PreK Christmas Carols

Today my heart melted when the PreK classes at daycare sang Christmas carols at Starbucks...in red aprons of course.  The kids did such a great job and they were so excited.  This was the first time Kallie has been in front of a big crowd and I think it is safe to say she loved it!  I am one proud mama...great work baby girl!

A little visit to the ER

It seems like Kallie has had an ongoing cold for the last few weeks. Nothing to make her feel sick and no fever just a runny nose and sneezing. Well the other weekend I noticed her cough was kind of honky, although he coughs tend to sound that way so we were not worried. I went to dinner with my girlfriends that night and shortly after I got home I heard something upstairs that did not sound normal so I ran up there. Eric was in Kallie’s room rubbing her back and trying to get her to calm down. I knew immediately she has croup. She had a very distinctive cough (like a seal) and was gasping/wheezing to catch her breath. Luckily it was cold out b/c I had heard you should take your child outside in the cold to help with their breathing (or a steamy bathroom). Unfortunately it was not helping which was making her nervous and me terrified (I did stay relatively calm for her sake). I had Eric call 911 and the ambulance was there within minutes. They knew immediate what was up by her cough, they checked her vitals which were fine but she was running a fever. The recommended we take her to the ER near our house so she could get a breathing treatment.

Thankfully we have a Swedish ER about 5 minutes away so we immediate headed out the door, in or PJs of course. They admitted her right away, gave her steroids and a breathing treatment. Within 15min she was doing much better and within the hour she was laughing and giggling. It was a long night for all of us but in the end our baby girl was quite the trooper through it all.

Happy Halloween

We had a jam packed Halloween.  From Kallie's day care parade to trick or treating around our neighborhood Minnie Mouse was all smiles.  We have such a fun neighborhood for Halloween...houses decorated and hundreds of little trick or treaters!   

Pumpkin Patch with K-prep

Kallie went on her first field trip with her K-Prep class this week to the pumpkin patch.  I decided to tag along as a chaperone and am so glad I did.  All of the kids have been excited for weeks and the trip did not disappoint!  They saw lots of animals, ran through a hay maze, jumped in a huge corn pit, had a picnic and they each got to choose a pumpkin to bring home.  It was a perfect way to start Halloween week!

Our first trip to Disneyland!

We just got back from our first trip to Disneyland with Kallie and it was a huge success. The trip was a surprise so we decided not to tell her until we parked at the airport. I can't tell you how many times I had the urge to just blurt it out but I am so glad I didn't b/c it was well worth capturing her surprise on camera!

We decided if we were going to go we would go all out and stay at the park, so we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel which was great. When we arrived within minutes Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Chip & Dale were greeting kids at the front door. It was so fun to watch Kallie take it all in, she had no idea what Disneyland was or that all of the characters lived there. She was smiling from ear to ear the entire trip (well there were a few meltdowns but those were expected).

After we arrived and quickly got settled we spent the afternoon/evening at Disneyland. We made sure to pack Kallie her Cinderella dress because we bought tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party. The park shut down and only people with tickets were there so the lines were short, there were a ton of trick or treating stations, a costume parade and an amazing firework show at the castle to end the night. We were up early the next day and back at Disneyland. Kallie loved the small rides like It's a Small World (we rode that 10x's), Tea Cups, Toon Town, Dumbo etc. We learned quickly that she did not like any rides that went remotely fast or into the dark which happens to be most of the rides. Lucky for us there is so much more to do and see than just rides.

We spent Friday and Saturday at CA Adventure which we loved. We spent most of our time at A Bugs Life and watched a Disney Junior puppet show which was amazing. We had one more surprise for Kallie; the princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto where she got to meet all of her favorite princesses. It truly was magical watching her eyes light up as each princess came to our table, priceless!

I will admit both Eric and I were not sure what to expect out of our trip. We wanted Kallie to love it and she did so we were thrilled. I think we were both surprised by how much fun we had too. We actually had a relaxing trip (if that is possible at Disneyland). Instead of running around the parks and trying to get tickets to all of the top rides, shows etc. we decided to go with the flow and let Kallie decide what to see and do. We even spend the afternoons enjoying the sunshine at the pool (it was 85 degrees every day). I am sure one day we will be the parents rushing around to get fast passes and taking turns waiting in line for the best rides but for this trip we didn't have an agenda, we relaxed and most importantly we enjoyed every moment with our baby girl!

Dentist Success

Yes...she did it!  We had our first successful trip to the dentist...fluoride and all.  I am so proud of my girl, she was so confident and even smiled a few times.  I think knowing she was going to get to choose a toy from the treasure box helped but hey whatever works right!

Off to K-Prep

Last week Kallie had her first official day of K-Prep. Although she is still at the same school (daycare) this feels like a huge milestone. She is definitely ready for the challenge and was very excited for her new classroom/teachers. Most of her preschool class moved up to the same K-Prep class so the transition was easy. She loves her new room and was so excited that she gets her own pencil box and has to sign in and out of class just like mom and dad.

She has only been in class for a week but I can already see a change. She has become very interested in writing letters and her drawings are getting more and more elaborate. They went from scribbles to stick figures with big heads and tiny legs/arms (I love it).

My little girl is growing up right before my eyes. Although I love watching her grow up and learn new things it makes me sad knowing she is not my baby girl anymore.

She did it!

She did it ... Kallie wrote her name for the very first time this weekend!  She was so excited and so were we (I even had a tear in my eye).  It is so sad to think she is growing up and not my baby anymore but at the same time I love how excited she gets when she learns new thing.  #proudmama

Fishing with daddy

The last few sunny weekend we have been spending some fun family time fishing.  There are a few small lakes around our house that we frequent ... Pine Lake and Beaver Lake are my favorites.  Eric has a wooden boat that fits the three of us perfectly.  We pack snacks and off we go.   I actually purchased my first fishing license the other weekend ... I am sad to say I have not actually caught a fish...but i swear Eric catches one with every cast!  Kallie likes fishing but what she really likes is holding the net and then screaming for daddy to let the fish go!!!

Here are a few pics from our adventures!

Happy 4th Birthday Kallie

Wow today our little girl turned 4 years old . . . where has time gone! It feels like just yesterday when we brought our 5lb 8oz baby girl home. Although she is getting way too big way too fast I am so proud of the little girl she has become. She is so caring and wants to make sure everyone is happy. I will admit she does have a "spicy" side as well, she knows what she wants, when she wants it, how she wants it and won't take it any other way (I should probably say she is independent but spicy is much more like it)!

Kallie has grown so much over the last year. She moved from her Early Preschool class to a Preschool class which has been amazing. She has learned so much - she knows all of her letters/numbers, is starting to write letters and loves drawing pictures which are getting more and more elaborate (she has a great story about each of her masterpieces).

To celebrate the by 04 we rented a Bouncy House facility in Preston. It was PERFECT! The kids started bouncing the minute they walked in the door, took a quick break for birthday cake and then it was back to bouncing. Kallie was all smiles from beginning to end which is exactly what we wanted. She loved her Frozen cake and all of her generous birthday presents.

Since we had Kallie's b-day party on Sunday but her real birthday was not until today I decided to take the day off of work and have a special day with my girl. We started the day with chocolate milk at Starbucks followed by a mani/pedi, a picnic and swimming at the beach, a surprise movie date at the movie theatre (this is only her second movie in the theatre) followed by dinner with daddy at Red Robin. Although I am a bit exhausted after two days of birthday craziness I would not want it any other way. I love spending quality time with my baby and disconnecting from work. I love it and by the look on her face I think she does too . . . Birthday Success! 

On the growth front Kallie is a healthy 4yr old.  She is 42 inches (90%) and 36lbs (58%)...long and lean per the Dr.


Kallie-

Happy birthday baby girl. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am to be your mommy. You have such a caring and nurturing spirit. You love taking care of your dollies and tend to get really worried if one of your friends is upset. You love doing any sort of art project with minimal help from me and you do a great job. Some of your favorite things to do are; play at the park (swinging is still your favorite), taking walks to look for rabbits/deer, dressing up like a princess, getting dressed for the day all by yourself, playing games, swimming, soccer (you just started little kickers and love it), watching Sophia the First or My Little Ponies, eating a special treat after dinner (your treat of choice is usually a popsicle), hiding in your room before bedtime, giving me the biggest hug and kiss in the world (or at least that is what you say, your bedtime routine which is getting longer and longer and longer (you have every excuse in the book), checking your garden every day after school (so many zucchini) and most importantly you just love having fun.

Although I get a little (I mean BIG) lump in my throat thinking that you are already 4 years old I am so thankful we get to be there with you every step of the way. I love you to the moon and back . . .

Love Mommy

Just the girls

I decided last minute to take a few days off of work and enjoy the sunshine on Vashon with Kallie and my mom.  We had a wonderful time; beach walks, Pt. Defiance Zoo, swimming, Pt. Robinson and of course my mom and I had a few glasses of wine on the deck.  Even My dad came over for our last night and got some Kallie snuggles too!