First time playing in the snow

The snow has been hitting us hard! We have been cooped up in the house for 2 days now. Despite a windchill of -15 we took Kaya outside for her first frolic in the snow. She absolutely loved it! Evertime she fell she just layed there and laughed. She cried so hard when we made her come inside. She was not happy about it.

Kaya's surgery

Kaya got tubes put into both of her ears this morning. The procedure went just fine, and we are home and doing well. She has had 7 ear infections since birth and we are hoping this will put an end to her pain, and our sleepless nights.

Kaya and Addison hangin' out

Kaya and Addison have matching shirts so we thought we would try to get some pictures of them together. A lot of them didn't work out so well. It is hard to get 2 little ones to cooperate at the same time.

There's something about "Kaya"...

This is what I found one morning when Kaya woke up- a snot filled hairdo! Pretty gross, but rather funny.

2nd Christmas already?!

It is hard to believe how fast time goes. Kaya has officially been walking for almost a month now and it has quickly turned into a run. She still has her 8 teeth. She is talking like crazy, imitates everything, and even climbs onto tables and beds. She is very mischevious and thinks she is hilarious when she is naughty. She is also really into the word, "No" right now. It's a challenge everyday but we are all doing great otherwise.


Christmas morning at home...









































Kaya's crazy Christmas hairdo!

Christmas with Great Grandma and Papa Lilly

Christmas Eve at the Sterks

Kaya, Grandma Sterk, and cousin Rylee in front of all the presents.

















Kaya didn't enjoy having this bow on her head as much as we enjoyed it.






















Opening a present with Grandpa Sterk.

All 3 cousins and Aunt Jenni playing on the floor with their new toys.

I just thought this one was too cute not to throw on here.

Kaya's visit with Santa

She walked right up to Santa and repeatedly said, "Hi....Hi......Hi." It was so funny.





















While he was reading to them she went right up on her own and sat almost right on top of his feet to listen to the story.

Just some more pics...

Kaya's playing in her little mailbox wearing her cute little outfit that Abby got her for her birthday.





















Kaya's very 1st pigtails! Neither the front nor the back fit into them yet but I had to try them out anyway. I, ofcourse, thought they were adorable!

A Run in with Ringworm!!

We have no idea where the good ole ringworm came from and we hope to never come across it again! The poor kid was itchy. It started as little pimple lookin' things and all the sudden it became these "rings". First picture was taken 11/27/06 and the second one was taken 12/02/06. It got a little worse before the medicine decided to kick in. Ringworm is a contagious fungus for those of you who don't know, it is in the athlete's foot family. I myself had absolutely no clue about it until this crazy run in. The doctor said some people are just more susceptible to it than others, unfortunately it found Kaya. She is all better now and doing great! She would be so embarrased if she only knew these were on here.

Playing in the leaves...

Kaya's very first adventure into a pile of leaves.

First trip to the Children's Museum

Kaya and mommy took a trip to the children's museum with Abby and Kaleb Sutter. We had so much fun! There were just too many cute pictures!

Kaya's 2nd Halloween

Kaya was very sick the week of Halloween this year, but we ventured out to see Great Grandma and Papa anyway. You can see in her eyes she was not feeling all that great.

Fall Hayride

We went on a hayride at the Dykstra Family farm. It was very cold, but lots of fun! Kaya was attempting to fix the lawn mower as you can see in one of the pictures. Like father, like daughter!

Carving our Pumpkin!

We had so much fun carving our pumpkin! Kaya even dug into it to help get the guts out. She didn't quite understand why it was lit up after we put the candle in it.

Kaya's 1st birthday adventures...

For her birthday we took Kaya to good ole' McDonalds to have some chicken nuggets and a chocolate shake! It was her first taste of fast food! She had 7 teeth on her birthday, and is very close- but still not walking. She sure is a little chatter box though. She is trying to say everything and repeats all kinds of noises. She now climbs up and down the stairs even, of course with one of us nervously standing behind her. She has no fear whatsoever and is way too smart for her own good! (and mine! :)






















We then went to Hager Park in Jenison for some outdoor fun. It was all fun and games until Kaya ended up with a gooseegg in the middle of her forehead. Kaya then ofcourse wanted to eat the crabapples she had picked with daddy as you can see.



She then took a colored bath and played with her new tubby toy she got for her birthday and then... went to bed for the first time as a 1 year old. It's exciting, but also very sad for Mommy that her baby is not a tiny baby anymore.

Kaya's 1st Birthday Party

We had a wonderful party with lots of friends and family there. At first Kaya was a little unsure what she was supposed to do with her cake, but it didn't take long for her to figure it out and dig right in as you can see. Thank you to all of you who helped make Kaya's 1st birthday extra special!!



















Cousin Elijah, friend Addison, and the birthday girl herself hangin' out on the floor.

11 months

Caught in the act! Kaya loves to pull all of her books off the bookshelf, it has been one of her favorite things to do lately as you can see. She now has tooth #5, and seems to be working on some more. Our nights have not been very much fun lately. This is her 3rd week at her new daycare, and so far it seems to be going well for everyone. She can stand by herself for short periods, but has not attempted the first true step on her own yet. As long as she is touching something she can get anywhere and everywhere she wants to go though. She definately keeps us on our toes! It is hard for us to believe her 1st birthday is less than a month away!






Our little peanut lounging in the camping chair around the fire. She's a trooper, she doesn't like to sleep when there are things goin' on, that is for sure.