Boots-Boots-O

I don't know if it is the "official" logo or not, but scattered in several places in Amarillo is the word Amarillo with both L's replaced by a pair of boots. One of these is on an overpass on the highway, and another is in a restaurant called Cattle Call that we eat at occasionally. We were sitting in Cattle Call one evening having dinner and Kyra looks up at the wall where this Amarillo logo is painted. She says, "Look, that says Amarillo!" She then proceeds to spell it out, "A-M-A-R-I-Boots-Boots-O." She then gets a rather confused look on her face and repeats, "Boots-Boots-O???"

Surfin' USA

My 3 year old is officially a tech nerd (just like Mommy and Daddy). Today I got a mailing list email regarding some videos Kyra likes to watch (Signing Time). I stepped away from the computer because I was done checking my email and Kyra said she would like to look at the Signing Time pictures. I said sure and pulled up the email for her to look at. I went across the room to put Siana down on her little jungle gym toy and suddenly heard the Signing Time theme song pumping through the computer speakers.....????? I turned around and saw that Kyra had clicked from the email to the signing time website, had clicked through to the "products" page that listed all the available videos, had found a video she didn't have, and was checking out the sample video clips from that video. Holy cow! I then watched as the video clip ended and she moused up to the corner, clicked the red "x" button to close it and continued browsing the signing time videos. When did she learn how to do all that???? I'm going to have to set up parental internet controls for a 3 year old!

National Monuments

Kyra picked up our broom today, stood it on its end so the handle was on the floor and the bright yellow bristles were straight up in the air and said, "Look Mommy, the Statue of Wiberty!"

Naked Bunnies

Kyra was drawing pictures today and after she'd finished drawing a bunny, I asked her if she was going to color her bunny. She replied, "No, it's ok if he just be's naked."

Kyra on Crying

Kyra, Miss Loudness that she is, decided that Siana was too loud for her liking today. Siana has been fussy today, I think because she's about to have some bottom teeth. So during an unusual crying episode, I heard Kyra sternly telling the baby, "Siana, stop cwying! We weawwy can't hear anything! You're weawwy good, but now you're bad...stop cwying! You're fweakin me out!"

(weawwy=really)

No Smoking Zone

As Kyra was brushing her teeth tonight, she made the comment, look Mommy, it's like smoking. She then proceeded to blow air down the handle of her toothbrush. I was a little stunned as we've never talked about smoking before and I don't think she knows anyone who does it (at least not that I'm aware of). I asked her what smoking was and she once again sucked on her toothbrush and then blew on it. I figured we probably should have some sort of conversation about it, so I asked her how she knew what smoking was. She said she saw somebody do it when she was with Daddy. I then asked her if it was good for our bodies or bad for our bodies. She said it was bad for our bodies and that when she grew up, she was going to be a "Smoking Challenger" and was going to tell smoking to go away. She then said, That's when I grow up. I'm going to tell God that."

Big Girl Einstein

As we were out for a walk today, Kyra randomly mentioned that she wanted to buy a new Baby Mozart movie because ours is broken. (It's been broken for a couple of years). I responded that if we bought a new one, it would actually be for Siana and not for her because it would probably be pretty boring to her since she's a big girl now. She contemplated this for a minute, then said, I bet they make Big Girl Einstein too. I said, Really? She said, Yeah, and Big Girls that Go Potty Einstein. Hmmmm...that would be something.

Money Matters

Kyra is to the stage that everything she sees on TV and in magazines she wants. The latest trend is that she tells us she wants it for her birthday. The other day we were in Walmart and she found a Dora toothbrush she liked and asked if she could ask for it for her birthday. I said that she sure could, and she excitedly put it back on the shelf saying she really hoped she got it for her birthday. The fellow next to us was greatly amused by this little interchange since it was regarding a $5 toothbrush. But I digress....we were looking through a Toys R Us magazine today and Kyra was pointing out all the items on each page that she wanted for her birthday. She pointed to a couple of low dollar items and then said how much she wanted an inflatable obstacle course that was listed at the low low price of $349.99. I told her that was definitely a cool plaything, but look how much money it costs to buy. She looked and read 3-4-9. I said, yeah, three hundred and forty nine dollars, do you know how much that is? She of course said no. So I simply said it's a whole lot of money. I showed her one dollar and said with great emphasis that it's 349 of these. Her eyes got wide and she wanted to see how much the other things she wanted cost. She then pointed to a smaller inflatable bounce house and said this one is 1-4-9. I said yeah, that one is one hundred and forty nine dollars. She then responded, eyes wide, in a super dramatic stage whisper, wow....

Kyra Conversation of the Day

Kyra to Daddy: "Can you come swim with us?"
Daddy to Kyra: "I can't yet. I don't have a swimsuit...I have to go to the store and get one."
Kyra to Daddy: "But you can just swim naked."
Daddy to Kyra: "Um, no, I don't think so. But thanks."

The I.M. generation LOL :)

Tonight in Steven's office at church, Kyra walks up and turns on his computer monitor saying, "I need to check and see if Strawberry Shortcake is online."

New ice cream flavor?

We went to lunch at Jason's Deli today with Steven. Jason's has one of those free ice cream machines, so when we were done eating, I took Kyra over to get a small cup of ice cream. There was the traditional vanilla, chocolate, and swirl options, so I asked Kyra which kind she wanted. She said Chocolate, so I asked her if she wanted plain chocolate or 'swirl.' She looked at me with a funny look on her face and a slightly scrunched up nose and said Chocolate. I got her the chocolate ice cream and then she looked at me again with that same funny look on her face and said, "Which one is Squirrel?" Ew. No wonder she picked the chocolate!

Random Kyra Thought of the Day

Kyra: Mommy, why does Strawberry Shortcake live alone?

Me: (floundering) Well, maybe she's older than she looks....???

Just for the spell of it

Since Kyra can read anything you put in front of her at this point, we can no longer write things we don't want her to know about. We've resorted to quickly spelling certain words, and sometimes whole sentences in some conversations. I've gotten so proficient at this technique that I now find myself spelling random words in the middle of sentences that I have no cause to spell. This is evidenced by something I told Steven in the car today. We were driving past our neighborhood pool which we've been considering buying a membership to this summer. I informed him that the girls and I checked it out on our walk the other day and that I didn't know what it's like when it's cleaned up, but at this point, it looks a little "g-h-e-t-t-o." I then thought about it and realized there was absolutely no reason to spell that. *sigh* I'm sure this is only going to get worse....

RIP bugs

We were heading out the front door to go on a walk today when Kyra noticed some dearly departed flies on the threshold. She looked down and shouted, "Mommy! There's bugs in the door!" I glanced over and told her that it was ok because they were dead and they were outside. So she leans down for a closer inspection and once satisfied, yells loudly at the unresponsive insects, "You're dead!!!" Just making sure everyone is clear on that.

The Gift of Mac 'n' Cheese

Kyra enjoys looking through the parenting magazine we get. She loves seeing the kids and families in there, and enjoys looking at the ads, telling me all the things she wants for her birthday, or whatever holiday is coming up next. She was looking at one of these magazines this morning and made an odd request along with the other items she was listing as birthday wants. She flipped the page and said, "Mommy, I want this Macawoni and Cheese for my birthday." I think I can fulfill that one....

Teenagers

We just got back from playing with Kyra's friends Adley and Corbin a few minutes ago. We're now headed to the library and Kyra wanted to know if Adley and Corbin were going to the library too. I told her that they probably weren't because their mom was probably getting ready for the teenagers to come over tonight for Bible study (their dad is a youth minister at our church). She asked why the teenagers were going to go to their house. I told her that they were going to have a Bible study just like we used to do with the teenagers at our old house when her Daddy was a youth minister. She said, "Teenagers used to come to our house?" So I said yes. She then asked what their names were, so I told her a few of the kids who used to come over, some of whom she remembered. She then asked, "When they came over did they wear their teenager clothes?" I'm not sure where or why that question originated, but told her that yes, they did indeed wear their teenager clothes.

Birthday Themes

Kyra was talking in the car today about her birthday (which is still a long way off in July). She decided out loud that she wants to have a "Joseph and the Amazing Dreamer Coat" birthday party. She's recently become obsessed with the Joseph musical movie. She was talking about all the things she wants to have at the party, like hats and cups, and plates and napkins, and candy bags for each kid. She then said, "Oh yeah, and a Joseph cake pan...I think they have those at Hobby Lobby." Yeah, we'll just have to check into that one.

Jesus? Where?

Steven and I were going to small group tonight with the girls and were discussing something about the sermon this morning. I mentioned a part of the sermon and said something about Jesus walking down the road with his disciples. Kyra pipes up from the back seat and said "Mommy, what did you say?" I said I mentioned Jesus walking down the road with his friends. She then looks around from side to side out the window and says, "Where? I didn't see him...."

Kyra Quote of the Day

"Dad, you need to shave. Dad, why is it in the morning, it all comes back out? Huh. Weird."

Just Seein'

Kyra and I were cleaning up her room, which looked like a clothing bomb had exploded recently. I was asking her to retrieve all the pajamas that were lying around and I asked her for a pair of pajama pants near her. She brought them to me and as I started to fold them up, I was surprised to find yet another pair of pajama pants inside them. I asked her how the other pants got inside these. She nonchalantly replied, "I put those pants on and then I put the other pants on on top of them." Out of curiosity, I asked her why she did that. She said, "Just to see how it feeled." Ok. So of course, I asked her, "So how did it feel?" She responded, "It was a little bit hard, but a little bit cozy."

Our Tenderhearted Baby

It's incredible how much personality can be seen in a person who's only 3 months old. Siana, I can already tell, is going to be my sensitive, tenderhearted child. She takes after her daddy in that respect. It's the most amazing thing...she will hear another child crying, particularly Kyra, and she will go from happy and smiling to her bottom lip trembling and tears welling up in her eyes. We will assure her that everythng is ok, and she'll go right back to giggling and grinning. It's a very sweet characteristic, but it should make the already hormonal teen years interesting.

Angela Version 29.1

Steven and I were blessed to attend a ministers, elders, and wives retreat this past weekend. A wonderful lady from church offered to keep Kyra while we were gone and so we went off to a state park in Oklahoma for 2 nights. This year's retreat was centered around fellowship and community since there are 4 new elders coming in and several ministers who are still fairly new. It was such a great experience for me to get to know some people I had never really spent any time with before, as well as to deepen bonds with people I already call friends. One of the main themes of the retreat was telling your story. This was played out in small groups of 4 or 5. Each person in the small group was given as much time as they needed to tell their story. There was no restriction on what you could say or what aspect of your story to tell. We were each given a free license to tell whatever version and amount of detail of our story as we felt led to do. As I've reflected on the weekend, I realize how long it has been since I've allowed people to really enter into my story. Anyone who knows much about me knows that I'm a pretty unemotional person, but as I told my story with a clear head and calm spirit, I ended up pouring out a lot more emotion than I intended. That was the most difficult part for me. I will tell anyone anything they want to know about me, but it will be a very sterile rendition of the story. As I thought about the version of the story I told that day, I think I can pinpoint my emotional shutoff to when we first moved to Indiana from Michigan when I was 11. I guess I just found it easier to deal with life in general without all those pesky emotions getting in the way, so I just ignored them. I got so good at it that they pretty much disappeared altogether, aside from happy and excited, because those were the "good" ones. Other feelings would pop up occasionally, but it was few and far between. I also remember that when I went off to college without knowing a soul there, I felt like I could basically reinvent myself and start over as whatever kind of person I wanted to be. That was extremely liberating and I did make a lot of changes during that transition, from a publicly quiet and reserved person to much louder and much more outgoing person. I jumped into a lot of college activities right off the bat, whereas before, I wasn't involved in much non-academic stuff until my senior year in high school. To come back to the present, I think that might be the opportunity that God is presenting me with once again at this time in my life. I'm seeing a better way to be and a better way to relate to people than what I've been practicing. After this weekend, I realize I want to know people and to be known myself, good, bad, and ugly. I think that's where true friendship and intimacy comes in, you see all the "stuff" and love anyway. I was able to experience a "safe" environment to be me, all of me, emotions included, and still be ok. I don't know if I'll ever be a weepy, hyper emotional female, but I am re-learning to unlock my emotional closet and give myself some room. I think I've missed a lot of what God has wanted to teach me by not paying attention to the way I feel. By turning off that part of myself, I've turned off a part of what God created in me. I can already see some areas that he's wanting me to work on and recognize that he has already provided me with the support system and the friendships I need to make those changes. I'm a little uneasy going forward into "new/old" territory, but I know, as with anything God asks of us, the rewards will outweigh any cost.

Siana's Vocal Stylings

Over the last week and a half, Little Miss Siana has found her voice. For the better part of the day, she spends her time imitating and inventing all the different sounds she hears and some that she just enjoys making. She will go from little baby aaahs to sudden loud yelps to what sounds like a velociraptor on the hunt. She gargles and laughs and raises her eyebrows so high they just might fall off the top of her head when you engage her in conversation. She opens her eyes as big as she can possibly open them and her body flails and wriggles as she tries to produce a sound, any sound at all. Her legs start running a horizontal marathon and her arms flap as if she may suddenly take flight. Her face lights up so bright you could almost turn the lights off and still see. It's an amazing and precious thing to watch. I think she's going to give her big sister a run for her money as far as being incessantly verbal. However, I believe she, like Kyra, has inherited my sometimes unfortunate trait of a voice that carries. So until both girls learn some volume control, we're going to have a very loud house. Even so, we're having a blast watching her attempting to communicate and are anxiously waiting to hear just what it is that she has to say.

The Fine Art of Negotiation

Kyra and I were in the car after meeting a friend for lunch today and I told her what the agenda for the rest of the afternoon was. She had mentioned earlier on the way to lunch that she wanted to go to Lifeway and Family Christian Store to read books today, and repeated that request again. My main goal was to get some things done to the car, oil change, etc., so the likelihood that we'd be able to fit anything else into the afternoon was slim to none based on typical car place timetables. I told her that we had other things to do today and might not be able to go read books, but if we didn't have time today, we'd definitely go another day soon. She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Hey Mom, how about we do your plans first and then we can do my plans."

I love that she's starting to really think things through and figure out ways to accomplish everything that we both need to do. I also love that she has "plans." =) However, on days like today, there was nothing I could do to accommodate her. It took almost 2 hours to get the car back, so we didn't get to go to her stores today, but it will definitely be a top priority for an upcoming afternoon!

For Crying Out Loud!

The other day, it seemed like I was forever popping Siana's paci back into her mouth. She was fed, freshly diapered, and sleepy but fighting it. And I swear, I would just sit down when she'd start fussing again because she'd lost her paci. So on one of the trips to replace it, I offhandedly made the comment, "Well, for crying out loud...." Kyra has since equated this, in the literal sense, with Siana crying in general. Now every time Siana starts fussing or crying, Kyra reports, Mom, Siana's 'for crying out loud.'

Amazing Love

It is astonishing to me that little children are so forgiving and unconditionally loving. Yesterday Kyra was playing next to Steven who was holding Siana on the couch. She got a little rambunctious and ended up accidentally head butting Siana on the top of her head. Siana cried like I've never heard her cry before with these giant tears streaming from her eyes. For one, it just breaks my heart to see my babies hurting, and two, I was a little worried she might have more than just a bruise because Kyra has a pretty hard noggin. I took the baby and got her calmed down enough to where I could try to determine whether or not we needed to take her to the doctor. After about 15 minutes, Kyra came over and wanted to talk to Siana and "twy to make her smile." I was completely expecting Siana to burst into tears at the very sight of her sister after what had just happened. However, as Kyra started talking to her and playing with her, Siana broke out into this enormous toothless grin. It was incredible. The forgiveness was instant and the love she has for her big sister was literally written all over her face. I only hope I can one day forgive that easily again and be like a little child in my love for others.

Kyra on death and dying

There was a tragic death involving the son of one of the members of our praise team at church yesterday. There was a lot of talk about it during services and in our own house as Steven works closely with this family. We tried to explain the situation to Kyra as best we could in terms she would understand, but I think the gravity of the situation is a little lost on her at the age of 3. This is evident by the conversation she began this morning:

Kyra: Oh no! My son just died!
Me: I'm so sorry! You must be very sad.
Kyra: No. I'm not sad.
Me: You're not? Well, how do you feel?
Kyra: Well, my friend just went up to Heaven to get my son, so he'll be back in just a minute.
Me: Really? He's coming back from Heaven?
Kyra: Yeah. He was done there.

Ok then. Guess we've got a lot of explaining to do as she gets older. However, she did ask to make Miss Emily a card to help her not be sad anymore, so she's getting some of it. The fact that she's becoming thoughtful of other people is good enough for me.

I see no mint

On the way home from small group tonight, Kyra was trying to dissuade us from the spankin she was to receive when we got home for disobeying Mommy and going out into the street alone. I told her that I was sorry, but she had chosen to receive her spankin when she chose to disobey. She then cried, "But I don't want a spankin because it will hurt!" I replied, "Well, that's kind of the point. That's why it's a punishment." Kyra replied back, "It's not a punishment...it's not a mint!"

You Tell Em!

Kyra was watching Veggie Tales this morning and cheering on her favorite character. She yelled something at the "bad guy" and Steven commented, "Yeah, you tell em!" She looked at him like he was nuts and said, "I just did...."

Blessing in de-skies

We were amazingly blessed to receive, out of the blue, 3 free plane tickets that the girls and I used to go back to Indianapolis for a visit. I had been racking my brain to figure out how we could afford tickets to go because I was missing my family and vice versa, plus I had a lot of shopping that I needed to get done that can't be done in Amarillo, unfortunately. God was truly faithful to our family and provided this totally unexpected opportunity for us. The girls and I had an amazing visit with my family and with my in-laws, but even being there over a week didn't get to see everyone we wanted to visit with. Such is life. We're hoping to go back as a complete family unit soon, as the most difficult part of the trip was being away from Daddy. I'm still blown away by this incredible gift and am so thankful to have been the recipient.

Footwear Foible

My sister and I went out to lunch today with Kyra and Siana. We were passing the time while waiting for our food by playing the games on the kids' menus we got and ended up engaged in a friendly competition of who could finish the word search first. Kyra and I had a clear lead and Adrienne off-handedly made the comment, "You guys are kicking my booty." Kyra glanced under the table and said, "Ady, you're not wearing booties, you're wearing shoes!"

Presto Change-o

The past two nights, Kyra has been getting up after we put her to bed and changing her room. It's a little unnerving because she's done this without our knowledge, which means she's being extremely quiet about it. And anyone who knows her or has read my previous posts, realizes this is quite unlike her. Last night, we went in to check on her and make sure she was covered up and warm around an hour after we'd put her to bed. To our surprise, we found her previously slightly messy room immaculate.... Then we found that she'd stuffed everything into her closet and shut the door. But her room definitely looked nice! Fast forward one day.... This evening, I once again went in to check on her about an hour and a half after we'd put her to bed and found her room completely trashed...drawers hanging open, her basket of blankets rumpled and half empty.... Then I noticed Kyra's jammies that she'd gone to bed in were lying in the doorway. Curious as to what she had on now, I walked over to her bed, and found her looking ever so fabulous in a black velvety dress, complete with matching black tights! I started giggling and ran and got Steven so he could see the metamorphosis also. Funny, yes, but boy does she have a mess to clean up tomorrow morning!

Tidy up your language!

Steven and I were walking through the mall on Friday with the girls, when all of a sudden, Kyra turns to me and says, "Mommy, what's titties?" I looked at her funny and said, "What's what....?" She says again, "What's titties?" I was racking my brain trying to figure where she'd heard or read that word and kept coming up blank. So I calmly asked her, "Where did you see that word, honey?" She said, "In my book." So of course, I asked her what book and what it said. She replied, "In my Peedie book from the library. It said Peedie 'titties' up his nest." I chuckled and figured out what word she meant. So I replied, "Oh! TIDIES. Peedie TIDIES up his nest. It means to clean up." She said, "OH! Tidies. Ok." Whew. Steven and I looked at each other with laughing eyes and internally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Mommy Dance

At her usual time the other night, Siana started to get hungry and sleepy, so I started our nighttime routine. I laid her down on the changing table, pulled a diaper down off the shelf, got a wipe ready, and changed her diaper. We have a SwaddleMe blanket deal that we wrap her in, which makes her look like a little baby burrito and helps her sleep really soundly. I got the SwaddleMe out and started to adjust it and get it ready to put her in. Meanwhile, she's lying on the changing table and getting irritated because she's hungry. She started to fuss and I immediately started bouncing and swaying. I just as immediately felt like a total idiot because the baby was lying there on the changing table and not in my arms. But apparently distance dancing also does the trick, because she stopped fussing and looked at me strangely, probably wondering What on earth was that? At least nobody saw but the baby, and she'll never tell.... =)

Bottoms Up

We go to small group on Sunday evenings at Kyra's friend Spencer's house. She and Spencer get to enjoy each other's company while the grown ups have a devotional and some fellowship. Well, last Sunday, Kyra headed to the potty before small group started and I wasn't really paying much attention because going to the potty has become old news for her by now. As she exited the bathroom and headed back upstairs to the play room, the guy sitting next to me on the couch commented nonchalantly, "Was Kyra wearing pants? Because she's not now." I immediately snapped to attention and said, "No pants whatsoever?" He told me she still had her underwear on, but had apparently nixed the pants in the bathroom. I quickly checked out the bathroom and found her pants lying in the floor, deemed unnecessary by a 3 year old who would rather be naked 99% of the time. I grabbed the pants and quickly beelined for the playroom to replace the discarded article of clothing on my half-naked little girl. I also informed her that although she may do that in the privacy of our own house, wearing pants is a requirement when we're out and about.

Ready or not

This afternoon, I told Kyra it was time for rest time, which meant she had to spend some quiet time in her room for a little while. I told her she didn't have to get in her bed, but she had to stay in her room. She went off to her room without incident and I started to get some work done around the house. After a while, I noticed it was abnormally quiet in there, so I went in to check on her. I found her sprawled face down across her bed, feet hanging off the edge, dressed in her pajamas and her slippers! I had sent her to quiet time fully clothed, so this amused me. Then as I got closer, I noticed she had even changed out of her underwear and put a pullup on! Apparently she was so sleepy she performed her entire nighttime ritual before she laid down to rest!

Finger assignments

We were talking today about what day tomorrow is, and the next day, and the next day. We talked about how tomorrow is Friday, which is the day Daddy gets to stay at home with us, then comes Saturday, when Daddy is also home, and when Nick Jr. comes on CBS (a big highlight in our house). So she calculated that Nick Jr. will be on in 2 days. We congratulated her on her brilliance, of course, and she held up 2 fingers, repeating that Nick Jr. is 2 days away, there's Friday and then Saturday. She then went on to expound that "this finger is Friday and this finger is Saturday!"

It's all about me

Steven and I were discussing a decoration for our living room today and where we thought it would look good, etc. Kyra butted in and informed us, "You can't talk about that! Stop talking about that!" We looked at her strangely and clarified, "Kyra, Mommy and Daddy are just talking about a decoration...." She came back with, "No...you can't talk about that! You have to talk about me!" Oh my. Let me be the first to gently and lovingly inform her that, contrary to what she may believe, the world does not indeed revolve around her.

Taking Root

Since we've moved to Amarillo, there's been a bit of a tug of war going on inside me as to whether or not I should put down roots here. I didn't really realize the resistance I had to settling in until I realized I was dreading getting Texas license plates for my car. How weird is that? It's like I want to be identified as a "foreigner" still, even though I live here now. I think I've been hanging on to some small piece of something that might even be construed as hope that we might not be here long and so I shouldn't get comfortable. I'm sure part of that comes from the fact that we never really got to settle into our last job, so maybe this will have a similar turnout. But at the same time, the thought of staying here only a short time makes me sad too because, like it or not, I've bonded with several people here already. The longer we've been here, the more I've realized that it's difficult not to put down roots because we ultimately long to be comfortable, familiar, and accepted where we are. And I've come to the conclusion that it's wrong of me to resist putting down my roots where my God has planted me. If I don't put down roots, then how can I grow? So, Amarillo, here's to a long or short relationship, but a piece of me and my family is officially a part of your landscape. We'll bloom as best we can for as long as we're here.

Robert Who?

Kyra's class last Wednesday night was about the Good Samaritan, and in her class, the kids each got to act out a part from the story. So she told me that someone played the hurt man and other kids played the "Roberts." I must have missed that part where they actually mentioned names....

Pete & Repeat

Ah, where to even start with this one? Well, I'll just prelude by saying that Kyra, good girl that she is, occasionally has a bit of an attitude issue. Typical 3 year old. Well, at times, these episodes progress to the point where she is threatened with a spanking or isolation in her bedroom if she continues her sassiness. She is also consistently, day in and day out, about 10 decibels louder than any other human being on any given occasion, happy, sad, mad, or glad. Which brings us to this evening. I had run into the store after dinner tonight and left Steven in the car with the girls. When I got back, Steven informed me that Kyra had repeated something I had said to her, apparently on enough occasions for her to remember the line verbatim. He said that she was increasing in volume during their conversation (as usual) and as she escalated into sonic boom volume, he said "Shhh" to remind her to keep her volume down. She then turned to him and very sternly said, "If you say that to me one more time, I'm going to wear your bottom out." I found this to be particularly humorous, although not in Kyra's presence. Steven, just as sternly, informed her that parents might say that to kids, but kids may not say that to parents. I'm not sure he found the humor in it as quickly as I did, but perhaps down the road he'll look back on this post and chuckle. =)

"Sign" Language

We had just come out of a restaurant with some take out this evening when Kyra started reading the posters in the windows of the stores flanking the restaurant. All of a sudden, she says, "muvpuhs...muvpuhs???" I asked her what she had said and she repeated the same strange word. I internally guessed what she had seen and began searching the signs for the culprit. I asked her where she saw that word and she read the sign that she was referring to. I looked next door at SportClips haircuts and saw what she was talking about. It was a large sign that had pictures of guys with nice haircuts and said something about being "M.V.P.'s" aka "muvpuhs."

Things we learn at the fair

Kyra did something the other day and I gave her the thumbs up sign and smiled at her. She smiled back and said "Thumbs up!" Then she put her thumb pointed toward the floor and said "Thumbs down." I laughed and asked her where she'd learned that, because I didn't even know she knew what those meant yet. She replied, "I don't know where I learned it. Probably at the fair one time." The fair? I've never taken her to the fair! I think she's been watching too much Charlotte's Web...the fair is a veritable shmorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord....

Kid Conversations

I overheard a funny conversation between Kyra (3) and her friend Spencer (4) yesterday at the Super Bowl party we attended. Here's how it went:

Kyra and Spencer are sharing an ottoman and watching the beginning of the Super Bowl.
Spencer to Kyra: Are you into football?
Kyra to Spencer: Nah.
Spencer: Then why are you watching it?
Kyra: Because I like it.
Spencer: I like soccer better.
Kyra: Yeah, I like baseball better.
Kyra and Spencer both walk away to "play" pool instead.

The whole conversation just cracked me up, particularly because I know for a fact that Kyra has never even seen a baseball game! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to hear how their conversation progressed after that point. =)

Budding Shopaholic

Kyra was playing next to me in the bathroom while I was putting on my makeup this morning. We were playing store with some of my stuff and she declared, "Mommy, I'll be the shopper and you be the ma'am." "The ma'am?" I said. "Yes," she said, "I'm the shopper and you're the ma'am...Ma'am what do you have here?"

Working Girl

On the way home from church last night, Kyra and I were chatting in the car. Somehow we got onto the topic of jobs and she made the declaration that she's not going to have a job because she's not a boy. I found that interesting, because I stay at home with her, but she knows my mom and sister both work and we've visited them at their respective jobs. She went on to say that when she grows up and becomes a boy then she'll get a job. I responded that she won't ever be a boy because God made her a little girl. She pondered this a moment, and I asked her if she would ever have a job. She said yes, that when she grew up to be an adult, her job would be to watch "adult movies....like Red Eye!" I couldn't help myself and busted out laughing. Can I have that job too?

A Map of the Kingdom

Today, Kyra found a map that we keep in the car, opened it up, and declared in a regal voice, "This is a map of the Kingdom of the Lord!"

Impatient Exaggeration

Kyra was trying to put in a videotape to watch this morning and was not having much luck. The TV was on the wrong setting to watch a tape as Steven and I had watched a DVD the night before. She ran out of ideas on how to get it to play and finally with much exasperation said "This tape is making 20 hours to work!"

Hmmm and Wide

Kyra has a DVD with the song "Deep and Wide" on it. She's sang it before, but I never noticed anything funny. Well, she's been on an extended remix rendition today during her rest time. She's apparently not fully captured the first word. She thinks it's "D" and Wide, and has proceeded to sing the song with every other letter in the alphabet in the last 10 minutes. She's now on "W" and Wide, which doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Makes for a much longer song....

What am I saying???

The other day, Kyra and I were talking in the car about the Bible story we'd read the night before. It had been about Samson, and Kyra asked if he had big muscles. I said yes he did because God made him strong and gave him his big muscles. She seemed to be recalling a picture of Samson she'd seen and asked if the big circles on his arms were his big muscles. I said that yes, they were. She then asked me, Mommy, what are muscles? Since she'd just asked me if they were the circles on his arms, I chuckled and said well, what did you just ask me, remember what you said they were? So she said, Yes, but Mommy, I don't know what I'm saying. Join the club, kiddo, join the club. =)

My babies

I thought I would try something new and post a couple of pictures to my blog. I took these of the girls a few days ago and I think they're fun and sweet. Enjoy!

Working the System

Kyra is already learning how to "stick it to the man." We've been potty training officially for about 2 weeks now and once Kyra got it in her head that it was going to be beneficial to her, it's been a breeze. She's been ready for a long time, but with all the transition going on with us this last year, we had been holding off on pushing the issue. The method we used that finally convinced her was we put up progressively larger "potty charts" that as she filled each row, she earned a "potty prize" which got progressively cooler. The first chart required filling up a row of 3 to get a small prize, so the first few times, Kyra adamantly declared that she was going to go potty 3 times (in one sitting) so she could get her potty prize. We kept reiterating that her strategy would not work and that she would need to go potty 3 separate times to get her 3 stars to fill up the row and get her prize. She finally figured that out and for a few days that worked and she began filling up the rows and earning prizes. Then she got wise and figured out a way to work the system. She figured out that she could go potty, but hold a bit back so she could go again in about 10-15 minutes and get another sticker, and repeat until she filled up a row. Little stinker. She's putting something in the potty each time, so how could I argue? So the rest of the potty charts were filled fast and furious and she's gotten a barrage of prizes in a single week. However, even though she figured out a "shortcut," she's still going to the potty, which was the ultimate goal in the first place. So although I'm sure she thinks she's super smart for figuring out a faster path to the prizes and that she's the big winner in this, really, it's me! =)

What do babies dream?

One of my favorite things ever is when I'm holding Siana (and Kyra did this too) and she is totally asleep and just starts cracking up laughing in her sleep. I love that! It makes me wonder what in the world she is dreaming about that is so funny at just a few weeks old. Perhaps it's the funny face Daddy made at her this afternoon, or maybe even a funny face an angel made at her before she was born that she only remembers in her dreams. It's the coolest thing and it always makes me smile.

Takin Me Back

It's odd the power music has in my life. This power becomes even more pronounced during times of transition for me, it seems. There is a song from the late 80's that, whenever I hear it, immediately takes me back to the school bus riding to Jr. High one morning and also immediately puts a huge knot in the pit of my stomach because we had just moved to Indiana and I was horribly miserable and anxious every morning heading to school. Fast forward almost 20 years (yikes has it really been that long since jr. high???) to the present. Steven, Kyra, and I are big Zoe Group fans and have just about worn out every CD of theirs that we have (thank goodness for iPods!). For whatever reason, I haven't really listened to any of our Zoe CDs since moving to Amarillo. Yesterday, Kyra, Siana, and I were out for an afternoon drive after running a quick errand to Walgreens. We were out of the house and I really didn't feel like going back home so soon because driving around in traffic just makes me feel more alive sometimes (especially when bouncing back after having a 2nd child). So we drove through Hud's to get a shake for me and a "Kid's Spwite" for Kyra and popped in a Zoe CD. It was odd how it immediately made me miss one particular friend from Indy that I haven't talked to much since we moved. We used to sing together on the praise team pretty often, and we frequently sang the Zoe songs that were on the CD that I had chosen. I also realized that since we've moved I haven't really been singing, and neither has Kyra (not as much as she used to at least). So yesterday, we had a great time driving around aimlessly in the car belting out Zoe songs together and clapping our hands. But since listening to those songs, that particular friend has just been on my mind and in my heart for 2 days now. Funny thing is, SHE called ME this evening. God works in mysterious ways, eh? It was awesome to reconnect with her and laugh together again. She's one of those people that I just pick back up with like no time has passed...I love that! Made me awfully homesick though.... I like Amarillo, but the one thing that's the hardest for me to deal with is it's difficult to leave here. To fly home is expensive, since Kyra requires the purchase of a plane ticket now, and driving is just too far by myself for 14 hours with a newborn and a 3 1/2 year old. So I guess I'll just have to start saving my pennies. =) All this from just listening to a CD.... =) I know this has been a bit of an odd, meandering post, but rather therapeutic. I'll post something funny next time. =)

Stranger than Strange

Kyra and Daddy went on a "Daddy Date" for lunch today. This typically consists of lunch at McDonald's and then a trip to either Lifeway or Barnes & Noble. They did the traditional lunch at McDonald's and Kyra was telling me about the toys she and Daddy got in their happy meals. She said they got a Power Stranger and a Mr. Tumnus. A Power Stranger? I couldn't have said it better myself. =) And I fully intend to keep them Power "Strangers" in our house....

Spencer's Soap

Another item that appeared in Kyra's bathroom when family came to visit was a silver soap dispenser pump. She noticed it today and asked what it was. I told her it was a soap dispenser. She looked at me funny and said What? I told her again it was a soap dispenser. She again looked at me with a concerned glance and said, but Spencer needs it! (Spencer is one of her friends from church.) I laughed and told her it wasn't Spencer's soap, it was a soap "dispenser" which means it dispenses soap and gives it to you to wash your hands. I asked her if she understood and she said, "nope." So maybe we'll try again another day to unravel the mystery of the "soap de Spencer."

Well-versed

We found a book at Lifeway the other day that is a kids devotional book in which you read a bible story, then have space where you ask a couple of questions and write down the response you get. We thought this would be a great thing to incorporate into our bedtime routine with Kyra and something that we will cherish (and sometimes chuckle at) reading her responses in the future. The other night, we decided to try something else...we chose one of the verses we'd read that week for our "family memory verse." We'd not done this before, but Kyra has really taken to it. We were shocked and thrilled that after only two nights of reciting our memory verse, this evening, before we even asked her, she suddenly stated..."Deuteronomy 31:6...The Lord your God will go with you!" We're excited to see the difference our daily devotions and memory verses will make in her life, and in our own, as we re-learn old stories in a new way right along with her and rediscover the joy of reading God's word.

What's in a name?

Kyra likes to know everyone's name and who they all go with. She knows all her grandparents' full names and is figuring out their relationship both to her and to us. My parents and sister visited a couple weeks ago to see us and meet our new addition to the family. After they left, Kyra found a few things in places that hadn't been there before. For example, in her bathtub, she found a bar of soap. When we put her in the bath, she said, "Hey, whose soap is that?" We told her that Nana and Papa used it while they were here. She later found something else that was there for Nana and Papa that wasn't usually there. She made this statement, "Hey, look at that...did the Qualls leave that too?" It cracked me up that she called them "the Qualls" instead of Nana and Papa. This week, Steven's mom, Kyra's Grammy B, is here to visit. This morning, Kyra was up before anyone else. I got up and went into the living room with her. After a while, she turned to me and said "When is Steven's mom going to get up?" I just started laughing, so she corrected it to "When is Dad's mom going to get up?" What a kid.

The Story of Her Life

Kyra has always been a huge bookworm, so I guess it should come as no surprise that she now narrates everything in story form. She'll be playing with her Veggie Tales playset and instead of acting out the characters and simply providing the voices, she will say, "Hi Duke...says Petunia." Then she'll follow up with something like, "Hi Petunia...says Duke." She also does this with stuff she "narrates" for Steven and I. She'll say, "Kyra would you like a drink....says Mommy. Yes, thank you...says Kyra." It's quite comical.

Return to Sender?

Now that we're settling into our new home and a routine with the baby, we've resumed potty training with Kyra. Well. tonight, as she was sitting on the potty, I was reading to her and Siana was sitting on the counter in her bouncy seat. Siana had been snoozing and suddenly woke with a start and started crying. As I paused the story to attend to the baby, Kyra got a mildly annoyed look on her face and said, "I think we should put Siana down the potty and I will just miss her." I chuckled internally and told her that one, people don't fit down the potty, and two, she would miss out on a whole lot of fun once Siana gets older. By this time, Siana had stopped crying and had gone back to sleep, so Kyra seemed satisfied for the time being. I understand the emergence of some annoyance and jealousy, but I sure am glad that she's at least attached enough to her to miss her! =) I'll just have to remember and be sure to check the potty each time before we flush....

Everyone's a Critic

Steven and i were getting ready to go to a New Year's Day party at our minister's house this evening. I had worn my hair up in a ponytail all day, but had taken it down briefly to redo it after I touched up my makeup. Kyra came into the bathroom, took one look at me and said, Why is your hair out of the ponytail? I replied that I had taken it down but was going to put it back up in a few minutes. She surveyed my mussed hair and stated, You're not looking cute yet. Thanks, kiddo. =)

Hearing voices....

Christmas Eve, Steven was trying to get some holiday ambience going, so he flipped the TV on and found It's a Wonderful Life playing. He left that on, without turning on the stereo receiver, thus rendering the movie a silent one, and proceeded to turn on a Christmas CD instead. So after a while, we walked into the living room to find Kyra firmly planted in front of the TV, watching the movie in silent mode. We chuckled at this, and proceeded to go about our business of getting ready for the following day. About 20 minutes later, my sister went back into the living room and sat down next to Kyra, who was still watching the movie with no sound. Kyra turned to her with a confused look and asked, Why don't they have any voices?

Tough Love

To prepare Kyra for Siana's arrival, we had long been hyping up how much fun she was going to have with her baby sister and how much they would love each other. This strategy seemed to have worked a little too well. We wanted to make sure Kyra loved her little sister, hoping to offset some of the jealousy issues by establishing a relationship even before Siana was born. However, we should also have incorporated some practice in how to touch and talk to babies in that process of generating excitement. Kyra has always been a pretty touchy-feely, physical kid. So from the first time they met, Kyra was right in the baby's face kissing her, squeezing her in big bear hugs, giving her "noses" (Eskimo kisses), and generally mauling her in the process of showing her affection. So every day now, it seems like the only word that comes out of my mouth is ....gentle.... This experience has given new meaning to the phrase "love her to pieces."

Welcome Little One!

We're overjoyed to announce that our 2nd beautiful daughter, Siana Nicole, was born today, December 13, 2005 at 4:01 p.m. She was a healthy 8 pounds, 21 inches long and fiesty from her first moments. As she was emerging into our world, her head came out and the doctor stuck her finger into the baby's mouth to suction out whatever goo comes standard in baby's mouths. Siana promptly chomped down onto the doctor's finger, to which the doc responded with a loud "Woo! She bit me!" It was quite humorous. Poor Siana's going to need all the spunk she can get to keep up with her big sister!

The Day Arrives!

Well, tomorrow is the big day...baby day! Since my due date came and went last week, my doctor decided on an induction, since the baby is so large and she doesn't want her to get any bigger. (Neither do I!) So we're going in Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. to start the process. Hopefully, by the end of the day Tuesday, the large bulge in my tummy will transform into a sweet little girl that we have to hurry up and name!!!

Goliath and Armor All

To the left of the door that enters our house from the garage is a large set of shelves containing all kinds of cleaning supplies, painting supplies, etc. The shelf about eye-level for Kyra holds a container of Armor All wipes for the car. I don't think she's ever actually looked at these shelves before, but she noticed them tonight. As we were walking into the house, she spotted that Armor All container, which features a logo of a giant Viking looking-guy, and exclaimed, "Mommy! There's Goliath! How did Goliath get on there???" I'd never really paid that much attention to the Armor All logo before, but she's right, I imagine that is kind of what Goliath would have looked like....

In the Secret...

There is a song that Steven and I love called In the Secret. One line of the song says, In the secret, in the quiet place, in the stillness You are there. Kyra has apparently learned this song in her Bible Hour-type class at church because in the car the other day, we were listening to this song and she said, "I know this song! We sing it in my class at church!" We thought that was pretty cool. Later on that day, she brought it up again. She said, "Mommy, we sing this song at church....In the Secret, Be Quiet Place." =) Not the original intent of the song, but I like that version too!

Just Give Me a Box

It's so funny to me how the things you think kids are going to love, they end up being neutral on, and the things you never expect are what they find the most pleasure in.... Steven, Kyra, and I went to the Barnes & Noble bookstore yesterday, as we do fairly regularly. On the way out, we noticed an Upcoming Events flier on the table and saw that Winnie the Pooh was going to be there in person, or in fur, the following day (today). So we thought, hey, Kyra likes Winnie the Pooh, she'll think that's like the coolest thing ever! So we go back to Barnes & Noble today for storytime and to see Pooh. Well, after waiting for about 15 minutes, all excited because we just know she's going to love this, and with both video and digital cameras in hand, Pooh Bear arrives. Steven took a few seconds of video and then turned it off because there was absolutely no reaction whatsoever from our sweet daughter when Pooh came around the corner. I was like, look Kyra, it's Pooh Bear! She looked up at me like Duh, and....? So yeah, our big plans to make our kid's day were crushed to bits before our very eyes. =) She was totally unimpressed. And then during the reading of the story, she kept getting up and going to get her own books off nearby shelves, bringing them back to her seat (front row, mind you), and reading to herself. Oh well. It was kind of like Christmas where you think you're buying the best toy ever and the recipient finds more joy in playing with the box it came in. Hey Pooh Bear, where'd you get your bear suit? Did you happen to keep the box?

Kyra Quote of the Day

Kyra to Daddy this morning as she was sitting in bed with us: "Daddy, I wish you didn't have any hair on your arms."

Good Touch, Bad Touch

Why is it that pregnancy brings out the crazies in droves? I was minding my business in Wal-Mart last night, when this woman and her friend enter the same aisle that I was in. As she passes me, she gasps loudly and says to her friend, Oh look...she's gonna have a baby!!! And then she proceeds to reach over and rub my belly as if she were expecting a genie to pop out. Excuse me, do I know you? I was so excited because I'd made it this far in my pregnancy and not had any molestation incidents yet. *sigh* And I'm not one with a whole lot of hangups about stuff like that. It doesn't bother me in the least when my friends or people at church come up to talk to me and touch my tummy. No problem. However, random women in Wal-Mart with fe-mullets who look like they just rolled in with Achy Breaky Heart blaring from their pickup truck, not so much. Little scary. Back away from the belly, girlfriend, and don't make any sudden moves....

You Can Count on Me

Recently, Kyra has been calling to me from her bed when she thinks she's done with her rest time. She says, Mommy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Then she'll say to me when I eventually go in and get her, Mommy, I was counting on you! Or Mommy, I counted on you 10 times!

Our budding techie

Since we've moved so far away from family, we've set up our webcam and microphone so that we can video chat with all our relatives who are out of state. We've done this a few times now and Kyra is enchanted by the whole process. She thinks it's the coolest thing to see and hear her family on the computer screen. So now, every time I'm on the computer, she runs up and says "Mommy, push iChat, push iChat!" I guess it just runs in the family....

A Name for the Baby

Steven and I always have trouble deciding on a name for our babies. We named Kyra a week before she was born, and we still don't have a name for this new baby. However, we have always had nicknames for them while in-utero. Kyra was Peanut, due to her shape in our first ultrasound at 7 weeks, and this current baby is Little Bruce Deuce. People ask Kyra fairly often what the baby's name is and she used to say Little Bruce Deuce, but this week, she has started calling the baby something else. The other day, someone asked her that question and she said the baby's name was Georgie. Georgie??? Where on earth did that come from? And since then, she's repeated this to multiple people, including Steven's mom and my parents on the web chat this evening. My parents even asked her, Isn't that a boy's name? And she adamantly declared that no, the baby was a girl and her name is Georgie. So I guess Georgie it is, at least for Kyra. =) Hopefully once this little one finally gets an official name, she'll make the switch, or else her little sister will always have a rather strange nickname....

Nice abs

Kyra has a Halloween pez dispenser with a pumpkin on the top that she was wrapping up in fuzzy ponytail holders this morning. At first, she said they were the pumpkin's fuzzy pajamas. Then after a while of playing with it, she declared that it was the "Abdominal Snowman" like on Rudolph. I guess that means it has a killer 6-pack. =)

Kyra's Pet Rock

Tonight in bible class, Kyra made a pet rock. I'm not exactly sure what the lesson was, but the pet rock was the craft project she came home with. In the car on the way home, she asked if she could hold her pet rock. I told her she could have it once we got in the house as the glue was still wet and we didn't want his eyes to fall off. She asked what he would say if his eyes fell off. I responded, well, he would probably say, Hey, I can't see anything! To this, she replied, um, actually, I didn't give him a mouth. Details, details. =)

Something Loud....

My husband is obsessed with sound. It may be music, surround sound for the tv/movies, or just sound equipment in general, but he loves it all. We moved into our new home in Amarillo this past Friday, and on Tuesday, the Star Wars Episode III DVD came out in stores. Never mind that we still have boxes of stuff lining the walls in each room, we went to the store and bought the DVD, then went home so he could meticulously set up a makeshift entertainment center complete with surround sound speakers set up on boxes in particular locations around the room so we could watch the new movie that very night. That amuses me. But what was even funnier, we put Kyra to bed, and after Steven had white noise tested each speaker and configured the system for the distance each speaker was from his ears, we started the movie. About 1/3 of the way into the movie, I hear a loud "MOMMMMYYYYY" from down the hall. It was persistent enough that I had Steven pause the show and went to Kyra's room to check on her. We have been leaving her door open since we're all still adjusting to the new house, so I went in and asked her what the matter was. She replied, "There's something loud in here...and it's Dad's movie." I busted out laughing and told her I would ask him to turn it down a little and I would shut her door a bit so it would be quieter and she could sleep. Then I kissed her, still chuckling, and went back to report to Daddy that he would have to lower the intensity on the surround sound this time.

What's the Baby Saying?

Kyra's latest obsession is to incessantly ask what the baby is saying, which is rather difficult to say, seeing as she's not even born yet. Kyra will say something into my belly, then look up excitedly and ask what the baby said when she did that. This is not a one time occurrence....it consumes a large part of our day. It amuses me and makes me happy that she is so anxious to interact with her little sister, but it becomes increasingly difficult to be creative in my answers. Today, we had a mini-concert for the baby. Kyra has a kid's songbook with about 15 songs in it. She went page by page, singing each song to the baby, then putting her hand on my tummy and saying "What did the baby say about that song?" It was very sweet, and I just kept telling her the baby loved her song and was so happy that Kyra was singing to her. I think she's going to be a very sweet big sister..... =)

The Official Vehicle of Texas

Well, I guess we are now officially Texans...we bought a truck. =) We decided to leave our beloved "Pimpster" in Indianapolis rather than attempt to drive it 1000 miles across the country. The Pimpster is a 1989 Buick Park Avenue that has seen better days, but was still running well enough to make us sad to leave it behind when we moved. So once we decided on a house to buy down here, we moved on to the next big purchase we had to make...a "new" car. We decided to buy something used for Steven to drive back and forth to work so as to avoid having a car payment. I will keep "The Nugget," our gold Impala, for a family car for the foreseeable future. So we started looking on the internet and drove around every car lot in town trying our best to avoid the "vultures" who swarm around the car before you even stop. We finally narrowed it down to 2: an older Infiniti J30 or a late 90's Chevy 1500. We finally decided that, being in Texas, the resale on the truck would far surpass the resale on the Infiniti, especially since the dealer selling it didn't even know that Infiniti was a Nissan product..... So we got our money together and took more cash than we've ever had in our hands in our life and plunked it down on the desk of the dealer, then drove away with a semi-shiny, slightly scratched, but very clean black pickup. Steven is enjoying having a truck again and we are still pondering a name for our new vehicle....I'll be sure to post when it's christened. We are contemplating going out and buying a gun rack just to fit in. I think it would be funny to get a gun rack and store one of Steven's guitars on it, but he thinks we might actually get shot at for the mockery....

The Cadillac Ranch

I was bored out of my mind today (Steven had a meeting all afternoon), so I took a little drive to go see the infamous Cadillac Ranch. Boy was that a disappointment. It was totally lame and I actually drove right past it at first. I drove 1/2 hour out of the city expecting to see some sign or something pointing to it. Finally I turned around and saw it by accident on the way back. Of course, it was about 2 minutes outside of Amarillo and there was no sign and no fanfare, and just 10 cars parked standing up in the dirt. Holy cow, that's dumb. =) I'd heard so much hoopla about the stinkin things that I thought for sure it would at least have a sign pointing it out... Not so much. So whatever, I had nothing to do this afternoon anyway and I just confirmed that there's absolutely nothing on either side of Amarillo. So I'll never leave the city again. haha

Just Like Mommy

Yesterday as Kyra was lying in her bed and starting on her naptime, she looks up at me and randomly says, "i'm just thinking about what I want to be when I grow up." Rather surprised at this declaration from a barely 3 year old, I say, "You were? What do you think you want to be?" Kyra responds, "I don't know. Probably just like you." Wow. That's a lot to live up to...for me not her!

Kyra Quote of the Day

Mommy: Kyra, can I get some clothes on you?

Kyra: No thanks. I'm good.

Kyra's Musings on Amarillo

Kyra, upon arriving in Amarillo, Texas after 3 long days of driving:

"They don't have trees here...."

That about sums it up. =)

Change of Scenery

Well, we've finally decided, after much anxiety and tears, to take a leap of faith and move our family to Amarillo, Texas, which at this point seems to us like the middle of nowhere, but will soon be home. We are excited and anxious, yet sad and homesick already. We have met some wonderful people that we can already tell will become close, if not lifelong friends, so we are looking forward to those relationships, although we will greatly miss the close bonds we've formed with people here over the last 7 years. We are interested to see where God takes us on this journey...if this is just a temporary stop on our timeline or if this will become home for years to come. We plan to pack up "the wagons" and head out on September 19th, stretching the long trip over several days. Our first official Sunday will be September 25th. I'm sure much awaits us to learn and experience in this new adventure.

Have a Heart!

Apparently the reality line between cartoons and real life has not been realized just yet for my sweet little girl.... I was giving her a big hug and kiss this evening and afterwards, she looked around and commented, "No hearts came out!" She was looking for the hearts that always surround people that love each other in cartoons. I told her that the hearts were definitely there, but we just couldn't see them. =)

Shout out the window and you will receive

Kyra has recently discovered the amazing feat of yelling out the window of a car at a plastic box, and then getting all kinds of yummy things to eat. The other day, we pulled up to the Arby's drive-thru to grab some lunch. Steven rolled down the window and began to order, when all of a sudden from the back seat, a small, but very loud voice begins to shout, "Um, I would wike a kid's fwosting please!" We had to stop ordering for a minute because we were laughing so hard. Then as we got our food and drove away, we tried to explain to her that only Wendy's had Frosties and that we had gone to Arby's instead that day. I'm not sure she got it, as now, every time we pull up to any drive thru, she tries again to order a "Kid's Fwosting."

Transference

We recently sold our house that had been on the market for about a year and half. During the transition time, we accepted an offer from some friends to stay with them for a month or so while we found a new place to call home. We didn't know how Kyra would handle the transition from our house to a temporary residence, but so far, she's handled it great. The other day, she surprised Steven and I by referring to our old house as "Robert's." Robert is the name of the man who bought our house. We found it amazing that a 3-year-old would grasp the concept of someone else buying our house and the house then becoming theirs, much less refer to it as "Robert's" instead of something like "Our old house."

The New Trinity?

Lately, Kyra has been making a strange connection with things that she learns at church. Each time we ask her what she learned about in class, she says, "God and Jesus...and Santa Claus." Seeing as it's the middle of summer, that seems a bit unlikely....

Breakfast in the Closet

As we're packing up our belongings all around the house and getting ready to move, Kyra has been quite curious as to what some items are that she doesn't recognize. Today, we were packing the coat closet by the front door. Steven was pulling out all the scarves, gloves, and hats, as well as a pair of old earmuffs that I haven't worn in years, but for some reason still have. Kyra grabbed them out of the box, turned them over several times, and said "Mommy, what are these things?" I answered that they are earmuffs. She said oh and continued to pick through the items that Steven was putting into the box. She came back to the earmuffs after a minute and announced, I'm going to wear the "Ear Muffins." Well, that's something I never hope to find in the breakfast aisle.

God and the balloon

We went to Applebee’s to eat with my parents last night and as we were leaving, Kyra was given a pretty pink balloon. We tied it around her wrist and went out towards the parking lot. As we were chatting with my parents and getting ready to say good-bye, Kyra began dancing along the sidewalk, jumping up and down, and consequently the balloon untied itself. Before we could react, it was floating high above our heads. Kyra handled it well, but kept asking for her balloon back. Someone ended up telling her that the balloon went up to God. She later asked me in the car, “Mommy where did my balloon go?” I somewhat mindlessly repeated that it went high up in the sky and went to God. She replied, “No Mommy, it can’t go to God in the sky!” That got my attention and I asked her why. She then informed me, “Because God is in our hearts.” So of course, I felt like a moron and told her how right she was. =)

Commercialization

Kyra and I were walking through Wal-Mart the other day, and we went down the dishwashing aisle to pick up some dishwasher detergent. As we went back down the aisle to return to the grocery section, all of a sudden Kyra yells, "Wait Mommy! We need some Palmolive Oxy Plus!" I have never bought that particular product before, so I stopped, backed up the cart to the dishwashing liquid section and clarified. I asked her "What is it we need to buy?" She then pointed right to the bottle of Palmolive Oxy Plus and repeated herself. After I realized they show that commercial fairly regularly in between Dora and Blues Clues, I died laughing and told her we don't need to buy everything we see commercials for on TV. A little scary, but amusing nonetheless.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

Steven and I just found out on Monday that we're going to be the proud parents of another beautiful baby GIRL! We're very excited that Kyra is going to be a big sister soon. She is already very sweet with the baby and regularly lifts my shirt up so she can kiss my tummy. The other day she said that she can't wait until the baby comes out so they can read books together. I told her that was a great idea and the baby would love it if Kyra would read books to her. The beginning of a beautiful friendship....

Performance Arts

Each day, both when she's waking up and settling down for a nap or bedtime, Kyra practices her art of conversation and singing. She sings everything from Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues songs to worship songs from church or our CDs. She also has long extended conversations with whoever it is that she talks to when no one is around. The other day, she had gone down for her nap with a certain stuffed animal friend who, at the end of naptime, was nowhere to be found. I asked where her little friend had gone and she informed me that she threw him under the stage. The stage? I inquired as to what she meant by under the stage, and she indicated that she had thrown the poor little guy under the bed, which at naptime and bedtime, apparently becomes her stage.

We're Happy!

Kyra and I went to Wal-Mart the other day and as we were walking through the aisles, out of nowhere, Kyra exclaims at the top of her lungs, "Look at us, everybody, we're happy!" It was hysterical. But I'm thrilled to have been able to provide her a childhood so far that she will remember as happy. That makes me happy too.

Story Time

Kyra has a book called "Guess How Much I Love You." In this book, you hear the story of Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare and how much they love each other. Well, the routine is Steven or I will read her a book, then she'll take the book and read it to us. We had just finished reading about Big and Little Nutbrown Hare, when she announced she was going to read it to us now. Things went downhill when she opened to the first page and started reading about "Little Butt Hare." I knew right away that we would need to read the book a few more times to make sure she got the names right....

Kyra Quote of the Day

As spoken by Kyra this morning when I tried to put some clothes on her,

"I want to be naked and dance."

Now That's Service!

Steven, Kyra, and I went to Subway for dinner this evening. As we sat down at our booth and finished up our sandwiches, Steven pulled out a small bag containing the cookies he always gets with his value meal. Kyra asked him what was in the bag. He said they were cookies. She said, "For me?" And Steven said, no they were his, but he'd share a piece with her. So then Kyra said, "Is the manager going to bring one out for me?" We about fell out of the booth we were laughing so hard.

2-year-old Theology

It's amazing to me how much Kyra understands about God even at only 2 years old. She's paying attention to and ingesting things that I don't even realize. She shocked me the other day as we were driving (a long long drive) to church. She was just making two-year-old conversation, talking about her little friend Brooke's new baby sister. Kyra's very into names and which people go together. When we talk about her friend Brooke, she always likes to review what Brooke's mommy's name is, what her daddy's name is, and now what her baby sister's name is. After this chain of events, she then started on her own family. She informed me that her own daddy's name is Steven and her mommy's name is Angewa. Then she asked "What's my sister's name?" I glanced back at her and said "Do you have a sister?" She said yes, so I asked her what she thought her sister's name was. She responded, "Somethin." This response is typical of late. She then asked "What's my brother's name?" I again asked her "Do you have a brother?" She again said yes, so I asked her what she thought her brother's name was. She once again replied with, "Somethin." I asked her if she wanted a baby brother or sister, and she said yes, so I told her she'd have to ask God to bless our family with a baby brother or sister. At this point, she began to talk about babies, and ended up saying, "Jesus was a baby!" I said that he sure was. Then she said, "But he went up into the sky at church." We had watched a video clip portraying Jesus' ascension a few weeks ago that I didn't even know she was paying attention to! Then she went on to say, "But he'll be back in a widdle bit. He wuvs us. And God does too." Out of the mouths of babes!!! It takes some people a lifetime just to get this far in their belief structure. I'm so thankful that she is learning this at an early age. I hope that basic truth always guides her in her life choices. Jesus came to earth as a baby, rose up to Heaven, but he'll be back in a little bit, and boy does he love us!

Vacation funnies

We just returned home from a week long vacation in Michigan to visit family and friends. We had a great time and accumulated quite a few Kyra funnies along the way:

Steven's mom has a Ukrainian girl living with her for a few months while she's in the country. Her name is Anya and Kyra had a great time playing with her. Each night, when we said our bedtime prayers, Kyra would add, "And thank you God for Onion." That still makes me chuckle every time I think about it.

One morning, Steven got up to find Kyra downstairs waving a ginormous flag around and yelling "I'm a Captain! I'm a Captain!"

While we were at my grandmother's house, a friend of ours came over who has a baby who's a few months shy of being a year old. Kyra was thrilled to see Baby Makenna and Baby Makenna's daddy. Kyra is very big on names and refers to people by name incessantly. Apparently, we forgot to inform her of Makenna's daddy's name. (It's Patrick.) So she was playing games with Patrick and laughing like crazy when he got up to put something in the kitchen. She followed him in there and from the kitchen we heard her say "Hey Dude, what are ya doing?" I wasn't quite sure if I had heard correctly, but as she ran out of the kitchen with Patrick not far behind her, I heard her say "Dude! Follow me, Dude!" So apparently, Dude was the best substitute for a name she could come up with. Needless to say, we all died laughing.

For the Love of Taxes...?

Steven's sister Melissa works seasonally for a tax preparation company (for "fun"). The other day, Steven decided to take Kyra to visit Melissa at the tax place for a little while. Kyra had a great time, and was very good about waiting for "Missa" while she was with a customer doing his taxes. When Melissa was ready, Kyra got to play with her and talk to her for a little while. However, when it was time to go, Kyra was quite distraught and wanted to stay there so Missa could do her taxes. Melissa told her she would come over the following day to see her, and would do her taxes for her then.

The next day, Melissa came over, as promised, to do Kyra's taxes. She asked her how much money she made last year, and Kyra said, "One and two." Then Melissa asked how much she had withheld from her paychecks, to which Kyra also said, "One and two." So Melissa told her that she would receive a refund of approximately 2 billion dollars. Kyra was content with this verdict and was glad to have "had her taxes done."

This brings us to last night. During our nightly prayer, Kyra typically interjects as we pray, with things she wants to pray for or give thanks for. I had just finished thanking God for Kyra's friend "Bwooke" when Kyra burst in with "And thank you for taxes!" I had to stifle my laughter, and say through gritted teeth, "And thank you God for taxes." I told Steven after we put her to bed that this may be the very first time ever in all of eternity that God has ever had someone thank him for taxes....

On Babies...

Kyra was reading magazines tonight, and as she flipped through an issue of Parenting, she stopped on a photo of a sleeping newborn. I said "Isn't that a sweet baby?" She just looked up and grinned. And then, since we've been entertaining the idea of expanding our family, I asked her, "Should we have a new baby in our house?" To this, she replied, "I'm reading a magazine right now, we'll have a baby in a minute." If only it were that simple.