15 Months

Wow, I can't believe how much time has passed since I last updated the blog! Welcome to parenthood and not having any time! :)

We had a great Christmas and New Year's and we hope you all did as well. We Spent our first week of the new year in Disneyland with my mom and my sister and her family. We had a blast! Kiara loved seeing all of the different characters and enjoyed the rides that she was able to go on. The weather was gorgeous, 75-80 the entire time we were there. None of us were prepared for that! We saw the Aladdin show, which Kiara loved and danced the entire time. She also really enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Ariel's Underwater Adventure...which we ended up doing twice! We had lunch with the princess' and dinner at Goofy's kitchen with Goofy, Chip & Dale, Pluto and many more friends. It was so fun to spend such good quality family time. Kiara loved spending so much time with her cousins. It is such a blessing that they are all so close in age and thoroughly enjoy being together!

Kiara is still small for her age but she is growing. She loves to eat and try new foods. I am greatful that we don't have a picky eater. She is very curious and always observing everyone and everything. She loves to move, she is cruising all over the house. She took two steps on her own last week, but is taking her time with the process. I think she is just having fun watching Zach and I make fools of ourselves trying to get her to walk. :) She loves music! She begins to dance as soon as she hears it. She loves to play Peek-a-boo and Patty Cake. She claps all the time and amazes her doctor by nodding and shaking her head when we ask her questions. She is getting better and better with sign language and loves creating her own language :) If you couldn't already tell, Zach and I are extremely proud parents!

Zach and I are doing great as well. He is still enjoying working at Costco and I am now working from home and watching a friend's 5 month old son. Kiara loves having a friend come over a few days a week and I love that I can spend so much time with Kiara. We are truly blessed!

We are looking forward to what God has in store for us this coming year.

8 Months

Kiara loves to read!

She is just so precious!

She was ready to go out and garden :)

Kiara is 8 months old now! I can't believe how fast time is going! She is learning new things everyday and Zach and I love to watch her explore her new talents. She can sit up on her own now, which means she now thinks that laying down and tummy time are for babies! She loves her toys, but she loves her books the most...looks like we are going to have another bookworm in the family :) She said Mama for the first time last week and now she can't stop saying it (much to my joy and satisfaction). Now we are working on saying Dada...she isn't there yet, but hopefully one day soon.

I had a fabulous first Mother's Day and Zach is really looking forward to his first Father's Day. He probably doesn't want me to share this...but the new Hallmark commercial for Father's Day gets him every time :) Kiara has him wrapped around her little finger! I love to see their relationship grow and develop...he is so good with her!

Kiara is growing so fast! She is still a petite little thing but she is getting very long! That isn't really a surprise with how tall Zach is. We had to move her up to 9 month clothes about a month ago because she was getting too long for the 6 month pants...everything is still baggy on her, she is so skinny!

She loves eating solid foods. She seems to be allergic to rice cereal, so we have stopped giving her cereal all together. Someday soon we might try barley cereal, hopefully she won't have a reaction to that. She loves sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, bananas and applesauce. Her least favorite is peas, they don't look very appetizing to me either :(

Zach and I are doing great. I can't believe that we have been living in our house for over a year now! We are still working on little projects here and there, the joys of owning a home :) Zach is loving his job...he likes the challenges it presents. I am still working two days a week and I am thrilled that I get to stay home with Kiara the rest of the time!

We pray that you are all doing well! Love you all

5 Months

She was trying to get the camera!

And she was fascinated by the flash :)

I love this picture!

Well, Kiara is 5 months old today! Time is just flying by! It feels like just yesterday we were finding out that we were pregnant and we were hearing her heartbeat for the first time :) What a magical day in our lives! Now we have this beautiful daughter to love on each and every day! What a blessing she is. She is changing so much with each day too! She has started rolling over...before we know it she will be running all over this house :)

A Mother's Love

During the nine months (or in my case, almost eight months) that you are pregnant, everyone tries to tell you how much your baby will mean to you. How you will bond with your child and love them unconditionally. You can read about it, hear it, and see it in your friends and family and the way they interact with their children, but you never fully understand what it means until you hold your baby for the first time.

When they first placed Kiara in my arms, it was as if time had stopped. The world stopped spinning and the only thing that mattered was her. She stole my heart that day and she will hold it forever. I love everything about her and I love everything about being a mom. I cherish the midnight feedings, I laugh when she wakes up with a big smile after a rough night, I actually don't mind the dirty diapers! When I see her, I know that this is what God had planned for me, to be a mom and to love every moment of it.

Sure, I have my moments where I feel like I am clumsy and the worst mom, like when I don't put the diaper on tight enough and everything finds a way out! But I just look to the Heavens and laugh about it because I know I am not the only one that has been there. And usually Kiara just laughs right along with me.

I am amazed at how her crooked little grin and her tiny but mighty hugs can brighten the hardest of days. I am grateful that I am blessed with such a joyous and happy baby! I love watching her watch her daddy. He just fascinates her! I love hearing them play and talk to each other in their own little language. I thank God every day for blessing me with an amazing little family. How truly blessed I am!

Bringing Baby Home

Love her little outfits!

Floor time!

She is such a good sleeper!

Her first cold! :(

She is so aware of her surroundings

Going for a car ride

Bright eyes

Snuggling with daddy :)

Mommy loves her!

On the billi-bed to get rid of Jaundice


We have had lots of new adventures since coming home with our baby Kiara. She has been such a blessing in our lives! We have had multiple doctor's appointments to check her weight gain and she continues to impress the doctors. We are so proud of her for doing so well!

In the first week that we came home, she was put on a billi-bed because she had jaundice. Thankfully they were able to set it up at home and we had nurses come to the house daily. She did really well on it and other than feedings, she slept the whole time without any fussing! What a brave little girl :) Praise the Lord that she only had to be on it for about 30 hours.

She continues to grow at a great rate. She did lose some weight in the beginning but that is normal for all babies. Her lowest weight was 4lb 3.5oz! She quickly regained that weight and then some. At her one month check-up she weighed in at 6lb 2.5oz!

She is a great sleeper! She still wakes up to eat about every three hours, but she usually sleeps in between those feedings. She is most active in the evening. That is when she decides she wants to stay up and play :) So we cuddle a lot and have tummy time. She isn't that impressed with tummy time and usually only tolerates it for about ten minutes. She would much rather be held, which I am happy to do :)

She is no longer wearing preemie clothing. She has moved up to newborn! While a lot of the clothes are still baggy on her, she is long and needs the bigger clothes.

It has truly been a blessing to have Zach at home this entire time. He was able to take 5 weeks off of work and we have enjoyed having him here. He has had a lot of time to bond with Kiara and I think it will be hard on all of us when he goes back to work. Just another adjustment that we will have to get used to :)

I am loving being a mommy! I couldn't ask for a greater gift. She is our little miracle and she blesses our lives each and every day! Our lives have totally changed since she arrived and we love it! I find myself just watching her for hours on end. Each little sqeak and wiggle amaze me. I love watching her grow and learn new things. Her little smiles brighten my day. And while I don't want her to grow up too fast, I can't wait to see what an amazing person she will turn into! I know that God has amazing plans for her life!