The Holidays

Christmas is always a special time of year, but I'm glad it's over now and I'm ready for the new year. I went back to work last Monday and although I was dreading it at first, it does feel good to be a part of the outside world again. Kayla seems to like Kim (her daycare provider) and has been a good girl so far. It was so nice to go back to work on a short week. We had a nice, low-key evening at home on Christmas Eve and went to bed early so we could get up early and have a big breakfast and open presents. Christmas will be more fun for Kayla (and us) next year. On Christmas Day, we went to my friend Nicole's house for dinner. Her son Connor is only 2 weeks older than Kayla. Unfortunately, Kayla was cranky the whole time so I never got a chance to take a picture of them together on their 1st Christmas. Today, Devin and I took the day off because daycare was closed so we did a little after Christmas shopping and went out to breakfast. I'm feeling lazy now so I'll probably wait until tomorrow to take down the tree. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and we wish you all a Happy New Year!

My little snow bunny is ready for winter, baby pink ugs and all!


Kayla's new trick, sticking her whole fist in her mouth.


Here is the view from our driveway looking up Jasmine Lane on Christmas. The snow on the mountains is really beautiful.

Merry Christmas!

My dog Pookie (the big brown fluffy one) is 14 years old now and I'm afraid this could be her last Christmas. :(

So when we were taking our family picture for our Christmas cards this year, I insisted that we include the doggies. Unfortunately, none of them came out very well. Trying to get both dogs to look at the camera and get Kayla to stop crying all at the same time turned out to be impossible. So here is our best attempt. We love you anyway Pookie and Roxy!

Daddy's little girl

Squeaky clean!

Kayla has learned to like bathtime now. She still cries when I first put her in the tub, but after a minute she starts to enjoy kicking in the warm water. She also likes being all wrapped up in her giant bath towel.

Thanksgiving in Arizona

We went to visit Devin's dad for Thanksgiving. Not only did Kayla get to see Grandpa for the first time, three of Devin's sisters and their families were there too! Kayla's cousins are all growing so fast. It was fun to watch them all play. We had a big Thanksgiving dinner with 12 adults and 9 children. Trisha, your turkey was delicious! After dinner, we all took turns playing Guitar Hero. I sucked really bad, but it was still fun. Monica, Shannon, and Trisha were crazy enough to go shopping at 4 am on black Friday. I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in. Kayla is starting to sleep longer at night (sometimes up to 7 hours straight)!

Grandpa Jayson and Kayla

Cousin Briley loves babies!

(left to right) Aunt Trisha with Kendis, Aunt Shannon with

baby Kate (3 months older than Kayla) and Aunt Monica

Blog error

So there is supposed to be a link under each post that allows readers to leave comments. Unfortunately, there seems to be an error with my blog and this feature is not working. I've tried everything to fix it. Even my sister-in-law Monica (the blog expert) could not solve this problem. So until I can figure it out, please feel free to send me an e-mail if you would like to comment on my blog or to just keep in touch at... desert4x4diva@yahoo.com.

Kayla's room

Kayla is now 10 weeks old and has outgrown her bassinet. We put her in her crib for the first time last night and although she didn't sleep through the night, she did really good. Yeah! I see a full night's sleep in my near future! Here is a picture of her pretty room and of her taking a nap in her crib. The only thing we still need for the nursery is a rocking chair for me to sit in for those middle-of-the-night feedings. I think I'll go online and order one today. Oops! Sounds like someone is waking up from her nap. Gotta go for now.

Grandma Lily and Grandma Evi

Just wanted to post these pictures for friends and family to see. Devin's mom came down to help out during the first week as we adjusted to Kayla's early arrival. My mom came shortly after and helped me go shopping for baby supplies and stuff to finish decorating the nursery. Thank you both for all of your love and support!

WAAAAAAH!!!

Here's Kayla doing what she does best--crying! They say that colic only lasts the first 3 months. Thank God we are almost at the end! I dream of the day that I can take her out in public without worrying if she is going to start screaming for no reason. She's so much cuter when she smiles.

Kayla exercising on her jungle gym!

Here's a rare moment of Kayla keeping herself entertained. She will only lay on her gym or sit in her swing for 10 minutes at a time before she gets bored.

Trick or Treat!

I wasn't going to dress Kayla up for Halloween this year since she was only 8 weeks old, but I saw this costume at Walmart and I couldn't pass it up (it was only $8). She is the cutest little baby bumble bee! She is going to be so much fun to dress up every year. I look forward to when she is old enough to enjoy the traditions of all the holidays. I hope that having Kayla will help Devin snap out of his "bah, humbug" attitude. He's been such a party pooper the last couple of years.