Kyra Mae, lately.

19 months.  19 months and a few weeks to be exact, well, without being too exact.  This little girl turns our lives upside down on a daily basis.  I don't know that I would say she is opposite of Teagan but she is truly her own and honestly, I am thankful for that.
Kyra Mae is strong willed and a girl who knows what she wants.  She stands her ground, even if it means 45 minute escape from reality tantrums.  Don't get me wrong, those are not too close in frequency, but they happen folks. They happen.
Kyra Mae takes after her daddy in height (she is tall, like already passed Teagan's shoulders tall) and slim built.  She needs 24 mth length and 18 mth fit.  Her hair is growing and she LOVES hair bows in her hair.  She runs up to me in the mornings and pats her head while she says "Mommy, heybow peeze".  Now if only she would run up to me like that when it's time to get her diaper changed...
She adores her sister, most of the time.  Kyra is really playing with Teagan now and not just beside her.  Kyra loves to make "cupcake" and spoon feed them to anybody who is willing to taste test.  She loves to have a baby, a stroller, and a "pockbook" when playing at our house.
Kyra's vocabulary has really taken off the last few weeks.  I think it helps that she hears us talking to Teagan like she's a grown up.  Kyra has also learned some of her colors and can point out pink, purple, and occasionally blue.  She loves looking for airplanes and loves buses.  She also loves to sign "bus".  I think it's her favorite.  She currently has an obsession with "Ehmo" and "Min Mouse" and "Mick Mouse".  
As far as food goes it's hit and miss.  We can almost always get a banana in her and that is about it.  Everything else depends on the day of the week, the position of the sun, and then number of shooting stars from the night before.
Kyra changes so much from day to day now.  She is not baby anymore and I am constantly reminded of that.  It's truer every day that the second baby grows up quicker than the first.  We are trying to hold onto our "real" lives as much as possible because we don't want to miss a thing.

Let's talk about...

You know. That. Yes that.

Eventually we will have to have "the talk" with our girls.  And honestly, I'm already petrified. When Bekah wrote "Bare Naked Truth" and needed some bloggers to read and review it I decided to jump on it...anything to help prepare for the future. 

This book was pretty fantastic. I wouldn't recommend it for a lady under the age of 13 or 14 due to some of the honest but slightly "graphic" nature if the chapters (not graphic like play by play type stuff with pictures but there are some things in there that are not for the younger crowd).  Bekah's writing is honest and witty and thoughtful.  I that was my favorite part about the book in its entirety.  Bekah's thoughtfulness.  I mean sure, the stories about thinking she could fly and about a car and a tree were pretty great illustrations.  However, the thoughtfulness Bekah shows throughout her book exceeded any illustration she could have given.  There are times in a girls life where she may be struggling with the thought of sex.  What is it?  Should I do it? Why shouldn't I do it? Should I wait? My best friend did it.  Is it really worth it to wait?  But he said he loved me.  Bekah takes these questions and answers them in a way that is relatable and honest.  Another thing about "Bare Naked Truth" is that it includes truth.  The Truth.  The truth that Jesus is enough and will love you unlike and more than you could ever imagine.  That the act of making love is for the sanctity of marriage and really works best inside a marriage. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.  Especially when the moms realize the clock has reached the hour of "the talk" and they feel like they need some reinforcements because it came on much quicker than they imagined.  This book is going to provide you, and me, with some pretty handy tools.  Even if the witching hour comes sooner rather than later. 

* I was sent this book free of charge by the publisher.  However, all the opinions are mine.*

Oh the things she says...

Another car conversation on the way home from school with this one. 

"I smell somethin"-Teagan

"I think you smell the truck in front of us"-Me

"I don't like that truck! It's stinky! I don't like stinky trucks!"-Teagan

"Not all trucks are stinky."-Me

"Daddy likes stinky trucks!!!"-Teagan (as she erupts with a laugh that came from her toes that lasted the rest of the way home)

 

Investing.

I've been feeling the old tug of conviction here lately.  The kind that nags at you until you finally turn around and give it an impatient "What?!?".
I realize that I'm still stuck in the town I grew up in.  Now, I do not mean this in a bad way.  I love the town I grew up in, I was and still am invested in it.  However, Josh and I have made a family in our current city.  We go to church there.  We have community there.  We shop there.  We have friends there. We love there.  We need to be invested there.
What pushed me over the edge was when I started thinking about putting Teagan in a dance class.  My first thought was where in L-town would she go?  My first thought was not about where in Mt. Holly would she go?  It should have been.
Even after almost 6 years of living in Mt. Holly, L-town is still "home".  It shouldn't be.  Josh and I have made a life for ourselves and our children in Mt. Holly and that is where we need to start establishing roots.  We don't plan on leaving the area.  Perhaps a different house at some point but the same area.  We need to start investing.  Investing in our neighbors better.  Investing in the community downtown better.  Even investing in the local dance or gymnastics studio.  
So, I ask you friends,  are you still "stuck" at home?  Are you still afraid to step out of your comfort zone and just BE where you are?  I challenge you to meet somebody new.  Invite a neighbor over for dinner.  Go to your local coffee shop or farmers market.  Invest.  Invest in the people of your community.  I'm taking the challenge starting today.  I hope you will too.

 

That time I used a real camera.

You know that Memorial Day cookout I talked about in this post?  Well here are some more pictures from that day.  We had a fantastic time!  I even remembered to take my "real" camera! 

Fearless Kyra Mae, tester of Elders.

For Memorial Day we joined our sweet Exodus Church community for a cookout in Valley Crucis (near Boone, NC).  It was a day full of fun, sun, food, and water.  Very cold water. 

Around the warmer end of the afternoon most of us headed down to the creek, which had rose? risen? to the equivalent of a river thanks to the rain earlier in the month.  A bunch of the kiddos and some of the adults get in and "slide" down the rocks.  Pastor Brian always stands at the end of the "rock slide" and makes sure the kids, and some of us adults, get out of the water safely.  

To be honest, I thought it would be another year or two before I stuck more than my toes in the water, especially with the girls.  I should have known better.  I mean, hello, have you met Kyra Mae?  

She wanted in the water the second she saw it.  Kid was basically clamoring for the spot where the big kids were and she might have bruises show up the next few days because of how tight I had to hold to so she wouldn't go under.  Teagan wanted to go play on the playground so Josh went with her because he didn't have a  change of clothes.  With apprehension, I took Kyra and we readied to go "down" the slide.  I can't even tell you how cold it was.  Putting our feet in was one thing, putting our whole bodies in was another.  I'm getting chills just thinking about it.  Kyra, however, didn't miss a beat.  She loved it.  So, we went again.  This time my feet got pulled from under me.  I got pulled all the way under, lifting Kyra as high as I could (and remember here, I'm all of 5'3") to keep her from going under.  I know what you're thinking, "Oh, no!".  Honestly, that is not what went through my head.  Of course the goal was to keep Kyra above the water and no it was not fun getting submerged, but I still wasn't worried and I didn't panic.  I knew Pastor Brian was there and I knew a few of our other reliable men would not let anything happen to either of us.  I knew that if Kyra had started going under that Pastor Brian would have grabbed her and the others would have gotten me.  Thankfully they just had to grab my arms and hoist me up.  Crisis averted.  

I started thinking about the situation when we were heading home, you know, in those moments I was staring longingly at God's creation and not nodding off from exhaustion.  I've heard Pastor Brian say on more than one occasion that he and our Elders are responsible for our church.  Not in a creepy they need to know everything we do and control it kind of way but in a they are going to be the ones to stand in front of God for our souls kinda way.  I had a whole new understanding about the Elder's of our church and the peace I have because they are leading us.  Our community.  My family. Me.
I am so thankful that if I ever start to feel like I'm drowning or that I've been taken under I know that the Elders of our church will always be there waiting to catch me and lead me to safety.  My family and I are grateful for the way they lead our church community and we are so thankful to be under their leadership.

Oh the things she says...

We were on our way to Community Group last night and Teagan was quite infatuated with a car beside of us.  This is what she said when they turned.

"She turned right so maybe she is going home and chewing bubble gum"-Teagan
"Maybe so Teagan, maybe so."-Me