Solana Beach 2009

Smiling with Elmo and Zoey

Last night we were there-beautiful

Posing with Papa and Grandma

One of my favorite pics-so cheesy

With Aunt Erica and Avery

Aunt Becca had just spoiled her with ice cream

I look really pregnant here:)

Same cheesy grins

Posing with Daddy

The tigers are sleeping. They go night night

This was at the wild animal park-it was cut off

My pretty butterfly

At the 3-d Sesame Show at Sea World-she loved it:)

Being goofy with Papa waiting for a 10 dollar hamburger

I see Bruce-every shark was Bruce from Finding Nemo:)

We recently just got back from our week long vacation near San Diego and it was heaven. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time seeing and spending time with our family. Chris and I kept busy though taking McKenna to Sea World, the zoo, and the wild animal park. It was great being able to be outside and active since I feel like we have been hibernating at home. McKenna loved Sea World. She loved all of the animals, especially Shamu or Hamu as she lovingly called him. She actually took a nap in her stroller while we were there and it was great because when she woke up it was time to go and see Elmo and she literally freaked out. She ran away from us and kept going back to him and finally when I told her it was time to leave she told me no, I seeing Elmo. I had to send Aunt Jessie in to carry her out. The wild animal park was kind of a disappointment. Too much walking and not enough to peak any interest. We did go on the tram through the safari and that was the highlight of the day. The San Diego Zoo was beautiful and the animals did not disappoint. We were able to see three tigers huddled together sleeping-one of the cutest things I have ever seen. A panda was out and about eating bamboo and it's funny because when you ask McKenna what a panda bear says she will say "hiya" (from Kung Fu Panda for those of you that don't know:). McKenna was really looking forward to seeing the hippo but it wasn't cooperating but the polar bear made up for it. He was right up at the glass playing with a ball and McKenna just chased him up and down the glass following him-it was pretty neato. The beach there was cold. Chris got in the last day there I just got in to my knees. McKenna I think was trying to make sense of it and she decided that it was okay on the last day to get in and then run away. Also, some big news as many of you know McKenna could care less about smiling for a picture. But, on this trip for some reason she started to care and we have some great pics of her showing her pearly whites:) We were sad to come home especially when we drove through Yuma and it was 110 but I think we are acclimated now. My ankles did swell a little on the ride home but I think it was lack of movement and the sudden surge in temp. So far this pregnancy has been great and it was weird because yesterday I passed the half way mark-only 20 weeks to go until we meet little girl #2:)

Well Chris and I found out that we are having a girl and I could not be any happier. Here a few of my ultrasound pics- my favorite is when she has her pinky up to her mouth. I think she is going to look like McKenna but maybe with darker hair-we will see. On Saturday I will be 20 weeks and officially at the half way mark. Crazy how fast it has all gone by. Chris was able to feel her the other day and that was fun for both of us since I have felt her for so long and now he can share in the experience. I am so happy that McKenna is going to have a sister and hopefully she will be as close to her as I am to my own sisters. I was also very excited that I won't need to buy much of anything for little girl since she will get all of her older sister's hand me downs. Now Chris and I are considering names and we are just so excited:)

Minnie Party and Party Hats

Happy Girl!

Blow Blow

Kicking in the Water

I got it

Babba Babba Umbrella

Puzzles from Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Derrek

New Big Girl Bed from Nana and Papa Braegger-we won't use this until we need to:)

I need googles

Minnie and Mickey

Well McKenna turned two this past Saturday and she was so excited for the day to actually get here. Everyday this last week she would wake up and ask Party? She chose Minnie decor for her party so everything turned into a Minnie Party. She busted out the party hats a few days before hand and wore them for longer than what she did on her actual birthday. Chris and I made the cakes- a Minnie and Mickey cake and I think they turned out super cute. Not bad for two novice cake makers. McKenna was super spoiled by all of our family and she was so serious when she was opening her presents. All she kept telling me was I do it until she got to her Elmo live and then she only wanted to see that. Another popular gift was a Yo Gabba Gabba umbrella from Grandma and Papa Wright-she is obsessed with it. From that point on she could have cared less about the other presents and then she proceeded to tell me mommy do it. -Gotta love it- She enjoyed blowing out the candles and then told me over and over yummy cake and icecream-she ofcourse asked for more. I wonder where she gets her sweet tooth? I can't believe she is two it has gone by so fast. She has become so independent and it is fun to actually have a conversation with her. It is hard to think about life without her. She told me the other day after I got her some cheese Thank you Mommy Love you and I almost started to cry-she is the best and I am so lucky to be her mommy.

Guess What... I'm Pregnant:)

It has been really hard not to share the news for so long but I am finally far enough along where I feel okay to share the news. We are going to be adding to our family on Nov. 21 and we could not be more excited. McKenna insists that the baby is a sister and Chris and I kind of feel the same way. Not that I would be disappointed if we had a boy, I just feel like we are having another girl. So far things are going well and we should find out in about a month what we are having. Pics are not very clear but you get the idea.

Easter Egg Hunts, Easter, and a Wedding:)

I decided to group all of the Easter Egg Hunts that McKenna did together since she did three. The first was with our community and it was a disappointment. Why you ask? Well it was highly unorganized for one and they used leftover Halloween decor for all of the kids three and under. So McKenna was the grand recipient of a spider, a pirate eye patch, a few gold coins etc... you get the idea. She did freak out when she saw the Easter Bunny not in a scared way either. She was yelling "Bunny" at the top of her lungs when her turn was over and Chris had to go and stand with her on a grassy knoll far away to get her to stop crying. I felt bad for Rylan, Katie, and Kellen sorry again for the let down.

The next hunt was in my Grandma's ward and it was great except for the fact that it was raining that morning and cold. After breakfast they organized the kids for the hunt and my mom made the mistake of giving McKenna the umbrella to hold by herself. After that she could care less about the eggs it was all about the umbrella and getting it back. I didn't even know she could say umbrella but it was in her vocabulary:) We took a family pic and of course she is being a stinker and shouting for the umbrella. On the walk back inside she would cover herself in it and we would say Where's McKenna and she would pop out and say Here you are-still working on it:

On actual Easter I was so excited to go to church and McKenna woke up at 6 am which is very early for her. I went and got her out of bed and she was burning up, well she had a 102 fever. So Chris and I were going to split up church. Well later in the day I started to feel awful and it all went down hill from there. We went over to my mom's house for dinner and McKenna was not wanting any attention and once she found an egg with skittles in it-she was done. We tried to do a hunt at our house and make it exciting-she just didn't care. Luckily, her fever broke the next day and it seemed to be the only thing making her cranky.

Finally-Sorry this is a long one:) We went to a wedding reception this past weekend and McKenna had her dress picked out and was all ready by the time daddy got home from work. Chris loved the way I did her hair and I must say it did look cute-especially since if you know me you know I can't fix hair. So we took some pics before the reception and I think that they will be her substitute Easter pics:) At the reception there was dancing and McKenna was a boogie baby. She kept telling us dance and then she would run over to the floor and run around and dance with older kids. She is such a sweetheart:)

29 at the Happiest Place on Earth

Tigger-She was jumping for him and then chased him around. She just called him tiger though.

Her Minmie hat

Pooh-Need I say more

Hi Ooffy-This is what McKenna told Goofy

Happy 29th to me! We ate at the Blue Bayou that evening-holy expensive, but worth it once I think.

She started swining like a monkey on the bars while we waited in lines.

Minnie was her favorite and I asked McKenna what she was going to tell Minnie and she said "cheese."

Riding the merry-go-round(She rode this ride the most:)

First day there-

As some of you may know my husband spoiled me and took our family to Disneyland for my birthday. We had so much fun together and it was nice because we had the 3 day park hopper and got to take our time doing the rides and shows. This year Disneyland is giving you free admission on your birthday, but since we already had tickets they basically gave me a gift card worth the amount of the ticket. It paid for a Minnie hat for McKenna, Bolt, and some pics of the family. McKenna was in heaven with all of the characters. Characters that she had never seen or heard of before were given big bear hugs. By far her favorites were Minnie or as she calls her Minmie and Pooh. Those were the two that she freaked out about the most and also hugged and talked to the longest. She enjoyed all of the rides but her faves were the choo choo, merry-go-round, and the Finding Nemo Voyage. We stayed at a hotel within walking distance and made sure that she stayed on schedule with her naps which was nice because we basically took a nap everyday too. The walk back and forth got a little tiring but it was better than paying for parking everyday. It has always been like a thing for me to take my kids to Disneyland and I just loved seeing her react to everything. I have always loved Disneyland and it was so fulfilling being there with my own daughter and seeing how excited she got over the characters and the parades. It was a dream come true-cheesy, but true.