Last minute vacay...

With school quickly approaching we decided to pack up and head out for a mini vacation (Aug. 12 to Aug 14) that was rather close. So close we would be in Oklahoma one minute and Texas another depending on what we were doing. The beautiful thing behind this trip was that we made it a no expectations trip. We found a hotel with an amazing pool so when we found ourselves trying to find something to do we always ended up down at the pool where Kaylie jumped, floated, and kicked her way through waterfalls and magic fountains. She had a blast.

We got to the hotel a little after 3. Kaylie slept the entire way so she was hungry and wanted her lunch before going to the pool. We had a great view of the pool from our room and it was definitely calling our names.

Not happy daddy is sitting in the rollie/spiny chair so daddy held her hostage instead.

This girl does not like to swim...can you tell by the look on her face?!? We ended up having to leave an hour and a half in when it started to thunder and lightening. It was probably a good thing because we could have stayed through dinner.

One purse wasn't good enough. Instead she had to bring two. One for her food.

While exploring the hotel we came across a putting green to practice on. Kaylie loved this and did surprisingly well. If they weren't super expensive I would consider putting her in a class. She actually swung the adult club really well for a three year old.

A little adjustment on her grip and she could be your future golf pro.

Friday

Friday morning we got up and went to one of the state parks on the Oklahoma side. When I remember the name I will fill it in but for now it was a state park. If it hadn't gotten a 100+ quickly we probably would have rented a paddle boat but instead we decided to do a small hike, drive around, and feed some ducks. When we finished exploring we went to the nature center and were able to look at the various animals you might find wandering around. I could have done without the gigantic board of spiders. To finish our outing we went back to the Texas side to have lunch at a really nice marina where Kaylie was given food to feed the turtles, fish, and mallard type ducks. It was pretty neat to watch.

After lunch we went back to the hotel...took a nap...and then went to the pool for another 2 1/2 hours. We stayed until all the fancy lights and fire things came on. If we would have stayed any longer the movie by the pool would have started playing. Definitely a great day!

Her prehike breakfast...I am not sure if she has eaten more or if she had worn more of it?!?

Jury is still out!!!

I call the next few her paparazzi pose. She is such a diva in training.

At first Kaylie did not want in the picture. Right as I took it she popped up and smiled.

Just so you don't think everything is always roses here is a picture of little miss angry that she has to walk on her own. She is scared of some of the sounds and didn't want to walk but refused to stop, eat, and give the bag up.

On the way back to our car we saw some ducks swimming in the lake. Since Kaylie loves to feed them I threw in a few Cheetos. This just about sent her into a tail spin. She wanted to feed the ducks but had absolutely no desire to share her beloved snack with the ducks. She was holding on to them rather tightly but gave in when she realized it was the only way they would stay. Jason and I felt safe with them right next to us but went ahead and held her in case the got aggressive and needed to run away. The ducks were very friendly. I am pretty sure they would have let us pet them if we tried.

Since she made the decision to use her Cheetos it is now ok and she is ready. We actually had to stop her after a few minutes so she didn't feed all of her treat to them.

Needing to get more energy out and taking a little bit of time to enjoy the temps before they are too hot Kaylie and her daddy decided to swing. This was the funniest thing to watch. Kaylie's become very creative and has learned what she wants and when she wants it she wants it. Daddy actually got her moving in the right direction with her swinging.

She definitely did not worry about her sensory issues. She wanted her shoes off and spent a good amount of time digging and burying her feet in the mud. She would stand up and throw it over her head and not think twice about it. That is awesome.

She insisted on swinging non her belly. She also insisted her daddy swing on his tummy as well. I think it may have done some permanent damage to her daddy.

My self portrait. I was sitting in the car with the AC on. I was parked directly across from them and was able to take the pictures. I think I had the better end of this deal.

She insisted on holding her daddie's hand. It made my heart melt.

Saturday

This was the day we headed home but before we could do that we made a stop at Eisenhower State Park located inside the Texas border. We wanted to see how their camping sites looked and to scout out the facilities and see what it had to offer. By the time we left we were very impressed and can see a camping trip in the near future.

The lake was beautiful. The hike was fun but Kaylie was not really wanting to be there so it made for a little more difficult time. I am pretty sure by the end of it she was glad she went.

One of her few moments of happiness. I am pretty sure it was due to being hot and hungry.

She decided she needed to sit on a log to eat her food.

Its time

This absolutely precious ticker from the Lilypie website was actually the one I used for Kaylie's "corrected" age. For those new to my site the corrected age is used for a child that was born premature and in Kaylie's case her corrected age (which is based on your original due date) was 12 weeks. That means she was not expected to meet certain milestones as a May baby but as a baby that had been born on August 8th which was her corrected age.

I am not going to lie...this is a hard thing for me to say but I am officially stopping this ticker and only using the one for her real age. Doctors and therapists stop correcting at the age of one but for some reason I was not able to get passed this and thankfully I didn't because the majority of preemies have not caught up by the age of one. If you compare a May baby to someone else's baby their is a huge difference and as a parent you do not want to have to worry about what your child is or isn't doing compared to another child when it isn't really a true comparison.

So that being said...in the past year our child has accomplished more than we could have ever imagined. She not only caught up cognitively but went ahead. She still has some delays (especially in feeding and sensory) but that is nothing compared to where she was. It always brings a smile to my face when I hear one of her therapists tell me they once feared for her and what she was going to be able to do and has far exceeded what their expectations. I can not hear that enough. That is definitely the fighter in her.

For a preemie parent having their child turn three is incredibly scary. Three is when a preemie parent loses their early intervention that you have relied on for so long and have to find a way to transition to something new. Since this is such a huge transition time I realized it was time for me to transition as well. My child is a preemie but that no longer defines who she is. She is a three year old. She acts like one, talks like one, and plays like one. Even her health is the health of a three year old. So many of her major concerns have gone away due to amazing physicians, therapists, and maturity on Kaylie's part. It has allowed us to have a sense of peace restored to our family. This is something we had not had for 2 1/2 years. I realized this peace had been restored when we no longer had anxiety about what was waiting around the corner for us. Getting rid of that anxiety has taken a huge weight off our backs.

For the past few years Jason and I have always tried to stay one step ahead in hopes of eliminating anything that might come our way. Now we are able to sit back and watch as she grows and becomes the little girl God planned for her to be. Her creativity and imagination is a beautiful thing to watch. She swims under water and loves to jump into the pool. She is a master climber and loves to soccer kick as she calls it. Her new love is dancing. She has friends that she loves to play with and absolutely enjoys learning soaking up everything she can. When she doesn't want to do something she acts age appropriately and throws an age appropriate tantrum. She is truly the definition of a three year old.

As I watch her I realize how blessed we are to have this miracle child and am grateful for every new thing she does. We still have things we are addressing but I will take these things over the things we have left behind.

So...it is time. It is time for me to let what happened three years ago go. I can not live in the past of what has already happened. That stuff is in the past and not the future. I have a beautiful child that is here and is thriving. I no longer need to hold onto the what ifs and the what could have happened. All I need to know is that she is happy and incredibly healthy. For that I thank the Lord!

New bed

A few weeks ago Kaylie had "the girls" spend the night in her first "official" sleepover. The girls brought their sleeping bags and slept on the floor next to Kaylie's bed. When Kaylie realized they were sleeping on the floor she insisted on sleeping with them so we set up some blankets, put her pillow down, and let her sleep on the floor. She loved it. She loved it so much she has had to do it a few times for nap time. This usually comes in handy when she doesn't want to take her nap. The picture below is an example. The funny thing was she was really fighting her nap. She asked if she could sleep on the floor and was left to fend for herself. When I went in to get her She was curled up in the door way with her "bed." As you can see from the picture she took everything off her bed and recreated it in the door way. Even Kitty had a pillow and was tucked in with his blanket. Her creativity makes me laugh more and more every day!!!

Nosey

Shiner has the nose of a hound. He is staring up at the candles at the bone he could not see. I looked across the room to find him sitting at attention occasionally shifting his eyes (while staying perfectly still) to see if I saw him. Silly dog!!!

Brown dog

Brown dog has officially lost all of his dignity.

Exhausted

The rest of our visit was incredibly busy. We went to Gattitown, Chuckie Cheese, played at My gym, swam, visited with the Stall family, and of course wore many of the same outfits. By the end of their trip everyone was exhausted...a good exhausted. As we said our goodbyes the two girls gave each other a huge hug. K asked about Allison all day and was so sad to know she had to leave. We are already counting down the days until we can see our friends again. Thanks again for coming to visit. It meant sooooo much to us!!!

My Gym...as you can tell they pretty much did everything together.

Swimming in our blow up pool...What ever one did the other was soon to follow. They both spent a lot of time trying to float. Even Ryan joined in on the fun and spent some time splashing in the water. He really seemed to be comfortable being in it.

The Stall's...Jolie and Laura had become friends through me so we went over for a visit and a yummy dinner so they could catch up. Dinner was yummy and the company was fantastic. We had a blast watching the kids interact.

The kids table. Getting ready to eat dinner. Too precious. They ate pretty well at the table by themselves.

Apparently the dog crate is the best toy in the world. They played in this for a good 30 minutes.

Fun without the sun

When it is 100+ degrees out and you have friends from Colorado in you have to find things to do that don't have to do with the outdoors. The results...Mac Donald's and then the Children's Museum with a quick trip to the grocery store to wrap up the day. Even Ryan loved this. He finally had some freedom to move around and not be stuck in his stroller. Definitely a great day.

Wouldn't trade it for anything...

For the past 5 or so years Laura and I have made a point to try and get together as much as possible. We have been friends since we meet in college in 1998 and have never wanted that friendship to end. I am so grateful for this friendship and all the time we have been given to spend with each other as well as each other's families and pray that this will continue on for many years to come. Thank you so much for coming to see us this year. It meant more to me than you will ever know!

Kaylie and Allie have known each other for 3 years and each year they grow closer and closer. Allison brought Kaylie a new Meow Meow and she has yet to put it down. When asked about it she immediately tells you Allison gave it to her.

They played so well together. This was the first time Kaylie was really able to play and understand how to interact appropriately. They needed very little entertaining from us because they were able to entertain each other.

I think that they brought the incredibly warm temperatures with them. The temps were in the 100+ last time they came to visit.

We started a jammie tradition the first year Kaylie was born. It was so hard the first year to find a pair of matching jammies for a child wearing 6mth clothes and another one wearing 2T. This year it wasn't so hard so they had several pairs of matching clothes.