Three years ago today, we welcomed a beautiful new life into the world.
There are days when it seems like she's been here forever, it's so hard to imagine life without her. And there are other days where the surrealness of her arrival seems only moments behind us.
In the face of the tiny baby, we could never have imagined all of the joys that would lie ahead of us.We couldn't yet see her smile, her dimple, her laugh, the glimmer in her eye, how smart she would be, how creative she would become, how well she would remember things and how much fun we would have watching her grow.
The awe we felt when we first met her as replaced itself with awe of her independence. The most precious gift we could have been given is turning three today.
Thank you Lord for three beautiful, exciting, frustrating, fun, tiring, joy-filled years with our Beautiful Baby Girl!!!
This past weekend, my mom and step-dad came for a visit. It was a really nice weekend and I'm so glad they were willing to make the trip down to see us. While they were here, my mother mentioned for the umpteenth time, that we should really re-cover our dining room chairs. And she's right. The small dining set we have I bought before I was married and certainly before there was a messy toddler in my house. The cushions were an off-white linenish color and after 7+ years, a husband and a toddler, those chairs were looking pretty, well . . . gross.
Somehow, through all of the other times my mother had previously mentioned recovering these chairs, the idea always sounded good but we just never got around to doing it. Until tonight! Somehow, mom's suggestion struck a deep enough chord this time that I made my way down to the fabric store after work yesterday and picked out a nice striped fabric that tied together to two main colors of my downstairs great room. And tonight, after the Bean went to bed, we stapled and hammered and screw-drived and Voila!!! Like new dining room chairs. Well, two of them at least. I committed the cardinal sin of home projects and did not measure the chair seats before I went to buy the fabric and I came up a couple of inches short. Darn!! But we managed to finish two of the four chairs and the room is already brighter. Really. :)
And can I just say, I LOVE doing projects with my husband. We rarely have opportunity or means to accomplish them, but when we do, it is always so much fun! My husband is such a handy guy and I love that about him. And he let's me use his tools which is pretty fun too.
All in all, we make a pretty good team, hubby and I. I think I'll keep him around for a while!
One of the first times that Jillian met my Dad's girlfriend. Jodi, she became fascinated with "Happy Feet" and "Lilo & Stitch". Jodi owned them both, we didn't own either. For Christmas she got Happy Feet and "danced Mumble" everywhere she could. For Easter, she got "Lilo & Stitch" and later she got a grass skirt from grandma as a gift from a recent trip to Hawaii. She has always enjoyed dancing but recently, it has become so much more of an interest. She will often as for her Hula skirt and to hula with Lilo. And that is exactly what she will do!
For the first time ever, Kenton took an entire week off from work this past week. He spent the first half of the week working tirelessly on our backyard's fence. He repaired and replaced all of the boards that were too short, broken or warped. Then he power washed (with a little help) and started staining.
As a reward for all of his hard work . . . . we headed to the coast for a MUCH NEEDED family vacation. Three days and two nights on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Only one problem . . . we didn't know there was a storm a'comin'. Apparently we missed the REALLY GOOD storm that hit inland the night we left for the coast. But unfortunately, the rain didn't stay inland. And we spent most of our time amidst ocean mists and wind. We managed to have a good time (some of us managed better than others) despite the weather but ended up letting the rain drive us home a few hours earlier than we had planned.
I must say, Jillian was a trooper. She didn't quite understand the concept of rest & relaxation and was going a mile a minute from the time we arrived at camp. At first, she was scared of the fire daddy made to keep up all warm. And she didn't understand what was soooo bad about plopping down in the rain soaked sand to play, despite soaking through all of her layers of pants. She found fascination in the many puddles that dotted the campground and in the local wildlife, squirrels and seagulls included. But I can't complain, she slept AMAZINGLY (Praise God) and managed to keep warm both nights in her own bed at the head of ours. I have a funny feeling that our little girl will probably be ready to camp again before we are all dried out from this trip. :)
For the last few months, it has not been uncommon to hear our little Jilly, while in the van, randomly say " the market it closed", to which daddy or I will repeat, "yes, Jilly, the market is closed." That was, until last weekend when the Hillsboro Saturday Farmer's Market opened for the season. Since Saturday mornings are one of our rare opportunities to spend more than an hour together as a family, we started the tradition last year of taking in the market most Saturday mornings. If we're in town and without plans, it is likely this is where you will find us. Last weekend was gloomy but we chanced it. And spent a good majority of the time explaining to Jilly why she couldn't put her "soup" on and play in the water fountain. Which is by far her most popular feature at the market, right after the "puppies". Due to the weather last week, the patrons and puppies were scarce but we managed to find a few. Here are a couple pictures from opening weekend:
This weekend however, the weather was beautiful, the market was packed and we were with friends. Today, we got to be a part of a very momentous occasion . . . Baby Kayla's first Hillsboro Saturday Farmer's Market. Yay!!! I got a baby fix, the big girls got to dance, and play together and we all got some much needed sunshine.
We've been toying with the idea for months of getting Jillian a "big girl bed". Up until now she's been sleeping in her convertible crib's, toddler bed which, as a side note, has been recalled. Wooops! So for safety reasons and in hopes that a new, bigger, softer bed would help her to stay IN her bed all night long,we found a steal of a deal at Shopko on a Mates bed. (thanks, Mom for the heads up) We finally got the bed assembled this week and she could not be more excited about her new bed. Finishing touches on her room and extra special bedding will probably take a little while longer but for now, this change is enough. And it seems to be working well (knock on wood).
Sometime last spring, Jillian was introduced to the movie Lilo & Stitch by my Dad's girlfriend, Jodi who happens to be Japanese Hawaiian. She has often recalled the movie and asked about it on random occasions despite the fact that we did not own it. Recently, I noticed the questions, or whatever reason, becoming more frequent so Kenton and I decided that it would be one of the things in Jillian's Easter basket this year. We hid it in her new Dora lunch bag to draw out the surprise. :) And that girl has watched Lilo & Stitch every day (atleast once) since Easter Sunday. So, today, when I was at the local Pass It On consignment sale and saw a stuffed Stitch with his head sticking out of a bin there, I felt like I had won the jackpot! I swooped it up and headed home with virtually no will to hold on to it for a good bribe like the lady that checked me out of the sale suggested. I did keep it in the van long enough for Kenton to get home for dinner so we could both enjoy Jillian's reaction when I gave it to her. Needless to say, Stitch has not been far behind us all night and we even got the opportunity to take him for a walk. Here are some pictures from our evening with the newest member of our family.
A little girl and her alien.
Reading to Stitch (the insert from the Lilo & Stitch DVD)
I figured before this weekend gets away from me, I should blog about last weekend first! Friday night, my hubby and I went to see "Wicked" downtown . . . AMAZING!!! I missed it last time it was in town and really wanted to go this time. Thanks for Uncle Sam, it was possible. My husband seemed a little hesitant at first but there was just enough humor in the production that I think warmed up to it. For those of you who don't know, Wicked is basically the pre-quel to "The Wizard of Oz". It tells the story of Glinda, the good witch and Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west as they were school girls growing up. For a girl like me, who watched her share of "The Wizard of Oz" growing up, this storyline added some never before contemplated explanations to why Oz was the way Oz was. Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend it to any Wizard of Oz fans out there. Saturday morning, as hubby worked, Jilly and I drove up to WA to spend some time with grandma and grandpa Kennish before heading to Seattle on Sunday. We rode on the ferry boat to Anderson Island. . . read stories with grandma . . .
and played the piano with Piglet . . .
But the most exciting part of the weekend was still ahead of us. We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to catch a ferry boat back to the mainland and head up to Seattle. We were to meet up with some very special people there. I found a convenient parking spot along the waterfront and we ventured over to the aquarium where we were to meet our guests. Not long after we arrived, I hear my name, exuberantly yelled from the OTHER side of Alaskan Way. It was my "Pookie". My dear friend Erin, from college and her beautiful baby girl Evelyn had arranged this date as they were visiting from Montana. Erin and I hadn't seen each other since I graduated from college, almost 9 years ago. We smiled, embraced and then Erin announced . . . "we have babies!!!" Leave it to her to announce the obvious with gusto. But when you part ways in your early 20's and meet up again, nearly a decade later, even the obvious life changes sometimes seem sureal. :) We took the girls down to look at the water, while waited for our third visitor. Meghan joined us not much later, and native of the Seattle area and another college friend of ours, and we headed into the Aquarium. The day was BEAUTIFUL to say the least, with blue skies, virtually no clouds and GREAT company!!! Jillian absolutely loved the aquarium. She got to touch Starfish in the tide pools . . .
Dress up like a diver . . .
And visit some good friends . . .
I literally had to PRY her away from this tank. Only to move on to the tank with the "Sheldons" in it. (ie Seahorses, also from Nemo)
After the aquarium, we broke some bread on the waterfront and ran off some steam on Pier 62/63. We then said good-bye to our friends and agreed that it would not be nine years until we met up again!!
Though barely it has felt the last few days due to allergies/cold/unknown yukiness. I do sincerely apologize for my blogging absence. I'm sure I've been greatly missed. Heh heh heh! I could probably explain where the last week or two went but certainly can not make up for a two MONTH absence. So, I will just need to ask your forgiveness and move on. :) There is not a whole lot to report on the family front. Spring break has passed and hubby is back in classes at PCC. This time it's two computer classes. Woo-Hoo. Despite some major personnel changes at my work (www.mypreciouskid.com) the job is going well and business has been good. The boss keeps saying that God has promised increase, not decrease and for that I am grateful the job security had been a tremendous blessing in the current economy. Jillian in growing and changing daily. Her fascination latey has been with puzzles. She has two favorites, a Care Bear puzzle and Whinnie the Pooh puzzle, that she has been taking apart and putting back together multiple times a day ALL BY HERSELF. It is so rewarding and fun to watch. And since my best friend, Tammi, who had been watching Jilly for us while we worked, gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, baby girl two weeks ago, we had to find Jilly someplace else to go play. Fortunately, one of the ladies in our church runs a daycare and was willing to take us on. And I am pleased to report it is going well. Jilly has really taken to having other kids around and enjoys going to "play with her friends". What a relief for this mom who dreaded having to take her ANYWHERE outside of my dear friend's comfortable, loving, home. So, to get you caught up, here are some pictures from the last few months since we've been absent from the blogosphere.
So, my college buddy Ruhiyyih thought that it had been too long since I had posted and she was right. So, in an effort to remedy that, she tagged me in a post on her blog. As to not disappoint my loyal fan base and to get SOMETHING new posted to my blog, here are my 6 random things.
THE RULES: 1- Post the rules on your blog 2- List 6 random things about yourself. 3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post. 4- Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. 5- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
1. My first car was a 1975 Silve Dodge Colt, 5-speed that I bought for $300. It died on Prom Night while my date and his friend were on the way back from getting pictures taken. So they were standing next to this little old car in tuxes, when the cops stopped by to see what was wrong. The result was a call to my house, where the local police asked my mom if she knew my best friend. As my prom date (& best friend at the time) and I were well known for getting into trouble, my mom was pretty leary when she received a call from the cops asking if she knew him. :)
2. When I was 16, I dated a 23 year old Mormon guy who was in the Army because my best friend wanted to go to the movies with her older, military boyfriend and telling this guy that I wanted to meet him was the only way her boyfriend would be able to get a ride there.
3. When I was 9, I was in Heathrow airport in London with my parents and saw Rod Stewart walking by. We flew out of London on the day that Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew were getting married and I still have a local tabloid from that day with their pictures on the cover. On this trip, we also stayed in a bed and breakfast that was directly across the street from the race track that was used in the movie Chariots of Fire. (I have yet to see the movie.)
4. When my aunt Jackie got married to my Uncle Steve, I was about 10 and I refused to dance at their wedding reception until all of the guests were gone. I finally got out on the dance floor to the song "Celebration" and regretted not dancing sooner. To this day, I can't hear that song without thinking about that day. And my mother STILL reminds me of it when I face a situation that I don't want to do but that she knows I will enjoy in the end.
5. The attendants at my wedding held lightsabers up like swords over mine and my husband's head to begin our recessional and we walked out to the Star Wars theme song. (no, not the Vader theme) It is probably still the highlight moment of the day.
6. When I was in junior high, I was a member of the Style Board at our local mall. I got to model in fashion shows, have my own photo shoot and pretend to be a silent mannequin in the middle of the mall. It was my one opporunity I got to live out my dream of being a model and I loved every minute of it!! :)
It's not easy to fill Daddy's shoes. Especially when your Daddy wears a 15 wide shoe. :)
But someday, I hope my Jillian, realizes what an amazing Daddy she has. For over two years, my husband has played Mr. Mom nearly every morning while I worked. And then he's gone to his job, working the swing shift so Jillian wouldn't be in day care. It has been the greatest blessing to me to see the relationship these two have because of all of their time together.
Even though I sometimes cringe at the thought that my daughter's favorite games to play are "tackle" and "wrestle", I smile because her Daddy taught her those things and I take great pride in the fact that he has never been afraid to get down on the floor and wrestle with her.
He's not afraid to let her be a little girl too. When she gets dressed up for church or let's me do her hair, he is always the first to gush over how pretty she looks. He spends time coloring with her and making sure she knows every Star Wars character by name. :)
And now, in addition to taking care of Jillian during the day and working at night, he's decided to become a college student. In hopes to enhance our family's future, Kenton has enrolled in PCC with intentions of receiving a degree in computer networking.
When I stop to think about all he does every single day for our family, I see how full his plate really is. And I appreciate even more his faithfulness, his diligence and the selflessness he has shown me every day since we met. His are certainly BIG shoes to fill!!!
