Baby's first thanksgiving

We certainly had something to be thankful for this year! How amazing to become parents (and have your life change drastically...). Last year at this time we were pretty sad about our childless state, but clearly it was worth the wait. :)

Here's the munchkin in her turkey day finery. This was before dinner so you don't see any stuffing on her face yet. Okay, so stuffing is a bit too "solid" for her just yet, but not for long. (we've about to crack open the box of rice cereal and enter the realm of not-so-simple and not-so-neat baby meals)








Those of you in places north will be jealous of the next few photos. These were taken during our burn-off-the-pie hike. Yes, short sleeves and sunglasses!

We got to the trail and realized that we had forgotten a hat for Kyla, so with some creativity sheik baby was assembled! She enjoyed the backpack (okay, well she mostly napped).


No, we didn't feed her nuts -- she made those cheeks herself !!

reclining...

Now that she can sit up she can more comfortably lounge in chairs. See for yourself!


oops! Still more fun to be in a position to grab your feet!!




This is a rocking chair that grandpa and grandma just passed along that used to belong to Kyla's great grandmother (who she visited in Minnesota in September). The chair is probably 80 years old and the pillow is about a month old (but made by the same great grandma!).




Here she is (dressed in her Seahawks getup for general luck) getting ready to see the San Diego Chargers absolutely cremate the Jacksonville Jaguars. We have been having a discourse on whether Chargers special teams players like kick returner, Darren Sprowles, and cornerback Antonio Cromartie can rescue the waning prowess of the green QB, Philip Rivers. Kyla's position was that a sustained running game with a minimal air attack should be optimal in reducing unwanted turnovers.

We agreed. Good going, Kyla!

sad for Rachel; good for the planet...

A brief digression from kylanet to share the sad news that I had to bid farewell to a dear old friend today. Many of you have probably met my trusty little red car who joined me on the east coast in 1990 and faithfully transported me all across the country for so many years. She was still going strong at 180K miles but, alas, was not doing so cleanly enough for the state of California. After two failed smog tests and an offer of $ by the state to get her off the road, the decision was made and the paperwork was filed. I knew that I would have to drop her off at a place called a dismantler but felt better thinking that she would become an organ donor, if you will. As I signed the paper today and told the guy he was getting a good car he shared with me a detail I didn't want to hear -- part of the deal with the state is that the cars that are "retired" must be crushed. I was crushed.
I suppose it was just a machine -- and the new machine who replaced her will keep me and my baby girl safer on the roads -- but she was a big part of my life and I miss her.

Here we are shortly after we first met, back in the fall of 1990 (I miss the pretty fall colors of the east coast too!):

The Toppling of KG - An empire, a ruler, and Ovis aries

Hello Again!

Welcome back to KylaNet, home of the adorable baby girl of the new millennium.

So much to say, but so few keystrokes to utilize. Kyla is sitting up quite well these days and is quite a happy baby. She is a very tough baby, consuming nothing but White Russians (virgin): 6-8 ounces every few hours. But then she conks out by around 8-9 pm and sleeps in till about 6-7am. Then she wakes up in a fabulous mood and we tickle the heck out of her.

This is a nice photo series Rachel took with KG on the couch. Pic3 is our desktop wallpaper right now...very pensive, a foreshadowing if you will. The yellow thing is a little duck toy, but the white toy she is playing with is Sheldon Sheep, a soft fuzzy sheep that opens up into a little fabric book. The covers are made of crinkle paper, which she grabs at. She generally manhandles Sheldon in a raucous series of wrestling maneuvers, but Sheldon is unequivocally and unilaterally compliant. He's a good guy. Note at the end of the photo series KG starts to lose her balance and topples to one side. In searching for this photo on our desktop Rachel informed me that it was entitled "Topple.jpg"

How appropriate.

Five months old today!

Checking out the goats with Corinne!





How quickly five months have passed! And Kyla is just itching to be mobile... we have been encouraging her standing up and even getting her legs moving in a walking motion, but we'll probably regret it when we are running after a little thing who can somehow run faster than us even though her legs are about 1/8th the size!!








The baby shining???

She likes seafood!!




Today we tried out a new fun thing -- the jumper that hangs in the doorway. She needed no instruction as you can see on the video!






I think the girl likes to dance!!

more pictures

What a pretty pink dress Auntie Tina picked out!!
(Dan hasn't seen this yet -- haha!)







Big eyes!