We'll Miss You Auda!!

Travel safe Auda

We're counting down to December

WE LOVE YOU!

BUNCHES AND BUNCHES!

I Can't Believe Its True!!!

My Baby Boy Is 2!!!

Its hard to believe that my little man is already 2 years old.

Those hundreds, or maybe even more, conversations we had discussing what names we liked for our unborn baby seem like yesterdays conversations.  Sometimes I look at my sweet boy and wonder where the time has gone.  He is becoming such a little boy right before my eyes and I wish I could just pause time.

Kicen is full of energy and runs forever on empty.  Just when I think he is about to crash his engine revs and he's back to crazy.  He loves to have fun and simply likes to play.  He can keep himself busy with the simplest toys and is developing the greatest imagination.  He is silly and spontaneous.  He is fearless and fun loving.  He is quite a show off and loves to get a laugh.  My little man will be the center of attention.

Kicen is a flirt by nature and plays the bashful card whenever women talk to him, but he can't get enough attention from any man he sees.  He has no fear of strangers and wants everyone to be his friend.  He is definitely a people person and never passes up an opportunity to show off.

 My little man is a Russell boy to the core.  He is ornery, stubborn and can get quite mad and he is sweet and gentle and ready for anything.  He is a perfect mix of sugar and spice and will forever keep us on our toes.  Kicen can get an attitude at the drop of a hat and turn around and flash the sweetest smile to melt your heart.  I already know, without a doubt, Kicen will use these powers to his advantage.

 Kicen has a huge heart and is always concerned about the well being of others.  He asks on a regular basis if we are happy and is always making sure we're okay.  While Kicen isn't the cuddler I wish he was, he does like lots of loves when he is hurt or isn't feeling well, especially if those loves are coming from his Auma. 

 He doesn't like to share his Mommy with other kids and he doesn't like his Daddy to be out of his site.  He is completely in love with his Auma, can't get enough of his Auda and can't stand to be without his Sister.  He is not keen on the idea that something might be happening without him and he loves to have everyone together. 

 Kicen is without a doubt the class clown.  He is always looking for an opportunity to show off, to make people laugh or to just be silly.  The bigger the reaction, the bigger the show.  I am bracing myself now for the phone calls from future teachers. 

 The day Kicen was born was a crazy, fast paced, whirlwind day full of lots of love, laughter, family and friends.  Kicen has kept that theme going strong over the past 2 years.  At 2 years old, he already has his own ideas of how things should be and is very much his Mother's opinionated son.  He has a very clear understanding of what he does and does not like and he isn't afraid to let you know.  He LOVES his buppies, can not get enough of trucks/tractors/motorcycles, HATES toe jam and dirty hands and lives for peperoni.  He loves animals and playing in water.  He isn't a fan of anything that involves messes and must at all time have his Seahawks hat on his head.

 Kicen is certainly the most enjoyable, energetic, fun loving little man.  He brings joy to our home and so much love to our hearts.  He is Sister's little pal, Mommy's little boy and Daddy's little buddy.  I am amazed by him every day and am so blessed to be his Mom.  He is a light in my life and a gift to our family.

He is simply amazing.   

Words are not enough to describe the honor I feel to call myself your Mom.

 I am beyond blessed to have you in my life and to watch you grow.  I cherish every single minute I share with you and would give anything to stop the hands of time.  You have my whole heart and I am so very proud of you.  You are very much your own little person and I can't wait to see what is in store for you.

Happy Birthday Kicen Michael, you have made my world complete and full of so much fun.  You have given me an unparalleled happiness and an undefinable joy.

You simply are my life and I could not love you more.

We're BAAAAACCCKKK!!!

Its been some time since our last post...quite some time actually.

A bit has changed.

Kicen got glasses, Nakiah had her two front teeth knocked loose (by Kicen's head), both kids had their first haircuts, Auda is home from California and Boog & Dani are engaged!!!! Its been a pretty eventful 6 months. We have a lot to catch up on and TONS of pictures to post.

I'll leave you with a taste of what's to come....

My April resolution is to get back to blogging.....

Kita Jean ~ You're 3!!!!

Three years goes by so fast when you are watching your child grow up!

I can't believe my baby girl is already 3!

The last 3 years with Nakiah have been more than I could ever have hoped for.

She's brought more love, laughter and smiles into my life than I ever thought possible and she continues to amaze me every single day!

She is my sensitive, independent, polite, little spit fire. She's got just enough attitude to make things interesting and a giant sugary sweet heart that makes me melt. She is funny and smart and loves to help. She has an imagination that pulls you into her world and playing pretend is one of her favorite things to do. She has mastered the computer and really enjoys her 'work'. She likes to do projects and something as simple as stapling paper can keep her occupied for a significant amount of time....as long as someone holds the paper for her. Nakiah likes to be involved in everything you are doing, even chores. She loves to help with laundry, dishes, sweeping, moping, you name it... she wants to help. One of her favorites is cooking (which we all know she doesn't get from her mom!). If you are in the kitchen, she wants to be right beside you on her stool, or better yet, standing on a chair. She asks for cakes and brownies quite often, not because she likes to eat them, but because she likes to mix it!

As much attitude as she has, Nakiah has a very sensitive side to her. She can get her feelings hurt pretty easily and still needs Mommy's loves to make things better, which, as far as I am concerned, can continue for years!! She still lets me cuddle (okay, smother) her most of the time and is pretty generous with her hugs and kisses. She will say "I sooo love you" out of the blue and she is, most of the time, concerned with making sure that she points out her love for everyone is equal.

Nakiah is a fabulous big Sister. She absolutely loves her Brother! This morning she climbed into his crib and said to Kicen "I love you brother, you're the best brother I ever seen". (Mommy's heart melted!!) She always tries to make him laugh when he gets upset and she is already looking out for him.....or tattling on him ;-). She thinks that if Brother laughs at something she does, its must be okay to do, whether Mommy thinks so or not.

She loves to go, go, go. Most days she tells me "I want to go somewhere place" and usually on the way home from 'somewhere place' she tells me "no want go my house". I do my best to keep her busy, wearing myself (and Auma) out in the process. She is going to be a tough kid to keep up with.

Nakiah LOVES kids, especially the older kids. She wants so badly to play with every child she sees and doesn't understand when some of the older kids don't pay attention to her. She makes friends very easily and isn't afraid to approach a group of children playing at the park. She has a blast running around with everyone, and isn't afraid to remind them that there is "no climbing up the slide", usually with a finger shaking in the air. I guess she listens to me after all. ;-)

Nakiah can be a bit bossy, but she's still young enough that its sort of cute. I can totally see how I will be eating my words in a few years, but for now I'm just glad that she can think for herself. She most definitely has strong opinions about certain things, and isn't afraid to let me know. She certainly gets that from her Mommy, I'm just hoping she has enough of her Daddy in her to even that out a bit.

Nakiah likes to have fun. She's learning how to joke with people and does things just to make us laugh. In the car, she continuously asks me "are we there yet" because she thinks its funny. Her newest game is to point to EVERY SINGLE building we pass and ask, 'whats that, and whats that, and that one too?' She laughs at herself while shes doing it. She's also learning how to aggravate and loves to continue doing something if you ask her not to, for instance licking my face!

Nakiah can be a bit timid in certain situations. If there are too many people she doesn't know, or if there are men around, she gets pretty reserved and shy. She will stand right next to me, squeeze my hand and put her head down. She definitely has an understanding of strangers and reminds me often not to leave her alone, or a stranger might take her. I may have overdone the 'stranger danger' with her.

My sweet baby girl has the best manners! I'm a very proud Momma when it comes to Nakiah's politeness. She uses please and thank you more than most children and is always aware of people around her. We've been complimented more than a few times on how polite and well behaved Nakiah is and, for me, that's one of the best compliments we could get. I glow just thinking about what a great little person Nakiah is!

My baby girl is super smart. I've boasted before about her being a genius, and Nakiah just keeps proving me right. ;-) She counts to 20 with a little help at 13 and 14. From 20 she's mastered counting by 10's up to 100. (Okay, I'm pretty sure she doesn't really get the counting by 10's, but still, she's doing it!) She recognizes all of her numbers and knows that zero means there is nothing. She recognizes all of her letters, knows the sounds of most of them and knows at least one word that goes with that sound. The hardest part for her right now is deciphering between K being for Kicen and B being for Brother. Because Nakiah calls Kicen, Brother all time, when I say 'K is for Kicen' she repeats 'K is for Brother'. ~ Today, she brought me her 'P' magnet and said "look mom, 'P' says 'puh, puh, puh' for popcorn. ~ She also knows that C, R, N, K & O are for all of our names and we're working on learning how to spell Nakiah.

Nakiah loves to sing! She sings along to every song she hears, whether she knows the words or not. It is absolute music to my ears!! She remembers songs she's only heard a few times and will sing many of them at random times. When we're listening to music in the car I have to sing along with her. If I'm not singing loud enough she reminds me that she "can't here your words, mom". If I don't know the words to a song she'll tell me to "keep trying."

Dancing is another favorite activity of Nakiahs. We can be in the middle of dinner and if Nakiah hears music come on the TV, she begs to get up and dance. She has her own style and moves like no other! She has a blast dancing all over the house and usually likes company on the dance floor. She really likes to copy the dance moves she sees on TV.

Nakiah is still doing gymnastics and is still completely in love with it! She is excited every week for her class and tells me most of the time 'this is so fun'. She really likes playing with the other kids and tumbling in general is a blast for her. So much so, that she has found a way to turn our living room into her own private gym. Nakiah is constantly doing handstands on all of our furniture and is upside down for the majority of every day. She has enjoyed tee ball and soccer, but for the most part gymnastics has been her favorite.

Much to my discomfort, Nakiah is becoming more and more exploratory and is getting more and more comfortable doing things on her own. While I do want her to grow, experience things and learn to deal with situations on her own, I much prefer the little girl that needs her Mommy in her sights at all times. I'm so thankful that she is developing the confidence to do things on her own, but I need her to need me. I think watching her grow up is going to be a really hard thing for me. But I'm sooo very excited for her!

Nakiah talks about going to school on a very regular basis. She tells me stories about when she was in school on Thursday when she was teeny tiny and she got to play on the playground. ;-) I'm still not quite sure where these stories come from, but I do enjoy listening to them. Nakiah asks when she'll get to go to school and she already asks if she can ride the bus. I hope her enthusiasm regarding school continues into the actual school years.

Nakiah likes to 'be in the know'. If there is a conversation going on around her, she really needs to know what everyone is talking about. She'll repeatedly asks what you are talking about, until you answer her. If your answer is not sufficient, she'll keep asking. Once she understands, she'll either try to join in on the conversation, or she'll change the conversation so that she can talk too. If a discussion is taking place she automatically thinks that people are arguing and will demand that you stop. Trying to explain to her that there was no argument is useless and all forms of conversation must stop.

Because Nakiah is such a sponge and takes in everything she sees and hears, she repeats an awful lot. Most of the time I don't even know where she hears things. So, we've had to start talking about what words we can and cannot say. The first word we experienced was "duh". I'm not a big fan, especially when it was coming from my 2 year old! So, I really worked on Nakiah not using "duh". After explaining to her that 'duh' isn't a nice word and that we should find other words to use, she would often times tell me "I not say duh, Mom". To which I would applaud her. As it turns out, she was just covering her tracks and throwing me off course.....when she was with Auma, she would say "duh" almost as a release from not being able to say it around me. One day she even asked Auma, "Mommy here?" When Auma told her no, that I wasn't there Nakiah, for no other reason than because she thought she could, said "duh". Since 'duh' we've run into the 'asking if she can say certain words' faze. The most recent request "Mom, can I say dammit?" Ummm, no.

Nakiah is my sassy pants, pretty girl. She is my Kita Jean!! She's full of love and tons of fun. She can curl up and snuggle during a movie or while reading a book and turn around and throw a bucket of water on you when you aren't looking. She loves to play pretend, eat popcorn and sleep in Mommy's bed. She's miss independent and little miss sunshine. She has an imagination and a giddy little spirit that just makes me smile. She is silly and smart and beautiful and polite. She can put a smile on my face morning, noon and night. Her hugs are more comforting and full of love than words can ever explain. Her giggle could warm the coldest heart and her kisses are sweeter than candy. She is a true blessing and honestly, an answer to years of prayers!

She is my gift from God!

I'm more than blessed to be your Mom!

You are purely a ray of sunshine in my life and the most amazing little girl! You had my whole heart wrapped around you before you were ever born and I will never be able to explain to you just how much you are loved! You and Kicen are most certainly the best part of me and I could not be more proud. I continue to thank God every day for entrusting me with such wonderful children. I am so excited to see what the next year brings for you.

Happy birthday pretty girl! I love you more than words could ever explain!

~Mom

It Goes By Too, Too Fast!!

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

The most amazing little girl turns 3 today

and I couldn't be more proud to be her mom.

Happy birthday Princess,

I love you to the moon.

-Mommy

Tutu Cute, in a very Cute Tutu!!

One of my friends from work, Kyle, has a very talented and extremely crafty wife, Maleah. It is not rare for me to gush over Maleah's craftiness, nor is it any secret that I have longed for a Maleah McPherson original for some time now. Last week, I walked into the office and to my surprise, the McPherson Phairy granted my wish...

As soon as I showed Nakiah her new skirt, she said "thank you for my tutu Mom, I love it!" When I told her that Mommy's friend Maleah made it for her she yelled (almost loud enough for Maleah, in Seattle, to hear her) "thank you for my tutu Maweah!" She was more than happy to pose for a few pictures, which is soo not like her. She kept telling me how pretty her new tutu was. Even when I explained that it was a skirt, she insisted that it is in fact a tutu. A tutu it is.

Keep in mind, this skirt is 100% hand made, pocket and all, it is also not the only fabulous creation to have come from the hands of sweet Sora's Mommy! I've seen everything from hats and cardigans (for babies and adults) to SHOES, actual SHOES!! Sora, Maleah and Kyle all have a very wide array of beautiful hand made clothes.

Maleah even put an elastic strap through the waste with an overlapping button system (sort of like some maternity pants) so that Nakiah can continue to wear this for a very long time. That is if I ever let her wear it again. I love it so much, and the fact that its hand made, that I'm afraid of getting it stained. Maybe I'll frame it!!

So, thank you Maweah, for such a fabulous skirt!! We both LOVE it. You seriously do AMAZE me and I'm so grateful for the gift. When you start selling these, I want the first order form. ;-)

My whole heart

Is filled with overflowing love for the two most amazing children!!

Sushi

Nakiah is pretty adventurous when it comes to food....or at least she likes to think she is.

She thinks she likes eggs, she doesn't. She thinks she likes avocados, she doesn't. She thinks she likes gummy candy, she doesn't. The list goes on. When she wanted to try my sushi, I was certain she wouldn't even put it in her mouth. But she insisted on using the chopsticks, like Mommy.

(notice the tongue sticking out in severe concentration ~ we call this the "Grampa Jerry" after Corey's dad!)

With a not so convincing look on her face she told me "yum, Mommy. I wike sushi". She then proceeded to remove everything from the inside of the roll and took nibbles of the rice from the outside.

I guess she's discovered that she likes to eat rice. ;-)