Hanging in My Pool

"Woooo! It's cold!"

"Check out my super cool pool!"

"Just a bit of gator wrestling."

Kyla's 3rd Birthday

"Yippee! All these presents are for me!"

"Can I open them now?"

"Building world peace one t-shirt at a time."

"I got a sleeping bag!"

"Ooooh. . .a mint ice cream sundae for my birthday!"

Birthday Morning

"Wow. They are beautiful, mommy!"

"Yes, I am 3-years old!"

Butterfly Birthday Cupcakes

"The butterfly cupcake assembly line. They looked really cute, but they took about 10 hours to make. Halfway into the evening, I was wishing I bought some cupcakes."

"The finished butterflies. The wings were pretzels with rolled out fruit slices and mini M&Ms. The body was a gummy catepillar, and the anntenae were red licorice."

"Butterfly close-ups."

"Kyla's birthday cupcake."

Pre-Birthday Prep

"We checked in on Kyla and she wasn't in her bed. I guess she decided the rocking chair was more comfortable."

"Check out my tester cupcake mom made."

"This was the initial trial cupcake for Kyla's birthday."

Yes, I am back from Europe. Eight days and seven countries later, I am finally updating Kyla's birthday pictures.

July Fun

"So, do the panyhose look better on my legs or arms?"

"I love bubble baths!"

Daddy Daughter Day at the Dayton Dragons

"I think I'll take this ball home."

"I took this picture of daddy! I usually get a knee or thigh, so kinda of cool that I managed to get his face."

"Hanging with dad at the Dragons game."

While I was in New York, Ken took Kyla to her second Dayton Dragons game.

Making a Splash!

"Look! I'm swimming. . .kind of."

"This is so much fun, I never want to get out. I'm not sure why dad isn't happy when I exert my strong-willed independance to stay at the pool when it is time to go."

"Yes, that is me splashing off the slide."

A jet-lagged version of me is trying to catch up on some of these posts from Geneva. Beautiful here, but it is so hot and no air conditioning!

Taking Swim Lessons

"I'm ready to swim!"

"Hi mom! Dad and I are swimming!"

"That looks fun, but maybe I'll just cling to your neck for right now."

"My very nice swim teacher coaxing me away from dad's neck."

"Ah. . .this is the life."

We signed Kyla up for swim lessons and she is having a blast with them. Actually, she just loves everything with water involved. I'm headed to Switzerland, Slovakia, and Kosovo today, so not sure if I'll get to post more before I return next Thursday, but I'll try.

Catching Some Zzzz's

"Zzzz. . ."

We woke up and Kyla wasn't in her bed. Apparently, she decided the glider chair was more comfortable at some point during the night.

Cake & Ice Cream

"Ken and Kyla's joint birthday cake."

"My favorite cheeseballs."

"Make the wish for my red car with a red key."

"Daddy, you are blowing my hair into the candles."

"Sharing some cake with Zach."

One of these days I'll catch up on the blog. I'm only 42 days behind now. :)

Working Hard in the Yard

"Preparing for life as a supervisor."

"You missed a couple of blades, daddy."

"Okay, I'll sweep up, but you made the mess, you should be picking it up."

"Wow, mom, it might be easier to pull the flowers than the weeds at this point."

Great Grandma's 90th Birthday

"Sarah, Grandpa, and me wishing great-grandma Bedel a Happy 90th Birthday. Not sure why dad didn't actually get any pictures with grandma in them, but trust me, she was there!"

Strawberry Festival: Before the Meltdown

"I'm queen of the world!"

"Check out my foam climbing skills!"

"Woo Hoo!"

Strawberry Festival: Part I

"Wow, even the balloon looks like a strawberry."

"Scaling tall bounce houses in a single bound. . ."

"Working on my model poses even in the bounce house."

"Told you I would make it!"

"Yes, mom was amazed how much I could climb by myself with no fear."

We took Kyla to the Troy Strawberry Festival, and it was memorable to say the least. It was her first true public meltdown, because we told her she had to leave the bounce houses. Ken carried our beautiful screaming little girl in a football hold back to the car. Yes, we wanted paper bags to cover our heads, so we could point and laugh like the other parents.

Full of Cheese

"Giant Texas jelly beans from mommy's trip to El Paso. Each bean contains enough sugar to keep me going 5 hours past bedtime!"

"My stylish jammies from my Aunt Michele who lives in Korea."