North Carolina

My family and I went on a trip to North Carolina to visit some of Mike's friends that he met while sailing in Greece many years ago. Although I had never met them, I already felt like I knew them from the many stories Mike told me and talking with them on the phone. It was great to finally meet them. Kailyn really took them, especially Jayson or 'papa' as she called him.

'Papa' & Kailyn

The airplane trip was long in itself. Kailyn was very excited that she got to ride in an airplane, it wasn't her first time, it was actually her third time, but she was so much younger before that she doesn't remember. We went from Oakland to Seattle, changed planes, then Seattle to Chicago, a stop over and then Chicago to Raleigh. I had NO idea that we had to go to Chicago, what a pain it is to fly out the way! Kailyn did not nap at all while on the plane (even though she was exhausted), she was just really excited about everything. So, we landed in Raleigh at like 11pm, which was really 8pm Cali time. We stayed at a hotel and Kailyn slept great on her new travel cot we got her.

Kailyn, watching her toons on our ipod.

The next day, Jayson and Sandra drove 2 1/2 hrs from Charlotte to Raleigh to pick us up, even though we said we would rent a car, they insisted. They are so sweet, that's the kind of people they are. Now that it's day time, I can see what NC actually looks like. I have heard from tons of people how beautiful it is and I have been so excited to see it for myself. I could not believe my eyes, it is SO beautiful! I have never seen SO many trees like this in my life. So big, green and everything there is so lush. I am used to living in CA where they cut all the trees down to build housing communities, but in NC they just cut out a spot to put the house and leave the rest of the forest surrounding it. And what a difference it makes, you can really tell by the air quality, so much cleaner, thanks to the trees! :) And don't get me started on the houses there, they are absolutely amazing, they have so much detail, so much character, and they are pretty affordable for the size you get, some of them are MASSIVE! The only thing that I don't like is that they don't build fences around the property, that's something you have to get a permit for if you wanted to add one. I guess it's a good way to get to know your neighbors, but it lacks privacy and not good if you have kids and dogs, it's hard to tell a 2 yr old where the boundary ends.

Our friends house, just gorgeous.

We spent quite a bit of time driving around sight seeing from downtown Charlotte to the raceways to the mall to the boardwalk, all which are absolutely spotless. I couldn't believe how clean everything was, even the building themselves were spotless. And the people, SO friendly.

Out to lunch by the marina, it was perfect.

My love :)

My little supermodel :)

Us at the boardwalk

Kailyn's 1st carousel ride!

We hung out at the house some days just relaxing, which was great too, Kailyn really loved hanging out in their backyard waiting for bunnies to emerge and their driveway jumping over cracks...that's her new thing these days. If we were inside, she was watching fish in either of their 3 tanks, I guess we're going to have to put our fish tank together when we move into the new house. They were like instant babysitters, I mean she would stand there and watch them forever!

Hanging out in the backyard, check out those trees, amazing.

We went to the zoo one day and I don't mean to sound so repetitive but OMG it's SO beautiful! It's 500 acres of lush greenery. The trails that take you around the park felt like hiking trails, you couldn't even tell that you were in a zoo. You were literally surrounded by forest. The animals look happy and they have lots of space to roam. I am used to the Oakland Zoo which is like the complete opposite of this. We walked around the African part of the zoo which took about 2 hrs and they have a whole other section called North America, which we weren't able to do but they say would take about 3 hrs. One of the main reasons we decided to go to the zoo in the first place was b/c they had a 4D Dora and Diego Adventure show, we knew Kailyn would love it, it's her FAVORITE show. Well, she didn't like wearing the glasses so she didn't get to really experience it like Mike and I did, it was actually really cool! It felt like you were there with them exploring. Very cool.

Diego, Kailyn, Mommy & Dora :)

Diego, Kailyn, Daddy & Dora :)

All in all, we had a really great time, even if Kailyn didn't nap AT ALL and went to bed late, I really didn't want to leave NC. I am trying to convince Mike to move there eventually or to buy a second home there...that would work for me. :)

New Toy

Daddy bought Kailyn a new toy while he was away on his business trip; a roll over dog. It is really cute and super funny. It reminds of a drunk old Englishman laughing in a pub. The laugh is so contagious that it's hard to contain yourself. Kailyn absolutely loves it! We've named him "Chuckles". I wish we had this when she was 4 months old, when she was learning how to roll. :)

Here is a video of Kailyn and Chuckles, enjoy!

Hooray for the potty chair!

Today Kailyn and I went to Target to buy her a potty chair. We already have a potty seat up in her bathroom, which she uses very well; however, she still has trouble getting onto it from her stool, she can't quite turn around to sit on it. So, we bought her the chair for the downstairs bathroom so that when she needs to go potty, she can just run to it and sit on it on her own. She was so excited to have her very own potty that we had to test it out the second we got home. I put it in the bathroom and she ran right over and wanted to take all her clothes off so she could try it out. What a pro! She sat right on and gave me the biggest smile followed by the cutest laugh! First 5 minutes and she went pee in her new potty, go Kailyn!! I swear we must have spent at least 30 min in there just sitting on the potty and getting off, on, off, on, off....you get the drift, she loves it. I think she'll be potty trained in no time at all, now we just need to buy her some new panties. :)

I was contemplating adding this photo, I know she'll hate me for it later but I just thought it was way too cute not too.

Chop Chop!

I finally got my hair cut, it was LONG overdue! It was getting to the point where it was getting in the way of everything and getting stuck everywhere! This is the longest that my hair has ever been and as fun as it sometimes was, it had to go. PLUS, it made me look young, hopefully I am looking closer to my age and more like a mum. Now it feels fabulous! :)

Before

After

Me from A-Z

A -Age: 29
B -Bed size: Queen
C- Chore you hate: Cleaning bathrooms
D- Dog's Name: Coda
E- Essential starts to your day: Tea
F- Favorite Color: Blue and Pink
G- Gold, Silver, or Platinum: Platinum
H- Height: 5'4"
I- Instruments you play: None, unfortunately.
J- Job Title: Mommy :) wife, cook, maid... hahaha...
K- Kids: 1 so far, my beautiful daughter, Kailyn. (2yrs)
L-Living Arrangements: A house
M- Moms name: Janet
N- Nicknames: Andy or "the wife" hmmm...
O- Overnight stay in the hospital other then Birth: Only when I gave birth to my daughter.
P- Pet Peeve: Oh gosh, I have so many...I really hate it when I see someone walking their dog and the dog poops and then they walk away. WTF? If you own a dog, pick up it's sh*t! Especially if I find it on my own front lawn, that drives me NUTS!!!
Q- Quote from a movie: We just recently saw "The Hangover" and we thought it was absolutely hilarious!! Here are a few of my fav quotes from that movie:

Sid: "Remember what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Except for herpes. That sh*t'll come back with you."
----------------------------------------
Stu: "Am I missing a tooth?"

Phil: "Whose baby is that?"
Alan: "Check its collar or something."

Stu: "We're not going to leave a baby in the room. There's a f***ing tiger in the bathroom."
-----------------------------------------
Stu: "She is wearing my grandmother's Holocaust ring."
Alan: "I didn't know they gave out rings at the Holocaust."
hahaha LMAO!!

R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 1 older brother and 1 older sister
T- Time you wake up: it depends on the day, usually 7am but sometimes as late as 9am, if I'm lucky.
U- Underwear: yes
V- Vegetable you dislike: Eggplant
W- Ways you run late: I try not to but always have and it's usually 15 minutes on the dot.
X- X-rays you've had: Only at the dentist.
Y- Yummy food you make: Lasagna/spaghetti
Z- Zoo Favorite: Giraffes, Pot belly pigs, meerkats...i have a few.

Christmas

~Christmas Day!!~

We had a great Christmas this year. Kailyn was so happy when she came downstairs and saw that Santa had come by to drop off all her presents, she couldn't wait to start opening them. It took her two presents to really start getting the hang of the unwrapping process, once she got the hang of it she just went to town! She loved all her toys, she kept going from one present to the next and then back again revisiting the same gifts because she got so many that she wanted to keep checking it all out, she couldn't make up her mind as to which one to play with first.

Grandma Betty came over for Christmas dinner so Kailyn really enjoyed that, they spent a lot of time just hanging out watching toons.

Mike and I enjoyed it most of all, just by watching our beautiful baby girl enjoy her 2nd Christmas with all her fabulous new toys!

Christmas morning

Merry Christmas! Cheers!

Christmas Eve

Christmas came and went again this year. It's amazing how fast it happens; people spend months planning, decorating, shopping, getting ready for Christmas and it's all over in one day.

Our fun started on Christmas Eve when we went to visit my very best friend and her family in San Ramon. We were invited for a fabulous dinner, delightful drinks and warm, heart-to-heart conversations. The men were in their own world, the women in theirs, and the kiddo's were running around having their own fun. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve and it made it that much more special.

Kailyn & Jenn

Jenn's girls: Jaelynn & Makayla

The girls hanging out


Jenn & Me

Most of us girls, we're missing Jae.