New Chapter has begun

So our family has began our new chapter in our lives and that new chapter is adding a new baby to it. That's right, little Kj was born on September 6, 2014 at 5:25pm. He weighed 6lbs 10oz measuring at a whole 20 inches long (no wonder I could feel his every move when I was pregnant, he was cramped). 

I will be posting my "birth story" here soon, so keep an eye out for that :-) 

Just a little bit of the birth experience and our first week as a family of four. My labor and dilvery were quite a bit different than my first baby, this one was much much smoother. The staff at McKay Dee Hospital were just absolutely amazing, I couldn't have asked for better care. 

When it was time to go home, i actually was "ready" to go home. Unlike my first baby where I had extremely bad anxiety and didn't want to leave the hospital and cried uncontrollably the entire drive home. This time around I asked if I could leave early, 5 hours early and I felt good about it. I just wanted to get home to start our new lives and get started on trying to figure everything out, now being a mom of two kids. 

I definently have my hands full with a newborn and a two year, things have been interesting that's for sure. When I took Kj into the doctors the day after I was discharged to get his billi test re-done he had score quite a bit higher than the hospital and required using the lights to help get things moving. My first baby had jaundice pretty bad too but they both pulled through just fine. I have to admit, those lights looked pretty cool. 

Looked like we had pimped out his bassinet lol he actually slept extremely well on those lights. Luckily he only needed them for those 24 hours and when we went back in, his levels had dropped 3.5 points. 

I was very proud of myself that I was able to take him to the doctors when he was 3 and 4 days old with no anxiety (his car seat seems so big that I don't like putting him in but that was all I was stressed about). My first baby, I couldn't leave my house for the first week because of anxiety (we had two deaths in the families while I was pregnant with my first baby my grandpa and my brother in law just within a month of each other, it was an extremely rough emotional time that I believe it had an effect on me that caused my anxiety). 

My sweet daughter has been adjusting pretty well, she absolutely loves her little brother and seriously gives him about 1,000 kisses a day, it's adorable. 

Don't get me wrong, she's definently been acting out a bit more and it hasn't been all smooth sailing but I am proud of the way she has been handling this new change. 

A couple "firsts" we experienced this week were things like, the two kids and myself going to the store, I was a little nervous but we had to go and nobody else was home so away we went and survived quite nicely. Gave both kids a bath at the same time, Kaili'a was in the bath tub and can basically do everything but wash and rinse her hair and Kj was in his own bath tub by her bath tub getting a wash cloth bath. It was a bit crazy and very busy but both kids got cleaned and ready for bed. Kj took a little bottle for grandma while Joseph and I went to the store by ourselves :-) I didn't leave Kaili'a with anyone until she was like 4 months old, I'll tell you what, even though it's only been a week in a half since the hubby and I had any alone time it was much needed and I'm so glad we were able to and get some us time even if it was at the grocery store. 

It's been a fun, challenging, interesting, sleepless week in a half but very enjoyable. I can not believe we've been blessed with another baby and we couldn't be more grateful! 

Here are a few photos of our week! 

Thank you for Reading, 

The Cancillas 

Had to take a break from social media for awhile, I wanted to just focus on my family and my healing. 

Maternity photos are in.

Maternity photos are in and I'm in love with them. 

The other day I said to watch out for them and well they are up and are a huge hit. 

Photo by:Samantha Stockwell 

This one has to be my fav, Kaili'a is actually smiling, you can see the baby bump really well, Joseph looks freaking handsome and I think I'm looking pretty good as well :-) 

Being a photographer myself, I always encourage women to get some kind of maternity photos done, you can dress your body in so many ways to flatter your belly. A tip I give is to get your photos done in your 7th to early 8th month, anything before that, you might be too small to really get a good shot and anything after that you can bank on being too swollen. The magic timing is between the 7th and 8th month. 

Photo by: Samantha Stockwell 

Have fun with your photos to ease your mind, Kaili'a thought it was funny that mommy and daddy were showing their bellys (we tried getting her to do it but that just wasn't happening) so she smiled and it was an easy shot to get. 

Photo by: Joseph Cancilla

It was so much fun taking our maternity photos this time around because we had Kaili'a apart of them. It's crazy how different the feeling was this time was just having Kaili'a be in the photos with us and the belly. I was more excited to have Kaili'a be involved then I was to just take them. 

Photo by: Brody Stockwell

I like to make sure to get just a photo of the hubby and I with the baby bump, it's a fun time to take photos as a couple and be invoked together. 

I have taught my brother and youngest sister to take photos so we were lucky that they were around to help us and to be able to take them while Kaili'a was napping during our couple photos. Gave us that extra little time to bond, it's crazy how doing a little mini couple photoshoot can just do wonders for a relationship :-) 

If you are pregnant I encourage you to get maternity photos done, I know it can feel like the most ridiculous time because let's face it, you're huge, but you'll cherish them so much in the long run. It's okay if you didn't do it with your precious babies, make it a family event and really take the time to find something that flatters the belly, and makes you feel beautiful. No matter what size you are, you are beautiful so embrace it and capture this amazing time in your life. 

Thank you for Reading, 

Tara Cancilla 

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Traveling with a toddler.

Traveling with a toddler isn't the easiest thing I've done before.

All in all Kaili'a did quite well for a 10.5 hour car ride, I was very impressed with how she acted. 

We made sure to take stops often and she was able to get out and walk around and explore the outdoors (or the inside of a store) and I really believe that helped, A LOT! 

We had snacks and milk to keep her tummy happy, plus toys to keep her entertained. 

The roads were clear, weather was great all the way up until the last maybe 20-30 minutes of the drive, then we hit snow. 

I think Joseph was more miserable than Kaili'a, his allergies were just horrible and sitting for 10.5 hours wasn't helping. 

The roughest part of the first night was when we tried putting Kaili'a down for bed. She went down easily but was up crying within 30 minutes and then again and again and again, a total of 6 times. 

I know a few things factored into her rough night; first new place, second overly tired from the drive and thirdly her back teeth are coming in. Talk about a rough life for a toddler lol and her parents. 

It's not easy keeping up with an extremely busy toddler, let alone on limited sleep. 

Hopefully tonight will be better for all of us. 

I'm open for any tips and tricks from parents that have figured it out, so please leave a comment or e-mail. 

Loving being around family and being a parent is totally worth all the challenges that come with it. 

Thanks for Reading and Happy Holidays! 

Tara 

New Holiday family photos.

New Holiday family photos! Coming from the beaches of Southern California, Happy Holidays from The Cancilla Family! 

We hope you all have a great Christmas and New Years, travel safe! 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara 

Playing at the Beach.

Playing at the Beach 

Today my good friend Candace and I wanted to go for a walk to get some exercise in and to get the kids out of the house. Luckily out here in Sunny Southern California we have amazing weather right now. 

My husband works from his home office on Fridays and he decided he wanted to go to the beach and work from there. So Candace and I decided to join him, while he worked from the beach we walked the boardwalk. 

One thing with walking outside with kids, they can start to get frustrated with sitting in the stroller for so long. They want to get out and play, so we found this playground in Oceanside ON THE BEACH! Can you stay perfect location? We were able to get our walking in, the kids got to play at the end and we got to enjoy this wonderful weather! 

It's so much fun when everyone is happy. This has helped us be able to live an active lifestyle along with our kids being active as well. Get creative and see what you and your kids can do to be healthy! 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara 

Fun Play Date.

Fun Play Date. 

We  had such a good day today. The weather was perfect and it was so nice to get outside. Being a stay at home Mom can make you a little crazy if you don't get out and get some fresh air everyday. Candace, Joseph, William myself and Kaili'a all went for a walk, stopped at the park so that the kiddos could get their exercise and all in all Mamas got a 3.24 mile walk in. 

The app I use to track our walks is Runkeeper and that syncs with my UP band by jawbone. I love technology!! 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara 

Always Believe.

Always Believe That Something Wonderful Is About To Happen! 

I will admit this is definitely something I have to work on every single day. My personality is the type that can quickly turn to the worst possible outcome to anything. This quote is so perfect for me to think about 100% of the time. 

This is a quote that I want to put up on my wall in our home because something wonderful always happens more often then not. 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara

Baby girl with Mama.

Baby and Mama makin it happen! 

Baby girl is with Mama at a business meeting. Gotta start them off right while they are still young :) 

My baby girl!

I just recently became a mommy on September 27, 2012 to my little girl. It's a day that completely changed my life forever. The new outlook on life is unbelievable, the love I feel and share is like a feeling I've never experienced before. I never knew my love for my husband could grow so quickly in the way that it did when I seen him with our daughter for the first time. I'm looking forward in sharing this new journey with you and maybe what I can offer helps you in some way with your life!

Our Family

We are the Cancillas!