Happy New Year!

January is just about half over and it's already been a chaotic month!

Kenzie is fully potty trained and learning to write her name. She's such a smart, wonderful, and (of course I'm biased) incredibly beautiful little girl. She is starting to open up more to family and friends, being shy will soon be a trait from the past. It's been such a joy watching Kenzie grow up these last three years!

John's new job is doing well, however the travel time is starting to mess with ME and my schedule. I miss him! He went to Texas for 10 days and I was going stir crazy by about day 8. Who knew I loved that man so much, huh? :)

Here are some fun pictures, love to all!

Beautiful smile, she has such a big heart.

Being silly on New Years Eve!

We made our own party hats! Happy New Year!

Happy on the swing bed!

Kenzie holding her new cousin, Aubree. She loves her!

Christmas 2012

We had a beautiful Christmas this year. We were able to spend it with everyone in our life that we love and cherish. John's siblings, my siblings, my parents, John's aunts and uncles, etc. It was a magical holiday season and the best part, by far, was watching Kenzie's joy after each present was opened and each hug was given. She loves her grandmas and grandpas, her cousins, aunts, and uncles, and she really loves her toys ;)

To everyone we shared this incredible time with, we thank you for your big hearts. For everyone we weren't able to see, we love you and think of you often!

Here are some pictures, enjoy! (OK, there are a lot of pictures!)

Kenzie's First School Picture - 2012

School Picture - 2012

Kenzie with her Uncle Ben and Aunt Kassie (Eve of Christmas Eve)

Kenzie with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Alicia (Eve of Christmas Eve)

 

Kenzie with her Uncles and Daddy (Eve of Christmas Eve)

Kenzie and her Daddy (Christmas Eve)

John and I (Christmas Eve)

Holding my newest niece, Aubree Ann (Christmas Eve)

Santa came!

Kenzie LOVES her dollhouse!

She asks, "is this mine?" She loved it all

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