The Shea Family

Natalie is 9 months!

2011-08-24T20:14:00.001-07:00

Natalie is 8 months old already!!!

2011-07-10T22:16:00.001-07:00

Natalie is one month...

2010-12-09T19:57:00.000-08:00

Natalie is 10 days old

2010-11-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Finally home!

2010-11-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

With Babbie and Deda at home

2010-11-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

With Daddy at the hospital after a bath

2010-11-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

Natalie Jayne Shea

2010-11-08T09:12:00.001-08:00

2010-05-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

2010-05-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

My Mommy!!!

2010-05-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

New photos

2010-05-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

We finally got some "Christmas" photos done from last year :) A lot of rescheduling and cancellations, but we finally did it!!! We'll have to do more around Christmas time again, but this time it will not be in August :)

Kennon, Daniel and Babbie

2010-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

Family Picnic

2010-02-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

Two brothers on a walk on Mt. Helix

2010-01-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

Fun at Christmas time!!!!

2010-01-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

U2 Concert!!!

2009-10-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

It was awesome!!! We had a blast but we are not used to staying up late anymore...so we were pretty exhausted the next day and it was ringing in my ears for the next 24 hours :)

Daniel's Page

2009-10-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some Daniel's pictures from the summer. He sure is a happy but stubborn little guy...

Here we went to the pool at our friends and he had a lot of fun along with Kennon.

This happened on the way home in the car after good swimming...

And here is Daniel REALLY enjoying his icecream, which does not happen very often :) Parents will understand our opinion about sugar and its effects...

Kennon is having a conversation with his Grandma Vickie and Daniel is trying to immitate him while playing with mom who is trying to take a picture of the two of them.

Yes, this is Daniel's favorite fruit! He LOVES grapefruit.

Day at the Beach

2009-10-17T22:16:00.001-07:00

A few Saturdays ago when we woke up we decided to go to the beach to get some breakfast and go rollerskating. It was the best idea and a great time. As soon as we were done with our breakfast we put kids in the stroller and we were off. Since it was such a nice and smooth ride Daniel was the first one to take a two hour nap. Daddy and Kennon were able to play in the sand together while mommy watched Daniel. We got some ice cream and it was Kennon's turn to take a nap - he fell asleep pretty fast too, during his nap mommy and Daniel swam in the ocean and daddy dug a 4 feet deep hole. The boys had a lot of fun playing in it, of course after Kennon's nap.

More of Russia trip

2009-10-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

JK, Ira, Olga and Mr. Joe riding in the train to Moscow for our men to go back home

Daniel could sleep anywhere with his blankie, even in the airplane walkways... Daniel with his Auntie Olya

Great-Grandfather Fyodor with Daniel playing "tratatushki-tra-ta-ta" :)

My dad with Joe and JK in the garden

Kennon in the play-yard Deda and Daniel are getting ready to swim in the river

I got to see my best friend from high school! It was great! The Russian beautiful plains... Kennon is going for a walk with his cousins in the village. Maxim, the boy, turned out to be Kennon's best friend. The church in the Red Square in Moscow Finally we got to see each other in Moscow! And we had some Soviet-tasting ice-cream!!! YUMMM!!!!!!!!!!! With Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (the weather was miserably hot and humid!!) On the Kacheli-karuseli :)

With Deda in the backpack on a walk in the village A forest strawberry - one of the berries I was dreaming to taste again while in Russia!!! It is sooooooo good!

Russia 2009

2009-10-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

Kennon, Daniel, my mom and dad and I went to Russia for one month last June. It was a wonderful and very memorable trip. The kids did great and they are fluent in both languages now!!! Yeah!!! We accomplished our goal with them to "seal" the language, be with their relatives - especially with their great-grandfather and great-grandmother, and be a part of the culture, which they absolutely loved. JK joined us for one week (and it was wonderful) and my sister and her boyfriend came also for about 2 weeks.

Here we are going to "banya" similar to sauna to get clean with birth brooms!!! :)

Us with my Grandfather Fyodor

We were able to eat pleanty of yummie berries while there - this one is the red current.

With my Grandmother Polina

My Grandmother's house

Views from Ivan's Job

2009-05-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

With Ivan and Susan

2009-05-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

We got to stay in NY with our friends from college - Ivan and Susan. It was so good to see them and catch up. It was just wonderful to be with good friends. Thank you guys for your hospitality and company.

After our tour to Ivan's job building, we went out to a Japanese restaurant. The foog was good and it was fun.

Ernst &Young Tour

2009-05-21T10:32:00.001-07:00

Ivan took us to his office building and gave us a tour and it was amazing! From the veiws to conference rooms! We had a lot of fun exploring it and enjoying it.

Central Park

2009-05-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun to explore the Central Park. We even had our portrait made here, but we didn't like and threw it away :)

New York, New York

2009-05-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

The rotating View Lounge for our 5th anniversary with the views of Times Square.

JK bought me a wedding band, which I never had, as my anniversary present.

Bath Time for Brothers

2009-05-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

They have so much fun together taking a bath! I just love watching them!

Daniel is learning how to brush his teeth! At least he doesn't mind it! :)

Disneyland Stop on the way home

2009-05-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

We like to stop by Disneyland whenever we can and this time we were coming back from another trip to Santa Barbara for my mom's doctor appointment. Since it was 5 pm and lot's of triffic we decided to make a stop and take Kennon to a rollercoaster in Toontown. He absolutely loved it. After we got off, he screamed, "Let's do it again, Mommy!" And we did since there were no lines. But the next day both of the boy got a bad flu and were sick for 5 days.

April Birthdays

2009-05-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

We had a handful of birthdays in April and for my mom we took her to Coronado Island and rented bikes and explored around the town. Daniel could not handle the helmet for a long time and it was off pretty quickly.

Daniel's 1st Birthday

2009-05-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, we celebrated Daniel's birthday about a month ago and I finally have time to post some pictures :) Time goes by so fast that I can't believe Daniel is a year old! We got back today from a doctor and Daniel is doing great. He is in 50% for his height and weight. He is quite opinionated and sometimes hard to manage. He also loves to eat - very different from Kennon :). This morning I made some eggs, sausage and pop tart for breakfast. While I was feeding Kennon (yes, I still do that) Daniel finished his breakfast on his own and faster than his older brother! At least I don't have to feed them myself both at the same time :)

New Pictures of the Boys!!!!

2009-03-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Pre-Christmas Photos

2009-02-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

Daniel is 8 months old

Sisters

2008-11-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post this picture of me (Ira) and my sister Olga when we were kids to see if people will find similarities of me and Daniel :) I will have to post one of JK's baby pictures. Olga is 4 years old and Ira is 6 months old...

Daniel is 7 months

2008-11-23T20:25:00.000-08:00

Just for Fun

2008-11-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

Kennon is still in love with Princesses as you can tell!!!

Disneyland

2008-11-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

JK had a conference at Disneyland a few weeks ago. Even though we were pretty sick with Kennon we deciede to go anyway. We left Daniel at home with my parents because didn't want him to get sick. We had a great time with Kennon while Daddy was working :)

Daniel is sitting on his own

2008-11-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

Ready for Some Trouble?

2008-11-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Playing Together

2008-11-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

They usually love spending time together and have fun, but Kennon is not always very gentle as he needs to be :)

Bath Time

2008-11-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

This was the fist time the boys took a bath together! They barely fit in, but had a lot of fun. As you can tell, Daniel didn't want to be disturbed from his toys to take a picture :)

And then Daneil had fun with Kennon on the bed. He absolutely loves his older brother!

Pumpkin Festival with Kennon

2008-11-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

Kennon and mom had a date and went to a Pumpkin Festival where Kennon got to ride on a fire truck, train, and pet live goats.

Halloween is coming up!

2008-10-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

"What do you think we should do?" "I think we should go get some honey.... or may be candies???"

Daniel is 6 months

2008-10-19T20:55:00.001-07:00

I can't believe time is flying so fast and Daniel is already 6 months old. His milestones were learning to roll over, sit down (he still is trying to learn to balance himself, but getting better), eating real food and weighing 19 lb!!! Very different from Kennon but very fun to have a chubby baby :)

Kennon's Bath Time

2008-10-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Kennon wanted to have punk hair during his bath time - he thought he was very handsome :)

Another Friend Visit

2008-09-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

This year I've had a boom of my firends vising from Russia - it seems. I was so excited to hear that my best friend from college will be coming to visit! It was only one day since she was here to work, but it was very sweet!

Daniel is 5 months!

2008-09-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Mickey Mice :)

2008-08-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Phantom of the Opera

2008-08-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

My best friend from Russia came to visit us for a month. It was so nice to have her! She is an opera singer in Moscow right now and we took her to the Phantom of the Opera musical in San Diego. It was fabulous!

Future Sherlock Holmes???

2008-08-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a big and a happy boy!

2008-08-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

When we took Daniel for his 2 months check up, he was in 90th % for his weight and 95th % for his height.

Two brothers share their car seats...

2008-08-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Kennon is 2 and single :)

2008-08-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Daniel is 3 months old

2008-08-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Daniel Watson Shea

2008-05-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

2 Days Old 4 Weeks Old
6 Weeks Old

Most of you know that Daniel Watson Shea was born April 12, 2008, 7 lb 10 oz, 21 inches long. And now he is 6 weeks old.

Here is an announcement that JK send via e-mail:

Dear Friends and Relatives,
Our second son, Daniel Watson Shea was born at 2:30 pm on Saturday, 4/12. He is 7lbs 10oz., 20" long, and has black hair. Ira and Daniel are doing great. Mama thought this would be a breeze after Kennon, our older son, took only 1 hour and 20 minutes. This time she had to work for 12 hours, since the umbilical cord gpt wrapped around Daniel's neck and wouldn't let him out. This gave us quite a scare. He took what seemed like forever to start breathing, but finally did, and managed to escape with only a broken clavicle. The Doctor says this is a common birth injury and should heal just fine.

Ira did very well, and actually said this was easier than last time since she had time to get something for the pain. Because Ira was not in pain, we decided to let Kennon be with us to watch his little brother come into the world. Ira was very good at assuring Kennon that it was a special time, and not to be afraid for Mommy. And Kennon was so happy - as soon as he saw Daniel, he couldn't stop yelling, "New baby! New baby!" Later, he got to hug and kiss his new brother.

Look how pretty Ira looks in the picture for just having had a baby!

Please enjoy the pictures as you rejoice with us with the birth of our new baby. I am very happy to have another son, but this means Daniel probably won't be the last... We think Kennon and Daniel definitely need a sister some day ;)

Love,
J. K. and Ira Shea

Almost over!

2008-04-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Kennon is showing how much he loves his new baby.

My pregnancy is almost over! I can't wait. This time my stomach is much bigger than with Kennon (we compared pictures from previous pregnancy) - hopefully it will come soon!

And I'm Proud to Be an American!

2008-04-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

Officially an American!

This gives us freedom to apply for the greencard for my parents and their problems with visas will be solved!

Right after the ceremony

Denise gave me this beautiful-patriotic bouquet of flowers in the fire truck, which Kennon fell in love with and pushed it off the table :)

Yes, some of you received an e-mail from me announcing my big news! It was wonderful to get done with all the paperwork and "stuff" - if you know what I mean :). The USCIS gave me an appointment for April 15th back in January to have my exam taken and I tried to reschedule it for an earlier date because my pregnancy due date is April 19th. I got approved but they could not find and track my case for a long time. We all thought and were afraid that I will have to wait until my original date and I could have the baby before then. Anyway, the Immigration officer called me yesterday and left me a message on my answering machine to go to their office and have the interview before 4 p.m. the same day or the next day between 1 and 4 p.m. I got that message around 2 p.m. and called JK asking him when to go. His first question was, "Will you have a baby tonight?" I said that I could, so he said that he'll be home right away to pick me up and there we went. I had an hour to review the questions - at least that! We came, he asked me 10 questions, which I ended up answering all correct and asked me to write "I can cook well." And that was it. Very fast and very smooth. He told us to come back the next day for the ceremony. And today was the big day!

Pregnancy

2008-02-13T16:56:00.001-08:00

Here I am 2 months and 1 week before my due day. I do feel like having this baby anytime, but I know the baby is not ready yet and I need to be patient.

We're back!!!

2008-01-27T21:23:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since I posted anything. It has been a very busy time for us lately and in the last couple of months. Holidays, Kennon's being sick for a month, travel, a ton of paperwork for my parents (yes, they are still here and everything is okay; and my mom is doing great with her health, Praise God!!!) and of course my personal stuff. I don't want to bore you with all that. But as you can see Kennon got his first haircut. I had the hardest time seeing it happen, but after being away from him for a week (we took a little vacation) we knew it was time for it to happen. We also got stopped at the Babys R Us to a free portrait for Kennon and here he is!!!

I will post more of our pictures and new probably later in the week when I get a free moment :)

American Idol

2007-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

At the same conference we had to go to a banquet, where the entertainment for the night was a concert from several American Idols from the TV show! It was so neat - I think everybody enjoyed it. They do have incredible voices! I forgot my camera and didn't take any pics of may be our future stars, but I did take the program and posted the program introduction. (Kennon who you can see in the background, stayed with his Grandmother Denise at our hotel room, and he did well! I was so happy since he is getting over his stage where he wants mama all the time now.)

Drinking? Already?

2007-11-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Last week we were at one of JK's business conferences and Kennon and I went out several times to a cafe to get some lunch. Well, this time uncle Graham, who also came to the conference, came along with us since he had an hour break in between the sessions. It was a great help since Kennon is not a good eater! Uncle Graham had to distract him while mom put a spoon of soup into his mouth. It worked every single time, and we overfed Kennon at the end and I felt quite bad. But Kennon surely enjoyed a measuring cup that uncle Graham gave him to have some water, which doesn't really look like a measuring cup at this angle :)

Baby Noah

2007-11-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago our friends from church asked us to babysit their son Noah, which was great fun and a great opportunity for us to introduce a real baby to Kennon before our baby comes. We had such a good time, especially Kennon. Well, I started getting Kennon ready for the new baby to come about a month ago and he is very excited about it. I bought him a book, called "The New Baby" and it is one of his favorites. After reading the book, I usually ask him if he would like to have his own baby and he gets all excited and squeals raising his fists up in the air smiling. He also likes to show how much he loves his new baby by hugging and kissing mama's belly :). Well, when Noah came, Kennon ran to him hugged him and gave him a kiss too. It was so sweet and made me feel so good that he likes babies. Most of the evening I spent holding Noah and Kennon had no problem with that at all. He'd come, hug mom, look at Noah and run away to do his things. Since he did so well, it makes me feel good at this point at least :). And now Noah is his favorite baby. About a week after we had Noah, Kennon woke up one Sunday morning asking for Noah!!! I asked him if he would like to see Noah and Kennon got super excited. So, it was good that it was Sunday - about an hour later we got to see Noah. But ever since that experience with Noah, Kennon never misses any baby that we pass by in the street or the store. He points to him/her and says, "Baby." Of course, we still have some time to keep getting Kennon ready for the new baby, but at least I think we are on the right track, especially with Noah's help!

Comparison

2007-11-11T09:22:00.001-08:00

Here is Kennon at 14 months old and at 10 days old!!!

It looks like we shrunk!!!

Family Photos

2007-11-11T09:12:00.001-08:00

Here are some family portraits. As I mentioned earlier, Kennon is quite an affectionate guy - so he decided to kiss mama in the middle of us taking pictures. I have to admit - I didn't mind that at all and it was very sweet!

Kennon with his Russian Grandparents!

Professional Photos

2007-11-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Last September we did another photo shoot for Kennon's 1st birthday - I know it was a little late - but it's better than never. So, here are some of the pictures that we wanted to share with everyone.

Halloween

2007-11-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

For the Halloween, Kennon was a cowboy with a mustache! We went to 5 different nursing homes to "trick or treat" elderly friends and employees. We started pretty early, around 9 am, to make sure to be back home for Kennon's nap on time. Kennon had a lot of fun in the beginning, especially when he saw that he was receiving lollipops, since it was the only sweet thing that he knew of from me having Prego lollipops when I felt sick in the first trimester and shared some of them with him. Other candies he wasn't so excited about. And we managed for Kennon not to have any sweets that day - amazing! But I did give into his desire of cookies! - Just 2, I think :). He was so cute when he said it - I couldn't resist. In the second half of our journey, Kennon started to get tired and we hurried up and came home for a long-wanted nap at around 1 p.m. And in the evening we went to our church to "Trunk or treat." That was fun too, especially seeing Kennon love the bouncy "blow-up" thing. So far, bouncing is Kennon's favorite thing! So, we stuck around for a while and still had some tears when leaving...

JK is the only one missing a hat!!!

"Lollipop!!! Yum!!!!!"

With one of the employees :)

At the church with a pirate!

Quincy Time with Grandmother Vickie

2007-11-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Quincy for about 5 days for the Harvest Festival. It also happened to be during all the fires in Southern California, so it was nice to be away from the smoke and ashes for a while. It is always so nice to be there. Kennon had the greatest time of all. He rode a horsey, chased chickens, hugged, kissed and patted kitties, played in the dry leaves, rode in a wheelbarrow and had a wonderful time with his Grandma Vickie! We can't wait to go back again there for Christmas. (Ira, of course, enjoyed the cold weather and the beauty of autumn).

Kennon is a very affectionate guy - he hugs, kisses, and shows how much he loves someone with no problems. Here he is showing how much he loves his grandma.

Chrystal Lake

2007-11-02T23:28:00.001-07:00

We went to a Chrystal Lake for a little bit with the whole family while in Quincy. It was so beautiful and nice. Time of relaxation and admiration of God's creation is always wonderful. Danyelle, I hope you remember this place :)
We both sort of closed our eyes here :)

Auntie Anna with Kennon!!!!!!!!!!

Kennon loved playing with rocks and sharing them with mom!!!!!! And he surely had a hard time leaving the place.

"But mom, I don't want to take a picture!!! I want to play!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Horsey

2007-11-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

"I'm a horsey. Get out from my precious way!"

San Diego Fires

2007-11-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

I was able to capture a couple of shots of the San Diego fire about a week ago. It was quite scary to even look at that.

JK's Birthday

2007-10-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

For my honey's birthday we got to have some family time and went to the zoo for a couple of hours before the dinner. It was fun to see Kennon liking different animals. His favorite were fish. He also liked hopping up and down on the curb like his daddy used to do when he was a baby at the San Diego zoo. It was a nice day finishing up with a sushi dinner (JK's favourite).

The Air Show

2007-10-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

We went to the air show the next day after the wedding and of course before all the fires started. It was pretty cool to see all the tricks they were doing. p.s. don't you love his curls????

Kennon freaked out every time the airplanes flew over us. He'd grab onto anyone to find the comfort. After the first time of him being scared, we started closing his ears.

My parents were there too. Of course, my dad being from the military loved it. And Kennon was afraid of the planes after all. But he is over it now and all excited about them again. We are going to Quincy tomorrow on an airplane and it is a big deal!!!! :)

The Bump :)

2007-10-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

I was officially 13 weeks this day. I do have a little bump but not very noticeable yet :) p.s. I did have nice shoes for the ceremony :)

The Bridesmaid

2007-10-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, I had a privilege to be one of the bridesmaids for Vanessa. Here we are at the reception.

Vanessa's Wedding

2007-10-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yeah, last weekend Vanessa got married to Brett Creycraft, a guy from her church. It was a beautiful wedding and very touching! I had a privilege to be one of her bridesmaids and it was very fun to be with her before the ceremony and see her get ready. In this picture, it's her parents, who came from Ecuador, and of course, the bride and the groom!
Beautiful bride!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and a beautiful cake!!! (which was very yummy too :))
Beautiful couple ready to take off for the honeymoon :) The bridal party surprised them and decorated their car for their take off :) Vanessa didn't really want to have that, but I think they had fun too :)

Bad Mood

2007-10-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today Kennon wasn't very happy. He was teething and crying, and the only thing that could calm him down was his favorite toys that he couldn't separate from :)

With Grandpa Sasha

2007-10-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

My dad is a handyman and I think Kennon gets that after his grandpa. Kennon is holding his favorite toys in his hands and enjoying time with grandpa.

California Boy

2007-10-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

"On my favorite Uncle Graham's birthday I get to be cool, just like him: I get to wear his sunglasses and a tie, hold the car keys, and mainly - pretend to drive his car!!!"

Vote: Haircut or not....

2007-10-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

After Kennon woke up and was ready for some breakfast, his daddy joined him at the table. As soon as JK saw him, he could only say, "Honey, he needs a haircut - he looks like a little terror like that!" I still can't make myself to cut that precious hair and curls (you can't see the curls here, but you can in the pics below). He actually has really nice curls and I don't let him be like that during the day. It was just an early morning...

Our Hungry Child...

2007-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

"I'm truly enjoying it, mom!!!"

"Would you like some too?"

"I hope I don't get in trouble!!!"

One day I heard a strange noise in the kitchen but I didn't pay much attention until I realized that the house has been awfully quite for some time. I went to look for Kennon and here was the scene that I saw walking into the kitchen. Kennon got the Kettle Chips from the pantry and was stuffing himself with them! He was surely enjoying them!!! (I had some major cleaning to do afterwards :)) As soon as he saw mom he decided to share. Wasn't it sweet of him! (Probably a typical reaction of a kid when he knows that he did something naughty and is about to get in trouble). He didn't really get in trouble, but did have a lesson about his eating manners and asking for food :)

The Great Trio

2007-10-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, Kennon loves music and his guitar (actually, any guitar that is out there:)) One evening Uncle Graham came to visit with his new guitar and the three men had a blast jamming :)

Gayle's visit

2007-10-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

And we got to see Gayle and Elena, even though it was pouring rain!!!

Joanna's Baby Shower

2007-10-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

We were planning on going to Joanna's baby shower on Saturday, but Vijay decided to come earlier than that. So we had a "private" baby shower in the hospital with Joanna and Vijay. Cameron for some reason wasn't there - but we still had fun!

Isn't he soooo precious!!!!!

Fun on the Couch

2007-09-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

At one of JK's conferences, Kennon found this couch to be very entertaining - he's loved bouncing ever since he was a baby :)

Best Friends

2007-09-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Kennon with his friend Daniel Wagner!

Special from Chelsea

2007-09-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Chelsea is the girl who stays at the Kilns during the year while going to Oxford. Kennon really liked her and she was great. We invited her to come with us to the Lake District with us and she came. She took some of her own pics and edited them for us, which I think turned out amazing!

Family Time

2007-09-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Time with Daddy in the Field

2007-09-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun watching the two of them play in the field. They had so much fun, which makes me so happy too!
JK is playing "kaza" - which means goat in Russian - with Kennon trying to tickle him and of course, Kennon is trying to run away :)

Here Kennon is feeding flowers to Daddy :)

After a long day of play, Kennon is completely out in his carrier :)

The Lake District

2007-09-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

It was so beautiful and peaceful in the country. We had to drive for four hours to get there, but it was worth it. We had such a good time in the midst of me being pregnant sick and wanting to go home - it was a wonderful break for us.

Kennon is showing how big he is in this picture :)

One of the views of the north country

We rented a canoe and had a blast!

I just love Kennon's face in this pic.

This is our rental car - super tiny, but super efficient and zippy (considering that price per galon was about $6 :)

Botanical Garden

2007-09-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty neat place. They had different facilities and outside gardens. This is where JK found one of the tallest banana trees in the world. Of course, as soon as we got to the house, he found that variaty on the internet and some other ones in the US and ordered them. We do have a lot of trees in our garden in La Mesa, but it keeps growing and growing. Now we have about 4 different kinds of bananas, and one of them is called ice-cream bananas. I can't wait until they fruit, which will be at least a couple of years.

Around Oxford

2007-09-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

I was quite happy that I bought this back pack at the thrift store the day before our trip :) It was sooo handy to carry Kennon around in the crowdy places. We got to clime on the roof of one of the buildings with no problems :)

The view was quite nice too :)

Pay attention at what angle this building is!!!
This is Christ Church.

And here is our little precious Kennon - not a baby anymore!

The scenery

2007-09-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

There were many paths that we could hiked to around the area, which we really enjoyed. And the scenery was pretty amazing. It reminded me of home quite a bit (I mean Russia).

The Kilns

2007-09-20T20:53:00.001-07:00

This is the house where C. S. Lewis lived; it is located in Oxford, UK. It has beautiful gardens and a wonderful feel to it. We really enjoyed our time there.

On the way to England

2007-09-20T20:49:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, it was a huge blessing to fly first class. Kennon got all the privileges of it too :)

Did you know?

2007-09-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you might have heard and some might have not - Yes, we are expecting our second child!!! I wanted to post these news before they spread a mile a minute :)

We had our ultrasound, which showed that the baby is about 1 inch long and I was 9 weeks along last Sunday. The baby is due April 19 - one day after my birthday!!!! Quite a present for me this time! We are super excited and a bit nervious to handle a baby and a toddler at the same time :)

Kennon's Important Speech

2007-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Kennon is starting to be very verbal; he can say about 30 words, but of course only if he is in the mood. Apparently, he was in the mood this time but only with his own language :) You can get a hint of what his conversations sound with his grandparents over the phone :)

We're back!!!

2007-09-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

Well, whoever was wondering why I haven't posted anything in more than a month is because we were on vacation! We got back a couple of weeks ago and I'm still catching up with the things that accumulated while we were gone. It was a pretty neat thing how the Lord opened the doors for us to go. JK was getting worn out from his job and he asked me to cross several weeks off in August and September in his calendar for the possible time off. We didn't know where we wanted to go but knew that it should be ministry oriented. Well, about a week after we started thinking and dreaming about our vacation, Anna, JK's sister, said that C. S. Lewis foundation, that she worked for last summer, didn't have anyone to watch the C. S. Lewis's house for three and a half weeks in August and was looking for someone to do so in England, and she asked if we were interested. We knew right away that it was once in a life time chance, plus we were helping them too by doing that. After talking and planning all of the arrangements, off we went to Oxford, England for our long-wanted vacation. The added bonus was that JK's Grand-dad and his wife Judy, who are world travelers, knew we were going with Kennon and upgraded us to the first class with their miles!!! It was amazing!!! We got quite spoiled and I don't know how we will do it in the future :) I know that we will have to :) I will post some pictures in the very near future. But for now, just wanted to say Hello and we are glad to be back home.

Yearly Overview

2007-08-01T13:57:00.001-07:00

July 10, 2007 - 1 Year Old

June 10, 2007 - 11 months old

May 10, 2007 - 10 months old

April 10, 2007 - 9 months old

March 10, 2007 - 8 months old

February 10, 2007 - 7 months old

January 10, 2007 - 6 months old

December 10, 2006 - 5 months old

November 10, 4 months old

October 10, 2006 - 3 months old

September 10, 2006 - 2 months old

August 10, 2006 - 1 months old

Our First family portrait with Kennon

Sleepy and Happy

2007-08-01T13:43:00.001-07:00

This bike/rocker was a present from my Auntie Olga. Oh, men, Kennon has so many toys now and is quite entertained.
This pool was a present from Kennon's grandparents. What a cool thing this is. Kennon gets to swim in his pool almost everyday and he loves it. Sometimes we have a hard time getting him out of it.

This xylophone was a present from my grandma Vickie. Kennon was so happy to get it. It was also one of his favorite toys. Grandma Vickie also gave Kennon his starting collection of books - some are old and very neat stories! What a neat present, especially for Kennon, great reader!

More Birthday Presents

2007-08-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

I didn't really enjoy this hat but I didn't mind it wearing it at times

With my Auntie Anna

" Let's see, can I read the note from my favorite Teddy?" There is a story about this Teddy. One time I stopped by baby GAP and Kennon was getting tired and cranky. So while sitting in his stroller he started pulling all of the baby clothes from the hangers whatever he could reach. So I stopped him and was hurrying to finish and soon I saw this angel sitting in his stroller with a Teddy in his hands, kissing him and saying, "Teddy, Teddy." It was the cutest thing! My parents were with me and gave him that Teddy to calm him dawn. Well, Kennon fell in love with that Teddy. But as a practical mom, knowing that Kennon has a lot of stuffy animals, I put the Teddy back after being done with purchases. Well, right on Kennon's birthday, the Teddy came back to Kennon as a present from his grandpa Sasha and Grandma Vera. It is still his favorite stuffed toy. Happy Ending!!! :)

Most of Kennon's toys were his favorite and this guitar was one of them. Until now he comes and gently plays it. Sometimes they have have duets with his Daddy :)
Kennon's present from his Dad!

Presents' Time

2007-07-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Kennon was quite interested in opening his presents. As you can see in the picture, he is eager to see what kind of toy it was.

Oh boy, this was the last present (good thing) and Kennon's favourite!!! As soon as he saw the propeller (still in the box) he grabbed onto it and didn't want to let it go. When we wanted to take away from him to set it down and thank everybody for coming, he started throwing a fit!!! He wanted to keep playing with his new airplane :) We had to get it out from the box and the rest of the evening Kennon spent riding his new airplane, which is still one if his favourite presents. Thank you, Henry and Olinda, for such a great gift!

This picture we took before the party when JK's cousin Katie and her husband Ricardo came a little earlier to greet the birthday boy. Thank you guys for such a fun gift for Kennon!