Decorating our tree

We had to say good bye to daddy again today:( Luckily this time he'll only be gone a few weeks and will be home to celebrate Christmas with us.
Friday we took it easy after all that Thanksgiving day food. Per Kailani's request, we had lunch at Chili's. Then we headed over to the Otay Ranch Town Center for pictures with Santa. I wanted to kids to have their pictures taken with Santa for Christmas cards. Too bad Kailani didn't have the same idea in mind! She wouldn't go anywhere near Santa. She stood to the side of him and held my hand, but wouldn't get close enough to be in the picture. We got a good picture of Zachary and Santa. I didn't buy the picture because I wanted one with both of them, but wish I would have gotten it. I want Zachary to have some pictures by himself:)
Saturday it rained all day. We went to a birthday party for a short time and then headed back home so daddy could get ready.
This morning we took daddy to the airport to go back to Alabama. We decided to decorate the house this afternoon. Becky and the kids came over the help. Kailani and Makenzi helped pick out a tree at Target. This year we opted for a fake tree. Kailani wanted a "medium-sized" tree because "medium-sized trees are for little girls." We decorated the tree with lots and lots of ornaments. Kailani enjoyed looking at all the personalized ornaments we have with her name on.
Both kids passed out early tonight because we had such a long day.
We'll have to adjust back to our work and school schedules tomorrow morning:(

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday...we were all stuffed. Zachary now has two bottom teeth coming in and says "da da." Kailani still loves being a big sister.

Zachary's new buddy

Coca Cola Santa

So...Kailani made it through a fever yesterday without a seizure. She hasn't had one since last December (keeping my fingers crossed). Monday night she started running a low-grade fever; I think as a result of the flu shots. She seemed to be fine on Tuesday so we went to My Kids Clubhouse to play for a little. When we got home she was running a fever again. She quickly got over that and was playing just fine. I am not sure what was going on. We went to Chick-fil-A last night and she's been fine since:)

Today we headed to the commissary. Santa was there with Coca Cola. The kids got their pictures taken and they mailed letters to Santa. Coke is going to donate $1 for every letter mailed. The kids had their picture taken with Santa...you can check out our picture at http://www.caravanclicks.com/ and use the code CC2ZRCAHJ99S - the picture might not be ready right away. I am not sure where the donation will go. Kailani picked a 2-year old girl tag from the Angel tree to buy a gift for.

We're enjoying our time off.

Santa parade

Let's see...what did we do over the weekend? Saturday Kailani made a turkey center piece at Lakeshore and then we had lunch with Becky, Makenzi, and Jaylynn. Saturday night we all met up for the tree lighting and Santa parade at the Otay Ranch Town Center. The girls enjoyed the parade, but I didn't think it was as exciting as the parades I am used to. I don't think Kailani's been to a parade before, except maybe at Disney. Sunday we hung out at home all day.
Zachary is getting a bottom tooth. He's been a little crabby, but overall not too bad. Over the weekend he was laying on his play mat in the middle of the toy room floor. I was doing some dishes and when I looked over, he was right up against the water cooler. I am not sure how he made it that far, but he must have rolled all the way. He'll be crawling before we know it.
Today we went to the "First Thanksgiving" with the meetup group. We had a pot luck lunch and the kids got to make pilgrim hats or Indian headbands. The girls all made the Indian headbands. After lunch we went over to Balboa to get the flu shots. Our pediatrician doesn't have either so we were able to walk in at the hospital. Kailani got the seasonal and H1N1 shot and didn't even cry. We went for ice cream afterwards. Zachary is old enough...since he's 6 months old today, but the nurse recommended he wait until he has his 6 months shots before getting either of the flu shots. He has a 6 month appointment on December 2. I will probably take him for both flu shots as soon after that appointment as I can. I hope they don't run out before then. Kailani has to go back for a booster of the H1N1 in 30 days since this is the first time she got this shot.
Both kids are napping now so I better see what I can get done:)

Keeping busy

I feel like I have less and less time to blog. I guess that means we're keeping busy:) Let's see...what did we do over the weekend?? Friday after work I picked up Makenzi and Jaylynn and brought them to our house to play with Kailani. Becky had an interview at CVS. After her interview, Becky came down and we grilled steaks for dinner. The kids play well together except I think they are getting a little too comfortable with each other. The fight over toys and all that normal stuff.
Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of the little girls in our meetup group. The party was at My Kids Clubhouse, the indoor play area. Kailani loves to play there, so the fact that we had a birthday party there was good...it's a change from all the recent birthday parties at Pump it Up! The little girl whose party it was turned one. The family is from Hawaii, so her mom and I hit it off right away at the first few meetups I went to. After the party we headed to Chick-fil-A to turn in the boxes we filled with gifts for a little boy and a little girl. Kailani really enjoyed doing that. We walked around the Otay Ranch Town Center for a while and Kailani talked daddy into letting her make a Build a Bear. She made a Christmas moose and dressed him in snowman pjs with slippers. She picked a frosty the snowman song to put inside.
Today I had jury duty. Basically, I sat in a room all day and read my book and watched cash cab. No one was ever called in a finally, after hours of sitting doing nothing, we were excused. Although I think it would have been interested to be assigned to a case, I am glad my service is over. I picked the kids up from daycare early to spend some extra time with them. Zachary is sleeping and hopefully Kailani will take her nap soon too.
I started my training class for the University of Phoenix last Tuesday so I've had some late nights trying to get my work done. One more week of general training and then I move onto the specialized training.

Planning for college

We started a job chart with Kailani yesterday. So far she's doing well...she really wants the stickers. The things on her list are things she should be doing anyway, but it will prepare her for different jobs as she gets older. She has to make her bed, take a bath, comb her hair, brush her teeth, clean up her toys, and be happy:)

Kailani told me today she wants to go to college when she gets bigger. We pass by a high school and a college on the way home from daycare every night and she is always curious about what is happening. She said she wants to be a doctor when she grows up..."like Dr. Chang." Dr. Chang is her pediatrician.

Kailani is always asking questions in the car. She asks about what roads we are on. She knows how to get to our house. If I tell her what road we're on she can tell me the next few roads to go on to get home. She's a smart cookie.

Operation kid comfort

Friday afternoon Jason and I went to see Elly's baby. He's three weeks old. It will be nice when he gets a little older because Zachary will have a playmate. I picked up the quilt that was made for Zachary by volunteers at the Armed Forces YMCA. Through a program called Operation Kid Comfort, families with deployed parents can have quilts made for the kids with pictures of them and the deployed service members. Zachary's quilt looks cute. Kailani's was not finished yet...hopefully soon.

Saturday morning Kailani did the art project at the teacher store. She made a flag for Veteran's day. We walked around the mall for a while and had lunch at Red Robin. We're happy there's finally a Red Robin down by us.

This weekend we hung around the house a lot. Kailani is really enjoying her kitchen set and "cooking" and when we're running all weekend she doesn't get much time to play. Today Kailani and I got our nails done. Kailani helped prepare gifts for a little girl and boy through a program called Operation Christmas Child. We filled shoe boxes with gifts for a boy and a girl. The shoe boxes are sent around the world to kids who don't really get gifts at Christmas time. Kailani enjoyed shopping for the kids and packing the boxes.

Fall back

We had another busy weekend...and I thought we were going to relax! Friday morning Kailani had her Halloween parade and party at school. It was at an awkward time, so instead of me taking off the whole day, Becky went to watch. It is so nice having family here! Friday night we went to the mall...nothing too exciting. Saturday afternoon Kailani had her final cooking class. They made a pumpkin face out of a bagel. The frosted the bagel with a pumpkin cream cheese spread and added fruits for the parts of the face. After cooking class we headed to trick or treat at the Target shopping center. We went around to each of the stores in the center. Makenzi and Jaylynn joined us. Saturday night we all headed over to Nicole's house for trick or treating with Madison. The kids had a great time.

Today we went to the Fall Back Festival down town. Kailani panned for gold. There were pony rides and lots of free activities for the kids.