Officially FOUR

Although we had a great big birthday party the weekend before K's birthday...I knew we should send her to school the day of her actual bday with a special cake to celebrate with her school friends:

The evening, we also decided to have a simple dinner out - just us 3.

Happy Birthday Munchkin...we love you more than words can thoroughly explain. 

Over these past 4 years, your incredible light has brightened up our existence and taught us SO many things...

About appreciating life. 

About finding patience. 

About sheer exhaustion.

About never-ending fears. 

About immense joys.

About quality time. 

About astonishing strength. 

About unwavering, unconditional, pure love.

Kapri's little hand at 2 months old

Where has the time gone?

Oh Kapri - on this very late 'eve' of your third birthday (when I really should be sleeping!)... mamma feels the desire to reflect upon your last year, and how far you've come...how much you've grown & learned.

You're obsessed with babies lately - real ones or your dolls. You have 4 baby dolls and at least one has to cuddle up & sleep with you each night. You love to read to your babies too...one afternoon, you woke up from your nap and spent a good hour & 1/2 upstairs in your room reading to yourself - love that you love books. Your favs right now are anything by Dr. Seuss...which are so fun to read to you before bed!

You absolutely love preschool and adore your little friend Chloe...like 2 peas in a pod, both May babies...and so SO cute together! You paint like a pro and have gotten so great playing/sharing with all your schoolmates. You also have a very keen understanding of human emotions...if mommy lets out a sigh, you always ask me "mamma, are you mad/sad/happy/frustrated" - it's the cutest damn thing. So intuitive you are. Even when I'm stretching, you ask "mamma your leg hurts because you running" (knows I've been in some pain due to that). Then you hug my leg & tell me "it's gonna be okay mamma...just let it heal".

You've still not hit the "why" phase that everyone tells me you'll be in soon...however there was one, just one particular day where you randomly said 'why' about 7 times in a row...but that was short lived. Like I said, one moment in just one day, haha. So we'll see what happens with that as you enter your 3rd year.

You have a gorgeous head of hair that most women would kill for...and a pretty awesome pair of grey-blue eyes to top it off. When dry & curly, your hair is about 4.5" from your shoulders. Although while wet or stretched out, your hair is about 8.5" from your shoulders!!

You've grown so tall...now 3ft 3.5in - which is more than average kiddos your age (your in the 90th percentile for height!) and you weigh about 35 lbs. The personality you've developed is just the sweetest...so loving, affectionate, cuddly, helpful, spunky, and exceptionally refreshing.

Wearing her Princess shirt - excited for Disneyland tomorrow!!

What daddy & I admire most, is that incredible brain of yours. It's more than just a sponge...you soak up everything around you from speech, to movement, to sounds & recognition, to your love for nature. You're very inquisitive and have the greatest memory...it shocks us sometimes the things you remember.

Daddy laughs when I call you "Toots" - I think it's cute...although I have no idea where or why it became my nickname for you! Wikipedia defines it as "a slang term for babe, sweetie or honey"...whatev, I like it.

Look at how you've grown over the past year!!

Love you with ALL my heart buggie - couldn't ask for a better daughter! xoxo

And here are some adorable quotes I've captured recently:

May 11, 2012
Me: "Auntie Sisi is coming over soon!"
K: "Auntie Sisi?!! When?!"
Me: "umm, 5 minutes I think"
K: "that's awesome!"

April 26, 2012
K: "mamma I have a hiccup"
Me: "oh do you? Hiccups feel funny huh?...where'd you get them from"
K: "from Target"
Me: "from Target huh?? Did you buy them there"
K: "no, I just got them from Target"
Me: "oh okay" hahahaha

April 20, 2012
K: "can I please have my swee-pee?"
Me: "your what??"
K: "my sweee-peee...up dare (pointing to the freezer)...from Gamma Mary..."
Me: I open the freezer door... "Ohhhh, you mean your SLURPIE?!"
K: "yeeeeahhh, my SLURPEEE!"

April 16, 2012
K: "mommy lay down wif me...I just want to hug you!"

April 15, 2012
K: "mommy look at my lovely drawing I made for you"

April 15, 2012
K: "mommy I don't want you to go to work tomorrow, I want you to stay here wif me!"

April 11, 2012
Me: "toots, what do you want for breakfast this morning?"
K: "um...I want...20 pieces of love"

April 6, 2012
K: "I love Pierce because he's so cute and nice."

March 19, 2012
While brushing her hair after taking a shower together...
K: "mamma, can I brush your hair now?"
Me: "sure honey!"
K: "you have long and 'pity' hair mamma...like Rapunzel!"

March 11, 2012
Me: "hey bug, you coming downstairs? Gonna start making breakfast!"
K: "*gasp*...PANKCAKES??!!"
Me: "yup! so are you coming down to help me?!"
K: "no mamma, I busy..."
Me: "you're...'BUSY'??"
K: "yeah, I busy cuz I coloring!"
Me:   :-\

March 2, 2012
K: "mamma...dadda gotta go to work...work is no fun!"  -- true that!

March 2, 2012
K: "mamma, you have Rihanna?"
Me: "nope, sorry bug"
K: "ohh...you have Nicki Manaj?"
Me: "hahahahaha, no sorry!"

Meet "Buddy" - the newest addition to our fam

We started a new tradition this year, the Elf on a Shelf, who was adopted into our little family on Dec. 2, 2011. James *helped* name the elf "Buddy" (how appropriate right?). His 'job' from Santa is to watch over Kapri each day, no matter where she goes, and magically fly back to the North Pole each night to report back to Santa whether she's been naughty or nice.

And since he's a mischievous little elf, upon his return from the North Pole he hides in different places throughout the house. So each morning when Kapri wakes up, the first thing she'll do is find Buddy. To make this simple for James & I to find a spot for him each night, I typed up a list of special ways we'll 'hide' him or set him up (he leaves on Christmas Eve & hitches a ride home with Santa after he delivers gifts):

We even got to register our new Elf online, which then gives us access to our very own 'scrapbook' to document the tradition with pictures, videos & a short description of each page! I love it...I'm obsessed, officially:

Kapri keeps asking Buddy to be on the 'NICE' list, tonight she even told him ALL about our day - so hopefully this will help with the mega attitude she's had lately, HA! {wishful thinkin}

Happy 2nd Birthday Love Bug!

A letter to my beautiful, smart little bug...as she celebrates a day that is all her own...her birthday:

Finally...you've fallen into a deep slumber, after 45 minutes of protesting sleep, which is unusual. I think you're just too excited. Though I am worried that you may be getting another little cold...not good! But now all I hear is your sweet lullaby music and the hum of my laptop. I just finished 2 seriously cute pairs of ribbon hair clipies for you to wear with 2 equally adorable dresses (thank you Tarjay) at your little photo session tomorrow at Picture People.  

Tomorrow... omg, tomorrow you turn 2.... Wow.

TWO whole years have passed since the moment that time literally stood still, as I saw your precious little face emerging from my body....the nurturing place you called home for 9 months. 


TWO whole years have passed since I wept UNcontrollably at the site of your teeny tiny, perfect little body...fingers...& toes.  

TWO whole years have passed, in which there wasn't one single day that went by, where I didn't worry about your well-being, your happiness, and my ability to parent you the BEST that I possibly could.

Being a mamma - YOUR mamma - is like watching a breathtaking sunrise...or like waking up to the sound of peaceful ocean waves and warm sun on your face...though it's also like learning to swim for the very first time - because it's so powerfully different from everything I knew up to the day you entered this world. 

Being your mamma is honestly the most incredible, eye-opening, rewarding thing I've ever done...
in. 
my. 
life.

I wish that I could capture every memory & special moment with you, with just a blink of my eye. I try to savor particular moments, knowing full well that it won't be this way forever...once you're grown and more independent than the day before. 

The day will come when:

...I won't be able to snuggle up next to you in the rocking chair while reading you a nightly array of books, with you securely under my arm, head against my chest...you'll be too big for that. 

...You can run up & down the stairs all by yourself....but I'll still worry.

...You can make your own food, brush your own teeth and tie your own shoes.

...You will be asking for our help with homework.

...You will want to be around your friends more than your parents...gahhh!


...You will be shopping for your prom dress, while I approve or deny! haha


...I'll be watching you walk down the aisle, hooked on daddy's arm.

I love the cute ways you mispronounce certain words (like "Doo-Dah" instead of "Dora" or "bac-ooo-lah" instead of "popsicle"!), or how you try to say really big words (like "dic-ooo-lah" instead of "ridiculous"), your bazzilion little steps, to my 2 big steps, and how you could "ring around the rosie" with me for hours, with the biggest grin on your face.

I love how proud I feel when you tell me the colors of things in the world around you, count to 10 all by yourself, point to ants & say "OH...mamma...look...ants!", or the way you say "tank ooo mamma", without me even asking you to...or when you say "bess ooo mamma" even though it was just a cough, not a sneeze! Or when you go through 200+ flashcards, and can name them all!! Or when you try to recite the ABC's all by yourself. 

My heart melts into a puddle during times when both daddy & I are home with you for the day, and you'll run up behind us, grab each of our legs and hug us tight...or when you say "laa loo mamma/dadda" and give big, slobbery kisses. You know my weakness kiddo. You'll forever have us wrapped around your little finger.

So, on this special day...your 2nd birthday...I know you won't remember it - but just know that we love you wayyyy more than words can express. Daddy & I are so so sooo lucky to have you as our daughter...your beauty, intelligence, charisma, attitude, & love is more than we could've ever hoped for in a child. 

Having you has taught us so much about life, and what's important...We will never, ever stop loving you unconditionally, every day, with every inch of our souls.

Happy 2nd birthday love bug!!!

Make a wish!!

The most memorable year of our lives...

~*~ Kapri Jolie Mejia ~*~

This year seriously tops them all - Kapri making her debut into this world & with her bringing an immeasurable amount of joy into our lives, has been such an incredible adventure...I wouldn't trade it for anything! The moment she was safe & snug in my arms, I knew that yes, things would definitely change for us as a previous family of only 2...everything we knew would change...is it worth it? 

Just take a look at this year in review, month by month...the answer is quite simple:

Newborn - in hospital

 

Newborn - at home

 

1st Month

 

2nd Month

3rd Month

 

4th Month

 

5th Month

 

6th Month

 

7th Month

8th Month

 

9th Month

 

10th Month

 11th Month

 12th Month

Happy 1st Birthday Muffin!!

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a mom, I made and ate hot meals, wore unstained clothes and had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a mom, I never worried about how late I went to bed because I could sleep in as long as I wanted.

Before I was a mom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth everyday.

Before I was a mom, I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee while reading the morning newspaper on a Saturday morning.

Before I was a mom, I slept the whole night through.

Before I was a mom, my house was clean everyday and I didn't worry about whether or not my plants were poisonous.

Before I was a mom, I had never been puked on, pooped on, peed on, chewed on or pinched by little fingers.

Before I was a mom, I had complete control of my mind, thoughts and body.

Before I was a mom, I never held down a screaming child while doctors and nurses did tests or gave shots. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces because I couldn't stop the hurt.

Before I was a mom, I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

Before I was a mom, I never got gloriously happy over a toothless grin.

Before I was a mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never was up in the wee hours of the night just watching a baby while it slept. I never knew that something so small couldn't effect my life so tremendously.

Before I was a mom, I never knew I could love someone so unconditionally and completely.

Before I was a mom, I never knew how satisfying it is to feed a hungry child. I never knew how fulfilling it is to soothe a baby's cries.

Before I was a mom, I loved my mom, but didn't understand her.

Before I was a mom, I never knew the warmth, the joy, the heartache, the wonderment, or the fulfillment of being a mom.

Before I was a mom, I never knew I would love being a mom.

- Sharon L. Twitchell