First Bike Ride

We have had a couple of really beautiful fall days, not many, but a few. So, Ron took the girls out for a bike ride last week, and HE took these photos to capture the event. This was Kya's first time, and as you can see, she LOVED it! I mean what isn't to love, she has her Daddy, her big sister, and she is outside, all three things she loves!

Makenna has been practicing riding her bike too so that she "can ride with Daddy on the busy road" soon. We'll see about that. ;)

Kya Papaya

Makenna sits with me a lot when I am at my laptop and likes to visit blogs with me. She loves Maia Papaya and her momma's blog. She really loves when they do the photo and music montages, and remembers them FOREVER! So, she has taken to calling her sister Kya Papaya, and it is kind of sticking. So, I hope Maia and her momma don't mind too much! ;)

We have been lacking in pictures of Kya lately, so I thought I would do some that were entirely her. You can see how much she is growing. She has been gaining almost a pound a week average since we've gotten home. And, she is such a sweet little girl now that she is feeling better. She is still SERIOUS about her food, but happy and smiley as long as you keep her fed. She fits in perfectly! So, here is Miss Kya Papaya in all her glory. Oh, on the last couple that is Makenna "helping" lotion up Kya's face all by herself. I was a little suprised, but it was so funny that I had to take a couple of pics before I rescued Kya from her big sis.

Apple Orchard & Cupcakes

Okay, so they don't normally go together. But, they are two of the things that I have done with Makenna recently so that we get some special time together. We had a blast making cupcakes together, and it made me wonder why we had never done it before. She has done it with Gramma though, and knew what we needed to do. She helped crack eggs, put the paper liners in the pan, and hold the mixer. Somehow, she has gotten really big overnight. :(

Dance-Barn Dance that is!

Last weekend we were invited to a barn dance at our friends house, which turned out to be a little baby shower for us too. It was so much fun! It was 85 degrees that day, which is insane for early October, but it was beautiful out. A lot of people dressed the cowboy/cowgirl part, especially the kids and had a great time. Somehow I was with Makenna most of the time, and didn't get any picture of Kya(who was with Ron) in her cowgirl outfit, so those pics will be coming. What a bad mom huh?

Makenna had a blast, and danced for at least 3 hours straight. She didn't want to leave until the band played the last song, but finally at 10:30 p.m. we took her home. She wasn't happy that she had to leave, but she knew that she was getting tired too, so didn't fight us as much as I expected. That girl is serious about her dancing, and gets in a zone while she is. You just don't mess with her then. Guess she takes after her mom, because I have never heard a beat that I could ignore. If only I had her moves?????? :)



The Band

My little cowgirl

Isn't she beautiful?

My little cowgirl and her friends

Party time!

Bunny hop anyone????

Just too amazing to pass up. What barn dance is complete without a windmill and a gorgeous sunset?

Playdate

I have been wanting to post these for a couple of weeks, but alas, time escapes me. We had a wonderful playdate with our awesome friends a couple of weeks ago. We had so much fun having them here. The girls are also from Ethiopia, and have only been home under two months. They are gorgeous and sweet, and have the best smiles. I am so thankful that we have such awesome people in our life.

The girls (and Logan-thanks for being such a good sport) played outside, and then put on Ethiopian dresses and danced to Ethiopian music and just ran around together. It was truly adoreable. Shonna, if you are reading this, we want to come see you guys again soon!

Sleepy Time

Ok, so sleep things are getting a little better around here. Kya was up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours all night long when we first got home, and gradually has slept more and more at night as she has acclimated to being here. Now, she is mostly sleeping through the night. However, now the nap thing isn't going so great. She will not sleep more than an hour at a time--even though she NEEDS to! But, we are hoping that will come around too. WE are open to suggestions if anyone has any fool proof nap tricks. So far we have tried dark room, music and background noise. Nothing has seemed to make a difference.

So, here are some picks of Kya sleeping (ahhhh!) and of the girls in their PJs together.