The Barn Burners

I'm a big girl now!

2010-02-26T12:24:00.001-08:00

Hi!! I am getting veeeery big and veeeery fast and veeeery smart! Here's what I've been up to!

Now I'm 8 months old and I can crawl, pull up on just about anything, wave, say "heeeeeeeeee" which means "hi," and I'm getting in to eeeeverything! Also, I have 4 teeth that seem to be coming in at the same time. Ouch! A couple weeks ago we went to the Chaffee Zoo with my Aunt Jenny and Uncle Chris and my cousins, Connor, Kelsey and Madelyn! We had so much fun and I really loved the flamingos!

Me and Mommy fed the giraffes

I love my family!

And I love my Becker Family!

When I have to take a nap, I get really excited because I can stand up. Only problem is, I don't know how to get down! So one day I wound up having an interesting nappy....

My Mommy and Daddy took me to the Japanese Gardens at Woodward Park. It was beautiful!

I'm such an angel! Check out my sprout, pretty cute, huh!

My Daddy being GQ

No wonder I'm so cute!

My Mommy is a goofball

Bye Bye for now!

Check out my wave action! Mommy and Daddy are trying to catch me saying hi but I get too excited when I see a camera.

Here is some vid of me smoochin on my Daddy!

Here Comes Trouble...

2010-01-29T10:30:00.001-08:00

Took K to the park yesterday, she LOVED the swing! (PS I know she's too little but I couldn't resist so I was veeeery careful!!)

HelllOOooOOOoO!!

2010-01-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

Catching up on Holidays '09-'10!

We went and visited my Uncle Henry and Aunt Connie, it was actually the first time Casey had met them! Such a wonderful time and so great for them to meet Miley and Kiara!

My mama, my sister, my daughter! (My sister is so beautiful!)

Look at this hottie!

Pop and Aunt Connie...Cullen Fam!!

Off to SD for Kiara's 1st Christmas!!!

Grandma June's- Kiara looks so serious haha!

Grandma Be's- now that's more like it!

Wouldn't be a party w/out "Casey's Closeups"

I can't even believe it! LOOK at this cutie opening (aka eating) her first gift from SANTA!

Christmas in San Diego=tank tops and t-shirts

Kiara's Sundance battle wound

Cas and Mel

The folks!

Good ol' fashioned Chargers Christmas!! Ahhhww..Chargers I hate to love you.

Mich and baby Avery!

Family @ Carlsbad!

For New Years, Colin, Stacey, Eli and Baby Miller (still in mommy's tummy) came to play! Eli is Kiara's future husband. It's just a done deal. He brought her flowers and gave her a kiss. He is SOOOOO adorable!

Kinda blurry but if you're looking for a good, addictive board game, check out Settlers of Catan. Haha! SO fun.

THen back to Grammie and Pop's for a little post-Christmas present time!

Hope you all had a great season, on to 2010!!!!

Casey's THIRTY!!! Kiara's 1/2!!!

2009-12-16T14:21:00.001-08:00

Well this has been quite the...ahem...last 6 weeks or so! I must keep up on my blogging, if Kiara would just take a nap it would really help haha! Here are a couple pics from Thanksgiving...

Kiara is sitting up just great now! Every once in a while she will fall and bonk her head but for the most part it is great, she will just sit and play with whatever's around her! (especially if it is not a toy but rather some sort of random item like a funnel or a shoe.)
Casey turned 30!!! I had a surprise party for him at a local pizzeria and boy was he SURPRISED!!! I made him a great slideshow and will post it after Christmas (I have to figure out how to cut it in two to get it on youtube or something because it is extremely long hahaha)
We got our Christmas tree which was an adventure as Casey was still on crutches. He had torn some ligaments in his ankle playing basketball and got his cast off the day before his party! Kiara was not too happy about getting a Christmas tree but we caught her in a good mood here!

I decided to make our own Christmas cards and took some pictures of this little Santa baby...she was in the best mood when I was snapping photos and they all turned out sooo cute I couldn't decide what to choose!!And here is the finished product! I think it came out pretty cute...family, act surprised when you get it!!

Kiara turned 6 months and we fed her some peas last night. She did pretty good, kind of indifferent to the actual pea taste it seemed like, but after about 10 bites she got confused on how to swallow and started gagging. Even if we held the spoon up close to her she started to gag in anticipation! We got it on video so I will have to put that along with Casey's surprise party reaction up on the site for all to see, I just have to get him to show me how to hook up the vid camera. We got her six month shots and she weighs 13 lbs 11 ounces, still at 10% for weight, she's little like her mama! 25" long, 17"head (because you care haha). She absolutely destroyed the paper on the table at the dr's office. When we left it looked like hurricane Kiara came through. I think we know what we are getting her for Christmas...shhh haha!

Announcing... Rah Rah Girls!

2009-11-09T22:27:00.001-08:00

It's Here, RAH RAH GIRLS!!!

If you're interested in any name signs, hair bows, bow holders & more for your little ones or for gifts, check out my ETSY site, I'd love to make something for you!

RahRahGirls

If you order, mention my blog in your message at checkout and I'll throw in a surprise hair bow!

I will be updating here at the blog when new things become available!!

Oops....Catching up...

2009-11-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

First of all....welcome baby Madelyn Grace Becker!!!!

She was born October 28th at 9:02 pm weighing in at 8 lbs, 3 oz and 19.5" long.

Congrats, Becker Family!!

We headed over to Templeton right away to join in on the action...so nice for Kiara to see Nana and Papa and aunt and uncle and cousins!!

Casey's parents recently celebrated their 40th anniversary with a cruise to Europe. Congrats!!

What would a trip to SLO be without a little High Street Deli?

Oh yeah I promised you a picture of the legwarmers....

Here are some pics from our trip to the pumpkin patch! We had sooo much fun parading around with our little girl. We can't wait until she's running around picking out her own pumpkin!

She's so tiny!

You know me and Casey hit up the super slide before we left...I'm not sure we really are adults yet.

John & Stef Umscheid brought Jaxton over for dinner...he is such a doll!!

Kiara turned 4 months old...we had to hold her in place to keep her from...

doing this.

4 month highlights!

You are in size 2 diapers
Still in 3 month clothes
Becoming quite the little princess. You have upped the ante on the non-napping. Ahhh.
Teething teething teething!
Rolling all over the place
Digging those toes in, trying to crawl!
Getting close to sitting up!
13 1/2 lbs, 24" long, 16" head circ! Growing growing growing!!
Laughing and smiling more and more
Showing us more of your personality...you are one SPUNKY kid!
Still sleeping well at night!
Still only on momma's milk!

She is SUCH a sweetie and we are so so blessed to have her!

So in other news, last Monday I had a root canal, Tuesday Casey badly sprained his ankle and was in the ER all night and now on crutches, Wednesday Jenny had her baby and we headed over to the coast...so Saturday we were just pooped. Needless to say, Halloween passed us by this year so we unfortunately did not get Kiara in her butterfly costume. We will have to wait until next year!!

IN OTHER NEWS....I have an announcement to make!

I am opening my own ETSY store to sell my name signs, bow holders, hair bows, and all that good stuff. I will post the link once I'm up and running in the next couple weeks but keep me in mind for your holiday shopping!!!!

Take care!! I'll be catching up with more soon!

Holla!

2009-10-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

Stuff has been going on but I don't have too many new pictures to prove it- I was telling Casey that we need to just leave our camera out so that we always remember to take pics.

On Sunday my mom, my sister and I took a girls trip with Kiara and Miley to San Luis Obispo to do a little shopping, both girls needed some winter clothes so we did our little quarterly trip to the Carter's outlet in Pismo. Carters is my favorite. The clothes are so cute and wash so well, and the sizing seems easier to figure out than with other places. I have so many cute things from my sister in law from her daughter but I didn't have cold-weather clothes for the 3-6 month period and the weather is really starting to cool down! Well, I spent double what I budgeted so I guess I did pretty well. Ha! At least Kiara is looking fab here at home. My favorite purchase? Legwarmers. Goodness gracious. I'll try to get them on her today and post some pictures but these things are just too precious!

By the way....if you go to carters.com and sign up for their little club or newsletter or whatever it is, you will get coupons from them constantly. Most of the time it is for 20% of $50 or more, but sometimes it is even better. They will also send you coupons from osh kosh and sometimes gymboree. This is great because whenever I go shopping there, I always have a coupon!

Thanks girls for your recipe ideas, I'll have to check out tastebook.com Shannon that looked pretty good...my sister in law Michelle uses binders with the plastic sleeves like Leah suggested and that is super practical and neat so I may start there. The thought that I would have a free day to type up all my recipes makes me laugh but I guess you never know!? Maybe Kiara will get a wild hair and decide to take a long nap one day??

I did a little photo shoot with Kiara...I plan to take them into Photoshop and make them all fancy but here is some raw footage for now...and check out the ultimate cuteness of her sleeping on her daddy after a long day in SLO!!

Need some ideas?

2009-10-01T17:27:00.001-07:00

My recipes are a jumbled mess. I have one binder full of scribbled notes, magazine articles, and craziness. I really want to get it all nicely organized since I do a lot of cooking and am wondering if anyone out there has any good ideas on an organizer/system? (PS my binder is hilarious. It used to be this beautiful binder Casey's mom got me but then I accidentally set it on a hot burner so now it has a huge black burner imprint on the front. I feel that the way my binder looks is very indicative of my cooking skills...it looks the way my brain thinks...all over the place. Ha!)

I suppose I could make some cute little pages and type up the recipes but that would require being a girl who does not have a 3 month old.

Kiara is doing great, rolled from back to tummy today...goodness gracious I better watch out, she'll be crawling before I know it!! She's also sucking her thumb....not sure how I feel about it but I have gotten 3 GREAT night's sleep where she hasn't made a peep cuz she just sticks that thumb in there! She won't take a paci sooo...I guess it's okay for now (how would you make a 3 month old stop anyways? Haha)

3 Posts! Charger Game...

2009-09-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

First game of the season with a narrow win by the Bolts...YEeeeeAAh! We got to watch the first game on our new high def flatscreen whoo hoo!! Casey also won both of his fantasy games and took his Section A exam for his license so hooray for a great day! Kiara loves to watch the game with Daddy!!

3 Months!

2009-09-15T11:47:00.001-07:00

Kiara, you turned 3 months old yesterday!! Here's what you're up to these days!!

You're ROLLING!! Not just to your side, but from your tummy all the way over to your back. I believe this is a 5 month milestone. You had it conquered at 11 weeks, and you can do it to your left and your right sides. This is very fun but makes mommy nervous as I think you may be an early mover. I like you just fine in one spot!! But I'll take it...big girl! These are from my phone so the quality is probably stinky.

You're LAUGHING!! Mommy was having a crazy day and you started talking to me so cute, so I decided to video you and send it to daddy. Well, as soon as I pressed record...THIS happened.....!!

You're still figuring out the whole laugh thing but every now and then you will just laugh randomly! When we went to visit Grammie last weekend you saw her and just started busting up, and during the Charger game last night daddy was holding you on his knee and you just started laughing again!
You like to look at yourself in the mirror now. You make yourself smile and laugh. It is veeeery cute!
You can grab thing now. Especially your dress to stick in your mouth and chew on.
No tooth yet but it's definitely coming. You have your fussy days where you just can't get enough of chomping on your hand.
You found your feet! You love to grab them but they haven't made it to your mouth just yet!
I must mention that you rolled over, found your feet, and had your first giggle all in one day. It was very adventurous!
You're still in 3 month clothes but the bottoms are still big on your tiny little waist.
You're still in size 1 diapers.
You have very tiny feet.
Your hair is getting long and the new growth is a lighter brown...we'll see! I love the way it sticks up no matter what I do. It is the Kate Gosselin look.
Your eyes are still blue but have a few spots of color coming in...think they'll still be blue though, again...we'll see!!
You take 6-7 feedings a day (7 since you're on your 3 month spurt now).
You still sleep all night but you do not like to take long naps during the day. You're a chronic 30 minute napper and that's all there is to it!!
You are so smiley and happy and you are the joy of me and your daddy's lives. We're crazy about you!!!!!!

Shaver Lake & Beckers Visit!

2009-09-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Friday before last we decided to head to Shaver Lake for the day to do a little hiking! The hiking didn't work out too well...the BOB stroller was a little to big for the tiny little trail we were on that was covered in poison oak and Kiara was none too thrilled! But we got out anyway and enjoyed some fresh mountain air!

Casey was concerned about how he'd look with the Baby Bjorn but I thought it was adorable! Hahaha!

My 2 favorite people!

Then that Sunday the Beckers came for a visit!! Jenny is about 34 weeks now I think and she looks amaaaazing! We can't wait for baby #3 to arrive!

We hung out by the pool for a while..

I love this photo of Connor.

Kelsey June in all her glory

Mama-to-be with my baby girl

Cousin Love

Had a great time!

Good Morning, Sunshine!

2009-09-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Kiara has been waking up happy after her morning nap! The teething thing has been a challenge for sure and she is trying to transition to 3 naps so we're in a weird phase. It is so nice to go get her from her "playing" rather than her wailing!

Lotsa Pics...Catching up on August

2009-08-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

Whew we have catching up to do !

In the past month, Kiara turned 2 months...

Time flies!! Here's what you were up to by your big 2:

You began sleeping through the night and go 9 hours between feedings at night, then go right down again for another 2.5 hours!
You take 7-8 full feedings/day, about 15-20 minutes each.
You weigh 11lbs, 3 oz...22 inches....head circ 15"...all in the 50th percentile. You took your shots like a champ!
You wear a size 1 diaper
You're pretty much out of newborns and have moved into size 0-3 months, however on bottom you still wear newborns, you have a narrow little bottom half like your daddy!
You talk a lot, mimic daddy and love to have "conversations" with us
You are a super smiler and really want to laugh!
You still looooove bathtime, except the getting out part. And you always poop on the towel.
Your hair is getting longer and you have one little hair that goes from the top down past your ear!
Your arm control was getting much better but you were still so active that we have to keep you wrapped up while you slept!

Also, we just got back from an eventful week long trip to San Diego!

We had our first shopping trip at the outlets in Carlsbad...

Nana and Papa came too..

You sat in Papa's chair (you love your bumbo)

We took some family outings..

Saw Grandma Be and Brad...

and visited Grandma June...

Stayed at Adam & Melissa's downtown digs..

tried to go to the Pad's game but the cheap seats were sold out...

views from their apartment...

took our first beach trip... you loved the bach but not the "cold" water (which was like 70 degrees haha)

and she's getting a tooth! Hard to see here, but it's there! It's cutting now and she is none too happy about it!

She can roll to her left side and back! Notice the swaddle is GONE yay!!

Aunt Michelle, Avery, and Aunt Melissa visited..

She got some great daddy bonding time!

Daddy got some great boarding time!

Mommy and Kiara got some great play time! (Notice my new Mommy ring...I love my husband and the story behind it! It was Grandma Be's wedding set with Grandpa Hank's ring added, so beautiful!)

And nap time, ha!

Our family!

Sundance loved you and protected you the whole time we were there!

We had a real blast and a great month. We are such a blessed family and we know it! Casey passed Section E of his licensure exam WAHOO only three more to go babe! You did it!! So he's continuing to study like crazy while I try to get my feet under me with this whole stay at home mommy thing...it is SO challenging (especially not being fully healed yet :o( )but SO rewarding! Well my daughter is pooping so I better go take care of that. Congrats to Mike and Lisa on the birth of baby Tate, can't wait to see pictures!!

Congrats, Mich!

2009-08-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Congrats to my best friend Michelle and her husband Shaun who welcomed baby Vivianna Angelique Hoover on 7/31. Can't wait to see her!!

We are doing great around here! Kiara made it through her little spurt and is back to about 7.5-8 hour stretches of sleep at night. This morning I actually had to wake her up after 8 hours to eat! Then she eats and goes right back down for another great nap. I can't believe how blessed we are!

I look cute in red!

For some reason all my big smiley pics come out blurry!

Here are some pics from Grammie and Pop's house!

I loooove my big cousin Lily!

Thanks for the Okie Cake, Auntie Brenda!
I got lots of great snuggle time with Grammie!
I had so much fun and can't wait to visit again!!

Thanks to my (Great) Aunt Peggy for sending me some super cute new threads!!
Daddy fixed my bouncy chair so now I can actually sit in it!

And here's me in action yesterday at 7 weeks old...don't mind Mommy's goofy baby talk! I am very smiley and I also mimic my daddy when he rolls his tongue at me, I try to do it too! (We are trying to catch that on video and will post it when we get it!)

STTN

2009-07-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

I know, two posts in one day, but I can't believe I forgot to share this BIG NEWS.

Could it possibly be?

Yes, it is true. This little beauty has hit a BIG milestone. She slept through the night at 5 1/2 weeks old.

She did it at Grammie and Pop's house 3 nights in a row!

When we came back, she reverted and has woken up once the past 2 nights, but I am pretty sure it's due to her 6-week growth spurt and needing an extra feeding. Even so, her stretch last night was 7 hours. So I guess that's still pretty dern good. We knew she would do it early since she is such an amazing night sleeper.

I don't know whether to attribute it to Babywise or her nature or both (probably both) but we know that this is just a blessing beyond words so glory to God in the highest for this one, hehe.

Itzbeen

2009-07-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

This thing is the best invention since sliced bread. It is my lifeline right now. While I was in Merced my niece got a hold of it and pushed some of the buttons and I could have died! Haha. Maybe I should fast from the Itzbeen, its value is of so much importance to me right now!! If you don't know what it is, when you have a little baby you write down all kinds of information all over the place like how long it's been since baby's last feeding, bowel movements, medicine, etc etc. Not to mention that at the very beginning you need to wake your baby up to feed her in the middle of the night sometimes. Well this thing is basically a timer of how long "itzbeen" since the last feeding, nap, diaper change, *miscellaneous (I used this for me and Kiara's medications). Each setting has its own alarm that will go off after a certain amount of time you set. It has a PERFECT little nightlight which is great for checking on baby and setting her down without turning on the lights. Also has a little switch on it so you can remember which side you started nursing on last (I can NEVER remember!) I pretty much just use the feeding, meds and nursing switch now but at the beginning the poopy diaper thing would have been helpful!

SO big!

2009-07-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Kiara is growing like a weed and we just can't believe how big she's getting! This weekend we are taking a trip to Grammie and Pop's house in Merced while Casey gets some surfing out of his system down in San Diego where he plans to find himself a new bodyboard! It will be a much needed break for him as he's been studying SO hard for his licensing exam coming up in September! It is going to be SO strange to be without him for that long but we'll get through it with a little help from the Grammie! All of the girls will be there so I'm sure Kiara will have a great time seeing all of her cousins...we should get some great pictures, too! I had my 6 week postpartum checkup and everything's healing up well, just need about another month for the rest of the stitches and I should be feeling better- whew! Jenny's birthday is on Saturday so an early HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, Jen!! Kiara can't wait to see her Aunt Jenny again soon!

I looove hanging out in my swing!

Doesn't she look like a little porcelain doll here? Haha!

I just couldn't resist...Mommy's favorite bum-bum (well, 2nd favorite...)

1 Month!

2009-07-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Kiara is 1 Month Old Today!

Kiara,

You are the joy of our hearts and we still cannot fathom that you are our precious little girl. God has blessed us immensely with you. You are so beautiful and we are just head over heels in love with you.

About You- 1 month Highlights!

-At your last appointment 3 weeks ago you were 8 lbs, 2 oz., 20 inches long. We figure you're around 9 pounds now. You are getting SO big, but you're still SO small!

-Your eyes are still blue and we think they might stay that way.

-You still wear newborn sized diapers. We have cheated and put you in 1's when we run out, but you're swimming in them!

-You still wear newborn sized clothes but are starting to get into some 0-3's now.

-You are the most alert baby we've ever seen. Many people who've met you have used the same word to describe you! You are just so curious and are soaking everything in, you just want to know everything that's going on!

-Because you are so alert, you fight your sleep like crazy! You try so so hard to stay awake until you finally conk out!

-You are an amazing nighttime baby (last night excluded, you had a yucky tummy it wasn't your fault, but you still slept great!) Mommy is only up with you ONCE! You usually go down to sleep around 10 and give us a 4-5 hour stretch (sometimes a little more!). Then Mommy feeds and changes you, and you go right back down for another 3-4 hours. Thank you, Babywise!

-You smile a lot for such a little girl. In fact you smiled for Mommy and Daddy right away in the hospital. But now you are starting to smile responsively to us instead of just randomly and we LOVE it!

-You are becoming more vocal and starting to give us lots of coohs and cute little noises!

-You are using your hands a lot more and seem to be aware that they are attached to you now. Sometimes you will grab something by accident and hold on to it. You'll hold onto a toy for a little bit.

-You are still fighting thrush and taking your ICKY medicine that you take like a champ even though the very taste makes you gag! We hate giving it to you but we're almost done!

-You absolutely hate the nose aspirator. We can pretty much do whatever else to you and you won't flinch, but you just scream your head off when we have to suck out the mocos!

-Your favorite thing in the world is bathtime. You just get really quiet and content and enjoy every second of it! You also love getting wrapped up tight in a robe or towel afterward!

-You are still in your bassinet because the yucky medicine makes your tummy upset, but after you're done, you'll be moving to your crib where you love to nap now!

We love you and are so excited but sad to watch you grow so quickly!

My First 4th of July

2009-07-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my very first road trip ever! I slept all the way to Templeton to celebrate my first of many 4th of July's with my Daddy's family at Aunt Jenny and Uncle Chris's house!

Aunt Melissa, Aunt Jenny and Kelsey could not wait to hold me! I looooved snuggling with them!

I am still too little to go to the parade but I sat outside with Mommy and listened to all the music as my cousins had so much fun catching all the candy!

Uncle Adam was the ping pong king...

Uncle Chris was the Daquiri Master....(can you tell??)

Papa and Brandon checking out the dog poo that made it onto everyone's shoes...boys are gross!

My Aunt Michelle and Uncle Brent and my big cousin Avery!

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy!

Me and my Mommy

Our Family!

Happy 4th everybody! Gotta go, chow time!

Too cute not to share!

2009-06-26T07:44:00.001-07:00

A warm snuggly robe after bathtime is the best!

I am just toooooo cute!

Visitors!

2009-06-24T10:29:00.001-07:00

Kiara has had so many people who love her stop in to see and snuggle her! (Koss we're missing one of you so you better come hold her soon!)

Grammie

Pop

Aunt Dana

Grandma burned the midnight oil and stayed at the hospital aaall night waiting for her to be born!

Aunt Jenny

Uncle Chris

Papa

Nana

Our Pastor Joe and his wife Pam, and thanks to all of the members of our church who have been providing meals for us!! What a blessing!!

Katherine

Brandon

Baby Avery, too!

Aunt Melissa

Aunt Michelle

Uncle Jeff

Miss Lily

and so many others! Thank you for your cards, calls, encouragement and support. We are so blessed to have you all! We love you, and Kiara does, too!!

And congrats to Sarah for winning our baby guessing game! Pretty great guessing!!

Smiles and Diapers and Spit Up, Oh My!

2009-06-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

What a week!

This week has brought us such a new appreciation of each other and what it means to be a team! We have been so blessed with a little girl who eats well and smiles a lot, and after some times of restlessness looks like is finally settling into a pattern. Our lives are now made up of 2 1/2 hour chunks, haha! She is now weighing in at over 8 pounds and looks like she is 20" long, not 20.5 like the hospital said. She has thrush now because of some antibiotics that mommy is taking but it doesn't seem to be bothering her yet and we hope we get that cleared up soon! She is an absolute angel and we go from feeling like she's been here forever to disbelief that we actually have a daughter! She is so beautiful and we are learning a lot!

Hi Mommy is it time to eat yet?

She got aaaaall dolled up for Daddy on Father's Day...she can't wait to go cheer on the Pad's with him! Happy Special Day, Sweetheart! You are the most amazing Daddy EVER! Kiara is so lucky to have you!!

Ten Tiny Toes...

She can't even get all the way in yet but she LOVES her bath- a water baby for sure, just like her Daddy!

Isn't our God amazing!!?

Sleep soundly, little angel! We love you!

Kiara is Here!

2009-06-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Kiara Maureen Barnes has come to join us. She came into this world on Sunday June 14th, 11:19 am. Weighing 7 pounds 14 oz, and was 20.5 inches long. She is beautiful and we feel so blessed to have her!!!

Mommy with her new daughter!

The best feeling in the World!!!!

Daddy's girl

The Barnes Family

Our beautiful girl!!

40 + 2

2009-06-11T13:32:00.001-07:00

Still here waiting on baby! Just a quick update, we saw the Doc yesterday and not too much more progress yet except that I am more effaced so that would put me at 1 cm, 80-90% effaced. If she doesn't make her appearance by next week, we will head over to have a Non-Stress test to check on her on Tuesday morning and if everything's going well we'll induce Thursday morning the 18th. Come on little one!!

39 1/2........

2009-06-06T17:14:00.001-07:00

Still no baby! We are hanging in there and getting a little impatient, getting so anxious to meet our sweetheart! Here are some photos of the bassinet that my mom recovered to pass the time. The bassinet came from Casey's sister Michelle...all of Casey's nieces and nephews have called this home so far, we just pinked it up a lil bit for Princess.

Good job, mama!

Welcome to KiaraLand!

2009-05-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

We've got it all preeeetty much finished except for the frames/pics that we'll put up over her crib after she arrives and a couple more finishing touches.

Come on in!

Casey's coworker made the cutest little diaper cake, and here is Minnie and the bow holder I made...

And I've been making LOTSA bows...

Found the piece over her doors on clearance at Ross, Casey spray painted it and I added some little pink glass marbles for sparkle...

I'm so thrilled with her bedding. The sheet is the softest minky pink fabric, I love it.

Of course her book collection is already beginning. I found these trunks and the one on her dresser at TJ Maxx for a steal.

Pretty sure I'll be spending a looot of my nights here...quiet sweetie Daddy needs some rest!!

...And there you have it! I need to make a little something for over the mirror, and we'll put the frames up, but otherwise I think we're aaaaaall ready...just waiting on her!

...and after SEVERAL bouts of false labor, any time she's ready would be GREAT!!

I just realized I didn't include any pictures of her closet. Let's just say it's a little girl's (and her mommy's) wonderland.

We are so incredibly blessed, can't wait to see her beautiful face and kiss her little feet.

I Like 'Em Chunky

2009-05-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

37 weeks, Pregalicious.

Catch-up...April 2009

2009-05-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

35 weeks- I finished work! I am now officially (well, Tuesday officially) a stay-at-home wife and mommy. I couldn't be happier! So I finally had time to update with more photos from April. I'm feeling great for being this far along, getting a little more tired but SO excited to meet our daughter! Casey's been a great support and we're joyously anticipating taking on our new roles- he's now an Official Bradley Method Coach, he has the whistle to prove it (which he will NOT be using while I'm in labor!). We decided on the Bradley Method after a lot of research on natural birth. The Bradley Method is a Husband-Coached childbirth method that focuses on natural pain relief methods- it really was so awesome! Basically it teaches your hubby to be your Doula (doulo?? ha!) It was a 12 week course and we learned SO much! We feel totally prepared for a natural birth if everything goes well, and know we're doing what's best for Kiara!

ok- here's April in a nutshell!

Casey rocked out the furniture for Kiara's room. I had the world's longest Honey-Do list for him. He's pretty much done, only a couple little things left (well for now, somehow things keep getting added to it)!! Her room looks RAD- it's AAAAALMOST done, I'll post as soon as we get it finished.

At the beginning of April, Casey drove down to SD, then visited our newest little niece Avery who was born March 30!! I'm so bummed I haven't gotten to meet her yet, but soon enough she and Kiara will be bff's I'm sure!

We celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on April 8th, then went to SLO for a wedding the weekend of the 18th. We did all the awesome SLO stuff, hit up Farmer's Market, got our Peets, relived our first date (Mandarin Gourmet followed by the drive-in! My first time going to a drive in was with Case on our first date so I LOVED it! PS- we saw Monsters vs Aliens...okay if you live in Fresno you have got to see it haha!) We stayed at Jen & Chris's and got to watch Connor's t-ball game- he's an all-star for sure!

Kelsey June in all her glory- what a doll!

We stayed at the Cambria Pines Lodge for Weber's wedding- gorgeous place, even more gorgeous wedding. Then we hit up Moonstone Beach for a little Maternity Photo session- Casey's photography is so rad.

The most killer view ever! Oh yeah, the hills/ocean are pretty nice too.

The next weekend was my last rendezvous out so I went to Merced for Addie and Miley's first birthdays! Got some great fam time. Saw Lily's first game of the season, she did great! She melts my heart.

Addie and Miley were so darling grubbin' on some ice cream cake...Addie didn't waste any time going for it while I had to convince my sis to let Miley get messy. They are just TOO cute!

Addie knows what to do!

Miley's got it now..mmmmmm ice cream (that really sounds good!)

Other than that we're just getting ready! Had a pedi this morning that was BADLY needed and was just heaven. So at least if she comes in the next few weeks she won't have to look at chipped pink toenails. Now they have little rhinestones on them. Countdown's ON!! We're so stoked!

Clovis Shower

2009-04-10T08:16:00.001-07:00

While Casey was in San Diego last weekend meeting our gorgeous new niece Avery, my mom and sister threw a BEAUTIFUL shower for me and Kiara, I'll never forget it! So many people traveled to come be a part of our special day and I was just overwhelmed with everyone's love and generosity! The theme of the shower was "Sweet Pea" and let me tell you it was absolutely adorable! My mom even made a huge felt pea pod and filled it with limes for one of the games, guess how many peas in the pod. We played a price-is-right-esque "higher or lower" (complete with pickles and ice cream) and had Mexican food and Oakie Cake (can't get much better than that!) Thanks everyone for an incredible weekend, it was so much fun!

30.5 weeks

J-Ro Fo Sho, Koss, and Miss Miley

Dana, Lily and Miss AddieMich and our bellies!

Jeanine's beautiful girl JuliaHigher, or Lower Mama?Beautiful girls, Stephy and Kristy

Lorena and Sweet Daughter Leah
We have a lot of updating to do, so look for new pics soon!

Sneak Peak

2009-03-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Casey and I have been hard at work preparing for baby. Her nursery isn't quite complete yet, but we are so excited about it, we thought we'd share a sneak peak of what we've got going on so far! Casey's working on refinishing my great-grandmother's dresser/mirror which are going to go in her room (they are the loveliest shade of antiqued avocado green right now, ha!) After my great-grandmother died, I was handed down her dresser/mirror. At the time, my sister was pregnant and I wanted to throw her a baby shower, but I was short on cash at the time and trying to figure out where to get the money. About the same time I decided to tear out the newspaper lining in the old dresser and found some money hidden under the lining! It was so amazing to know that she had left a special gift for her great-great-granddaughter. Well, now my daughter will be getting a special gift from her as well, her nursery furniture!

Other than that, we have everything pretty much planned out and are just tackling on project at a time!

Here's your sneak peek...

I made her a little name plaque and am making some other matching items...

Her bedding which I am absolutely obsessed with...

This little light of mine...

It wouldn't be her room without a pink Minnie Mouse!

...more to come!!

SD Shower

2009-03-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

A HUGE thank you to everyone who made it to our shower in San Diego last weekend, it was so beautiful and Casey and I will never forget it! It was a co-ed shower which was a great excuse to see lots of friends and family.

On the way down, Casey got some amazing shots of the beautiful Valley blossoms to frame up for our little girl's room (it's coming along! We'll post photos soon!)...

About 27 weeks

We'll be meeting our niece Avery at the end of this month! Doesn't Michelle look amazing at 9 months pregnant!!?

Too cute...

Casey stayed in SD for the week to take his landscape licensing exam, so Melissa and Adam brought him back up this weekend and we had an awesome time hanging out together!

I'll post more shower pics soon once I get them from the other camera. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family!

Tahoe Trip

2009-02-28T17:54:00.000-08:00

Casey just had to pull over and get this Valley Memories shot outside of Dos Palos...

The men...

Baby Eli (We betrothed him to Kiara)

Of course the first thing the guys did was build a jump next to the cabin...

Then on Saturday the guys went boarding at Alpine while I caught up on some R&R at Squaw! Had a great time- you guys still owe us a rematch on Back Alley Bridge!

Whoa Mama

2009-02-18T19:28:00.001-08:00

Whew we have a lot of catching up to do...

In January we went to Templeton to celebrate Casey's nephew, mom, and sister's birthdays...

Getting bigger....

Connor and Kelsey's cute little cheeks...

In February we headed to SD for a children's book writers and illustrators conference (awesome), went to this incredible restaurant in Oceanside called Hill Street Cafe (SO yummy!)

Sunny D gettin' his Word on...
And here we are at 24 weeks, little miss thing is making her presence known for sure!

Headed to Tahoe this weekend with our friends Colin & Stacey, should be a blast!

It's A...

2009-01-26T08:33:00.001-08:00

(profile shot)

Girl!
We're so excited to welcome our little
Kiara Maureen!

(Her little foot)

Scribbles...

2009-01-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that I've been pursuing my career in children's writing/illustration, and I'm taking the plunge; I just finished a set of drawings sent in to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators- San Diego chapter to be reviewed for a critique at an editor's/agent's conference in early February. I'll be sending in part of a manuscript as well, and will be using the conference as a springboard for getting everything together! I plan to have my website up and running in the next few weeks and I'll start a blog there for my illustration work, so you won't see much of it here. The link to the website is http://www.amyscribbles.com/, I'll post when it's
up and running....fingers crossed....following your dreams is fun (and hard)!

Play our Baby Game!!!

2008-12-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

So there's only a couple of weeks left until we *hopefully* find out if Nugget is a he or a she, so we thought it would be fun to get all of your guesses in place!

We're encouraging everyone who checks our blog (even the lurkers-we all do it!) to click on the "PLAY OUR BABY GAME" Icon on the top of this post or the right of this page to enter your guesses for Nugget's gender, weight, length, birthday and birth time. Enter your name there so we know who guessed what. The person with the least points WINS, and the game gives points as follows:

Penalty Points:
Incorrect gender- 400 points!
Date & Time- 5 points per hour
Weight- 5 points per ounce
Length- 10 points per inch

Need some help?

Our due date is June 9, 2009.
Amy was born 11/13; 4:02 am; 6 pounds, 14 oz; about 20"- born close to due date
Casey was born 12/10; 8:08 am; 9 pounds, 1 oz; 21 1/2"- and he was 2 weeks early!!

So get to it, we can't wait to see everyone's votes!
Looks like the polls were heavily favored "boy"- let's see if everyone's right!

15WEEKS!

2008-12-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Wow!

What an awesome time we had at our latest Dr. appointment. This kid is getting so big! We could see little fingers and little toes and all the good stuff, well almost all the good stuff! 5 more weeks till we get to find out what our little nugget is! The part that stoked me out the most was getting to listen to the heart beat. I have not been able to feel the baby yet, so this made so real! I will never forget that experience. We can't wait for the next appointment!

Merry Christmas!!

'But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of GREAT joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2 :10-11

Happy Birthday, Big Daddy

2008-12-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Today's is Casey's 29th Birthday!

I'm more in love with him than ever.

And how could I not be?

I love you babe, hope your birthday is the best ever.

You're an amazing husband and you're going to be a wonderful Daddy.

I Like to Move It Move It

2008-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

So we're 14 weeks along now and amazingly I've been feeling baby buzzing around since the day after Thanksgiving. Now this kid just won't give up and is going crazy in there! Yesterday it was fluttering aaaaaaaall day long! It's a little spitfire! Feeling much better now and working on the bump!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T21:48:00.001-08:00

We're thankful for a God who loves us and gave everything for us...

For Family...

For seasoned life...

And new...

(psst...notice the bump!)

For friendships...

Laughter...

And love.

Happy Thanksgiving

11 weeks

2008-11-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

11 weeks and we're doing great! We had another ultrasound today and the baby was kicking, waving, and even did a somersault!

We're Pregnant!!!!

2008-10-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

Our little "Nugget" is on the way! We are 7 weeks along and just had Nugget's first picture taken, and got to see a little heart beating away! Our little bean will be joining us some time around June 9, 2009! We couldn't be happier! Praise the Lord!!!

Miss Miley

2008-10-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share some new pictures of my beautiful niece Miley that my sister sent this morning. Almost 6 months old! Where did the time go!!??

What a doll! I'm one lucky Auntie!!

The Race!

2008-09-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it was time for Amy's big race! 3 months ago Amy decided that she wanted to run a half marathon. And she chose a pretty awesome race, 'Disneyland Half Marathon!' She had been training every day for this race, and she rocked it! I am so proud of her. It was a pretty awesome experience for her. We arrived in Anaheim the afternoon before the race. Amy got checked in for the race, and then we went out for a big pasta meal at the Spaghetti Factory. The alarm went off at 3:30 the next morning. Since we bring our toaster everywhere we travel, I was able to make Amy some toast before the race. Of Course the toast burned a little, which activated our smoke alarm! We skipped over to the starting line, along w/ the 14,000 other runners, (my wife had a faster time than 10,000 of them!). A kiss on the forehead, along with a prayer, and my little runner was off.

After the race we went back to the hotel to get packed up and head back home. As we were getting in the car, I asked Amy what she wanted for lunch Her response, which was adorable, "Disneyland!".

So California Adventure Land that day, Disneyland the next. We had a blast!!!

Awesome Weekend!

MAMMOTH!

2008-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

The Barnes Brood met up in Mammoth for a week to have a pleasant, relaxing vacation.

Yeah, uh-huh.

Only these people would be actually more active on vacation then in normal daily life.

We had a BLAST and made so many great memories!

We had to drive through Yosemite to get there (darn!)

Stopped in Bodie- a super neat ghost town north of Lee Vining. This place was amazing. I think this town of 10,000 had like 65 saloons or something. It is really dry out there, they must have been thirsty.

Casey praisin the Lord in Bodie..

Casey and I spent our first night camping at Twin Lakes to wake up early for our very first run together. We ran the Charthouse/Footloose Road Run- the highest Road Run in California clocking in at a whopping 8000 feet in elevation. That plus all the hills and a terrible night's sleep made it an extremely challenging race! I ran the 10K and Casey did the 5K. We both placed, won coffee mugs, got our t-shirts, and we each won the raffle, too! (And Buzz saw us on TV!)

We stayed in a really cool condo with a creek running behind it..needless to say Connor had a blast back there!

We played lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of Farkle.

We went on a killer hike to Mammoth Crest- almost 11,000 feet!

We saw two bears! They live near the condo. Luckily we saw the babies and not the mama.

Our Michael Phelps impressions.

It all ended with Buzz getting a speeding ticket but Joan winning the money for it at a casino on their way home. Classic.
More Pictures of our Mammoth trip!

We missed you, Golecs!

New babies!

2008-08-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our newest little nieces, Miley and Addie! They are so adorable and growing bigger every day! For those of you who don't know, Miley is my sister's baby and Addie is my brother's. They were born just 2 days apart in the same hospital!

Miley

Addie

More pics!
Girls

4th of July!

2008-08-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

The Becker's annual 4th of July Fiesta was incredible, as always! Our weekend was full of watergun fights, horseshoes, lassoo, slip-n-slides, fireworks, and parades! Never a dull moment with this bunch.

More pics!

4th of July 2008

Let's Get Aaaaalll Caught Up!

2008-08-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, we have been lame about updating our blog- but that is partly because we have done SO many cool things the past few weeks! And we documented most of it (yahoo!) We've got babies, 4th of July, Sea World, Mammoth, and more fun to share. If the fam wants any of these photos, email me and I'll send them to you. We have been so stoked on our summer and had so much fun...with everyone! Love you all!

One Meatball!

2008-06-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Casey and I went to Merced for a visit this past weekend- we had so much fun- more pictures and comments on our trip to follow....but for now, One Meatball.

Mom, Grandma, Koss and I went to watch Lily's (my niece) tap and dance recital for Denisa's School of Dance. My sister and I had a blast reliving our very own Denisa days (she looks exactly the same as she did 15 years ago) when we used to twirl, tap, and tendu across the same stage every June (I did ballet, tap and baton- my sister stuck with baton only.) Twirlers Unlimited! We laughed about our big bangs, Hot Sticks, and how we could never see our batons in the bright lights- we just kind of stuck our hands out and hoped we'd catch them. Now we were in the audience, holding babies (Koss with Miley, me with Addie). It seemed as though nothing had changed, except the costumes were cuter (ours were heavily 80's/90's influenced) and no one was wearing shimmer tights (what's with that? I thought that was a staple?)!!

Out comes Miss Lily- first in her ballet routine with a tambourine. Super cute.

A few more groups, then Lily again for tap. Out she comes in her yellow tutu with a chef hat on her head and a wire whisk in her hand. She starts tap-tap-tapping to a silly song about a meatball. (I've found the song- Van Ronk Dave's "One Meatball.") Precious. Then they get to a part of the song where they take their whisks and fling them back and forth, back and forth. The little girl next to Lily is getting way into it. She starts whisking in front of Lily's face, at which time, my sweet little niece takes a step back and gives her the six-year-old "oh no you didn't" look that my sister and I know so well.

Oh yeah, she's definitely our niece.

Unfortunately the theater wouldn't allow us to take any pictures, so when we get the professional ones, I'll be sure to post a copy of our favorite little meatball.

Way to go, Lily!

Today's Grammar Lesson

2008-06-26T10:39:00.001-07:00

Being a Barnes brings all sorts of new challenges, like how do I handle the plural/possessive form of "Barnes?" Barnes'? Barnes's? Barneses? Barneseseses? Here is what I've learned:

1. More than one Barnes are "Barneses." (Keeping up with the Barneses.)
2. Anything belonging to one Barnes is "Barnes's." (Casey Barnes's wife.)
3. Anything belonging to more than one Barnes is "Barneses'." (We ate at the Barneses' house.)

Looks weird, but it's correct. http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/062501.htm
This concludes today's lesson. Hehe.

Love,

The Barneses

June 2008 San Diego Trip

2008-06-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

We headed down to So Cal for Casey's Landscape Architecture Registration Exam. Two days of laying by the pool while my husband racked his brain and blurted out everything he ever learned about Grading and Drainage. We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Mission Inn in Riverside and had a wonderful time. Wahoo! I'm so proud of him :o)

After the grueling test, we headed down to SD for a little R & R with the fam, to celebrate Buzz's retirement and Father's Day. It was quite an adventure. Don't eat Greek food. Ever.

Unfortunately, Casey's dad suffered a retinal detachment before we got there, but by this modern medical marvel, and keeping his head at "9 o' clock," he's sure to be seeing clearer than ever.

Happy Retirement, Big Daddy!!!

The rest of our trip was awesome. A little sun and lots of fun- Casey drank about 3 gallons of salt water and got his fix for the time being. Hang Ten.
Check out the rad pics of our vacay here!

Sorry!

2008-06-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

We are creative right-brainers who are great at coming up with ideas but sorry on the follow-through. We now have a new camera so we'll be posting more and more! For now, check out the 1/2 Marathon that I'm training for in Disneyland, August 31 (ouch!)

http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/westcoast/events/detail?name=DisneylandHalfMarathon2008EventInfoDetailPage

Two Year Teppanyaki

2008-04-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Okay so last night was our 2 year wedding anniversary! We yak'd it up at Tokyo Steakhouse with a little Chicken/Filet Mignon Teppanyaki topped off with a lovely Kirin Ichiban. Such a fun night- and a great two years!

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyello!

2008-01-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to one of our New Year's Resolutions (to start capturing more of our memories). We're just getting started with the whole blog thing, but hope to update it regularly with pictures and things that we love. Here goes... Happy 2008!