3rd Thanksgiving

Kate celebrated her third Thanksgiving surrounded by all who love her!

Nana and Papa hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their home. Nana always does a beautiful job decorating and makes everybody get into the holiday spirit. This year she did her outdoor rustic theme and it looked right out of Home and Garden magazine.

Kate especially loved the pumpkin pie and kept asking for "more pumpkin pie please".

She was so polite and sweet so how could we resist? What she did not want was Mimi's pistachio midwestern concoction which we affectionately named green death.

Don't worry Mimi one of these years Kate will try it and probably love it!

After dinner was done, Kate wanted more pie! Even Olivia (the pig) had some pie. Happy Thanksgiving Kate; mommy and daddy are so blessed to have you as our daughter! You are a happy, funny, beautiful, and a super smart little girl. You bring us so much happiness and we thank God everyday for you!

Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE!

Mimi, Nana, and I took Kate to San Diego Civic Theater to watch Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE.

It. Was. AWESOME!

Kate loved every minute. So did I. Honestly, I don't know who loved the show better, Kate or me.

Mimi and Nana loved watching their granddaughter watch the show. Kate's eyes were huge when she saw DJ Lance Rock come out from the huge electronic screen. She wanted to dance on stage with all the characters, but especially with DJ Lance - or "Yo Yo" as she calls him. Kate went crazy, as did I, when Biz Markie came out on stage to rap with the crowd. For those of you who don't know who Biz is, just google "Just a Friend". He was very popular when I was in middle school.

Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE was an AMAZING production which I highly recommend and I will take Kate again if she is still into them next year. There was a ton of singing and dancing. Crowd interaction. Fast-paced and the perfect amount of time to keep the kids entertained. They even had leaves falling and "snow" during songs. Kate went crazy with all the confetti and streamers coming from the ceiling. By the end we were exhausted, but Kate was a trooper and really enjoyed the show. She was so cute the next morning when she woke up and said, "I go sit in chair, eat popcorn and watch Yo Gabba Gabba live?" She melts my heart!

Christmas Pictures

Oh what fun it is to take Christmas pictures...NOT! Don't get me wrong, I am a total ham and LOVE the camera. Kate and Chris on the other hand, not so much. This year we decided not to partake in the Christmas photo and have Kate be the main attraction. Of course. What else is new right? Our friends, the Kings, let us use their gorgeous home as the backdrop. We just let Kate roam and I took photos. A total of ten minutes, it was perfect for all of us. One of these days we will all be able to sit for a family photo. Until then, Merry Christmas from Kate!

Kate had so much fun playing with the water fountain; too bad she got dirt all over her dress!

Kate show me your teeth...this is how we get Kate to smile for the camera.

I thought the combination of Kate in a dress riding her tricycle was cute; it shows her "I'm a princess" side and her tomboy side.

Look at me mom, here I go...

Show me your teeth Kate...

Kate, please don't break the lawn decorations...oops. Sorry Jody and Suzy!

That's all folks!

Roots

We took Kate to visit two families in Somerton recently. One family she visited was my godmother's family, the Mendez'. The second family is our new-found Balderas family; my biological grandparents house. Ironically the two families live next door to each other; their backyards face each other. This is ironic because as a child I was running around and playing at the Mendez home as I grew up very close to them, and all the while my biological grandparents probably saw me running around and did not know that I was their grandchild.

Well now Kate can run around in both backyards and mingle among both families. What a lucky and blessed child to have so many family members who love her!