Easter!

We had a great Easter! Grams, Big Daddy, and Aunt Hayley came to stay with us, and Kya was not sick for once when they came to visit! They also brought Kya some new clothes now that she has moved up to 12 months. I'm so glad that Sandy has similar taste in clothing to me. Grams and Big Daddy did a great job picking out some very cute outfits for the summer! Not to mention - they loaded us up with diapers before they left. Kya showed them how much she loves to play the piano and "sing". She is also army crawling and pulling up on everything! She loves to pull up and sit back down, and do it all over again. I have started just sitting her in her crib and letting her go to town before her afternoon nap time. She also loves when you hide and jump out at her. Grams, Big Daddy, Aunt Hayley, and Fletch went to the park to swing, which Kya loves to do! We also went to Tiger Town on Saturday and visited our favorite stores. On Sunday morning, we went to the traditional service at AUMC, and then, we came home and had brunch with omelets, french toast, and sweet potato hashbrowns. It was delicious! It was a very relaxing weekend, and we really enjoyed having Grams, Big Daddy, and Aunt Hayley - AND Fletch! Fletch had to go to the vet and get his shots and get two more shots for the skin infection that he has had off and on this Spring. We think it is related to his allergies, so hopefully, the antibiotics will kick this thing for good this time. We are so thankful that Eric's parents are willing to take care of Fletch while we are in our apartment.

So, Kya is continuing to learn new things every day. It is just amazing to me. She loves taking the rings off of the yellow thing and throwing them. She has discovered screeching and loves to do it when she is excited. She loves "walking" holding our hands. She screeches when she does it. I think she is getting her top teeth because she keeps sticking out her tongue like she is running it over her teeth. We are in the process of changing her feeding schedule now that she is almost 10 months! We're transitioning to three bottles and a little bit more food. Today was the first day, and she's doing great. She also loves "singing" when she plays her piano. She loves going "ssss" like a snake. I really think she will be walking in a few weeks. She only holds on with one hand now, and last night, she stood by herself for a few brief seconds. Lastly, she loves playing in the trash - I know that sounds bad, but she thinks empty boxes and bottles are awesome. Who needs expensive toys when trash will keep her entertained!

9-month Check-up

We went to the doctor yesterday for Kya's 9-month visit, and she is growing so well! She is 28 3/4" and 20 lbs. 10 oz. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and height. I was getting all worried about her feeding schedule because I feel like I just make it up, but the doctor told me to just go with my gut, and that obviously, Kya is growing well, so we're doing fine. I just read stuff about other people's babies eating more baby food than her or eating more variety. I know she gets plenty of milk, but I am just confused about when do you make the transition to feeding less milk and more of other fluids and more baby food. Oh well - she is growing and eating great, so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and make changes as I see fit. I guess this is how the rest of parenthood will go - every child is different, so there is no one size fits all guide to this stuff! I wonder if other people feel as clueless as I do! Back to the appointment - Kya only had to get one shot, and she scrunched her face up and turned red, but she didn't cry. We had the same nurse as last time, and I was so happy because she does an awesome job giving shots! When Kya was about to cry, we just kept saying you're okay over and over, and she just stopped and started smiling. Amazing! I guess I'm not too surprised because that little girl loves to play rough and hardly ever cries when she falls down or bumps her head. I am thankful for that because I am definitely one of those people that is like "suck it up, you're fine!" I'm also thankful she has quit crying when she gets her shots because now, I don't cry anymore when she gets them. :).

Happy Almost Easter!

So, Kya has been busy! She is still army crawling, but man, is she fast! She gets up on all fours, but that is just to sit herself back up. A few mornings ago we walked in to Kya standing up and jumping in her bed. She has figured out how to go from her back to sitting to standing. I am just amazed at how fast she has acquired these skills! She is now around 20 lbs, and she has her 9-month check-up on Monday, so hopefully, everything looks good! I'm not looking forward to the shots, but last time, she did not cry at all, so hopefully, it is the same result this time. One thing I can't get over is how Kya tries to pull herself up on everything. Eric and I are like her own personal jungle gyms. The other day I was getting ready in the bathroom, and I sat her down next to me, and literally in 5 seconds she had pulled herself up on the toilet. Note to self - I need to get those toilet thingies, so she can't open it. She is also really tough - she falls over, etc. and hardly ever cries. I am seriously amazed by her. We are looking forward to spending Easter with Grams and Big Daddy (Eric's parents) next weekend! We got Kya a Veggie Tales movie, and I guess we'll find something else....

Granny and Papa's 50th Wedding Anniversary

We went to Columbus and Walnut, MS this past weekend to see Eric's parents and go to my dad's parent's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. We were in the car a lot, but we had a lot of fun introducing Kya to the Noah side of the family. Kya has started pulling up, and army crawling. She'll stick her butt in the air and try to crawl with her legs extended. She took one correct crawl step the other day, but she is constantly trying to pull up on everything. I think she might crawl for about a week, then, start trying to walk. At the end of the weekend, we left Fletch with Eric's parents so that he has more attention and has a yard to play in. It was sad, but I guess I agree with Eric that it is for the best until we have a yard again. Plus, with Kya getting mobile, it is trickier to keep her out of his stuff. We are so thankful that Eric's parents love Fletch soooo much and are willing to watch him. Kya also racked up on some new toys (Grams and Big Daddy) and clothes (Nana and Pop Noah)! The pictures are of Kya trying crackers for the first time and the anniversary party.

Spring Break!

We had a very eventful Spring Break - some good and some bad! Kya and I ventured to Houston to see my family. Dad came to Auburn on Friday, and drove us to the airport and we flew back to Houston on Saturday. Kya met her Nana Cowart for the first time! She also met her Great-Aunt Kay, Great-Uncle Kevin, Great-Uncle Randall, and Cousins Andrea, Ross, and Macy! We had a busy Sunday, but it was a lot of fun, and Kya was enjoying all of the attention of course! She is getting to where if she is not in eyesight of someone, she will scream. It's almost instantaneous now. AND she is starting to have a little bit of stranger anxiety. I love that she is reaching for me, but sometimes she won't let me hand her off without fussing. It is really sweet, so I know I should enjoy it because in about 12 years, she will be embarrassed to be seen with me in public. Pop Noah spoiled her rotten by laying with her until she fell asleep! Then, on Monday night, Kya got to see Aunt Jolie and Uncle Adam. On Tuesday, Uncle Abel and Pop Noah helped me take Kya to the park. She had so much fun sliding down the slide and swinging for the first time. Unfortunately, I think she has taken after me and has allergies. The poor girl had a bad cough and was stopped up most of the trip, but she was still in good spirits. Then, we were supposed to leave on Wednesday, but I did the stupidest thing at the airport going through security. So, I have flown with Kya twice before this trip by myself, so I had experience going through security! I normally unbuckled her, and someone would come and unattach her car seat from her stroller for me, and put it through the machine. Well, this time I did not have help, and I stupidly unbuckled her before I had taken her car seat off of the stroller. When I went to unhook her car seat, she leaned forward and landed on her face. I seriously keep reliving seeing her face down on the floor and my heart dropping. She instantly started screaming, which was a good thing, but I was just in shock mode. Like WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?! Thankfully, my dad hadn't left, so he was able to come back in and help me out. Needless to say, we had our first ambulance ride to the hospital, which was really unnecessary, but they were there so we rode. Kya was already smiling and laughing when we drove to the hospital. She is such a tough baby! When we got to the ER, they checked her out immediately - so note to self - ambulance = skip the line! She got a nice shiner on her right eye, but when they were pressing on it, she didn't even flinch. I was like - she is super baby! Thankfully, nothing was wrong other then a bruised eye - but learn from me - NEVER unbuckle your child until the car seat is on the ground and you are ready to take them out! I think that was the scariest experience - even worse than our wreck with the deer - or maybe they were the same. I think I am ready to stop putting my child in danger! So, we finally made it back on Friday, but I am glad that our trip got delayed because I was able to spend some more quality time with my mom and dad. Then, when we got back, Grams and Big Daddy came in town to see us! So, Kya had a nice full week with lots of attention from all the grandparents! She is one loved child and is very blessed to have such great grandparents! Grams and Big Daddy brought her a little drum that she loves to bang on - I think she'll be musical - she loves playing her piano and singing. We sing together. It is so cute! Kya is also starting to try to crawl. Most of the time she ends of going backwards or getting frustrated. Now, she loves standing. She thinks she is so big! I'm trying to get her to still try to crawl, but I guess she'll do what she wants. She is also fascinated by phones. She looks at them like she is studying it, and of course she loves the lights and buttons. I love how curious she is! We are so blessed, and I am so thankful that Kya was not seriously hurt at the airport! Thankfully, she hit the side of her face and not the front. God was really watching over us and my stupid mistake! I know it won't be the last time she gets hurt, but hopefully, it is never my fault ever again.

March!

So, Kya is just rolling around everywhere and grabs at EVERYTHING. She is trying to crawl, but hasn't quite got the hang of it. Fletch has a skin infection, so I am trying to keep her off of the carpet, but it is hard! She also loves playing with her piano and kitchen. We've recently discovered that she loves sitting in her high chair. I think she likes it because she can see everything better. She loves to take her spoons and bang them on everything. She's been stopped up for the past week, but it seems to be waning, so I guess it's either a little cold or allergies. My allergies have been bothering me, so it might be allergies. I took some pictures of her rolling around in her bed. We need to lower her mattress because she is getting close to pulling herself up on the bars. She tries! Kya loves screaming, too. It's her way of communicating I guess. She also makes consnant sounds like da, ba, and various other noises. She does say da-da-da, so Eric is counting that as her first word. She also loves to grab your face, and it HURTS! She has baby claws, but she has a strong grip. It is amazing how strong she is. Kya is also laughing A LOT more. She loves funny faces. Eric and I will grimace when she grabs our face and it really hurts, but she just laughs and laughs. I also found something Kya does not like - Turkey! We tried turkey last week, and she kept spitting it out. I don't know if it was the texture or what, but she did not like it. Well, she is growing and so much fun! I just love her every laugh and smile!

Ear Infections and Bouncing!

So, I have a funny story for today, but I want to preface it by saying that we have been to the doctor twice this month - once with the flu and RSV and the other time with double ear infections, which was a result of RSV and the flu. So, today, I walked into Kya's Sunday School class, and she moved up today to the babies that are sitting- anyways, I walked in and dropped her off. I spied a kid with snot just running down her nose, and I almost grabbed Kya and walked back out, but I decided that I was probably being too dramatic, so I just left. I got back to youth Sunday School and told Eric about the snot nose kid, and Eric said, "Go, back and get her now!". I told him I would feel weird and what was I supposed to say - um, that kid has snot coming out of her nose, and I don't want her near my child who is finally not snot nosed. So, Eric tells me that he'll go get her, and she will just sit in his lap during Sunday School while he's teaching his group, so I give him the pager and number thing. He goes in there and tells them that something came up, and Kya had to leave. I guess it's not that funny, but seriously - I am so leery of taking her to the nursery now. I know the other times she probably got her sickness from CDO, but seriously, who brings their kid snot-nosed to church?!?! I mean she had green snot dripping out of her nose! Come on, people! You can skip church to take care of your kid - or at least prevent them from infecting other kids!!!! I am getting fired up thinking about it right now.

Back to Kya - she is now 18.5 pounds (not sure about height because they only weighed her at the doctor), and she loves bouncing. She bounces when you hold her, when she's sitting down, and she loves when you sit her up on the bed and let her bounce. She has also become quite fascinated with the Laugh and Learn kitchen that Grams and Big Daddy got her for Christmas. She loves pulling the faucet down, and touching all of the different parts of the kitchen and listening to the songs that go along with it. She eats 4 times a day, and she still LOVES to eat! She will eat any baby food we give her, but she really likes fruit. I think she likes peaches the best. However, she is not a picky eater, which is fabulous. I also started feeding her rice cereal in the morning - she doesn't like it as much, but I give it to her anyways. One of my least favorite things that Kya does now is she screams any time I leave her eye sight. Seriously, I can't even go to the bathroom. I'm sure my neighbors think I just let her cry all the time, but I think it might be a bit gross to have her in the bathroom with me.

Kya and Fletch (and Eric) really spoiled me this year for Valentine's Day even after I told Eric that I hate Valentine's Day and I think it's stupid and please don't get me anything. He's a good husband, and doesn't listen to me. :). I came home from school to a dozen yellow roses with pink on the edge (don't know what they're called, but they are my favorite rose), cupcakes from Taylor's bakery, and a massage from our gym. Kya and I made Eric a card, so I felt like a jerk that Eric went to all of this effort and all I did was make him a card with Kya. The card was pretty cool, though - Kya crumpled up a piece of paper that I glued to it, and I somehow got her to scribble with a pen on some paper. So, technically, Eric now has her first scribbles and art work. I guess that's cool, but Eric did way better than me. I still stand by my words that I hate V-day, though. Why are we supposed to especially show how we feel on one day - shouldn't you do that every day!! No, I am not a sap, but I don't understand why one day should be different - you should always tell your husband you love them and how much they mean to you.