Utah Jazz Family Of The Night.

I was selected to be the American Family Insurance "Family of the Night" at a recent Jazz game vs the Boston Celtics. It was "legend-wait for it-ary!" Austin, Austin's dad, Stephanie, and myself arrived at Energy Solutions Arena at 5:30. We waited around for a few minutes and then an intern came and got us. We are led through the back halls, out of the portal, and onto the court. We got to sit court side and watch the team shoot around. Rudy Gobert, a jazz rookie, approached us and we were able to get a professional photo with him. I have never felt so short standing next to someone. The guy is 7'2"! Once the team headed back to the locker room to make their grand entrance, we were videoed so we could be shown on the jumbotron and then went and found our seats. The seats weren't stellar but I guess they were free so I won't complain! Once the second quarter rolled around they showed our picture on the jumbotron. Let me tell ya, having your picture blown up to fit a screen that is 42 feet long and 24 feet high is not all that flattering. Luckily the embarrassment only lasted a few seconds and they moved on. After a few more quarters of basketball, the game ended. The Utah Jazz ended up winning, hooray! After the game we headed down to the players tunnel. We were then led by the nice intern to a waiting area right next to the locker room. Once the players were done doing their business inside the locker room they were forced to walk right by us. We obviously hounded them and asked for autographs and pictures. They were so sweet about it and we were fortunate to meet all of the players except one (Marvin Williams, curse you!), part of the coaching staff, and Randy Rigby (President of the Utah Jazz). Once the locker room was clear, we had to clear the Arena as well and head home. I think we all felt like the night was a success!

A special shout out to Clay, Lorie, Kelby, Clayci, and Baxter for watching Miss Kennadi for the night! You guys are the best!

With Rudy Gobert

Jeremy Evans |  Floor Passes |  John Lucas III

Trey Burke |  Enes Kanter |  Gordon Hayward

Alec Burks |  Derrick Favors |  Diante Garrett

Little Performer.

Kennadi loves the movie Tangled and Frozen. I think she watches it more for the music than the actual movie. Whenever a song comes on, Kennadi always has to jump up and sing/dance with them. She is becoming quite the little performer! I think Austin and I my have a future full of sitting through choir concerts and dance competitions.

18 months.

At 18 Months Kennadi is...

-Weighs 23.5 pounds and is 32 inches long. She is wearing size 3 diapers still and 12 or 18 month clothes.

-Taking 2 naps and sleeping 11 hours at night. My favorite is when we go in to get her out of bed. She always has to put her Minnie Mouse and Rapunzel back to bed before she will leave. She will even give them her pacifier and blow them kisses.

-has 11 teeth with a couple trying to make its way in.

-Counting to 3 by herself.

-Loves cleaning! It doesn't matter if I am sweeping, mopping, or doing laundry, she will always be right there with me.

-So social! She cries whenever nursery is over, cries when we have to leave playing with her friends at the park, and cries whenever we leave anybody's house. She must think her parents are real boring or something!

-Loves baths. I am convinced she would stay in the tub all day if I let her! She isn't too sure about bubble baths though.

-Very independent, stubborn, and opinionated. She must get this from her daddy! She has to do things her own way and in her own time. She always has to pick out her own pajamas, socks, sippy cups, book, etc. 

-Experiencing some separation anxiety. This is partly my fault as I have just started a full time job and we are still trying to adjust. Whenever I am home she must always be by my side and has to snuggle with mom for a while before she will go down for bed.

-Favorite shows include Curious George, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Tangled and anything Disney. 

-obsessed with other peoples shoes, just not her own. Whenever we put her shoes on they are off the moment we walk in the house or get in the car. She will walk around for hours wearing mine or Austin's shoes though.

-is wanting to potty train so bad but I am just not quite ready. We are going to California in a couple of weeks and having a little girl who is just learning to potty train doesn't sound too fun for the 10 hour drive there plus the hours wondering around Disneyland and Seaworld. Once we get home we are cracking down and getting it done though. I am tired of buying diapers!

-is getting quite the vocabulary. She tries to copy everything we say but can say and recognize 20+ words. Her favorite word to say is no. My favorites words that she says is princess, Ariel, banana, and balloon. 

-instead of nodding her head for yes she will clap her hands twice. I have no idea where she picked that up but it seems to be the norm now. 

-loves to play outside especially at the park. We cannot go outside without her pointing to the general direction of the park and saying "weeee" (apparently that means slide).

Zooming By.

Life has just been zooming by. I can't believe we are already in March. I feel like just yesterday we were ringing in the new year. Here are some notable things that have happened this far...

First Dentist Appointment.

Kennadi had her first dentist appointment. One of her front teeth hasn't moved down all the way. It has been like this for months so her pediatrician finally recommended that we go visit a dentist. Kennadi hated the dentist but we put on quite the spectacle! She refused to sit still for the x-rays. I ended up sitting down in the chair holding her in my lap and pinning her arms, an assistant held her head still, two assistants held the film in her mouth, and one assistant went to push the button....AND we still had to do it three times because she kept moving and getting blurry x-rays. She ended up screaming and screaming until we bribed her with a balloon. Once we told her she could get a balloon if she was good, she was on her best behavior! She also didn't let the balloon out of her sight for the rest of the day! In the end we found that the tooth is snagged on something within her gum. She will need to get it cut out but it would require anesthesia and the dentist wasn't quite comfortable doing it while she was so young. They want her to be at least 2 or older if it isn't bothering her. So, I guess we have another dentist visit in the future. Hopefully she will be a bit more pleasant this time around! 

Like I said...She didn't let that balloon out of her sight after the dentist!

Easton Turns One.

Easton turned one a few weeks ago. He had a construction themed birthday party up in Tremonton. Kennadi loved stealing/playing with all of his new presents, especially his tractor and new cowboy boots. Kennadi adores Easton (as do I). She loves playing with him especially now that he is more mobile. I hope these two stay such good buddies. I am hoping and praying Dillon gets into law school somewhere close so these two can still see each other. Cousins are the best!

Nursery Teachers.

Austin and I have been called to be Nursery teachers. We were originally primary teachers but Kennadi was such a distraction and not yet old enough to go into nursery so they moved us into there. Kennadi loves being able to run around and play with the other kids. She thinks she is way older than she is and is usually bossing the older kids around. Austin and I have learned nursery is incredible birth control. We are exhausted after church every week. I have to give major props to those parents of multiple kids under the age of 3.

We have major meltdowns every time nursery is over.

Darci Got Engaged.

Darci got engaged! It looks like Darci and Britten Deakin are getting hitched the end of May. We are excited to have Britten join the family even though the death stares Kennadi gives Britten may tell you otherwise (I promise she likes you Britten!). The wedding planning has started and I was lucky enough to go wedding dress shopping with Darci as well. She found a gorgeous dress and I can't wait until May when everyone can see her in it!

Treehouse Museum,

One weekend we ventured to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. We were getting some serious cabin fever this winter and needed something fun to do inside. The Treehouse Museum was the perfect place for Kennadi to run around and have fun. It also helped that Aunt Lindsey and Grandma and Grandpa were there to have fun with her too. She spent most of the time trying to show off! The museum had different sections with different themes. I think her favorite was the princess section (where she even got to see Cinderella), the farm section, or the doll nursery. Kennadi had so much fun, I don't think this will be the last time we go here!

Christmas.

Christmas is my favorite holiday. There is just something special about spending time with family, eating delicious holiday treats, and remembering the real reason behind Christmas. The presents are a nice bonus too…. Christmas was spent this year at Austin’s house. Due to Austin’s crazy work schedule we didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked there, but we still enjoyed the time we did have. Christmas Eve was spent stuffing my face with a delicious dinner and then acting out the nativity. Kennadi wasn’t too thrilled about dressing up, having a costume on her only lasted about five seconds. Austin made up for it as he insisted he dress up as batman and a wiseman. Sometimes I feel like I am parenting two children. Next up, we opened Christmas jammies. Austin insisted he pick out the pajamas this year, which may not have been the smartest decision on my part. Austin and Kennadi ended up with Ninja Turtle footie pajamas. I got footie pajamas too, except I wasn’t cool enough to get Ninja Turtle ones so I got Sock Monkey ones. I think from now I will stick to picking out the pajamas. After we opened our pajamas it was time to crawl into bed. I don’t think Austin hardly slept that night because he was soo excited for Christmas morning. It didn’t matter that he knew every single thing he was getting it, he was still excited.

Christmas Morning was exciting. Kennadi wasn’t as into unwrapping presents as I thought she would be. She was more focused on breakfast, playing downstairs, or playing with Aunt Lindsey’s fun presents. Austin surprised me with a gift certificate to get a massage. All my subtle hints payed off! I also got clothes, a Costco membership, and all the necessities for a successful date night. Austin got clothes, he needed them desperately. Kennadi got a toys, toys, a portable dvd player, and more toys. My mom and dad also gave us a trip to Disneyland/San Diego. The travel bug has kicked in and I cannot wait until May when we go.

In addition to the usual Christmas festivities, we also did some fun activities leading up to Christmas. First off, Austin’s parents treated us to watch Frozen at the theater. It was Kennadi’s first experience in a movie theater and she loved it. She sat on Grandma’s or Aunt Lindsey’s lap the whole time and just enjoyed the whole show. For those that haven’t seen the movie yet, it is cute and I would recommend it. Next, we went sledding. Well, attempted to go sledding. We got Kennadi all dressed up and ready to go but she was Miss Grumpy pants because she didn’t get her morning nap. So we opted to do a couple of laps around the front yard on the sled and then go inside for naptime. She reminded me of Ralphie on A Christmas Story. She kept falling but couldn’t get up. Finally, we spent lots of time playing in grandma and grandpa’s basement. Their basement is like a kid’s paradise. They have a loft, a slide, a gazillion toys, and even more books. Kennadi tried to drag everyone down there at some point or another. She could have stayed down there the whole time if we would have let her.

15 Months.

At 15 Months Kennadi is...

-weighs 21.5 lbs and 31 inches tall

-still takes 2 naps a day and sleeps around 11 hours at night. She loves her sleep! She will go down to sleep without a fight and most of the time will drag us is into her bedroom to put her in bed.

-communicates by grabbing your finger and taking you to what she wants. She can say a few words like “mom,” “dad,” “grandma,” “grandpa,” “ball,” “milk,” and “goldfish”

-has 9 teeth (4 front top, 4 front bottom, and 1 bottom molar) with 1 more on the way.

-knows animal sounds. She can do dog, cat, cow, horse, elephant, lion, sheep, and when we ask what a fox says she dances.

-loves puppies! As soon as she sees a dog she drops everything, starts clapping, and barks.

-can point and identify her eyes, nose, teeth, ears, tongue, and belly button.

-obsessed with Curious George but she will also sit and watch Arthur, Mickey Mouse Club House, Little Mermaid, Robin Hood and Tangled.

-loves her Aunt Lindsey and whenever she is around no one else matters.

-is a book worm. She would choose to read a book over any toy. She has started to read aloud and will sometimes even read to her stuffed animals.

-is a little diva. She loves the sound of her own voice and has mastered the tantrums if she doesn’t get what she wants.