Baycation!!!!

We had our last vacation as a family of three because next year we will have two little girls with us! We had a great time at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi and then, we went on to South Padre or Soulah Padre for three nights. We enjoyed playing at the beach and pool! The one day we went exploring around the island and Port Isabel, we kept showing up right as things were closing! It was kind of hysterical.... I decided that I needed a job in the tourism industry because literally everything is closed by 4:30....

Kya quotes of the week:
"I don't like bugs in my room." - This was after we got to move rooms the last night because there was an infestation of ants in our room.

"4 minutes." - When I asked what time it was or how much longer - this is what Kya said.

"I like that man. He gave me 3 presents." - We went to BurgerFi (one in the Woodlands), and the manager kept giving Kya BurgerFi stuff.

"Call me Ariel." - She would only answer to Ariel and referred to herself as Ariel especially when we were at the beach.

Summer Already?!?

I can't believe it is June already! It seems like we were just celebrating Easter. It is so crazy to me how kids can change so much even in a few weeks.

Kya now only wants to wear dresses. She also likes to wear dress-up dresses like Cinderella and Dora with her crown - in public. We let her wear her Dora dress to a graduation party, and from then on, she wanted to wear it everywhere! Thank goodness it started falling apart!

She also does not like to get anything on her clothes. If she gets even a hint of water on them, she starts screaming until you take them off. We have had many nights where we just let her run around in her underwear because she has changed clothes a few times. I try to explain to her the water will dry, but she still wants the dress/shirt/shorts off immediately. I'm not really sure why this started.

She likes for you to refer to her as princess. If I try to call her by her other nicknames like little sweetness, she will say, "I'm not little sweetness, I'm princess."

I will say this - she is the sweetest girl (I'm sure everyone thinks their daughter/son is the sweetest, but Kya really is!). She gives the best hugs and kisses. Sometimes she will hold my face and plant one right on my lips and then, say, "Ewwww, Mama!". I guess this is from us telling her when people kiss on the mouth on tv, it's gross. She still kisses by clicking her tongue to make the sound of a kiss. It makes me laugh every time.

I am enjoying this age so much. She says the most hilarious things. I love it! If we can only tone down her bossiness....I have no idea where she gets that from. :).

Spring!!!

We have had a wonderful start to Spring! We had a great time Easter at Bentwater with my parents and Eric's dad. Kya was finally well after having a virus the entire week before! She loved riding the horse and the train!


Kya has made us laugh so much lately with the things that she says. Here's a few quotes:

"Your tongue is gross, Mom."
"Let's get naked!" - Bath time fun
"Where are you, Kya Bunny?" - looking for her bunny that she has named Kya Bunny
"Kya Bunny has ballergies."
"Mom, you share with me?" - how Kya asks if you will share with her
"You're pretty, Dad."
"That dog is ruffing at me!"

Tonight, she put Eric in timeout and told him that he was mad at her. Then, she walked off and told him not to talk. I laughed for an entire minute.

Kya also enjoys singing. She even makes up her own words to her favorite songs like "If Your Happy and You Know It" or "Happy and Know It." according to Kya. A few of her favorite artists are Taylor Swift and Britt Nicole. She can sing most of the chorus of "We Are Never Getting Back Together." She continues to try to boss us around at all times and she likes bossing around our youth and college students who are so great with her! We are just so blessed to have this little angel - tantrums and all!

Flu Hit the Ballard House!

So, Kya had the flu this past week despite getting a flu shot. We took her in the first day because her fever shot up, and got some Tamiflu, which worked awesome! We had to call the doctor 4 hours after we were there because Kya could not keep anything down at all. She was to the point of dry heaving, which was scaring the mess out of Eric and me. They called in Zofran, which worked wonders immediately. I learned a few things during this experience:

1. If you tell the receptionist that your child was vomiting in the parking lot, you get to the front of the line to see the doctor.

2. If the swab that was used to get a sample from her nose to test for flu goes in your mouth, you still may not get the flu (true story!).

3. The flu can cause your kid to vomit worse than a stomach bug.

4. I love the snuggles I get from Kya when she is sick. I loved holding her as she slept. It made me miss having a baby.

5. I will always take Kya in the day I think she has the flu to get Tamiflu!

Christmas and Big Girl Panties

We had a wonderful Christmas! Kya actually got to open presents three times! She is such a lucky girl to have both sets of grandparents so active in her life. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church with my parents and brother, which the Christmas Eve service is my favorite service of the year. Kya was a bit more lively this year, and we were letting her "read" her books during the service. She screamed PIG right in the middle of our pastor's sermon and yes, we were sitting in the second row. Then, we went home and had fajitas courtesy of Jimmy Changa's. I have a rule - if someone else can make it better and for about the same amount as I would spend buying ingredients, I just get take out! It was nice because I got to spend the whole day with Kya and Eric instead of cooking! Then, Kya put out chocolate milk and cookies (which were the last package of pull apart cookies at Wal-Mart bought on Christmas Eve - we're good planners).

When Kya woke up, we read the Baby Jesus story (as Kya calls it), and then, we opened presents. Kya had the best time! She was so much better at opening presents, and when she was done with one, she would go back to the tree and say, "Another One!" She also "helped" Eric and I open all of our presents, especially if we weren't going fast enough. We had so much fun playing with our toys that morning minus Kya having a really bad cold that caused her to vomit (stupid mucus in the throat). She didn't let that phase her, though. Kya has gotten sick either on Christmas or New Year's the past two Christmases, so we were just thankful that she was not as sick as she had been in year's past. In the afternoon, we went to my parent's house where Kya racked up yet again and had a delicious meal prepared by my parents (I felt like a slacker getting take out, but it was so worth it! - I barely have time during the week to spend with Eric and Kya, so on my days off I try to soak it up!). On December 29th, we went to Eric's parents house in Montgomery, TX and opened even more presents and had another fabulous meal. Eric always tells his mom I hate her cooking - which he did I think the first or second time that I had ever eaten with his parents - but Sandy is a great cook, and prepared everything despite getting in late the night before! Kya's big gifts were (list from all 3 Christmases): a Little People's princess castle, a Nabi (Grams and Big Daddy), moobies (movies), stuffed animals (especially Sully and Mike from Monster's Inc. - Nan and Pop), gift cards, and lots of other things! I got a KindleFire, which I absolutely love. Overall, we are so blessed to have the great families that we do and to be able to spend the holidays with them!

Kya updates:
- I love how she pronounces words that have s followed by a consonant like Spot is pronounced Sfot.
- She still loves princesses and PINK. She calls Prince Charming, Prince Charms.
- She is still very bossy and stubborn, but at least I feel like she will not get pushed around. We are working on being more consistent with discipline - she responds much better to Eric than me.
- She just started wearing panties to school, and she refuses to wear diapers. I think she is finally ready!
- I love how in tune with emotions she is, the other day, I was sad about a family member on my dad's side passing away, and she looks at me, and says, "Mama, don't be sad."
- Her best friend at school is Isaac (or at least, she talks about him all the time), and she tells Eric and me that we are her best friends, too. She calls Eric "Da-Da Best Friend".
- She loves going to church and basking in all of the attention that is given to her. She loves being around people!
- She loves to sing and make up her own songs. Her teacher told me that when they watch movies, she still tries to sing along even if she doesn't know the words.
- She has started to be able to do puzzles by herself, which is amazing to me.
- She still loves to read! We read at least 5 books before she goes to bed. I hope she continues to love books as she gets older.

Khanksgibbing (Thanksgiving in Kya terms)

Kya had three Thanksgivings this year! First, we had Thanksgiving with Grams and Big Daddy two weeks before Thanksgiving (or "Khanksgibbing") and they invited Pop Noah and Nana over as well. Kya enjoyed having everyone together, and we watched the Bulldogs fall to LSU. Kya was a very good eater, and she especially enjoyed dessert! Grams, Kya, Nana, and me went for a ride around Montgomery, and my car overheated for the first time.... We got the water pump replaced, and thought all was well until it overheated again a week later in Rosebud, Texas (about 30 miles from any major town). That is another story, though.

Kya had her second "Khanksgibbing" in Jasper at Nana Cowart's while Eric and I were in Rosebud, Texas for the youth Winter Retreat. She enjoyed playing with all of her cousins and being the center of attention. She also got to meet her great-Aunt Geneba (Geneva) and great-Uncle Billy Ray. Eric and I were sad that we missed time with my mom's family, but we had a great time in Rosebud with the youth with the exception of my car over-heating for a second time. Gary (our speaker and Eric's youth pastor) drove back with me, and we stopped every hour to fill my car up with anti-freeze to make it back to Deer Park. After I took it back in, they discovered that my engine block was cracked! Thankfully, the place I took it to researched and found that Honda extended the warranty on the engine block for my make and model, which was a HUGE blessing and awesome Thanksgiving present!

Our third Thanksgiving was at my parent's house in Bentwater on actual Thanksgiving, and it was very relaxing. We decided to order Thanksgiving from the country club, which meant that we didn't have to cook, and it was nice to wake up and just relax all day. The food was pretty good, and we had two homemade pies from a tea room in Clear Lake that were delicious! Dad smoked a ham that was delicious, too!

Later in the day we took Kya to the park to swing and feed the ducks. It is still strange to me how hot it is this time of the year. I guess I have been in colder places the last 10 years, so I forgot how mild the winter is here.

Kya's new favorite restaurant is Chick-Fil-A because she likes playing at the indoor playground and eating fries! She also loved decorating the house for Christmas. When we were decorating she was running around yelling, "We decorating!!!". She did a great job putting ornaments on the tree and sang Up on the Housetop for us while she was putting ornaments on the tree. She also loves looking at Christmas lights. We took her to a really nice neighborhood in Deer Park, and she kept saying, "Those lights are pretty!" We have also watched Frosty and the Grinch more times than we can count and it is only the beginning of December! The Grinch scares her, but she insists on watching it anyways. Eric and I are looking forward to celebrating Christmas this year with Kya and sharing about the importance of Christmas and why we celebrate.

Fall and Halloween!

Kya has continued to grow and change every week. Before I switched jobs in August, I was traveling every other week, and she would be saying or doing something different every time I got home. I was so thankful for the opportunity to change jobs and go to work at Waste Management in August. I have only had to travel once since I started, and it was to LA! Kya started potty training in July, and we are still fighting that battle! She will go on the potty, but has not mastered telling us when she needs to go. She also does not like pooping on the toilet, which I don't understand, but I guess it is easier to go in her pants, so.... I know that she will be trained when she is ready, but I want to get rid of the diapers and the recurring rash! The rash is either from wipes or J&J shampoo, so for now, we are going no wipes and very expensive baby shampoo suggested by our doctor. She has entered the tantrum phase, and sometimes I feel like I have to walk on egg shells around her. The smallest thing will set her off, and it is not fun. Sometimes I just go put her in a room and watch from the door until she calms down, but I have become creative at diverting her attention from whatever upset her. Diversion is key with a 2-year-old. Overall, she is a really great kid, but I will not miss the tantrums from this age! Kya has also become quite sassy and she likes to joke around and for you to "scare" her. She will say stuff to make us laugh, and it is really cute. She loves for us to sneak up on her and grab her. She also likes to "scare" us by jumping out of closets. Her favorite things to do are: reading, watching tb's or moo-bies, putting on make-ups, playing at the "parking lot", tumble bus at school, eating icey and canny, and SHOPPING. Kya just really had her first official Halloween with trick or treating and everything, and she LOVED it. She went as Dora, which I bought her a Cinderella costume, and one of my friends from work gave me her daughter's old costume (Dora). We went trunk or treating at the church, which Kya loved getting all the "canny"! Then, we went to our house where Eric and I took turns taking her trick or treating around our neighborhood. That child went trick or treating for a solid hour. I was so impressed. When got done with one house, she would immediately say, "Another door!". She had more candy than we gave out by the end of the night, and we had at least 150 pieces. Every day since then, she has mentioned trick or treating. Eric and I are excited to celebrate Christmas with her this year because of how much fun Halloween was. Pictures are from our trip to San Antonio and Halloween!