KaTooM Fest VIII

8 years ago my dad started a camping and dirt bike riding trip with his local KTM friends from Ktmtalk.com. Over the years it has grown and people from up and down the state have joined in on the fun. We decided to go to the 2nd annual KaTooM Fest 7 years ago and never looked back. Every year has been a blast. Great food, riding and some of the most fun people around! This year was no exception. We had both kids and they loved playing in the fresh forrest air and watching the bikes go by. Ashton was especially excited because he got to ride himself with Daddy. Our good friends were kind enough to let us borrow their CRF 50 and Ashton rode it with Jeff on the back all over the place.

the makings of a monthly photo shoot

We did monthly pics with Ashton and now with Ava. They have both gone pretty much the same so far. Start off easy and stress free and slowly moves into capture the squirmy baby who thinks what you're trying to do is one big joke. We have hit that stage and let me tell you, it's a battle of epic proportions trying to snap ONE good shot. The outtakes definitely speak for themselves.

And then for the one I love the most (yes it was hard because those last two about were melting my heart).

instagram lovin'

On most days I want to throw my phone through a window. I went from a 32gb to a 16gb iphone. Dumbest.thing.ever. I am constantly taking pictures of the kids and this POS doesn't hold hardly anything. Never again! So, whenever my phone is full I can usually rely on instagram to save me. I'm already obsessed but it also helps to have when my phone keeps telling me I can't take pictures (jerk). So here's a little instagram photo dump from the last couple weeks.

We took the kids to feed the ducks in Blackhawk for the first time. Ashton couldn't get enough. And seeing Ava's face light up at the ducks was hilarious.

With Ashton's HORRIBLE sleeping lately we decided to take the advice of some and transition him into a a "big boy" bed. I'm pretty sure it was the worst idea ever. He sleeps in it now, but not without throwing a few stuffed animals at the door and screaming for a little bit like we're the worst parents on earth for putting him through this. Ava sleeps awesome in her bed and one of Ashton's favorite things to do on the weekends is go get her when she wakes up. Melts my heart.

Spent St. Patty's Day weekend in my hometown. The kids had so much fun at the festival and were on their best behavior. This was Ashton's first time out of the house all day without a diaper or pull up. No accidents! (I am not counting the awesome poop accident he had 10 minutes before we left of course)

Sunny days have been frequent around here! That means park days! Can't wait for more. It truly keeps Ashton and myself sane to get out of the house.

Since Ava decided she was going to grow up, we had to lower her crib aka break my back ever time I put her in it now. Ashton is such a little helper and was all over it. Kid loves him some tools!

monthly chalkboard

With some inspiration from pinterest, I decided I wanted to track Ava's monthly pictures with a chalkboard. I took a frame we already had, spray painted it white and painted the board with chalkboard paint. She's 9 months tomorrow so I obviously have failed miserably to post the current 8 here. But here they are in all their glory.

 

first birthday sneak peak

Ava's birthday is in 3.5 months! This party is just making a tad bit giddy. Pink ombre goodness with some fancy schmancy gold glitter accents. Fabulous I tell you!!

PINK AND GOLD BIRTHDAY by nirerin033 on Polyvore

ava's nursery

After much planning we got Ava's nursery completed and almost completely before she came! We still have some things to do which will eventually get done....I think. It was so much fun planning. I wanted to have a room that was girly but not typical pink, lace, and ruffles. I like modern clean lines and I think we hit the nail on the head with her room. I couldn't be happier with the turnout.

maternity pics

Before Ava was born I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. I woke up one morning with the entire left side of my face paralysed. It was the scariest thing I had ever been through. I was devastated thinking this would be permanent. Well, it is not completely permanent and I have a great deal of permanent damage. I had the most severe form which meant 100% recovery wasn't likely. To this day, I still don't have a full smile and my eye closes when I try to smile, talk, eat, and yawn. It's extremely saddening and taking pictures blows. And speaking of pictures, this of course happened like two weeks before our maternity pictures. Pictures I had been planning for months. Luckily I have an awesome photographer who was able to get some great shots that I don't look too angry in.

a looong break

Yeah, that's right. A loooog break. I lost focus and got busy. And I'm sure the two readers I have were super bummed. Hah! Well, I'm trying to get back on. At least as an easy way for family to stay up to date. Nana doesn't have facebook (I know right, craziness!). Everyone else is far. So, we'll rewind a little, get some quick updates on here over the next few posts and we'll be right back on track. Just in time to start some hardcore 1st birthday party planning! Who am I kidding, we've been planning for months now. Party planning is like crack for me. And I'm a self proclaimed addict.

So we'll start off with Ava. She's almost 9 months old and man this sweet girl is amazing. She is amazing in everything she does and she was amazing when she came into this world. And for those who don't know the story, amazing is a GIANT understatement. This girl thought she was some sort of superstar entering the world via the big screen.

It was a Wednesday evening. June 6th. Laying in bed trying to catch some Zs (at this point it was rare I ever got a good night's sleep). Jeff was next to me passed out. I felt some tightness in my stomach and a little cramping. Could this be a contraction? My biggest fear was not knowing I was in labor. I never had braxton hicks with Ashton and because I was induced with him and got my epi after a couple contractions, I was damn near clueless about them. So I thought, what the hell, and started timing. They started off 10 or so minutes apart, were painful and I was extremely uncomfortable. About an hour later they were around 7-8 minutes apart and growing in pain. Shortly after that I called the doc. She promptly told me that I needed to wait until they were 5 minutes apart for 2 hours. Is this chic crazy!? I'm 40 minutes from the hospital, one my second kid and know this is not a psych out. So I waited a little longer. They became around 6-7 minutes apart. I called my mom and she was pretty quick to tell me I needed to get my butt to the hospital ASAP. Coming from the baby factory herself, I trusted her knowledge and my gut. Called the doc again and basically told her I was going in. Got up, threw the stuff in the car and drove Ashton to our friend's house. God bless her for getting up at 3am to watch Ashton for us. Pulled up to her house and texted her we were there. It was 3:21 am. Then we hauled ass to the hospital. Looking back I am scared to think what would have happened should we have had to leave around commute time. Going around 90mph down highway 4, we were making excellent time. Until of course we pass a highway patrol. Yup, we knew it, we were being pulled over. Telling us to go the speed limit and asking if I needed an ambulance, the cop was very nice and let us go. Speed limit? I was about to have a car baby. No speed limit for us. Jeff raced off and about a half block from the hospital my body started to push. This kid was coming no matter where I was. Made it to labor and delivery (barely) and in 15 minutes and 2.5 pushes later, our sweet baby girl was here. At 4:21 am. Yup, exactly a hour after dropping Ashton off. She was the spitting image of Ashton. She was perfect and we were in love.

sunny days

It's finally getting warm out and the sun is shining! I'm so excited for summer to come. Not only will we have a new bundle of joy, but I get to be home with my favorite lil man. Park and pool days, play dates and overall fun in the sun! Ashton will love it!

We spent one of the first warm days of the year at our local water park. We held his first birthday here but A wasn't quite walking yet so we were extremely excited to take him there now that he's walking  running around. He loved the water and it was pure joy watching him smile as big as he did.

Easter

Easter Sunday we were invited to visit some family over in the Santa Cruz area. Most hadn't even met Ashton yet so it was a real treat to show my cutie off. My aunt and cousin were up from Carlsbad and that was an even bigger treat....especially since I hadn't seen my cousin since my wedding in 2006. This was at my Italian cousin's house and let me tell you, the food was delish! It was a gorgeous day and such a nice break from the rain. Ashton had fun and despite getting cranky around nap time, was on his best behavior. We headed home and waited for Daddy to get there to do a little egg hunting and basket opening. Overall, a great day! I wish I had snapped more pics.

So serious!

welcome home kitty

In late January we discovered our cat, GSXR (jixer), had escaped. It was a hectic week and we hadn't even noticed him gone for 24 hours. After realizing he wasn't anywhere in the house we got worried and frantically tried to remember the last time we had seen him. We realized that the night before we had heard scratching at the door. We convinced ourselves it sounded just like the cats leaving the littler box and left it at that. Unfortunately, it was GSXR trying to get back in. He loves to be outside but always comes right back in. We put up flyers around our neighborhood and called the local shelters. We got nothing. Just over a week ago I got a call that someone a few blocks away had seen our cat frequenting their neighborhood. He spotted an old beat up flyer that was still hanging and recognized the friendly neighborhood cat right away. It was nothing short of a miracle. We got him in the house and he raced straight for the food bowl. I gave him a flea bath and left him alone to get situated in his new old home. He was thin. I weighed him...11 POUNDS!! He had lost at least 10 pounds and it made me cringe to pet him. He was just so skinny. Well, he's been doing great and the cats are finally starting to welcome him nicely. He's gained almost 2 pounds and he is living life just relaxing as much as he can. We are so thankful to have him home but more importantly, that he is safe and sound. 

Enjoying some food after a bath

Relaxing

a cute tray

I have been on the hunt for a tray to put on the changing table/dresser. A spot for things like diaper cream, q-tips, lotion, etc. I have seen tons of cute ones. But all in the $30-50 range so I was hesitant to get anything until I found the perfect one. On a stroll though Target I found a small wooden one in their dollar section. It was even an aqua color. And at $2.50 it became that perfect tray. I found some cute scrapbook paper the other night I thought would lay in it perfectly. I didn't like the idea of paper laying in here. I imagined night time changes in the dark and spilling something on it. So I grabbed a laminating pouch and trimmed it to size. Voila...now I can wipe it clean when I make a mess. Isn't it cute!?

storing movies

Every day is the same. Ashton comes home and plays in the living room a little bit and by the end of his time there, I have at least one DVD case on the floor opened up. Not only was the ugly look of these movies in our tv stand annoying me, but so was the fact that he just could not stay away from them. So with some inspiration from my absolute favorite blog iheart organizing I found a cute and streamlined way to keep these eyesores out of sight.

I started out with The Container Store's 120 Disc Acrylic Storage Boxes. These are great because they come with the sleeves already and all of them are numbered. I have used a media key that I have filled in so we know where each movie is. Eventually I will add a separate box for video games and the kid's movies. 

I piled up the movies that were currently in our entertainment center. Divided them into categories (drama, action, kids, motorcycle, etc). I filled the sleeves and left room in between for growth. I added a chalkboard label and a piece of white card stock (until I find the perfect patterned one) to the front and TA-DA! Man o man, it definitely looks way better and Ashton hasn't touched it since.