucket on her head once the celebrations started.   

With this being only her second New Year's Eve party, I guess she's got a lot to learn about party etiquette. Hopefully this isn't the start of a long line of embarrassing party photos for her.  

Here we go 2012!  2011 was a great year, so you have a lot to live up to!!

Christmas Week Fun with Dad

With Caleb and Nick in town for the holidays, Dan cashed in a number of vacation days and enjoyed a 12 day break from work.  He's been working so much lately that he was in desperate need of a little R & R.  In typical fashion, he caught a nasty cold the day after Christmas and spent most of his vacation feeling like a truck had hit him.  But, he managed to enjoy a number of fun days with his kids, and Kendall enjoyed the time with her big brothers:

The four spent a fun afternoon/evening at Belmont Park with Aunt Dusty and their cousins Cati, Dustin and Dylan.  After Nick headed home, Caleb, Kendall and Dan spent an afternoon in La Jolla at the beach with the seals.

There was even time for dress up in the back yard:

Sadly, I spent the week at work and missed out on all of the fun.  Looks like the had a great time!

SANTA!!

What a Christmas!  Between the parties, food, wine, gifts and cookie baking, I am completely stressed out and worn out.  But, we had an amazing holiday with our amazing families and friends, including a cute little blond elf that made it all worth it.

Here we go, the wrap up of Christmas 2011:

This year's Christmas Eve celebration was a big one.  Caleb came to town for the holidays, and the four of us joined my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, Jessica's parents, and her brother and sister-in-law for an early dinner.  We had a great dessert and opened a few presents at Sean and Jessica's house after dinner.

We started off on Christmas morning with gifts that Santa left.  A kitchen complete with food, pots and pans and appliances.  Santa even knew that Caleb was going to be at our house this year, and left him some gifts too!

Next we moved on to gifts from the Weatherby side of the family.  Kendall got loads of Minnie Mouse gear and a new table and chair set from Meme and Papa Steve, a dress up set from Uncle Tony and Aunt Nikki, and clothes from MeMa.  Caleb also got clothes and new games.

Kendall and Caleb even got matching hats.

 
My mom and dad, Sean, and Jessica joined us for breakfast, and then we moved on to even more presents from the Corson side of the family.  An assortment of toys for the little blond elf, and a Kindle Fire for Caleb.

We played and played with all of our new toys throughout the day.  It was so neat to watch Kendall open her gifts with enthusiasm and excitement.  She took her time with each new toy and played with everything.

We headed over to Gram and Dude's house later in the day for dinner and dessert.  Our longtime family friends, Barry and Marlene Ross, joined us, and so did Jessica's mom and dad.

Finally, here are our attempts at family photos:

We hope that your Christmas was as memorable as ours was!!