Spring Cleaning makes me sleepy

Saturday at home......well part of the day :)

Daddy decided it was a nice time to rearrange the bedroom furniture in our bedroom. Sakura happened to be napping and I commented that Sakura would be getting up and this bedroom was a mess...Daddy assured me that he could take care of this job in less than 45 minutes (HA!), needless to say, Sakura ended up waking up and the job took hours, not minutes. Sakura stayed busy playing on our bed (with supervision from either Mommy or Daddy), for quite awhile. I thought she looked so cute playing and grabbed the camera (hmmm, wonder why it takes longer than 45 minutes? J/K!). Here are a few pictures of Sakura chan being cute :)

Really you want me to just stay up here on the bed when there is stuff EVERYWHERE?

Playing with clothes hangars

Trying to crawl off the bed!

Spring cleaning makes me sleepy, maybe I should have stayed in bed?!

Fun with Mommy at the Park

After a busy morning of running errands in and out of the car, Sakura's LEAST favorite thing to do, and NO nap to speak of - I figured I'd treat Sakura to some park time. I worried that she might be SO tired that she didn't really enjoy it, but boy was I wrong - she promptly fell fast asleep when we got in the car to come home.

Sakura to Mommy "Mommy, I ♥ to swing!"

"Push me higher"

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

"I see some kids!"

Over by the pond

"Thanks for bring me to the park Mommy"...

So Sweet - get well card from Samantha

So while Sakura was sick a couple of weeks ago, Samantha (Katie's daughter) made her a special card. I was busy with the birthday party when Samantha gave it to me and just ran across it the other night when I was putting away Sakura's birthday cards and couldn't help but share it with everyone. Samantha is 7. Sakura really is loved as you can tell from Samantha's card below - I could not be more fortunate to have such a good friend who offered to watch Sakura on the day's that I go to work - and love Sakura too! It's super special!

The front reads: Get Well Peyton and has a sad face.

The inside reads:

Peyton, I am me and you are you but your my sister and I am your sister you mean a lot to me and your my best friend BFF!

with a picture of Samantha and Peyton that Samantha drew.

Out and About

We had lots of running around to do - Sakura's favorite thing (NOT!), but it was a super nice day so off we went. I had to take a few pictures along the way, especially since everyone gives me a bad time about Sakura always being in pink - LOL!

I can push my baby (or empty stroller as the case may be) backward too - guess Sakura remembers when she was facing us ;o) J/K!

The weather was SO nice, it was supposed to be near 80 degrees, we took a minute to go outside while we waited for Daddy to get ready to go.


Watching the trees hanging onto my car


Out to lunch at Ah-So looking at the fishies (Sakura still ♥s watching fish!!!).

Sakura's favorite - Gyoza and Tofu!

Pretty flower

Watching the kids perform - there was a fundraiser for Haiti and the local school kids were singing/dancing/playing instruments - Sakura enjoyed it very much and clapped for them!

Headed back to the car with Daddy....well we did stop for some jammies for Sakura first :)

'Milk' in a cup is YUKKY!

Well since Sakura is a year old, it's time to try milk...Sakura is protesting she does not like her formula / milk combination in a cup - not sure if it's the cup or it's the new taste of milk mixed in but the bottom line is Sakura is under protest and not drinking any at all. We will see how this goes. I've tried all types of sippy cups, the Nuby ones, the Playtex ones, doesn't seem to matter Sakura just plain doesn't want any part of it, even tried giving it to her in a cup with a straw which normally she ♥s...but nope, only water in those forms, not my 'milk' says Sakura!

Here goes.....

Really? What are you thinking Mommy?

I'll let that run right out of my mouth, I will NOT drink it!

**Update, I decided that I will get Sakura used to "just milk" and give this a shot again. I couldn't stand it.....Sakura never threw a fit about it, she just refused to drink it that way, so I figure I'll get her used to whole milk first, and then try the cup again** to be continued.....

1 year old check-ups = NO fun!

Sakura had her 1 year appointment today. No fun - she got some shots and will go back in a couple of weeks to complete the series (4 is just too many Mommy says, break them up!) more trips but I'm okay with that - Sakura isn't old enough to kick and scream going to the doctor.
She is right on target in her growth chart and has continued in just about the same percentile all along, which is what they like to see.

Sakura has grown a little since her last checkup!

Her weight is now 22.1 lbs (just under the 75% this time!)
Her length is now 28 1/2 inches (still 25%)

Playing while we wait to see the Dr.
A little reading material...all about the immunizations :(

One red daisy bandage on her left arm

One blue and another red daisy bandage on her right :(

The night didn't turn out so bad, a birthday present from Auntie Linda, Uncle Mark, and cousins Jessamine and Stephanie arrived! Yay for presents Sakura says, especially on a crappy day :)

Sakura loves us to read to her, so she really enjoyed the cards!

Looking intently at her gift - what could it be?

I wear my sunglasses at night ;) but not for long, I pull them right off.....

notice Daddy holding down my arms!

then I jump with Dad, that makes my day allllll better! G'Nite Everyone.

Dancing Part 1 and more

A few more pictures from my niece Katie's visit. We were sad to see her leave, and hope that she is able to come back this summer for a longer visit (AND her brothers can join us too!).

We miss them so much - Sakura really enjoyed her time with Katie.

Sakura under protest for posing for more pictures!

OK just one more!

Mommy, Sakura and Katie at lunch

Sakura was exhausted from all of the weekend festivities and fell asleep for the first time ever in her high chair while she was eating dinner.....

Sakura had a nice Valentines Day, she got a super cute giraffe with hearts all over it....somehow I missed getting a picture of her with it - but I will :)

Here was Sakura in the car dancing to Lynard Skynard...we get a big kick out of her dancing. When she isn't in her seat(s) she lifts up each foot, it's so funny!

Rhythm in the baby

Ok the video is fuzzy, I had never taken a video with our new camera, but you get the idea. Dean, cousin Katie and I were cracking up at Sakura at Target dancing to the purple dinosaur, which was after she had been dancing in the car to Lynard Skynard -

I think Sakura will share Daddy's appreciation for various types of music.

Birthday Party for Sakura

Happy Birthday to Peyton Sakura

What more could a birthday girl want? Cake, water and rice crackers?

Is that not the CUTEST birthday hat ever?

Special thanks to Samantha for making Sakura's special birthday hat!

Today was Sakura's Happy Birthday party at 'home'. We decided on Round Table Pizza since we weren't sure about the weather and worried it might be too cold for the park. We were happy to celebrate Sakura's special day with our family and friends. We were SO happy that our niece Katie was able to join us for her cousin's 1st birthday celebration. Katie and Sakura have gotten SUPER close, Sakura loves Katie, Katie plays so much with Sakura and Sakura just loves her. She will be greatly missed when she leaves in just a couple very short days.
We hired a clown for face painting and balloon animals, since we worried that the little kids would be bored while we waited for pizza's to be baked, and since we were having a 1 year old birthday - didn't know what kinds of games we might play, so a clown was the perfect fit. The kids had multiple things painted on their body, and each of them got to have a balloon creation.

Sakura's special birthday hat

The centerpiece

Party hats waiting for the kids Goodie bags/boxes waiting for the kiddos, all of the decorations I made ~

Many hours of cutting out, gluing and assembly took place trying to get ready for the celebration. Special thanks to Grandma for helping while she was here!

Hello Kitty joined the celebration and kept the kids busy with bubbles

Blake's turn for face painting

Cutie pie Anabelle and her Mommy Vannesa (Daddy Juan was there too) joined us to celebrate - they even waited to leave for their long weekend in San Diego just so they could come to Sakura's birthday party - aren't we lucky we have such great friends?

Hamzeh, Nicole and Sakura

Heather and Sierra joined us too!

Someone was a little sleepy!

Samantha gets some ladybugs painted on her arms ....

Katie and Nicole, and Grandma and Katie (cousin) along with Sierra

Sakura and Hamzeh enjoy a few minutes together (Hamzeh is our boss, and he ♥ Sakura!)

Gracie, Alan and Mark are interested in something?!

Sakura and Katie ~

Katie is Sakura's second Mommy, she spends Mon-Wed with her - she's a very special friend and I can't think of anyone I'd rather Sakura spend her days with.

Pizza Time!

Sierra the tiger

Samantha's turn

Samantha, Katie and Sakura

Nicole the clown

Blake with his sword

Grandpa Alan with Brayden

Even Sakura got a face painting....unfortunately this clown doesn't follow directions well and gave her a 4 pedal sakura on her face....well it was the thought I guess :) Still looks cute!

The next few pictures are a little out of order, and I couldn't get them moved...

*Auntie Misty....do you see anything in this picture?*

Sakura hanging out waiting for her pizza

Yummy pizza!

Sakura's 1st pizza, cheese pizza no sauce (too afraid of mess for her birthday dress!)

Blake really wanted to (help) open Sakura's gifts...

Cake for the guests...I know it says Peyton ~

Daddy wanted Peyton on it (he calls her Peyton, we have a split household)

Sakura's cake before

This child loves fire!

Hmmm, what is this?

The cake after

Time for some gifts. Sakura had no interest in opening her gifts so cousin Katie handled that for her while we watched. Sakura was easily distracted and once she got something she liked she didn't want to give it back. Guess that's typical for a 1 year old!

And a toy from Auntie Beverly that she didn't want to give up!

Playing with Hamzeh

Despite the wonderful presents she received...the wrapping was her favorite!

Can you see that someone was extremely tired? Here she is in meltdown.....

Papa and his grand daughters

Unfortunately we didn't get many pictures of all of the decorations, the banners I made for Sakura's party didn't get photographed :( and they were SO cute!

Thank you to all of our family and friends, near and far, those that were able to attend the party and those that were with us in spirit. We are blessed beyond measure to have all of you in our lives, Sakura is a special and lucky little girl and so are we!