Kauffmans...back in Illinois!

We HEART Julie Andrews

2010-11-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

If it's possible to wear out DVDs, I think we'll be going through multiple copies of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. When we are having a rough day, these movies are the "go to" because:

1. they make me happy

2. they are wholesome and I don't have to "fast forward" through anything

3. these movies are SOOOOOO LOOOONNNNGGGG....and by me some serious time!

So, here's what happens when you're such huge Mary and Maria fans....

I wanted Sophia to be Mary Poppins, but she had it decided that she and Ezra would be Jane and Michael Banks which left the Mary and Burt roles for Justin and me.

What??? 4 years old???

2010-08-30T21:09:00.001-07:00

How did this happen so fast?? She is absolutely THRILLED to be 4!

1, 460 amazing days we've had with this little darling. God has blessed us beyond what we could ask or imagine. We love you little girl~

Goodbye California...

2010-07-28T19:58:00.001-07:00

After more sad goodbyes than I'd like to remember, the memories we leave in California after making our lives there for 5 years will stay with us forever. We are now looking ahead, as we get settled back in to life once again in Illinois. We feel truly blessed by all of the supportive family and friends that have been praying us back and helping with the process of moving across the country.

Although for Justin and I we are returning "home", we look forward to creating new memories in this familiar place. One of Justin's co-workers from his previous company said this, "There’s an old saying that “you can never go home again”, I think what that means is that even though you go back it will never be the same

because you and your perspective have changed." We are learning that there is so much wisdom in that statement. We are coming back to the place we grew up and got married, but are now returning as a family of 4! We are so excited to experience all of the things we remember doing as kids with our kids. Right off the bat last week, we were able to head out to the sweet corn patch and shuck (my California friends know it as "huck":-) some ears for our dinner. Ezra was a BIG fan!

We look forward to visits from our dear friends in California and introducing them to what we love about the Midwest. And we look forward to the times we will now share with our family and friends that now live so close!

God has been so good in the journey He has led us on so far. We look forward to what's ahead!

I heart mustaches...

2010-07-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Let me clarify...I heart FAKE mustaches. I'm not asking my husband to grow one, in fact, I'd prefer if he didn't. But for some reason, fake staches have just been cracking me up lately. That's why the last two birthdays in our family have included staches of some sort. We celebrated Justin's birthday in May back in Illinois with a few of his friends. It was a surprise to him that I had planned a party with friends he hadn't seen for awhile, but was what even more surprising (and confusing) to him was why everyone was wearing a mustache when we arrived. I say, confusing, but hilarious, right?!?!

If anyone is familiar with Bradley's famous bikeriding icon "Fong"...well, here you go! ...and your welcome!

Even my family got into it!! I'm telling you...you can't turn down "the stache"!!

Then this past weekend we celebrated "The Ez's" 1st Birthday with a poolside brunch...and of course a "Little Man/Mustache theme"...even more silly on a 1 year old!!

Spring Photoshoot....thanks Aunt Angela!!

2010-06-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

These were taken by Justin's super talented sister, Angela, at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Too much TV?

2010-04-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on the Project Runway post...

A few nights ago, Sophia was in the bathtub with all of her princesses lined up on the edge of the tub. With plastic brush in hand and in true "Heidi Klum form"she declared to her princesses,

"One of you will be the winner, and one of you will be out. Now, let's start the show!".

I couldn't believe my ears. So funny. Good reminder that she's ALWAYS picking up things when I LEAST expect it...yikes:-)

In other news...Ezra got his first haircut today. It was getting kind of ridiculous as he was starting to be referred to by some of my friends as "Donald Trump"...it was just hard to take another step into "little boyhood". Eating, crawling, pulling himself up...it's just going so fast.

My friend Aubree, who cut his hair, said it was the most hair she's ever cut off of a 10-month-old. I mean, he did start out pretty "ahead of the game" with all those long locks out of the gate. But I didn't realize how long we'd let it get until she gave him his new little "faux hawk". Pictures to come as soon as I track them down!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

Why I LOVE having a little girl

2010-04-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

Our conversation today...

Sophia: "Mommy, can we paint our toenails AND watch "the Dress Show" (a.k.a Project Runway).

Me: "Um....ABSOLUTELY!"

Makes me excited for the days when we go shopping and she gives me trendy fashion advice:-)

Sophia Maye, my precious little "girly girl...

The Proof..

2010-03-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Here he goes...

And he's off....

2010-03-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Big news here...Ez Man is a crawlin' machine! Where did the time go?? It started with an army crawl about a week and a half ago and we've made it to the full fledged hands and knees crawl in no time at all. It's bitter sweet. As bad as it sounds, I've been hoping he would hold off a bit longer. Trying to keep all of a 3-year-old's itty bitty odds and ends toys off the floor has kept us on our toes! Not to mention all the "re-baby proofing" we have and will continue to have to do (um..rubbber door stopper in the mouth??...yikes!). I'm working on a video

...in the meantime, here are some pics of what we've been up to lately.

We made playdough this week. Always starts out with 3 or 4 beautiful colors and ends up as one giant brown blob by the time Sophia is done with it:-)

Sophia's tap shoe lace...one of the many random things found in Ez's mouth since his crawling adventures began.

After Ezra woke up from his nap, Sophia was in and out of the room about ten times...when I came into get him, this is what I found. She had hooked him up with some "entertainment".

Let the years of the "pesky little brother gettin' into his sisters stuff" begin!

Sophia came out of her room with marker all over her face last week. She said she was a "clown"...umm...scary...

This just made me laugh...she made a little house out of her dollhouse furniture in the middle of her bedroom. Of all of the furniture she has...she selected a tub and potty with a piano in the middle for her pseudo house. I love the way 3-year-olds think!

Been messing around with my new Photoshop Elements...this is one of my favs!

She is Cinderella pretty much everyday of the week (she mixes it up some days by being Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, but mostly Cindy)...this dress is disgusting...I'm afraid to wash it again or it's going to fall apart. There is definitely a huge BBQ sauce stain on the back...gross! But when you're beautiful princess, I guess that doesn't matter:-)

January highlights...

2010-02-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Whew...last month flew by so quickly! And before it's too ridiculously late, thought I'd post a video of some of the highlights. In addition to Mom and Dad Kauffman visiting for the first part of the month, Ezra had 2 teethers poke through and Sophia has been busy being a princess most days...we average about one "Ball at the palace" a day around here. :-)

"Home" for the holidays....

2009-12-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

It's kinda like we have 2 homes:-)...this year we decided to stay at our Cali home for the holidays for the first time in the 4 years we have lived out here. It's bittersweet not to be going home (Illinois) to spend Christmas with family and see friends, but we decided it was just too much this year. And I'm no hypochondriac by ANY means, but this whole H1N1 (and flu season in general) deal just makes me a little uneasy with Ezra at just over 5 months. Just seems like once we pass the 6 month mark with him, I'll be a little more brave.

And even though we're sad that we won't be seeing grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins on Christmas, we've been busy making some memories of our own for the first time! We've been doing Christmas "stuff" most days and have been having a blast...Sophia is a such a fun age (and challenging at times, but mostly fun:-)!

Here are some pics of the holiday fun we've been having!

Chillin' at home with my Christmas cuties....Ezra's shirt says "Not An Elf" just in case there was any confusion. (Thanks Aunt Amanda...getting some more mileage out of that one! :-)

Making Gingerbread Houses with our friends Ashley & Dustin (who Sophia calls "Miss Actually" and Mister Dustin).

This is Sophia's....Ummm...I don't know what to say about it....

Our attempt at Marshmallow Snowmen...one was propped up with a toothpick that ended up looking like a crutch. Another was on it's way down in this pic...but we had fun!

Ezra riding in our friend Ava's sweet walker! Thanks for letting Ez take a spin, Ava!

Our first Christmas tree since we've been in California! There's marshmallow garland on it which has mysteriously dwindled since we put it on...hmmmm?!?!

Just too cute....

At Sophia's Christmas Dance recital with her friends Sophia and Celia and their teacher Miss Shannon:-)

And this one is from Thanksgiving...but I mean, come on....hilarious!

Did I mention we aren't going to be wearing coats, hats or mittens this Christmas?!?!...this might be easier to deal with than I thought:-)

Merry Christmas!

J, K, S & E

The Benefits of living in Cali...

2009-11-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

We've had LOTS of visitors over the last 4 years that we've lived in SoCal. Oh, I'd like to think it's because we're so popular that everyone is just dying to come spend a few days hanging out with us since we're so cool...but, in reality, it has more to do with the fact that we happen to live in a warm, sunny, bustling oasis that happens to be minutes from the beach:-) In any case, we'll take it! It's always a HUGE blessing to have familiar faces around us. Old friends and special family members have broken in new air mattresses, slept on our couches (even the 2 seater:-) and suffered on the floor. We LOVE it!

In the past few weeks (I'm a little behind on the post:-) we were delighted to have some special friends make their way to our part of the country.

First came one of my best friends from college, Julie, for a long weekend (a long time in coming but so glad it finally happened!). She's a mom of two darling girls. We're so thankful that her family shared her for the weekend which was really tough since her youngest started throwing up the night she got into Cali:-( Thanks David!

Because of my wonderful husband, we were even able to have some alone time to catch up and hang out while he managed the kiddos. It's so much fun to have friends and family come "be in our lives" here for a few days....crazy as our lives may be:-)

Julie and Soph @ Laguna Beach...beautiful!

This picture took us FOREVER to finally get right:-)

Next came our friend, Monica, with her son Noah and her brother Leighton for a quick trip down to Orange County because the college that Leighton is interested in attending is here. Again, prime example of how we benefit from our location:-) ....so they stayed with us for a couple of days. It was so great to catch up with my friend and see her as a mom. So cool to see friends blossom into motherhood (especially when they're really good at it...she's a "cool" mom!) Sophia has a new friend...she and Noah really hit it off. I think it prepared her for life with her little brother when Ezra gets a bit older:-)

These two were such a riot together! ...just having fun playing with water!

Sophia trying out her moves in her new tutu dress that Noah's older sis, Bella, passed along to her! Thanks Bella!

My sweet friend Monica!

....and I HAVE to throw these last pictures in...We went to our friend Sophia's (yes, another Sophia) birthday party a couple of weekends ago. It was a Fancy Nancy theme...if any of you know who Fancy Nancy is you know how awesome a Fancy Nancy Party would be! We were to come dressed in our fanciest clothes...this is what our Sophia came up with...hilarious!

And one of Ezra for "the road"...

Celebrating all we have to be thankful for!

An Illinois Autumn...

2009-10-30T13:19:00.001-07:00

There's nothing like it in my opinion:-) We were back for a visit a couple of weeks ago (I'm finally getting pics posted!) and were blessed with several days of sunny, crisp, colorful Fall days! Of course, there were a few of those nasty, cold, rainy days too...but they beautiful ones more than made up for it~

We were able to spend some time with our families and a few friends (although there never seems to be enough time to see everyone we'd like to or have enough time to catch up with the ones we do get to see!!) It was kind of a whirlwind...and still is somewhat of a blur.

Traveling with 2 kiddos on an airplane across the country was new territory for us! All in all, it went fairly well...besides the meltdown, "throw myself on the ground tantrum for an unknown reason" in the 4 foot wide jetway while everyone else is walking past us to board the plane. It happened at the end of a very long and busy week with very little sleep so it was kind of understandable. Looks like we'll have to make sure Justin gets plenty of rest next time:-)

Here are some pics of some of the highlights (the ones that I got pictures of anyway! So bummed that I didn't have my camera on me for some other special moments...ugh. Doesn't seem like a big deal in the moment, but then I kick myself later!):

Celebrating Grandma K's Birthday

Learning Great Granny's "Leaf Song":-)

4 generations of handsome Kauffman men!

Walking @ the Farm with Uncle Bob (walking stick in hand!)

Meeting Uncle TJ for the first time!

Soph's first combine ride!

Chillin' in a combine tire with Max (after the runaway bunny chase:-)

Dressing up with Aunt Maddie.

All the Ely grandchildren minus Ezra and York:-(

Family Pic at the Johnson Wedding (right before some crazy style Greek dancing! So much fun!)

Sophia and fellow flower girl, Elise, or "Miss Elise" as Soph calls her:-)

Thought this pic nicely summed up our time since we've been back in Cali!

Until next time....

A couple of quick ones...

2009-10-05T22:37:00.001-07:00

Sophia recently started dance class...Ballet, tap, jazz and tumbling. As you can imagine, she absolutely LOVES it! Here's her getting ready to head out the door for class with her little "dance bag" in hand. No one ever told me when I became a mom of a daughter how completely precious it would be to see my munchkin in ballet and tap shoes...tear~

Ezra also recently started laughing. I love going through these stages again! Precious.

BTW...please ignore me sounding like a complete dork in the background trying to get my kid to laugh...I mean, a parent will do ANYTHING to get a smile out of an infant, right?!?!

That's the haps here...luv, J, K, S & E

Happy Birthday Princess!

2009-08-29T14:00:00.001-07:00

Ya, this post is a little late. Sophia's 3rd Birthday was on Tuesday ...unfortunatley I went to the Dr. on Wednesday and found out I had strep throat (ugh!) so I've been pretty much out of commission this week (as in my newborn son needed a bath since Wednesday and just got one today kind of "out of commission"!)

Anyway, the sweet girl celebrated her special day over the course of several days...in true "milking your birthday as long as you can" fashion!

On Saturday we went to play at Chuck E. Cheese with a few friends for a couple of hours....pretty sure that's where I picked up my bug...yuck! But she had fun dancing with Chuck E. Cheese. BTW...that place seemed so much bigger and more impressive when I was 6 years old...the one we went to this year only had 1 moving giant fur covered robot! What ever happened to the enormous dog, chicken, monster, and bear that played instruments, sang songs and scared the kids?? Sophia had a blast anyway:-)

She's slightly intrigued by the giant dancing mouse:-)

Don't worry Ez, you'll get in on some skee-ball next year!

Promised a cake pic to some people...here's how it turned out!

I can't believe we have a 3-year-old! I'm going to miss this year of having a 2 year old in a lot of ways. We've had such a neat year with her. We're so blessed to be mommy and daddy to this precious little one. Watching her learn and grow everyday is one of the most amazing experiences that God has given us. Can't wait to see what the next year has in store!

A few days ago, all four of us were playing in her room while she was bouncing on her bed. Out of nowhere, she stops and says, "I'm growing up so fast!" followed by, "Does that make you sad, mommy?". After laughing at her saying that (and sniffling inside because it's true!) I realized that I need to stop sounding so sad when I tell her how fast she's growing up. Too cute.

On her actual birthday, I had this plan to fill her room with balloons so that when she woke up in the morning, she would find them and start her birthday off right! After blowing up about 30 balloons (mind you I have strep throat at this point and don't know it!) and herding them into her room in the dark at 11:00pm, I crash into bed. Justin and I are awakened at 3:00am by a half asleep, confused munchkin asking us, "what is this?", "who did this?", "why are there balloons in my room?"....sooooo confused. Once she woke up completely and realized what had happened, there was no getting her back to sleep. I mean, you're 3. There are 30 balloons in your room. How can you sleep?? So we let her come in our room to try to settle down. Ya right! She finally fell back asleep at 5:30am. My "balloon surprise" plan MAJORLY backfired! :-) On the brightside, they have bought mommy some serious play time in the last few days!

And oh, how our little Ez-man is growing! He's started smiling a couple weeks ago which is about enough to make me melt every time.....

We are having fun...

2009-07-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have flown by! We've been having some special times with our new little man. Moments that I spent worrying when Sophia was newbie are now moments that I can be more relaxed and cherish a bit more with Ezra. I'm glad I have a higher comfort level this time because Little Ez already has "an opinion" and isn't afraid to voice it! :-) It's amazing how I can already see how different he and Sophia are. In some ways he's an easier baby and in other ways more of a challenge. We're still "getting to know each other"...but he's a special little guy.

We've been blessed to have continued family help as The Wilson Family left, then Mom and Dad Kauffman came in for the "next shift". I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to do this 2 kid thing by myself when our helpers leave..YIKES!!

Here are some pics from the past several days.

She's diggin this Big Sister Gig!

Life is good.....

All 4 of the Grandparents with the kiddos!

Sophia became a Big Sis AND got to meet Mary Poppins and Burt in the same week...it's a BIG DEAL!!

Goin in to the office...

Ezra James

2009-07-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce that Ezra James joined our family on Sunday, June 28th at 5:37am. He's a chunk at 8lbs 10oz and 21 inches long. He's been eating great and was already back to his birth weight on Tuesday morning! We came home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and are adjusting to life with a newborn and a 2-year-old. We've been blessed to have Katie's mom and sister here from Illinois which has helped Sophia adjust really well since she's getting ridiculously spoiled:-) She's LOVING being a big sis and is very in tune with Ezra's every need...bringing him toys, burp cloths, pacifiers etc...sometimes her timing and approach is a little off...for example: trying to give him a pacifier at naptime or toys while he's eating. Or the time that mommy told her that little brother was crying because he was hungry and needed to eat and she brought him carrots out of the refrigerator...but the point is, she cares:-) ...too cute!

In (and out) of the Big Girl Bed

2009-06-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

We've had some interesting nights for the past several weeks with Sophia in her new Big Girl Bed. Of course she was SUPER excited to make the transition (which mommy had been procrastinating...the amount of control I had when she was in a crib was glorious:-). But it was definitely time when she would knock from the inside of her door after climbing out of her crib to come out of her room! Soooo...the adventure began.

Since that time, we've found her in various places in her room which we kind of expected. But it's still surprising to go in and check on her and never know where you'll find her. The first night it was in front of her dresser...still sound asleep. Here are a couple of some of the other positions and places that have made us laugh:-) ...and yes, the pillows are in laying in front of her bed to "break" the fall....

...she's actually under the bed in this one. I know she must have been asleep when she rolled under there because she's scared to crawl under when she's awake. Justin carefully removed her trying to not wake her up so she wouldn't wig out.

Baby Boy Kauffman (yes, still unnamed) will be at 38 weeks on Friday....here is a belly pic. I feel like every belly pic is always impromptu...so I never feel like it's a very good pic. Just focus on the belly, okay!
...we're almost there! Woohoo!!!

The growing belly

2009-04-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was finally presentable enough this last weekend that I had Justin take some belly shots. It's funny how many pictures I take of Soph, but I myself am never "camera ready":-) So here we are, at 29 weeks! Feeling great besides the usual sense of "hugeness" that begins around this time. Also here's one of the rest of my adorable family...

We have had a busy couple of weeks leading up to Easter....it's nice this week to kinda slow down a bit...especially for this prego! But here are some pics of what we've been up to.

From the Easter party we had with some friends

The Easter Bunny cake made in the tradition of my Grandma Ely (with black jelly beans under the tail, get it?!?!:-)

Our friend Celia's Princess birthday party

New Scooter!!!

Helping Mom with our spring patio garden

That's what's goin' on here!

March in Pictures...

2009-03-21T12:17:00.001-07:00

On a mission...for a fish...

Just another day at Disneylad:-)....

Feeding the ducks after dance class...

...and one for me!...

It's a BOY!! ...and B-day trip

2009-02-23T15:36:00.001-08:00

Yes...we recently found out that Baby K #2 will be a little guy. My guess is a blond-haired, blue-eyed little guy:-) We're thrilled. Sophia is especially excited that she's going to be a Big Sister. She currently wants to name little brother "Tinkerbell"...hmmmm. Not sure if that flows with Kauffman?!?!? She loves talking to my tummy and says she's going to help change his diapers and sing to him. We'll see if she follows through:-) Precious times.

In other Kauffman family news...Justin and I took a 4 day trip up the coast a couple of weeks ago. Made possible by Mom and Dad K flying out from Illinois to hang with Sophia for the weekend..thanks you two!! Justin had put a lot of time and thought into this trip which was a surprise for my #30 Birthday. I didn't know where we were going until the day before...I LOVE surprises!! Although it rained for about 90% of our trip, we still had a great time. And it was our first overnight trip since we've had Sophia so it was much needed and appreciated rain or shine. We traveled to Catalina Island, Monterey, and San Francisco and enjoyed the scenery in between! Here are a few pics...

View from The Zane Grey, our hotel...awesome!

Getting ready to head back to shore

Cannery Row and Justin feeding a bird in Monterey

We thought we lost our camera in San Francisco...so no pics:-) But here's a classic that makes me smile...

Best $3 I've ever spent...

2008-12-15T22:53:00.000-08:00

So a friend introduced me to this awesome kid's consignment store last week (thanks Morgan!) and while I was there I snagged a $3 stroller that is just like the ones that Sophia is always drawn to at other peoples' houses when we go over to play. When we got it home, Minnie Mouse immediately took her place in the coveted stroller seat and has been pushed all over....especially up and down the hallway in our apartment. There were literally tread marks on the carpet the first day we got it. So funny.

The stroller REALLY got broken in last night, though. We went with some friends down to Balboa Island (near the coast) to see the beautiful Christmas lights display they put on every year. There were several other kids in our group, all of whom are older than Sophia. Most had bikes, scooters, etc to make the trip around the island...Sophia had her stroller. We couldn't believe that she kept up with those kids the entire way around the island-about a mile trek. Not only did she keep up...it seems she was "bouncing" the entire time...she had so much fun. Anyway...here are some pics of our latest investment and the fun we've been having with it!

Merry Christmas!

Turkey at the beach...

2008-11-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a wonderful, relaxing day at the Kauffman house. We were able to spend the morning together decorating Sophia's little hot pink tree and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade together. We spent some time reflecting on all the blessings of the last year. Justin and I expressed thankfulness for things like our apartment, the things that God has taught us over the last year, Justin's job, etc. When asked what she is thankful for, Sophia simply replied "Jasmine" (a Disney Princess for those of you not "in the know":-) It's so neat to see even the simple things that children can draw on as blessings...yet another lesson my two-year-old is teaching me!
Although we would have much rather spent the holiday with family and home cooking (especially that of our Moms and Grandmas!) we ended up eating a traditional turkey dinner at a restaurant on a cliff overlooking the ocean...not a horrible alternative:-)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend some time reflecting on all that we have to be thankful for!

"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." -John 1:16

This is crazy...

2008-10-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sophia and I went to Disneyland last week and saw this crazy show (didn't even realize it was there before, and I KNOW my Disney!) in Tomorrow Land. They told us it was a "Robot Show"...so I thought, "that should buy me some time with the 2-year-old"!?!. Little did I know the creepiness/craziness we were in for. Apparently Honda has been working on this thing for 20 years. I can't believe I'd never heard of it before now. It's the first robot that's able to walk/run/dance/etc. We were sitting just a little too close to the stage for my liking...I've seen too many "robots take over the world" movies, I guess? This is part of the show we saw. Check this out...

Time with Grawma and Poppa

2008-10-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad Kauffman ("Gwama and Poppa" to Sophia) came out to visit last week. We had a wonderful time while they were here. Sophia has been asking about them everyday since they flew back to Illinois:-( It's at these times I try to remember, "Don't cry because it's over, but smile because it happened"! When Grandma and Poppa come to visit, they not only spoil Sophia, but Mommy and Daddy too...including watching Sophia during the various commitments that I had during the week they were here. I never realized the luxury that getting up and ONLY getting YOURSELF ready in the morning is until I had a toddler to wrestle with and get ready in the morning too:-) Thank you Gwama and Poppa for coming out to visit and spending the week with us!

Here are some pics from our adventures from the week!

Pizza Night with Grandma and Grandpa

In Palm Springs at the first ever outdoor NBA game (Phoenix vs Denver)

At Huntington Library with Grandma

"Ya..that's right..I'm sticking my head in the fountain!"

...hanging out with Sophia

2008-10-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

What were Sophia and Mommy up to while Daddy was working late last night?? See for yourself...

The never ending birthday...

2008-09-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

Ya, that's right..Sophia's milked her birthday for almost a month:-) It's been a fun month, though. It started with a special visit from The Wilson Family. Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle TJ & Aunt Maddie came out for Soph's birthday weekend and we had a blast. We went to Goofy's Kitchen to see all the characters, then Disneyland, toured the Queen Mary in Long Beach (okay, maybe that was more for the "grown-ups"?), and hung out one day at our place just cooking out and having fun. Sophia loved every minute and I know our family did too...here's some pics from the festivities!

Hanging out with Pluto

With Gma & Gpa at Disney

She was crowned Princess for the Day on the Carousel..looks pretty excited about it, huh?

Next we got to have a special birthday party with Sophia's friends from her playgroup at the park. It was a pretty low key affair with just some time to play with her friends. The most complicated part of the party was the fondant cake I attempted for the first time with the help of a friend on the other side of the country in North Carolina (Thanks Julie!!).

The "Gang"

The Cake

Some cute stuff...

2008-09-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm constantly being reminded of why I LOVE being a mom...and these moments seem to come right when the monotony and unseen hard work of motherhood starts to really get to me. Sophia has given me plenty of opportunities to reflect on the privilege of being her mom, but wanted to share a couple..

1) Tonight we when got back from hanging out with some friends, the 3 of us were walking outside from our car to our apartment. Sophia looks up in the sky and finds the moon (which she has recently become super intrigued by). After she made sure that Justin and I knew where the moon was, she looks up and says "I hold you, moon?"....then "night night, moon"...can you hear my heart melting?? So cute!

2) A couple of weeks ago I was rocking her while she was getting ready to go down for bed. As we're rocking (with her head nestled in the crook of my elbow looking up at me) I start telling her about all the people who love her. I listed off Mommy, Daddy, The Grandpas and Grandmas, Aunts and Uncles, Great Grandparents, etc. After I got through the list, she looks up at me and adds, "and Jesus?". After I got passed kicking myself for not thinking to add the MOST important person to the list and being "corrected" by my two year old:-), I thanked the Lord that she, at this young age, could verbalize that He loves her! How amazing!

Am I alone on this?

2008-08-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else have 57 BED, BATH AND BEYOND 20% OFF coupons stashed in their junk drawers, desk drawers and car? I mean, the fact that they honor even the most "expired" of coupons sounds fantastic, right? I have this compulsion in me to save each one, because it's a COUPON and essentially it NEVER expires..how can you throw THAT away?!? :-) But it has created this interesting kind of bondage. I'm still trying to figure out why I feel like I have to hold onto EACH AND EVERY one...I mean...am I ever REALLY going to buy 30 bath towels...and get 20% off of each one?? Probably not. And the times I just "stop by on my way home" do I EVER have the coupon I need with me? Of course not!
I'm sure there's some sort of spiritual lesson in this bad habit of mine. Am I hoarding or just "being a good steward" for what we MAY need in the future?
So here's what I want to know...how many BB&B coupons are lurking around your house?

We survived...

2008-07-30T15:56:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all of you who called and emailed to see if we surived the earthquake yesterday! It's nice to know that we're loved and cared for even from across the country. Thanks Dad for reminding me that "there aren't earthquakes in Illinois"! Nice plug for getting us to move back :-) Unfortunately you didn't account for the crazy tornadoes (Parsons...need I saw more) and severe thunderstorms that more than once sent us to the basement while I lived in the Heartland.

I will admit that I felt kind of unprepared for the "shakefest". I ran into Sophia's room to get her once I figured out what was happening(no, it was not someone starting a lawnmower in the apartment below us!). I ran through the emergency sequences that were familiar to me..."Stop, Drop and Roll", no...."Head for the basement", no...hmmm. Finally I dragged Sophia under the table in the dining room with me (she was super confused)...thought I remembered something like that on TV once, little kids getting under their desks in school for an earthquake drill?? In only lasted about 10 seconds (seemed like 10 minutes) so once we got "under cover" it was over.

After it was over, and I stopped shaking from the ordeal:-), I realized what a spiritual experience it was for me. It was a great reminder to me that even though I spend most of my waking hours feeling totally in control of my time, environment, etc, God is completely holding it all together: my life(Psalm 139),Sophia's life, the building we live in, the earth we live on...amazing! I was able to spend the rest of the day in a position of thankfulness that I haven't experienced for a long time remembering that even when I feel out of control, He is in control.

P.S. A Bird Update: For those of you who care, our little doves have "left the nest". It was a sad day when I woke up and noticed that our little bird family had moved on. The little ones seemed to grow and learn how to fly overnight. It's silly, but I'm actually kinda sad that we won't be able to monitor their progress anymore. They were starting to become kind of our entertainment. Hopefully they'll pass along to all their bird friends that the Kauffman's patio is a great place to start a family?? I guess I'll be able to try to grow my cilantro again....but I'd rather have the doves back. Here's the last pic I got of them before they "flew the coop".

And here's a random Sophia pic for your enjoyment:0 Her fave thing to do right now is take the tops off her markers and put them on her fingers...I dunno??

5 Random Updates

2008-07-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

1. On July 4th we headed up to the Long Beach Aquarium. Although it is a really cool place and is "ginormous"...it was super crowded (so goes everything in SoCal. At what age did fun, exciting events suddenly become "not worth it" when mixed with heat and crowds? I'm becoming a stick in the mud:-) We had a good time and enjoyed a BBQ outside the aquarium for dinner...YUM! There was no way our "little lightweight" was going to make it through the 9:00pm fireworks so we headed home and watched some of the area fireworks shows from our car as we were driving on the freeway to go home...I know, sounds kinda lame, but it's actually pretty cool to see them all around you. And what would the 4th of July be without some kind of water fun...Sophia calls any water that comes out of a fountain "funny water", which I guess it is, right?!?

2. Justin and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary this weekend! Crazy how quickly 5 years flew by. We went out for a night on the town Friday (date nights don't happen like they used to:-). We tried out a new restaurant which is what I think is our new favorite...EVER! And that's pretty huge. It was called Ambrosia in Santa Ana, CA. Awesome place for any of you SoCal friends:-)Really cool jazz singer, Chris Williams, made the night perfectly romantic!

3. We went to the Bowers Museum on Saturday to see the Terra Cotta Warrior from China. Ever heard of these?...pretty amazing. If you're Discovery Channel nerds like we are, you'll appreciate this!
http://www.bowers.org/exhibits/TerraCotta_Warriors/index.jsp

4. Sunday night we headed over to Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland with my Aunt Linda from Illinois and her friend Theresa. From the moment we got our picture taken with Pluto and Sophia kept trying to poke him in the eye, we knew she was having a great time. The characters periodically come around to your table to "visit" which makes eating for an "almost two-year-old" nearly impossible, but it was worth it to see the look on her face, especially when Minnie (or "Mimmie" as she calls her) came over to visit. The night ended with Sophia doing the Macarena with Goofy and Minnie. She followed them off the dance floor as they headed off to the mysterious place where those "huge costumed beings" go to break or eat or whatever they do. Justin caught up to her in time to whisk her back to our family instead of joining the "Disney family":-) She was seriously going to go with them to do some more "dancing"! She had a blast. Thanks Aunt Linda for a wonderful night out!

5. We have some visitors on our patio. Momma and Pappa Dove have chosen our patio (more specifically, between my dahlia and cilantro in the planter) as the birthplace for their two little darlings. Their eggs hatched last week and occasionally we'll see a little one peeping out from under the momma or pappa. Little known facts about doves:
A.Apparently they're notoriously bad nest builders-which explains why several months ago their previous attempt at "making babies" resulted in their egg rolling off our patio light. Ummm...thankfully this time they picked a better place to nest and built a more sturdy nest (previously no nest, just the egg sitting there...I guess we all learn from our mistakes~)
B. The Momma and Poppa take turns sitting on the eggs everyday. Poppa in the day, Momma in the night. They switch everyday at the same time (haven't seen the morning switch, but at 6:15pm every night our little friends switch it up) . Amazing how God created them with such precise internal clocks.
*Compliments to my hubby for all his Google research on this topic. We're pretty obsessed with them. Don't see much wildlife around these parts:-)

>

I moved to the West Coast and went "Green" :)

2008-05-17T20:41:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's true. I shop at Farmers' Markets weekly, I have been buying extremely less processed food than I did say, in college, and even though I'm still looking for a place to put recycling bins in our ever shrinking apartment, I cringe when the garbage goes out the door as it heads off to the landfill (at least my conscience is getting greener:-).
Seriously though...I've been getting a lot of support from family and friends for my "green-ness" from back in Illinois too. In fact, my sis-in-law Amanda gave me Chico reusable bags for Christmas (really like those!). AND my mom just sent me a new, fabulous book for Mother's Day called "Gorgeously Green" by Sophie Uliano which prompts my post tonight (really good!).
The author of the book describes the chemicals in our skincare and promotes a website where you can reference your skincare from lipliner to shampoo and see what its "safety" rating is. I"m still researching the organization and the accuracy and any agenda they may have, but the ingredients are the ingredients and I don't think they can really get around the facts on that.

Here's the website: http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/index.php

The author recommends not using any products with below a 5 rating (on a 1-10 scale). I don't mean to scare you all, but it's good to know what's going on our faces (and into our bodies). Looks like I have some work to do this week in going through our bathroom cabinets.

I'm only about 1/4 way into the book so perhaps when I'm done I'll have some more useful info to share.

Good night~

The Boots

2008-05-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

Sophia has a new fav pair of shoes that just started to fit her...she's pretty excited about it. They are the adorable pink boots from Target (I think they're pretty popular with the young ladies:-) In pic below, she's modeling them for me~

P.S. Her new, best animal sound (and mommy's new favorite) is a donkey = "EEE-Haw". LOVE it!

Potty like a Rock Star...

2008-05-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

It finally happened! While changing a super nasty diaper earlier this week, I asked Sophia if she would like to start going in the Big Girl Potty to which she shook her head "yes". I think the mere mention of the word "potty" insights excitement in her little soul simply because of the joy that getting to flush it brings her. So I tried not to get too excited by her quick compliance to "try it out". But, later that morning I put her on the potty and after reading several books together (including one about going potty that makes a flushing sound, so cool...where was this book in my formative years??)we finally had a tinkle! Mommy went "nuts"...there was dancing, cheering, singing, etc involved. I'm not even sure if Sophia realized what she had done or why I was so excited, but none the less, we reached a milestone.
Unfortunately, a few hours later, she was sitting on the potty, got off and scooted over to her room where she had a little surprise waiting for me behind the rocking chair. Guess we have a little more work to do.

Happy Birthday!

2008-05-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

In honor of all the family birthdays this month(there's a lot in May!), here's a special clip (my new SNL favorite) to make you laugh!

Grandmas & Grandpa & Pictures...Oh My!

2008-05-01T15:33:00.001-07:00

We had another Grandma & Grandpa visit a couple of weeks ago when Justin's Mom and Dad came out from Illinois. We had a great time and, fortunately, Sophia stayed healthy during their trip except for a little cold she picked up a couple of days before they left. But sniffles is better than throwups so we'll take it!
We got to enjoy some time out and about while they were here. We went down to San Diego twice. Once to the San Diego Zoo and once to the Natural History Museum where we viewed an exhibit with artifacts from Pompeii...it was intriguing!
And of course, there was also time for lots of "spoiling of the granddaughter" (of course:-). We had a couple of days of "Grandparent Detox" but it's always worth it!
Here are some pics from our time with G&G.

Petting Zoo with Grandma

Walking with Grandpa & Grandma K

Eating with Grandpa

National Lampoons Wilson Family Vacation...

2008-04-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Wilson family came out to visit last week. Unfortunately, about 24 hours before they arrived, Sophia had a crazy vomit-fest that turned out to be some super contagious bug that we're thinking she picked up in the nursery on Easter Sunday...pretty awesome.
Anyway, the Wilson family arrives.
Day 1: Sophia recovers...Grandpa rocks her she urrppss again:-(
Day 2: Maddie and Katie catch the bug
Day 3: Maddie and Katie recover
Day 4: We venture out for a few hours then Mom and Justin start getting sick
Day 5: Mom in full fledges of the nastiness, Justin escapes the worst of it
Day 6: Dad takes care of Mom and Sophia while Maddie and I head to Disneyland for at least one day of SoCal fun.

Even though it wasn't a very event-filled trip for my family, they were able to spend lots of downtime with Sophia which is something they don't get a lot of. It was actually a really great trip even with all the "groadies". I got to spend a lot of time with my little sis, and that was a huge blessing. And of course Sophia was completely spoiled as always, so she wasn't complaining at all:-)

This week we will be hosting the Kauffman Gparents! More spoiling ahead:-)

Here are a few pics from my family's time here.
Soph with Grandpa's glasses on!

Talking to Gma Wilson

Giving Aunt Maddie kisses:-)

Sunny day in SoCal...

2008-03-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

As Sophia and I hit the trail this morning to walk to our local Farmers' Market, I was overcome with thankfulness at the blessing of such a beautiful, warm day, the mountains majestically standing in the distance and the opportunity to be able to stay home with Sophia and enjoy experiences like this...oh and thankful for all the yummy fruit and veggies we scored at the Farmers' Market! It led me to begin reflecting on how I spend way to much time grumbling and not enough time praising God for the amazing things He has given us. Just need a kick in the pants once in awhile, I guess:-)
Soph is recovering from a pretty nasty cold and fever she had over the weekend. Still kinda crabby and sleepy today, but definitely better.
We had to act fast and purchase a new digital camera since our took a turn for the worst last week...the lens wouldn't open when we turned it on. Maybe it had something to do with that time I dropped it...make that the two times I dropped it. Oops. Sophia gets her clumsiness from her mama! Can't very well have an 18 month old and not have a camera, right?!?

This is my fav pic from a trip we took to Disneyland several weeks ago.

Sophia translations...

2008-01-14T13:08:00.001-08:00

"Boop" = "book"
"Crrrrr" = "drink"
"Ahma" = "Amen"
"Ehmo" = "Elmo"
"Booo" = "Mooo" (like a cow)
"Kickle Kickle" = "Tickle Tickle" (while she tries to tickle us:-)
"Thix" = "Thanks"

In other news:
Also enjoys "meowing" like a kitty cat. For some reason she always has her eyes closed when she does it??
Just started to cover her mouth when she something really cracks her up.

And mommy and daddy's fav:
She shakes her head "No" when she's doing something she shouldn't be doing...hmmmm!

Pics below
1. Sophia getting ready for the Illinois snow before our trip
2. Showing off her sweet rocking skills (Uncle TJ in the background cheering her on!)

Fa la la la la, la la la la.....

2007-12-13T22:43:00.000-08:00

Sophia's new favorite Christmas song is "Deck the Halls"...sometimes she pipes in with a "la la la la la"! Just one of the ways she continues to bring us so much joy and fun as she grows into a little girl. She'll turn 16 months on Christmas Day! We find ourselves joining in the familiar chant of all parents... "we can't believe how fast she's growing up!"

Justin will be walking tomorrow in the graduation ceremony of the MBA program he just finished at Biola University in La Mirada, CA. It's amazing that he was able to balance a full time job, school and becoming a Dad while maintaining straight A's throughout his program, but he did it. Sophia and I are very proud of him!

The pictures below are of Sophia's first experience meeting Santa Claus. While most kids are either A)Terrified or B)Super Excited to meet Santa for the first time, Sophia showed us how completely "unimpressed" she was by his "jolliness"...we'll try again next year and see if we get any smiles:-)

Have a blessed 2008!
Justin, Katie & Sophia

I, Katie, promise to...

2007-11-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

...keep our blog updated! Sorry I've been a total slacker in the blog department. I'm looking at the date of the last time I posted (Dec 2005), and I'm reflecting on how much has happened since then!

So...now that we have a 1-year-old, and life seems to be in fast forward(!), I look forward to keeping you all updated with our (sometimes boring, but often funny) day-to-day happenings because most of the time, those are the things that we forget to share when we talk to all of you, and sometimes those are some of the most special moments!

Anyway, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Looking forward to seeing some of you back in Illinois over Christmas!
-Katie

L.A, Golf, Narnia, and DisneyLand....all in one weekend!

2005-12-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

This weekend was VERY exciting:

Justin took off early Saturday morning to golf at Shore Cliffs in San Clemente with a co-worker to celebrate the end of his first semester at BIOLA!!! WHooppeeeeee! He's really enjoying the fact that he's still able to golf 2 weeks before Christmas! He will get started again on January 2nd with semester #2.

Katie went into L.A. with her friend Nikki on Saturday to the "garment district" where she got to experience some "real" big city atmosphere. The garment district in the ghetto of L.A. comes to life every day when vendors open their warehouse "garage" doors and sell random items they've imported for next to nothing. The day was QUITE productive with a pair of sunglasses for $5 (they say Chanel on them, but I'm guessing they're not genuine :) and a pair of cowboy boots (hey, they LOOK like real leather?!?) for $25 bucks. Then she headed to Hollywood with some friends to watch the "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"at the El Capitan theatre. At this particular theatre, they decorate and fill the theatre with props, relics and entertainers from the movie...it was so exciting and VERY Hollywood! The show would not have been complete without the full sized pipe organ and snow effects!

Then it was home for both of us to rest up for a Sunday at....DISNEYLAND!!! Since it is 5 minutes from our house...it's about time we made it over there...and we were just in time for the Christmas celebration done "Disney-style". We were able to hit all the highlights (Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion...and Justin's favorite: It's a Small World) Unfortunately the New Space Mountain was closed when we tried to go on it and by the time it was open again there was a 75 minute wait! We finally got to watch the nightly fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle instead of our apartment balcony! We had a great day there...it was a perfect way to get in the Christmas mood...they even had fake snow at the end.

This is our picture taken in the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster....

We love you all...We'll be in Illinois for Christmas, so hopefully we'll get to see you! ...until then...

Stay warm! Love~Justin & Katie

Our Weekend Up The Coast!

2005-11-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family...welcome to our "First Official Blog Post"!
For those of you who care about our weekend trip up the California coast....here was our itinerary (which we made up on the way :)

Friday:
We started out at 9:30am from our apartment in Anaheim and set out for our first stop "Cold Spring Tavern" for lunch. It was originally an old stage coach stop in the 1800's that used to be a half-way point for travelers making the long, dangerous trek through the mountains. It was off Highway 101 north of Santa Barbara down a long, winding road. If we wouldn't have been told about it, there's no way we would have found it...it's a little oasis out in the middle of no where...it was so cool!

Our next stop was Solvang, a little Danish village. After we parked the car, Justin tried to start it up again to move it up in the parking spot and realized that the car battery was dead:( Our brand new AAA membership came in handy...they came and gave our car a jump. We then drove to a gas station in the village where we bought a new battery and continued on with the trip...just a slight bump in the road. We enjoyed the rest of the evening walking the village taking in the specialty shops and some coffee and Danish baked goods, yum.

We then took off for Santa Maria where we spent the night at the Historic Santa Maria Inn. Appearantly it's where the Hollywood stars would stay on their way up to Hearst Castle (our next destination). We actually stayed in a room that Gary Cooper stayed in when he stayed at the Inn.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed north. We stopped in Morro Bay for breakfast and spent some time walking around and enjoying the scenery there, including the HUGE rock behind our heads in this picture!

We then headed up Highway 1 to our northernmost destination, Hearst Castle. The drive was amazing and the weather was beautiful! These pictures don't do justice at all to what this place looked like. If you ever have an opportunity to get to Hearst Castle, take it! It is the vision of William Randolph Hearst and is now an historic landmark.

Appearantly he had over 20 homes around the world, and this was his favorite. When you experience it in person, it's obvious why! By the way...this pool would have fit all three ships that came to America with Christopher Columbus....yes..that's the Nina, Pinta, AND the Santa Maria:)

The above picture (left) is a Roman Pool replica that is below the tennis courts on the estate. The tiles are plated in 24 carat gold...necessary??...probably not.

After the tour, we headed back down the coast. We were able to stop along the way as the sun set...beautiful end to a great weekend...

And...here's Justin jumping off a rock ...holding a stick?

Ahhh.....do we REALLY live here?!?!?!

Justin & Katie