Best Buds

Now that Kyla can crawl, she can get back at the dog for all the pestering he has done in the last 8 months! Mason has always been gentle, acts annoyed with Kyla at times, but really does love her. They're so cute together! Kyla has really taken off with this crawling thing. She isn't completely coordinated yet, but boy can she get into trouble! Pulling things off shelves, following me everywhere, getting stuck under tables/chairs, and trying to to climb out of her crib! I'm proud of her for learning and exploring, but she's kinda naughty! She's also hit her head at least three times today, either from crawling too fast, or trying to pull herself up on something and slipping... poor thing. She has both of her bottom teeth, and now we think one of the top ones is coming in. This one seems to be more painful than the first two. We've had some difficult early mornings...
Lastly, here is Kyla in her Easter dress on Sunday morning, told ya she was cute ;)

Weekend Update

Well, my parents and sister came for the weekend and we got a lot of stuff done around the house... a few fix-ups, touched up some paint, moved some stuff out, now I think it is ready! Bring on the lookers! Hopefully this all goes well. We have it listed with Pella Home Realty, with the same realtor we bought it with!
We had a good Easter Sunday. Kyla looked adorable in her dress this morning (thanks to Grandma Jane :) We all had a good dinner, then my parents took off and we did some Geocaching. This is something we tried to get into last fall and are excited again now that it is nice out! We found two caches in Pella today.
I'm watching Kyla on the floor right now... she is on the move! She figured out how to crawl this past week and can suddenly move quicker than us! I need to try to get it on video... but as I've said before, she doesn't perform well in front of the camera. She's figured out how to work some of her toys too. We constantly hear the Busy Ball Popper! She's also getting her 2nd tooth on the bottom, so we're dealing with drool and runny nose again.
Time to find some supper and get ready to watch the Amazing Race!!

Kyla's new tricks

This is us trying to get Kyla to perform... ha ha. She's not a very good actress, but she did clap a little! In the last week, she has learned to clap, wave bye-bye, give high-fives and do "So Big". It's all so cute, but we can't get a good video of it! The spitting is also a common occurrence, which drives me nuts!... She still isn't crawling, but gets around by scooting and reaching. It's amazing how much she can move.
In other news: Our realtor is going to come over tomorrow to see our house and get paper work started. She said by next week our house should be on the market. It makes me nervous. Hopefully all goes well! We keep cleaning, organizing, and packing. I kept thinking we didn't have THAT much stuff- but we do! This is a lot of work!
Tomorrow Greg and I both have the day off work, which means work at home. Hopefully we can also enjoy some of the nice weather that is coming! Then, my parents and sister are coming this weekend to help us around the house. We have some small jobs to do, like touch-up painting, yard work, packing, and probably more deep cleaning.
Only 4 more weeks left here... it's going to go fast!

New Adventure

It is finally happening… we are moving! I am happy, sad, anxious, excited, worried, probably every other emotion out there. This is something we have wanted for some time now, in order to be closer to our families. Greg and I both grew up around grandparents, so we want this for Kyla too. We will be very close to my parents and my hometown and also closer to Greg’s parents (12 hour drive vs. 18 hours). Kyla will also have aunts, uncles, and cousins nearby!
Greg accepted a paramedic job with Rural Metro ambulance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I have yet to get a job, but Sioux Falls has two large hospitals to choose from. I have no idea what I want to do… there are a wide variety of nursing jobs in a bigger city! I will be sending in applications this week to start the ball rolling.
We have been in Pella for nearly five years; Oh how time has flown! Here we’ve become a married couple, we bought our first house, we’ve had wonderful jobs, great experiences, we had a baby, we’ve created amazing friendships… the list goes on. We will greatly miss this place.
And so begins this new adventure. Cleaning, packing and selling our house is stressful enough, but we also have to start new jobs, new daycare, look for a new house, and a new church. The lists of “to-do’s” just scroll through my head continuously. April 24 will be both me and Greg’s last day of work in Pella. Moving day will take place the last week of April.
Thankfully, we can stay with my parents in Inwood, IA until our house in Pella sells and while we look for one in Sioux Falls. (The commute from Inwood to Sioux Falls is only about 30 miles.) I think my mom and dad are actually looking forward to this, Kyla probably has a lot to do with it! :)

Please pray for us. It’s a stressful time, as you might imagine, and a huge transition.

To our friends and family in Pella: we will miss you dearly!
To our friends and family in NW IA/SF: we’re excited to come back!

First Tooth

Kyla officially has her first tooth. Her bottom left tooth actually came in about a week ago. Now I think she's working on the other bottom tooth. We deal with a lot of drool!
Greg's parents arrived here Saturday evening. Sunday we had a quiet day then went over to James and Tena (Greg's cousin) for a supper/get-together. Today, we toured my work place and went to Tassel Ridge Winery which is near Pella, and did a wine tasting. Yummy! Tomorrow we are going to Des Moines. I have always wanted to tour Terrace Hill, so we'll do that and whatever else we decide (shopping perhaps!?) We've also enjoyed the nice weather and have gone for some walks! I hope it stays this nice! It's so nice to see the sunshine!
Kyla is excited to have guests in the house who spend extra special attention to her :)

Barn Party

This is Kyla giving Dunkin his Birthday Card. Dunkin is the son of our friends, Nick and Lyndsi. They had an "open barn" for Dunkin's 1st Birthday.

Petting one of the baby goats... Kyla loved all the animals!

I think this miniature horse was Kyla's favorite.

I am holding a baby chick in my hand. Kyla is trying to figure out what it is!

Here's that horse again. I love this picture!

Day to Day

Nothing really exciting happening here lately... except for Kyla! She is getting two teeth on the bottom. I believe the left one is growing a little faster. You can see the whites about to pop through. She is handling it quite well. She gets pretty pink in the cheeks and whiny in the evenings, but we work through it and it hasn't affected her sleep or anything else really.
She is also still really close to crawling. She can get herself onto her hands and knees from a sitting position, but then won't go anywhere. She is able to scoot herself around on her belly, and also on her butt. For some reason she is always after the dog's toys. I caught her again today chewing on the dog's duck toy. Gross!
Yesterday we went to a friends (Dunkin Guillien) 1st birthday party. They had an "open barn" with a petting zoo. Kyla loved it. I will try to get some pictures posted on here.
Other news includes a visit from Kyla's Grandma and Grandpa VDB from Montana. They should arrive this coming Saturday and will be here during spring break. We are excited to share our little peanut with them and show off all her new abilities! They haven't been here since Kyla's baptism, which was in August. So, they have a lot of catching up to look forward to!
We've been enjoying the nicer weather here, and have even been able to take out the stroller for little walks. Kyla (and Mason!) love it! It feels so good to see some sunshine and above-freezing temperatures. Hope it continues!!