Summer Life

Well, as usual, I haven't updated in ages. It seems that life is pretty busy with two little ones. :) I cannot believe how the time has flown by. After a roller coaster year, of selling our house, living apart, almost relocating back to San Antonio, and juggling 2 kids, and work I feel like I finally am able to come up for air. We are very thankful things have settled down.

I cannot believe that my baby girl is going to be four in just a month. She is such a diva and definitely has her on agenda and ideas. She is a Virgo to the core and perfection is not just something she strives for, she demands it. I read an article written by a parent of a Virgo and chuckled as the author described a scene where their child crumbled up a paper because the dolphin he drew had sad eyes not brave eyes. This is my Kayleigh. The bows must lay facing a certain direction on her dolls, her clothing must fit just right, the outfit must have a skirt or dress, and her socks cannot be too tight because if so, they 'hurt'. It wears me out, but it is SO her. I finally resorted to saying that 'socks can't hurt.' This does not convince her. Either way, she is very particular and if she doesn't find what she's looking for from me, she will fix it herself (fine by me). She loves to draw and will literally spend hours drawing and making stories. Obviously she dictates her stories to me and let's just say we need some work sticking to topic. :) She loves books and it warms my heart to have her bring me a book and just sit next to me while I read. This girl loves books. She also loves to be outside. She is looking forward to school starting up again and she also loves My Little Pony. One of her favorite things to do is to have a 'pony party'. That is basically where you brush all the ponies and make them stand around in a circle with the various 'sessories (accessories) that she has. Once we set one up, she decides it is 'the perfect pony party' and will usually insist it stays set up for a few days. She likes to throw in random adjectives in her conversations- which I find hilarious. Like the other day when she told me that my hair looked 'gorgeous' (it was in a ponytail so I know she was lying.) :)

She is a wonderful big sister. She adores Colton and he adores her. She loves to help and do all the things a big sister should do. I have also come to the conclusion that it is a miracle that younger siblings survive- period. As gentle and as well as Kayleigh means, she pretty much knocks him down, steps on him, throws something at him, or trips him daily. He is a tough guy so he usually doesn't mind. "I'm gonna love him and squeeze him and hug him." So so blessed to have two wonderful blessings. I love seeing them  in action together.

I also can't get over the fact that my baby boy will be one in less than a month! Where did the time go?! He is so much fun. I am constantly reminded of how different boys are than girls. Like totally different. I work with kids, so I know this, but it's just so surprising. Colton is crawling and walking behind his push toys but not on his own yet. He climbs on things and gets in to everything. Any time he spots an opening, he's off and trying to 'explore' as Kayleigh would say. He, of course, says "Mama and Dadda" and bu-bu (Kayleigh has dubbed him Bubba since pretty much the day he came home from the hospital) He will mimic anything (both noises and gestures.) He will mimic words like no, ball (ba), banana (nana), Elmo (melmo), nose (no), mouth (mou), milk (muh). He is very eager to try and say words is very proud of himself when he does. He also started making a squinty, smiley face. Kayleigh did something similar we used to call it her 'pretty eyes' but that doesn't really work with a boy. Lately that smiley squint has turned in to an angry squint. Almost a sassy face and it makes me laugh. It is usually accompanied by an angry screech (Colton mad! Colton smash!) Exhibit A:

He is very easy going and pretty much just along for the ride- As long as he's fed. He loves to eat and he will try almost anything. Quite refreshing after Ms. Picky Pants. He loves banana and will not let me feed him a single thing. We have resorted to buying those bag mashed fruits and veggies that he can just squeeze on his own. He loves any and all table food as well. We are making the transition from nursing to regular milk and he is doing great. He is too busy to sit and nurse now anyway. Except for first-thing in the morning and at the end of the day. He isn't totally sold on the flavor of cow's milk. He is loud and destructive and all boy. When my parents were down my dad was watching Colton 'play' and he said he wasn't sure if Colton was trying to figure out his toy or if he was trying to destroy it. It is so true. He has ripped parts off toys that made it unscathed through three years of play with Kayleigh. He will NOT build a tower of blocks. As soon as I get more than two stacked, that's fair game to demolish. It is not about constructing or creating, but rather dissecting and dismembering with him. He adores Jourdan and is giddy when he gets home from work. He waves but is not interested in clapping. He does not have a ton of hair but it was getting long. I was worried about taking him to get a cut (he never sits still) but he did SOOOO good. And now we can 'spike' his hair again. :) He is so snuggly and just a sweet boy. As Kayleigh frequently says "We have such a sweet brother. We have to tell God thank you." She is so right.

Kayleigh Says the Darndest Things

As someone who works with children, I know they say some pretty hilarious stuff. As it turns out, I have a particularly interesting kid who says some pretty outrageous things. Usually when I'm talking with her I have 1 of 2 emotions- either laughter or awe. Life is never dull. Just the other day I was on feeding Colton on the couch. Kayleigh had been dancing around me asking if she could have a pop-tart over and over (picture that little chihuahua that dances around the bulldog in those old cartoons). I was trying to check my email at work while feeding Colton and was admittedly half-listening to Kayleigh (yes, half-listening is a thing- it's where you listen enough to get an essence of what is going on. Wait, does that make me a terrible person?) Finally I said "Kayleigh, I don't know, go ask Daddy." She started to walk away, then she turned around and said "Well, I'd rather just ask myself."

Christmas is my very favorite holiday and I'm so excited that this year Kayleigh is old enough to be really in to it. We have been talking a lot about Jesus and the other components of Christmas. This prompted a conversation about heaven and death. She then wanted to know about when she will get to go to heaven and when people die etc. That prompted a conversation about living and non-living things. Then she said "Mom, an animal is alive, can they die?" I reminded  her that our beloved pets, Miller and Gringo had passed away and were in heaven. I told her that it is sad when someone dies because we can't see them everyday like we used to. She immediately said "Well, we can see them one day in heaven!" So true, Kayleigh. After talking some more she said "Mom, when I was a little baby, my mouth died" bahahahah! Then I said, "Oh, really?" and her reply was "Well, I didn't have any teeth." Looks like this concept may need to be covered again.

In part of our Christmas talks, I've been telling her we would go see Santa soon and she needed to think of one thing to tell Santa that she would like him to bring her if she is a good girl. This is the first year she has actually 'asked' for anything. I asked her what she thinks she'll say to Santa. Without skipping a beat, she said "Well, I will ask him if he can please bring me a fairy costume." Yes!!!! I did a little cheer inside as mommy already raided the Halloween clearance rack and a Tinkerbell costume sits in our closet. Then she continued..."A REAL fairy costume. Then when I put it on I will fly all around." I laughed and said, "Well, Kayleigh people can't really fly." Then she said "Yes, I know that mom. That's why I need Pixie dust too. Yep, I'll ask Santa for a fairy costume WITH pixie dust. Then I can fly." hahah, I have to admit, her logic is pretty sound. Now I better start thinking of a lie why her costume won't 'work' once she opens it. :) Oh, Kayleigh- love that girl.

Seeing Double

I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that we have 2 beautiful kids. God is so good! I see so much of Kayleigh in Colton- it really blows my mind. Those who know Kayleigh, know she has quite a bubbly personality. :) Colton is a very happy baby but he is much more laid back. He loves to just sit back and watch. Much like Kayleigh, he loves to be outside. As a baby, Kayleigh would absolutely beam every time you made eye contact with her. Colton, on the other hand, makes you work for a smile. His smiles are so sweet though. He 'speaks' with his eyes, much like Kayleigh does. He has the most hilarious 'looks' and his eyebrows are always going. His eyes are much  lighter than Kayleigh's. I don't know if they'll stay blue, but I really doubt they'll turn brown like Kayleigh's did. He has the cutest little dimples and right now he's sporting some sweet Uncle Fester hair (you know, long in the back, bald cul-de-sac on the top) It has all the makings of a great mullet in the future. Anyway, here are some comparision shots of Kayleigh at a similar age and Colton.

Kayleigh on the left around 1 month old.

Kay and Colton in the same outfit (K on the right). She was a few weeks older than Colton here.

Look, we both make spit bubbles (Colton left)

Sweet smiling babies. :) Around 8 weeks old.

Colton Walker is here!

Well, again I am behind on blogging. We are so blessed that Colton Walker is here! I was induced at 39 weeks on August 30th. The induction went really smoothly- it was just long. They started the pitocin around 8:30 am. I felt great and was able to just wait around for most of the  morning. The nurses come to check on you periodically and up the pitocin dosage. They kept asking if I needed the epidural yet, but I felt great. Around noon my pitocin was 'up all the way' and we just had to wait for me to finish dilating. Around 3:30 I had enough and was ready for the epidural. It made my blood pressure crash and then I was able to take a nap. Around 7pm I was finally dilated to a 10, but Colton was still high up. Around 10pm he was finally low enough to push. It only took about 2 pushes and sweet baby boy was here. He was 8lbs 1.5oz and 21.25 inches long. He was healthy and just amazing. Our doctor, nurses, and everyone were just great. Kayleigh is so excited to be a big sister. She is not jealous at all and loves to help.

Already smiling. :) (or tooting, I'm sure)

Proud parents

Kayleigh meeting Colton for the first time. Makes my heart happy!

Summer Fun!

Well, again it's been awhile! Kayleigh goes to school at a center through my district and because of this, they are closed during the summer. This has been a major bummer for her- as she loves school. :) Here she is on her last day of school in Ms. Jean and Ms. Belinda's room. She just loves her school. I was a little sad- even though her last day meant my last day at work too- I blame the hormones.

My Big Girl!

Baby #2, (we still don't have a name) is doing great. At our last visit with the specialist (which was supposed to me our last visit with him) it was decided that we did need to come back because apparently I'm growing the world's biggest baby. Not really, but he is 'healthy'. I take it with a grain of salt because I always measured big with Kayleigh and they swore she would be 8lbs and 'some change'. She was only 7 lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. I definitely think this baby is bigger than she was, but hopefully not as big as they're projecting. At 28 weeks they estimated him to already weigh 3lbs 3oz- which is ahead. We'll see what they say at the next appointment. Because of his position, we don't always get to see his sweet face, but a couple appointments ago my doctor was kind enough to try to at least get a profile shot.

I have a pretty big To-Do list for this summer. #1 was to get Kay potty trained. She was ready and it went so smooth- I really don't know why I waited so long. I didn't want to mess with it during the school year. Anyway, she is accident free during the day and nap and she does still wear a pull-up at night time because I'm just not sure I want her getting up quite yet in the night. She hasn't quite figured out that you can wait until you get in to the bathroom to pull down your pants- (thank goodness this is only at home). I'll be standing in the kitchen and all of a sudden a naked toddler hiney streaks by and rounds the corner in to the bathroom. :) In public she does great and really gets excited when we go in to one of those 'family' bathrooms that has the tiny potty in it. Very exciting!

#2 is get ready for baby 2. It has been like Christmas for Kayleigh to get out and see all her old baby things. My plan was to get it all out and let her have at it so that by the time the baby gets here, it's old news. She has had such fun playing with all her old stuff.

Look mom, it still fits!

I made a rocket ship!



This summer we have had so much fun getting together with friends. Kayleigh is finally at that age where she actually prefers to play with kids and it is so fun to watch her. We've had a few playdates with friends from her school and birthday parties and she is as happy as a clam on those days.

The only 'trip' we've taken this summer was to San Antonio. Kayleigh loved getting see old friends and she even got to ride in the Burgess Fest parade on Grandpa's float for Home Depot. She had so much fun and was even more excited when she saw Dad, Grandma, and Gi-Gi (Aunt Gentry) in the parade on the sideline. Here's a funny picture of her trying to throw candy to them.

Look at me!!!

Hanging with friends.

Having a blast with her very first friends, Anna, Rayden, and 'Dolphin'. :)

We've also started Kayleigh in gymnastics class. She loves it. She is very uncoordinated (you should see her on a trampoline) but she just loves it! :) We didn't want to sign up for too much because we had a June appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor about her tonsils. If she were going to have surgery, that would put her out of commission for a good month- and I didn't want to sign up for too many things. The ENT confirmed our suspicions- she will likely need them out. He did say there was no harm in waiting until she were a little older- so we wait and see what next strep- season will bring.

Enjoying a snow cone after gymnastics.

Updates Galore!

Well, I haven't been very good about updating this lately, but I do have a good excuse. The biggest 'news' is that we are SO excited to announce we are expecting again! I'm due on September 6th, one day before Kayleigh's 3rd birthday. Thus far this pregnancy has been very different than Kayleigh's, I wasn't nearly as sick as I was with K. I never threw up when I was pregnant with her but I had bad morning sickness. This time around I had a few bad hours/days but nothing nearly as bad. My biggest probelm this time around- PURE EXHAUSTION. I know they always say you're so much more tired when you're pregnant with  your second or third kid because you can't just come home and relax after work, you're chasing a toddler around. I was really tired when I was pregnant with K, infact, I didn't think I could get any more tired- but this go round, I've been totally drained. I'm 21 weeks and still waiting for that 'burst' of energy in the 2nd trimester. I realize this time around, I'm also 3 years older, so that comes in to play too, I'm sure. We can't believe the timing of this one, that makes for a TON of September birthdays. Kayleigh's due date was Jourdan's birthday (September 2nd). She was late but, I had her on Labor Day- and Jourdan was born on Labor Day. My dad's birthday and an uncle's are also in September. Should be interesting. This year we start school a week later, which means that I will only get 1 week with my class or so instead of the 2 I got with my class when I had K- God willing I will be able to work up until D-day. :) Kayleigh is thrilled too, she LOVES babies and is very obsessed. Everytime we walk in to her school we have to walk by the baby room and see what they're doing. We'll see how she feels once one is around permanently. Her original prediction for the sex of the baby was boy. In fact, her teachers congratulated me on the 'boy when I was only a few months pregnant. When I told them we don't know yet, they said, "Oh, that's funny because Kayleigh has been telling everyone you have a baby boy in your tummy". She also told me that she wanted a brother named Sister, so we'll see how that works out for her. We found out a couple of weeks ago that K was indeed correct. Baby #2 is a boy. We still don't have a name yet, but we're working on it.

As part of the 'getting ready' we have decided to move Kayleigh to a 'big girl bed'. Yes, she was a giant in her crib, but she never tried to climb out. Don't fix what isn't broken. She made the transition SO easy. She loves her bed and get this: She doesn't get out! Like, EVER! She sits up in bed and calls for us when she gets up. We'll see how long this lasts.

Poor K has been put through the ringer the past few months. She just kept getting sick. She has always been very healthy but here lately, we are OVER IT! In the beginning of April we had a big 'tornado' scare. I got a call from K's school saying she was crabby and her eyes were running. (yuck!) I said, "Okay, I'll be right there". Right when I hung up with them, our school goes into a lockdown for severe weather. So, my class files into the girl's bathroom, our designated severe weather zone, and I'm texting Jourdan, who is hiding out in the stairwell at his building as the tornado sirens are going off. K's school is in lockdown too, so she is there, stuck. 2 hours later, we are allowed to emerge (also an hour after regular dismissal time). I rush out to get K and she looks awful. We immediately go to the Dr. and they say it's strep. Apparently you can have strep in your eyes too! This was abourt a month ago just before Easter. She has been sick off and on since then. Finally Saturday, it all hit the fan. She woke up at 1am with a 103 fever. Then came the vomiting etc. We got her in to the doctor on Saturday, and thank God we did. She had to have a whole barrage of tests done. Her white blood cell count was through the roof so the doctor was certian whatever it was, it was bacterial. She got 2 antibotic shots and we were told to bring her back tomorrow (Sunday) for more shots and bloodwork. You know your kid is sick if the pediatrician wants to have her back on a Sunday. Sunday goes about the same, more bloodwork and more shots. At this point she still has a continual 103 fever. As soon as the Tylenol wears off, BOOM! The doctor thinks she has Scarlet Fever, but her strep cultures have been negative. The white blood cell count is down, which means the antibiotics are doing something, but the fever just won't break. Thank God as of 2am Monday was her last Motrin dose. The doctor wanted to see her again on Monday for more blood work (or pokes as K calls them) and possibly more shots if she needs them. Luckily, all is good and she didn't need any more shots. She is now on oral antibiotics for 10 days to really knock it out. Poor baby has been through so much. It was so funny as we drove home on Sunday from the doctor K pipes up "Mom, we had a great day! We saw fish at the doctor, the doctor poked my finger, the doctor looked at my throat" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, only my sweet K could find the positive in such a crappy weekend filled with multiple blood draws, 4 painful antibiotic shots, and throat cultures. She is such a sweet, positive little soul. Love that kid!

Warning, Very Sad, sad picture:

K waiting at the doctor's office on Saturday

Here she is with her 'loot'. Can you tell they felt sorry for her?

So here's hoping we all stay healthy! (Both J and I have come down with colds etc since Easter). I have bleached practically every hard surface in this house and washed about everything I can wash. I'm exhausted and I can feel the gray hairs growing in!!!!! I'm counting down the days until summer vacation so hopefully I can keep the blog updated better. :) OH, and just for good measure, here's a picture of her healthy before all this drama!!



K's 'Special' New School

Many of you might remember my August post about K starting preschool for the first time. She had a very hard time at first and cried by the door ALL DAY for a few days. Talk about rip my heart out. It was awful, she did get through it rather quickly, but it was so hard to watch as a parent. She eventually got to where she liked school- she was never excited to go but she seemed happy when I picked her up. The daycare had a webcam and every time I looked in on her she was playing.

We were finally settled in our routine and comfortable and then---- I get an email from my district employee childcare center- there's an opening for the 2nd of January. My heart sank, I was excited because that was our plan- to eventually have her over by me. It's a great school, with actual teachers, and it follows my schedule (so no paying for 2 weeks off at Christmas etc.). If we switch her now she is guaranteed a spot until Kindergarten, but if we wait, who knows when a spot would open. I was torn, do we move her?  I CAN'T go through what we went through in August again. Finally we decided to move her. Why not, just get it over with like a band-aid since that's our end-game anyway. All Christmas break I mourned over moving her. I don't even know why, frankly I was indifferent about her old school, I mean they did love on K and they were very patient with her and I'm very thankful for them, but she had no BFF's and let's face it- at daycare the goal is so keep all the kids from killing each other. :) We visited her 'new school' and went by a couple of times over the break- it was closed but she knew it was her 'special' school. I braced myself for her first days.

It worked out perfect because Jourdan was off Monday and he could take her (passing the buck!) for her first day because Mommy can't really deal with it. I didn't bother taking pics this time around because I can't even look at those pictures from August- brings up too many emotions. Rationally, I knew that it would be better than August because now she understands the concept that "mommy and daddy come back". Jourdan said she ran around like a maniac checking everything out when they arrived.

But she did have a hard time when he tried to leave. The teacher emailed me around 10 to let me know that she only fussed for a minute and she was doing great. What a relief. No more webcam here, I miss checking in on her but I'm not worried here. When we went to pick her up, she was happily eating her snack, smiling. I was SO happy. Here is her daily sheet from her first day.

I was glad she had a great day but worried what drop off would be like the next day. Her teacher is a genius because she gave her a reason to be excited to return. Kayleigh had noticed the teacher's necklace and I guess K told her "Kay have necklace at home" so her teacher asked her to wear her necklace to school. She couldn't WAIT to show her necklace to her teacher and the kids. Here she is proud of her necklace.

Drop off went great! She just loves her new school. All week long she has wanted to walk in to her school (she always had me carry her in to her daycare). She is always smiling when I pick her up. She sometimes looked a little 'stressed' when I would pick her up from daycare - not now. She just loves her teacher too. Today when I dropped her off she looked at me and said "Okay, Mommy. You go to work now" and pointed at the door. Well, I can take a hint. I'm so thankful she loves her new school. I think it is because her teacher loves on the kids much like K's first caregiver Miss Jeanette, who we miss dearly. :( Anyway, I'm so proud of my big girl!

Kayleigh-isms

                                                 
Well, I know it has been awhile since I last posted. There has been so much going on and I have just been loving every second I've gotten to spend with my sweet family. Kayleigh is growing into such a 'kid' and it is so funny to see her trying to express herself and experiment with language. As an educator, I'm amazed by how her little brain works and as her parent, I'm constantly impressed by the random things she says. She still has her 'gibberish' moments, but 90% of the time, she's got something to say and she WILL KEEP repeating it until I understand, which is good because sometimes it takes a couple of tries for her to get it all out. She is speaking in sentences, which is so fun and is even experimenting with pronouns. The other day a waitress was talking to Kayleigh and she gave her cheek a little pinch as she walked away. Kayleigh's face lit up and she said "Look, Him tickle my cheek!" It is so funny listening to her hilarious take on life. Lately she's said a few things that Jourdan and I have really gotten a kick out of.

Jourdan and I have both been off for the last 2 weeks for Christmas vacation. On Monday of last week Kayleigh and I went to the grocery store to get our holiday shopping done. As we were waiting in line, Kayleigh was holding a cookie cutter (we didn't have a girl-gingerbread woman cutter). The woman waiting in line in front of us asked Kayleigh if she was going to make cookies. You know it's about 50/50 when you talk to toddlers, sometimes you get an answer and sometimes you get this look like "I no speak English!" In this case, it was the latter. Kayleigh turned around to face me, leaned in and said "Mommy, I'm being shy!"

Later that day, we were going to meet Jourdan for lunch since he still had to work. I had told Kayleigh that morning that we were going to meet him. When it was finally time to leave, she didn't want to get in the car. I reminded her where we were going and she was game. Once we were pulling out of the driveway she yelled proudly "Mommy, we go get Jourdan for lunch!" The whole way there she yelled "Where's Jourdan, No see Jourdan. Mommy, go eat lunch with Jourdan". I managed to get a quick video of her looking for her daddy when we were waiting outside his building. In the video she spots him walking out the door. So now, needless to say, she knows that Daddy's name is Jourdan and Mommy's name is A-Lace-Auh, which is strangely similar to how she says the name Alicia who is a character from a favorite show of hers.

Today we had the most random response from her. She wanted to take her lunch in to her playroom. She loves to eat at the table in there. I was trying to tidy up while she ate. She finally emerged from her room and I asked her if she ate her chicken nuggets. She looked at me, I repeated my question. She tilts her head and says "Turkey sandwich". What the what?!? 1. How does she even know what that is? She has never eaten one as she has a strict rule about eating things that are combined (picky toddler). 2. What? We laughed so hard. She is nut.

One of her favorite pastimes is singing. Let's hope she didn't inherit my skills or she won't be able to get away with it for much longer. Her latest favorite is Baa Baa Black Sheep. She has changed the lyrics, as you'll see in the video so that mommy, daddy and Kayleigh get bags of "Wolf". :)

And last but not least, the obligatory toddler embarrasses parents story. Every parent has a similar story but it finally happened to me for the first time a few weeks ago. We were driving to Colorado to visit my parents. We stopped at a crowded McDonald's in Walsenberg to go to the restroom. I brought her in with me so she could stretch her legs a bit. Once we finally got in a stall in the crowded restroom she yells in her 'toddler voice' (I.E. a SCREAMING VOICE) "Momma, you gonna go Poo Poo?!?" To which I quickly respond "No, Kayleigh, I'm  just going potty." I heard a few mothers snicker as I'm sure they have been in the same position I was in. I'm sure it won't be last time either.

Thanksgiving in Colorado

This year since I had the whole week off at work we decided to make the trip out to Colorado to visit my parents. We hadn't been out since our cross-country road trip over the summer of 2010. K was GREAT on the ride up. She hardly made a peep. She's so flexible, I love her easy going personality. It was cold and windy when we arrived but after being the car we knew K needed to go out and play so we had some fun playing basketball outside.

She also had to test out Grandma's trampoline- that's right- Grandma's trampoline. I wanted one so bad when I was young but my dad said they were too dangerous. Haha. Anyway, she LOVED it. She was squealing the whole time.

On Monday we decided to take K to Santa's Workshop at the "North  Pole". It was at the base of Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs. Of course, the scenery was beautiful but it was a little chilly. She was SO excited. When we pulled up she said "Look Mommy, a Playground!" She noticed all the rides. It was a cute little family owned amusement park. It has been around for a long time and even though it was dated, it was super cute and we had such a blast.

Here's Kayleigh on the Sleigh when we went in

Cute, cute place

Riding the train around the park.

Waiting in line to see Santa.

We weren't sure how she would do with Santa. Last year she was very excited to see him, but wouldn't sit. Even though she loves characters in costume, she wasn't too sure about Santa last year. This year she didn't want to sit in his lap. But she couldn't wait to show him her special Owl Gloves. She also had to do her little "Look, I fell down" routine to be silly. Then she realized Santa was AWESOME and she gave him a big hug and posed for a few pictures with him. Now we've been talking a lot about how Santa will bring her toys if she is a good girl and she totally gets it. It's so much fun.

Showing Santa her gloves

Hugging Santa

How sweet is this?

And...I've about reached my limit mom. Let's go!

After visiting Santa, we stopped by a huge fire pit (where they also were selling S'more kits) to warm our hands while mom and grandma went in the gift shop for a bit.

Warming hands

Now begins the ride portion of the visit. She LOVES rides. I wondered if she would get bored and want to get off halfway through, but she loved every second. She rode a carousel, a car ride, and a Christmas tree spinning ride.

Riding a reindeer

Riding the bus ride with Grandma

Riding the Christmas Tree ride.

They were really high up there. :) She loved every minute.

The next day we took Kayleigh up in to the mountains to see some snow. It was probably about 8 inches deep and nice and powdery. She wasn't sure what to do at first (it was up to her thighs) then she wanted to take her gloves off and spread it around. It was cold, so once we finally got her to keep her gloves on, she had a blast taking snowballs Grandpa made and throwing them. Our original plan was to sled, but we couldn't hike far enough up. My dad tried a quick ride down a steep hill. Kayleigh watched him and as he rolled off the toboggan, she said "Grandpa, you okay?" It was so funny. She loved playing with the snow.

Checking it out

What is this stuff

I love it!

With Grandma and Grandpa

Snowballs!

Hiking around

Family Pic, she wasn't cooperating

Hiking with Grandma

On Thanksgiving it warmed up and we took the opportunity to go hiking around my parents' house. There are so many rocks and things to see and Kayleigh loves being outside.

Hiking around

Group picture from the top of "Rocky Ridge'

K digging

Playing with the rocks she found.

My grandparents, K's great grandparents, also came down for Thanksgiving. This was the first time she has met them and she had a blast. They brought her 2 adorable bears that she has been toting around the house since. I was so sad I couldn't get her to actually pose for a picture, but it typical toddler fashion- it's GO-GO-GO! These are the only pictures I could actually get.