The most hectic day of the year

Ha! Just kidding. It was hectic but also the most wonderful day of the year. We decided last minute that we were going home to Richmond to spend (more
like visit) our families for Christmas. The snow storm didn't help because we did not want to get stuck in Richmond with J having to work the following Monday. We were supposed to spend the night but nixed that plan after we got down there.

The day started with us opening presents at home and having breakfast. Santa came and dropped off wonderful presents for the little one - a play kitchen and a new baby with a stroller. We also got her some flashcards, a shape sorter and a shopping cart. J has always been a great gift-giver and I received a new wallet and two pairs of TOMS shoes. J got a new watch, Home Alone 2 and Decoded book by Jay-Z.





We all got dressed and headed south after playing with Kayla's new toys. Her new baby sat with her on our drive home. Our first stop was at J's grandpa followed by lunch at my mom's. We then headed west and visited my mother in-law who hadn't seen Kayla since we moved. It was the when the snow started falling by the time we left her place the snow was coming down harder. After that visit, it was over to J's uncle and aunt's where his cousins were. We played with them and they took tons of pictures. We then all drove east to my father in-law's house and this was when the snow was really starting to cover the ground mixed with a bit of rain. We knew that the last stop would have to be quick so that we can get back home at a decent hour and get on the road before it got too messy.

It was almost 8 by the time we got home. There was no food in the fridge or pantry for a decent Christmas dinner since we didn't plan on being home that evening. But thank goodness for an Ihop around the corner we all had a fairly decent meal followed by lots of snuggling. We woke up the next morning to a very white day after Christmas!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thankful!

There is so much that I am thankful for this year and I can't help but feel so lucky for everything in my life.

• for my wonderful husband who provides for our family and who loves me and Kayla so much!
• for my healthy and beautiful daughter who makes me smile on a daily basis.
• for my mother who loves me and my own family unconditionally.
• for wonderful friends.
• for the job and steady income that I have.
• for Kayla's day care who takes care of her while we are at work.
• for my iPhone and iPad.
• for Starbucks and Coke. Ha!

Fun Checks

I can't even remember the last time I wrote a check. I haven't had a checkbook in years! Every place imaginable to mankind takes plastic or cash so why have a checkbook, right? Until recently, not having a checkbook was fine with me. But I guess not every place takes plastic. I go to the bank/ATM every Friday to pull money out for Kayla's day care (who does not accept plastic!!!). It got pretty old quick. Banks are awful on Fridays!

So I searched all over the internet to find the cheapest place to get checks made. I was not about to pay my bank a ridiculous amount of money for this. Thanks to Walmart Checks (who even knew they did this?!) I was able to order super cute preppy checks for less than $10. That's a steal in my opinion. Now paying for day care every Friday won't hurt as bad since I'll be writing on my pretty checkbook :)

Almost 4 nights into the week and still no take-out!

I am counting from Sunday here. I don't even want to know how much money we spend on eating out, take out and then add on my weekly grocery bill to that. It's a bit insane that I grocery shop almost every week and yet we still eat out! Madness, I tell you!

But I am trying to domesticate myself a bit more and feed my family a home-cooked meal every evening. Somewhere between giving birth to now - the cooking woman in me disappeared. I used to love cooking. I was all about it. I enjoyed the time spent in the kitchen. It gets a bit hectic from the hours of 5 and 630pm. Cooking a meal after work just seems too much some days. Kayla's been at day care all day and all we want to do is hang out and play.

This past Saturday my mom came to visit and I was able to grocery shop alone and cook dinner before J got home from work. In fact, food was done and waiting for him. I decided to make Pioneer Woman's spaghetti & meat balls. I just love her website and plan on getting her cookbook. Everyone loved the meal. I think the best compliment came from J - he said it tasted just like what you would get from a restaurant who makes their food from scratch. Kayla loved it, too and my mom even took some home with her. It was so good we had leftovers for dinner on Sunday.

I have already started looking into what I'm cooking for Thanksgiving and I even have a plan for the leftover turkey. It's just the 3 of us but I am off this year for the first time in 4 years! I am spending the day at home with Kayla - watch the parade on TV and louge and then cook a feast for our little family!

Christmas Cards

I remember getting so excited last year that I can finally send Christmas cards with our family's picture on it. But the combination of working full time and being a new mom to a 4 month old baby kinda took over my life. I couldn't keep up with an infant then but running around a toddler now is no joke. But I am determined! I looked early on for a photographer in our new town to make sure that I can schedule a session. Of course it took me till the beginning of October to actually book a session but at least we have/ had one.

I was so excited for this session and of course come the day of, J couldn't get off work early. Go figure! But we were able to reschedule for another day and my hopes for the perfect family Christmas card is still alive.

This past couple of weeks have been spent online looking for the perfect card. There are just way too many vendors and hundreds of designs out there that it's a bit hard to choose. Thanks to my Google Reader and blog-reading addiction I came across this awesome promotion by Shutterfly!

This helped me narrow down the search and who can really turn down free stuff right?! I have used Shutterfly numerous times for prints - it is super convenient because I don't have to go anywhere to pick up the prints and the quality is always good. Not only that but everything is delivered right to my front door. Shutterly also offers personalized mugs and photo wall art. I think this will make perfect presents to grandparents who can't get enough of their grandkids!

Now I have to decide which card to order.

15 months. one week late.

I am a week behind on this. Kayla turned 15 months last Monday. I came in to work that day then realized that it was my baby's 15th month birthday. It really bothers J that Kayla has a birthday every month. Haha! It's not like I go out and get her a present every month nor do I get her a cake. What scares me though is that I might be that mom who does the month age thing - 18 months instead of a year and a half - 24 months instead of two years old. That mom. I really hope not. I'm sure once she's a year and a half that the month thing will be done.

So what has Kayla been up to lately? She has her own language and is not really a fan of using her words. She likes to point at things that she wants. She attempts to say shoes all the time but it sound more like "shish". It's so adorable. She also tries to put on her shoes, too. I have a feeling that this girl is going to love shoes. She tries to jump when I say jump only her feet do not lift off the floor - she swings her arms and tried to jump though. She knows her body parts - head, eyes, nose, belly, and legs.

She eats really well. She loves the standard Cheerios and Goldfish. She loves cheese and pasta just like her daddy. She adores anything potatoes as long as they are fried. She loves broccoli! Loves!!! And she can't get enough of tuna salad. Two servings at school kind of can't get enough.

I think that she is going through a bit of separation anxiety. It doesn't matter if I'm dropping her off at day care or if I'm leaving for work and she's staying home with J. It's always filled with tears. I really hope that this passes soon. I want to be able to walk away from her feeling good that she'll be okay although I know that she eventually stops crying.

I'm afraid to even say it, but I think that we are seeing early signs of the dreaded terrible 2's. This little girl is very strong-willed and opinionated. She has outbursts when she doesn't get things her way. She would flail and fall on the floor in fits and in tears. Sometimes we just laugh 'cause it's a bit dramatic but there are days when she just can't let things go.

All in all, it's been a fun ride so far. Kayla keeps us on her toes. She brings us so much joy and gives us something to look forward to everyday. I can only imagine what the next 15 months will bring!

Rain boots

Now that I've moved to flood-central when it rains - I need these!

I hate you, rain!

It's raining. A lot. It hasn't stopped since late last night. It's getting out of hand. I didn't know I moved to Seattle. Ha!

It's been a very eventful month. I can't believe that it's been almost a month since our move. A lot has changed this past 30 days. J is still enjoying work. I received a job offer the day after we move. Kayla has started "school". I've been working for a week now.

Our little family is enjoying our new city. We have met some new people and are starting to get settled into our new norm. I'd like to think that Kayla likes her school. I know this whole daycare thing is very new to her - to all of us. The teachers tell me that she likes the kids. She rubs their heads and gives them kisses. She even gives her favorite teacher "sugar" before we leave for home. Drop-off is still a mess at times. She whines and cries but I know she stops right away. I call at least twice a day to check on her. She is very excited and happy when I come in the afternoons to pick her up but sometimes she cries 'cause I think she remembers that I left her.

All in all, everything is peachy. I'm looking forward for the rain to go away, a whole weekend at home with hubby & baby and finally getting a paycheck again.

My want list

If I win the lottery tonight I am definitely buying everything on this post!

Farmhouse bed from PB, king, pls? I even like the bedding with it. I'll take two of these also!

Montego dining table and chairs from PB

Isabella barstool - 3 of these for the breakfast bar.

MacBook pro

I think that's it for my list today. I want to add an iPhone4, dslr, and a new car. It a very short list so it shouldn't be that hard to get 'em all in one day. Ha! One can dream, right?

We have a walker!

I didn't think this day was going to come. I was actually nervous that she would be 2 years old and still not walking. Ha! Her pediatrician did say not to worry since the average age for babies to walk is around 13.5 months. Kayla crawls really fast and doesn't like to walk all that much. She knows that she can get somewhere a lot faster if she crawled. She cruises around the living room a lot - on the couch, coffee table, etc.

My mom called me at work on Monday to let me know that Kayla took 11 consecutive steps. I remember telling her to stop making Kayla walk 'cause I was afraid that she wouldn't do it in front of me when I got home. Ha!

I got home that afternoon from work all excited to see if my baby girl was going to put on a show and she did! She walked and I got it on video. J was pretty upset that he wasn't home when all of this happened. I had to quickly upload the video and email it to him.

Our trip to Tidewater

Kayla and I went down to see J on Saturday. The decision to see him was not planned at all but necessary. We left Richmond around 730am and Kayla did so well on the drive down. We listened to Rascal Flatts and she snacked on Cheerios. She was a good little travel buddy.

She was so excited when she saw J! I know J was, too! This last 3 weeks or so has been a little tough but the end is finally in sight! With or without a job, we are moving come September 1st!

The purpose of our trip was to check out a couple of places that J had already seen. We looked at one place and decided to go with it. It's in the city and very different from where we are living now but the place felt just right. It's pretty much brand new and we'll be the 2nd tenants when we move in. The amenities of the complex are just amazing and the area is great. J's job is only a 5 minute drive and we are so close to everything.

I am so excited that we know when we'll all be together again but I'm not looking forward to packing and the move itself. It's a bit scary since I don't have a job lined up but I'm going to stay positive and hope for the very best. We will definitely miss Richmond, specially our parents. I know the grandmas have been emotional wrecks since we told them about this move but we are only 100 miles down the road.

Does absence make the heart grow fonder?

J and I have only been apart three times the past five and a half years - 1st time was about 5 years ago when he went to Philadelphia for a 3-day work-related training, 2nd time was almost two years ago on the night before our wedding, and the last time was a year ago the day before we took Kayla home from the hospital. So you see, I'm used to having my J around. Oh, and did I mention that we have worked in the same place for these 5 plus years? I know, people ask all the time how we do it. How can I possibly live with him and work with him. That's seriously 24/7 of being together.

Well things are changing. He left yesterday for his new job which is about an hour and a half away. He is only coming home during his days off. The arrangement is temporary until I am able to relocate where he is and this is only happening once I find a job. The situation we are in is on the opposite side of the spectrum of what we were used to. We went from 24/7 of being together to now being apart and only seeing other every so often.

We knew when he accepted this job that this is going to be our temporary norm. I don't have to like it but I am supporting him 100%. This opportunity is great for his career and his ultimate goal. For now, we shall see if absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Changes!

I get tired just thinking about them but I know that these are good changes. All within a week - J took a job offer down in Norfolk, we decided to make a move to VA Beach and Kayla turned one!

These are all exciting changes but moving makes me nervous. What makes me even more nervous is trying to find a job. I'm so scared that I won't find one. I'm also so scared that we are only going to see J very little while he's down in Norfolk and we are here. Can I really be a single parent on some days? Yikes. I get sad thinking about it. I'm sure I can juggle work and being a parent but what makes this whole situation hard is that J and Kayla will not see each other everyday anymore. I know it's only temporary but still!

Our plan is for me to stay here until I can find a job. The quicker I find a job - the quicker we can move. Worst case scenario is I don't find a job by a certain date and we still move.

So yes, lots of changes lately. Our household has been a little busy as you can see and I still need to work on a 1st birthday post.

Blogging day of silence for Cohen

Please pray for Cohen, Megan and Brent.

J's first father's day

All he wanted was breakfast. He requested Cracker Barrell so Kayla and I obliged. We got there early to miss the crowd. We had a wonderful breakfast even if Kayla refused to eat her grits. I think they make it differently than what she is used to. This child is usually all about some grits but not that day. She played with sugar packets while we ate and had a great time! J and Kayla also sat on a rocking chair that was outside the restaurant and she also got to sit on one of the little ones all by herself. I think we might need to buy her one.

We spent the rest of the day at home - just the 3 of us!

Birthday preview

I love how Kayla's party invite turned out! Krysta did her birth announcement so it was easy for me to work with her on this one. I emailed her my vision and she transformed every bit of it to this fun invitation!

Busy month

I'm not sure where this month has gone. June has been crazy busy it seems!

This weekend is father's day and I can't wait to spend it with my wonderful husband. No big plans - all he wants is a great breakfast since it's his favorite meal of the day. Kayla and I already gave him his present and I could have sworn he was like a little boy on Christmas morning. We got him a Playstation 3 since his other one died months ago and he refused to buy a new one. This man grew up with a game console and I knew he's been missing it.

My mom is also coming to see Kayla on Saturday, like usual. I plan to get some birthday party things done while she visits and I also have a hair appointment.

Nothing new lately aside from Kayla getting sick this past weekend. She had a temperature that went all the way up to 104! We rushed her to KidMed instead of the ER. She's fine now but the weekend was spent trying to make her better and happy. The fever is gone and after another trip to the doctor's office on Wednesday we found out that she has roseola which should go away in a couple of days.

1 month to go 'til you're 1!

11 months! I can't believe it. I've been a mom for 11 months and Kayla has been here for 11 months. Where did all this time go? It's crazy how I can't even remember the time when she was just a tiny little thing. Nowadays she's in to everything! She crawls and cruises all over the place and she is just unstoppable.

In 30 short days she will be 1! My baby girl is growing up so fast. She is changing everyday. We discover new things about her on a daily basis. She continues to amaze us with how smart and funny she is. She remembers everything and is very quick to pick up on new things that we teach her. I'm sure she'll be walking and talking pretty soon.

I love eBay!

eBay is my go to place when I need to buy something random and when I want to pay very little money for that something random. Yesterday, I bought a balloon pump...

red raffia ribbon....

cellophane favor bags...


cute blue polka dot balloons...



and red polka dot balloons.

All of this - all 5 of them -just under $25! I love it! Now, if I can only find her dress for this price, I'd be really happy :)

[ all images are from eBay ]

Lazy weekend

I love weekends when there are no plans and not much to do. We skipped Romp n' Roll and Saturday and just chilled at home. We had the carpets professionally cleaned so we stayed around. I was able to squeeze in a pedicure session while J watched the baby.

The three of us went out to lunch before running some errands. Kayla loves miso soup! It's all she ate at the Japanese restaurant. She was slurping that thing. We went next door to Babies R Us after so we can buy her highchair. She has been using a Bumbo seat all this time and it was time to upgrade (and thanks to grandma H for the $, too!). We went in thinking we were getting a wood chair but came out with the Chicco Polly. She's been using it all weekend and she loves it. We also got her a straw sippy and that's going well so far.

We also went to Home Depot to get something to put underneath the dog's crate. At this point it was time for milk and a nap and she was slowly melting down. We rushed home and she took a little nap.

My mom came over yesterday to visit Kayla while J & I went out for ice cream and to grocery shop. This weekend was all in all very relaxing and nice and I have a 4-day one coming pretty soon.

I've spent a good part of the morning buying things for Kayla's party. Thank you very much, eBay! Here's to hoping the week goes by really fast and smooth so I can spend some more quality time with my soon-to-be 11 month old baby girl!

Randomness on a Thursday

Is it really the middle of May and is Kayla really 10.5 months old now? Where did the year go? Next thing you know it will be fall and the Holidays will be right around the corner. Time, please stop! I don't want my baby to be a grown child yet!

• I can't wait for the weekend. J & I are off together and we don't have any plans.
• Kayla's birthday party plans are pretty much done. I just have little things to do here and there.
• I need to order her cake, cupcakes, and food but I know where those are coming from so no biggie.
• I need to find a dress for her and an outfit for me.
• I need a pedicure. Bad.
• I can't wait for Memorial Day weekend. I have a 4-day weekend for that :)
• I'm also taking off 3 extra days during Kayla's birthday weekend. Hee hee.
• We can't figure out if we are going on a family vacay this summer or not. I'd love to but we shall see.
• My mom's birthday is coming up and I need find her a present.

Have a good weekend, everyone! I will sure enjoy mine with my two favorite people.

Belated mother's day post

What a wonderful day it was. Just the 3 of us. Jay gave me their present the night before. I think he felt so bad 'cause he worked a little late and I had to clean up after the dogs.

We lounged around all morning. Ate breakfast, watched some TV, played with Kayla. We didn't do much. No big plans aside from lunch. Just our little family. Mother's day was the first day that the 3 of us wen to lunch and Kayla could actually partake in the eating. We went to Baker's Crust and had a late yummy lunch. Kayla stuffed her face with tomato & cheese soup and bread, J had tuna salad, and I had a roasted chicken grinder.

We were all stuffed from lunch so we did a little bit of mall walking. We walked around and people watched for the most part.

It was truly a great mother's day. I couldn't have asked for a better day than to spend it with the two people that I love the most!

Kayla's birthday plans

I have been on birthday party planning overdrive and I love it. J thinks I'm going overboard but I really don't think I am. I can, but I won't. The thing is, in my culture, 1st birthdays are a huge deal. I mean HUGE! I had over 100 guests at mine. Granted, I don't remember it but my mom sure does. I see this 1st birthday party as a celebration of Kayla's first year of life and for our first year as being parents. There's nothing better that to kick off the 4th of July weekend with family and friends!


Done list.
- Guest list.
- Menu. Kinda.
- I've already contacted Krysta who made Kayla's birth announcements and she is in the process of creating one.
- Birthday t-shirt and bloomers will come from here.
- Cake baker was decided on this weekend.


Not-so done list.
- Pick a venue! I'm going to see one today so hopefully this is it.
- Birthday outfit.


I've only been semi-productive at work thanks to party planning. I didn't know that 1st birthday party planning takes a lot of time. If I had known this I would have started a long time ago.

10 months old!

OMG! I just had a really long post and Blogger decided to delete it all. Boo!

Wow! 2 more months and this little lady will be 1! Where did the time go? This has truly been a very fun 10 months so far. We are learning about you everyday and enjoying every minute of it.

What have you been up to lately?

• You don't like baby food anymore. The only baby food you like is YoBaby and you are not picky when it comes to the flavor. You have breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and drink milk around 6 times a day.
• You started pulling up this weekend. I left you in the pack n' play to warm up my coffee and when I turned around I saw you standing up smiling at me.
• You love to wave hi and bye.
• You clap when we say yay, clap your hands & when we sing if you're happy and you know it.
• You are opinionated. We think you know what the word no means. You say something when we tell you so. We're pretty sure that you're opinionated and likes to put your 2 cents in.
• You love your sleep and love our evening routine...dinner, playtime, bath & milk. I lay you in your crib wide awake and you put yourself to sleep every night with no fussing or crying.

We truly don't know what life was like before you came in our lives. You have brought us so much joy, love & laughter and can't wait to see what else is in store for out future.

Photo session wtih Tisha

We had our session with Tisha about a week and a half ago and I'm so glad we were able to get a spot with her. The pictures turned out wonderful and I look at the pretty much everyday.

Kayla is a very shy baby and of course she acted like this in the beginning of the session. We started out at home then moved to a local park. She finally warmed up to Tisha when we got outside - smirking, smiling & just being her happy self. I think it's so funny how Tisha captured so many serious pictures of Kayla - this is so her when it comes to strangers but she also got some good mischievous ones - just the way she is with J &I.

We've decided that we want to do another session in the fall when Kayla is walking and exploring. I couldn't be any happier with the pictures if I tried. Richmonders, do yourselves a favor and call the wonderful Tisha to schedule your session. You will not be disappointed!

We need a dslr

Kayla and I went to hhgregg today and played with one. These pictures are so crisp and clear that even J is convinced that I should get one!

The camera debate of 2010

J gifted me with an awesome camera this past Christmas. Being that I'm such a picky person it didn't pass my test so it went back to Best Buy. There are a couple of a reason why it was returned: 1) I want(ed) a dslr camera and it wasn't, 2) the camera was too expensive for a point and shoot & 3) I won a $200 Best Buy card that I wanted to add on to the money he spent on the camera to begin with.

Fast forward to nearly 4 months later and I still don't have a new camera. I'm sure you are wondering why. Well you see I'm not very easy to please and I'm very indecisive on top of that. Do I really want a dslr that's a bit on the bulky side or do I want a very portable p&s? Am I really going to lug around a dslr when we go out with Kayla so I can be all mamarazzi and whatnot? Will I end up sucking it up and spend twice the money 'cause I want a trusty p&s and still want the dslr?

I have several options here:

1) forget about the dslr and just buy a p&s

2) buy a p&s and scour Craigslist for a used dslr

3) buy a dslr and don't spend too much on a p&s

4) buy a nice p&s for now and save up for a dslr later

I really want to buy a new camera this weekend just 'cause. I've had my p&s for years and it doesn't take the best pictures in the world. I don't need best but I want great. Having Kayla made me realize that the only thing I can really look back on are pictures. This child grows so fast I can hardly remember what it was like having her the first couple of weeks when she was born.

Here is the p&s camera I'm considering and here's the dslr. I'll take this one if I could!

What would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you get a dslr, both, or just a point and shoot? Oh, can I also add into the mix that I don't want a separate video camera and the p&s I want has HD video.

Lasagna eating fun!

Kayla stopped liking baby food since she got sick. Eversince then it's been very hard to get her to eat anything. We have tried to get her back into the swing of eating solids again and have had very little luck. She used to snack on puffs and yogurt melts in the afternoon but that has stopped, too. Little did we know that our baby girl likes real people food. I can't really blame her. Baby food is just bland mush and who would really want to eat that stuff, right?!

Fast forward to this past couple of weeks...Kayla has been a fan of pancakes, eggs, Yo Baby, bread, spaghetti and my mom's awesome lasagna. This girl can go on for days on lasagna. I scrape the meat sauce off and she just loves every single bite of it! Here's a little video of her devouring lasagna. She loves it so much she even dances a little bit of joy! It's true when they say the apple does not fall far from the tree - J & I can eat Italian food everyday!

What is wrong with me?

I can't seem to stop myself when it comes to buying clothes for Kayla. I don't know what's wrong with me. It makes it even worse when there's a good sale going on. I don't like the fact that I check my Google Reader all day and I pretty much know when there's a sale going on. It doesn't help that I also have a Gmail notifier on my task bar that tells me when I have a new email. Again, another dangerous thing that helps me with this shopping issue. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that I'm in front of a computer all day.

Oh well. I guess this is what happens when you have a little girl who looks mighty adorable in cute clothes!
I've been a huge fun of diapers.com since the car seat purchase. Their shipping is so fast it makes you want to shop on their website even more! I've been using ebates and bing to give me more discount and I always search the 'net for coupon codes if I don't have one already. I should receive my package from them tomorrow afternoon with some new spring outfits. I also bought a new diaper bag. The Coach one I originally purchased is not the most practical thing in the world. I can't wait to get the SkipHop duo!

Three quarters of a year

9months! That is approximately 270 days old that Kayla's been on this earth. 9 beautiful, eventful, and wonderful months that I will not trade for anything. In 3 shorts months, my baby girl will be 1 and will no longer be considered a baby. She'll be a toddler then. Where does the time go? I used to hold this 7 pound tiny little girl wondering what she would look like and be like when she's older.

Now that she is 9 months old she is definitely showing more of her personality. She has a sassyness about her that makes me wonder where she got it from. Ha! She is still her sweet and shy little self around strangers but she can be loud and opinionated around me and J. It's amazing to see her change and develop right in front of our eyes.

I used to be able to leave her in one spot and come back and she would still be there. She is now rolling all over the place and trying to crawl. Yup, still no crawling here not unless crawling backwards really counts. She is one quick thing! I turn around and next thing you know her tiny feet are up against a wall from her reverse crawling. She's very observant but we like to call her nosey. She likes to people watch - at the Romp n' Roll class, at restaurants, the mall...anywhere, really! I think this contributes to why she loves being outside so much. She enjoys being on the go and going places. I think she'll be a great traveller one day. J and I are already planning on taking her places and we can't wait!

To my baby girl: please try to make these next 3 months go really slow. I don't think mommy is ready for you to turn 1 just yet.

Family Fun Day

We had a great day today! We took Kayla to the zoo this afternoon. It was my first time at this zoo and it was J's also. The zoo wasn't bad at all considering we are talking about Richmond here. Ha! She saw a real-life ginormous Sophie. It was pretty funny when she saw the giraffes for the first time - she started making these noises and she was just staring at them. It was too cute! We did a lot of walking and saw a lot of different animals. The new stroller definitely came at a perfect time.

After the zoo, we went home for a bit so we can all take a nap and rest for a little bit. We went back out to have an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather, maybe not J so much. His allergies were awful today. Kayla munched on bread and had a taste of real mashed potatoes.

We are all pretty tired from all the activities today. My mom is coming to visit us tomorrow and then we are going to have an early dinner with J's dad side of the family. I hope y'all have a wonderful Easter weekend and are enjoying this awesome weather!