September has been another INSANELY busy month for our family. After the Labor Day holiday, life kicked back into full swing. Kyle returned to work and started a new position as the assistant operations officer for the battalion. Greyson returned to preschool and I began my new position working with Fort Carson Army Community Service as an New Parent Educator. It's been wild, but fun!
Other than keeping busy with work and school we've made time for quite a bit of fun.
We attending a few festivals around town.
We visited the North Pole Amusement Park where Santa is available to visit from May to December. Greyson is a big fan!
Peyton got her first haircut - a slight trim to shape her crazy blonde wavy locks.
Then we ended the month celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary - we decided to do so a bit unconventionally this year. Spent the afternoon at the gun range with Kyle's dad.....yep, I'm a mean shot.
Then did an overnight in Denver to attend the Great American Beer Festival...the largest beer commercial competition in the world with over 2,000 beers available to sample. It was Kyle's version of heaven.
Sorry, for the shorter update, but free time seems to be short these days. Check out more of our September pictures on the link to the left. Hope you're enjoying the start of Fall.
Well, first I apologize for disappearing from blog updates for awhile, but I promise it was for a good reason. On July 10th we welcomed home Kyle from his year long deployment to Afghanistan. One cannot put the feelings of joy felt that day into words, but some of the pictures and video down below help give you an understanding. We were FINALLY back to a whole family of 4 and we couldn't be happier.
Since, Kyle has come home he worked a few weeks inprocessing after deployment and then at the end of July he began a month of leave so we got LOTS of quality time with the man we missed so much. I could babble on forever, but I'll let the pictures and video below do the talking.....enjoy!
A pic infront of our house right before heading to Kyle's Welcome Home Ceremony
Kyle's Welcome Home Ceremony (a short clip, but it shares the excitement and joy of all of the families of the soldiers coming home)
A Moment One Year in the Making
Another event we spent time doing this year was watching G play t-ball.
How stinking cute is he?
Him in his t-ball action
Another fun event that happened was Greyson and Kyle's backyard camping adventure. We set up the tent, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and G and K attempted to sleep outside - but do to trains nearby, planes coming into the airport and loud neighbors....it was cut short, but still a memorable night for our little man.
Another event for our family, was both Greyson and Peyton having minor surgeries. Greyson had ear tubes put in and his adenoids removed after having 5+ ear infections this past year and Peyton had a skin tag near her ear removed. Both were super short procedures, but still scary anytime you have to put your baby under anesthesia and send them into an operating room. Both were so brave and bounced back within a few hours of the procedure - as the pictures show below.
After the craziness of both kids' surgeries - we needed a much deserved time away. So, thanks to Daryl and Joyce for watching the kids and off to Las Vegas for a few days Kyle and I went. It was a GREAT trip. We enjoyed the pool, walked the strip, saw a Cirque du Soleil, enjoyed an amazing meal at Craftsteak, and enjoyed time reconnecting as a married couple.
After a fun-filled couple trip, we came home for a week or so and then off to Albuquerque we went for a family trip with the kids and Kyle's parents. We stayed at a big rental house, enjoyed family dinners, and lots of trips to see the local sites - the botanic gardens, zoo, aquarium, children's museum, etc. It was a blast and a great time to spend with our kids and their loving grandparents.
Then after returning from a fun trip, we were happy to be home settled and no longer living out of a suitcase. We topped off the end of Kyle's leave with a fun trip to the Pueblo Children's Museum.
Check out Peyton's sweet dance moves - she gets that whole body and those arms going everytime she hears a beat she likes. I think she gets it from me :)
Then check out the major progress P has made on her movement. She is speed crawler, tackles stairs, and pulls up and walks along everything. It won't be long at all until she takes those first solo steps.
Then this past weekend we finished out Kyle's leave by attending the welcome home ball for 1-22 Infantry....the battalion that Kyle was with for the first half of the deployment. It was a blast to get all dressed up and celebrate a job well done by the soldiers during the tour.
Today, Kyle went back to work and next week after the Labor Day holiday life will be getting super busy for our family. Greyson goes back to his two days of preschool, Kyle will be back working and switching to a new position with his unit, and I will be starting another grad class and going back to work part time teaching some parenting based courses through Army Community Service on Ft. Carson.
Check out the many other pictures on the new links added on the left and see all the fun we've had since Kyle came home. Promise my next update won't be so long from now.
Well, June has passed and July has arrived. Finally the month I've been waiting for for an entire year...the month when Kyle will come home. I can't post exactly when he'll be home nor do I truly know. I have a window and I can say that Kyle should be home in a single digit amount of days....yeah!!!!
June has been a whirlwind, busy, and super fun month. It was a great way to pack this last full of month of deployment to keep busy and have fun. Highlights included going to the circus (front row seats!), celebrating Peyton's first birthday, attending the Springs Spree fair/carnival, celebrating Father's Day with Kyle's Dad, going to the Colorado Renaissance Festival, and ending the month celebrating birthday with the amazing surprise of my sister coming to visit! It's been a fantastic month!
Peyton LOVED the circus
Peyton celebrating her 1st birthday
Peyton Crawling
Fun at the North Pole on My Birthday
Both kids are doing wonderfully. Peyton started crawling about a week after her 1st birthday and she hasn't stopped since. She's getting pretty quick and more and more coordinated. She's wanting to pull up and I don't think it will be do long before she's up walking along the furniture. Needless to say, I'm super thrilled I only had to deal with 2 mobile little ones for the last few weeks of this deployment. Greyson is doing wonderfully. He's enjoying being outside more and more now with the hot weather - t-ball, swimming, hiking, playing at the park...he loves it all. Also scheduled both kiddos for their minor surgeries they need in early August. Greyson will be getting his adenoids removed and getting ear tubes after having chronic ear infections this winter and Peyton will be getting her skin tag she's had since birth near her ear removed. Both are minor surgeries, but do require both kids to be put under anesthesia, so a bit scary, but thankfully scheduled it during Kyle's block leave so we can both be there and Kyle's parents can help us out watch the other child during each of their procedures.
Now, with this deployment coming to an end I've had some time to reflect on this past year and I felt the best way to sum it up was to share what I've learned - a lot! Enjoy.
Things I've Learned During This Deployment
1. I can successfully handle life as a geographical single mother of a toddler and a baby. This was absolutely my biggest fear when Kyle left and I had a 7 week old baby and 2 and a half year old little boy. I had NO clue how I'd do it all, but I'm proud to say I did. I learned to multitask with amazing precision and I also learned the art of asking for help when I need it.
2. In reference to learning to ask for help, I'm EXTREMELY grateful for the amazing support system I had throughout this year. Family, friends, inlaws, fellow Army wives....all have been a huge reason not only have we survived this year, but we've thrived and grown. I'm thankful for the outings, visitors, phone calls, and prayers for our family and Kyle's safety throughout this year.
3. Most of you know that my inlaws uprooted themselves for most of this past year to be here in Colorado Springs with us. I cannot say thank you enough to them for all their amazing help. They have been a HUGE help with the kids, taking care of the house, and helping me keep my sanity. I'm so thrilled to see the amazing relationship our kids have created with them and how much stability having them has given them during a year with their Dad away. I'm also thankful with how much closer I've gotten with them and how our daughter-in-law bond has grown. Thank you Daryl and Joyce - we all love and appreciate you so much.
4. Another amazing source of strength during this year was looking forward to the many visitors that came to see us - namely my parents, sister, and some friends. Knowing we had a fun weekend to look forward to was always a bright spot and gave us a way to pass the time quickly and have fun while doing it.
5. I'm tremendously thankful to the tradition that was started with two of my great girlfriends Allyson and Orienna of having Sunday dinners. We drowned our sorrows of deployment with each others company, good food, wine, games, shows, and lots of laughs. Not only were they amazing friends to me and we're here anytime for me I was having a rough day but they also became "deployment aunts" to my kids. Thank you girls for your friendship, company, and camaraderie as we all waited patiently for our husbands to return - we are the real Army wives and it's completely true that we're stronger when we stand together.
6. One of my greatest parenting accomplishments occurred this year while Kyle was away when I successful potty trained Greyson - yeah! For those of you with young kids you know how intimidating this can be and what a commitment it is when you first begin. I'm so proud of how well he did and once he "got it" I felt like Super Mom!
7. I'm also proud that I learned to give myself me time throughout this year. I learned I needed to take time for me every so often to be a better mother and a better spouse and to cope with the stress of deployment/temporarily single parenting. From girls nights out around town to going on a few short trips it all made such a difference.
8. Last I learned how very much I love my husband and how proud I am of him, his service to our country, and his dedication to our family. Kyle worked 16+ hour days regularly and still made time to call and check in with me almost every day he was away. When he knew I was feeling down he would be strong to build me up and vice versa. He regularly skyped with the kids to stay updated with him and see the new skills they developed. He bravely made the decision to leave the Army next spring, a job he genuinely loves minus deployments, because he loves being with his family more than his job. Not a day goes by that I don't thank god for bringing Kyle into my life - he is the most amazing husband, father and man I've ever met. In our eight years together we have grown, been challenged, and risen above time and time again. This deployment was one more challenge and at times it was a damn hard one, but we did and I'm proud to say we did it well - keeping our love strong, reassuring our children and keeping their connection with their Dad, and staying focused on the positive and all that the future holds for us. Kyle, we love you and we have missed you everyday you've been away. Know that we can't wait to have you back in our arms and to surround you with all the love in the world - you complete us and we can't wait to be a complete family again. We love you, safe travels and we'll see you soon.
Our most sincere love and thanks to all who have supported our family during this deployment - we truly couldn't have done it without you.
XOXO- K, L, G and P
P.S. Check out the June picture link on the left - LOTS of fun pictures from this busy month.
Well, I'm sure many of you read Kyle's beautiful dedication to me that he wrote on the blog for Mother's Day - what can I say? I am one lucky lady to have married the greatest man, husband and father in the world. Today, I want to honor the amazing father that Kyle is, especially with his return home being only in a matter of a few weeks.
Kyle, enjoy this walk down memory lane over these past few years since we went from a couple to a family. Happy Father's Day to the the BEST Daddy in the world!
Love and miss you tremendously....see you SOON!!!!
Peyton had a WONDERFUL 1st birthday! As you can tell by the picture, she had a blast ripping her cake to pieces and it was hysterical to watch. Thanks for all the generous gifts she received from family and friends.
Peyton continues to be our big and beautiful girl. Here's her updated stats:
Height: 31.5 inches
Weight: 27 lbs 11 ounces
Head Circumference: 49 cm
This puts her above the 97th percentile in all categories - continuing to earn an A+ across the board :)
She's doing great, needs to make a bit more head way in her gross motor skills (aka movement), but is doing wonderful in her fine motor skills and social skills - such a girl :) I'm confident that this summer Ms. P is going to take off with her movement and make up for lost time.
May was a busy both for us, but busy is good because the quicker time goes by the quicker we'll be at the day to welcome Kyle home. It's getting close and we're getting excited, but more on that later. First, a short recap of what went on this month.
Started off the month with our annuals girls trip that my mom, Lisa, and I take each year to celebrate our birthdays (a bit early, for me). This year we decided to do something a bit more low key and headed to Georgia. We spent 2 days in Savannah and had a GREAT time. Enjoyed a fabulous birthday dinner for Lisa at the Pink House (a Savannah landmark with TASTY food) and even had a run in with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. It seems celebrity run ins seem to be a part of most of our girl's trips. Then we enjoyed a day touring the city - we did a walking historical tour that afternoon followed by a ghost Hearst tour that evening. It was my first time in Savannah and I fell in love with the charm, history and beauty of the city. All the squares, history and trees with spanish moss were gorgeous. After a fun filled time in Savannah we headed back to Atlanta for our last day (appropriately enough it was mother's day). Loved seeing Lisa's new townhome and enjoyed some tasty meals and afternoon at the movies. As usual our weekend was a blast, but over much too quickly. A big thanks to my inlaws, Daryl and Joyce, for taking care of G and P while I was away. They had an equally great amount of time as I did. Looking forward to next year's trip - we're thinking San Fran/Napa in honor of my big 3-0 next summer.
A week or so after my Savannah trip I had a visit from a dear friend, Shannon, who I taught with while in Clarksville. It had been a few years since we had gotten to see each other and we had a great time catching up. We had a blast seeing Billy Elliot in Denver (such a great show!) and checking out some of the sites here in Colorado Springs. Granted she came during the first weekend of weather ever - mid May and we saw snow flurries TWICE during her trip. Minus the weather, it was a great time and fun to have time with a friend I rarely get to see.
Then at the end of the month over Memorial Day weekend my Mom flew in to see the kids, oh and I guess me too, for a short 2 day visit. We kept plenty busy going out to eat, visiting with my inlaws, going to the park and just having fun together. It was great to see her and the kids loved getting some Grandma Joannie time. We're looking forward to their next visit, hopefully this fall when we are going to baptize Peyton and then again for Thanksgiving - so much to look forward to.
Greyson and Peyton are both doing fabulously. Greyson finished out his school year in the Treehouse preschool class at our church, First United Methodist, and had a blast. Today he started the summer program in the next class, Leapfrogs. He loves it there and continues to grow and learn each time he goes. So thankful to have found such a great school environment for him. It's been a great source of stability with Kyle away. Peyton is a wiggling and very very soon to be crawling little (not so little really) girl. She's spinning, leaning, twisting and now even diving into the coffee table (ouch). I predict she'll do her first real crawl in the next week before she turns one on the June 13th. I truly can't believe her first year has gone by. I'm thankful it's a sign of Kyle's homecoming, but sad that my baby girl is not going to be my little baby anymore but is turning more and more into a toddler each day. She continues to be such a happy and easy going little girl. Greyson is my typical 3 year old boy - pushing boundaries, testing limits, but he's still such a joyful and playful little boy to be around. He's so curious and always wanting to know more and do more. He loves to help out anyway he can - gardening, cooking, taking care of Peyton. I'm just so anxious and excited to be reunited as a family of 4 so Kyle can get to know our kiddos and how they've grown and change since he's been away.
Speaking of Kyle, we're in the home stretch. He's due home shortly after the 4th of July and we're soooo excited. Trying to stay busy and not watching the clock or calendar to make it go faster. Thankfully have a lot of fun stuff planned with the family and friends to keep busy until he's back. In fact today, Kyle mentioned they picked up their first set of replacement soldiers. Think it's a big morale boost to his guys that being done over there is coming soon and soon enough they'll be back on US soil with their loved ones. I've reminded Kyle to stay focused and not be distracted by the knowledge that coming home is soon because that's when bad situations occur. He's keeping his eyes forward and doing his job well and just looking forward to being back to life has a husband and father. Please continue to pray for him and his fellow soldiers safety as it's not over, until he's back here in Colorado. I'm sure as I get more info I'll post some general updates on here about when he'll be home. I can't post specific dates or times due to Army operational security standards, but I'll do my best to keep you in the loop. When he returns he'll have 4 days off and then about 10 working days of reintegration training and then he'll have 30 days block leave (basically most of August). We've got some trips and fun things planned that we're all really looking forward to. It's a time to reconnect and grow stronger as a couple and a family to recoup the struggles we've gone through during this deployment.
Well, that's all for now. Looking forward to writing the next update at the end of June - will be plenty of fun things to share with Peyton's first birthday and my birthday and the knowledge that at that point Kyle will be home VERY soon.
All Our Love, K,L,G, and P
P.S. Check out May picture link on the left - sorry no videos this month...too busy!
Hello friends and family from Afghanistan. I figured that although I can't physically be with L and the kids this Mother's Day I can at least give her the very public praise she greatly deserves. I am hoping that this post turns out OK, and I that I don't mess up some part of the Blog that L maintains.
So as most of you know L and I have been married for five years, going on 6 this fall, and I am the luckiest man alive. For those great five years have been the best of my life. However, they have not been the easiest. I have been gone for a total of two years for combat deployments, numerous months of field exercises, and in the last eight years I have only been home for one of her birthdays. Although L did not choose the military directly she has stood by me through the last eight years of service as my cornerstone and sounding board. During these past five years of marriage she has also given me the ultimate gift in the form of the ever growing and curious Greyson, and our beautiful daughter Peyton. In my kids lives I was lucky enough to be home for most of Greyson's first two years, but as you all know I will have missed 90 percent of Peyton's first year of life. So it should come with no surprise that I will be leaving the military after 8 years of service to find a job in the civilian sector, and frankly L deserves to have a husband who is actually home. We joke that we don't know how we are going to handle a three day business trip to New York...(how hard is that really!)
L you are the most amazing and strongest woman I have ever met. You were my college crush, and you still are today. I love more with each passing day, and I look forward to growing old with you! Our lives have been interesting over the last few years with multiple moves, and changing jobs for me, but you have always been one thing my perfect partner. I am the luckiest man alive.
When it comes to parenting I can take very little credit for our how wonderful, smart, and perfect our children our. You are the most caring, compassionate, and loving mother any child could ever have. Over the last year you have helped Greyson become potty trained, and when Peyton takes her first steps it will be solely your doing! For the last year you have been a single parent who has successfully juggled two kids under the age of 5 while still putting yourself through your Masters Degree. I have no idea how you do it, I doubt I could, but it is just another thing about you that amazes me.
L I know that I can't put fully into words how much you mean to me. I look forward to being a complete family soon, and taking some of the burden that this deployment has placed on you off your shoulders. I love you, I miss you, and I can't wait to be a parent to our children with you!
Hello All! First, I must apologize for my long absence since my last post. The past few months were quite busy with events with the kids, family visits, and grad school. Now that my class ended a few weeks ago and my inlaws returned the pace has slowed and I have a bit more time to devote to other things. Here's a recap of the last few months and what's new with our family.
February was all about getting back on track with the regular routine after Kyle's midtour and also about celebrating Greyson's 3rd Birthday. My Mom and stepdad, Mike, came to visit for the occasion and we kept plenty busy celebrating his special day. He awoke to a mountain of presents and ended his day with a fun filled party at Artsports, a local tumbling gym. Greyson and all his buddies had a lot of fun topped off by yummy pizza and, of course, a Toy Story cake.
Greyson doing a flip at his birthday party
March we had a blast with my sister visiting and then a trip up to Breckenridge with my Dad and stepmom, Robyne. We stayed in a fabulous house right near the slopes where Lisa and I enjoyed skiing....she really helped me improve and got me going down black diamond runs and doing my first bowl...quite an adventure. My Dad and Robyne were wonderful babysitters and kept G and P plenty busy at the local children's museum, playing in the snow, enjoying the house, and helping in the kitchen. It was a fabulous winter wonderland getaway.
My skiing skills in action
April was full of ups and downs. Sadly, my grandfather on my dad's side passed away from his long battle with Alzheimer's. So, on a bit of short notice I arranged a quick trip home to be with the family. A huge thank you to my amazing inlaws for rearranging their trip back to Colorado to get a here a bit earlier to watch the kids so I could be back in Chicago. The kids are thrilled to have Pop Pop and JoJo back in town for the next 6 months or so and as much as it was sad to lose my grandfather it was wonderful to see so many family members I haven't seen in so long and to celebrate the amazing man he was and how important he was in all of our lives.
After my trip to Chicago, I returned to Colorado and celebrated a joyous, yet snowy Easter. We've seen some odd Colorado springtime weather - hit the 80s in March, saw snow in April and even in the first few days of May. Thankfully today is sunny and upper 60's and the forecast is showing mid-upper 70's and sunshine for the next few. So, hopefully we've seen the last of the cold and warmer weather is here to stay. With the spring and with Greyson turning 3 we've also started some new activities with him. He participated in swim lessons and loves the water! He's a bit timid of doing things on his own, but he greatly improved over the time of his lessons and on his last lesson he swam with just the aide of a floating noodle about 10 feet all on his own. I was one proud Mom. He currently is playing on an indoor YMCA soccer team for 3 and 4 year olds. It's quite a sight, to say the least. He's not all the interested in the actual game, but he loves to run around, occasionally kick the ball, and mostly play with his jersey....it's a riot. Pretty sure he won't be the next David Beckham, but he's having fun and we're definitely not taking it very seriously. He'll be starting t-ball in June and can't wait to see how he does with that - 3 year olds with bats and balls sounds like entertainment to me.
Overall, both kids are doing so well. Peyton is 10 and half months and I can't believe that her first birthday is next month! I swear this year has flown by and in a way I'm happy because it means that Kyle will be home soon, but sad that my baby girl is growing up so fast. I swear this first year has gone twice as fast as it did with G. She continues to be the happiest, most easy going baby in the world. She loves sitting and playing with toys, and is currently obsessed with standing up - she likes to hold on to tables, her cribs, or people's hands. I think she loves the perspective from standing up. She doesn't show much interest at all in crawling, and I think she very could possibly just decide to walk one day, but hopefully not until Daddy gets home.
Peyton playing and talking (end of March)
Greyson is now a big 3 year old (and 2 months to be exact) and that has come with a lot of new found independence and skills. The biggest development is Greyson is potty trained...yeah!!!! In late March, about a month after his birthday I decided to be brave and dive into potty training and he did amazingly well. Within a week or two he was completely trained during the day. He loves wearing undies and is amazingly good at telling me or anyone else he's with with he needs to go potty. He still in pullups for nap and nighttime, but that will be our next skill to work on...no rush. So proud of him and loving life with only one kid in diapers..yeah! He's also gotten very independent at doing chores or tasks I ask him to do - like putting away his shoes or jacket. He also loves to help me in the kitchen - gets that from his Daddy. Lately, he's even started to dress himself. Can't believe what a little boy he is. I know Kyle is going to be floored with his development when he gets back.
Greyson's impressive dance moves - clearly, he gets his skills from me :)
Speaking of Kyle, the past few months have been quite eventful for him. A few days agos we had quite a scare when Kyle's truck drove over an IED while on patrol. Thankfully he and his guys were ok, and Kyle was treated for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) from the shaking from the explosion. He was given the time to rest and was monitored closely and is doing much better. He's returned to duty and is now focused on doing his job, keeping safe, and getting home to us soon. On the flip side, we're excited to share lots of good news. First, we're about 2 months out from Kyle coming home...yeah!!! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and are both committed to staying busy to make time fly by and staying positive by focusing on all the fun stuff we have planned for when he gets home (i.e. trip to New Mexico with his parents, Denver Great American Beer Fest, Mexican Riviera cruise with friends in November, etc). With him coming home soon it also means his mail service is stopping. So, reminder to send last packages in the next week because then mail will be shut off to Kyle and his unit as they prepare for redeployment. Other exciting news is that Kyle was recently accepted by Alliance International in their junior military officer job placement program. They are a headhunter that works exclusively with only the top 5% of JMOs exiting the military to match them with jobs with many Fortune 500 companies in a variety of positions. We have a good friend who used them and has a great job in the civilian world. So, the current plan is for the next 6 months he will do training with them with reading books, participating in phone discussions, webinars, and other activities to prepare him for the job conference. He will attend that conference in January 2012 and will be leaving the Army in March/April 2012 and looking to start a new job then. It's all very exciting, but naturally makes us both a bit anxious. Lots of question marks and unknowns in our future, but we're both confident that Kyle will be able to find a civilian job that he loves and will provide for our family without taking him away to dangerous places for long periods of time. We'll keep you posted on any news - but we're preparing for a move to who knows where in about a year, nothing new for this family.
I think that's about it, definitely been an eventful last few months. I promise to not let my update be so late. Now looking forward to my girl's weekend with my sister and mom in Savannah this weekend, my dear friend Shannon coming to visit mid May, and my Mom coming to seeing the kids at the end of the month. Then June is filled with P's first birthday, father's day, and my 29th birthday. Then July will be not only be about celebrating the 4th of July, but more so the homecoming of Kyle and the peace of mind of knowing we'll never have to do another deployment again.....yeah! Wishing you all the best and happy mother's day this weekend to our wonderful moms, mother-in-laws, stepmom, grandmas, and great grandmas. We love and appreciate you all!
Love, K,L,G,and P
P.S. Lots of new pictures to look at in the links on the right - enjoy!
In the words of Charles Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is a great description for this past month. January was mostly devoted to Kyle's midtour leave and to say we had a fabulous time having him own is an understatement. From simply hanging around the house, to a romantic night away at a B&B, to a family trip up the mountains in Estes Park it was a GREAT time. Sadly we said goodbye to him last week, but found strength in knowing this would be our last awful goodbye like this. Kyle is now back in Afghanistan and will be wrapping things up in his current unit and gearing up to head out and take his platoon leader position with the new battalion late this month. Would recommend not sending him anything until we get a new address for him. I'll send it out as soon as I get one.
The kids are both doing great. Greyson will be turning 3 in a matter of days and is so excited for my mom and Mike to come visit and to join us for his birthday party at a local gymnastic/trampoline place. Peyton is almost 8 months and is becoming less and less of a baby each day. She's sitting up well on her own, but still loses balance from time to time. She's eating 3 stage 2 baby foods a day and is a great eater. She loves to spend time in her exersaucer bouncing around and she is a genuinely happy baby who lights up a room with her smile.
Again, I'll let the pictures (January 2011 link on the left) and videos do the talking.....
Well, December was a complete whirlwind. Capped off by a 2 week trip to Chicago to see lots of family and friends and to celebrate the holidays. We had a GREAT trip and loved every minute seeing so many wonderful people, but it was definitely nice to get home and get back to our space and our routine. I figured, I'd let the pictures and videos do the talking this month to show you all the fun we had.
Trip on the Pikes Peak Cog to see Santa with Mommy and JoJo
Getting Ready to Fly (Peyton's first airplane ride)
P and Grandma Joannie at the Play Cafe
G watching "Sleeping Beauty" with Grandma Joannie just like I used to do all the time
Sledding with Auntie LaLa
Fun at the Children's Museum (Grocery Shopping)
Putting out cookies and milk for Santa
Santa Came!!!!
G and P in the super cute Xmas outfits
So Much Fun Playing with Great Grandma Bell (GGB)
P and LaLa in the cutest dress that she bought her
Learning to Make Homemade Healthy Soft Serve with Nonny
Jumping at Pump it Up with Nonny
Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies for Daddy with Poppy
As you can see LOTS of fun was had by all. Thanks to everyone for letting us stay with you and for taking such good care of all 3 of us. We miss you already and can't wait to see you soon!
So, so long 2010 and welcome 2011......glad to be in the year when Kyle will be coming home to us.
