We finally went on a mini-vacation this past weekend to Gulf Shores. It was my Mother's Day present I guess, but we all needed to get out of Auburn. We were going to go to FL to the launch - well, we would watch from the beach, but it kept getting postponed, so I told Eric - we are still going to get away. We've been trying to save, save, save for our upcoming move at the end of July. Plus, we want to buy a house, so that is another major expense coming up. Oh yeah - we are moving to HOUSTON!!!! Not to mention, I won't be getting paid this summer. Okay -so I'll quit stressing myself out about all of that because God will take care of it! He found me a job, and so we are so grateful for that, and grateful to be really close to family, and hopefully, in the next year, we'll have both of our families in Houston! Living the dream - and convincing Eric and his family that TEXAS is the best state in the union! Anyways, we had some extra money somehow this month, so we took advantage of it, and it was great! We actually stayed in Foley because it was about $40 cheaper a night, and we got another $10 off a night because of my AAA card! Thanks Mom for renewing this every year! We went to the outlet mall the day we got there, and we ate at Lambert's for dinner, which I would highly recommend. You get a TON of food, and it is sooooooooooooo good. Eric wanted to go there the next night, but it was my turn! The next morning we woke up at 2:30 am to Kya, and she went back to sleep with us in the bed, and we all got up to Kya's singing about 6:30. Thankfully, I went to bed at 10:30 the night before, but I was still tired because I graded all of my exams on Thursday and stayed up until 1:30 am putting the grades in. Then, Kya woke up at 2:00 am and din't go back to sleep until 4, so I didn't get much sleep Thursday night. Anyways, we went to the beach, which was so much fun minus me getting sunscreen in her eyes. I'm stupid and put it on the back of her hands, and she got tired and rubbed her eyes. I will never do that again. She still had a good time, and we had a shovel and hoe from the outlet mall that she loved. She kept "walking" towards the water. It was soooo cold, but she would try to get us to let her walk farther into the water. She didn't even flinch when it hit her at the belly. Seriously, it was cold. She also loved crawling around, and she is finally crawling normally! I thought she would skip it all together because she loves standing up so much, but she has finally done it! She started doing it the first night we were there, and kept it up at the beach as you can see in the picture. We left after about 1.5 hours and gave Kya a bath when we got back to the hotel, and she took a nice nap. Then, we hit the outlet mall again! I'm so thankful Eric likes shopping! Thanks Sandy! He would never admit it, but I think he likes going to the outlet mall as much as I do, which is a lot. Surprisingly, he only bought one pair of shorts, and I got him some other things he needed. I didn't go too crazy for Kya, but I did get her some 18 months stuff. Carter's had 30% off their clearance, and I just love their clothes! They fit Kya so well. Sandy - I got her a long-sleeved purple striped shirt with a snowman on it. I bought it because it reminded me of you! I was like she has to have this. THEN, we went to the Shrimp Basket where Kya wooed everyone there. She is a magnet for people, and that sweet little girl was just smiling and looking at everyone. She is very social! We got up Sunday morning and hit up Waffle House, which was delicious and hit the road. I came back refreshed and ready to get my second paper wrapped up this week, and I think it will happen thanks to the new babysitter I hired two afternoons a week (well, my parents call it their contribution to my Ph.D.!). Lindsay is awesome, and God has continued to bless us with great babysitters. I hope we can find some good ones when we move to Katy. I know the grandparents will always be an option, but if we just want to go out to eat, they'll be a little too far for that.
More Kya update: She is now on a three bottle schedule, which is awesome for me because I only pump three times a day! YAY! Next month, I'll go to two, and we'll start mixing breastmilk with whole milk. I can't believe I made it a year. I'm sorry, but I am a bit proud of myself! It's a lot of time and planning, but it was worth it. She is pulling up on EVERYTHING. She can stand with only one hand steadying herself, and she literally climbs up my legs. I'll be standing on the other side of the room and I hear her moving closer, then, I feel her little sweaty palms gripping my calves and up she goes. She still hasn't said a first word, but she does say ma-ma-ma-ma and da-da-da, she also still hisses like a snake, and recently, she likes blowing in your face. She also started shaking her head "no". It almost looks involuntary sometimes, but I guess she's seen Eric and me do it so much to her lately that she is trying it out. Lastly, she loves throwing things. She will swipe stuff off the counter, and pick stuff up and just chunk it. It's hilarious, but it doesn't help to keep the house clean! Oh yeah - and she is getting her top teeth - which explains the no sleep! We are so blessed to be her parents, and I am loving every minute of watching her grow and discover new things.
