Holiday Fun

Watching Kiley go estatic with all of her gifts has brought me such joy. Check out what a goof-ball she is...

Thank you Billy, Michele and Will for this gift! She is so funny to watch...and we still have all five balls that go with it. However, she does hide them under the couch, tries to feed them to the dog, and puts them in her teacups!

Wow! Welcome to the glimpse of our new playroom. Not exactly what we wanted everyone to see as they walked into our house, but a room that is most desired by our child and other children who come hang out at our house. Watch the "Dancing Queen" in the video. She just cracks me up!

Embarrassing!

I so thought today was pajama day at the daycare. I got Kiley all dress up in her Sweetness JJ's and when JC dropped her off---no one else was in pajamas. That is because in all the craziness of the holiday season, marathon training, and just every day related stuff and the fact that I forgot others have to work after today--- I failed to read the date on the sign (Dec. 24th pajama day). Which leaves me sitting her all upset and embarrassed that my daughter will be the only one in PJ's today. I am thankful that she is only 1 and will not remember her mom's mistake....and we all know it will not be the first and many future mistakes will be much bigger than this!

17 months

What a trying age! After numerous hours of trying to get a good xmas card picture, this is what I got! Kiley just can not sit still and the girl always has something in her hands or mouth! Happy Holidays everyone!

Big Girl Bed

Although, our little one is just under a year and a half, she has now moved into a "Big Girl" bed. She refused to sleep in the crib. I was so tired of the crying and being told "no, night night" that I caved. It has been a pleasant experience. She has not tried to get down from the bed or fallen out of it! Thank goodness! Some nights she falls asleep in our laps and other nights we put her in bed and lay our heads next to hers. It warms my heart when she looks at me, smiles, and says, "Night-Night, Mommy!"

Kiley's 1st Haircut

JC and I were determined not to get Kiley's hair cut until her 2nd birthday, but I couldn't handle it anymore. I went to a little place called "Snip its", a kid place, referred to me by a friend. The moment we walked in the door, Kiley was excited...until I put her in the chair. From then on, the tears kept on rolling down her cheeks. They turned on the tv, blew bubbles for her...but all she wanted was me.











So, I really couldn't not watch or explain too much in detail what I wanted....just a trim really. I had no idea how attached I was to that hair! To top things off, when the cut was over, the lady said, "He's all done!" He, really, are you kidding me?? She was in pink pants and a pink sweater! Almost too pink for me! I cried for about an hour and 1/2....I guess it's just a mom thing. You all make it look so easy when you take those boys!

Happy Birthday, Will!

What a great time we

had in Austin, TX visiting with family and friends for our nephew, Will's 1st birthday! We are so lucky how often we are able to spend time with the family even though we live hundreds of miles away. I really enjoyed watching Kiley and Will interact together. They are getting so big, so fast! With Will being only about 4 1/2 months younger than Kiley, I found myself forgetting so many things I did with her just months prior. For instance, it seems likes so long ago since I had to make a bottle, put the car seat in facing backwards, and so many other things I have already forgotten! I know my memory is just going to get worse as time flies on past! Anyway, thank you Billy and Michele for a wonderful weekend. Oh, and do you think Will can teach Kiley how to relax a little? He is such a laid back baby!

The 1st Annual Fanning Beer Festival

Amy and Andy Teck, Misty and Joey Lance, Greg and Stephanie Wassel

The 1st Annual Fanning Beer Festival!
For clarification purposes it is important to define the phrase "Beer Festival". Per Wikipedia - "A Beer Festival is an organized event during which a variety of beers are available for tasting and purchase." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_festival%3C/a%3E

Please do not confuse the previous definition with the actual definition per Fanningpedia - "A Beer Festival is a last minute, thrown together, informal gathering where multiple friends congregate to drink beer and watch the Bulldogs kick the crap out of Vandy."

In lieu of charging a large entry fee or making people purchase tickets in advance, we decided have a food and beer "pot luck". Couples wer asked to bring their favorite beer for themselves to mass consume and a six pack of "something different" for everyone to taste.

It was a successful celebration. Can't wait for next year! Thanks to all for making the event so much fun... Scrabble anyone?

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween !

2:00 Kiley's Halloween Party at Daycare! Kiley loves her teacher, Miss Kim!

4:00 Trick or Treating on the Monroe Square

Of course, Mom has to take advantage of a photo opportunity!

6:30 Dressed and ready to go to the neighbor's house!

JC and I really enjoyed watching Kiley trick or treat in the neighborhood. She really loved grabbing the candy out of the bowls. She loved the sweet tarts too...but they did not settle well in her tummy! Lesson learned! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Update on the Ears

11/4
Thank you all so much for praying for Kiley. We are so excited that she was able to have surgery on Monday, Oct. 27th! We did have our doubts...we were administering those breathing treatments 3 times a day! Those are never easy. Kiley just fights that machine! And now she even adds a no, no and cries. She really knows how to make her parents feel awful! Anyway, hopefully we won't have any problems with these new tubes! She is still really tugging on them, but we are also battling a cold. This the season you know! I don't know how, but we did manage not to get the croup ourselves! Thank goodness!

10/13
Monday, Kiley was suppose to have her tubes removed. Granulation tissue had completely grown over and enveloped the tubes. I really didn't think this was too much out of the ordinary, until our ENT told us he had never had to remove a set up tubes before. He described this situation to be as unlikely has getting struck by lightening--twice. However, Kiley decided this was not the day. At about 11:30 last night, she started wheezing. After much coughing and frustration, she threw up her dinner--in our bed. JC had to wash the sheets twice to get the smell out. We found out she has croup. In addition, we were told this is something the whole family will get before she is over it! Great! Does anything ever go smoothly? We will try to get the surgery rescheduled as soon as possible!

Growing up...

She so thinks that she is all that. No-- has become her favorite word, and we are having tantrums everyday! She sure is cute, so I guess we will put up with it for now. How long does this last?

Kiley having fun

Kiley had an awesome day today. She really enjoyed the pool and slide. Check her out!

Kiley Pics

Incident at Daycare

Last week, Kiley was bitten by a little boy at daycare. My first question to Ms. Kim was, "Did Kiley do something to get bit?" As we all know, most kids bit for a reason. Well, Kiley was trying to take the little boys cookies at snack time. Can't say that I blame the kid for biting her. I ask for them to be separated at snack time because I can't guaranty that my little piglet won't do it again. Kiley and I had a talk about taking things that aren't hers, but not sure she understood a word of what I said. I had to chuckle a little at the situation. My little one likes to eat!

Is that MY daughter...

I have been saying for months now that I am not cut out to be a stay at home mom. I just like to be on the move, socializing, and have somewhat of a routine. I hated to say it, but I was ready to go back to work. Kiley was becoming a little "needy". I also felt that she was just "over" me. Boy, I couldn't have been more right. It has been 2 days now, and she cries when I come and pick her up from daycare. She acknowledges my presence, brings me a toy, and then she goes on about her business. Can we say that she pretty much resembles my habits? So, I guess I have to continue work, while my daughter enjoys her work (school) as well. She has also started going to bed with out being rocked or cuddled. Tonight when JC and I told her night- night and put her in bed, she didn't even cry. Kind of makes me feel a little sad.

Family Fun

Kiley w/ Grandma Pam @ park Kiley w/ Grandma + Grandpa Range Kiley and Katelyn

Well, I can't believe that Kiley and I made the trip to Illinois by ourselves. Was I crazy? However, the 12 hour car ride was not so bad. Kiley was a trooper! We are so happy that we were able to visit with family. I don't think I have ever packed so much in one week before. Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite cooperate with all that we had planned. It rained everyday, with 90% humidity....yuck! We were able to find time to shop, swim, play at the park, go out for pizza (twice), attend a carnival, and visit with family and friends.

Celebrating Kiley's 1st Birthday

Can you believe that my precious little baby has already turned one? I ask myself just where has the time gone? I started with a sweet innocent baby with lots of brown hair to a sassy sweet infant with very little blonde hair! It has been a fantastic first year and we can't wait for many more changes in our lives. Looking back, I would have to say that Kiley was a very happy baby. However, she was never a good sleeper. How a baby can survive with the amount of sleep she had is beyond me! We had the phase of the Torticollis and physical therapy, acid reflux, lonely nights with out dad, trying to find babysitters, adjusting to a new job, town, and a family, and the very latest, a perforated eardrum and tubes. I know there will be many more first in our lives to come. I am very happy to be a mom and ready to take on many new challenges! Happy 1st Birthday, Kiley! We love our sweet angel so very much!

Video of Kiley

Easter Pictures

Kiley in her Easter dress.

The new shoes were a hit!

We had a great time on Easter. Kiley loved finding the eggs! And eating them too, of course! Every single one of those eggs went into her mouth. By the time she was finished, she had a nice ring of colors around her lips. We got all dressed up for church, but Kiley fell asleep. We didn't dare wake her. We knew she really wouldn't last through church anyway. I didn't really feel comfortable leaving her in the nursery. We joined Misty and Joey Lance at Misty's moms house for lunch.

What to wear?

This is a test. Trying to upload videos. Guess we could have picked a better video, but we are only able to upload small files. I was trying to figure out what Kiley was going to wear for Easter. This dress was the winner!

Kiley

She is the most amazing little booger!