Happy 1st Birthday Kyley Denise!

Yesterday (April 28th, 2011) was Kyley's 1st birthday!  It is hard to believe how far we have come in just one short year.  This is Kyley on April 30th, 2010 in the NICU, and the other with the silly outfit (the jean skirt was not comfy today lol) was taken yesterday on her first birthday.  Kyley is one amazing little girl.  She fought her way into this world, and today she is one happy, healthy 1 year old.  She is so full of smiles, laughs and things to say lately.  We went to work yesterday to visit her daddy for the first time ever, and she let the whole 4th floor know that she was there.  It was fun to get to see everyone there that supported us and especially her daddy through a tough time.  We did not get to visit with everyone we wanted to so we will have to go back again soon!  Kyley had a fun day with her mommy and playing with her new birthday gifts from the weekend.  She had a tea party, played music on her walker (not walking yet) and read lots of books.  Kyley and mommy went to Resthaven to visit Kyndal's grave.  It was a beautiful day...birds were chirping, sun was out and very peaceful.  We said a little prayer and let her know how much it meant to us that she was watching over Kyley every day.  So, we start year 2 with the little missy.  Mommy is very sad that her baby is growing up, but we are looking forward to all the firsts and new adventures.

Kyley's 1st Easter Basket

Kyley woke up Easter morning to find her first ever Easter basket that the Easter bunny left her.  She was in such good spirits Easter morning, and she acted like she knew exactly what to do.  Kyley got a duck, some bubbles, a comfy outfit, the movie Tangled, and some sand toys/tools.  She had a very special weekend and has so many new things to play with and wear.  Kyley is one very blessed little girl, and we are two VERY blessed parents.  She was full of smiles and so were her cousins Madison and Grant who helped her look through her basket.  They showed her what the Easter bunny brought them and how to use all of her new gear.  It was fun to be able to celebrate Easter morning with them!  She also enjoyed celebrating with her Great Grandma Dorothy.  She is one special lady!

Kyley also discovered balloons over Easter weekend.  She loves pulling on the strings and pushing them around.  She was having a great time showing her daddy what they can do.  The only sad part about Easter morning was that we had to leave all of our family.  We look forward to the next trip and many gatherings over the summer.  We are very blessed to have such wonderful family!  On a side note, the drive back to Wichita went much better than the drive to Omaha.  We had plenty of new tricks up our sleeve (thank you for all the gifts), and we got a few naps in.  Once again Kyley had to show off her driving skills and take the driver seat for a bit of the drive home;)!  We hope you all had a happy and blessed Easter!

Kyley's 1st Birthday Party in NE and Easter Celebration

Saturday was a big day for Kyley.  We were having her 1st birthday celebration in Omaha with our family.  We rented a room at Lazlo's (yes Mommy & Daddy's favorite restaurant as we didn't think she would mind) for lunch.  Aunt Dale and Cousin Stacy did an amazing job decorating the place in Kyley's favorite...Miss Spider's Sunnypatch Friends.  One would never have know that there were so many fun decorations...not just anyone can be as creative as these two...it was absolutely adorable.  Great food, great decor, great people and one very special little girl.  She had to sneak out for a cat nap before lunch, but Kyley did a great job entertaining her guests and catching up with all of them.  I think that everyone seemed to enjoy the party, and it had been since our wedding 10 years ago that a few of them had seen each other.  It is always so special to get the people you love together in one place and especially to celebrate with the one very AMAZING little thing you have in common!

Kyley did have her own smash cake.  However, her doctor said she is not quite ready for all of that sugar...her little digestive system is not completely caught up to her actual age.  So, we let her have a go at it just to see what she would have done.  We are pretty confident that she would have had her way with that cake lol!  Since she could not eat it her daddy took care of that for her...he could not let it go to waste!  Kyley sat in her chair like a big girl and played while everyone ate, and then she got to open up all of her presents.  She got so many wonderful things and is in need of absolutely nothing.  It is no secret that the little girl is a bit spoiled, but we always say that she deserves it after what she went through to get here!

When the party was over...so was the party girl!  Her head barely touched the back of the car seat and she was out so we headed off to the Smith Easter.  It was so much fun to get to spend more time with her cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandpa Des.  They even got to do an Easter egg hunt.  Kyley even found a few eggs for her mommy and daddy!

Our first trip in 6 months

Last Thursday we made our first trip back home to Nebraska since Thanksgiving.  Mommy, Daddy and Kyley were all very excited to see all of their family as it had been longer than ever.  It never seizes to amaze me how long it takes to pack 3 people.  And, packing up a little one is crazy...you have to pack everything that is involved in their daily routine.  Kyley was a great supervisor as she sat on the bed and watched me throwing my bag together last minute. 

She made sure to let me know that we better not forget a few of her favorite toys...water bottle included.  She ran errands and to the office with me that morning, napped well and seemed pretty happy.  Well that lasted about 45 minutes into the drive when the first poopy diaper came, and it was downhill from there.  We did not have our same awesome traveler from 6 months prior.  She had grown older and wiser...wise enough to know that the car seat was uncomfortable and she wanted out.  The drive to Omaha took us about 7 hours...realistically with an infant about only 1 extra hour, but it was a long drive.  Kyley cried more in 4 of those hours than she had in the past year...it was not fun for any of us so we made lots of stops to calm her down and make her happy.  Then, she went back in the car seat and we repeated this process over and over until finally...I got her to sleep when we stopped before jumping on I-80.  She slept the rest of the drive to Omaha whimpering lightly in her sleep, and daddy and mommy did not make a sound until we got there!

Kyley got some much needed sleep (the first night of not so great sleep and sleep with mommy) after saying hello when we got there as she had a big weekend ahead.  So many of her favorite people were just as excited to see her as she was to see them.  It had only been a few months since she got to see Aunt Dale and Grandpa Bob, but she sure had a lot to tell them and foolishness to share with them! 

Kyley sure missed her Grandpa Des and gave him lots of smiles and hugs.  She sat on his lap and showed him all kinds of laughs and giggles.  Kyley also got to meet her cousin Mason (now 3 months old) for the first time.  They sat for quite a while together without any tears or fussing.  I think Kyley tried to pull his ear a few times and he watched her play with her toys in awe!  He is about the same length as Kyley but she has a few pounds on him:).  Mason is such a happy baby and looks just like his daddy...this is a common theme for the new babies in our family...they all look like their daddies.  This was the highlight of our day and probably weekend as we had not been able to get back to see him per doctor's orders until now.  We look forward to lots of fun and memories with the little guy!

Overall, I think the day was a hit.  All of the smiles and silliness make it glaringly obvious how much we missed our family and they missed us...well Kyley anyway!  It was a pretty quiet day of nice visits as most of the family was not getting together until late evening or Saturday.  We were just getting revved up for the big day!

Another first...

Kyley has been experiencing a lot of firsts lately.  And NO watching herself while her daddy sleeps is not one of them lol...I just thought it would be fun to post that picture!  Kyley has been a tummy sleeper since we brought her home mostly due to her reflux.  If any of you have had tummy sleepers you know that it is almost impossible to break.  Well, she has made the change on her own.  She had been rolling over on and off in her sleep the past month or so, but she would wake herself up.  Sunday night she decided to roll herself over in her sleep...and she stayed asleep.  She did the same thing last night too!  Now, I tried to put her down on her back to sleep and she looked at me like I was crazy, but I am okay with it if she is doing it on her own!!!!

March for Babies 2011

Saturday was the March of Dimes March for Babies walk here in Wichita.  We put together a team of about 25 friends, family members and their kiddos.  Our team name was "Kubik Krusaders".  Our walk was focused on "Remembering Kyndal and Celebrating Kyley and all of our babies".  I had t-shirts made for the adults and we made "lil krusader" t-shirts for each child with their name on the back. 

Despite the early morning chill and winds, it ended up being a great day for the walk.  We would like to give a huge thank you to all of our team members and family, friends and co-workers that sponsored us for the walk.  I did not personally get a team photo, but it was taken by a photographer and I will get it soon to share with everyone!

We feel very strongly about this event and this organization after the events of the past year for us...losing Kyndal and having Kyley in the NICU.  Not only that but my niece, Stella was a preemie, and we met many other parents that have either lost a child due to premature birth or have faced similar or other struggles with a premature baby.  The March of Dimes is an amazing organization that helps educate people about pregnancy and preventing premature labor and helps support those families that have the unfortunate experience of dealing with premature birth. 

They had what they called "Baby Boulevard" along the main stage.  This is where they  feature information about each child that the teams are walking for.  Although there was a small error on Kyley's (she was actually 13 weeks 6 days too early), it was very touching to see all of the stories of life and loss. 

On another note...this was Kyley's debut event to the world.  She had never been in a public place with so many people at once...what a great way for her to make her first public appearance with 1000 other people who understand how special it was for our family.  Everyone one of us was very proud to be a part of the event, and we cannot wait to support the cause next year at walk.

After the walk most of the team decided to get together for lunch at one of our favorite pizza places, AJ's.  I am not sure anyone knows how exciting this day was for Kyley.  This was her VERY first restaurant experience.  We have never stepped foot in a restaurant with her.  Well, we learned very fast that she will have no problems going out to eat or being in public.  She was so excited...screaming and giggling the entire time...actually looked like she was trying to be the center of attention...our little social butterfly.  I wonder where she got that from?  We are so happy that we can share the world with her and her with the world now!  Isn't it crazy how something some people take for granted was such a huge milestone for us!!! 

Together again!

The last time we saw Aunt Nola and Cousin Stella was on Halloween.  My has she changed.  She is such a big girl and such a cutie.  Nola and Stella drove down Friday for the March of Dimes March for Babies walk.  It was so great to see them and have them visit.  We have really missed them and being able to have the girls together.  We sure wished they lived closer!

Kyley (almost 1 year), Calyn (9 1/2 months) and Stella (7 months) did not seem to have any problems reacquainting:)!  It was so much fun to see them interact, and it was fun to just to see them all together.  They are all about the same size which is so amazing.  How lucky can one family be????  We are already talking about how much fun it will be to take them Prom dress shopping together and all those fun girlie things!  We thought we better try to reinvent the picture we had taken of them on Halloween lying next to each other on the floor.  All I have to say is it worked A LOT better when they were little babies...not mobile, talking, moving, shaking, grabbing, pulling, kicking and screaming!!!  Either way...it was a hoot, and we got some classic snapshots!  We cannot wait to get them together again soon!