The Avila Petitt Family - theavilapetittfamily

7/16/2011 5:49:02 AM - fb:1441907363
I love these pictures. I love you all too.

12/4/2010 12:39:56 AM - 003074694194
Beautiful Family! Thank you for sharing with me! Love, Bernadette

It's been a whirlwind these past couple of weeks as we welcomed the newest addition to our family; Anthony Richard Avila Petitt was born on Monday February 27th 2012 at 7:46pm. He weighed in at 6lbs 11oz and measured 18 inches long. He is definitely the smallest of our babies but he is eating like a champ is growing very fast and is already very strong. He was able to hold his head up at birth and can already roll himself over. And at his 2 week appointment he already measured 20 1/2 inches long!

The girls are doing great with their new brother. They both love him so much. Kadence loves being my helper and demands to be involved in everything from getting him out of bed to changing his diaper. And Kohyn's favorite thing to say is " Hi Baby" and she loves to pet and kiss his head.

We're all doing well and slowly adjusting to living life as a family of five :)

We are well into the holiday season and it seems like we're falling and everything is going by us so fast. But we've managed to make a few memories so far.

In early october we got to visit our dear friends the Hopp family. Tami and I met at a baby playgroup with our then babies Kady and Ani. They instantly gravitated toward each other and played interactively vs the normal baby co-playing. Their bond has been strong ever since. They moved down to Portland over two years ago and whenever we get the chance to see each other the girls pick up as if they just saw each other the day before. Our families got even closer when Tami and I happened to give birth to our second child on the same day; so now Kohyn and Thatcher will be lifelong birthday buds.

Throughout October we got into the full Halloween swing. We went to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Kayla, Uncle Ryan, and cousin Miles. Kadence and Kohyn both "helped" carving the pumpkins but were much more excited when we put the candles in. This year the girls dressed up as witches and in my opinion were the cutest witches ever.

We fell through November and ended the month with a wonderful Thanksgiving. Grams made an early dinner so that the little ones could enjoy it and Kadence had so much fun with my cousin Leta that even leaving the house at 7pm she fell asleep in the car on the way home. With two healthy, happy girls, and a little boy on the way, we are are truly thankful for our abundant blessings this year.

On September 25th Kohyn turned 1 year old. She's in the 20th percentile for height and weight but is completely healthy and proportionate. We had a small birthday get together at our house to celebrate her birthday and I think her favorite part was of course the cupcake. She did get a stuffed cow( from our friends Jill and Joe ) that we lovingly call moo who is now her favorite lovey...she can not sleep or get settled without her moo.

She is walking, drinking cows milk, and still has the funniest personality I've ever seen on a baby. She loves to do whatever Kadence is doing and get's quite upset when she can't do the big girl things. She is also an incredible mimic and pays very good attention. It has been an amazing year to experience our newborn grow into a toddler and I'm so excited to see what else she has in store for us.

This has been a busy and stressful couple of weeks for us. On the good end Dylan turned 33, we've had incredible weather, and we got to celebrate our god-daughter Alexis' 1st birthday with a pool party. The stressful part lies in the fact that we discovered that Kohyn is allergic to peanuts and cats. Her peanut allergy is anaphylactic so it can be fatal depending on the amount of exposure. We now have to carry an epipen with us at all times and be on guard about reading the labels on all food products. We also have to be diligent about what we eat and disinfecting our hands and washing our mouth if we eat anything with a peanut exposure. Her cat allergy is topical and is the cause of her severe excema which we've been treating with a steroid ointment which I'd prefer not to use. So that means we have to find a new home for our cat Marley. Kadence is particularly sad about Marley leaving but make Kohyn endure with terribly itchy skin and having to be exposed to steroids all her life.

This past Monday Kohyn turned 10mths old. The time has just flown by. She is such an amazing little girl; she loves to laugh and snuggle all the time. She also has a very strong personality; already she can hold her own with Kadence and is very clear to let us know all her feelings. At her 10mth appt. She weighed in at 18.02 lbs and measured 27 1/2 inches long. She has four teeth and working on many others. She's crawling around like a speed racer and walking with her push cart. Each day is a blessing with her.

We've had pretty bad weather this summer but thankfully all of our good days have somehow fallen on the weekends and we've made sure to take advantage of it. One of our favorite spots is the Woodland Park zoo. We load the girls up in our Phil and Ted stroller and take off. The girls love the outdoor setting and they each have their favorite animals. Kadence has a full on list of favorites but the pink flamingos are always at the top, and Kohyn although not as articulate gets very excited when a penguin swims up close. This time at the zoo we went to see the dinosaur exhibit. The zoo has painted very big dino footsteps for us to follow to find the exhibit and when I pointed these out to Kadence to follow she said to me..."Momma I don't think they let the dinosaurs out of their cages, these just look like arts and crafts." No fooling this girl:)

We spent 4th of July weekend out in Port Angeles camping at Grammy Julies. Kadence got her own sleeping bag and we got to roast hot dogs, marshmallows, and made smores. Both of the girls slept great curled up on either side of me with Dylan on the edge. On our way home we got to take the girls on both of their first ferry rides, and they had a blast.

For the last 3 weeks Kohyn has been sleeping terribly due to growth spurts, development advances, teething, you name it.....so on most nights we have just caved in and let her sleep with us. So last weekend we started sleep training and she is now back to her crib and last night she slept all the way through the night from 9pm to 730am ! A good night sleep is the best start to summer of all.

On Wednesday June 15th Kohyn officially started crawling ! She has been "mobile" for over a month with her own version of an army move mixed with a slither across the floor. And now the real fun begins....because she wants to get into everything ! We are all now on alert for anything on the ground or within 3 feet of height because she can also pull herself up. Fortunately Kadence is extremely responsible and wants to protect her sister so she takes it upon herself to find dangerous spots and fix them or at least block Kohyn from reaching them.

This past week we got a teaser of good weather where Kadence got to play outside, but more fun than that was Kadences friend Nicola's 3rd birthday at a place called Pump It Up. It is a large space filled with blow-up bounce houses and slides. Kadence and daddy got to jump for about 2 hrs and got fulled worn out. It was so much fun that Dylan is seriously contemplating having his birthday there.

It seems like spring has finally arrived this week. So of course that means we're outside. Our week got started off with Kadence going to an airshow with grandma and cousin Miles, they both thoroughly love airplanes and going to the museum of flight with grandma is always a special occasion.

On our first warm sunny day of the week we had a gardening day. It took all day just to get the mess of fall and winter organized and clean, weed, and til to make room for the flowers to grow. Kadence has a particular fondness for worms so her mission was to find as many as she could while helping mom dig in the dirt. She collected them in her red bucket so that they could make friends with each other and at the end of the day she put each one back into a planter. All the while Kohyn was enjoying her exersaucer outside. She got quite the kick out of watching us all working and seeing Kadence get so excited about her worms. There is still plenty more to do but we got a good start and got our swing up again so now the girls can go enjoy the roses while relaxing with daddy.

Yesterday we had our first taste of summer with a 70 degree day. Dylan has been playing basketball weekly and he on this day he was playing up at greenlake. So we packed up the girls and met up with Kayla and Miles for a picnic. Kadence got to be a full on cheerleader for daddy; her pride and excitement while watching him play is a memory we will cherish. We got to have lunch, play at the park, and even go dip our feet in the lake. By the end of the day both the girls were thoroughly pooped, so much so that Kohyn actually fell asleep right there in the moby wrap, and then continued to nap for about 3 hrs at home.....good day :)

This week Kohyn turned 8 mths old. she is getting so big, so smart, so strong, and so funny. She is very close to crawling; she definitely has the strength and coordination but her impatience with wanting to use both hands at once is getting the best of her. But that doesn't stop her from climbing on everything even Kadence. She has both her bottom front teeth and eats pretty much anything and everything. She is such a fun giggly baby and she cracks all of us up all the time. Right now Kadence and Kohyns favorite game is when kadence puts a dry washcloth on kohyn head and then kohyn pulls it off and laughs. Kohyn also now knows how to hug which Kadence has taken full advantage of and the two of them together are just priceless.

Last weekend I took Kadence to my girlfriends son's birthday at the Tacoma Firs Golf Center for her first shot at mini golf. I wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't get her to grip the club accurately but that didn't stop her, we went way past the par swings but that didn't stop her, she maintained amazing focus and determination and not just for a 3 year old, she was more concentrated than the 8 yr olds. She had a great time and got better with each hole. I will definitely be taking her again.

Mother's Day was quite an event this year. We started the weekend with a pampering day for me and my sister Kayla. We went and got our toes done, massages, went out to dinner, and then saw a movie. The next day on mother's day I got some fun musical cards from Dylan and the girls and he surprised with me with a beautiful locket to put the girls pictures in.

We then headed to church for Kohyn's blessing. Our church community is very special to us and Pastor Brett in particular as he married Dylan and I and dedicated Kadence as well. We had the girls God-parents, family, and friends join us for the service. Our church dedicated Kohyn and we all committed to helping her grow in Christ, the service was great and the girls are quite the entertainers especially while on stage. Afterwards we headed up to my parents for a nice mother's Day Lunch where I got to take a picture with my mom, my grandma, and my daughters...4 generations of women all together.

This past week was Grandma's birthday, so on Sunday we went over to celebrate. Kadence and I did some arts and crafts and made Grandma a birthday card so Kadence got to give that to her Grandma while we ate then Kadence proceeded to "help" open Grandma's presents, and then we had cheesecake.

Kadence and my mom have a very special connection, it could be that she's the first grandbaby, or that they spend so much time together, but whatever it is their love is undeniable.

My sister and I started a tradition last year of taking a picture of the grandkids as a mother's Day gift so at the birthday party while mom was busy in the kitchen we quickly took some pictures of the girls and Miles. After many tries to get them all smiling we resigned ourselves to just try and get them all to face the same direction, then we tried to just get one pic where there wasn't someone crying...the result is the picture you see on our homepage.

I started my new job two weeks ago and it has given Dylan and I completely new roles. Dylan has fully embraced being a work at home dad. He gets up with Kohyn at night, I leave before the girls get up in the morning so he's got them from the start of the day until I get home around 330. He takes them on outings, does all the errands, manages the house, takes care of the girls, and makes dinner everyday while I'm away at work. The girls are doing great and we haven't had one meltdown. I may be the only one who is feeling bad about our new situation and that's just because I miss my girls so much.

With our new roles we've changed up how we prioritize our time. As soon as I get home I silence my phone until the girls are asleep, after dinner when dylan is cleaning up, I give the girls their bath get them ready for bed and then we go read stories and sing songs in Kadences room. This is my favorite time of day; just me and my girls. We also have been trying to spend our weekends doing something of quality vs just hanging around the house.

Last weekend we had a picnic in the park and dylan taught Kady how to play frisbee, the next day it was Easter where Kadence had just a day of too much fun and then got to have a sleepover at grandma's house. She got to have 2 egg hunts and finally got the movie cinderella.

The girls are growing so fast and now that I'm going to work it feels like it's sped up even more. Kadence showed us this week that she can blow bubbles under water, can hold her breath and put her whole face under water. We didn't think she could do it yet and she surprised us, thanks to all the swimming work she's been doing with Grandma. And Kohyn is just growing and growing, almost as fast as she can get food into her mouth. Her new favorite is Gram's homemade chicken noodle soup and of course fresh pears.

The last 2 weeks have been jam packed. We went over to Aunt Anna's and Uncle Rick's house, celebrated Kadence turning 3, and celebrated our god-daughter Alexis's blessing.

We spent a morning over at Aunt Anna and Uncle Rick's house where Kadence took full advantage of the opportunity to play with Sam and Winnie (Anna's 2 guinea pigs). She played with them, fed them, held them, and talked to them. As a special treat for Kadence, Anna and Rick put together a mini easter egg hunt. In between playing with the guinea pigs and searching for eggs, Kadence spent her time jumping UP the steps.

On April 9th Kadence turned 3 years old. We celebrated with a birthday breakfast, and our friends Jason, Tania, Kwasi, and Angela came over to join in the fun. Later that evening we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner with Aunt Kayla, Uncle Ryan, Cousin Miles, Grandma, Grampy, and Grams. With each birthday I try to take in the moment; to look at the girl she has become and remember the baby she once was. She has grown into such a wonderful girl. She loves to sing, dance, and paint. She is equally comfortable playing dress-up in a princess costume as she is digging in the dirt trying to find worms and snails. She is extremely athletic; she has a very strong arm, can jump much higher and farther than what we're comfortable with, and she can do a real pushup. She had her 3 yr old well visit on the 12th and weighed in at 39lbs and is 40inches tall; above the 95 percentile in both categories. She is very articulate and loves to read, an added bonus of her great vocabulary and clearly defined thoughts is a girl who loves to debate :) And she's already quite skilled in the art of persuasion...who would have thought MY daughter would have this talent ;)

On Sunday we celebrated Alexis Noelle Selden's baby dedication. The Selden's are our dear friends: Jason and Dylan have been friends since they were Kady's age and for the last 8 years we've gotten to be very close friends with Tania. She and I even got to be pregnant together and now get to watch our daughters grow up together. Dylan and I are very fortunate to be Alexis's god-parents, we love Alexis as if she were our own family and were very excited to share in her day.

Last week we had a party for Kadence's upcoming 3rd birthday at Woodland Park Zoo. Our friends and family came out to celebrate amidst random rain showers and sun breaks. Kadence was thoroughly spoiled with gifts, got to go visit the animals many times, and stuffed her face with cupcakes. Kadence got to visit with everyone but had some great one on one time with her god-mother Lesley who she doesn't get to see too often but loves her so much and makes the most of their time together.

Our friends from Portland also came up for the day and after the zoo closed we all went back to our house. Kohyn and Thatcher got some serious baby playtime while Kady and Ani watched Alice in Wonderland and dressed up in jewelry and crowns and played pretend. We all gorged ourselves on some Famous Daves and enjoyed an evening of utter kid cuteness. By the end of the evening we got the girls in their pj's and said goodbyes.....hopefully it won't be too long before we can get together again.

This past week, Kadence got to have a date with her Daddy. We rode the Light Rail Train into the city and visited Pike's Place Market. This was both her first time on a train and her first time to the Market.

We walked up stairs and down stairs. Down stairs and up stairs. We saw the pig statue, but it was under construction and off limits. We saw fish and flowers everywhere. Unfortunately, she was expecting the fish to be alive like at the aquarium. Not so much. She loved all of the flowers and wanted to smell each one. I bought her a flower so she could carry it around and smell it all day long. I showed her the gum wall, but she wasn't that impressed. She really just wanted to find more stairs.

After the Market, we went to Westlake Center and had lunch. On our way inside, we saw some cops on horses and she got to pet one. The whole time we were eating she just wanted to go back outside to pet the horses. The cops were gone by the time we came back outside, but there was a horse and carriage and so we walked up to them. I made the mistake of walking too close to the horses face with the flower I had bought for Kadence in my hand and he tried to bite my arm off. Don't worry. I am ok. =)

She got to pet the horse and we were off again to catch the train to head back home. It was a fun-filled, sunny Saturday afternoon. A great day for me and my Kadybug.

~Daddy

This week or so has just been jam packed with activities. A couple of our favorites have been spent with Auntie Kayla aka LaLa and cousin Miles. We first met up at University Village to play at the under cover playpark. Kadence has been here often and is a pro at the slide and the rocking butterfly. But Miles being only a couple months walking was a bit slower ( not much though with his adventurous spirit ). Although Kadence was off doing her own thing she was constantly "checking in" with Miles and LaLa, wondering where they were, wanting LaLa to watch her *side note: the only thing more difficult than having your own kids is having your own kids plus a demanding niece that also wants your attention*, and yelling at Miles to follow her.

I can already see Kadence is growing into quite the leader of the pack. At sunday dinner at Grandmas the orders continued as Kadence yelled at Miles to follow her as she wanted him to watch her play the piano. Then this thursday we met Kayla and Miles at the Seattle Gymnastics Academy for their open gym. It was so fun for the kids to play on the mats, beams, rings, bars, trampoline, and foam pit. But as Kadence would be off exploring on her own as soon as she would notice that Miles wasn't in eye sight we would have to stop what we were doing and go find him as quickly as we could. But then again she did love him even before he was born.

This week has been a big one for Kohyn too. As of yesterday she is 6mths old. She weighs 15lbs 12 oz. and is 25 1/2 inches long both are in the 50th percentile. She has already been eating solids for a month and absolutely loves food; I think she eats and it goes straight to her cheeks, but this week we introduced a sippy cup with water. She handled the cup like a pro, but she's not too keen on the water. Right now she is just chewing on the sippy cup because her two front bottom teeth are about to cut through and have been causing her some serious anguish and I think the feel of cold water on the soft mouth piece feels pretty good to her.

Everything is going great with her development but just like her momma and sister she does not handle vaccines well. I have both the girls on an alternative vaccine schedule that involves spreading them out over time, declining unnecessary shots, and postponing others until school age. But she got two shots yesterday (dtap & pcv) so her uncomfortableness with teething plus uncomfortableness with the shots led to a night of sleeping for only 20 minute increments which equals a very tired mommy and daddy. But it's all worth it when it comes to comforting your baby.

We've been members of the Seattle Children's Museum since Kadence was about 9mths old. It is such a great place for kids and families. This trip out Dylan got to come with us and Kadence made sure to involve him in every activity.

Our first stop was the mountain where Kadence showed us all the creatures hiding under all the rocks. Then we were off to Discovery Bay (the birth - 3) where we looked at the fish, went down the slide many times, and played in the water. Next we made our way to the market area where Kadence did some "grocery shopping", drove a firetruck, and dance on a theater stage. Finally we made it to the art studio; Kadence and Dylan spent most of the time making flowers, a streamer fan, and played with lots of glitter glue.

I'm sure that living in a house with 3 girls this is just the first of many occasions where glitter will be the highlight of the day.

There is not much better in this world than to sit back and watch your daughter light up to see her cousin then to quickly run off and play only to be attached at the hip for the rest of the afternoon. This past week we went out to Carnation to celebrate our nephew Zim's 1st birthday.

Normally Kadence is all about a birthday; loves the presents, the cake, the song, and the blowing out of candles.... but not this time. Because here at Zim's birthday was his sister Neo aka Kadence's cousin. As soon as we arrived they were off up to Neo's room only to re-emerge every few minutes with a new dress on....an impromptu fashion show. After the tutu's and pink gowns ran out they disappeared into Neo's room where I'm sure their imaginations and attitudes took off.

After awhile the girls came down for brunch where they sat together, shared opinions on the great culinary buffet that Steph cooked, then shared bites, and as soon as they were finished they were off running to their next adventure. Later they came on down to take advantage of one of the world's greatest inventions.....BALLOONS , and hilarity ensued.

Eventually it was time to say goodbye which is always a sad moment. We almost made it without any tears but Kadence's love for Neo is just a little too overwhelming. So with a promise to see each other soon our visit was over...but the memories will last forever.

Kadence has had a busy 3 weeks. We had Valentines Day where her daddy got her flowers and balloons.....his motto now is that he wants to spoil his girls on every holiday so they know how a man should treat them, if a guy doesn't beat dad then he's not worth keeping around. Then we got some February snow so Kadence got to spend a couple of days throwing snow on brasco and chasing him around the yard. And then last week we got to go to the aquarium. Thanks to Aunt Kayla we have a membership to the Seattle Aquarium and we got to visit during Octopus week. Kadence saw otters, seals, Octopuses, jellyfish, stingrays, and got to actually touch starfish and sea anenomes. She is getting so big so fast and is just loving life. I get so much joy just from watching her experience each day and sometimes I think I learn more from her than she does from me.

Kohyn will be 5 months old tomorrow and she has quite the personality already. she just might be the funniest baby ever. She laughs at everything and everyone, but can very quickly decide that we're not doing what she wants and then yells at us. I use the word yell because that's what it is; not a scream or a cry a very definitive yell...just to keep us in line. She also has a pecking order of favorites in the household and I'm on the bottom. She loves me dearly but I think that if she had it her way it would just be her and Kadence out on adventures with Brasco, then Daddy could come along for tickles and dancing, and they would only need me when they all got hungry.

We started her on solids this past week after we noticed that she's been "tracking" our food and reaching for our drinks. I assumed she'd be like Kadence and not know what to do with a spoon for awhile but low and behold she was a master with the first feeding. By the second feeding she was grabbing the spoon and trying to feed herself. She so physically developed even though she's quite the chubster. We should have had a clue when she was born and could hold up her head but she surprises us daily. In addition to her incredible dexterity, she can pull herself up to a stand if she's got the right grip and she kicks so ferociously that her changing table actually rocks back and forth during diaper changes. She tracks Dylan and Kadence as if she has a bobble head and will dip backwards, side to side, and upside down just to see where we are.

We've gotten to know her pretty well in these past 5 mths and so far her big loves are being naked, laughing, talking to Kadence, eating mommas hair, taking baths with Kadence, silly faces, and eating. Her dislikes are being alone in a room, having a poopy diaper, having Kadence's back to her, going to bed, and not being able to reach her toes.

I'm very excited to see how she and her personality grows day by day.

This past weekend we made the trip down to Portland to celebrate
Annika Hopp's 3rd birthday. Ani is Kady's best friend and they have been best friends for the bulk of their lives. People may question the validity of that statement considering they are only 3 and about to be 3, but it's true. Ani's mom Tami and I first met at a baby playgroup when Kadence was just over 6 mths and Ani was just over 8mths. They immediately were drawn to each other and while all the other babies co-played, Kady and Ani were highly interactive with each other. After they out grew the playgroup at age 1 we continued to meet up for playdates and Kadence and Annika continued building their relationship; they would play together, share together, and learn from each other. As babies Ani was more advanced verbally and Kady had more advanced mobility (early walker) and whenever they would get together by the end of the playdate kady was more verbal and Ani was more mobile.

Unfortunately the Hopp family moved to Portland....a sad day in the Avila-Petitt house. But Tami and I have tried to help maintain their connection, by having them send each other "letters" and going for day trip visits whenever we can. This year has been a big one for both of our families; we each welcomed a new addition. Tami managed to be about a week late and I managed to be a week early and so we ended up delivering our second babies on the same day only a couple hours apart.

We miss them terribly so we were not going to miss Ani's 3 rd birthday. Kadence was so excited about seeing Ani she decided she wasn't going to nap for the 3 days before hand, yet we managed the entire trip with minimal meltdowns. When we arrived at Ani's house it took about 30 seconds for them to recognize each other and they were off. They play so well together, they share, they hug, they use manners, they kiss "eachothers babies" i.e. Kohyn and Thatcher, and they converse together. . There is something so special between these girls. Tami and I got to sit back while nursing our babies and watch them and they are so sweet together it almost brings tears to my eyes. I can't wait for them to come up for Kady's birthday in a couple of months.

Kadence is rapidly becoming a big girl and loves everything that has to do with pink, tinkerbell, princesses, jewelry, bows, and girls only. We have been making a big deal about trying to make things special for Kadence since Kohyn is getting the bulk of the one on one time right now. So one of the things I do is play in her room with her or we go into Kohyn's room and we shut the door and have girls only time, which means no daddy, no brasco, and no marley cat, just Kadence and mommy.

Kadence loves to help out with all my mommy duties and loves to pose for every photo op with her sister that she can. She loves to play with and tickle Kohyn and Kohyn just loves the attention. The moments where both girls are laughing hysterically bring me such joy, I am almost overwhelmed. Sisters are the best !

This weekend Aunt Krysta and Uncle Torrey came to visit for a cluster of Birthdays. We were able to fit in Miles 1st Birthday party, my 28th Birthday, Uncle Ryan's 27th Birthday, and a visit to the Museum of Flight into one weekend.

Both Kadence and Kohyn absolutely love their cousin Miles and all their Aunts and Uncles. But whenever Krysta and Torrey come to town it's extra exciting especially for Kadence. After running around the Museum of Flight first with Aunt Krysta in tow then with Grandma and Grampy, she was threw for the day but got re-vamped for Miles birthday party the next day where she proceeded to help him open his presents and eat 3 dinosaur cupcakes.

Then Sunday morning Uncle Torrey and Aunt Krysta came over for breakfast and to watch the Seahawks game. But I don't think Aunt Krysta got to see much of the game as Kadence continued to give the same bedroom tour multiple times and then decided it would be more fun to go fishing in the living room with Uncle Torrey.

By the time we got to my parents that evening for Ryan and I's birthday dinners I think the whole family was partied out, but not Kadence. She was up for more tickles, more hide and seek, more presents, and more cake, and everyone mustered up the energy and excitement to keep up with her.

That's one of the many blessings I'm so thankful for; that even though my sisters have started their own family's and Grandma and Grampy have very full lives, they all still make the effort to have special times that turn into wonderful memories with my girls.

What a holiday season ! We have been so blessed this year and it was both wonderful and exhausting but we spent 3 days in a row celebrating christmas. We started off at Grams house on Christmas eve. As soon as we got their Kadence was off to play with my cousin Leta and we saw her briefly throughout the rest of the night because clearly the coolest and most important person there was Leta. She got so many goodies and presents, her favorites of the night; a sparkly pink poodle purse, a pink princess wand, Gram's white cookies aka shortbread, and roulage (definitely my daughter :). After playing non stop with Leta in the christmas village room, playing piggy back, and endless tickles she was spent and actually told us all she was tired and wanted to leave. 10 minutes into the car ride and she was passed out.

When we got home and the girls were in bed, Dylan and I got busy wrapping presents and building Kadence's art easel. Christmas morning arrived and Kadence got to open her stocking and then she had to wait until after breakfast to open her presents. I couldn't even get the camera fast enough before she had her art easel opened and wanted to start painting. Grampy spent the day with us which was so special for kadence, she loves him so much. The two of them played all day while we had a slew of christmas movies on and Kadence made me promise Grampy would still be here when she woke up from her nap otherwise she wasn't going to sleep. Her excitement and happiness today made this the christmas I've been waiting for since she was born. We are so blessed to be able to treat her and make this day so special.

The next day we celebrated with Dylan's family. Auntie Anna and Uncle Rick made a delicious brunch for us before we got to dive into the presents. But of course as soon as we got their Kadence was off to play with her cousin Neo, and we only saw them when they wanted to show off their balancing and yoga skills. Another highlight is that Auntie Anna lets Kadence play with her guinea pigs Sam and Winnie, and of course we couldn't leave until she gave them treats and kisses. Kadence got so many special presents here too. Her favorites: a personalized purple purse with little bracelets from auntie Anna, a hand crafted motor boat that has been her bath time staple ever since and yoga figurines that she is quite excited to mimic with grandma both from Grammy Julie.

After what seems like a non - stop 3 days, we got to sit back and realize that the meaning of christmas isn't the stuff we get but the joy we bring each other. So even though it seems like a whirlwind of events, we'll never miss out on family. I am so thankful for all of our family and friends and for all their love for our girls.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas a bit early with Grandma, Grampy, Aunt Kayla, Uncle Ryan, Cousin Miles, Aunt Krysta, Uncle Torrey and Biscuit. We all got to open stockings and presents and were all spoiled by Mom and Dad. But Kadence may have been the most excited out of everyone and she was so grateful; with every gift she spent time to look at it and wanted to play with it before moving onto the next gift.

Later in the day Grandma made a great Christmas feast where we all sat around the table and Kadence made sure to offer everyone sparkling apple cider, by saying "why don't you try some" and when the table got quiet Kadence leaned over and said, "I love you Grandma". It was such a special moment. After dinner Kadence got to play scrabble and make a gingerbread house with my cousin Leta, and Grams got to have some nice Kohyn awake time.

The next day we went back to Grandma and Grampy's and got to see Santa Claus. This is the first year Kadence was brave enough to sit on his lap and I think a candy cane was just the right motivation. Kohyn being only 11 weeks did what she does best, lay in your arms. But at least I got the much coveted no tears Santa picture.

Yesterday we received a package from Kathy and Dave Wopschall, who are my sister Kayla's Husbands parents. Dylan and I first met Kathy and Dave at Disneyland after Kayla's college graduation in 07. They have since been up here to Seattle many times and have seen our family grow.

Whenever there is a special occasion where Kadence is involved they always remember to include her or spoil her with a gift. Today was no exception and this time Kohyn got especially treated too.

In our package Kohyn got 4 new outfits that will last her for another year and Kadence got a christmas book. It's a very cute story about a gingerbread baby who is looking for friends, with beautiful illustrations, and a gingerbread man cookie recipe. As of tonight we've read it 6 times. And as the timing works out, it got to be her first christmas gift.

Thank You Kathy and Dave Wopschall ! We love You !

Yesterday was a great day for women and flying. My mom who is a pilot put together an event down at Renton airport where she got other pilots to donate their time, aircrafts, and skills to take women and girls of all ages up in the air for a free flight over the city. Kadence and I got to go up in a float plane with Kayla, Ryan, and Miles. Kadence got to sit by herself and where her own head phones. She was a little nervous and weary as we took off but as soon as we were in the air she loved it.

Growing up as the daughter of a pilot, I've been blessed and privileged to fly all the time and to fly all over the world and I forgot the wonder of being in the sky for the first time. My mom gave that gift to close to 200 women yesterday and Kadence was one of them. Thank You Grandma !

We are currently stationed in why ville just west of how come city and north of what's this town. Kadence is fully in the why phase and wants to know and learn everything. Here are a couple of my favorite recent why conversations:

Kadence: Why does Santa say hohoho?
Parents: because that's how he laughs
k: why does he laugh?
p: because he is happy
k: why is he happy?
p: because he loves you so much and is happy that you are such a nice girl

K: why does daddy go to work?
p: because he has a job
k: why does he have a job?
p: because he wants to make money
k: why he want to make money
p: so he can buy mommy and kady presents
k: laughs hysterically

p: lets go get dressed
k: how come I have to get dressed
p: because we cant go to the store naked
k: why not
p: because its too cold and we might get sick
k: why do I get sick
p: from germs
k: I kill germs

k: whats this? (pointing to the xmas stocking and stocking holder)
p: that's a christmas stocking
k: why we have this?
p: so santa will fill them with treats
k: and candies?
p: and a little bit of candies
k: grandma gives me lots and lots and lots of candies

Today was Kohyn's 2 mth appt. She is growing nice and steady weighing in at 11 lbs 4 oz and is measuring at 22 3/4 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile for both which was a bit surprising to me since Kadence was always in the 90th percentile but maybe this way we'll actually get some good use out of clothes before she grows out of them. She also got her first set of vaccines: Dtap and prevnar. I have a great pediatrician (Dr. Sheridan with Polyclinic Pediatrics) who works with me on an alternative vaccine schedule so that I can declined, post-pone, and spread out the girls shots.

While Kohyn and I were busy at the doctors, Kadence got to spend the afternoon with Grandma. On our drive over to Grandma's house Kadence said, "Momma when we get to Grammas I want you to leave" and I asked her "why do you want momma to leave" and she sadi, "cause I want alone time with gramma". I'm so glad that she has such a good time with Grandma and that Grandma always has enough energy to make their alone time the best time. Today they went to the Museum of Flight where Kadence got to play in an airplane and helicopter, then they had lunch in the cafe and even go shopping in the gift shop.

It's been a very busy Fall season for us in the Avila Petitt household. On Saturday September 25th we welcomed Kohyn Bella into our lives, she has been such a wonderful blessing. So far she is in general a good sleeper, she is physically very strong, and is extremely social. Kadence has been the best big sister I could have imagined and everyday she is becoming more and more independent and responsible.

We've also gotten to experience Halloween together and our first snow storm. Our girls are growing bigger by the moment and I hope all of you will enjoy seeing pictures of them and sharing our memories with us.