Telling Stories

I promise a more in depth post about what we've been up to soon, but until then, here's Kinsley to give you a recap of our summer so far...

Summer has arrived!

The warm days are here and Myla has been waiting to go play in the water – any water really, but especially swimming.  So while we wait for the swimming pool, we went over and played at my parents house in the water spraying octopus.  When we first turned it on and his arms went flying, Kinsley was having none of it.  She grabbed on to me so tight and her legs were kicking like she was running away as fast as she could.  After Myla went in thought and we sprayed her toes a little bit she thought it might be okay and not long after was pretty wet.

Myla jumped right in the middle and somehow never got very wet.  She’s a silly girl about that.  She had lots of fun making waterfalls and “making it rain” and spraying her sister though.  She had been looking forward to playing in the water so much that she watered all my mom’s flowers and my dad’s grass and even sprayed the fence.  She stayed in her suit the rest of the night too.

Other things around the house … Johnny has put in a new valve system for the sprinkler system and hopefully will have it dug out this weekend.  He also got promoted at work – he’s now a sergeant and oversees three locations.  He’s working days (mostly) and during the week, so we get some family time on the weekends.  Its been a really nice change.  We’ve been very lucky.

Sick days

A few days ago, Kinsley had a little fever and started being fussy.  We thought it was a side-effect of the vaccinations on Monday.  But then she got sick, and her diapers got yucky and before you knew it, she’s taking three hour naps and not really eating.  This morning, Myla was fine when she crawled into bed at 5:45 to snuggle, but by 7:00 also had a temperature.  These girls are usually everywhere at once, and now they are both napping, so you know they aren’t feeling good.  Breaks my heart because I want to help them, but I guess the best way to do that is to not wake them up!

Yesterday, Myla and I went to help one of the properties that I work for lay a path for their new garden and then Uncle Jeff and Andrea came over and helped Johnny move a lot of big rocks for us so we can start getting more than weeds and dirt in our back yard.  Its amazing just how different that makes it look.  Next up, a pallet garden and sprinkler system and then grass!  Man, I hope that takes the first time with our 80 pounds of squirrel chasing fury running around back there!

Rainy days

Saturday was a rainy day and even though it put a damper on our landscaping plans, the girls had the best day hanging out in their jammies and just running around having fun.  Kinsley wouldn’t nap (par for the course) even though I thought it would have been a great day for a nap.  So instead, we played in the ball pit, made cookies and bread, tried on different hats and hair, snacked and even made time to clean.  I was surprised that Myla didn’t want to go out with her umbrella to play in the rain, but she was perfectly content inside.  We read a lot of books, and it would have been funny to look in at us with Johnny reading a book to one and me reading to the other.  We usually switched at some point, sometimes in the middle of a book.

Kinsley had a check-in with the doctor today and spent most of it walking around the exam room and talking.  At one point, the doctor said “I can see she’s a quiet one…”  He thought she was doing really good and progressing right on schedule.  Her measurements for this time – 24 pounds 15 ounces and 30 3/4 inches tall.  (We measured Myla on Saturday and she’s 37 inches tall…)  He thought she looked good and had no worries about her at all.  We don’t either, but its always nice to hear the doc say it.

May days

Monday, Myla had a program for her preschool continuation/graduation.  She was so proud to sing the songs that she’s learned and – probably for the only time in her life – she had a seat in the back row so she kept stretching her neck to look over at me.  She’s occasionally sang us the songs that she might have learned in class, but this was fun because I got to see her do it all the way through.  I can’t believe that she’s done with preschool and will start a pre-k in the fall.  Its just amazing to me how fast she has grown.  (And, for the record, she’s changed her birthday to the 25th because she’s turning five this year.  Silly girl.)

Kinsley has really taken to the walking thing and now hardly scoots anymore.  She’s been working very hard at going up and down the stairs when we let her.  The new thing she’s trying is climbing up into chairs – or dishwasher doors – to sit down.  And she thinks she’s pretty hot stuff when she does it too.  And this girl can talk up a storm.  She sits in the family room and “reads” a book at the top of her lungs.  She loves to read books and sometimes will do the animal sounds of the animals that she knows.  She’s very smart, just like Myla.

I had a great mother’s day and was able to sleep in and then come downstairs to warm cinnamon crumb cake and happy girls.  We spent some time snuggled on the couch watching a movie and then spent some time with my mother.  A friend posted this wonderful message on mother’s day that really tugged at my heart strings and I am very thankful that my sweet girls call me mom.  I love them very, very much.

2012 March for Babies

Yesterday, we walked in our fifth March for Babies.  It was great because:

1. Myla got to walk across the finish line again (truly, my favorite part.)
2. We had our whole family there – I even made Johnny get up to be there.
3. The sun was shining and the day was beautiful.
4. We did it up right this year and had matching t-shirts, well, except for Myla’s, which was a little bit different.

But the best part?  It was for my little girl.  It was for the tiniest baby that SMU NICU had seen in 30 years.  It was for the most amazing little spitfire to ever arrive at under a pound and a half.  She had one lady who asked if she was the one on the back of our shirts.  And when I answered yep, this was her, she gave Myla a high-five and said “you’re awesome!”  And she doesn’t even know her!  But its true, she’s awesome, and I’m so thankful every day that she overcame all sorts of odds, or climbed all sorts of mountains, or checked off all sorts of milestones to be able to walk with us across the finish line and march for all babies.

Like her little sister – who was also fantastic all the way through the walk.  She simply surfed in the wagon, watched the people and snacked.  I had wanted (in my own little mind) for Myla to walk across the finish line holding her sister’s hand, because THAT would have been really awesome.  Here are two little amazing little girls who delight me and drive me crazy and make me laugh and cry and make me want to be the very best I can be to make them proud to call me mom.  Because I am beyond proud to call them my girls.  They change the way I see the world and I am forever grateful for being blessed with these crazy, silly, smart, fun, beautiful girls.

Thank you to all who supported us this year, the years past, and who know Myla’s story and tell it to others.  Because yesterday, we marched for babies – all babies and we hope that everyone who gets a chance to hug a child the next chance it comes to them, understands just how awesome these little kids are.

More Trouble

Every day she covers more and more real estate.  Next, she'll be running!