Kayla's First Haircut (Finally!)

Kayla finally had her first haircut! After 2 1/2 years she had about an inch or so cut off! She sat very still and did so well. With the new cut, her hair actually looks pretty cute and appears thicher!

October SNOW

OCTOBER 10, 2009 ~ The First Snow of the Season! About 3 inches!

Jacob creates a stately crown for the snowman!

(Don't worry, Daddy is holding on tightly!)

September 2009

Our Friend, Tomo visited from Japan! Come back soon, Tomo

Kayla enjoyed a rainy day at Henry Doorly Zoo. She especially loved the penguins!

Jacob took a snooze in the Desert Dome

We went to Grammy and Grampy Ingraham's for Labor Day. Jacob is sleeping again!

August 2009

Jeff definitely deserves dad of the year award! He always is making up fun "games" that Kayla loves. This one is called, "Line Up All of the Dolls and Animals on the Blanket." Looks like Kayla is having much more fun with her Daddy than Jacob is having with his Mommy (below). - But isn't he oh-so-cute!

Beautiful!

PDC or Bust!

PDC="Playa del Carmen," (Mexico)! Jeff and I visited our Honeymoon city again! We brought Jacob because he is still nursing, and Kayla got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Stratman!

It was HOT HOT HOT, but we had a great time at the beach, walking around town, meeting people from all over the world, eating at little restaurants--or more likely frequenting our favorite taco vendor. He would just roll his cart down the street and then bring the "whole store" home at night. ***There is nothing else like a true Mexican taco (think NOT-Taco-Bell!!) fresh from a taco cart!***

We did have to visit Starbucks each morning-besides being air conditioned, Jeff refused to take a vacation from his habit!

Jacob even had his own little tent for the beach! He slept fairly well and did great on the flights. We can't wait to go back to PDC sometime with the whole family!

Jacob loved the swings in the playground!

That's a para-sailer above us! I'd love to do that sometime!

Jacob was content, most of the time, to stay in his front carrier! He loves to chew on the straps and cloth - yuck!

Jeff enjoyed his WHOLE fish - it is just thrown on the grill - scales, head, fins, tail and all!

Dancing!

On Thursays mornings through the month of July, a friend of mine is hosting a little dance class of sorts for 3 to 5 year olds. Kayla slipped in to the bunch at two years old... It's a crazy class where a majority of the kids (Kayla included) do completely their own thing while only very loosely following instructions. I hope part of the benefit of this class is that Kayla will get some practice on LISTENING!!!!

Swimming!

Kayla completed her first five swimming lessons in June at YMCA. The lessons were "Parent and Baby" lessons for ages 6 months to 3 years. And yes, there was a tiny little seven month old squirt testing out the waters!

Besides always remarking that the water was "B-R-R-R-R-R-R," Kayla did great! She improved each week! By the last class, she was kicking her legs, paddling her arms, letting me pull her across the water both on her tummy and back as she kicked her legs, jumped (kind of!) off the edge of the pool into my arms, and more!

A few days before her last class, Kayla actually got to visit a "real pool" for the first time with her friends Maddie and Catie Wiswell! The sun was HOT and Kayla had fun as she fearlessly splashed around!

Kayla's Second Birthday!

Kayla had a fun birthday... or *birthdayS*, I should say! We had a family party the Saturday before her birthday (May 20) and a "Girlfriends" party Thursday morning. She received a wagon from Grandma and Grandpa, which she loves!

The weekend following her birthday we visited Grammy and Grampy Ingraham in Scottsbluff and they gave Kayla another party!

We finally came to the conclusion that Kayla no longer has a dairy sensitivity, so she has been enjoying her first tastes of wonderful things like yogurt, ice cream, milk, quesadillas..."MmmmMMMmmm" she always says!

Jacob was FOUR months old already on June 9th! He weighed in at 13 lb 5 oz and 24 inches at his 4 month checkup. Both measurements are in the 20th percentile, so he's a little smaller than the average. And I thought he was a "big" baby... although he is big compared to how tiny his big sister was for the first 12 months! Enjoy the photos!

Baby Jake was happy to watch Kayla open presents while

he snuggled comfortably on Grandma Great's lap.

"The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round..."

Kayla loves that song, so I made a bus cake for her!

She insisted on sitting in the wagon to open all of her presents!

The Ingraham Family ~ May 20th, 2009
Kayla 2, Jacob 3 1/2 months

Kayla's party with her little girlfriends

She LOVES water play with Dad! She has been taking swimming lessons this June and has been improving each week!

This is Phase 1 of The Fence Jeff Built. (He did an amazing job, I might add!)

Boy, it is still almost impossible to get a decent shot of the kids together!

Grampy and Grammy had a whole summer wardrobe for Kayla and Jacob!

Photos and More photos from April and May '09

Kayla:
* Found the markers at her friend's house...
* Likes to dig in the dirt...
* Is telling secrets (I think she and her brother are plotting what to do for mother's day!)
* Thinks the tulips are pretty, (but her mom thinks Kayla is so much prettier than the tulips!)
* Likes to sit in the baby bouncy seat - with the belt buckled - for a LONG time! (It's so funny! She doesn't even do anything, she can't reach her toys once she drops them, but she just sits and sits there!)




Big Blue Eyes! ~ Jacob seems to stick out his toungue often when I try to take a photo! I've taken a bunch of snapshots in an attempt to capture the beautiful smile he flashes at me. I have not succeeded yet, but I'll post it as soon as I do!


Kayla and Embrie are fast friends! Embrie was leading Kayla all around her yard by the hand. When Embrie would hold out her hand and say, "Come," Kayla would always respond by waving and saying, "Bye Bye." I hope their communication skills get better! Both little girls will celebrate their second birthday this month!

Oh yeah, Kayla came up with a new word for "yes" which she has been saying constantly for the past few days: "Yeah-K." It's way too funny!