Pumpkin Patch

FALL IS HERE!  And you know what that means...sweaters and pants, apple cider and hot cocoa, cooler weather and shorter days, falling leaves and PUMPKIN PATCHES!
Since Justin will be super busy starting next week, we decided to hit up the pumpkin patch a little early this year.  Kalea had a blast!  She is so curious and adventurous and BUSY (as my mom says), and having those expansive fields of pumpkins to explore was infant heaven to her.  She picked and pulled and rolled and sat on nearly every pumpkin there until she found one fit for keeping.  Naturally, her side-kick "teddy bear" was also "dragged" along and had to approve or disapprove of each choice...and in the end a perfectly plump and beautiful pumpkin was chosen and taken to a nice home where it could endure further abuse love ;)

Lots of pictures because I'm pretty sure my mom and grandma are the only ones who read this and pictures are what they most prefer...enjoy!

I know, they are all pretty much the same...but as a mom, its so hard to pick just a few because to me they are all adorable and show her personality so well.  (can you tell that she loves to get dirty?)  Stay tuned for next week when we chop the poor little pumpkin up and give him a face...Kalea is going to go crazy for pumpkin guts ;)

Fun-Filled February

Better late than never, right??

So here it is, all of our happenings during the month of February!

First of all, Kalea turned 9 months old (aack, where has the time gone?)  and she is growing and developing wonderfully.  At her doctor appointment she weighed in at 19 pounds 1 ounce and 26 1/2 inches and absolutely perfect in every way!  Her third tooth came in (first one on the top) and thankfully she has been sleeping better since it cut through, it was getting rough for a while.  Kalea loves, Loves, LOVES getting into the cupboards and drawers all over the house and pulling EVERYTHING out!  This prompted us to buy some babyproofing cupboard locks and get them installed.  She still has "her" cupboard in the kitchen stocked with all the unbreakables: tupperware, extra utensils, baby food, etc. and she thoroughly enjoys spending time with mom in the kitchen.

Kalea also picked up on how to play peek-a-boo and plays it anytime she finds a blanket, or shirt or towel...or anything really, lying on the floor.  She will even say "go?" when she does it, because we always say "where did you go?" when we play. She is such a smartie!  

Valentines day was kicked off with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls in the morning for breakfast and ended with heart-shaped pizzas for dinner with chocolate covered strawberries.  We even made a little pizza for Kalea!

A few days before Valentines day, we got our niece Emily to babysit and Justin and I snuck off to Sacramento for a wonderful date night.  We boarded the Delta King and listened to some live Jazz music and ate some dinner along the river!  It was such a great night!

Later in the month, we managed to score some free tickets to "Disney on Ice", which was so cool!  I was impressed and loving it, I can only imagine how awesome it is for all the young kids who were there.  We were given three tickets and since Kalea is young enough to not need a ticket, we invited our 5 year old niece Lyla along.  She LOVED it!  It was seriously a really cool show and I am so glad we were able to go. Afterwards we bought Lyla a little stuffed "Pascal", the chameleon from Rapunzel and the whole way home she talked non-stop about how she was just like Rapunzel because she has long blond hair and a Rapunzel dress and now she has Pascal...it was so cute and I am so glad we were able to take her! Kalea loved it too, I was worried she would get bored after a little bit, but I think all the lights and music kept her pretty intrigued. Lyla even let Kalea borrow one of her princess crowns for the night, it was adorable!

And our biggest adventure yet...we finally made it to the coast!  I have been dying to go back to the beach and ocean and we had a good enough excuse and decided to make a weekend out of it.  Two of my best friends just had their baby a couple months ago and were traveling to Santa Rosa to visit his parents.  Since we are only a couple hours away from Santa Rosa we jumped at the chance to see them again and to meet their adorable little girl, who is going to be Kalea's best friend!  

We all know each other from Hawaii and it was so good to see Yo and Michelle and to catch up on everything that has happened since we all went our separate ways.  They are such a sweet and amazing couple and I am grateful to have them in my life.

  

After visiting with them we found our hotel and spent the night.  Bright and early we headed for Point Reyes National Seashore to do some exploring and sightseeing. After a beautiful drive, we finally made it to the beach and it was crazy windy!  We spotted some Elephant Seals basking along the beach...

And played in the sand for a little bit...

But it was pretty chilly, not at all like the beaches in Hawaii, so we decided to just drive along the coast and soak in the beautiful views.   We made our way down to San Francisco and stopped to get some good photos of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city in the background.  It was really pretty.

We watched the sun set over the ocean and my soul was satisfied once more.  I miss the ocean and beach so much and I am so glad we were able to take this little trip.  It was just what I needed and I was so excited to introduce Kalea to it.  Now that I know how close it is, I've decided we are going to be taking many more trips!

Kalea helping daddy drive

 Kalea watching the sunset...

There will be lots happening in March, so hopefully I can stay on top of things.  Wish me luck!

 

Happy Half Birthday!

I celebrated my 6 month birthday about a week and a half ago! My mom and dad took me to my 6 months checkup just last week and I was proclaimed absolutely perfect (which mom and dad already knew)!  I came in weighing 16 pounds even and measuring 26 inches even, which puts me perfectly in the 50th percentile for both, making me just average, even though mom and dad both know that I am completely and totally above average in everything else including cuteness, intelligence, charm and overall lovableness. 

Here's a glance at what I have been up to the last month or so:

I visited a pumpkin patch with mom and dad.  We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland and it was so much fun.  There was a train ride and a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch which was HUGE!! There were so many pumpkins!

I got to help carve my first pumpkin!  Well, I got to help until I started to eat the

 pumpkin guts and seeds, then mom interfered.

 I got dressed up and went out for my first Halloween!  Mom made me an awesome tutu and headband so I could look like a pretty ballerina, and everyone thought I was so adorable so they gave me tons of candy! I even managed to get a few pieces open, and then mom interfered...again.

 I can wear ponytails!

 And I love to play outside!

 Dad went out with some friends for a guys night, so mom and I had a girls night at home.  We found some Johnson's baby bubble bath and we had a blast playing in the bubbles and hanging out together!

 I get cuter and cuter everyday!

 I'm learning how to read!

I'm a pro at sitting up by myself and these are my best friends, Wellington and Panda.

Sometimes if I wake up too early I get to snuggle with mom and dad in their bed...only I don't like to snuggle, I like to kick and punch and wiggle around and make sure dad gets up to go to work on time.

 AND...the best yet!  I am crawling like it's what I was born to do and I have been since I was 5 and a half months!  My favorite place to crawl is under the bed, then when mom calls for me I poke my head out and scare her...it's so much fun!  I also like to crawl around and get into things that I shouldn't.  Mom wonders how someone so small can be so destructive when she only turns her head for 5 seconds, but I just smile at her and she forgives me! 

Here's a video of me scooting around...

I'm getting so big and love exploring all over, and I definitely keep my mom on her toes.  But she adores me and we are the best of friends!