Family Photo Fun!

Today we headed over to The Picture People at the mall to take family photos. It was so great to have Katelyn's 5 month old pictures done as well as pictures of the 4 generations. Katelyn was all smiles and loved having the attention of her whole family. The store manager thought she was so cute he asked for the rights to 3 of her pictures to frame and put up on their wall. Of course we said yes! We had such a great experience that we're heading back there on Thursday to have pictures taken with Santa.

Vacation - Day 2

This morning we woke up and headed to church to spend some time with God. It was wonderful to enjoy the service while Katelyn napped in the swing in the nursery. Katelyn got all dressed up in a cute outfit so her grandma and great-papa could show her off to all their friends at church. After church we came home, ate lunch and my Auntie Bev came over to visit. Katelyn loved hanging out watching football, Go Patriots!! Kyle, Katelyn and I took a long afternoon nap and it was back to hanging out with the family. Mom got me this amazing baby food maker called the Beaba from Williams-Sonoma so we decided to home make some carrots for Katelyn. I mixed in some breastmilk to make the taste the little sweater and I think Katelyn liked them a little better than the green beans and sweet peas. We had lot's of fun hanging out today and can't wait to go take family pictures at The Picture People tomorrow morning. 4 generations!!! So awesome!

Well I'm off to eat Cinnamon Rolls and head to bed.

Love, Alissa

xoxo

Day 1 Saturday

This morning I woke up around 7:30, came downstairs and found Katelyn watching Sesame Street with her Grandma. She gave me a big smile when I said good morning and then went back to focusing on Elmo. Too cute! She hung out for a while and then took a morning nap from 9-11am. After her nap Mom, Katelyn and I headed to the grocery store to pick up some yummy food to cook this week.

Here's Katelyn enjoying hanging out with her Great-Papa and eating her dinner.

We decided to put Katelyn in her Bumbo with some toys and show her what the rest of us were eating for dinner. LOBSTER!! So yummy! I haven't had lobster in years, it was such a wonderful treat. Thanks Mom! Katelyn thought it was funny to watch the lobsters try and crawl across the kitchen floor.

We ended up doing a lot of fun stuff today from going grocery shopping, to Target, and then after dinner we headed over to the local mall so that Josh could buy a rad peacoat and we could check out Santa. I think we're going to try and have Katelyn take pictures with Santa on Monday after we take family pictures at The Picture People. Katelyn was such a trooper today and spent the day laughing and smiling in the laps of her Great-Papa, her Grandma and her Uncle Josh. Great-Nana is getting over a cold. She didn't even fuss when she got tired. Of course, she was so pooped out she could wait to get home from the mall, take her bath and go to bed. And now as I'm writing this I'm exhausted and ready for bed.

Goodnight all, Alissa xoxo

I Got My Wings!

Well me made it here safely last night and Katelyn did a lot better than we expected during the flight. She did have trouble getting some sleep, and pooped out of her diaper at one point (so great!) but other than that things went smoothly. We arrived at 8:45pm Boston time and were met by my brother, mother and grandfather. My brother and I had talked a month ago and decided to surprise Mom by having Josh buy a ticket and fly out to visit for the weekend also. His flight came in earlier than ours and you can imagine Mom's surprise when she got a call from my brother who said he was "waiting." "Waiting for what?" Mom said. "Waiting for you to come pick me up at the bus station!" It was so much fun hearing Mom's excitement as she retold the story to us while we waited for our bags at baggage claim. 

I'm a big girl on a plane!

We headed back to the house and were greeted by my Nana, who was so excited to finally meet Katelyn. Katelyn was all smiles and loved spending time with everyone. At 10:50 p.m Grandma gave Katelyn a bath, she nursed and she was off to bed. She slept from 11:15 - 7:00am!! Since she's sleeping in my mom's room, when she woke up Mom gave her a bottle and her and my papa played with Katelyn till I woke up. Talk about being spoiled! 

Katelyn with her Great-Papa

Bath time with Grandma

Leaving on a jet plane....

Well we're off to Boston tomorrow to visit my mom and grandparents for 7 days. It's taken me the last 2 days to pack and even as I sit here I'm wondering if I've forgotten to add anything to my list of stuff to pack. At this point I guess I need to let go and resign myself to the fact that if I have forgotten anything then I guess it's a good thing there's a Babies R Us near by. I'm so excited for this trip and I'm praying that Katelyn does well on the plane. 5 1/2 hours is a long time for our little active one to sit still. I'm also praying that we can convince the person who has booked the window seat next to us that a seat in another row might be more comfortable for him/her. I already packed my camera so I'll have plenty of pictures to share from our trip. 

Bon Voyage,

Alissa

xoxo

Thanks Great Grandma & Grandpa

Last night I was asked to be a part of a panel at Azusa Pacific University's Orange campus. Every term one of my former professors puts together a panel for her class on Education Foundations/Classroom Exp. K-8. It is one of the final classes you take while student teaching before you receive your teaching credential. The panel gives students the opportunity to ask alumni questions about interviewing, how we got our first teaching job, etc. This is the 3rd time I've sat on a panel for Dr. Brady and I love it. It's so great to meet other teachers who are passionate about teaching. 

While I was at the panel I dropped Katelyn off at Great Grandma and Grandpa Circle's house down the street in Orange. When I got there Great Grandma Circle had bought a beautiful quilt and an adorable pink poodle for Katelyn to use when she's at their house. Katelyn loved the poodle and didn't want to let it go when it was time to go home. We ended up bringing it home with us and Katelyn cuddled up next to it and fell asleep on the way home. 

Thanks Great Grandma and Grandpa for watching Katelyn and for her pink poodle!!! We love you. Love A, xoxo

Home for Halloween

Every year for as long as Kyle and I have been together he's always been known for dressing up in his cow costume. It amazes me every year how everyone loves to tell crazy stories about Kyle in his cow costume. So since Kyle was dressing up as a cow for Halloween we felt it was only fitting since we had acquired another cow costume in the last year that I would dress up as a cow also and then Katelyn would wear her little ladybug costume. Ahh well the best laid plans as they say. We had already RSVP'd to 2 parties when on Thursday night Katelyn started coughing and sniffling. By Friday it had turned into a little cold and she spent most of the day sleeping or fussing. Can you blame her? Who likes to be sick? I sure don't. We decided to keep and eye on her throughout the day and if she felt better we would head out to 1 or both parties we had planned to attend. Katelyn kept falling asleep and you should've seen the look on her face when I decided to try and put her costume on her. We took a couple pictures and then she was over her costume and ready to head to bed for the night. Oh well! Maybe next year.....