Halloweenpalooza 2012

On Saturday night, our Ward had a Trunk-or-Treat.

What is a Trunk-or-Treat you ask?

It's where everyone gives out candy from the trunks of their cars in a parking lot. 

It's nice because you know everyone (at least you should...if you don't ya might consider NOT trick-or-treating there) and it's a safe environment. 

Reasons I love the picture below:

1. Lola grabbing Matt's finger

2. Ada's face while holding her beloved necklace

3. Ada's glass slippers!

4. Lola trying to give kisses

5. Matt's wearing my old track spandex

We were Disney themed this year!

Minnie & Mickey Mouse with Cinderella and Princess Tiana..it's been fun. 

Ada makes us talk in high voices and calls us Minnie & Mickey while the ears are on. That got old real quick :)

Cinderella & Minnie

The Baers went as characters from UP! How adorable are their costumes?!

Trying to get a good picture of both girls...but all Lola cared about was that sucker :)

Ada saying, "Lola's dancing!"

Minnie & her Princesses :)

Then on Halloween, Chipotle was selling their burritos for $2 if you were in costume! You know we were all over that...it tasted 10 times better because of the price :)

Afterward we went to the mall for trick-or-treating, but evidently people were there at 3 PM and most stores were out of candy. The girls still got some, but it's not like they needed more anyway. 

Ada enjoying her "Potate" and Lola with my lipstick on her cheek.

The next two pictures might possibly be the best ever taken on Halloween!

Life is hard as a princess!

Excited to go trick-or-treating? :) 

That's better. 

Ada loves Yo Gabba Gabba and got very excited about this display at the Vans store :)

All Halloweened out!

And here are Ada's little glass slippers in action...the heels lit up :)

The older the girls get, the more fun it is to celebrate the holidays with them. We put fake crows and spiderwebs on the mirrors and stuck paper spiders on the walls. I love the holidays! I hope your Halloween was sugar-filled and fun :)

Googleween 2012

Matt works for Google now! I'm still a teensy bit excited about it :)

They had a big carnival for all of the employees and spouses with children. How cool is that? They had free kettle corn (SOLD), a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, horse-drawn carriage ride, tractor ride, face painting, balloon animals, and lots of other fun things. We didn't even get to it all! 

It was funny because Matt was stoked on the horses and says, "Ada! Look over there! What do you see?" And she answers excitedly, "OH! I see Minnie! And princesses!" She could have cared less about all of the activities. She was just in awe of all of these people in costumes and couldn't stop looking at all of them!

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My beautiful Cinderella. Can you believe how old she looks in this picture? Not even 3 yet! She also had just woken up...the girls usually fall asleep on the drive to Mountain View.

She had to wear her Cinderella necklace (neck-iss) and we put her comfy shoes on for walking on the lawn.

I told Ada to go stand by this guy for a picture. She quickly waved at him and kept her feet planted and hand clenched onto her Papa's! The thing's head spun around, it was pretty creepy.

Papa & Ada

I didn't realize how scary that scarecrow was until I saw these pictures! Ahhh!

Excited girls, both talking a mile a minute. Ada guarded the kettle corn like her life depended on it. Smart cookie :)

Our friends The Baers were there too! Devin works at Google as well & let Matt know about the position he now has. Thanks man!! 

Sweet Lola girl (Princess Tiana) on a mission to grab my soda! Poor thing is teething and has a terrible cold. It's been a rough couple of weeks for her.

Right after this, we headed to In-n-Out for dinner. I was able to join in on a Google Hangout on my phone with my whole family to hear that my cousin Matthew and his wife KayLa are having a baby GIRL in March! :D 

So excited for them & the fun that lies ahead with a sweet baby girl!

Journal

My friend Emily has this quote from President Hinckley on her blog:

"To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest to you that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous education effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many--now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings."
- President Gordon B. Hinckley

I've been thinking about this blog a lot. I have been putting much more time and energy into Kara in the Kitchen and am loving the direction it is going. What I am feeling for this blog is that it will be a place for me to journal my thoughts and experiences, and chronicle the life of my family.

I am one who tries to be positive most of the time. Especially online, I feel like there is so much negativity out there that it is especially important to uplift and not be a Debbie Downer. There is definitely a balance though. I realize that on the other hand, there is the tendency to post only the pretty things online. To make your life appear perfect. Then the comparing comes in and you feel like a failure as a mother after looking at blogs of moms who are way more crafty/skinny/organized and whose kids dress way better and never have meltdowns or go to time out.

I think she was so mad because the linoleum in our kitchen made her that way. 

So, while I am a bit scared to share some things, I know that it may help someone. I also know that it will be a blessing to my children to read in the future. I will try my best to share in a way that is uplifting and informative, because the last thing I want is for people to come here and feel like they're being dumped on! I want to be more REAL though; not that I've been fake in the past...but I have censored myself for fear of judgement. Does that make sense? I just don't want to blog anymore and think, "What will so-and-so think if they read this?" I just want to be myself.

Life is messy!

The end :)

28th Birthday!

My birthday was back in April, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it! I had SUCH an awesome birthday!

It started with waking up to my front door being heart-attacked by my awesome friends Heidi & Hannah! They even gave me a bag full of only the red and pink Starbursts because I'd mentioned those were the best. How cool is that?! Check out chunky 8-month-old Lola! And chunky me! I've definitely lost weight since then, awesome bonus of being behind on the blog :) Unless I'd gained more weight since then. 

We then headed out to Zachary's for some delicious brunch. Mike's Mess & their homemade whole wheat bread can't be beat!

My mom surprised me with the ultimate birthday cake! It's the Pink Champagne Cake from Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. Look at those gorgeous pink chocolate curls!

Can you tell I was a wee bit excited? :)

I think Ada looks like Mowgli from Jungle Book in the pic below. You know the scene where he sees the girl  for the first time? Yup :)

Ada was stoked on the pretty pink cake too.

Love my little firstborn!

So I am a planner. My husband is not. I usually plan things way ahead and it drives me crazy when there are no plans for big events like holidays or birthdays. I saw the previews for Titanic 3D months before and that it was coming out on my birthday weekend! So I made sure to tell Matt that's what I wanted to do for my birthday. My birthday was coming up and I knew he didn't have tickets. I was getting upset because I always take charge and do everything. I even complained to my mom about how frustrated I was! Boy did I eat my words later...

We DID end up going to see Titanic in 3D and it was AWESOME! I felt like I was reliving my Jr. High days because I wasn't allowed to see it when it came out in theaters. So it was fun to pretend like Matt and I were on a date to see it for the first time while my mom watched the girls. Thanks Nonnie! :) We took pictures in the photo booth and had a blast! 

Fast forward to the weekend. Matt said that he was taking me out to dinner and we were doing something after. I was so thrown off because I knew he was up to something. He was supposed to go to work but was acting so weird and would not leave me alone! He is the worst liar and cannot keep a secret, it literally kills him. It's hilarious! He drops random hints all day and looks at me weird, I should get a video of him when he knows something I don't. 

We went out to eat and I was turned, talking to the table next to us. When I turned back to face Matt, this ticket was sitting in front of me! I almost started to cry I was so excited and surprised! We were going to see ZAC BROWN BAND!!!! I felt REALLY guilty for complaining about how he never plans anything. Because he planned this. And it was INCREDIBLE :) 

See for yourself:

We had the best time! Sang and danced our little hearts out. Thank you again to my mom for watching the girls for us...I loved feeling young again, even though I'm inching closer and closer to the big 3-0. 

Here's to awesome family, good food, great music, and many more birthdays to celebrate ahead!

Car Dancing

Ada was bobbing her head with the music in the car. I love around second 15 where she sees herself on the screen!
Please ignore my singing...

I like listening to Country music while driving around Santa Cruz. It makes me feel more normal :) And don't worry, totally turned off Toby Keith. I just can't handle his yodel/goat voice.

Uh-Oh

I can't get over her cute little lips making an O.

She likes to throw things on the ground then say this. It's a big game :) 

Lola's 1st Birthday Party

Lola's 13 month checkup stats:

Weight: 24 lbs. 11 oz. 94th percentile

Height: 30.1 in. 68th percentile

Head Circumference: 18.98 in. 99th percentile 

So she still has a giant head :) Her height has tapered off some which makes me think she may have some short Miller genes! The doctor said not to worry about the change, she's still 7th in line out of 10. Just packing on the pounds and not stretching out yet :) He always comments on her little lips, too. Says she and Ada have the most perfect, curly lips.

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We celebrated as a family when my mom was in town. Look at the adorable birthday outfit she brought for Lola! Ada had a dress-up headband she grabbed and gave to Lola when she saw the purple tu-tu. 

She knew she was stylin! And sassy with that shoulder hanging out ;)

I made Miette's double chocolate cupcakes that I'll post on my food blog later.

She was not sure what to think of the candle!

She became more comfortable when the singing began :)

A little help from Papa and big sis to blow out her candle:

This is her happy food face :)

So good!

I love this look, like she's getting away with murder!

Oooooh!

Mmmmm

Lola, how old are you?

What are you eating?

All done!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Lola Girl! We just love her so much. She and Ada are interacting more and more every day, I love hearing their giggles together. 

- loves to give raspberries

- wedges herself between you and whatever is taking your attention from her

- is the snuggliest little babe you've ever met! She will come up to me all throughout the day and just climb into my lap and burrow her head into my neck or push her cheek up against mine. Just needs some love and hugs and then she's off and running to the next adventure.

- is obsessed with caps & lids. If you give her a water bottle or baby food pouch she has to have the cap in the other hand so she can replace it on her own. 

- says Mama, Papa, Day-da (Ada), Nannie (Nonnie), Ba-ba (bottle), Yeah, uh-huh, no, yum...

- is still a total momma's girl! 

- walking all over

- loves to dance and sing

- teething like crazy and finally getting her fourth bottom tooth in!

- loves having her hair brushed and back scratched

- hates having her diaper or clothes changed

- is pickier with food than her big sis was, but still a good eater

- loves shaking her head no; An employee at Home Depot asked Ada for a high-five and she said no. (He was big, loud, and burly so I don't really blame her haha) He then tried Lola and she shook her head no. We were cracking up!

- watches her big sister 

- loves being around people

- is still a mellow, happy girl (when teething doesn't interfere)

- loves dogs and does a grunt/rah thing that's a bark whenever she sees them