Visit from Nana and 6 month check up

Thankfully, things have settled down since our collision with a deer and the sickness that invaded our family! My mom came to stay with Kya so that I could work, but the day she came, I was still running a fever, so I basically laid in bed most of the week. I had been running on E for a long time, and the sickness got the best of me. Thankfully, my mom had timed her stay perfectly because I have no idea how I would have taken care of Kya that week. I was just so exhausted. The sickness and everything really put things in perspective and made me realize that I did not want to go into academia anymore. I still am not quite sure why I am getting my Ph.D. now, but I know that God's ways and plans are way better than mine, so we'll see what He has in store for us next! Enough about me! Back to my mom staying with Kya - Kya is now eating half a carton of Stage 1 foods three times a day, and I am about to start her on Stage 2 since we have been putting rice cereal in the Stage 1 - plus, Dr. Greer says that she's ready! We are still working on getting her to hold her bottle, which my mom's goal was to have her doing this before she left. However, Kya seems to be one that puts forth the minimal effort to do what she wants - the other day she was laying sideways chewing on a block. She figured out she didn't have to hold it, so she did it this way! Well, she is starting to hold her bottle - we put her in her bouncer chair with the boppy to support the bottle, and she is slowly starting to grab and hold onto it. Most of the time she bats it down and then whines until we put it back in her mouth. The only problem is that she associates the bouncer with feeding, so it's hard to put her in there if I'm not going to feed her. Well, Nana did show us a way to bottle feed her without have to hold her, so I am grateful for that, and she is starting to hold it, so well done, Mom! Another step is that Kya is now eating a little bit of formula in her bottles due to a decrease in my milk production. We have to make sure it is warmed up and mixed well (swirling of course!) or she won't eat it. And you can forget about her eating just formula - NOT happening! My mom was finally able to leave three days after her scheduled departure due to the big Ice Storm, which was just ice on the cars and in random places around Auburn. However, ATL did have it pretty bad, so we definitely would not have wanted Mom traveling in that! The extra days were helpful, though because I was actually able to work last week! The day she left, Kya had her 6 month appointment. She is now 16 lbs 11oz and 26 inches (I think???). All I know is homegirl gained a pound in three weeks! She was 15 lbs 11oz when I took her in for her cough and ear infection. She got two shots, which she did not cry at all. She just whined for like 5 seconds. I am so impressed with her tolerance for pain! She is one tough baby! Also, this nurse did a better job than the last one - last time she got her shots, she had bruises for about a week. Hopefully, we'll have her for Kya's 9-month shots. Lastly, Kya is becoming more and more aware of Fletch. They are so cute together! This past Saturday she laughed for like 30 minutes at him. I was throwing one of his toys and he would run to get it, and she would just squeal and laugh. It was the cutest thing! Fletch has also started to lick Kya, which she just sits there and let's him do it. She likes to grab his face, which I don't think he likes, but I did catch him rubbing his face in her hand the other day. They are becoming best friends! Well, that is about all for now. I am starting to apply for jobs, so hopefully, I'll have some news from that in the near future - so if you could just pray for guidance, direction, and patience, that would be great!

Happy New Year!

So, we had a very eventful Christmas break! We left for MS to go to Eric's parents' house with all three of us with colds. It was nice having Eric's parents help us take care of Kya, and she was in a good mood despite being stopped up. She got to visit Big Daddy's parents for the second time, which were the first great-grandparents that she has met. Then, we went to see my grandparents on Thursday, December 23rd, so Kya could meet another set of great-grandparents. Cousin Kim and Uncle Mike came in a few hours before we left, so Kya got to see them, too! On our way home, right inside the city limits of Aberdeen, I hit a deer going 70 miles an hour. It hit the windshield and rolled over the top. I don't remember anything, but seeing the deer right before we hit it. I think I closed my eyes and honked the horn and took my foot off the gas. Kya slept through the whole thing! Thank goodness! The funniest part of my car almost getting totaled was that someone was there to pick up the deer within about 10-15 minutes of us hitting the deer. Someone picked up the deer before the police got there! Typical! Let me just say that God was truly protecting us and looking after us during this whole ordeal. The police and highway patrolman who stopped to help us were so helpful and nice! Also, keep in mind it was Dec. 23rd, and we didn't get it towed into Columbus until 8 pm. We towed it to a shop called Burchfield's, and the owner happened to be there to take it in! We were worried about leaving it there the whole weekend since it was supposed to snow and rain, and my windshield was all busted and had holes in it, but God took care of us. Not to mention the tow truck guy was amazed that none of us even had a scratch. He just kept saying that he had picked up cars like this with bodies in them. Thankfully, Randy and Sandy have an extra car, so they let us take a car back to Auburn! So thankful! Christmas Day was awesome - we had snow on Christmas! Eric, Kya, and I racked up! We also had a nice feast compliments of Grams who is a great cook. (I have to put that because Eric always tells her I hate her cooking!) The snow definitely put me in a better mood, but unfortunately, Kya was getting worse. When we got back, we took Kya to the doctor because she wasn't getting any better. She still wasn't running a fever, but her cough sounded bad to me. She had an ear infection in her right ear and a RSV bronchial infection or something like that (fancy for common cold with bad cough). The ear infection was a surprise, and it's so hard to tell how bad she feels because she was still smiling and eating pretty well. Unfortunately, it was Eric's birthday, so we had to do lots of take-out and cancel our plans for the night, but we'll make it up when Nana comes next week. THEN, Kya had two bad nights of coughing fits, so I took her back to the doctor to get a nebulizer. I felt like the worst parent that she was so sick before I took her. In my defense, I called the doctor Wed before Christmas, and they told me not to take her in after describing her symptoms. I guess she just never runs a fever when she's really sick, which is so misleading! THEN, I started running a fever on Thursday, so I went in yesterday to get some drugs before my cough got as bad as Kya's. Needless to say, I am sick of being sick and sick of Kya being sick. Hopefully, the New Year will bring much better things!!!!