Dinner Out

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A couple of weeks ago we went to a fun Japanese restaurant with our friends. Kara loved the koi pond at the entrance and seeing all of the turtles and fish. Then it came time for the dinner to be prepared in front of us. Kara was mesmerized by the quick movements of the chef and the fire. Dinner was awesome. Afterwards we went and got ice cream. We are meeting our friends there again tonight for dinner. We are sitting on the sushi bar side instead (it is a little cheaper) so no meal cooked in front of us. Should still be lots of fun!

Friday Night

Here is a typical Friday night at home. We made pizza for dinner. (I have the best recipe for pizza dough if anybody wants it. It is for a breadmaker.) Kara was so excited when the dough was ready she wanted to help roll it out. We watched the pizza bake for 30 min. with the oven light on. She was so excited when it was done and ate SO much. After dinner Daddy and Kara read in her tiny Tinkerbell couch/bed for awhile.

Aaron was looking at the rentals on tv for a movie for us to watch tonight and Kara noticed a Tinkerbell picture and freaked out! She has a coloring book and a drawing book about Tinkerbell and loves the fairies. We decided to spend the $5 for the next three days of the rental and get it for her. It is her first real movie that she has watched. She made it through about half of it before she got tired and was ready for bed.

In other news, today was a cute day. Daddy is back to work after 3 weeks off so it has been a long week without him home. Kara constantly asks about Daddy. Today we had the carpet cleaned. We were having lunch and I said to her, "Do you know what?" and she crossed her arms around her chest in an X and moved back and forth. I said, "You are right, Mommy loves you." She knows SO much and is so smart. It amazes me every day the things she thinks and knows AND can now communicate. This is such an awesome age.

Christmas Morning Video

Here is the promised video from Christmas morning.

UCLA Basketball

Last Saturday we took Kara down to the UCLA campus for a basketball game at Pauley Pavillion. She was so good even though our seats didn't allow us much room to move. Just as she was about to approach Joe Bruin the announcer screamed "THREE POINT SHOT!" and scared the daylights out of her. Now she will probably be scarred for life of people dressed up in big animal costumes. We were given these tickets by a friend and we were five rows off the floor. Kara enjoyed watching the cheerleaders and all of the activity of the game so close to us. It was a fun morning. Oh, but UCLA lost.

Christmas (Finally)

We really don't have any great pictures from Christmas. Aaron took a lot of video though. Kara is just starting to understand the concept of Santa so it was fun to watch her face light up when she saw a big present in front of the tree Christmas morning. She said, "Danta, Me." At least she knew it was for her. He brought her the Little People town which she loves. Soon after Christmas we went through all of her toys. We gave some away, stored some that are still too advanced for her, and found places for all the rest. It feels good to finally have a little bit of order to her toys--for now. Aaron and Kara were both sick for Christmas again. Every year Aaron seems to get sick right as Christmas break starts and this year was no different. Luckily they were both better by New Year's Eve.

Cabin Video

Pictures and video of Christmas morning coming soon!

Christmas at the Cabin

The weekend before Christmas we celebrated our annual family get together at my parents' cabin with Aaron's family. We had everyone there except one sister-in-law who was still in school and couldn't make it. Kara loved playing with all of her cousins. Aaron's mom bought the kids matching pajamas. I am so thankful to be a part of such an awesome family. We did a gift exchange, played games, watched the kids play in the snow and ate lots of good food. What a fun memory.

Aaron and Kim's Murder Mystery Train Trip

It was a dark and stormy night in 1942. Gramma and Papa took care of Kara for the evening while we went on a murder mystery dinner train. We had an amazing time! The food was delicious and the period actors were witty and funny. It was such a fun experience that we're doing it again in February, compliments of Mike and Myra (our Christmas present). The next theme? 70's love train!

All packed for a trip to Gramma and Papa's!

We had a good time getting to know our table mates. Ginger was one of our favorite actors. The Life magazine that Kim's holding? An actual copy from 1942! Mike ordered it for us so we could read it on the train.

Dance Class

Kara had some dance studio pictures taken just after her birthday. Our little dancing bug :)

And, bow. Kara bows at the end of every performance, even if she's just listening to a song on the radio. Our next major dance move: curtsying.

Christmas Tree Train

The day after Kara's birthday celebration, we rode on the Christmas Tree Train! Kara loves trains and has even been to the Metrolink station twice with Papa and Gramma to watch the big, loud, scary train pull into the station. Every time she sees pictures of a train or we even mention the word "train," Kara says, "Toot! Toot!"

Papa and Grandma drove with us and Dan, Krishawn, and Keira met us at the station. We all had a great time riding the train, cutting down Papa and Grandma's Christmas tree, meeting Santa on the train, and taking hundreds of pictures.

Kara and Keira were more interested in the dirt than the trees.

Papa and Grandma gave Kara one of her birthday presents on the train. Guess what it was? A wooden train! So Kara got to play with her new train while riding on a train. Cool, huh?

Kara Turns Two!

If you ask Kara how old she is, she smiles and holds up two index fingers. Edit: I just asked her while I was typing this post and she correctly held up two fingers on one hand. Wow, she learns so quickly! She had such good time at her birthday, despite throwing up all night with the stomach flu. She put on a brave face until everybody left, then her cupcake decided it would rather be on our kitchen floor rather than in her tummy. I think a few of our guests left the party with their own viral gift (sorry Nicole), but I think everybody had a good time. This year's theme: Little People! (Kara calls them "Baby People" because she can't say "little" yet). What to do with all this plastic, batteries, and cloth? She's getting close to the age where she'll need an entire room for all of her toys. We're also thinking about getting her some outdoor climbing toys and a little plastic slide for the living room. Man, I should have bought stock in Fisher Price before Kara was born.

Thanksgiving

We are lucky enough to have both of our parents nearby so we had one Thanksgiving on Thurs. with Aaron's family and then another amazing dinner at my parents' house on Friday. Aaron's mom is leading a preschool from her house so it is a wonderland for Kara. She has all the best toys and books for Kara to play with when she comes over. Kara loves it.

Early November

Here's the first of three or four posts covering our November adventures!

I celebrated my birthday at an indoor kart racing track. Kara kept saying, "Go fast! Go fast!"


Poor Kara. Since she's too small to go on the track, Grandma and Papa let her race in the arcade.


Grandma, Papa, and GranJan took Kara to The Gentle Barn, an animal rescue. Kara loved brushing Buttercup.


Kara loves to watch our home movies. I've even converted a few of them onto my PSP, so she can watch her favorite moments anywhere.

Sick

We have had so much fun stuff going on that it has been hard to keep up since Kara and I got the stomach flu. We didn't realize it but Kara got the stomach flu on the day of her birthday party. That day we called all of our friends and family who have kids that were coming to her birthday party to let them know that she had a stuffy nose. She threw up that morning but we thought it was because of a post-nasal drip and a way too sensitive gag reflex that she has. When I got the stomach flu on Monday we realized that is what Kara had and we probably exposed everybody at the party to it! Aunt Nicole was next...and Papa...and maybe now Gramma. Somehow Aaron has escaped the germ...so far. Anyway, we do have amazing pics and great stories to tell but haven't and still don't (at the moment) have time to show them and tell them. They are coming though. So sorry!