Nothing sweeter.
Cheers!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Kya meets Santa
Kya got to meet Santa this week at our local mall. She was so excited to see Santa it just melted my heart. I'm not sure what has her so excited about Santa but I know it has nothing to do with gifts (she was far too young to understand a Santa visit last year and we have not talked about the gift thing yet). Anyway, as you can see, she and Santa are good friends already.
Having a toddler around for the holidays gives me a new appreciation of the season and adds a heaping dose of wonder and love to Christmas. How did we live before Kya arrived?
Also at the mall is a new train that circles in entire interior of the mall corridor. For a couple dollars per person, you can ride on the train. This is 'way cool' if you are 20 months old or if you are someone named Grandma Don.
Kya has watched "The Polar Express" and was an old pro with the ticket stamping routine.
All Aboard!
She was a little nervous as they departed ...
But as they returned, she was all smiles.
The conductor gave Kya a DumDum for being a good passenger on the train.
So here is Kya thoroughly enjoying her first lollipop.
Thoroughly enjoying her first lollipop.
This week we also had a family caravan driving tour of the Bismarck-Mandan light displays.
The temperatures have been unusually warm so we took a walking break at this house.
Unfortunately light tours are a little past Kya's bedtime. Here she is reminding us of this.
Oh how I love my little elfkin.
. . .
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thanksgiving 2011
Needless to say (I guess I've already made it obvious with my lack of blogging), we've had a very busy few weeks.
Among the happenings the past month:
- my sister's wedding (woo!!!)
- thanksgiving (we hosted)
- the Pride of Dakota show (I was a vendor)
Each of those big events was wonderfully fun and would have kept me smiling all year. What fun to have three big happenings in two weeks.
So here goes some blog catch-up ...
I was preparing dinner in the kitchen and peeked into the living room to find Kya hard at work at my desk. Before seeing her like this, I had no idea that she could climb up into a chair. What a surprise it was to see her like this! She is now officially the Bison Booties office assistant.
My parents and Grandma Katy were in town for Caitlyn's wedding, so it was an extra special treat to have them around for Thanksgiving as well. Kya made many fun memories with Grandpa and Grandma Z.
Grandma Z and Kya bake pies at our house.
Corey, Kya, and I hosted Thanksgiving for Corey's family. This was the first bog cooking holiday we hosted in our new house and my first-time-ever cooking a turkey.
We also have a BEAUTIFUL day. Corey was happy to Kya out to play which gave me plenty of quiet time to cook and prepare the meal.
Kya likes to feel thebreeze wind in her face.
Kya liked watching thanksgiving football with Aunt Maria.
If you ever get the chance to sit down and chat with Maria, you will quickly learn that she is beyond intelligent - she is one of the smartest people I know. AND ... she knows lots about meat judging/butchering/grading. She is a super radical college kid. We're pretty lucky to be a frequent pit-stop on her way home.
Thanksgiving!
Kya ready to pray – and eat.
Corey's mom is the most gracious visitor, she brought part of the thanksgiving meal with her. She has a few family specialties that she cooks and it's a wonderful treat to have her cooking in the house.
By the way, my first-time turkey was delicious. Also, notice the lack of snow out the window - it was so warm!
Grandma Katy and Kya good buddies.
Grandma Katy stayed at the Seven Seas and invited us to visit and swim at the pool. Kya spent so much time in the pool she almost started growing gills.
The tree went up the weekend after thanksgiving.
The is nothing sweeter than the awe and curiosity of a toddler at Christmastime.
Helping Daddy hang her "First Christmas" ornament.
. . .
In other news:
[sigh]
Kya has been spending a bit of time in time-out lately. Time-out happens on our foyer church pew. This particular day, Kya thought it best to cuddle with the stuffed reindeer. Maybe she's starting to get the hang of this?
Bath time.
If Kya made the rules, she would have bath time for about five hours each day. I try to restrict baths to about 60 minutes a day, or until she is wrinkly as a prune – whichever comes first.
Among the happenings the past month:
- my sister's wedding (woo!!!)
- thanksgiving (we hosted)
- the Pride of Dakota show (I was a vendor)
Each of those big events was wonderfully fun and would have kept me smiling all year. What fun to have three big happenings in two weeks.
So here goes some blog catch-up ...
I was preparing dinner in the kitchen and peeked into the living room to find Kya hard at work at my desk. Before seeing her like this, I had no idea that she could climb up into a chair. What a surprise it was to see her like this! She is now officially the Bison Booties office assistant.
My parents and Grandma Katy were in town for Caitlyn's wedding, so it was an extra special treat to have them around for Thanksgiving as well. Kya made many fun memories with Grandpa and Grandma Z.
Grandma Z and Kya bake pies at our house.
Corey, Kya, and I hosted Thanksgiving for Corey's family. This was the first bog cooking holiday we hosted in our new house and my first-time-ever cooking a turkey.
We also have a BEAUTIFUL day. Corey was happy to Kya out to play which gave me plenty of quiet time to cook and prepare the meal.
Kya likes to feel the
Kya liked watching thanksgiving football with Aunt Maria.
If you ever get the chance to sit down and chat with Maria, you will quickly learn that she is beyond intelligent - she is one of the smartest people I know. AND ... she knows lots about meat judging/butchering/grading. She is a super radical college kid. We're pretty lucky to be a frequent pit-stop on her way home.
Thanksgiving!
Kya ready to pray – and eat.
Corey's mom is the most gracious visitor, she brought part of the thanksgiving meal with her. She has a few family specialties that she cooks and it's a wonderful treat to have her cooking in the house.
By the way, my first-time turkey was delicious. Also, notice the lack of snow out the window - it was so warm!
Grandma Katy and Kya good buddies.
Grandma Katy stayed at the Seven Seas and invited us to visit and swim at the pool. Kya spent so much time in the pool she almost started growing gills.
The tree went up the weekend after thanksgiving.
The is nothing sweeter than the awe and curiosity of a toddler at Christmastime.
Helping Daddy hang her "First Christmas" ornament.
. . .
In other news:
[sigh]
Kya has been spending a bit of time in time-out lately. Time-out happens on our foyer church pew. This particular day, Kya thought it best to cuddle with the stuffed reindeer. Maybe she's starting to get the hang of this?
Bath time.
If Kya made the rules, she would have bath time for about five hours each day. I try to restrict baths to about 60 minutes a day, or until she is wrinkly as a prune – whichever comes first.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Kya: 19 months old
Kya - 19 months - November 2011
Height: 31.25 inches (25 percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds, 14 ounces (10 percentile)
Head Size: 19 inches (90 percentile)
Kya loves:
- exploring and investigating (right now the kitchen pantry is her favorite spot to explore)
- sleeping (Kya sleeps 12 hours straight overnight and takes a three-hour afternoon nap)
- brushing her teeth
- The Sound of Music. Especially "Do-Re-Mi." Kya could spend an entire day listening to that song (and singing along).
- Friends. Kya is shy at first but quickly warms up to kids her age and really enjoys playing with them.
- Imitating. Every day she shadows Corey or I in a new way. This week she has been borrowing my Bison Bootie envelopes that are ready to mail and putting them in her little toy mailbox. Then she checks the mail and brings the booties back to me.
- Playing with 'Dada'
- Talking. She says lots of words including: Chaz, duck, milk, banana, cracker, potty, owl, dog, cat, cow, ball, milk, go, happy, no, yes, up, down, hut-hut (as in football lingo), tree ...
- climbing (just started this week - we will be watching her very closely)
- hugs and kisses
- dogs from afar (not up-close or she is terrified)
We are loving every minute of it.
What was life like before she arrived? I have no memory of it.
Height: 31.25 inches (25 percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds, 14 ounces (10 percentile)
Head Size: 19 inches (90 percentile)
Kya loves:
- exploring and investigating (right now the kitchen pantry is her favorite spot to explore)
- sleeping (Kya sleeps 12 hours straight overnight and takes a three-hour afternoon nap)
- brushing her teeth
- The Sound of Music. Especially "Do-Re-Mi." Kya could spend an entire day listening to that song (and singing along).
- Friends. Kya is shy at first but quickly warms up to kids her age and really enjoys playing with them.
- Imitating. Every day she shadows Corey or I in a new way. This week she has been borrowing my Bison Bootie envelopes that are ready to mail and putting them in her little toy mailbox. Then she checks the mail and brings the booties back to me.
- Playing with 'Dada'
- Talking. She says lots of words including: Chaz, duck, milk, banana, cracker, potty, owl, dog, cat, cow, ball, milk, go, happy, no, yes, up, down, hut-hut (as in football lingo), tree ...
- climbing (just started this week - we will be watching her very closely)
- hugs and kisses
- dogs from afar (not up-close or she is terrified)
We are loving every minute of it.
What was life like before she arrived? I have no memory of it.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Girl's Trip: Northern California 2011
One evening, a couple months ago, my mom called to ask if Kya and I wanted to accompany she and my sister for a quick girl's weekend in northern California. The plan was simple: have fun and spend a few days visiting old friends and celebrating Caitlyn's upcoming marriage.
Well, upon arriving in California, I realized that I had not been back 'home' for over three years. I also realized that I was basically an Amish woman visiting the big city. Wow do things move quickly in California. Good ol comfortable North Dakota seemed like another planet.
I wondered how on earth I ever learned to drive in traffic like that. I wondered how my dad managed a long commute for so many years. I wondered how these west coast city folks deal with a snow-less Christmas. I wondered if I ever really appreciated the beauty that is Sonoma wine county. I wondered why I willingly traveled with a toddler again (not really - she is actually a great traveler - it's just a tricky way to travel). I wondered a lot in those three short days.
* I just noticed that although I have a lot of photos, we don't have a single one of my mom or the four of us. Darnit. I guess that means we must take another girl trip soon?
. . .
Kya was another travel pro on our flights to California. She played, slept and giggled without a fuss. I even got a few compliments. Awesome.
How is it possible that between us, Jessica and I have FOUR of the most adorable kids on earth?
Apparently it can be difficult to get FOUR kids to pay attention and smile ... all at the same time. Hilarious.
Jessica's kids.
I just wish they lived closer so we could have weekly play dates.
To prove how far back we go, this is Jessica (second from left) and I (goofy blue hat) in 1997 at a high school cross county meet.
After our play date at Jessica's, we drove north to Santa Rosa. On our way north we grabbed a quick dinner at In-N-Out in Rohnert Park.
On Saturday morning, we headed to Bella Winery in Healdsburg, for a surprise birthday party for Krichelle, my mom's friend.
We arrive a bit early and Kya had lots of fun exploring the grounds.
'Grape Crushing Only'
In a tree.
Me, Kya and Aunt Caitlyn in front of the Bella wine cave tasting room.
I spotted this beautiful (and accessible) vineyard along the road so we stopped to explore and take photos.
Kya meets grapes.
We had lunch at the most delicious Taco Truck.
We ordered and ate. And then I ordered more and ate again. Delicisous. I was trying to decide what to order Kya (she was napping in the car) so the lady taking orders suggested a quesadilla with freshly made corn tortillas. I said that sounded great. It was wonderfully tasty. She also included avocado on the side. All for $1. I love taco trucks.
My first helping of three tacos.
For anyone that wound want to try it, it is parked at the corner of Healdsburg Ave and Alexander Valley Road.
Kya met lots of new friends too. I can't believe we didn't take more photos! arg. [hand to forehead] dumb dumb dumb.
MaryJo - My high school boyfriend's mom. A dear friend that taught me how to quilt. We had a little tea party at her house on Saturday morning.
Laura - My best friend. Forever. For real. We met our freshman year of high school. We decoratively painted any door frame or windowsill we were given permission to tamper with. When we were done with those, we painted tissue boxes and bowling pins. We painted everything. Laura is without a doubt my most creative and artistic friend. I do not see her enough. At all. She drove over to our hotel in San Jose on Sunday evening for a visit. It was a good evening, even if we didn't paint.
Krichelle - My mom's friend and also a great family friend. Krichelle babysat for Caitlyn and I when we were young. When my parents moved in 2001, by chance they moved very close to Krichelle and her husband Scott's house. My mom and she have been the best of friends ever since.
Krichelle's niece Isla (eye-la). Kya and Isla were too darn cute together. They were so nervous and so curious.
Krichelle and Isla.
Saturday evening we went to dinner in downtown Santa Rosa. Lots of fun hanging out with Caitlyn's friends but pretty unlucky for me that I didn't run into any of my old classmates.
On Sunday we drove back down to San Jose for our Monday departure.
The hotel bathroom didn't have a tub so Kya got a sink bath. She is getting too big for that!
Relaxing at the hotel.
Ready to fly again! (she was picking out her Christmas gifts)
. . .
All in all this was a fantastic trip ... way too short ... but fantastic.
Well, upon arriving in California, I realized that I had not been back 'home' for over three years. I also realized that I was basically an Amish woman visiting the big city. Wow do things move quickly in California. Good ol comfortable North Dakota seemed like another planet.
I wondered how on earth I ever learned to drive in traffic like that. I wondered how my dad managed a long commute for so many years. I wondered how these west coast city folks deal with a snow-less Christmas. I wondered if I ever really appreciated the beauty that is Sonoma wine county. I wondered why I willingly traveled with a toddler again (not really - she is actually a great traveler - it's just a tricky way to travel). I wondered a lot in those three short days.
* I just noticed that although I have a lot of photos, we don't have a single one of my mom or the four of us. Darnit. I guess that means we must take another girl trip soon?
. . .
Kya was another travel pro on our flights to California. She played, slept and giggled without a fuss. I even got a few compliments. Awesome.
Upon arriving at the San Jose Airport, mom, Caitlyn and I headed into San Jose to visit Caitlyn's former workplace and have lunch. Before any of that, we had to install the car seat. On this trip, we opted to rent a car seat from the car rental company. The car seat was far from the super heavy-duty, comfortable, padded safety seat we use at home. At home, Kya is still rear-facing. As you can see, this car seat didn't install correctly in the rear position. We got lots of laughs out of Kya's serious/nervous expression here. I did finally get the seat installed but settled on using the front-facing position.
After a delicious Mediterranean lunch we ventured east to Brentwood to visit a great high school friend.
How is it possible that between us, Jessica and I have FOUR of the most adorable kids on earth?
Apparently it can be difficult to get FOUR kids to pay attention and smile ... all at the same time. Hilarious.
Jessica's kids.
I just wish they lived closer so we could have weekly play dates.
To prove how far back we go, this is Jessica (second from left) and I (goofy blue hat) in 1997 at a high school cross county meet.
After our play date at Jessica's, we drove north to Santa Rosa. On our way north we grabbed a quick dinner at In-N-Out in Rohnert Park.
On Saturday morning, we headed to Bella Winery in Healdsburg, for a surprise birthday party for Krichelle, my mom's friend.
We arrive a bit early and Kya had lots of fun exploring the grounds.
'Grape Crushing Only'
In a tree.
Me, Kya and Aunt Caitlyn in front of the Bella wine cave tasting room.
I spotted this beautiful (and accessible) vineyard along the road so we stopped to explore and take photos.
Kya meets grapes.
We had lunch at the most delicious Taco Truck.
We ordered and ate. And then I ordered more and ate again. Delicisous. I was trying to decide what to order Kya (she was napping in the car) so the lady taking orders suggested a quesadilla with freshly made corn tortillas. I said that sounded great. It was wonderfully tasty. She also included avocado on the side. All for $1. I love taco trucks.
My first helping of three tacos.
For anyone that wound want to try it, it is parked at the corner of Healdsburg Ave and Alexander Valley Road.
Kya met lots of new friends too. I can't believe we didn't take more photos! arg. [hand to forehead] dumb dumb dumb.
MaryJo - My high school boyfriend's mom. A dear friend that taught me how to quilt. We had a little tea party at her house on Saturday morning.
Laura - My best friend. Forever. For real. We met our freshman year of high school. We decoratively painted any door frame or windowsill we were given permission to tamper with. When we were done with those, we painted tissue boxes and bowling pins. We painted everything. Laura is without a doubt my most creative and artistic friend. I do not see her enough. At all. She drove over to our hotel in San Jose on Sunday evening for a visit. It was a good evening, even if we didn't paint.
Krichelle - My mom's friend and also a great family friend. Krichelle babysat for Caitlyn and I when we were young. When my parents moved in 2001, by chance they moved very close to Krichelle and her husband Scott's house. My mom and she have been the best of friends ever since.
Krichelle's niece Isla (eye-la). Kya and Isla were too darn cute together. They were so nervous and so curious.
Krichelle and Isla.
Saturday evening we went to dinner in downtown Santa Rosa. Lots of fun hanging out with Caitlyn's friends but pretty unlucky for me that I didn't run into any of my old classmates.
On Sunday we drove back down to San Jose for our Monday departure.
The hotel bathroom didn't have a tub so Kya got a sink bath. She is getting too big for that!
Relaxing at the hotel.
Ready to fly again! (she was picking out her Christmas gifts)
. . .
All in all this was a fantastic trip ... way too short ... but fantastic.