Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Everything in Between!

So much has happened in the past two months, so I'll try not to write a novel! First, we moved into a house on October 28th, and we love it! Since we spent considerably less than we thought we would, I was able to update the kitchen and Eric got his dream television. Then, I defended my dissertation on November 4th, and I officially became Dr. Ballard on November 21st when my advisor officially signed my form. I was so excited, but it doesn't really seem real yet. Next, we hosted Thanksgiving at our NEW house! My parents, brother, Eric's parents and sister AND his grandmother from Colorado came. I can't take too much credit because my parents cooked the turkey and several sides, and Eric's parents also contributed several sides (even thought they drove 9 hours!). It was really neat to have both families together, and I look forward to more holidays with everyone! THEN, on November 28th, Kya got tubes! Finally! She had three ear infections in two months, and the last one required shots of antibiotics, so we went straight to the ENT. She was pretty fussy after the surgery, but she has recovered very well. It is amazing to me how resilient kids are!

Kya has started trying to talk more, and her current words are: Eeez (please), Moh! (more), Da (Daddy and most other things), Ma (me), Yeah. Tonight she read a book to me, which was the funniest thing ever. She has discovered throwing thanks to her Dad, and she thinks it is hilarious to throw everything. She has a new Elmo truck, and she loves singing along with it (well, she goes "La, la"). She also loves kicking her soccer ball. Lastly, that girl loves to eat! She loves anything with sugar, but she is great at eating veggies, too. I think she eats like 5 meals a day, and when she gets hungry, she'll go stand by the pantry or refrigerator, point and say "Mo!". Then, she goes and tries to climb into her high chair - she is definitely my daughter! She is 26 lbs and 31 inches at 16 months! I love that girl!