First trip to the dentist

When I picked Kailani up from daycare, we had a conversation about why mommy has to work. I told her (and we've talked about this before) that I have to work so we have money for our house, car, fun things, etc. I told her that it is important that she get a good job when she's older so she can pay for nice things. I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up...doctor, teacher...Kailani says, "I want to be a princess when I grow up." We all know she's already a princess:)

Today the kids had a dentist appointment. Kailani's very used to going to the dentist, but this was the first time she sat in the chair all by herself. I've always held her. She was even ready to hold Zachary when it was his turn:)

Kailani did well except that she didn't like the grape toothpaste that she chose. She actually spit it out! She tried mint, which the hygienist thought she wouldn't like, and it was much better.

Zachary had his teeth examined, but not cleaned. He did a great job...no crying! He'll have his teeth cleaned at the next visit, in 6 months. No cavities for Kailani or Zachary!

Zachary was in all the cabinets tonight...literally!

Daddy?!

I have to write this down because it's too funny...
We took Jason to the airport this morning and after we came home, I turned on the TV for Kailani while I changed Zachary's diaper. All of a sudden, I hear Kailani yelling, "Daddy, Daddy!" I told her that we had just gotten back from taking daddy to the airport and that he wasn't here. She proceeded to say, "but he needs to fix the TV." The TV wasn't working, and apparently, I don't know how to fix it...but I did, and it works fine:)
For once, I am actually looking forward to a pretty quiet weekend. The kids have a dentist appointment tomorrow. This will be the first appointment for Zachary... I hope all goes well.

A little of this and a little of that

Well, I think we've recovered from the two birthday parties on Sunday. The first was a Pump it Up...Kailani loves to jump on all the inflatables. She and the birthday girls were inseparable once we entered the room. After leaving the party, Kailani wanted her birthday party there.
That afternoon, we headed to a birthday party at John's Incredible Pizza Co. This place is about 4 times the size of Chuck E. Cheese, but it's the same idea. There are rides, games, etc. The big difference is the all-you-can-eat buffet....lots of pizza, pasta, salad, and dessert. Kailani played lots of games and earned many tickets. She got a small prize and saved the rest of her tickets for a stuffed pig. She'll need about 800 more tickets for that!
We spent Tuesday night at Chick-fil-A, as usual. Kailani made an "April showers bring May flowers" project. We started going to Chick-fil-A last April, when I was still pregnant with Zachary. I can't believe we've been going there almost every week for over a year...really, we've only missed a few weeks.
Today was my first day back in the office since last Wednesday. I've been at different trainings the last few days. It's hard to get out of the piles of paperwork I came in to this morning. We've got state testing for the next two weeks and then it's "go, go, go" until graduation on June 11. I'm counting down the days until summer vacation.
Tonight I got Zachary's bottle out of the fridge and he said, "ba ba." It's the first time I heard him say something on purpose. He says, "mama" and "dada," but it's not intentional. He's been making lots of different sounds lately. He is not getting into the kitchen cabinets and making messes all over the place. When I say "no" to him he shakes his finger at me. Not sure where he learned that...
Not looking forward to Jason leaving again tomorrow. It's been so nice having the extra help around the house. We've got a quiet weekend ahead of us...

Lady liberty

Today we just had a nice, relaxing day. We headed out to Souplantation for lunch...always a favorite:) Kailani finished Lady Liberty at her art class today. She had fun putting stickers all over. Today she also painted a wooden flower for a Mother's Day project and a wooden hammer (her choice) for a Father's Day project. Can't wait to see how those turn out. She only has two more weeks of the class.

Tomorrow we have a busy day ahead of us...a birthday party in the morning and a birthday party in the evening. Looks like pizza for lunch and pizza for dinner!

New car

Today we spent most of the day at the car dealer. We felt it was time to move on to something bigger for our family. We got a GMC Acadia, which has an optional third row of seating. The kids each have their own DVD players in the back of the head rests. There are so many things to learn about what this car can do. I'll have to spend a whole day sitting in there setting things up. I am very excited:)

Today Zachary is 11 months old. Only one more month until my baby is one!

First round of birthday parties

Saturday afternoon we went to our first of two birthday parties for the weekend. Madison is the daughter of one of the girls from work. Kailani and Madison have become pretty good friends over the last couple years...they're only 3 months apart in age. Kailani got to hit the pinata...it was made in Mexico and it was huge. Kailani didn't want to leave when it was time to go, but we had to run to her art class.

At art class, Kailani finished up her scarecrow. After we were finished making the scarecrow, Kailani wanted to play at the park for a little while. The wind blew over the scarecrow and we had to go back into class to have it repaired. We decided the scarecrow should be displayed inside rather than outside:)

Today we hung around the house. I had wanted to take the kids to the huge Earth Day celebration at Balboa Park, but we needed some time to relax. We went to our second birthday party of the weekend this afternoon at the bowling alley on base. The party was for one of the little boys in the play group. Kailani had never been bowling before and she had a great time.

We've got two more birthday parties next weekend...

Shiny Kailani

Daddy came home today:) We're looking forward to the fun weekend we have planned.

When Kailani saw the Easter Bunny, she got a Shining Star stuffed cat. With the cat, she was able to name her own star. We went online tonight and named a real star. She decided to name her star "ShinyKailani."

A history lesson

I heard on the news yesterday that there was a replica of the Veteran's Memorial wall on display at Balboa Park this weekend, so we headed there this morning. It was neat to see, since I'm not sure we'll ever see the real one. I showed Kailani the picture hanging above our fireplace to explain what we were going to go see. When we got there, she was able to color a picture of a flag a write a message to leave on the wall. I don't think we know of anyone in our family who lost a life in the Vietnam War.

After spending some time looking at the wall, we headed to the park to have a picnic lunch and to allow the girls to play for a little while. Now we're just trying to get things done so we can get ready to get back in the swing of things this week. We go back to work and school tomorrow. About 10 more weeks until summer vacation...

Becky is preparing for George's ship to come in tomorrow. I am excited for her to have him out here finally. This will be the first homecoming she's been a part of. I guess we'll be doing this in a few months.

First art class

Becky and I took the girls (and Zachary) to get our nails done today. They loved it. Kailani got her nails painted green and her toes painted blue.

Kailani had her first art class today. She made a dog out of a brick walkway piece. She said she "can't wait for daddy to come home and see it." She also painted the body of a scarecrow in preparation for next week's project. This art class is way more than just cut and paste projects. The teacher is the same one who taught the cooking classes she took at the park. We decided we didn't need the cooking class anymore since she's doing cooking at school once per week now.

Kailani and Zachary both at 10 months

First haircuts

Today Kailani and Zachary had their first haircuts:) It's hard to believe that Kailani never had a haircut...we tried once but she wasn't having any of it. We went to Pigtails and Crewcuts in the mall and they each sat in the little airplane chair. They were both very well-behaved and actually enjoyed having their hair cut. Kailani had her hair styled afterwards. The girl spiked Zachary's hair too. It was a fun experience, but I'm not sure how often we'll go back...their haircuts cost more than mine.

Legoland and strawberry picking

Today we decided to spend the day at Legoland, Kailani's favorite place:) We had to get our new membership cards and Kailani got one this time. She was all excited to have her own card. Legoland was really crowded today so we didn't get to do much. We went on the fairy tale brook ride and that's about it. We went through the aquarium. They had a whale made out of trash that a first grade class found on the beach. There were all kinds of things used, like sunglasses, flip flops, a cell phone, false teeth, etc. Kailani got a puzzle at the gift shop. She's really into puzzles now. She can do a 24-piece puzzle all by herself.

After Legoland, we went to pick strawberries at the U-Pick Strawberry fields in Carlsbad. Luckily Nana reminded us that last time we went it was all muddy so the kids should wear rain boots. Since it had just rained yesterday, it was muddy. Kailani was able to get some nice strawberries down rows that people hadn't ventured in because of the mud. Daddy helped her get a full bucket. We'll be eating strawberries for a while!

Making s'mores

This afternoon for lunch, I made egg salad sandwiches since we had a bunch of hard-boiled eggs from Easter. I asked Kailani if I could use a couple of her eggs she dyed. She said, "sure." I pulled five eggs out of the fridge and was getting ready to prepare them for the egg salad. Kailani said, "That doesn't look like a couple." She said, "This is a couple" while she held up two fingers. I apologized and told her I was going to use a "few" of her eggs then and she agreed:) Where does she come up with these things?!
Tonight we hung out at Becky's and had pizza for dinner. The girls roasted marshmallows on the fire pit and made S'mores. This was a first for Kailani.

Old Town, Easter, and The EaRtHqUaKe

Friday we headed to Old Town. Last time my mom and dad visited their time at Old Town was limited, so we decided to try again. Kailani dipped a candle in wax at the candle shop. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then ice cream at Coldstone.
Saturday we went to the Spring Fling at Liberty Station. There were different tables set up with activities for the kids. Kailani planted seeds. We got our picture taken with the Easter Bunny. Kailani and Zachary participated in an Easter Egg Hunt. They both went in the 0-3 age group. Zachary got 2 eggs, but Kailani didn't get any. I let her go again with the 4-7 age group. The parents weren't allowed to go with the older kids, so it was easier for Kailani to get some eggs. The parents are the worst at pushing and shoving so their kids get eggs. Kailani only got 3 eggs because she was opening them as she picked them up. She was happy with what she got though.

Sunday Kailani and Zachary were excited with their Easter baskets. Kailani found the eggs the Easter Bunny hid in the house. He hid "bug" eggs and she got to find them and put them in her bug net.

Around lunchtime, Becky, the kids, and my mom and dad came down. My dad and Jason hid over 70 plastic eggs in the yard for the kids. They enjoyed finding the eggs. Kailani was excited because when we counted eggs, we realized there was one egg left, and she found it. We had a surprise when all of a sudden, the house began shaking. We realized after a few seconds that we were having an earthquake. I had felt small earthquakes before, but this one was definitely the largest. The floor was moving from under me, the windows were shaking, and the light hanging in the front door area was shaking on its chain. Kailani said to me, "Mommy, the earthquake hurt my feelings." She also told us all that she hides under the table at school when they do earthquake drills. The earthquake ended up being a 7.2, but luckily all is good.

We had a nice ham dinner and the kids decorated cookies for dessert.

This morning Zachary went to the doctor for a follow up iron test. His level was fine today. The doctor said it's probably the fact that he's eating meets and lots of other regular foods now. He doesn't eat baby food anymore and he is a really good eater.

Picture with the Easter Bunny

Today we took it easy. We spent the morning at the mall. Kailani actually asked to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. She normally won't go anywhere near Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc. I doubted her all the way, but she surprised me and sat on his lap.