2012?!?

It's herreeee, 2012!

I failed to update as often as I would have liked in 2011. Maybe we'll do better this year.

Kayla did finally celebrate the anticipated 4th birthday. We gathered all of her cousins except for Abigail, and grandparents to Tokyo Steakhouse for dinner. Kayla was so excited about opening her presents, she hardly noticed anything else, and certainly didn't want to eat...I made her a rainbow cake and she was pretty interested in that! Cake and sweets are her absolute favorite. She shakes when she gets excited to get a piece of something. We were at a a friend's birthday party over the summer, Brooklyn, and Kayla got her piece of cake and then went up to Brooklyn's Mom and said, "I think my tummy is telling me something. It's telling me it needs more cake." We all got a good laugh out of that.

For Halloween Kayla dressed up as Dora and we met up with her friend Kate and Kate's Mom and Dad, Trey, Ashley and Eddie, and Addie, and Tiffany. We didn't trick or treat in a very busy area, but it was just enough for the kids to get out in their costumes for a little candy.

Thanksgiving was low key. A dinner at my Dad's and at Cary's parents house. Kayla and Pawpaw put on a puppet show for us. It was cute.

We had a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas. I checked out a book that had 25 legends of Christmas, and as we opened each box on our Advent tree, we read about one of the legends. Kayla loved doing that. She had a blast putting the ornaments on the tree and playing with my nativity set. When we would ride down the road at night Kayla would shout, Christmas lights!!! every time we passed a decorated house. We went to Callaway Gardens to see their light display with Nana and Pawpaw and Kayla loved doing that. We also went ice skating, but Kayla was less than graceful on the ice. Her favorite part of the doing that was a cookie and hot cocoa.

Kayla spent most of Christmas with her Dad, but we were able to spend Christmas morning together. Kayla passed out all of the presents and had a special present picked out for Nana. I let her pick something for everyone and for Nana she chose a pillow and blanket. She was absolutely thrilled to give it to her. Kayla got some puzzles, clothes, stuffed animals, books, and some art things. She is always very appreciative of gifts.

Over the Christmas break while I worked, Kayla spent time with Nana and Pawpaw and played with Pawpaw a lot. They have a very special bond.

I am looking forward to a fabulous 2012. Kayla has started ballet classes that are held at her school and she seems to really enjoy them so far. Can't wait to see what else she shows interest in and what other adventures we have in store!

I almost have a 4 year old!

Time goes by too quickly! I cannot believe summer has come and gone and that fall has only just begun and it's already freezing out! The colors of the leaves are perfect right now.

Kayla had a great summer. She spent her days off school at Nana Shu's house and really enjoyed it. We went swimming at the lake in our neighborhood, went to the pool, visited Mimi in Maryland, went to the park and library, and she spent time with some of her friends, Trey and Addison. School started in early August. She's back at Chapel Hill Christian school this year and is in the older 3 year old class. Her teacher is Mrs. Dancy, and so far Kayla is having a great year! We just had parent teacher conferences yesterday and Kayla got all "G's" for Good. Her teacher said she is very smart and ahead of her classmates.

Kayla's best friend Kate is in the younger three year old class, but they get to have lunch, naptime, and after care together. She seems to have lots of friends and spreads her joy and energy to others.

She started playing soccer in September and has about 3 games left for the season. The very first game was pretty rough because she was angry she wasn't scoring a goal. Lots of crying!!! We talked to her about being a good teammate and every other game has been great. She has scored a goal in almost every single game and the important thing is she running around and having fun. She's really fast!

Kayla still loves to read books by making up her own words. It's always entertaining! She also still loves to color and tells me she wants to be an artist when she grows up.

On the food front, Kayla still has a major sweet tooth! She will eat anything labeled "dessert". She told me a couple of weeks ago that the only foods she liked were pb&j, pizza, and macaroni and cheese. So I've got to figure out a way to get this girl loving her veggies! She will eat them but I have to make her! My latest trick is her rolling a dice for how many bites she has to take. If she ever rolls a 1, it's her lucky day!

Kayla is very excited about her birthday. She asks me every day how many more days it is.

I can't believe she is almost four. She has brought me more joy than I thought possible and I love her more than words could ever express. I hope she always knows that my love for her will never change.

Loving Spring!

With warmer weather there seems to be more to do and boy have we been filling up our schedule!

Easter weekend was lots of fun! Kayla had an Easter party at school and then the Saturday before Easter we had some friends over (Jake, Tiffany and their little girl Addison, and Ashley, Eddie, and their son Trey). They dyed Easter eggs and hunted for eggs all night long! By Sunday Kayla told me she was tired of hunting eggs. We had a great celebration at church and a nice lunch out. We needed naps Sunday afternoon and then we spent the rest of that night hiding and hunting for more Easter eggs! Kayla loved her Easter basket from me and Nana Shu. Lots of goodies!

I used a Resurrection Eggs kit I purchased to tell Kayla the story of Easter. She had lots of questions and I hope that some of it will stick with her.

Last weekend Kayla had a special "first". A camping trip! My Dad, Donna, Kayla, and I drove to Vogel in North GA with Cary's truck and a pop-up camper. We arrived around 6:30pm and began to set up camp. Kayla was so excited and was running all around. We grilled hamburgers and ate baked beans for supper. We were all starving! It got dark quickly and Kayla was very cautious as we warned that a bear had been spotted scavenging for food. We roasted marshmallows but Kayla didn't like them all burned!

We finally nestled in to our beds and it sure was nice to have a warm body next to me, it was cold! The next morning we had bacon, fruit, and waffles. Yum! Kayla said breakfast was her favorite part but did not enjoy her hands being cold. There was a playground in walking distance so we spent a good bit of time there and I was able to hike a little. We headed home shortly after. It was a beautiful park and just the right amount of time for me...I'm not much of a camper. I'm glad we got to do it.

Kayla's school year is winding down and I can hardly believe it! Tomorrow I get to visit her school for a special Mother's Day brunch. May 16th Kayla gets to attend a Pony Party at a farm and May 17th is a special water play day at school. I'll try to get some pictures up soon!

Spring Break

Kayla was on Spring Break last week. I should have planned a trip for us but I guess I wasn't thinking too far ahead this year.

I had to work so Kayla spent most of the week at Nana Shu's. They took a trip to the library one day and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. She had a good week but started getting a cold mid-week. Thursday was my day off so we had a really fun day. We went to the library, Chuck-e-cheese, and McDonalds.

Friday evening Kayla was very draggy and her cough was bad. Friday night neither of us slept much because she was coughing and crying all night. Poor thing :(

Saturday we went to the Dr. and found out she had an ear infection. She got several prescriptions and by late Saturday she was feeling better already. We dyed Easter eggs and painted pictures on the back porch since it was a nice day out. Saturday she slept great so we decided to spend our last day of "vacation" by taking a trip to the zoo. Kayla was a little whiny and the animals were not very active, so I think the highlight of the trip were her two rides on the carousel.

We'll be celebrating Easter soon. Kayla will be having her first performance in chapel on April 19th.

Springtime and Growth

It's hard to believe my last post had pictures of Kayla in a warm jacket and snow all over! It feels so great right now in sunny GA. High 70's and flowers blooming everywhere. Spring makes me think of growth and let me tell you growth is a funny thing. Sometimes things seem to take a long time to grow and other times it happens so quickly!

A few highlights from the past months:

I took an Anatomy class that meant I had to be in Newnan very early in the mornings so my parents were kind enough to allow me to drop Kayla off with them. They would fix her breakfast and take her to school 2 times a week. Such a blessing! Those early mornings were hard though...I was usually getting Kayla out of bed! Thankfully I am done with that class and will now have another class 2 times a week, but at night. Kayla's Dad and my parents will help with that...again couldn't do it without them!

In February Kayla had a Valentine's Day party at school. She had a great time getting Valentines from all her friends and decorating (and eating) a big cookie! Mommy didn't know until the day of that I was supposed to get Valentines...how did I miss that memo? I came through though :)

Kayla went to a fun birthday party for Eva Duffy. They had a moon bounce, music, lots of food, cake, cookie decorating, ponies, and a pinata! Kayla and Mommy had a blast. We also had a successful Happy Visit to the dentist - no cavities! Also in February I ran a half marathon in Orlando, FL. My Mom came to stay with Kayla and it was so nice having her here knowing Kayla was in good hands. They did a lot of fun things and made lots of memories. My favorite surprise getting back was seeing beautiful violas planted in my flower boxes! Kayla is supposed to help me remember to water them because they "get thirsty".

It has warmed up in March and with daylight savings we are enjoying getting outside more - winter seemed so long! Kayla is so good about playing by herself...her imagination is very vivid. I usually exercise when I get home and she does very well entertaining herself. Then we fix dinner, get a bath, and read a story before bed. It's a nice little routine.

Kayla still enjoys school and will be going back to Chapel Hill Christian in the fall. They have to wear uniforms next year. It will be nice not to have to worry about what she'll wear from day to day.

Kayla has been sleeping great in her bed all night, no bedwetting, and is really growing so quickly. I can't believe I will have a 4 year old on my hands soon enough! It's a little bittersweet because I love her sense of wonder and innocence right now. She just soaks everything in and really seems to enjoy life. She talks soooooo much! Sometimes it drives me crazy but she always ends up bringing a smile to my face.

Sometimes I can be a little hard on her but I really want her to know just how much I love her and want what is best. I've started a notebook where I write down one thing for the day that I want to share with her. I hope I can keep that up!

She got a haircut last week. Here's a picture:

Snow and Ice!

Sunday night we were hit hard with a snow storm. We got about 4 inches of snow through the night and as the week went on it all turned to ice. Schools were closed all week. Kayla and I stayed home together for three days and it was great. It was nice not having to leave the house for anything and we got to spend some time together.

We played in the snow a little but weren't able to make a snowman. Kayla got cold pretty fast but I think she enjoyed herself.

Wednesday I braved the roads and took her to my parents house. Well today the roads are way worse than yesterday so Kayla is now snowed in at my parents and I'm here. Outside my house 4 vehicles ran off the road or got stuck. I'm very thankful I made it safe and sound. My car is actually parked at the top of a big hill and I had to walk home. Again, thankful I wasn't with Kayla during that!

Happy New Year!

I briefly tried to explain to Kayla the concept of New Year's. I guess she got it because Monday night she slept in her bed all night but called for me over her monitor in the middle of the night. When I went in to check on her she was sitting up and happily pronounced, "Happy New Year!".

It was too sweet for me to even be annoyed so I tucked her back in, smiled, and went back to bed :)

Saying Goodbye to 2010!

I really wish I had done better at updating! So much has happened...

One reason that I haven't is because Kayla's Dad and I have divorced. The past few months have been rough and I wasn't sure how everything would end up. Right now we get along just fine and Kayla seems to be adjusting OK. I know she will struggle with her parents not being together but I hope to show her that we both love her very much and want what is best for her.

Let's see...Kayla is still enjoying pre-school. She does lots of painting and crafts and is has lots of friends at school. Kayla knows all of her shapes and colors, can count to 20, and speaks like a four year old! She loves puzzles, coloring, books, and of course her Nemo blankets! She is full of imagination and silliness.

Halloween (Kayla's birthday) was lots of fun. She had her birthday party at Chick-fil-A and had friends and family. The highlight of the night was when the big cow came out. She really loved it! I made her cake and of course Chick-fil-A handled the food. Kayla dressed up like Blue's Clue's this year and we went trick or treating twice. She was still a little timid this year but I think she thought getting candy from people was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure I ate all the chocolate.

Thanksgiving came and went and we had a great time celebrating.

Kayla had a follow up visit for her heart murmur. The defect is still there and we have another appointment in June 2011 to see if it has been resolved. As of today she is in great health and besides a couple of sniffles, she has been free from sickness this year!

Christmas was great fun for Kayla this year. She really enjoyed her Advent calendar (I put jelly beans in each box), and she of course had fun opening presents, baking cookies, and looking at Christmas lights. She was able to spend Christmas Day at my parents and at Cary's parents. Christmas morning she "wrapped" two presents up for herself...her two Nemo blankets!

Kayla spends a lot of time at Nana and Papa Shu's house and loves that. She also enjoys when Mimi comes to visit. She's not much a phone talker...just like me!

As we say goodbye to 2010 I am amazed at how time flies. I really cannot believe my little girl is 3! It makes me sad that she will be grown up before I know it, but I am also so thankful for her budding personality and can't wait to see what type of person she becomes. She is already very sweet and tender-hearted, loves to share and see everyone happy. So far so good!

Bring on 2011!!!

Long Time Coming

Wow, I really let time get away from me! We are alive and well and Kayla is almost 3! I cannot believe how time flies. I have to say the older she gets, the more I enjoy her and am amazed by her personality. She is a little ball of energy, excitement, and curiosity, and silliness.

I will try and recap some summer highlights:

-Kayla stayed for a week at Nana Shu's while I went on a mission trip to Honduras. She did great!

-Kayla made a few trips to the pool and really enjoys swimming like a big girl with her arm swimmies on

-She is completely potty trained! She has an accident once in a blue moon at night but I am so proud of her!!!

-We took a trip to Mimi's in August and visited the fair

A major change we have undergone is that Kayla is in preschool three days a week. She goes to Chapel Hill Christian School and so far I am very pleased. She adjusted pretty well and I think the interaction with kids and new activities has really helped to stretch her and help her mature. She learns little songs and is so proud when she gets to carry her backpack!

We still go on walks in her stroller but she is getting almost big enough to walk alone :( I get a little sad when I think about the big girl she will become and eventually long for complete independence. It's a great reminder to enjoy what time I have with her.

Here are a few summer pictures:

Kayla "milking a cow" at the fair in MD.

First day of preschool!

Getting her first ever pedicure!

Getting her Egyptian makeup done at Vacation Bible School.

On a ride at Six Flags

Happy Easter 2010!

We had a great Easter despite Kayla having a terrible cough/cold. We woke up to a bright sunny day and went to Easter breakfast at church. We had our Easter service and then went to my Dad's house for lunch. We had ham, macaroni & cheese, green beans, carrots, fruit salad, and deviled eggs. We also made an Easter basket cake for dessert. Kayla hunted for eggs and we had a nice day sitting on the porch and enjoying each other's company.

The arrival of spring

We are finally starting to thaw out a bit. It seems like it's been a long, cold, and rainy winter! We recently had a fence built in the back yard and it's nice to let Kayla out when the sun is shining and let her explore.

We recently dyed Easter eggs and Kayla had a blast decorating the eggs with stickers. Stickers are still her number one obsession. Who knew they could be so entertaining?!?

I signed Kayla up for a preschool that will start in the fall. It is called Chapel Hill Christian School and they go up to 5th grade. I'm not sure how long she will attend but I was very impressed with the facility. Kayla seems excited.

She is doing well with potty training. Almost 100% success at home during the day but I don't quite trust her at night or out for long stretches of time. She went through a spell of waking up and wanting to come to our bed and we let her for quite some time. I decided I wanted my sleeping space back (three in a queen is a tight fit) and we made a treasure box with cheap toys for her to go to if she stays in her bed. It works for the most part but she still occasionally wants to come sleep with us.

Kayla is really starting to interact with other kids and people. She's very friendly. She also got an adorable haircut - a little bob. I really like it and it makes her look so grown up.

Kayla's favorite place to eat is Chick-fil-A - a girl after my own heart. We go weekly for some nuggets, fruit, maybe some fries, a little ice cream cone, and a ride down the slide. So fun.

Applying stickers to the dyed Easter eggs:

Checking out the process:

A trip to the zoo:

A good pic of her new haircut:

Some Funnies from Kayla

Me: Kayla, do you what animal honey comes from? (I guess I should have said insect)

Kayla: Pooh Bear!

Me: Oopsie Daisy!!! (Donna has two dogs named Daisy and Peanut"

Kayla: Oopsie Peanut!!!

Kayla takes my bra and tries to put it on and says, "Look Mommy I'm wearing your boobies!"

Kayla pottied on the floor and said, "Look Mommy it's a circle! We can make smiley face!"

Instead of saying "I don't know" she says "I di bon't know"...it's the cutest thing ever

While at the church nursery she was given a small cup of water (no lid or straw). She looked at Mrs. Julie (her sitter) and said, "Help me get the water out!"

While saying prayers she will often pray for Nemo - her favorite blanket

She has made up a game called "Puddling". It involves taking our belts out of the belt drawer and sitting on them, tossing them around. I don't really get it.

We lost one of Kayla's shoes at a local restaurant called The Lazy Donkey. I told Kayla we would need to call Lazy Donkey and find out if they had her shoe. She put her hand to her mouth and said "Lazy Donkey!!!!" I guess she called him!!!

New Year/New Update

Hello all! Happy New Year a little late. I cannot believe it is already February. We are doing well at the moment. I will try to recap our holidays and get everyone up to speed.

Christmas was good. We spent Christmas Eve and Day with Dad, Donn, and Adam and the 26th with Cary's family. Kayla had a great time opening and testing out all of her new gifts. She received a toy vacuum cleaner, a xylophone, a dollhouse, a farm play set, a Dora sticker book (probably her favorite gift), a dancing Dora doll, some coloring books, a new outfit (she's in a 3T already), some stamps, a wooden alphabet game, and the "big" gift for the year was a mini laptop from Poppy Darden. She has her own computer!!! She plays games on it every now and then but I suspect she will use it more in a few months.

We had great food and great family fellowship.

New Year's Eve day we went to the Georgia Aquarium and the Varisty. Kayla loved the fish and especially finding her favorite, the Nemo fish. She also loved the 4D movie theatre where we were splashed with water and hit with jellyfish "tentacles". We had a quiet New Year at our house and made corn chowder and fruity pebble rice krispy treats. Kayla and I did not make it to midnight. It was nice to stay home for a change.

Other January highlights:

Mimi came for a visit in mid-January and brought a bunch of goodies for all of us to open. Kayla got some dress up shoes, a new coloring book, some bubbles, and another sticker book (she REALLY loves stickers). My Mom took one of our cats Jenny home with her to live and she has adjusted very well. We had a little bit of snow in January so we got to walk around in that for a day or two. The roads were very icy and we we didn't travel until it thawed out. We had fun staying around the house for a few days.

I am still working part time and home with Kayla on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We usually go to they gym in the mornings and then either to my women's group at church, the library, or meet with a friend. We usually do lunch at Chick-fil-a once a week. Kayla takes an afternoon nap for about 1.5 hours and then we color, do stickers, or play in our basement. She is a lot of fun and every day is a new adventure to her. She still has quite a few tantrums and can be whiny but the more she is able to communicate, the better that gets. She can play by herself quite a bit and loves to read a big stack of books. We're ready for the weather to warm up so we can play outside more!

At the 4D theatre at the Aquarium - too cool!

Thanksgiving 2009

I have been pretty bad at updating my blog on time. With facebook I don't feel the need to update as often.

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Norway, Maine as I have done since I was 9 years old. We haven't been since 2006 so it was nice to see everyone. We had a very early flight schedule heading up. Our plane left at 6am and we had one connection. Kayla did quite well with everything. When we landed we met Parnie and Mom at the airport and went to do a little shopping in Freeport. We decided to poke around the giant L.L. Bean store and we saw lots of goodies in there. Kayla had fun in the kids area and went inside the camping tents they had set up. Mimi bought her a new pair of shoes as well. After eating lunch we headed up to the farm where Kayla met Mary, Parnie's Mom. Kayla did lots of stickers to pass the time and also helped Mary decorate her Christmas tree.

On Thanksgiving day we spent the morning preparing for our big feast. We went for a little walk on the dirt road all decked out in orange so the hunters would not mistake us for an animal. For our meal we had turkey, pork, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, turnips, cranberry sauce, broccoli casserole, corn pudding, and four different kinds of berry pie for dessert. All very good! We also celebrated Christmas that night and Kayla had fun opening her gifts. We all got lovely things.

Friday we took a trip into town to shop around a little bit and then got ready to head home for out late flight. Again, Kayla did great traveling and we were all very happy to be back home after a long day. I turned the heat off while we were away so we came home to a chilly 49 degrees in the house!

Kayla has been waking up every night since that trip and sleeping in our bed. Not sure how long this phase will last. I don't mind her sleeping with me, but Cary does, so we need to figure something out.

Kayla's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a great party for Kayla on 10/31. We celebrated at my Dad's house with Dad, Donna, Cary and his parents, Aunt Carmen, Uncle Todd, Abigail, Haley, Kayla's cousin Luke, Ryan, Amy and her two kids Francie and Charlie, Elias and his two kids Eva and Nathaniel, Katie and Aaron Ashlock, Kayla's babysitter Ashley and her daughter Gracie, Jake, Tiffany, and their daughter Addison, and Tiffany.

We had a Dora fiesta so for lunch we had chili, hot dogs, and chips and dip. We had a cookie cake for Kayla's cake and she really enjoyed us singing to her. We let her open presents and she loved each and every one. Finally we did a pinata and the kids loved that too.

Kayla's all ready for her Dora party!




Here we are singing Happy Birthday to Kayla - so sweet!


Because Kayla's birthday is on Halloween, she had a really busy day! Kayla is sitting in her new reading chair and reading her new Dora book (both birthday presents) and dressed up in her Halloween costume. She made a beautiful Minnie Mouse and had a blast trick or treating. She tried to go inside people's houses when they opened the door.


We had a 2 year check up for Kayla on 11/3. She is 36 inches tall and 30 pounds. The Dr. gave a mostly good report, but has referred us to a cardiologist to have a heart murmur that he heard investigated. Many people that I have spoken with say it is probably innocent. This appointment is 12/2.

Some of Kayla's funny sayings:

She says "I need want some....water, milk, etc." She says need and want.
If she doesn't want to eat something she says "No please" instead of No thank you.

Pumpkin Patch

Our family recently drove to the Blue Ridge Mountains and stayed the night with friends. We went to a huge pumpkin patch, Burt's Pumpkin Farm. I've never seen so many pumpkins at once! We also did a hayride and Kayla had a great time. Here are a few photos:

Kayla's all healed up!

After 3 1/2 weeks Kayla seems to be 100% with her arm and shoulder now! I'm so happy and amazed she healed so quickly - praise God!

The second week of her injury she got a nasty bruise and has a small lump over the place where the bone was broken. Now there is no bruise and the lump is smaller.

I'm now getting her birthday plans together for her party on 10/31 which will be a Dora the Explorer fiesta! Can't believe she's almost 2!

First Broken Bone

I suppose it is a rite of passage but it was still hard nonetheless. Kayla fell down the stairs while we were in MD this week and broke her collarbone. She should heal up in four weeks and there is really nothing we can do other than try to keep her from putting weight on her arm. I'm so thankful she didn't have further injuries! She continues to amaze me...she is learning quickly not to use her arm and is really quite a trooper despite the pain I'm sure she has.

Two's: Terrible, Terrific, Traumatic???

Kayla is 2 months away from being 2! I'm excited for her and slightly worried about me and my sanity.

Everyday we have at least 5 (on a good day) to 10 (on a bad day) tantrums when Kayla realizes that the world doesn't completely revolve around her! She has the most trouble when I'm trying to get out of the house for something (it's Murphy's law that the faster I want to go the slower she will be). She has to feed herself, walk down the stairs herself, climb in her seat herself, and she of course decides which pace she is going to do all of this in. So when Mommy comes to speed things along - WAAAAHHHH! We have a tantrum!

The really mind boggling thing is she can be screaming, crying, stomping, hitting and causing me to wonder if I should be concerned when all of a sudden she can completely turn off the tantrum and be sweet Kayla again. Manipulation. We were born sinners and Kayla is proof. I love her dearly and I will love her through all of this. God feels the same way when he watches his children fight him for something that is actually for our good.

Kayla's two's will probably be terrible, terrific, and traumatic but what part of life isn't?

Zoo

I recently joined the Atlanta Zoo so now Kayla and I have access to the zoo for a whole year. We took our first trip last week and had a great time. We spent about four hours checking out the animals, riding the train, carousel, and letting Kayla play on the playground. I think her favorite animals were the elephants and the gorillas. She remembers going too because she will talk about it at home. Here are some pictures from our day: