Kyra was a blast in California

Say, say oh playmate...

We went for Whitney's high school graduation. I was a little worried about how Kyra was going to react with an unfamiliar house full of people. I shouldn't have been worried. She could not have had more fun. She began to make it a habit to walk around the house poking her head in every door, and saying "Hi!" Chances were there would be someone in the room to answer back, and she LOVED that.

The backyard-again, and again, and again

In the garden of Gramps and Grandma Jill, Kyra had endless hours of fun (and mommy took quite a few hours worth of naps!). There were peas in grandpa's garden, a bench swing for sitting, shade at any time of day in some part of the yard, and a gorgeous 20+ year-old cherry tree.
In fact, thanks to Gramps' garden, peas are no longer a food to be thrown on the floor. Indeed not! Peas are now eaten by taking a few in each hand and then putting both hands in the mouth at the same time. Not only did Kyra love the fresh, sweet, baby peas right out of the pod, she also loved the snow peas, pod and all.
I didn't think that with only 6 teeth (and all of them in the front) it would be possible to eat a pea pod. I guess that enough determination makes up for whatever else lacks.

P.S. Did I mention there were magnolia trees? Kyra has always been fascinated with crunchy leaves, but in Texas she's only gotten her hands on the small ones that come off our trees and bushes. Imagine her delight when she found this leaf to crunch!

Hi Ho! Cherry-O

The old cherry tree in the backyard, (thanks to a bird net) was absolutely dripping with Lambert cherries. These were sweet and juicy, and they just happened to be ripe for the picking.

Now, Kyra likes fruit (she is certainly her father's daughter), but Kyra LOVES cherries. She even got one down, pit and all. Grandma was showing Kyra what the whole cherry looked like with a stem right off the tree. Kyra smiled, picked up the cherry by the stem, and then faster than I thought was possible, put the whole cherry in her mouth. We got the stem, but that was all. I think that the act of trying to get into her mouth made her all the more determined. She chewed once or twice, but in the interest of not letting me take it from her, she swallowed it, pit and all.

We picked THOUSANDS of cherries off that tree. Yet, I'm still convinced that she could have eaten every one had we let her.

Happy Easter (picture chaos)

Kyra got a cute new purple Easter dress.

It was adorable, and she was adorable in it. We decided to take some pictures of our adorable little Easter princess. After all Kyra's favorite thing has been to smile and pose for the camera. We figured the pictures would be quick and effortless. The pictures didn't go as planned.

Kyra would not hold still, she would barely look at the camera, and she certainly wouldn't smile without her thumb in her mouth. Have I mentioned that Kyra is a thumb sucker. Her thumb is constantly in her mouth. I figure this is both a bad and a good thing. You can't really sanitize a thumb or control when it goes in the mouth, but you can't lose it either.


Our next attempt at great Easter pictures involved props.

"Flowers," we thought, "that will spark her interest long enough to get a decent shot." Ah, the naivety of first time parents!


The props ended up being weapons with which she warded off her parents who were trying to straighten her dress, make her smile, or just get her to hold still for 5 seconds.
I didn't think that little girls used swords. This girl is a world-class fencer.


What have we learned from our picture taking experience?

We learned that we are in big trouble. We have no real ability to control our child. There is no discipline, there is no law.
All I have to say is, YOU look at those big blue eyes and try to explain why you're right and she shouldn't be getting into whatever mischief she is getting into.
Yes, indeed. We are in big trouble.

Garden Party & Rain Storm

Kyra was a riot in the garden.

I always thought that kids didn't like grass... especially when they, out of necessity, had to crawl in it. Kyra proves to be the exception to my preconceived notion (yet again). This girl LOVES grass. She loves to pick it, crawl in it, lick it, throw it and eat it. Thursday we went out in the back yard, spread out a blanket and put up an umbrella for shade. We brought out a few of her toys, but those were soon abandoned to the sights and sounds of the "wild" outdoors.


I think the discovery that she could get into my flower pots was the culmination of this experience. She got a hold of my crocus pot, and first discovered the green leaves (she had discovered the blooms a week or two ago..), and then the dirt, the rim of the pot, and then the holes on the bottom of the pot. This led to root systems, bulbs, and then the dismantling of all of the above to the best of her ability. She had a blast.

We've certainly had some fun weather lately in Dallas.

And the rain rain rain came down down down... so of course Kyra and daddy had to go play in it in their rain jackets.
Kyra did not want to come in, even after her dad put her under the downspout of rain pouring off the roof.

Kyra is 1 year old!

We had a blast at Kyra's first birthday party.
(What a mess!!!)

Grandma and Grandpa Texas were there, and Grandma Jill got to be there as well. Kyra got a whole bunch of new stuff (spoiled spoiled spoiled) including cute, cute clothes, quacking ducks, a puzzle, a baby doll and a piano that sings and has flashing lights. Needless to say, her wardrobe is filling up and we certainly can't contain the toys any longer under the side table next to the couch. Pretty soon Kyra will need her own "office."


Kyra loved her very own birthday cake. She started out eating with just her pinky finger, but by the end she (of course) had it all over the place. The amazing thing was, she never really got any in her hair... go figure.


Here are some pictures...

Getting to know... Kyra

The first in 100 words to describe Kyra is opinionated. I had no idea that a 1 year old could be so opinonated. This girl knows what she wants, and most of the time she knows how to get it. It's both adorable and exhausting. Here are a few other things she's been up to lately.

She prefers cherrios to vegetables (what person in their right mind dosen't?) and she make her preference perfectly clear. When I place both veggies (of every color, shape and size) and a few cherrios on her tray she will systematically pick out a cherrio, put it in her mouth, and then pick a veggie and drop it on the floor. This continues cherrio, veggie, cherrio, veggie until she has eaten every cherrio, and then its just the soft sound of splat, splat, splat as each veggie left is picked up and quitely dropped over the edge. She pulls no faces, there is no melodramatic scene. It is just a very calm, clear, consice, message... no veggies thank you, just cherrios.

She has no fear of exploring on her own, as long as there are no other people around. My mom came to visit last week, and so we went down to Dallas to Fair Park. We walked around outside and then visited one of the gardens. We brought her little "walker" toy thinking that it would be fun for her to walk the gardens instead of going in the stroller. We were right, but it wasn't the flowers she was interest in. She loved the grass, the pebbles embedded in the pavement, dirt, and especially dry leaves. The flowers she could have cared less about.
When we got up to leave, I called to her "Kyra, follow me, we're leaving." She got up and took a few steps toward me with her walker, and then a spark of comprehension went off in her eyes. She was mobile and .... free. She whipped her walker around and headed off in the opposite direction. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but the same situation occurs in the halls at church, in stores (I occasionally let her push her stroller when we go out shopping), and at home outside on the sidewalk. The funny thing is if a person walks onto the scene and trys to talk to her she makes a bee-line back to me in a panic. An explorer, but not a people person.

I am the electromagnet, she is the paper clip. She decides when the magnet is on. Today it has been on ALL day.

She is the spitting image of her father. From the baby pictures of Jon, she looks like him, they have the same "giraffe" tounge (hence her nickname "Raffi"), and they are both obsessed with electronic devices that flash, make noise, and/or control things. Her favorite toys are the remote controls for the TV, DVD player and reciever. She also loves cell phones, xbox controllers, cords, flashing lights, buttons, ... you get the point. It always amazes me that she will sit and play quietly or just sit and watch as Jon plays "Hexic" (known to Kyra as "colors") on the 360 or "Viva Pinata." It's cute to see Kyra treck on behind Jon as he calls out "Come on Kyra lets go play colors." Peas in a pod.