The Holloway Family

Bob and Laura's

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday we went to Bob and Laura's for dinner. Dan, Deanna, Ryan and Kyra were also in town for a visit. I really need to take more pictures. I think once I get my new camera that's going to be my goal! Anyway we had a great time with yummy food and fun conversations. I love that we are able to all find time to get together, even if it's just once a year.

Family pictures

2011-11-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

We went to the park to take family pictures. The weather was PERFECT and the location beautiful. We captured so many wonderful pictures that it was hard to decide what to use.

Joe and Terry (Dad and Mom). I grew up across the street from them and played with their kids all the time Usually me with Josie, David and Jo-Jo and poor Janette was often left out(sorry). I am so lucky to have them be such a big part of my life and to be treated like one of their own.

you would think that telling the kids "go climb that tree" there wouldn't be any hesitation or problems with this. Well apparently in the age of video games vs playing outdoors there is. Some of the kids (I'll spare them the humility and not mention them) had no idea how to climb a tree and were scared of falling. It took an adult to show them how to climb it and sit down. Lots of laughs with this pic!

It was soooo worth it! What a great picture of all the Grandkids :)

Sisters

Kassandra loved the horse (mama) who was out walking her baby

Thanksgiving in L.A.

2011-11-24T22:17:00.000-08:00

Since we were not having Thanksgiving at our house this year we decided to take a trip to CA instead. We stayed with Janette and her family (thanks again Janette), had Thanksgiving at Josie's house and had a blast. Kassandra was overwhelmed at first with all the kids but in time LOVED it and had a lot of fun! We loved seeing everyone and realized that it has been way to long since our last trip and that we need to get out there more. Also, thanks to Janette and a mix up with our cameras I was able to get a copy of her pictures. This helped me as I was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures :)

Jayden and Kassandra. They are 6 days apart. They loved playing with Kassandra's bag of toys :)

Get your motors running

Jayvon is a great big brother/cousin and is reading to Kassandra and Jayden. .

Family photo's

2011-11-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

We had our family photo's done today. Here are a few of our pictures. It was a bit cold out but not to bad.

Embroidery Me Sew Cute

2011-11-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

So apparently I don't have enough on my plate, or maybe it's just that I'm making sure I stay out of trouble. Either way I've decided to take on a new adventure. I started sewing with my friends and we all turned it into a business. I have been part of a couple of craft shows, with more to coming up. If you use facebook I hope that you Like my page and please tell your friends about it. The link is facebook.com/EmbroideryMeSewCute
Here are a few of my creations...

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Our family lineup: Kassandra as Little Red Riding Hood (costume made by Mommy), Mommy as a Saloon Girl and Daddy as a transformed Werewolf. Then you add in Aunt Tracy as a tired mother, Connor as a Ninja, Allie as a witch (don't really have pics of them as they were ahead of us), Aunt Pat and Mom staying behind to pass out candy, Angie as a witch, Gracyn as a monster, Bonnie as Alice in wonderland and Jarrett as the Cheshire cat and you have a wild, crazy and FUN night.
Kassandra wasn't sure about trick or treating when we first started - why are we going up to these strange doors? Then once she discovered that they were commenting on how cute she was and giving her candy she realized..... this is FUN! She loved going door to door. She also wasn't scared of anything or anyone. She found it all very funny. She made out like a bandit (I think it helped that so many thought she was cute and therefore deserved extra candy). This year was so amazing! I want to do it again. Oh well, I'm already looking forward to next year!

So tired! More candy....but I'm so tired I can't even move my arms. Help.....

Family photo

One tired little girl

Carving Pumpkins 2011

2011-10-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

I think it is so much fun introducing Kassandra to new things (ok so she was a part of pumpkin carving last year but let's face it she doesn't remember!). She loved playing with the pumpkins and thought it was great when we cut into them. Then she loved the "guts". We also gave her some paint so that she could paint the smaller pumpkins. This resulted in a wash down in the bath tub. She loved it. She also loved the end result which was some cool pumpkins!
Now if only I would have remembered that I had an electric carving knife specifically for pumpkin carving it would have been even better (ha, ha). Maybe next year.

Out and about

2011-10-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

I actually had a couple of weekdays off. Since this is now a rarity I decided that Kassandra and I should go bumming around. We went to a mall one day and to the store the next day. I let Kassandra enjoy herself and run and play. I can't say this enough - it is so much fun watching her. Making her own decisions on what she wants to do, see, touch, play with. It's so much fun for me.

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Finally I got Kassandra's little red riding hood costume complete. Now it's time to test it out. The PTA at the local elementary school put on a trunk or treat. I thought this would be a great chance for Kassandra to test out what it will be night on Halloween. The only down side (other than the long line) was that it was cold and windy!

2011-10-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

Kassandra had her 18 month appointment today. She is 26 lbs and 32 1/2 inches long. She is a very healthy, happy little girl.
Afterward, as a reward I took her to a fall festival. We got our pumpkins, went trick or treating and home for a nap. I was watching Jarrett this day, and Kassandra as always, was so excited to have a friend join her.

I didn't have Kasssandra's costume ready and so I put on her new OU cheerleader outfit. Everyone loved it.

Park time

2011-10-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Now that Kassandra is getting older she is learning how to use the toys at the park all by herself. She is getting so big :).
It is so much fun to watch her play with everything and to chose herself what she wants to play on or with.

Bed time - this is how Kassanra rolls. LOL. I thought it was so funny that I couldn't get the whole PJ on her fast enough.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Last year we started our first family tradition of going to Gilcreast Orchard. So of course this year we went back. This year we took family with us. We had a great time looking for pumpkins and other fruits and vegetables (although most was gone as it was the end of the season).

Kassandra's signature pose - showing off her belly button.

Potty training

2011-09-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

Diaper changing became extremely difficult. Kassandra didn't like when she had to be changed and kept trying to take off her diaper when she had to go. So we bought a potty and thought we would give potty training a try. She loved sitting on the potty and was so happy when she went in it. However this did not last. After about a week she had enough of the potty and happily went back to going in her diaper. Oh well. We will try again at a later date.

First Fat Burger

2011-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Fat Burger has some of the best food. We don't go often so it's a treat for us when we go. Thanks to Kassandra it was one of my cravings during my pregnancy. Time for her to experience it first hand...

Looks so good now I want some....

Happy Birthday Connor!

2011-09-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Connor had his birthday party at chuck e cheese. It was fun to watch the kids play with all the toys and to have a good time with family.

1st OU game of the Season

2011-09-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Finally! We love our football and Kassandra loves letting us know when there is a touchdown! Go OU!

Very proud of her OU shirt

Family photo

Gymboree

2011-09-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Groupon we got a few weeks of Gymboree for less than half price. I've been wanting to find other things for Kassandra to do so I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to check them out. We went to the first class all excited....only to find that the class was very boring - and not just to us. Kassandra and her friend Lucy wanted nothing to do with the class. (So glad that Kassandra had her friend Lucy to hang out with other wise I'm not sure what we would have done). As the weeks went on Kassandra did enjoy being there and playing with the stuff but still didn't care for the class. Most of the stuff they taught Kassandra already knew since we did a lot of the stuff at home. So our lesson is that Gymboree is not for us. We will look for the next good deal.

Progression of our back yard

2011-09-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Since we are spending more time at home now (since I'm babysitting) I really wanted to invest in a back yard play area for the kids. Everything is used and the rubber mulch we got on clearance. This whole back yard at regular price would be over $1,000. We did it for under $300 and a bit of sweat and heavy lifting. All worth it for the amount of fun the kids have with it.

New bikes and helmets for Connor and Allie

2011-08-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

At Christmas we told Connor and Allie that we would get them new bikes as part of their late Christmas gift when they moved to Vegas. Well it took a little longer then expected but they finally got them. Tom and I had a lot of fun shopping with them. It was a moment we will all treasure.

Thanks Bonnie!

2011-08-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Bonnie made this halloween shirt for Kassandra. It is so cute! Thanks Bonnnie! Kassandra loves it!

Three Musketeers

2011-08-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Kassandra, Deegan and Lilly (a friend's child, obviously not my Niece as she is now in FL). I watch Deegan and Lilly. Kassandra loves it when they come over and play.

Deegan and Kassandra kissing - except Kassandra is playing shy.

I love my baby so much

2011-08-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Just a pic of us

Pediped photo shoot

2011-07-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Kassandra was invited to be a shoe model for Pediped. She wasn't sure what to think of the whole thing but did very well for her first time. Who knows, maybe someday she will be able to show her beautiful face

Kassandra does not know the word patient. All she wanted to do was, well anything else other then let ME take some pictures of her. The next picture is Jarrett and Kassandra. Jarrett is one of her friends.

The only pic I got of Kassandra a the photo shoot. She did very well especially since she couldn't see me and had a strange person working with her.

Here is the final ad.

Packing, leaving and good byes

2011-07-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

David is one exhausted guy! But nearly the entire house is packed - well minus the stuff that wouldn't fit in the truck. Thanks for the chair guys, Tom loves it. LOL

David and Zach are in the truck. Kassandra getting last hugs from Aunt Wendy.
Kassandra will miss them so much (and so will we)

Goodbye dinner with the Jensen's

2011-07-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

We had a goodbye dinner for the Jensen's before they moved to Florida (and left us behind). I made lasagna, not knowing that David didn't like lasagna. Yep that's right. I hate them moving so much I made David's least favorite meal. Ok so I didn't know, but it's sort of fitting considering that they are leaving us (don't ya think?)
We had a nice evening and I enjoyed every last moment, trying my hardest to take it all in without crying. I think I did pretty good...until the end.

Eating Dinner

David squeezes in his workout where ever he can (that's Logan and Gwen)

That's a much better position. Now the kids aren't falling.

You are a funny looking man Uncle David.

I am the only normal one here. Putting on a dance show for the family.

Leaving Aunt Wendy hanging. No I'm not going to high five you, you are leaving me.

Now this is fun!

Best bud's (Lilly is missing)

Let's smash Logan

I missed a few pictures

2011-07-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Because they were on my phone I missed a few pictures from the past. Here they are.....

Kassandra and Deegan having their morning drink.

Kassandra modeling a pair of Pediped shoes that Kelly brought over to show off.

Tom was trying to nap and Kassandra was bringing him stuff to keep him entertained. It didn't work.

Riding in style

To cute!

The beginning of Summer

Gwen trying to get in the car with Kassandra

Just the two of us

Playing with Uncle David!

Kassandra, Logan, Deegan and Lilly

Hamming it up for the camera

Oh my, what concentration

Get Logan!

What fun!

Oh no you don't! The living room was changed around after this.

Kassandra got a present from Aunt Andrea!

The doll makes all sorts of sounds. Kassandra didn't know what to think of it.

Fruits and Vegetables, my favorite!

Play with me daddy! (My old barbie dolls and toys)

Ride on Cowboy and girl

More fun

All Lilly wanted was a hug and kiss. After this I started working with Kassandra on hugging and kissing others. Now she loves it!

The girls

2011-07-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I take pics of myself first thing in the morning but oh well, at least K looks cute!

Chilaxing

4th of July

2011-07-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the top of a parking garage to watch the strip fire works, only to find out later that they did the "high" fire works on the 3rd and on the 4th did ground level fire works. Booo! However we had a view of the entire city and all over the place we could see fireworks, which was kinda cool. We then went back to our house to light some fireworks. Thanks Franke and Janette!

Ok so I changed my lens and setting so I can get pics of the strip and fireworks. What I didn't expect was to be ready to take a picture of Kassandra. Now that you know why the pictures turned out a bit funny you can enjoy....

Ahhhh a place to sit down. What do you mean I can't lean back?

And yet she gets right back on to try again.

The South end of the strip.

Sparklers

Sometimes don't you just think to yourself "these two are trouble?"

Patiently waiting

Ok guys, here is what you need to do!

Happy Birthday Allie!

2011-07-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Allie's birthday today. It was a fun day and Kassandra loved seeing her cousins.

Kassandra, that is not a chair!

Gwen trying to ride a scooter

Ohhhhh presents

Smile....

I'm must like my mom!

Happy Birthday to you

Playing around.

Frank, Janette and kids come for a visit

2011-07-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

We were so excited when we heard that Frank, Janette, Ciara, Abby and Eli were coming for a visit. We were even happier when they took us up on our offer to stay with us. We loved spending so much time with them. On a personal, and somewhat selfish note I really needed this visit. It has been so long since we have been able to go to L.A. so I was so happy that they came to us.

We went to the park to hang out at the splash pad. Kassandra was still not a fan. We then played in the play area before the thunderstorm started.

My CDO (otherwise known to you as OCD I just like it in alphabetical order) has rubbed off on Kassandra. As she was walking by the wood chips she noticed that some of them were on the curb so she walked over and pushed them back into the play area. Good girl! (And I'm so sorry)

And she finishes walking toward me after she "fixed" the wood chips.

Yeah, to high for me. LOL

Wow, really? You are getting dirty again. Finally you are learning that dirt is ok! Good girl!

Lilly's 1st Birthday party

2011-07-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

We went to Lilly's first birthday party. It has been such a pleasure to watch Lilly grow over the last year. I love how she is always so happy, loves to make people laugh and is such a people person. She was the life of the party, as she should be.

Mommy we just arrived and it's hot out. Please give me a few minutes before taking picture. Oh fine, I'll just take a picture of Wendy and Logan :)

Wendy and Grace did an awesome job with the cake and cupcakes. I also loved the balloons.

David "The Master Chief" and his Apprentice Logan

Kassandra loves Uncle David time. She finds him odd, but then again so do I.

Happy Birthday to you Lilly!

Cake time

Present time! Logan was a big help.

Logan is more interested in the presents then Lilly (off to the right)

We got Lilly a vacuum as she loves Kassandra's and I didn't want her to miss it after her move to FL. She was so excited she couldn't wait for Daddy to get it out of the box.

Gwen is helping with the presents.

Grace David and Lilly

Kassandra got Lilly a doll, so how did Tom end up with it?

What does Scott have and why is Tom smiling? Just asking.

Logan and Lilly

Kassandra, Lucy and Deegan spend another day together

2011-06-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Kassandra got to play with Lucy and Deegan again. She loves her friends so much!

This is the first 5 minutes of play time. What will they do with the rest of their time....

climb the school bus....

Deegan tired already of playing with the girls.

Tackle Deegan...

Whenever I sit on the floor Kassandra sits on my lap. Deegan sat on the floor and Kassandra thought that it was her opportunity to sit with Deegan. :)

Pool time!

2011-06-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

The M Casino offers locals to come and use their pool. The best part is women and children under 5 are free! Kassandra and I joined some friends for some fun in the sun.

Above: Kassandra and Gracyn

Below: Kassandra and Finnegan

Tired and ready for a nap...both of us!

Yawnnnnn. Just woke up from her nap and I needed to get a picture of that hair!

Gwen and Kassandra

2011-06-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Gwen's mommy, Heather (who I went to school with) birthday is tomorrow. So the girls decided to paint so that Gwen can make a present for mommy. The girls had a lot of fun, and as you can tell I picked up a few pointers from the last time Kassandra painted (pacifier for Kassandra and a drop cloth so there is no painting the floor).

Summer Splash

2011-06-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

We live in an HOA community. We have a large park that is co-owned between us and the city. Part of our HOA dues pay for special events at the park. This event is Summer Splash. They had 5 blow up water slides all of various types and styles, music, food, coloring station, water gun station and other things. Since Kassandra loves the water we thought we would go and hang out for a bit. We were there a lot longer then expected but that was because we had so much fun and the weather was perfect to hang out in. Tom aka "I don't need any sun block" turned into a lobster while Kassandra and I walked away with a nice tan.

Not sure who is cuter?

Kassandra is an ice lover!

At home, relaxing and enjoying some light reading on daddy's kindle.

Lucy's visit

2011-06-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today Kassandra and I had the privileged of watching Lucy. After talking with Lucy's mom, Katie I was a little concerned that Lucy would spend the entire time crying and throwing tantrums. Instead I had this angel that even ate for me (something that Lucy doesn't like to do to often). Kassandra had a great time playing with another girl too.

So cute. They are eating their snack and talking to each other.

Almost ready for a nap.

Splash Pad

2011-06-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to take Kassandra to the splash pad. The water was cold, but Kassandra never really discovered that as she was to scared of the water coming up from the ground.

Deep in thought about the fun she will be having at the park

Mom, you are crazy if you think I'm going out there!

This is much better!

But mom, I want to go back to the splash pad!!!!!

Play time

2011-06-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Kassandra and I meet David and the kids at the mall for a little outing. We walked around, got cookies and played in the pathetic "play area" (when you see the pics you will see why it's pathetic). We had so much fun that when it was time to go Logan wanted to go with me and Kassandra and spend the night. It didn't seem to take a lot of arm twisting from David to say yes. So off we went for a night at our house. I also had Gwen this night and since, as per Gwen "Logan is my boyfriend" this gave them some quality time together. The next day I also watched Deegan, who just LOVES Logan. Logan is such a big help! We had a great time with Logan.

Our morning before leaving for the mall.

At the mall - this is the play area.

Back at our house. I took out my barbies and accessories that I had that I use to play with as a kid for Kassandra. Logan and Gwen are getting their first look at it.

S'more time

Bed Time

The next day. Since it was so nice out it was the perfect time to burn off some energy.

Oh my! Kassandra is actually getting dirty. I was afraid to get closer as I thought she would stop. LOL.

Logan can always make Deegan laugh. Logan is such a comedian.

Happy Fathers Day Daddy!

2011-06-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Kassandra and I got Tom a few little things for Fathers Day. As always, I think the box and tissue paper had more of an entertainment value then anything else.

Tom's best look yet!

Top hat

Aunt Shirley comes for a visit

2011-06-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

Tom's Aunt Shirley was in town for a wedding and came over for a little visit. We can't wait for her to come back. Kassandra just fell in love with her! Plus we loved talking and catching up with her too.

Lollipop time

2011-06-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

Kassandra loves her lollipops so we bought a few for her as a treat. I think the smartest thing we did was put on a bib!

No more pictures please.

Christine and Kassandra's outting with Kevin and Deegan

2011-05-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I babysit Deegan, Kevin and Kelly's boy. Kelly had purchased a coupon from Groupon for some playtime at Kinderland cafe. Since Kevin had the day off he invited us girls to go with him. We had a great time! Thanks Kevin, Kelly and Deegan!

I'm handcuffed!

2011-05-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Kassandra was playing with a slinky and having so much fun. Until somehow she managed to get each end on a thumb and wrap it behind her back. She was unable to move her hands and started crying. So like any good mom I run to get the camera first.

2011-05-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

So after Kassandra's first experience with paint I thought that I should buy her some and give her some "practice" on getting dirty. So here we go. Our second attempt at painting.

First thing she did was dip her finger in the blue and eat it. If you look closely you can see her blue lips. It's my fault really. Every time she has a plate it has food on it. How could she have known that this is not for her to eat this time.

So in went the pacifier. There, now she won't eat the paint!

Then after she was done Kassandra discovered that she can paint the floor. Yeah, next time I will put down a painting mat.

Hair Day

2011-05-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

As Kassandra's hair grows her hair is getting, well a little wild. These pics were taken after her bath. I took the towel to dry her hair and when I lifted the towel this is what it looked like.

WHAT?

Kassandra's procedure

2011-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Today Kassandra is having a small procedure done - or at least that is what they tell me. She has to have tubes put in her ears. Due to her teething she got fluid in her ears. The fluid had trouble draining and built up and sat in her ears. The fluid is now so thick that it can't drain. This is making it hard for her to hear. To her it sounds like we are all underwater. So they tell me this is a simple procedure. That it is 5 to 10 minutes and that's it. She will feel like she has a hangover for about 20 minutes, but that is due to the gas they use. We get to take her home the same day and then in 4-6 weeks we will start to see a difference. We will also notice that she won't be sick as often. Like I said - that's what they tell me. But since I'm the mommy it does not stop me from being stressed out over this. Good thing I have Tom by my side and that he is the sensible one in this.
Ok so now that the procedure is over I can tell you that it did only take about 5 minutes and it was so quick that I only had 2 sips of my coffee before they called us back to be with Kassandra again. However 20 minutes was more like an hour. But after an hour she was good to go and the happy little girl that we see every day.
Here are pictures of her waiting for the procedure.

She got to play with the mask they were going to use on her. They said that by letting her play with it she will get use to it and so that when they go to use it on her she won't be afraid of it.

This was her after the procedure and once she calmed down. What a trooper. (No flashes please). :)

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

The best part about my Mother's Day was spending it with Tom and Kassandra. It was a very mellow, lazy day which I loved. Of course because of that I we didn't take any pictures so I insisted that Tom take a picture of Kassandra and I before bed time.

Nap time

2011-05-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Apparently I mis judged how tired Kassandra was. She was so tired that she laid on the floor under my legs and fell asleep. It took all of about 30 seconds. She has never done this before.

I'm a big girl now!

2011-05-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

We took Kassandra off the bottle and have been trying to figure out which sippies she likes the most. I'm not sure if it's Dora (after all, she will sit and watch it for a whole 3 minutes) or if it's a straw and she loves drinking from straws, but we finally found one that she likes. Check out our big girl!

May 1st - Birthday day

2011-05-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy day. First it started with Gwen's birthday party. It was Alice in Wonderland theme. If you didn't have a costume you would wear something wild and crazy. Now that I explained why Kassandra is wearing her outfit I will tell you how much fun she had. The party was at Child's play. It's a big indoor play area for kids. Kassandra is not a member as I don't feel it is something that she would get enough use out of but for a first time visit she had a great time. You will see by the pictures that she had her favorite areas.
Gwen turned 3 years old. I am happy to say that I have been watching Gwen since she was an itty bitty baby and watched her grow into the wonderful little girl she is today.

After the party we came home so Kassandra could nap. After her nap we went to Daxton's birthday party. Daxton lives 1 block down from us. He was born 6 days after Kassandra. Kassandra and Daxton haven't spent much time playing together, but after the party we realized that needs to change. Kassandra loved Daxton's toys but more than that they did have a great time together (at least when Daxton didn't take a toy away from Kassandra).

Is this anything like the rabbit hole?

oh my goodness! What a cute and happy little girl!

Daxton

Mommy I love the ducky. Mommy, Daxton is taking his ducky back.

All is right with the world again. At least until we have to pry the duck out of her hands to go home.

Happy Birthday Daxton. For his birthday his daddy let him loose with the toilet paper.

And the presents keep coming

2011-04-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

Kassandra received some birthday money from various people so we decided to make some use of it with some new toys. The big item is her car. This is going to be great to push her around the neighborhood in. She is so excited about this car. We also go a dump truck, sit and spin. I had some good coupons and manged to save quite a bit of money and of course allowed her to get more.

Not sure who had more fun with the dump truck.

I want my car NOW!

Kassandra's 1st Year doctor appointment

2011-04-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

When Kassandra was born on April 20, 2010 she weighed in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 19.5 inches long. It is now April 29th and Kassandra had her 1 year check up. She now weighs in at 22 pounds (64%) and is 30.625 inches long (90%) and her head is 18.25 (83%). She is in 24 month or 2T tops as they fit better for the length and in 12 month shorts/pants. (Just like mommy she has a long torso. Just like daddy she has stubby legs). Her vocabulary is a bit stalled, which is due to her ears (she has to much fluid in her ears and needs to have tubes put in). However she does say mommy, daddy, yeah, no and a few others. Most of the time she is a very independent, happy girl. However if you don't let her do what she wants to do she will get very upset. Yep her and I are already at odds with one another when I won't let her get her way. This is just a sign of things to come, or at least that is what I think. She is shy around others and does not want to be held. Although she is not a morning person (then again neither am I) she is go, go, go from the time she wakes til her nap and then from the time she wakes until bed. She is a great eater. She eats anything we put in front of her and she loves to eat and drink whatever we have. She is off the bottle and baby food. She doesn't sleep well at night but we are hoping to fix that in the near future.
As for Tom and I we have thoroughly loved the last year of our life. A child is a major change in anyone's life, and it was of course no different with us. We no longer know what it is like to sleep in, go on dates or have quiet time but would not change it for anything. We look forward in the coming years and to watch Kassandra grow up.

Time to go to the Dr. I'm styling!

Chilling while waiting for the Dr.

Um, can I rethink this appointment? I just heard mommy mention shots?

Hey, how come I never got one of these before? I love it!

Draft Day

2011-04-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

For NFL Draft Day 2010 Kassandra and I were in the hospital and Kassandra was a day old. Oklahoma had 3 players go in the first round - heck they had 3 players go in the first few drafts. So not only was Tom excited to become a father and to hold his baby daughter but he was thrilled when Oklahoma did so well in the draft. Anyway, Tom sat there in the hospital, holding Kassandra and watching the draft (ok, Kassandra slept through most of it).

Fast forward to 2011 and it's Draft day again. Kassandra and Daddy chilled on the couch watching the draft.... at least until nap time.

Logan and Lilly come for a visit

2011-04-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Kassandra loves it when her cousins come for a visit. We always have so much fun!

Hair day

2011-04-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

As Kassandra's hair gets longer, she tends to wake up with interesting hair do's. It's so cute!

Painting in the park

2011-04-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

My mommies group got together to let the kids paint in the park. It was a perfect day out so what more can you ask for when deciding to let the kiddo's make a mess. Kassandra however, does not care for getting dirty so it was a bit difficult to get her to paint.

Alexis and Harry. Harry is 1 day older then Kassandra and they were both delivered at the same hospital. We actually meet Alexis and her husband in our birthing class :)

Deegan

Bonnie and Shamus. I loved his art work! Bonnie is a wonderful artist and it is obvious that Shamus takes after her.

We decided to let the kids clean themselves up at the splash pad. Kassandra is not a fan so that didn't work for us, but as you can see Deegan had a great time.

Our Hummingbird

2011-04-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

There is a Hummingbird that loves our house and tree and visits us daily. I'm coming to think that it adopted us.
So I guess I should introduce our latest member of the family. It's beautiful. When it spreads it's wings there is lots of purple.

FYI - for those that may remember, mom loved hummingbirds and she loved the color purple.

The Easter Bunny was here!

2011-04-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Easter morning we woke up to find that the Easter Bunny visited our house and brought baskets for the kids and the family! We are very lucky! This is Kassandra's 1st Easter, even though she is now over 1 year old. That's what happens when a Holiday can't stay on the same day!

Disclaimer: our back yard is full of weeds. The good news is that it made it easy for the Easter Bunny to hide the eggs.

Kassandra found her baskets

She can't wait to eat the chocolate and as you can see she won't let the wrapper get in her way!

Allie is helping out Kassandra, although Kassandra is still only interested in the chocolate.

Finally she got her chocolate!

Connor and Allie are happy!

These Easter Bunnies are the same that were in Christine's house when she was growing up.

Time for the Easter Egg Hunt! We started inside with the hard boil eggs that we decorated the night before. I sure hope Kassandra doesn't think of them as a ball and try to throw them across the room!

I guess we need to teach Kassandra that you can't eat everything - especially plastic eggs.

Checking out her loot

Some are filled with her favorite snacks!

Trying to eat the marshmallow candy - but first she has to eat her way through the box.

She even got money!

The Adults??????

I love the picture of Kassandra laughing. What's up Doc?

It was a great day! I can't wait to see what Kassandra thinks of Easter next year.

Eating an apple

2011-04-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Tom picked up Bountiful Baskets today and in our basket was apples. Kassandra got to the apples and decided to help herself. I figured let her try. She managed to get a few little bites before losing interest in it.

Decorating Eggs

2011-04-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

We spent a nice evening at home decorating Easter Eggs. Even Kassandra got to decorate her first eggs! Of course this will also be her first Easter as last year she was born after Easter.

Trying to get Kassandra to eat before we decorate eggs. She just wants to have fun.

Kassandra checking out the egg. The next thing she did was throw it on the table. LOL. The egg cracked open so we couldn't dye that one.

Tracy explaining the colors as we got two of the backwards (Tracy and I had to guess on what tablet went in what bowl)

Tracy helping Kassandra and Daddy is peeling the egg that Kassandra broke.

What do you want to do with this Kassandra?

Time for some chocolate. Poor chocolate Easter Bunny - it never stood a chance. LOL

We are trying to get Kassandra to color the egg

JUST COLOR IT!!!!!

Darn it! I didn't take a picture of all of the beautiful colored eggs. Everyone enjoyed them :)

Emily and Mic's wedding site

2011-04-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Today we checked out Emily and Mic's wedding site. I will be doing all the photography for the wedding so I needed to see where the place was and check out lighting and such. The location is a park in Henderson and is beautiful - like so many parks.

Day at Red Rock

2011-04-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to Red Rock Canyon for a few hours. We had a wonderful time, but next time I need to take a carrier so that I don't have to carry Kassandra (it's not easy trying to carry her and climb). it was a perfect day to go. In the 80's but a slight cool breeze to keep everyone cool. The kids had a great time, but would like to go back so they can climb around more.

Learning all about rocks

ewwww

Kassandra checking out the view of Red Rock

Easter basket and more birthday presents

2011-04-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

David, Wendy, Logan and Lilly came by today. They had an Easter basket for Kassandra and we had one for Logan and Lilly. Kassandra was napping the entire time that they were over for a visit so you will see her open her basket below.

Mommy, what do I do with this?

Ok, I'll play with these eggs

Ohhhh I got chocolate....

Muah. I love kissing my chocolate

Ummmm Kassandra, now you are really getting into this

It's open!

Now that I got it open can I eat it? I'm so happy!

Oh look there is more.....

cool stuff

I'm not sure about the hat though

I really love the bunny

Kassandra also received a birthday present from the Timmons Family. She opened it on her own! She loved it!

Ok, got it. Now I'm off

Chocolate time!

She offers it to daddy and he takes a bite. She offers it to mommy and Allie and pulls it away before we can get a bite. I guess we are not suppose to eat her chocolate.

Wow, that's a lot of chocolate in her mouth!

Almost done....

Oh yeah, sugar overload

Look at that mouth!

Ok so actually that evening one more gift was delivered to the house, but Kassandra was already asleep. I sat it on the floor by the couch. The next morning I bring out Kassandra and a cup of coffee and sit on the couch. She wants "something" so I let her play...or so I thought. Next thing she is doing is pulling on this present. Ooops Mommy forgot about it as she was still sleepy.

4/20/2011 - Kassandra is offically 1!

2011-04-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Kassandra's birthday. Mommy went to scrapbook with a friend, finally working on Kassandra's album. I took Kassandra with me and she was able to play with mommy's son who is 9 months old. It was a great time had by all! When we got home mommy fixed me turkey meat loaf, potatoes and veggies for dinner, my favorite. After we had cake. Mmmm how I love cake

I could care less about the candle. Get rid of it and give me some cake!

Hey Kassandra, the present is not the tissue paper....there is something else inside the bag...

I'm a big kid now!

2011-04-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Kassandra is learning how to be a big girl. We walk to the mailbox together. Part of the way she holds my hand and part of the way she doesn't. It's a very long walk for her so I usually have to carry her back. That's ok in time she won't need me anymore.
The next picture is Kassandra sitting on the couch, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (the only cartoon she will sit still for for 2 minutes) and eating a Gogurt.
Ok, in regards to the TV - I always have it on as I like the background noise. I taught Kassandra to ignore it and still play with all her toys. Now I can't get her to watch TV. I'm sure it won't always be like this, but every once in a while I imagine what it would be like to have a child that sat still.

Walking all over the place!

2011-04-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Kassandra loves walking all over the place. She is doing very well and as you can see she doesn't have to hold onto anything anymore.

The many faces of Kassandra

2011-04-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so 1st I got my battery charger back - which feels great! Now I can go camera happy again. But really, who could resist taking these pictures. Kassandra was making funny faces at me making me laugh.

Kassandra's 1st Birthday Bash!

2011-04-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

I'm 1!

We had a Tea Party birthday party for Kassandra at the park. It was perfect! Family, friends, food, weather - everything. I could not imagine a better 1st birthday party.

But I don't like being center of attention!

Did someone say cake?

Kassandra is so clean with the cake so Deegan was helping Kassandra out.

Thank you everyone for celebrating my birthday with me and for all the great presents. I'm going to have lots of fun now!

Babes Easter Party

2011-04-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

We got the families together for an Easter celebration. We had a jumpy house and lots of food. We couldn't find a Bunny costume so no Bunny, but it didn't stop all the fun!

Kassandra is smiling! With her ears, smiles are few and far between so this was welcoming.

Mommy had fun too!

The Mommies

Hanging out inside

Outside

More fun in the bouncy house

Finn checking out Kassandra

Boys - you don't need to fight over me!

Must I keep humoring daddy?

Spring Babies Birthday Party

2011-04-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

In our Mommies/Babies group we have so many Spring Babies that we decided to combine them and have one Fun First Bash! We had to move it indoors as it was to cold for all of us to spend the afternoon in the park. We still had a great time and of course so did the Babes!

Above: Sophia
Below: Harry and Kassandra - "Mommy he is taking my toy"

Right: Harry and Alexis

Below: Will

What do you want mommy, I'm trying to eat my cookie????

The babies and then the mommies

Cupcake 2 class

2011-04-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I took cupcake 1 and now cupcake 2 class to learn to make cupcakes so I can attempt to look what I am doing for Kassandra's 1st birthday party. I purchased the classes with my Groupon so I got them for half price. Gotta love Groupon! The classes are a lot of fun and this time around I was able to go with a friend.

Above: A chick
Below: a Rose

Above: Elmo
Below: Cookie Monster

Above: Spongebob
Below: Hello Kitty