Thanksgiving in Kansas, 2010

We had a special Thanksgiving this year. Tim's sister, Karen got married, and Kairis was the flower girl in her wedding. We had a wonderful time visiting with family we hadn't seen since Kairis was 8 months old. Kairis immediately warmed up to her grandparents and enjoyed every moment with them. I think the feeling was mutual. :) Kairis' favorite thing was to run up to one of them at any given moment and yell "see you!!" and then attempt to run away as they tickled her or threw her up in the air playfully. We all became accustomed to her squeals, asking for "papa" or "thomas" (she decided that saying Thomas was easier than Grandma Thomas). Tim and I were spoiled with having lots of one on one time while we there, since Kairis was so preoccupied with enjoying everyone's attention and company. What a wonderful blessing family is. Karen and Joe's wedding was beautiful and Kairis walked down the aisle seamlessly. She emptied her basket of flower petals once she got onto the stage, and said "uh-oh!" "pick it up!"....very cute. :) Enjoy these pictures our time in Kansas!





Grandma and Grandpa Thomas!








Views from Mom and Dad's property, including the ravine that Tim and his sisters used to play "baywatch" in. :)



Cute little old red wagon that we found in the barn.


Fruit trees on the property...yummy peaches and apples!



This was their old church sign that I thought was adorable!

And some other fun stuff to see....

Kairis loved their kitty cat, Sammy. He's a charmer and loved all the attention Kairis gave him!




Kairis and Grover, aka: Tripod. He's missing one leg--tractor accident a long time ago. :(


Kairis with her great grandma "8" (Ila) and her great aunt fanny's blanket that grandma 8 shared with Kairis. What a keepsake! Kairis loves her "8" blanket :)

Dairy farm with Uncle John.


Kairis loved seeing all the dairy cows! (we did too!)









All of us together--Angel, her kids (hannah, nathaniel) along with Tim, Kairis and I. Nathaniel loved to read to Kairis! He's 10 years old and thoroughly enjoyed entertaining Kairis with the help of his sister, Hannah. :)


Kairis loved the swings at Grandma and Grandpa's house!




Kairis, aka: flower girl in Auntie Karen's wedding. We look forward to seeing more pictures, as Tim was the videographer that day, and I didn't have a chance to take very many pictures either.



Mom and Dad Thomas

Karen and Joe.








Trying to get a decent picture outside...don't let the sun fool you; it was FREEZING and windy here!

Mary and Jon, Tim's youngest sister and husband.

Kairis enjoying breakfast in her bathrobe at the hotel we stayed at in Dodge City, Kansas.


Kairis and Hannah loved these horses at the hotel.


Hannah, Nathaniel and Auntie Angel all dressed up!

Hannah and Kairis enjoying a frosty at Wendy's. Kairis loved Hannah, and I think Hannah loved Kairis too. :) They played so well together, despite the age difference.

Grandma playing with Kairis in the grocery store.

Three Months...in between posts...oy!

Yep. I knew it would happen at one point or another...Life with a toddler would get incredibly busy and this tired mama would not make time to update her precious one's blog. I have stored so many sweet memories in my heart these past few months, so I will attempt to share just a few of them here.

Kairis is potty trained! She started this on her own without pressure from me this past spring/early summer. She mastered it by early fall, or around her 2nd birthday. We are a diaper free home now, and it's rather bittersweet to not be lugging a diaper laden bag around where-ever we go these days. Geez, those cloth diapers took up a lot of space! ;)

Kairis is putting 3-4 words together into sentences now. Around the middle of November, she started putting 3 words together, and around September, she was putting 2 words together, like "get it", "want it", etc.

Her favorite word is "mine!" Yes, we are in full on toddler hood and "terrific two's", though we have our challenging days from time to time too! The moments she listens to me and says "thank you" and "please" at the right times, and actually chooses to not engage in bedtime dramas are a gift from God to Tim and I, and happen more often than not--another gift from God!

Kairis loves to pray. She always stops us as we end our prayer at dinner time if we didn't pray for her "nana"--she insists that we pray for her in-particular each and every day.

Kairis likes routine and order. She has a huge imagination and sometimes will get upset if I interrupt her in the middle of something she's creating.

Kairis loves to pretend cook! Her favorite foods to make are blueberry muffins, eggs, hot cocoa and popcorn. :) Wonder where she gets that from?? :)

Kairis loves to mother her dolls. She sleeps with some of them at night and is unusually responsive and sensitive to their needs. I love seeing how she takes such good care of them. It makes me excited for if and when we have another baby in the house someday--I think she'll enjoy it.

Kairis loves to run! She is so hard to contain most days when we are out running errands. She's very active and doesn't usually walk, but instead takes off RUNNING everywhere we go.

Pictures to come!