Sunday, April 25, 2010

Casting Call


So there have been many requests for the story of how Kate got her purple arm. So here it is... we don't know. I wish we had a story to tell, but unfortunately we don't. Kate is a tough girl and did not show many signs of it being injured. There was no big fall or ear shrieking scream. Around the time of the mysterious incident, Kate had been practicing her walking skills and wasn't crawling quite as often. She would play with her toys and pull herself up to stand as if nothing was wrong, but on the rare occasion that she would crawl we noticed that she was using her right forearm instead of her right hand. We of course thought that was odd, but just continued to watch it. We started noticing that when put into her car seat Kate would make a face and sometimes a small groan when pulling her right arm through the straps. Finally, as Kate started crying when she had the smallest of falls, that would normally be no big deal, we made an appointment to see the doctor and sure enough BROKEN! We felt horrible that we let it go so long. We thought it was a strain at most because of how normal she was acting. I guess we just have a tough kid. The cast has not been holding Kate back though. She is just as active , if not more, as she was before. This girl loves to run around. Kate gets to keep this darling souvenir (that is starting to smell like foot) for another week and a half and then she will be able to enjoy bath time once again. We cannot wait.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Kate's Big Disney Day

On Monday we lost a baby... and gained a toddler. That's right, our precious little Kate turned one. Unbelievable, I know! And we could not think of a better place to celebrate that first birthday than with a first visit to DISNEYLAND!! Kate's first birthday and first Disneyland visit on the same day. Can't get any better than that. We had a great time riding rides and walking around the park, checking out Minnie's house (definitely a favorite) and eating churros. It made for a perfect day. After we soaked up all the Disneyland fun we could, we headed home for presents and delicious cake and ice cream with Mammo, Poppo, and Great-Grandma Lillenberg, and Grandma and Grandpa Darby via Skype. Here are some pictures of Kate's big day. (Apologies for not knowing how to make those cute photo collage things. You're just going to have to risk getting carpal tunnel and scroll down to view our many bday photos)

Starting off the day with some Mickey Mouse pancakes


Best Mouse ear photo we could get.
She would only keep it on for .3 seconds.

And yes if you look close you will see a very cute little purple cast on Kate's right arm. First cast before first birthday :(


Can't you just feel the Disney excitement?!


Strolling down Main Street with Daddy


Happy Disney family


Just in case we forgot how old she was turning




Another great strategy of getting the sword out of the stone- eat it!


Kate literally watched the Minnie's dishwasher run for a solid 10 minutes. Favorite part of the day.


I just love walking into Disneyland and being greeted by Mickey's floral face. And NO I am not pregnant, even though this picture may suggest otherwise.


Time for PRESENTS!! However, Mommy was much more into it than Kate. We had to bribe Kate to open her presents.


Mommy worked long and hard on this cake that would only take moments to destroy.


"Happy Birthday too you..."



Delicious! Kate loved her first taste of cake. And going...


Going...


GONE!!!

We can't speak for Kate, but Ryan and I had a BLAST celebrating our big girl's first birthday. It has definitely been the best year of our lives. We are so grateful for our sweet Kate. She brings smiles and happiness to our life every day. We love you Kate!!!

Monday, April 5, 2010

An Eggcellent Easter

It was a beautiful Spring day in Southern California and a perfect first Easter for our Sweet Kate. The Easter Bunny made a visit bring a basket full of goodies and later in the day we had fun in the backyard searching for eggs. Kate loved shaking the candy filled eggs like maracas. We could have filled them with rocks and she would have been just as happy. We are so grateful for the atoning sacrifice of our Savior and His resurrection that we get to celebrate this time of year. We hope you all had a wonderful Easter filled with sugary goodness.