back already?

Kaylea & I made our first trip back to Southern Indiana this past weekend.  I picked her up from day care just before her nap, hoping she would crash in the car - and she did just that!  She slept almost the entire 2:15 ride (that is the best time I've made). 

Friday night we went to see Mimi in the hospital. It really stunk because when we got there, we found out that my mom was in isolation and Kaylea was only supposed to go in if she wore a gown and gloves, and Kaylea really did not want to.  It wasn't a completely wasted visit, but I know my mom was upset that she couldn't kiss on Kaylea.  The good news is, they finally got a reasonable doctor in to see her and she is now home and on the road to recovery.

Kaylea was a little confused about the house - she wanted to go in the basement and play with her toys and wasn't sure why they weren't there, but we explained it and I think she understood.  She was very excited to see Daddy & Doodle.

Saturday we had breakfast, did a little shopping, and Kaylea & Daddy had some quality time while I went to see my mom at the hospital. 

That evening, we went to the Taste of Our Place (a Harvest Homecoming event) with several of our friends.  We had a great time stuffing our faces and even won a couple auction items!  Kaylea & Lucas danced the night away.  Jordy & I had some time to go out that evening while Kaylea played with nana & pop.

I'm learning quickly that it is difficult to see everyone you want to see on a visit back, but we certainly tried.  Kaylea spent some time with Trina & Meagan on Sunday before we hit the road to head back to Lafayette.  It was a great visit, but Lafayette is starting to feel like home.



kk - in her gown & gloves

family photo

dancing

more dancing

the hamm family

meagan & kaylea hiding in the empty closet

potty

Last night, Kaylea was lying in bed with me trying to go to sleep.  I got up to use the restroom and when I came back to the bed, Kaylea started clapping and said, “yea, mommy, you did it!”

fire alarm

Just before bedtime tonight, the hotel fire alarm went off it boy was it LOUD!  Kaylea didn’t cry, but she tensed up.  She is always asking what noises are – it doesn’t matter if it is a new noise or a noise she has heard before, she has to ask.  As we walked out, she had a tight grip on her mama.  Turns outt, someone burnt their dinner.  She told me is was scary.  I told her everything was OK and it was over.  She must have repeated that to me over ten times before she went to bed.

trampoline

We went to the mall tonight to try to get away from unpacking boxes.  We saw some super trampolines in the middle of the mall.  Kaylea said she wanted to jump.  I was hesitant and almost certain that she would not go through with it.  I checked and there were no age requirements.  You only had to weigh 20 lbs.  I explained to her that mommy could not go with her and that she had to listen to the attendant.  She said she would.  She went in and got on the scale to confirm her weight and she let the lady put the harness on her. She started jumping.  The lady then told them it was time to really jump.  Kaylea got nervous and started to whimper, but then she realized what was happening and she LOVED it.  She jumped and jumped…and she loved it so much that she threw the biggest tantrum when she had to get off. 

random

After “school” today, Kaylea and I went to McDonald’s for some chicken nuggets!  We followed it up with some fun at Jump It.  Kaylea is really into places like this. 

She had another awesome day at school.  Her new teacher’s name is Miss Alex.  She says Kaylea is a great sleeper and happy girl.  Thankfully, Kaylea likes Miss Alex.

We put our deposit in at Burgett’s Learning Center and hope to have her moved there in 4-6 weeks.  I hate to move her again, and KinderCare is fine, but Burgett’s is state of the art.  They have a full gym with tricycles, a room with a ball pit, a room with a sand box, a drama (aka dress up) room, and a computer room.  They start teaching computers at 18 months!  It’s a little pricey, but a separate preschool will be completely unnecessary, as they start following a curriculum in the school.  We have know that it is where we wanted her to go since we took the tour, but they didn’t have an opening.  We can’t wait to watch her grown and learn new things.

moments

Kaylea was been so outgoing lately.  Her latest thing is asking people for their name and waiting for them to ask for hers.  Here was the conversation with the hotel receptionist last night.

     K:  What’s your  name?

    Worker:  It’s Megan.  What’s yours?

    K:  Megan?  I’m Kayee.  Whatcha doing?  You working?

I love this little girl!

new job/new house/new daycare

We sure know how to make lots of changes all at once!  Monday morning we got up and had breakfast together at the hotel.  Kaylea was excited for biscuits and gravy.  Jordy and I both took her to her new daycare.  Can you say nervous???  Kaylea was such a trooper.  She was nervous at first, but she started playing and we were able to leave her without her shedding one tear. 

Jordy and I parted ways.  He did the final walk through on the house and headed back for the packing of our house.  I went to work and called to check on Kaylea.  They said she was smiling and doing great!  That sure made my first day on the job much easier. 

I was concerned about how we were going to spend our nights.  Monday night we went to Chuck E Cheese to play games and came back to our hotel for the complimentary dinner J  Kaylea & I then had fun outside.  We played in the gazebo – she called it our house.  It had rained during the day so there were some puddles in the parking lot, so Kaylea was more than happy to jump in the puddles.  She was soaked!!!  And it was cold…she laid in the puddles kicking and squealing.  I guess she didn’t care.  My girl was worn out.  She slept another full night in the pack and play.

hotel living

We started our life in our hotel room this past week.  Kaylea did not want to nap on the way here, but was entertained by Barney for an hour.  I was worried about how she would do on such a long car ride, as we have never driven that far, but she did awesome - absolutely not complaints from her. 

Jordy came with us.  He hung out with Kayela part of the night.  They went swimming in the hotel pool.  Later, we took Kayela to play at the park at our new house.  She had fun and we met some Louisville natives!  They live just down the street from us.

saying bye to wee care

One of the hardest parts of moving has been taking Kaylea out of her day care.  We love almost all of the workers.  She likes going.  While she is always happy to see us, she talks about her favorites.  I am very thankful that we had them taking care of Kaylea the last year.  Below are some pictures of Kaylea with Nikki & Tessa!

mimi's getting better

Kaylea has been going over to see Mimi a lot lately and she is getting better and better.  It seems it is going to be a very slow recovery process, but at least there is hope in sight.  Tonight, Kaylea wanted to take her books with her so Mimi could read to her.  And that's just what Mimi did.

Mimi keeps a big jar of change on her table.  Kaylea loves to get it, have someone open it for her, and dump all of the money on the floor.  She just laughs her head off when she does it.