Update - Potty Training Post... My One and Only.

I don't announce to the (social media) world that Kenzie has been potty training these last few months, but I thought I'd share a little excitement. She is officially out of diapers, but still rockin' a pull-up at nighttime. She has 1-2 accidents per week, usually while at home. While at school, she goes all day without accidents!

It has NOT been an easy training experience, she's three so you can imagine the difficulty we were having. Kenzie is very head-strong, she does things her way and on her own time. I tried EVERY trick and tip in the book, and they all FAILED. I finally stopped asking for advice, they were stupid (haha). Kenzie trained HERSELF with a little help from her preschool. We're so happy!

She's a smart little one, just stubborn! She's growing up so fast and we couldn't be happier with the little person she's turning out to be.

2012 Thanksgiving and Holiday Weekend

Our Thanksgiving was pretty delicious this year! We were sad we couldn't see everyone, but we enjoyed our time together. John is now working a new job, so he was able to spend the day with us! We feasted on turkeys, potatoes, vegetables, pies, and much more! Our bellies and hearts were full. We are so thankful to share our lives with such incredible family. Both of us feel very blessed, we love you all!
After Thanksgiving, we went up to Williams with cousins and siblings to ride the Polar Express. We had a blast! It was cold, but we bundled up and cuddled under blankets. Kenzie fell asleep right before Santa appeared on the train, but she still loved every second. Big thanks to Grandma and Papa for the wonderful (early) Christmas present!! We all loved it and are happy to have the memory! We spent the night and ventured off to Bearizona the next day with cousins and aunts. Another memory we're so thrilled to keep. Kenzie was very excited to see bears and buffalo! The bird show was awesome too, an owl flew so low it knocked off John's sunglasses!! I enjoyed my birthday because we spent the entire weekend together, what more could I ask for? Besides a pedicure ;) We were also blessed with a new, beautiful and perfectly healthy little niece! Miss Aubree Anne made her debut on November 25th at 5:47 p.m. She was 8.4 lbs and 20" long. She has a full head of black, wavy hair!! She is so sweet and perfect, it was a great way to end an already perfect holiday weekend! Enjoy some pictures!

A little scooter time on Thanksgiving morning, donning her boots that were once her dads :)

Family photo before turkey!

John is truly the love of my life 

Swinging on dad during our walk around the block

Warming up by the fire, in our pajamas that we wore on Polar Express

Sitting with Grandma at dinner, before Polar Express

Wanted to ride the horse!

Crashed out after the exciting train ride!

An American bison

Alaskan Tundra Wolves

A black bear! It wasn't more than 5 feet from our car, and ended up closer to us!
It was incredible.

The fearless owl that swooped down and hit John in the head.

Thumbs up for a great time!

I will be uploading more pictures from Polar Express, so stay tuned for more!

Mingus Mountain 2012

On Saturday, November 17, John, Kenzie, and I joined some family up North. We went through Prescott up to Mingus Mountain and we had a blast!!! It was cold, but we bundled up and enjoyed the ride - literally!

John's brother Ryan and his wife, Alicia, went up with us (as well as Ben and Kassie), and brought their RZR and quad. At first I thought Kenzie would be afraid (they're kind of loud), but she was far from it! Kenzie was obsessed with them, we couldn't keep her off!! She is still talking about her fun weekend. She loves her uncles and aunts!

It was an amazing day and we can't wait to go back for more!

**Before anyone wonders, she was PERFECTLY safe riding around. The RZR has seat belts like a car, so she was strapped in!

Too high for me to enjoy, but the view was beautiful.

All bundled up! It was cold for us Arizonans!

She would have jumped off with a hang glider if we let her!

Going for a ride!

All strapped in and ready to go! 

She loved the quad.

Just a little trail mix for the road ;)

Kenzie Is 3!

We recently celebrated Kenzie's third birthday, yes she is already three years old! She is as spunky now as she was when she first arrived into our crazy, beautiful world. Her red hair gets curlier every day and her temper is getting feisty! 

Thank you to everyone who helped her celebrate and for the wonderful gifts you shared. She loves them all!

Enjoy some pitures, we love you!

I had fun decorating!

A lot of food, that no one ate :)

Cookies and Milk!

Decorating Station

Beautiful People 

Kenzie is very shy and spent a majority (ok, all) of the time under the table or in the play room.
But,she's still cute!

Approaching 3...

Kenzie is almost three, can you believe that?! Her age has been shining these last few weeks, John and I feel age 3 will be a rough road, but we will get through it! As sweet as our little Red is, she has a temper! Who knew, right?

Kenzie has a huge heart, she loves her family (grandmas, grandpas/papas, uncles, aunts, cousins, baby dolls, etc...). She's a little princess who loves to play mommy, bake cookies, and dig in the dirty and slide down the big slides. She's a fun little toddler!

Here are some recent pictures for your viewing pleasure ;)

Feeding her baby

Feeding herself ;)

Picnic with all her friends.

Cheesy "spaghetti" smiles!

Silly gil!!

Riding her scooter

A Hike in Prescott

Just a couple weeks ago I had this wild idea pop in my head about taking a day trip up north. That idea turned into reality when we packed a picnic, a first aid kit, extra clothes, and Kenzie, and headed up to Prescott to hike and eat a quick bite near Goldwater lake.We all had a BLAST and will make it a family tradition!

We didn't stay too long, just long enough to walk along a trail and enjoy our picnic lunch. Kenzie loved it and  did so well! We, or at least *I*, was terrified she would jump into the lake, but she didn't. Phew! We left just before the rain hit and only endured a very mild scrape on Kenzie's elbow. 

Enjoy!

4th of July - Sans Fireworks

Fourth of July this years was very low key and quiet. John was working, so Kenzie and I journeyed off to my dad's house for some good, old-fashioned BBQ. The weather was overcast, so we did not go swimming. Also, Kenzie and I were in bed by 8 p.m. so we did not partake in viewing fireworks. Aside from our early bedtime and not swimming, we really enjoyed our time.

Here are some fun pictures:

Ready to go party!

Running downhill super fast!

Summer Swim

How do we handle Arizona's brutal triple digit heat? Swimming, of course! Kenzie loves the pool, she's a little fish! Then again, she's outside so naturally she enjoys herself.

She is very good at only entering the pool at the stairs and if she wants to jump in, she patiently (sort of) waits for us to be there. She had an incident a few months back at my dads pool, so we're thinking it scared her enough to be safer around water!

She kicks her feet and floats alone all the time, we're hoping she'll start understanding the "swimming" process sooner rather than later! Here are some pictures from our most recent swim experience, enjoy!

Shades and arm bubbles... yep, she's all ready!

Catch her John!

So much fun <3

Kenzie loves the pool!