kya's first pony

I think the sweetness of this "first pony" day was more appreciated by the ladies of the house than the guy (ahem, the guy with no hair).

Doesn't she look like a blonde Pebbles Flintstone? Too bad Halloween is still five months away.

Kya says "but mom, I want PIG tails!"


"I am very very mad. I am so mad that I am going to wake you up many times tonight. So there."

to the zoo

Sunday was a fun day. There really is no other way of saying it.
On Saturday, we ran errands and did all our weekend chores. We even went to Saturday evening mass.

Sunday morning was slow and relaxing, spent lounging in pajamas and enjoying a homemade brunch. The weather was finally sunny and [gasp!] warm and [gasp!] not windy. We were in great spirits.
Kya took a morning nap and then we headed out to the Dakota Zoo.








A lucky bison got to meet Bison Booties. It was a big moment in history.


My little girl played at the park for the first time.


Yeah, she liked it. A lot.


The slide was a little scary for my sweetie, but she smiled through it.

It's fun living in a small community like Bismarck-Mandan ... it seems like everywhere you go, you bump into friends. That was true again at the zoo. Such fun.

After the zoo, we got to visit the newest baby of the family, miss Lauryn. Lauryn is the new little sister to my cousin Parker. She is adorable, sweet and the most sound sleeper I have ever known. She gives a good name to "sleep like a baby."


I didn't fully realize how much Kya has grown in the last year until I held Lauryn. Wow, I have a CHILD!


Lauryn. Welcome to the family!

All About Kya

Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms, aunts, and grandmas out there. We definitely have been blessed with the best of the best.


Today is Mother's Day so I think it is only appropriate to write all about my little miss Kya.

Kya had her first big newspaper appearance today in the Bismarck Tribune. Kya and I and Bison Booties had a whole story to ourselves written about North Dakota mom statistics and my experience being a mom.  Click here to read the story.


This morning the three of us went for a walk down the gravel road. It was a beautiful warm sunny morning ... without wind! Just what I wanted for Mother's Day.


Kya loves sunglasses. Especially if they belong to me.


She seems to think they are hers.


Kya also loves spicy food. I'm not referring to "mild" or even "medium" spicy. SPICY! Corey says it is because she bathed in hot sauce for nine months (I craved spicy food every day of my pregnancy). I think a taste for spice runs in her genes (both Corey and I enjoy spicy food). Whatever the cause, she will happily eat spicy green curry, hot salsa, hot sauce, and spicy V8 juice. Her latest favorite is a Pancheros pork burrito with hot salsa and fuego sauce ... this was almost too spicy for me.


She has recently become a very good sleeper. It was about time. For six nights straight, our 13-month old Kya has slept a solid 12 hours without waking up.


She is also taking better naps during the day.
A baby that loves sleep: Best Mother's Day gift. Ever.


Kya's hair is quickly growing in and filling out. We have been having fun spiking it at bath time ...


and experimenting with static.

Thank you Kya for letting me be your Mother. I love you so very much!

sisterhood of the girly dress

This dress was worn by me when I was one. And my sister Caitlyn, when she was one. There were photos of us, taken in the same chair, by the same photographer.

My mom gave the dress to me so that Kya could try it on when she turned one.


So today was the day. She wasn't sure about the frilly lace ... but after a while she thought it was pretty funny.


She wore the dress, but the Mandan photographer has since closed his business.
So we improvised at home.


This is me.
Kya got my teeth.


This is Caitlyn.
notice the Tic Tacs
And how can I not mention the HAIR. On both of us. Wowie.


Kya has the dress and the candy to occupy her. But the hair she does not have.
She is a country gal at heart with her jeans on under her dress.

short sleeves and shoeless

The last time Kya was outside – shoeless with short sleeves – she was less than six months old.

That was over SIX months ago! This is the last photo I have with kya outside in "summer clothes" ... it was taken in July.

Yesterday she was beyond thrilled to be outside in less than her bear suit. Way less. Short sleeves and shoeless!



Kya was happy. We were all happy. We took a little stroll across the railroad tracks to check out the ducks and geese. It is amazing what a shot of warm sunshine will do.

Another word of Kya:
- grass ("gass")

But how things change.  Today we're being warned about another winter snow storm forecasted for this weekend. Summer will be here again some day. And when it is we will be celebrating.

...

We have been hard at work coordinating our landscaping plans and getting bids.
So far, we have decided on a sprinkler guy and a landscaper to do the edging and grass seeding. The dirt work guy will be out today or Monday.

If all goes as planned we'll have a lawn started by June.

chatter box

Our little Miss Kya is a chatter box.

Her two favorite words right now are "dada" and "light" (light sounds more like "yite" when she says it). She is obsessed with lights. At the doctor's office this week, she saw the florescent lights with cloud covers - she was frantically pointing and saying "yite, yite, yite." Like she was trying to say, "look mom, I found a new kind of light."

Off the top of my head, her words are:
- dada
- mama
- light (yite)
- doggie
- duckie
- choo choo (we have a twice-daily train pass by our house, so this is also a popular one)
- cat
- baby
- hi
... I know I am forgetting a few, so I will add more when Corey reminds me of the ones I am missing :)

She signs "more"
She waves hi/bye and blows kisses


No, Kya is not potty trained (I wish!).
I use this casually. I just sit her down on it when I change her diaper and when she gets up from her nap. She usually "goes" so I figure it is one less diaper I am throwing away. Sweet.

By the way, she claps when she is done "going" ... ahhh the things that warm a mother's heart.


New this week: Kya's discovery of dunking food.
Today she dunked bread pieces into veggie puree. As you can see, this skill takes lots of concentration. She also like to place small bits of crunchy food onto a spoonful of food, as it goes into her mouth (like one Cheerio onto a spoonful of applesauce). This kid cracks me up.


Kya loves her bib and she is very excited when we give her the fork. So excited in fact, that sometimes she shakes it and then it goes flying. Sharp objects flying around the house are not in my list of likes. This skill will take some practice ... with a spoon.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone reading this had a great Easter. We had a wonderful and relaxing Easter, topped off with a sunny and warm day. Perfect.

We spent Saturday in Linton with Corey's family.

Sunday we had a quiet morning with our Easter Bunny treats.


Kya was so curious exploring the basket of goodies in the living room.


This was a much more relaxed day than last Easter last year ... spent in the hospital, recovering from labor. I think we ate pizza for Easter dinner.

We went to mass and then headed to my grandparent's house to enjoy Easter lunch with my family.


Kya was simply adorable in her Easter dress.


Kya and her best buddy, Grandma Rene.



Kya's sweater was made by Grandma Katy and it fit perfectly! Thanks Grandma!


Kya and Parker were such good pals and played all day.


I forgot Kya's change fo clothes so she was stylin' in tights and Parker's "boy" shirt.


My aunt Kristen is pregnant and they decided to leave the gender a surprise until the baby is born. We had fun testing the needle and string theory. According to the legend, she will have a girl!

Happy Easter!