i quit

I quit the blog! Who needs a blog when Facebook is around? Not this girl. To sweeten this sad news, here's a quick update.

Reed Stephen born July 13th at 4:58pm 7 lbs 7 oz

two, dos, duex

WHAT?! Mackenzie is TWO? When did that happen? As I sit back and think about the last year, I'm reminded of moments of wonder, moments of frustration, moments of pride and moments of love. Mackenzie has been such a blessing and is truly a wonderful little girl who makes every day worth living! So when it came time to celebrate her big day, we opened TONS of gifts and partied in style and fun. At one point during her party I heard screams coming from down the hall and found Mackenzie and her two best friends Reilly and Jameson jumping on her bed!

wedding-mania 2011 & mom's day

We kicked off wedding mania with a trip to So Cal to celebrate Jeremy and Jenna who got married on March 20th. Kenz got to stay and play with CeeCee and Poppa and Blake and I got to bunk with the soon-to-be Stephans and the Eckhardts. We, read Blake and the others, celebrated with LOTS of drinks all weekend long which brought a lot of hilarious moments to the weekend. Next stop was Seattle to celebrate with Mark and Sonja who were married on April 9th. We brought Tamu up from Portland to stay with Kenz while Blake and I had a stay-cation in the city! We had a great time karaoking and dancing with the now Horvaths, Miss Karissa and the Smiths! Final stop was in Vancouver Canada where we celebrated Gord and Christy's wedding on May 7th. Kenz stayed home with one of her favorite people Tonya while we braved the stormy weather... oh boy... and attempt to celebrate Mother's day in style. Unfortunately the florist and hotel could not pull it together prior to our departure back to Seattle to help Blake with his Mother's day surprises. And honestly, Kenz couldn't pull it together either and tantrumed all day. We had a bit of a re-due the following weekend, but all in all... looks like Mom's Day 2012 will be better than 2011... at least I hope it is!

BLUE!

We couldn't wait... the ultrasound appointment kept us anxious for weeks! Today was the day. It was a snow day at school so Kenz got to join us for the big news. We came in to the room and our 2 year old started acting like one... into everything, running around and well, not listening. So out she went with Blake to wait in the waiting room until we were done. The tech was nice enough to keep the news to herself while placing a card in an envelope so that we could find out together. As we left the office, we looked at each other and I handed the envelope to Blake. He opened it and saw little blue feet...a smile appeared on his face and read the card to me. It's a boy!! We couldn't be more thrilled to round out our family with a sweet little boy!!

generations live on

My grandparents cousins have been wonderful to our little family and I am so grateful for our relationship. They love and adore Mackenzie and soon our little boy. We all look forward to the times that our family gets to be together with our cousins. Mackenzie and Lila have a special bond as much as my grandma and I had. I'm thankful that Mackenzie gets this brief glimpse into that side of our family. On this day, Mackenzie was given Lila's precious lamb and doll collection to play with, and a special blanket. A blanket that my grandmother made, a blanket that Mackenzie now loves and plays with every day.

Bunnies and Eggs... oh my!

Easter traditions have started... and this Jewish girl LOVES it! Mackenzie woke up on Easter Sunday with a note from the bunny. A scavenger hunt began... off she went one place to another until she found the big basket!! In the afternoon we ventured over to the Castagno's for Easter dinner and the egg hunt with all the kids! Kenz had a wonderful time playing and hunting for eggs!

laidlaw 3.5

We did a family photo shoot to mark the end of the Laidlaw 3 to the beginning of Laidlaw 4. My friend Sarah was kind enough to shoot us at the famous Gasworks Park and she made quite the impression on Kenz. She now asks me to go to the park so she can play with Sarah who is "super fun". Thanks Sar!

single daddy week

Although Blake travels for work regularly, it's usually only during the week, not me. Typically when I travel it's over a weekend and now that it's time for the big housewares show in Chicago, Blake has found a week with just him and our princess. Below are a few pictures from my trip to Chicago where I got to see Rachael and Karissa (I promise I did work while I was there) and also the pictures that I received from Blake from his Daddy and Kenz time! I love them!

... to be continued...

My apologies for the lack of blog posts in the recent months... if you still follow our blog. I have drafted several posts but have run into awful computer problems in the last few weeks. I believe we have lost some pictures from our computer to which I'm devastated about. Once our computer comes home from the "Geek Squad" I'll try and update what I can. Until then, here is an adorable picture of our baby girl and the new baby on the way....

dentist

Brusha-brusha-brusha!!! Mackenzie went to the dentist today for her first visit and did great!! We are happy to report no cavities, A+ from the doctor on her teeth brushing and we got confirmation that her 4 missing teeth are okay... no need to fret (whew) that there is an issue that they are still not in.

sick

Sick ugh-in! Mackenzie got another awful cold and spent the week doing nebulizer treatments... poor little face still looks cute with her dinosaur mask!

single momma

Big kudos go out to all the single moms out there... not sure how they do it! Mackenzie and I spent the last week without Blake while he worked in Vancouver. Gratefully he came home over the weekend but it was still a tough grind. Although we had the daily routine down, nothing is normal when daddy is gone. Kenz and I missed him terribly, thankfully we had each other!

Huddy

Today was a sad day for our little family... we have lost our beloved Hudson. After months of suffering from seizures it was clear to us that he was not living a happy life and Blake and I made the dreadful decision to put him down. At almost five years old, he graced us with love, laughter and taught us many wonderful life lessons. Huddy, thank you for all the wonderful memories, you are loved and missed!

Hudson Hammer Laidlaw

3.17.08 - 1.11.11

twenty eleven

We have rung in the new year in true style... well if going to bed at 12:05... then yes we did! We took a drive south to Portland to play with the rest of the Laidlaw crew. We did a catch up of Christmas, watched all the cousins play together and then celebrated the new year with a cocktail for Blake and pillow for Shay! We are looking forward to the amazing year that 2011 will bring to our family! Cheers to all of you!

Sunny Christmas

Sunshine at Christmas? Unheard of? Not in Southern California!! We spent the holiday with CeeCee and Poppa in California and had a wonderful time playing in Kenz's red rocking chair, opening presents and seeing lots of wonderful friends.

Chrismikkah... Hanumas...

Whatever it is in our house it means family!! Although I lit the candles EVERY night for Hanukkah (not sure that I've done that before), Mackenzie was only able to light them with me a few times! I told her to say "happy hanukkah" and she says, "happy chalk-ca!" My heart melted! After Hanukkah was over we decorated our house for Christmas and picked up our tree from our favorite farm, Enchanted Winds in Issaquah, our annual tradition. We also went to see Santa, our friend Mike, and Kenz was NOT having as much fun as last year!! She was scared of Santa and his friendly horses.

Freeman/Laidlaw Turkey Run

The Freeman's are coming! The Freeman's are coming!! It was almost like an invasion but a wanted invasion!! My dad, Mom Gen and my sisters came to conquer Covington and that they did! There were many highlights that included food, football and fun family times! From a game of Apples to Apples to celebrating Hanukkah, to seeing more family to eating A LOT of food, we had SO much fun with my family. Here are a few (okay a lot of) moments that were captured...

Luncheon with the Cousins

Coloring time with Nana G

don't mind the marker nose

Chill time with Zeyda

I'm a little scared that she looks so comfortable in this position!

Washington and Wisconsin playing at the SAME time... what to do???

2 televisions of course!!

Blake and his turkey!! YUM-O!

Peek-a-boo Mommy!

Kenz is LOVED!!

Aunties Marissa and Rachael

Freeman/Laidlaw Turkey Day 'RUN'