disney on ice

Saturday we had tickets to see Disney on Ice.  I was unsure of what Kaylea would think of it.  First, our seats were pretty high in the sky.  Second, she kept telling me that she did not want to watch, but she wanted to skate with the princesses and lightning mcqueen!  It pretty much went like I expected.  She got her cotton candy ($12, might I add...of course that was because it came with a flower hat - are you kidding me?) and enjoyed the beginning of the show.  The acts were pretty long and she was tired...and restless.  I asked her on multiple occasions if she wanted to leave, but she did not, so we stayed.  She was whiny at some points and totally over it, but we stuck it out.  Funny thing is, if you ask her if she liked it, she will tell you yes!

 

 

Before the show, Kaylea and I made cupcakes.  Jordy and I are on a plan to lose 10 pounds, which means we can only eat bad one day a week right now (today was the day).  Kaylea loves to bake.  She wants to help me bake anything and everything.  Most of the time I let her help me.  She was excited to make these cupcakes. 

 

Finally, Jordy and I ended the night with an impromptu date night.  Kaylea went to hang out with Mimi and Jordy and I went to Outback and then for dessert and drinks at Applebees!  It was a great weekend.

science experiment

Friday night, we didn't have any exciting plans.  Mimi was cooking for us, and while we waited, I colored some vinegar for Kaylea and got her a bowl of baking soda and a dropper.  I saw this idea on pinterest and thought it would entertain her for hours...yea, not so much.  She was entertained...for about 5 minutes!

 

moments - mommy mix

We have been working on getting Kaylea to eat better.  We were not very good at getting her to eat vegetables since she was little, but we have been "bribing" her to try green beans, broccoli, pork, etc.  It has been working.  She always wants a "treat."  Her treat is what she calls "mommy mix" and she will tell you that she made up the name herself.

Mommy mix is whatever I can come up with - cereal, pretzels, craisins, marshmallows, gold fish.  I don't know why she started calling it that, but she loves to have it more than she actually likes eating it.

weekend - part 2

Sunday morning we met up with the Hamm Family for breakfast at Cracker Barrell.  We had met right after Christmas, but I forgot to bring a Christmas present.  Lucas & Kaylea exchanged presents and then we had breakfast.  Kaylea warmed up to Lucas pretty quickly, but told another server (while they were playing checkers) that Lucas wasn't listening to her.

We ended up having some time for the Hamm's had to be at church and before we needed to be at our next destination, so we went back to their house for some playtime.  Kaylea had fun playing with Lucas and Lucas enjoyed asking Jordy questions.  Kaylea was excited that Lucas had a cat.  I don't think Kaylea wanted to leave.

We left the Hamm's and went to see the Murray's.  Katie & Matt welcomed a new baby boy back in November and we had yet to meet him.  Kaylea didn't warm up to Teagan as quickly as she did Lucas (even though she says she doesn't like boys, I think she secretly does), but she did finally start to play.  Teagan was very good with Kaylea, trying to get her to play and sharing her toys.  Teagan warmed up to me quickly and even jumped in my lap for some snuggles.  I had Jordy take a quick picture.  I didn't want to be in it since I had yet to wash my hair, but there was no avoiding it.

After leaving the Murray's, we went back to Nana & Pop's to shower and get ready for the rest of the day.  We went to Brenden's basketball game at Graceland.  He played a great game and has really improved since the last time we watched him play.

Finally, we hit the road.  We like to leave early on Sunday when we head back to Lafayette, but we had Monday off and really thought it might be the only chance we had to watch Brenden play.  We picked up my mom and Doodle and headed back to Lafayette.  I got this picture of Kaylea in the back seat.  She rode with her bear tucked in her shirt and Doodle did have her head on Kaylea's leg.

weekend - part 1

Friday night we had Jen & Owen over for dinner and play time.  Matt & Jordy went out for dinner and then came back to hang out with us.  They play well together and since we ended the night early, there were no major meltdowns when it was time to leave.

We had purchased tickets to the UL vs. Syracuse game for Saturday, so we decided to make a weekend of it.  We hit the road around 9am on Saturday morning.  After dropping off the Doodle at Trina's, our stuff at Nana & Pop's, and Jordy at his cousin PJ's, we headed to Brittney's house to play with Kaidyn.

We had lunch and the kids played.  Kaidyn & Keegan have an awesome playroom (that makes me miss our old house), so there was plenty to do.  The girls played very well together and Kaylea talked about Kaidyn a lot after the visit.

Jordy and I took Kaylea to Trina's house while we went to the game.  It was a great game and a very disappointing loss.  After the game we met up with Brittney & Bill for dinner at Tumbleweed and a little gambling at the boat.  Jordy won and put us up a whopping $15! 

When we got back to Nana & Pop's, Kaylea was awake waiting for us.  It didn't take laying down with her for 5 minutes before she was asleep (granted, it was 11pm, but she was holding out for mommy & daddy).

a visit from nana & pop

We woke up on Saturday morning and after I took my first outdoor run (the weather was in the 60s), Kaylea and I headed to Owen's for a play date.  I hate that I have quit taking pictures of them playing together.  I need to start doing this.  We had a good time hanging out.  We were having Owen (and Zuercher family) withdraws since hadn't seen them yet this year.

We came home because Nana & Pop were headed to see us.   We went out for dinner on Saturday.  We came back to the house and Kaylea played.

Sunday morning Kaylea woke up and Jordy sent her to wake up Nana & Pop.  They played and we were able to workout.  We headed to Denny's for breakfast/lunch.  We came back to the house and Nana and Mimi played with Kaylea while we all got in a short nap.  Kaylea got some good quality time with Nana and Pop, so we asked Mimi to watch her so that we could get some adult time for a nice dinner out at Mountain Jacks. 

Kaylea was tired when it was time for bed and we shared a sweet moment.  She said, "mommy, I love you and you are the best mommy in the world."  I told her that I loved her too and she was the best little girl.  She looks at me and says, "you know when I need lovins, don't you?"  I asked if she needed them right now and she said yes.  Of course, I gave her the "lovins" she needed and off to sleep she went. 

Nana and Pop headed out this morning so that they could enjoy the rest of the week off together.

happy half birthday, kaylea

Kaylea is 3 1/2 years old.  Where does the time go?  This has been a very exciting year watching her grow.

• Favorite Song - ABC Song & Twinkle Twinkle (these are her first requests when I sing at night)
• Favorite Book - Animal Book (I looked back and this was her favorite one last year); She also likes Wacky Wednesday
• Favorite TV Shows - Caillou, Super Why, Chloe's Closet (we have become Sproulet's this year)
• Favorite Foods - Turkey Sandwich, Grapes, Cereal, Moe's
• Favorite Snacks - Cookies
• Favorite Drinks - Water, Raspberry Lemonade, & Strawberry Juice (Strawberry Milk)
• Favorite Toys - Dora Backpack, Crayons & Crafts, LeapPad (or Daddy's iPad)
• Favorite Animal - Cats & Dogs
• Vocabulary - continues to be impressive.  Every time I go in a store, someone comments.  They also tell me that I'm going to be in big trouble when she gets older.
• This time last year, Kaylea still had her paci, but not anymore!

dental cleaning

Kaylea's dentist will not schedule a cleaning until they are certain the child will go back and sit in the chair.  We had the exam back in December and scheduled her cleaning for today.  I had an opportunity today that I rarely take advantage of.  I was able to sleep in, workout, wake up with Kaylea, and enjoy breakfast with her before taking her in for the cleaning.  It was nice.  We were both stress-free and it was a wonderful morning.

We got to the dentist and Kaylea was the life of the party, as usual.  She makes friends wherever we go.  They called her back and off she went.  I don't have any pictures because she went alone.  I really don't know why they go alone, but I asked several questions before using this dentist after watching a special on 20/20 about kid dentists.

About 25 minutes later, they came to get me and said that she was excellent and did a great job.  She said, "mom, I want to take you back to see my new friend."  The worker said, "I think he is in the chair getting his teeth cleaned now."  Kaylea went on to tell me that she made friends with Tyler.  This girl is crazy, but I love how brave she is.

medical update

We took Kaylea to the doctor on Friday morning to re-check her fracture.  The doctor said things look fine. Other than getting a few questions answered, I thought it was a wasted co-payment.  Here is what we learned:

1.  She does not have to wear the sling on her arm (funny thing is, since I made her wear it two nights in a row she hasn't wanted to take it off - the first day it was a complete battle).

2.  She has to stay out of karate and swimming for at least 3 weeks (we will probably keep her out a little longer).

3.  There is not going to be another x-Ray

I also had Dr. Woods check out this cough she was getting.  She said she just has a cold.  We noticed as we were leaving that her temperature was over 100 degrees.  We decided since Jordy was still of he would keep her home another day.  We wanted to break her back into school on a part day.  This girl is so out of her routine.  She has only been to school all but one day of the last 2 weeks.  

She appears to be getting sicker - I think she has more than a cold.  Tonight her temperature is up to 102 degrees.  I wish my girl would feel better.  This has started off as a rough year for her.

ER

Kaylea slept great last night.  She didn't go to sleep until 1am, but I only had to get up with her once and she wasn't complaining of pain.  The ony thing I noticed was that she was in the same spot she started in.  That is unusual for this girl.  She is usually all over the bed.  I thought she was ok, but then she didn't want to get out of bed and said her neck still hurt.  We tried and tried to get her up.  We finally got her to sit up, but she wouldn't raise her arm above her head.  That's when I started to worry.  Jordy and I decided to take her to the emergency room just to be safe.

She was a trooper.  We were there for over four hours and she did not complain at all.  Now, she did not want to go to the hospital.  She kept saying she didn't like shots and didn't want to get a shot.  I think we finally convinced here that there should not be any shots involved.  We noticed she was using her arm a lot more and not complaining so I was starting to think she was just fine. 

We finally got called back to a room (after playing a lot of iPad apps and watching Barney).  We got back to the room and waited more.  The nurse said nothing seemed out of place and the doctor said the same, but thought they should send her for x-rays.  So, we waited longer...and then we went to see the x-ray tech.

Kaylea was so brave. She didn't know what was going to happen and she was nervous, but she didn't cry.  She got 6 stickers (one for each picture).  We went back to our room to...you guessed it...WAIT!  This time it wasn't too long before the doctor came in and told us that she had indeed fractured her collarbone.  It was slight and should heal quickly and on it's own, but we needed to keep her as inactive as possible for now.  Kaylea wasn't phased until he said they were going to put her in a sling.  She started crying.  She didn't want to wear it.  She didn't think she could wear it and still play.  She said, "this blue thing breaks my heart."  And let me tell you - that little girl was breaking our heart.

What a day!  Not at all how we planned to spend it.  It is terrible to watch your child in pain.  The smiles in  between the pain and tears were comforting and knowing that this is something that will heal made it so much better, but Jordy & I were both emotionally drained after today.  Please pray that our sweet girl has a speedy recovery.  We were signed up for swimming class, which I now have to postpone and I am going to have to take her out of karate, which is her favorite.  It's going to be a rough couple of weeks.

NYE

We had big plans for New Year's Eve this year.  We actually sent Kaylea to school after a week off.  We wanted her to take a nap so she could make it up all night and celebrate.  We had some friends and kids over to play.  We had a lot of cancellations last minute because of sickness, but we still have a pretty good sized crowd. 

The party was fun and the kids had a blast.  Kaylea had been so excited about the party that she invited the Walmart cashier.  When people started to arrive, she was beaming. 

At 10:30, she came running in from the garage crying, saying that she was hurt.  After a little 3 year old interpretation, we came to the conclusion that  she fell on the concrete in the garage out of the bouncy house.  She must have hit hard because she cried for a long time.  I held her in her chair upstairs for a long  time before daddy took over.  After that, Kaylea only wanted Daddy.  I called Mimi back over to the party to get her opinion.  She thought something was wrong, but wasn't sure.  We couldn't decide if Kaylea was just extra tired, or if she was really hurting.  We decided to let her sleep overnight and see how she was when she woke up. 

2012 christmas card

Here is our Christmas card from this year.  I don't save too many things and I don't scrapbook anymore, so I like to document things on the blog so that we have it in print each year!

year in review - 2012

January
Kaylea was potty trained!

 

 

February
We had a Valentine's Day party at home.

 

 

March
Kaylea moved to a big girl bed!

 

 

April

Kaylea took her first trip to Disney World with Mommy, Daddy, and Mimi.  Jordy & I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in Chicago.  Kaylea also gave her paci to the Easter bunny.

 

 

May
Our cousin Meagan graduated from high school!

 

 

June

Jordy & I had an adult only beach vacation in Cabo San Lucas - it is a place on my bucket list.

 

 

July

Mimi moved to Lafayette and became our next door neighbor.  This worked out better than any of us could have ever imagined.  She seems to be happy and we enjoy the family time.  Kaylea turned 3!

 

 

August
Our friends, the Zuercher's, welcomed baby Elliot into the world.

 

 

September
Celebrated my 32nd birthday.

 

 

October

Jordy and I went to see the Broncos play in Denver and Jordy turned 35!

 

 

November
Kaylea started taking karate.  We also celebrated Thanksgiving in Lafayette with our family.

 

 

December

I got to go on a trip to Vegas with my mom

 

 

2012 has been a great year for our family.  We have celebrated far more great memories over bad times.  I can't imagine our lives any other way.  We took more vacations than normal and had a great year.