Sebastian is 11!

In honor of my first baby turning 11, I am posting a bunch of my favorite pictures of him. I know there are more out there and I wish I had his puppy pictures but can't find them. Sebastian is slowly starting to act his age. He has good days and bad. His hearing is not the best though sometimes I think that is by choice. Other days he is running around like a total goof ball. This dog has gotten me through some dark days. He always seems to know when I need a little extra snuggling. He is the best pug. He was so easy and never caused a lot of trouble. Other than the time we caught him peeing on the couch or when he used to climb on our coffee table when we lived in CA. He never chewed/destroyed anything other than a dog toy and a dish towel. He was house trained in 2 weeks. He loves to sleep in clean or dirty laundry he isn't picky. He doesn't snore too loudly for a pug anyway and he loves to go to the vet's office. I even secretly think he likes snuggling with Badger on the couch.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEBASTIAN! My biggie P and Kiya's Bassie.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

A day at the farm

We took Kiya to a farm today. She wasn't in the best of moods so our trip was short but she did like riding the little tractors.

 And the baby cow :)

She was so sweet and just liked petting him. It was cute.

Cast #2

Finally posting cast #2 pictures :)  Isn't she adorable? She loves her pink cast as I knew she would especially since she picked the color herself.  We are about 1 month in to this cast and doing great. Kiya is amazing. She is running all the time and she just knows how it all works. She knows her baths are in the laundry room with her Dora doll. She knows that we wash her hair on Sundays in the kitchen sink and after we wash her hair she gets to watch her favorite shows Dora, The Fresh Beat Band and Yo Gabba Gabba.

 There is no cut out in the back of this cast this time. Our doctor doesn't think it is necessary so we are going with it. I kind of miss it as it made for a good tickle spot but whatever.

 She is straighter and seemingly taller while in her cast. I swear before this cast she was just a tad shorter than the counter top and now she is clearly taller than the counter top which means she can grab oh everything. Sigh.... She loves in particular water bottles, keys, daddy's wallet, etc. She will usually bring you the items she grabs which is cute.

We are so grateful that we have these casts as a treatment option. Cast life was scary at first but totally doable. It is our reality and frankly I don't mind. My baby girl is getting her back straight and that is all that matters.

Christmas Joy

I am convinced that there is nothing better than being a parent at Christmas time. Watching Kiya's eye's light up at the sight of her Dora tricycle on Christmas morning or just truly enjoying ripping wrapping paper and bows off of everyone's gifts. It was amazing and warmed my heart.

We were so blessed to be able to spend the holidays with all of our family and still sneak in some special just the three of us time too. It was truly a special time.

I did sneak some special time to think about what next Christmas might look like. We won't have our Little Man home yet but we might just maybe know his name and have a picture to cherish. We might not but it is nice to dream and think about him.

I hope that all of my blog readers had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year.

Wordless Wednesday

Kiya is 2

It is official. Kiya turned 2 today. We had a family party on Thanksgiving with a Dora cake. Kiya dug right into the frosting and yet still wouldn't eat the cake. She loved the Dora, Diego and Boots figures though so it was still a success.

 And here is my big girl just this morning before she headed out to daycare to play with her friends. She was asking for her friend Lily all weekend. It was pretty cute.

In every picture we take, I see the sparkle and light in Kiya's eyes. I look at her and I see her Mama Zinash. I really see the resemblance now. I didn't always but I do now. The older Kiya gets she is looking more and more like her mother.

So today we are celebrating all things Kiya and yet we are taking a pause tonight to honor and remember a very special woman. 2 years ago some 7000 miles away, Zinash went into labor while at school taking her exams and she gave birth to Annakiya Yewibdar at a clinic in Angacha, Ethiopia later that night.

I have really no words. We are truly blessed and honored to be able to parent Kiya. I wish I could hop on a plane right now and go to Ethiopia and find Zinash and let her really see just what an amazing little girl she gave birth too. I know Kiya gets her fight and drive from her Mama Zinash. Some day we will make this happen. We have to.

Someday when Kiya reads this I want her to know just how much I love her and just how much she inspires me. She is a remarkable kid that just won't let anything stop her. She has fight and drive and silliness and sassiness. She lights up any room and can be shy or the life of the party. She loves all things music. She loves to sing and dance sometimes in the middle of the night. She loves to talk. She gives the best hugs. She loves the park and to count. She loves her dogs and her tee tee (blanket).

Her current favorite foods are bread and butter, peanut butter cups, bananas, all things chicken, fish sticks, ranch dressing, ketchup, sweet corn, cheese, mac n cheese, pizza, turkey dogs, oranges, peas and pasta.

She is a princess and tomboy. She loves jewelery and dolls and to play with cars and rocks.

Kiya is truly a rock star and I am just so proud of her. She has been given a big plate of stuff to deal with this year and she is tackling it like a champ with grace, attitude and pizazz. Look out world, Kiya is on the move literally this year and nothing is going to stand in her way or slow her down.

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween 2010

We took Kiya trick or treating today for the first time. She was hands down the cutest little cat ever :) I don't think she really understood it all at first but once we got going she was so into it. She would grab her bucket and walk up to the doors. She didn't always say trick or treat but she definitely said thank you and very loudly said it.

She was a total pro about all of it. She wasn't scared of the people, the other kids or the one kind of scary house. Everyone thought she was just too cute for words and we couldn't help but agree. It was a huge success.

She ate her first Peanut Butter cup tonight and LOVED it :) That was the only piece she ate tonight since it was close to bedtime. We had planned on going to just a few houses but she was having fun and our street was kind of lame so we went around the block. She loved every minute of it :) And so did we. Can't wait to do that again :)

Here are some pictures of  our super fun night.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Cast pictures--finally :)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday