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!

MSU Pictures

Here are some pictures of Eric and Kya from the State vs. Auburn game. This was before we started sucking. Aunt Hayley gave Kya her cheerleading uniform!

SEPTEMBER!

It is finally less than 100 degrees, but I don't really get to enjoy it except at 5:30 during my morning runs in the dark. However, I am grateful that little girl gets to spend more time outside with Eric. I have been at work for 5 weeks now, and I really like it! I was assigned to the delivery function at my company - I guess I should back up - I am working at a software consulting firm called Quorum Business Solutions, and they provide around 23 or 24 software products for oil, gas, and wind energy companies - and by gas, I mean natural gas - I still catch myself thinking it's gas we get at the gas station... Anyways, I have learned a ton about the industry, and it is really fascinating to me. So, delivery - I will be helping to implement our products at client sites, which involves tailoring our products (some computer programming - just learned a bunch in the past few weeks!) and working with the clients. This was the function I wanted to serve in, so I am really excited! However, there is the possibility that I will be traveling, but for now, my assignment is for a client in Dallas, but I get to work from the Houston office. Did I also mention that I love the people I have worked with so far? This is not what I expected to be doing when I got my Ph.D., but I feel like it is such a great fit for me.

On another note, I will be GRADUATING this fall! Finally! I got the go ahead from my advisor last week, and I am super pumped! I will be defending at the end of October or early November. I could not have done this without God - thank you for everyone that prayed constantly for me during this experience because there is NO way I would have made it without those prayers and support. Special shout out to my mom and my other mom Sandy! Y'all are the best! AND I definitely have to give the most love to my husband who has encouraged me and listened to me vent through this whole process. He's been amazing!

On to Kya - this has been the weirdest adjustment of all - I literally see her an hour a day, and it sucks. I really treasure the weekends, and I only run errands with her or during her nap time, so I get as much time as possible with her. This is difficult because everything we need to do gets pushed to the weekend, so it is a little crazy. My parents have been amazing, though. They have watched Kya when we look at houses or furniture, etc. Eric has had to run a lot of errands for us, and my mom has really helped him out. We are so thankful that they are letting us stay with them until we find a house. They are the best! Okay - so Kya is a walking machine now. She tries to run, but most of the time trips and falls when she does. She loves being outside, and the other day when we brought her in, she went and stood by the door and cried because she wanted to go back outside. Eric takes her to Bay Area park a lot to feed the ducks. He has been so awesome with her, and I am thankful (and jealous) for all the time they get to spend together. However, she will be starting full time day care in a week when Eric goes to work. She has cut at least one molar that we can see. She still eats like a champ. I was looking at this website, and it made comments how babies start eating less as they get a little older - I don't think that will ever happen with Kya. She loves food and has the gut to prove it! She still loves reading books. I think I read her 5 every night. Sometimes she wants to just flip the pages, though. Her favorite right now is The Spooky Old Tree - she will listen to that one, and she loves when I shiver for the bears that have the shivers. She says yeah all the time, and she says da-da. I'm waiting for ma-ma!!!

This weekend is going to be so busy for us! The church that Eric has been interviewing with will be voting tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Today, he has a meeting with the deacons, and a question and answer session with the parents. We are really excited because we met the youth on Wednesday night, and they are awesome! I just wish we already had our house, so we could start having stuff at our place as soon as he starts. I know that it will happen soon, but it's hard waiting!

Texas Forever!

Well, it has been a busy summer! We have officially moved to Houston, Texas, and I have been at my new job for 2 weeks. I am still in training, so I can't exactly tell you what I will be doing because they place me in 2 weeks. The company I work for is a consulting firm called Quorum Business Solutions, and they develop, implement and support software products for the oil, gas, and wind companies. I have actually enjoyed most of my training, and the class (there are 9 other people in my class). So, I really like it so far minus my 45 minute (sometimes hour) commute.

We are living with my parents until we find a house, and that is going really well (surprisingly!). We are looking in a town called Deer Park, which is literally on the other side of town. Eric is the candidate that the search committee of a Baptist church is recommending to the church for a vote the second weekend of September. I will tell you the name as soon as it is official! But, the vote is pretty much a formality. We have been looking for houses, but we haven't found anything that we love. Plus, there is not much on the market in Deer Park because apparently, when people move there, they don't leave. All in God's timing, I guess! My commute won't change much, so I am not in that big of a rush to find a house. Plus, it has been nice to spend so much time with my family, and we aren't getting on each other's nerves just yet! It's also nice to have two extra sets of hands now that Kya is walking!

Kya and Eric are in MS right now visiting Grams, Big Daddy, Fletch, and Aunt Hayley. I am so glad that Eric thought to go visit them since the vote isn't for three more weeks, but they will be gone for 10 days!!! That is by far the longest I have gone without seeing my sweet angel (and Eric!)! I know that she will be loved and well taken care of, though!

Kya has learned so much in the past month! She is walking, can climb the stairs by herself, gives the best hugs, "talks" with you in her own language, helps put on her clothes, eats big people food like a champ, and loves the water. She is not afraid of anything and wants to do things by herself. When we take her to the pool, she will try to dive out of our hands and will stick her face in the water like the big kids around her. The other night when I was giving her a bath, she would not let me take her out even after the water was drained. She started screaming when I finally was able to get her out. I couldn't help but laugh about how much she loves bath time. She loves to splash! She also does not want me to hold her hand when she walks anymore - she is a big girl! I just can't believe how big she is and all of the things she can do now. Okay - one last Kya brag - she is so social - when we go anywhere, she will stare people down until they look at her, and then she gives them a big smile and waves (which looks more like she is saying come here or she is waving at herself), but we meet so many strangers because of her. She is soooo not shy! When we took her to the day care that she will be going to, she kept wanting to go and play with all of the kids. I am so thankful for that! I think she is going to love day care (which she has never been full time) because she will get to play with other kids. One last thing - she loves having books read to her. I'll finish it, and she will take it and flip to the front of the book and hand it back to me. I normally quit after 5 or 6 times, and she gets a little fussy when I do. I love that she loves to read, though! Her favorite book right now is The Hungry Caterpillar.

Kya's 1st Birthday

I walked into Kya's room because she had suddenly gotten quiet after I put her down for her nap, and this is what I found!


I can't believe it has taken me almost two weeks to blog about Kya's first birthday! We have been busy packing, and I am trying to finish up as much of my dissertation as possible before we move, which is one week from tomorrow! I'm so excited and sad at the same time. We were so thankful to celebrate Kya's birthday here, so we could get a lot of our friends together one last time before we leave. We were very fortunate that Eric's parents and sister and my mom were able to come. Plus, my Great-Uncle Hank, Great-Aunt Brenda and Cousin Kim came from Atlanta! We had the party in the junior high snack bar at the church, which was perfect because we had a full kitchen and plenty of room for everyone, AND it was free! We made cupcakes, which were sugar-free for my diabetic husband. In all honesty, we had a stash of like three cake mixes and frostings from my mom and Eric's mom, so I was trying to get rid of it! Then, we had brownie sundaes, which were not sugar-free. Eric, Hayley, and I went up to the church early to decorate a little bit and get everything set up, and the grandparents came with the birthday girl after she woke up from her nap. They actually had to wake her up, which was not such a great thing when she first got to the party. BUT, when she got used to all of the people fawning all over her, she loved it! We made Kya her own cake, which she shared with Eric and me in the form of icing off of her hands. It was the first time Kya had ever had cake or anything chocolate. She loved it, and she better get used to sugar-free because we will most likely only have that in our house - except for my ice cream. One funny part was when we were singing Happy Birthday to her, she got this look on her face like she was going to cry because she didn't understand why everyone was staring at her and taking pictures and singing. I kept saying - it's okay, Kya over and over, and when everyone was done, she let out a shriek meaning that she was excited. It was so cute! She does love being the center of attention! Then, she opened presents, which I told everyone not to bring anything, but of course, that was ignored. Kya racked up on toys and clothes and gift cards! She loved opening the presents. We are so thankful for our many friends and family who came to celebrate with us, especially my and Eric's family who traveled many hours to be with Kya on her special day. Unfortunately, my dad could not make it because he was getting ready for the final shuttle launch, but he won't miss anymore! We missed Pop Noah, but next year, we'll have all of the grandparents and aunt and uncle!

My mom stayed with us the week after Kya's birthday because the daycare at the church was closed, and it was a big help. Mom cleaned out Kya's closet and our kitchen. I can always count on her to get me organized! We gave a bunch of stuff away this past week, which made me feel ridiculous that we have so much stuff. A lot of it was Kya's stuff. I just didn't see the point in hanging onto everything when we're not sure when or if we will have another baby. What is crazy is that we still have one huge tub of clothes. We try to clean out our closets at least twice a year, and it's amazing to me how much stuff we give away each time. I love giving stuff away and cleaning stuff out! It feels good to get rid of the clutter! I guess I get that from my mom. Of course Mom also made sure we always had clean clothes. I know Kya enjoyed her time with Nana No-No, which is what we started to call her by the end of the week. I told Mom that Kya would probably shorten that to No-No, so we probably shouldn't call her that unless she wants to be known as No-No.

Kya also went in for her 1 year check-up, and she is 22 lbs (75th percentile) and 30 inches (75th percentile). However, her head measurement is off the charts. This girl has a big head! The doctor recommended that after we move to Houston, we go get it checked out, but he doesn't see any reason to worry about it. I freaked out for a day, but she is progressing normally and hitting all of the milestones, so I should not be worried. She just has a big head - thanks to her Daddy! Other than that, she is doing great!

So, here is the Kya update: she can stand for long periods of time and has started taking a few steps at a time. She'll stand herself up and take a few steps towards me as long as I am close to her. She is so close to walking around, but not yet. She loves playing with my old phone and making Eric and me "talk" to someone. She pretty much just opens the phone and shoves it at our face or ear when she wants us to act like we are talking. She loves flipping through her books, too. She also loves to play hide and seek. Eric or I will go to another room and call out to her from behind a door (she loves pushing open doors), and she will come find us. We can play this for a long time. She loves shrieking, too! This week I got her to start making the "zzz" sound. I would tell her to buzz like a bee, and she spits making the "b" noise and then goes "zzzz". It's awesome! Lastly, she loves getting attention from strangers. We were in line at Wal-Mart this week, and this lady looked at her and smiled, and then, she kept loading her groceries on the conveyor, well, Kya decided that she was not done looking at her, and she shrieked at her. It was hilarious. I am so curious to see how Kya's personality develops. She gets a little shy if people pay attention to her first, but she loves looking at people and shrieking until they look at her, and if they look away before she wants them to, she will get their attention again. One thing is for sure - she is very strong-willed and likes to get her way!

Grams' visit, Father's Day, my birthday, and first steps!

A lot has happened in the past week - as I just got up to catch Kya throwing up her spit. We think she is teething, but she has never quite reacted like this before. She is drooling like crazy and has had a low grade fever, but only in the afternoon, which is weird to me. I was going to call the doctor this morning if she still had a fever just to check in, but no fever, and then, at 3:00, she had around 102, but the doctor is closed at 2... Hopefully, this is just teething, and the symptoms will subside soon. I've read all of this stuff that teething does not cause a fever, but I don't know what else she could have because she is drooling and refusing to eat.... Seriously, can I go 2 weeks without going to the doctor?!?!

Well, we had Grams (Eric's mom) come help us out with Kya last week, and we were sad to see her go. She spoiled us by taking the monitor and getting up with Kya when she would cough, which we have been to the doctor twice about, and they told me to try allergy medicine, which has not worked either. Now, I think it was from excess saliva now that the drool has come out in full force. Grams also cooked, brought us lots of fresh fruit and veggies and taught Kya new things! Kya can now clap and understands what the word clap means. She also worked with her to learn her shapes with one of her toys. We're still working on waving. She does it sometimes. We were so thankful that she was able to come help us out because CDO was closed for VBS!!!

Then, we celebrated Father's Day by going to Waffle House! Eric and I went to a brunch at Ariccia the weekend before to celebrate Father's Day and my birthday while we had a free babysitter! Unfortunately, Eric had to work all day, but we had a relaxing afternoon together. The picture of Kya and Eric was taken Father's Day night after I had gotten her ready for bed.

THEN, my birthday was on Tuesday (21st), and Eric got me a cupcake from Gigi's for breakfast and left a complete schedule of the day for me. I went to school to work for a few hours, and then, we met at Amsterdam's for lunch. Then, Kya and I hung out until 1 when Lindsay got there with another cupcake for me from Gigi's! I went to get a massage that Eric had actually gotten me for Valentine's Day, and it was amazing. Seriously, if I could justify getting one a week, I totally would. After that, I got yogurt with Abby, which was so much fun! She got me a picture frame from the place she works in downtown and put a picture of us from this year's Winter Retreat. I am going to miss Abby so much when we move, and it was been a joy to watch her grow into a young lady after God's heart! Lastly, Eric let me open my presents: awesome running socks, Nike shorts, and a new sports bra. I know there is a theme, but I do love running, and I actually bought a new pair of shoes with the birthday money my parents sent. My next pampering will be a pedicure and eye brow wax that Sandy and Randy got me (in addition to the credit reports - ha ha!). I almost forgot - Eric then made me dinner, and it was great, and we had cookie cake to finish it off! I wasn't really looking forward to my birthday, but Eric did a great job making it really special for me. He is a great husband!!!

So, the most exciting thing to happen this week was Kya took two steps on June 22nd. I was holding her hands walking her around when she "walked" up to Eric and let go of my hands and took two steps to him. It was awesome! I was so thankful that we both got to see it. Such a gift! She hasn't taken anymore steps, but she has also been sick or teething or whatever this junk is! We were going to go to the lake this weekend to use our good friend Jordan's lakehouse, but that was out when Kya had a low fever yesterday. Oh well - we'll make up for it another time! Just pray that this sweet girl gets better for her big birthday next weekend!

Boo for sickness!

So, Kya is getting over a nasty I don't know what. I don't think it was a cold, but allergies. Anyways, she had a nasty cough, and we had to pull out the nebulizer and put it back into commission. Eric and I took shifts sleeping with her on a pallet in the living room. She would wake up, and wouldn't go back to sleep by herself, so we figured it would be easier to just have one of us not sleep at a time than both of us! So, a week later, I went to the doctor wanting to demand the steroid cough syrup (which I had a little left over from Christmas and gave her over the weekend) to find out her lungs were clear and she had two ear infections! I wasn't even thinking that she could have ear infections! Good thing I took her in because I was about to just let the cold or whatever run its course because her cough sounded better. Plus, she never runs a fever, and she was climbing on me like a human jungle gym at the doctor. She is now back to sleeping through the night. Thank goodness! I am so spoiled by it, and when she doesn't do it, I can only take about a week before I get crazy tired. I don't know how we did it when she was first born. It was a blur to say the least. I do feel like I am getting better at knowing what to do when she's sick, but obviously I am still clueless! I love antibiotics, though!!!

Kya is crawling so fast now! She can stand for moments at a time, and she will try to take steps with only one hand balancing herself. Her favorite thing to do is get into things we repeatedly tell her not to get into. She loves pulling the DVDs off of the shelf. She is also extremely hard to change now. She flips over and tries to stand up on her changing table. I had to put her in her bed and let her stand while I dressed her last night after her bath. It's not easy putting a diaper on a walking baby. The only time she lies still is if she has a poopy - thank goodness! My dad drove down from Atlanta to see us on Tuesday for lunch! Kya enjoyed all of the extra attention and showed him her "walking" skills. It's harder and harder to take her out now. She sits still for about 20 minutes, and then, she somehow gets out of the strap holding her in the high chair and tries to stand up in it. She still hasn't said a true first word unless you count da-da-da, which Eric does. She loves making her "s" sound still. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but she has started shaking her head no when we talk to her. It's pretty hilarious. We ask a question, and she just shakes her head "no". I guess we do that too much to her right now. She has also started throwing little tantrums when we don't do what she wants, which we just ignore and let her lie on the ground. Then, she gets up like 10 seconds later and does something else. I am semi-ready for her to start walking - one- it will be easier than having to walk her around all the time, but then, it means I have to baby proof even more, which is going to be tough when we start packing up in a few weeks! Well, that is the Kya update.