More Memorable Firsts

Life with Kyla is full of so much joy! Even something as fun as Christmas has become that much more meaningful and enjoyable. From her first visit with Santa and spending time with family to opening presents and watching in wonder at all of the Christmas decorations, every moment was precious.

We visited Santa toward the first part of December, and Kyla did not like sitting on his lap at first. We finally managed a picture in which she was smiling, but at first she was very unsure. We had a mini-Christmas with GranDad and GranJan on the second weekend of December, and Kyla enjoyed the new toys she received! She especially liked the gift bag and tissue paper that accompanied the presents.

On December 11, we were so excited to catch Kyla taking her first steps! See the video here.

Christmas weekend, Eve and Christmas day were spent with Grams & G-Dad at our house. We enjoyed a relaxing time together, playing at home and going to the park. Kyla certainly enjoyed the attention! We attended the afternoon Christmas Eve service at our church, and Kyla slept through most of the service. Thinking of baby Jesus with Kyla in our lives provided an extra special meaning to what it must have been like for Joseph and Mary on that first Christmas morning. After the service, Jen and her mom cooked a Mexican dinner with tamales, and then cooked more for Christmas day.

Christmas morning started about 7:30, and we opened presents. Kyla had so many that she had to take a nap in the middle of opening them! She had a lot of fun, and received a lot of fun new toys and clothes. It was really neat to see her try out her new toys. We ate a mid-afternoon meal with friends (complete with ham, mac n cheese, sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, green beans, squash casserole, rolls, and pecan pie). That afternoon provided a special treat--it snowed! We played in the snow for a few minutes to let Kyla experience her first snow.

The day after Christmas, Nana, Papa, Jermaine, Andrew and Eric came over and brought lots more presents for Kyla. She had fun opening them and showing off her walking skills. And they all enjoyed showing her what to do with all of the toys. We also were able to see Danielle before we headed out of town for New Years. We had fun seeing them all spend time together. We are truly blessed to have them in our lives!

Much To Be Thankful For

Kyla received a "First Thanksgiving" card from one of her sets of grandparents, and inside it said: "Because of you, everyone has an extra-special reason to be thankful this year." How true that is. We just cannot believe how blessed we are with Kyla. People always say what a blessing a child is, but you just can't grasp that until you have one of your own.

Kyla's entrance into our life is another amazing example of God's love and is certainly evidence of His existence. Who could have imagined last year at this time that we would be celebrating Kyla's first Thanksgiving? We certainly couldn't have asked for a more wonderful birthfamily for Kyla and such an amazing relationship with them for all of us. And we definitely couldn't have prayed for a more beautiful and wonderful daughter!

We are continually amazed at how quickly Kyla is growing up, which has prompted us to try to take in each moment even more than before. In addition to Kyla's first Thanksgiving (and Jeff's 31st birthday), November has also brought Kyla's first bites of table food, an increase in her chatter (as well as an increase in the volume, too!), and more and more movement (walking can't be too far away). Kyla tries to say Dash and Hi (and still says DaDa all the time), and she also likes to play peekaboo, even hiding her face under a blanket. She has developed a definite a voice for when she wants something and can't have it (tantrums, here we come!). She also had another ear infection and her first fever, and got her top-middle two teeth. At her 9-month appointment, she measured at in the 77th percentile for height and about 60th for weight.

Happy Halloween

We've had a busy month, with lots of fun things going on--watching a football marching band, going to a wedding, enjoying Kyla's first Halloween, eating more and more fruits and veggies (fruits are definitely the preference), and playing with friends! Kyla's also endured an ear infection, a few colds, and a cough--but she's always a trooper. And as you can see, she's always ready to give a smile! About a week ago she weighed 18 pounds, 1 ounce, so she's definitely growing. She also talks a lot more now, saying da-da (still waiting on mama!), ba-ba, and ga-ga, with lots of other sounds in between. We also love hearing her giggle!

For Halloween, we went to a fall festival at a local church with some friends last Friday, and Kyla enjoyed sporting her strawberry outfit and watching all the kids. Tonight we handed out candy at the house, and Kyla was mesmerized by all of the people coming to the door.

It's Fall!

Where, oh where, did the spring and summer go? It seems just yesterday we brought our sweet Kyla home at just two days old and 5 pounds. And now she's 7 months, 2 weeks, and 17 pounds, 5 ounces. She's crawling, standing, trying to walk, eating baby food (although not  necessarily liking that), and just growing so fast!

And we've also finalized the adoption! We have always felt that Kyla is our daughter, but now we have the papers to prove it! We could not feel more blessed. We had a fun celebration to mark the occasion, too! We can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds.

Fun in the Sun--and Sand

There's not much better than sitting under a beach umbrella, enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the sand with the sound of waves crashing in the background. Walking along the beach at sunrise is a pretty close second, though. Add to that enjoying all of this with your sweet baby, and we had a really great weekend in Florida.

Kyla enjoyed a lot of firsts on this trip, too: first plane ride, first time at the beach, first real vacation, first time swinging, and first time on a slide. And she did so well! Her first plane ride was great. She didn't fuss, slept for about 30 minutes, and then just played the rest of the time. Of course momma and daddy were a bit tired by the end because she would stand up, sit down, turn around, chew on a toy, go to daddy, back to mommy, and then start the entire process over again! But we were so thankful it went well.

At the beach, we sat at the water's edge and Kyla was a little nervous about the waves at first, but by the end of the weekend she was kicking and squealing at the waves and playing in the sand. She seemed to enjoy swinging and the slide, too. She's definitely a brave little girl. Every new thing she tries, she seems to be a little skeptical at first but doesn't fuss--just watches us to see if it's an OK thing or not. So far she's warmed up to most things and really enjoys them by the end.