December 2008

December 29th
Sorry it's been so long since we've written anything. Guess it just goes to show how busy it can get around Christmas time.

We had a fantastic holiday season. We had a family Christmas at home, and then we made the fun journey, via car, to Minnesota. It only took 14 hours, not counting food and bathroom breaks. Everything went fairly well though. Kyla behaved, we only had to deal with fog and blowing snow (those were not fun, but conditions could have been worse), and we got to stop in Omaha both ways.

Kyla loved everything about Christmas, except for Santa. She enjoyed opening presents, posing for countless pictures and spending time at Grandpa and Grandma's house. The most fun was had taking plastic containers out of the cupboards. If only adults were that easily amused. :)

Scott and I had a great time in Minnesota as well. It's always nice to go home and spend time with loved ones.

We'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. May God bless each and everyone one of you in 2009.

December 9th
Kyla played in the snow for the first time today. Okay, played isn't the most appropriate word. For ten minutes she cried because she couldn't really move in all of her snow gear, and the rest of the time was spent working up the nerve to touch the snow with her mittens. This time next year, we probably won't be able to get her to come inside from playing in the snow.

She seems to like almost everything about Christmas, minus Santa. She loves snowmen, the twinkling lights, ornaments, Christmas music and the decorations. It's a joy to watch the excitment in her eyes as she sees and plays with everything. If only we could all be children again.

December 6th
Gosh, it's hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner. We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season thus far.

The family had breakfast with Santa today at the Eastridge Recreation center. Kyla loved the big, inflatable snowman. I wish we could say the same for Santa Claus. The pictures say everything. Unfortunately, Santa made Mommy sit on his lap too. Mommy was embarrassed, to say the least.

Harley is doing well these days. She is able to get herself out the dog door now, and she's also mastered going down the stairs. Hopefully, the days of pottying in the house are behind us. She is still full of spunk and puppy. She enjoys pouncing on faces and chewing on everything in sight. In her defense, it must be hard to tell her chew toys from all of Kyla's. :-)

Scott is doing well. He's having another good quarter at work, so that is a blessing.

November 2008

November 25th

It's been a rough week and a half for Kyla. She caught her first cold. She is over it, thankfully, but still has a few not-so-pleasant side effects. And to end her week-long fiasco, she also threw up for the first time ever. Kyla is definitely anxious to get back to her normal self. She has had a great disposition throughout this whole ordeal though. She's quite the trooper!

Scott turned 32 last Monday. We celebrated by going out to dinner and sharing our germs with him. That's what family is for, right? Hee hee!! Thankfully, he has yet to get more than a stuffy nose. Hopefully he will fare better than Kyla and I.

We'd like to wish you and your families a very "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!" We hope everyone is able to enjoy some great food and wonderful company.

November 13th
Over the weekend, Kyla provided us with an amusing bathtime show. As always, she was undressed and waiting to get into the tub. While she was waiting, Harley decided to sniff her bottom. Kyla found this very amusing and really started to laugh. We are not sure if the laughing caused it, but she started to pee right there on the bathroom floor. Apparently, Harley liked the warm "water," so she stayed right near Kyla and enjoyed her first golden shower. It was the funniest thing we've seen in a long time. :-) Needless to say, Harley needed a bath too.

I celebrated my 31st birthday yesterday. It was a very nice day. Heidi and Grace took me out to eat at a new Mexican restaurant, and Scott and Kyla took me to the Grand Lux Cafe. Both meals were supper yummy!! If only it were my birthday everyday. Thanks to everyone who called and emailed. It was nice hearing from you!!

Scott's birthday is Monday. We can't wait.

We had a family picture taken back in September, so we finally got that framed and hung on the wall. Kyla seems to enjoy looking at the bigger picture of herself. She thinks she's pretty cute. And truth be told, we totally agree.

Our next big project is visiting Santa for a Christmas card photo. I'm sure Kyla will cry. She's not too comfortable around strangers yet.

November 2nd
It's hard to believe Halloween has come and gone already. This year is totally flying by way too fast. We spent our Halloween evening at the Wildlife Experience. They had a Trick-or-Treat off the street for the kids. We thought it would be a good place to go since Kyla can't say "Trick or Treat" yet. Neil, Heidi and Grace joined us. It was a lot of fun to see all the other kids dressed up in their costumes. Next year, we will be taking to the streets of Highlands Ranch. :-)

November is always a fun month for us. Both Scott and I celebrate a birthday, and there's always Thanksgiving. Of course, Scott and I started a diet three weeks ago, so there will be a little less splurging this year on all that good food. Thankfully, we go to a friend's house for dinner, so there isn't a fridge full of leftovers for us to eat all week long. Not that we don't like the leftovers, but it will help us with our diet.

Kyla is doing well. She is trying her best to run these days. Walking is no longer a fast enough way to get from point A to point B. She does not have any new words in her vocabulary, but she is getting darn good at grunting. We are wondering what it will take for her to try to say a new word??

Harley and Ryder are well too. Ryder really likes playing with Harley. However, when he wants to rest, and she does not, he gets snippy. Apparently, he has totally forgotten what he, himself was a puppy.

October 2008

October 29th

Mommy, Kyla, Heidi and Grace went to Trick or Treat Street at the Children's Museum of Denver this morning. It was fun, but super busy with bigger kids. It was hard to see and do everything. We will have to go back when there is not an event taking place.

Harley is doing really well in her new home. She LOVES to follow Ryder around the house and bug him. She is either licking, biting, chewing on his hair or swatting at his face. She is learning to play tug-of-war with Ryder and how to use the built-in doggie door. Harley can make it in the doggie door, but not out yet. We are all hoping she learns to go out the door real soon. That way, she may stop using the inside of the house as her own personal toilet (despite the many times she is outside and goes potty).

Scott, for two free lunches, is growing a mustache. Thankfully, the bet only goes until Halloween. Can you tell who is writing this blog?

October 25th

Mommy and Kyla went to the Eastridge Recreation Center this morning for Trick-or-Treat Street with Heidi, Grace, Sheri and Ace. (Grace is the Bumble Bee and Ace is the Lion). It was a lot of fun to see so many kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Kyla received a lot of candy she cannot yet eat, so Mommy and Daddy have agreed to help her with it. :-) Looking at the pumpkins was fun too. Kyla loved banging on them. It was almost like having her own drum set.

For Halloween, everyone is planning on going to the Wildlife Experience for their Halloween extravaganza. We will be sure to write about it once we have been there.

Kyla has seven teeth now. Four on top and three on the bottom. Despite having constant diaper rashes, she is loving her teeth. She lets Mommy brush them after breakfast and before bedtime. Plus, they come in real handy when she wants to eat saltine crackers (minus the salt).

She also likes feeding herself with her spoon. She can't quite put the food on the spoon, but she wants to be the one to do the feeding.

October 18th

Mommy and Daddy took Kyla to a pumpkin patch today. She had a lot of fun banging on the pumpkins and throwing a little one around. Everyone brought home a pumpkin to decorate. If we are lucky, they will be done by Halloween night. :-)

October 15th

We are all very happy to announce the newest addition to our family; a female Cavalier puppy named Harley. She is almost ten weeks old and weighs about three pounds. She came to us from Ohio today aboard an NWA flight. We are having a lot of fun getting to know her. So far, Harley really seems to love her big brother, Ryder. Following him around and chewing on his long hair are her favorite activities thus far. We can't wait for everyone to meet her!

Scott's softball team finished third for fall ball. Hopefully they will finish first next year.

Kyla is doing well. She loves her new puppy, except when Harley bites her. Those puppy teeth sure are sharp.

October 7th

Kyla had a few pictures taken today with Ella and Grace in their Halloween costumes. Everyone looked ADORABLE!!

Kyla is getting so good at walking. She tries to walk everytime she wants to get somewhere. The only time she really crawls is when she needs/wants to get somewhere fast.

October 4th

Now that Kyla is one, we will be doing a family blog. Okay, it will kind of be a family blog. We are sure it will be more about Kyla than us. :-)

Mommy and Kyla plan to check out a few pre-schools this month. Some of you reading this may think it's a bit early, but some of those schools have close to a two-year waitlist. We are hoping to check out the ones in Highlands Ranch, so we have it narrowed down to our top two. Heidi and Grace will be checking them out with us, so it should be an adventurous time.

Kyla is walking half the time and crawling the other half. She really seems to enjoy getting around the house on her feet. Dolly usually comes along for the walks. Kyla can't go far without her. She has three new dolls/babies from her birthday, but Dolly is still the favorite.

Daddy's softball season is coming to and end this month. He is hoping to finish second or third. He'll know on Tuesday, the 7th.