Merry Christmas!

Wow, what a great Christmas! It's hard to believe another one has come and gone already. We had such a wonderful time and were so blessed to be able to spend it with family. We went to Kyle's mom's house on Christmas Eve for dinner and gifts with that side of the family. Kira and Kaylee received some great gifts from everyone. They were both so exhausted they fell asleep in the car on the way home so Kira didn't get to put out cookies for Santa. About 4:15 a.m. we heard Kira's door open. I saw her run into the bathroom and open the drawer then run back to her room. Since she fell asleep in the car, Kyle laid her down with her ponytail still in the back of her hair. I guess she woke up, took it out, put it away where it belonged then climbed back into bed. I was so afraid she was going to be awake for the day.

We finally got up about 7:30 and went downstairs to see if Santa had come. He did and Kira got her "Barbie" kitchen she had been asking for. She was so excited! They both had a great time opening their presents from everyone. It's fun at this age because as they go, they like to play with the things so it draws out the whole Christmas morning instead of ripping through gifts and being done in 10 minutes. We had a good breakfast then it was off to Kyle's dad's house for more food and presents. We got home and I was able to talk to my parents on a new webcam that I had got for us and them. It was so fun to be able to see them and have them see the girls on Christmas. Technology, love it (although, yes, we are a bit slow in keeping up). The girls were exhausted again and so were we so we put them to bed and have been taking it easy ourselves. All the toys and stuff will be put away tomorrow (or the day after, or the day after). Does it ever get put "away"?

Thank you everyone who were part of our holiday and we love you all.

Kyle, Amy, Kira and Kaylee

First steps!

Kaylee has officially taken her first steps on Dec. 16th. They were very hesitant and tentative but she did it all on her own. So, I'm thinking she'll become more and more brave and be off before we know it. She is such a cutie and big sister is too!

We're getting so excited for Christmas. Kira just can't hardly wait. We went to the mall today to get a few Christmas pictures taken of the girls and went to see Santa. Kira was all excited to see him until she actually did then she wanted nothing to do with it at all. It was all I could do to have her stand in line with me to see if Kaylee would sit on his lap (she did, as you see in the pictures). Maybe next year...

We got some snow here over the weekend and Kira went out to play while dad shoveled the driveway. Ok, borrowed a neighbor's snowblower and did the driveway. ;) She had a ball out there. She hasn't really gotten out just to play in the snow before.

We don't have a whole lot else new to report. Just wanted to update some cute pics before Christmas. We'll have plenty more afterwards, I'm sure.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our friends and family. Love you!

The Harrisons

It's Christmas-time....

I swear I write this every time but time flies so fast! I can't believe it's been another month since I caught up on here...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to Kyle's dad's house and had a great meal with lots of family. The weather had been pretty decent but it's gotten much colder lately. I'm still not ready for more months of this to come. Kyle took Kira to a Daddy/Daughter dance and they had so much fun. Kira was so excited to have a date with dad all by herself.

We went to the reindeer ranch to pick out our Christmas tree this year again. Luckily, we got the tree first because it started to rain pretty good so we didn't get to see much of the reindeer but still had a good time. We finally got all the Christmas decorations out inside but not sure now if we'll get anything up outside because the weather isn't supposed to be too good. Yep, we just procrastinated too long... Kaylee was sleeping when I put out the decorations so when she woke up, she was amazed at all the stuff. She has been ALL over it ever since. But, hopefully, the newness will wear off soon and she won't be as interested. Kira is a big helper to try and keep her from getting into too much trouble. Kira is so excited for Santa to come. We're going to try and get to see Santa at the mall this next week. I wonder if she'll actually go see him or not. Kaylee keeps getting closer to those first steps alone. She walks around just barely holding on to one finger now. Believe me, I'm not really encouraging this yet... ;) She is such a happy girl and so much fun.

Kyle has been really busy with work lately. That's a good thing, especially for this time of year when it's normally really slow. He's working with some good buyers and has many listings that just need to sell. He really seems to enjoy what he's doing.

Not too much new with me. Just trying to keep up with two little girls and keep them entertained and happy. We're so excited for Christmas this year and all it means. Love you all...

Holiday Season

Well, I'm finally getting this updated since last month. We had a great Halloween. We had a fun neighborhood party we went to then we went to a friend's house for a party on Halloween. We did trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. Kira had a ball! She kept saying "we're going to the next house?" like she just couldn't believe her luck. Kira was Snow White and Kaylee was a "debil" (as Kira called it). They were both so cute! Kyle and I got to go to a grown-up only party at one of his friend's and he loved dressing up for that.

It's so hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner. We're going to dinner at Kyle's dad's house this year. I am so excited for the holidays this year. We're going to have a great Christmas with both girls. Kira already asks if Santa is coming to our house yet. She has also been saying "Grandma Reid wants to come to my house". I tried to explain that she lives a long ways away and you have to buy a ticket to get on the airplane. One morning, she kept asking if Grandma Reid had a quarter. Finally, I figured out she was asking if Grandma had a quarter to buy her ticket to come to our house. We're hoping to make a trip to Utah in January and be able to stay for a couple weeks. It will be so nice to see everyone.

Kira has gotten to know a couple little girls in our neighborhood much better from her ABC class she took. We've gotten together with them at least once a week to play and they're like best friends now. It's so cute to watch.

Kaylee has two teeth on top now and is standing up on furniture, cruising around holding on to it and even stood by herself for a few seconds the other day. I'm thinking she'll be trying to walk by herself in the near future. Scary! She already has no fear and crawls off to find things on her own all the time. She is always such a happy baby with a smile on her face. What a joy.

I'm really enjoying being home with the girls and seeing them grow and change. It's so amazing to believe they're going to be celebrating birthdays in a couple months already. I'm so happy life has taken me to this point. I've got a great family and love what I'm doing.

I guess that about catches us up to this point. We miss and love all those friends and family we aren't able to see often. Take care!

Oh, how time flies...

It seems like it's been forever since I've written. A couple weeks ago I started out with a cold then passed it to the girls. They seemed to get over it quicker than I did. I also had a tooth that had recently had a crown get an infection at the same time as my cold so that wasn't any fun. Luckily, antibiotics took care of it (so far, so good). Kyle then proceeded to get sick as well. I think we're finally all on the mend and getting healthy again.

Kaylee is crawling all over the place. She's amazing how she makes a beeline for the things she's not supposed to get into. I think she's working on some teeth because she has been so cranky, fussy, not sleeping well, not eating well for the last week or so. I feel so bad for her and I just wish/hope they come in soon so she's back to her lovely self.

Kira is doing great. She still loves dance class and has made some new friends. She sure knows how to throw a good tantrum as well. ;) Some nights she sleeps great and others, she wakes up to go potty then we can have a hard time getting her to go back to sleep. I never know what each night may bring and which girl may cause me trouble. I find myself going to bed earlier and earlier just in preparation.

Kyle left today for a training conference in Florida for a couple days. We miss him already! He's doing great and keeping busy with work and all his other activities.

We're looking forward to some fall weather. Until today, we had temps in the upper 80's and 90's. That's HOT! It's finally starting to cool down (although soon I'll be complaining it's way TOO cold). Kira is so excited for Halloween. She's been practicing and pretending to trick or treat already.

I guess that about catches us up for now.

And she's off!

Sept. 14th - She's mobile...

So tired!

At Curtis Orchard

First day of dance class.

I've got what? Where?

Well, Kaylee is now mobile. Don't know if I'm happy about this or not. She had been getting up on her knees and trying to move and in one morning, she figured out how to move her hands and feet together. By that afternoon, she was crawling across the room. Thankfully, she's still pretty slow with it but I know it won't be long till I can't keep track of her. She is such a happy baby and doing better with being around other people. Kira is doing great. She LOVES her dance class and looks so cute trying to keep up with the older girls in her class. She does really well and even moves to sit right by the teacher.
Kyle has been very busy with work lately. It's a good thing, but hard because he's gone alot of off hours. It's nice that he has his own schedule because he's been able to come to Kira's dance classes, go to a park with us in the afternoon, etc. Hopefully it keeps busy through the winter months because that's usually the slow season.
As for me, nothing too new to report. Seems like the days are full of the same kind of routine but it's all good. The weather has still been pretty warm lately but we did have a couple of chilly days so it really is starting to feel like fall. I just can't believe all the holidays are around the corner already. How time flies!
We love you all and miss you tons. Thanks for keeping us updated on what you're up to!

Sept. 7, 2007

Well, looks like we finally have the potty training thing down. Kira has still had a few accidents here and there but is even going to the potty all on her own if I'm tied up with Kaylee. It is SO nice! She's kept her pants dry all night for the last 6 nights in a row and wakes up in the morning ready to go.

We had a great Labor Day weekend. We went to clients/friends of Kyle's at their new house for a BBQ on Sunday then went to another friend's house for a cookout on Labor Day. It was really a good time hanging out with friends and enjoying the holiday. It still was plenty hot, however. We didn't spend too much time outside.

Kaylee has been fussy and struggling with sleeping at times. I really think it's teeth but can't seem to see any for the life of me. It's so unlike her to have such a hard time so I figure it's got to be something going on. She is changing so much every day. She can feed herself little bits of food off her tray, she can move her feet to walk holding my hands (which is ALL she wants to do anymore so my back is already tired), she is getting up on her knees and rocking and will move her knees if I help with her hands to crawl. She is such a moma's girl. I can't hardly leave the room without her crying and wanting me to come back. She just can't stand to sit still anymore and wants me to help get her up so she can walk around and reach things. Kira has been doing SO much better with her lately. She really had been getting agressive toward Kaylee - hitting, pushing, yelling - but the last few days she has been such a great big sister. She plays with Kaylee so I can cook dinner, gets her laughing, watches out for her. It's great! (I hope it continues.)

We start Kira's dance class on Monday and she is so excited. She's tried on her dance clothes several times and dances around the house. It's pretty cute. She loves watching Cinderella and we dance together where I'm the prince and she's Cinderella at the ball. Kira had a fun time playing out in the rain today. We ran across her rain coat and boots in the closet so when it started pouring, I asked if she wanted to go out. It was the first time she really did this so she didn't dare go out in the rain too much but once she did it, I couldn't get her to come back in from the yard. So cute to watch!

We've got a lot of fun activities planned this month for family, for me (alone-Yea!) and for Kyle. We got season tickets to the UofI football games and Kyle is going tomorrow to the first one. (It's a late game and supposed to rain so I opted out of this one.)

Guess that about gets us up to date so far... Take care!

Potty training success!!!! (so far)

YEA!! We think we finally have success with Kira and the potty training. On Thursday we were at the store and I let her help pick out some big girl underwear. She chose Dora and Cinderella ones (surprise). I had been leary of trying this because I didn't want to be cleaning up messes on the couches or carpet. But, this must have been what she needed (after we tried everything else under the sun) because she has done so well! She did have a couple small accidents yesterday but it was my fault because I didn't ask her soon enough if she had to go. She's been wearing diapers to bed still but this morning she woke up at 5:34 a.m. and said she had to go potty. Her diaper was dry and boy, did she have to go. She didn't go back to sleep, however, so we've made a rule that we're limiting liquids right before bed so hopefully she'll sleep longer. Yesterday she was up at 6:00 a.m. to go potty. She's also done #2 in the potty the last three days now. That's a big deal because she was having trouble doing it at all for the longest time. We are SO proud of her! I imagine for all of you who have gone through this a few times before with all your kids are used to the whole process but it's a first for us so we're pretty excited. :)
We also bought Kira her little ballet shoes, tights and leotard for her dance class that starts in about a week. She had to put it all on and dance around the living room for awhile. She's very excited. Kaylee is doing great. She sits up on her own all the time now and is trying to scoot to reach things. She is still a moma's girl and wants to come to me whenever I'm near. She is such a pleasant baby and so much fun to have around.
Kyle has had a few more sales and a couple good buyers he's working with so he's got things cooking right now. It's great considering it's going to be the slower, winter months soon so hopefully he gets things in the pipeline to get through that time.
The weather is finally getting more reasonable so we've been doing more outside again lately. It's so nice to see the neighbors again. But, before we know it, it will be too cold to go play. (Don't even think about it yet...) I'm doing good. Nothing new to report. Just enjoying each day and seeing how my girls change and grow.

First "Real" haircut 8/23/07

Today we took Kira to get her first "real" haircut at a salon. I was worried she wasn't going to sit in the chair but I guess I talked it up enough that she jumped right up in there and sat so still through it all. She didn't really talk or smile at all but after it was done, she talked up a storm to the lady. We just had it trimed up. I figured she's too wiggly for mom to try and do it any more. After the haircut, we got lunch there at the mall then Kira rode on the Merry-go-round there. She wasn't too sure of it at first but she held on to me tight and did two rides. She has had her "good" days and her challenging days (and combinations of both in the same day). I guess that's pretty typical. She is totally into Cinderalla lately. She has loved all the other Disney princess movies so I made the mistake of buying her the Cinderella DVD and that's about ALL she's wanted to do lately. She really likes the part when the mice fix up the dress. She keeps saying it is so "beautiful". She is such a princess herself.... definitely a girly girl. She has pulled out a lot of my jewelry and puts it on and off over and over. Says how pretty it is... I signed Kira up for a couple Park District classes for the fall and also for a dance class once a week. I think she'll really have fun with that once she gets warmed up to it.

Kaylee is doing really well. She had a hard time after getting her shots last week. She would wake up several times in the night and I would usually try and let her get herself back to sleep. I was thinking it was a combination of shots and new teeth trying to come in but haven't seen any teeth yet. She's doing much better sleeping all night again now (thank goodness!). The other night, we had the whole family up at 3:30 a.m. Kaylee started fussing then we heard Kira's door open. Kyle took Kira and I took Kaylee. Kira said she had to potty and she actually did so that may have been what woke her up. Finally we were all back in bed and asleep (at least for a couple more hours).

Kyle has sold a couple more houses in the last week - YIPEE! That always makes me happy. He's getting so busy and involved both with work and the community. He applied to be on the Planning Board for the City of Champaign. He has a couple friends who are involved in politics and suggested/recruited him for the position. Not sure if it's a done deal yet but it would be good for him. He's also wanting to get more involved with our Homeowner's Association Board. Wonder if I'll ever see him again... j/k. I'm proud of him for working so hard and wanting to get involved.

As for me, nothing too new to report which is probably a good thing. Just hanging in day to day and raising two wonderful, beautiful daughters! Gotta love it!

Kaylee's 6-month doctor checkup 8/15/07

Kaylee went to the doctor for her 6 month checkup. She weighs 18 lb 9 oz and is 29 inches long. She's 85th percentile for weight and 99th for height. She is a big girl! She's got two teeth in now with looks like a couple more on the way. She had to have four shots today :( and I think it was harder on mom than her. She is such a little angel and so much fun to have around! Kira is doing good. She's decided "I not going to bed, ever!" lately. The last couple nights at bedtime have been a struggle and I have just given up on trying the naps at all. She is surely Miss Independant and so stubborn. I guess those may be good traits for later in life but not when I have to deal with them. :) I was looking at old photos and videos even just from 6 months ago when Kaylee came home and am amazed at how much Kira has changed and grown. She doesn't appear like a baby/toddler anymore but just a little girl. I love those big hugs and kisses she comes up and gives me for no reason. It's great!
Things here are good. We've finally had a little rain to break the heat wave so it's been a little more tolerable lately. Even Kira says it's too hot to be outside lately which is rare for her to do. It's strange to think we've been in our house nearly a year already! Time flies so fast. I'm loving it here and love our neighbors. Kira really enjoys all her little friends.
Kyle is keeping busy at work, as always. He's trying to implement some of the new ideas he got at the conference in AZ so that's exciting.
Anyway, better run. Sounds like Kaylee is done sitting in her bouncy chair.