What I've been waiting for....

Her first pony tail!

The day has come when I can now "do" my little girls hair! I love it! Kairis doesn't seem to mind too much either...yesterday, I put the tiniest rubber band around a small section of hair toward the back top of the head, and *wallah*--it stayed in! Add to that a cute purple bow, and we're set. She kept it in all day, minus nap times of course. I tried so very hard to get a picture of her cute new do, but she kept smiling up at the camera, so I couldn't really get a picture of the hair very well. I even splurged (can you say $3 is a splurge?

For us it is....) and bought a ziploc bag full of hair bows, barrettes, and other hair clips for when her hair is longer, at a garage sale last week.

One hurdle down, a few more to go?

Well...big news around here! Tim successfully finished his ORELA exam on Saturday, and felt like he did well. We'll know test results in a few weeks. It was a much anticipated event around here, as when Tim wasn't spending time with us, doing homework for his two classes (yes, he's doubling up now to finish in August) working full time, and then some....he was squeezing in study time for the big ORELA teaching exam for entrance into the MAT program. I'm so proud of his hard work and discipline. The end is near...


Here are a few pictures to enjoy over the past two weeks.


Kairis found the kleenex bog and quickly shredded its contents. :)


Tim was giving Kairis her first set of drum lessons...

Our Kansas trip!

So, I've been slow at getting these pictures and stories out there, as Memorial Day weekend is long gone. We had a great time in Kansas, visiting Tim's family and celebrating his birthday with old friends. Kairis was an exceptional traveler, too! All in all, she slept well, flew well, ate well...played well...she did everything well! Not surprising though, as she's our exceptional daughter of course. ;) Some of the highlights of the trip for us included:




*watching lightning bugs dance around the Kansas pastures. (is that what you Kansans call it? pastures? or grass? or...??)






*swinging and catching up on reading outside while Kairis napped



*visiting with Sarah (tim's old friends showed up by surprise to wish Tim a happy b-day!) for most of the afternoon and meeting her beautiful family.



*eating KFC popcorn chicken and downing an entire large size coleslaw by myself!!! I love their coleslaw, can't you tell?







*driving on country gravel roads



*not experiencing Kansas humidity and heat. I think we're going to travel to the midwest every spring! Much better weather than summer!



*laughing well into the wee morning about "Man Mochas" and "Mangurt" with Tim's sisters and dad. Don't ask. Seriously.





*playing games with the family. I think that's one of the things that Tim's family does best--they spend real quality family time together, whether it be playing board games, softball in the back field, or just driving to church. It's a good thing.


*showing Kairis the dairy farm and having her meet "the cows"

*seeing all of her cousins, both young and old! It was amazing that we had nearly all of the family members, both extended and immediate in one place! It was so fun to see Kairis meet relatives her own age.



*seeing her cousin Nathaniel make her laugh with his silly faces, and Hannah brighten her smiles, they really had a way with her!



* Avery Rahija's adoration of our "baby carrots" or "baby carriage" as she would say while giving our little Kairis a squeeze!





I could go on and on, but it's late, and my husby will be home soon. As you can tell, we had a great time and look forward to spending more time there next spring perhaps. Thanks for a great visit!