Weekend in Ohio

Ruthie, Kaiya & I hopped on a plane and traveled to Wooster, Ohio last weekend (2/9-2/11) for my grandma's memorial service. We had good travels and I've posted some pictures from the airplane below. Kaiya was good on the plane, particularly the times she was asleep. She had fun looking out the window and pointing to things down below.

Once we arrived in Ohio we spent time with family (most hadn't met Kaiya yet). Friday night we looked at old family pictures and other clippings my grandma had saved over the years. We did our best to organize those and I brought home a big envelope of pictures to scan so that multiple family members can have copies. That will be a good project for me here at work. Bekah, Brent & Ruthie occupied Kaiya while I went through pictures.

The burial was Saturday a.m. and then we went to my dad's cousin's for a family brunch. Kaiya & Miranda (my cousin Shannon's little girl) got more friendly with one another and these are cute hug pictures. :) All of the following pictures were taken at lunch.Who's this handsome guy? My Dad of course!!! (you can pay me later Dad).

Rachel & Mom (I'd say one of the best we have!)

The memorial service followed the lunch and it was a good time of hearing sweet memories of Grandma Haun. The polkadot pictures are right after the service. Kaiya had lots of wiggles to get out after sitting still for an hour. She loved moving from chair to chair and then once she wore out, she was happy to sit with Aunt Ruthie and cousin Miranda and listen to stories.






A few more snapshots of our trip: Kaiya thought my cousin Lauren was great. When Lauren's family first arrived and we were saying hello, Kaiya reached out to grab Lauren. We all shared a laugh because Lauren is not a kid person and she said that normally kids can sense it. Well, apparently not Kaiya. Every time she saw Lauren she pulled out a big grin and wiggled a bit to try and go to Lauren. Tony and I cracked up at home when he was holding Kaiya in the kitchen and Kaiya reached out and pointed at Lauren's family picture on our fridge. She got this huge smile on her face and said - oo ooo! Maybe it's the purple hair? In any case, it's sweet.

Kaiya & Mama in the swimming pool at the hotel

(Blowing zerberts at Grandpa)

Turbo Nap

This gave me a little chuckle the other night. I gave Kaiya her after dinner bottle and she layed in the living room by herself and drank it. I was getting my dinner ready in the kitchen and had just sat down to eat when I heard a big belch. I got up to get her and bring her over to the table and when I walked in the living room this is what I found: She was completely passed out! She's like a drunk w/ the formula. I snapped a couple pictures and then about 1 minute later I looked over and this is what she was doing: I guess she just needed a turbo nap to get her through the rest of the night.

Kaiya's new thing: Waving Bye-Bye

This is so much fun. It started about 2 weeks ago. She waves bye-bye when someone leaves, or when she thinks she is leaving. Or if mama is talking too much and she is ready to go. This weekend she learned that waving bye-bye can also mean waving hello. So everytime I pick her up from the sitter she waves at me from across the room. And it's a full-fledged Queen Elizabeth wave. Full wrist motion -- we love it!

These were taken on February 3rd at A.J.'s 1st birthday. It was a Pooh Bear Party so you will see all of us with our Pooh ears on!
Rachel, AJ, Hannah & Kaiya
Nate, Maurine & Hannah Free (Nate is in school w/ Tony).

Fun in the bath

I wanted to capture a couple pictures of Kaiya's bottom teeth before the top ones take over. She has cut one top tooth so far and from the way last night went, I'd say she is working on the other one. :) These pictures were taken in a bath a few weeks ago. You may notice the scum on the side of the tub. I'm not the best housekeeper in the world -- not by a mile -- but that scum has a good story with it. And after her bath we got rid of it. :)

A couple of weeks ago I was babysitting AJ and trying to get Kaiya a bath before bed too. I thought I could manage the two of them in the bathroom, however AJ went straight for the toilet (nevermind the toys on the floor) and lifted the lid up. And I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to do it. So after washing AJ's hands I passed him off to Tony who was studying and rushed to get Kaiya sudsed up and out of the tub. We pulled the drain and then carried on with our night. The next few mornings Tony complained that the tub was draining really slow. By Friday it was really having trouble. So while in the shower I grabbed the plunger and plunged away on the thing. :) No luck. I mentioned to Tony that the tub is really clogged and he suggested that maybe one of K's toys went down the drain. I'm doing a mental inventory on all her bath toys and none of them are small enough to fit down the drain. Except for her washcloth!!! We sprint to the bathroom and start looking for the washcloth. Oops... It's gone. And I've plunged it even farther down the drain! I rigged a coat hanger and tried my best to get it out. Finally we called the landlord. He came over on Saturday morning with all his fancy plumbing tools. Within 2 minutes he located and retrieved the nasty washcloth. In the process of yanking it back up, drain scum sprayed on the tub. I rinsed the tub out before putting K in it, but missed the side. Note to self: ALWAYS take washcloth out of the tub before pulling drain. Bet we won't make that mistake twice!

But really --I love these cheesy grins she gave me.

Best Christmas Present

This present has provided us lots of entertainment since December. The wonderful activity table. Not only does it provide us with entertainment, but it also serves as part of our barricade to keep Kaiya trapped in a smaller space, without worries of her wandering places she shouldn't in the house. In the pictures I think you can see drool running down her chin. That is the precursor (right use of word?) to her top tooth that broke through 2 weeks ago. These pictures were taken awhile ago and I'm still catching up.

Just a naked baby picture. Getting PJ's on after her bath.

New Bag from LL Bean

New Pool Bag! Both squirts had to test it out. :) I was cracking up and so thankful I had the camera ready.

Love to Drive

Just some cute pictures of Miss Kaiya behind the wheel. This one is at the train station leaving Indiana to catch our plane home to St. Louis.

After we got home from Christmas, we created a blockade for Kaiya so we wouldn't have to chase her all over the house. She is a girl on the move! Tony lined up the stroller and play table at the end of the futon and she is trapped. After learning to drive with Grandpa, she decided to drive the stroller. Behind her is a huge pile of toys that she isn't the least bit interested in. She is having more fun with the stroller wheel. :) Gotta love it.
The pile of toys.

Fun with friends

These are pictures from our visit with the Ashenfelters during Christmas. Kaiya and I spent the afternoon with them on Thursday. It was fun to catch up and let the kids play together. The day was fairly warm (for northern Indiana in December) and so we were able to go on a walk.

Little Problem Solver

This is a series of pictures I took of Kaiya playing at Grandpa & Grammi's house over Christmas. A bottle of water had rolled under the chair and she was determined to retrieve it. We found her inside the bottom rails of the chair and then squirming around to get the bottle. She got it and then it rolled outside of the chair again and she had to figure out how to get out from underneath the chair. Too cute. She finally did it and as you can tell in the last picture, she's awfully proud of herself. :)

My Sweet Baby

Still playing catch up with photos from Christmas. As soon as I get current, I can share the exciting things that Kaiya is doing this week. How is that for suspense? :)

Okay, okay --- enough kisses mom!!