Happy New Year 2015!

Family Pic 

I officially let nearly half a year go by between posts. I thought about posting probably once a week every week between then and now, but here we are all the same. The thing is, I learned a lot time ago that you can't force blogging. If it's not getting done, it's because no matter how important it feels, or how much I have to say, or how desperately people want to have an update, there are other more important things going on that take priority. Because, quite simply, if blogging is the most important thing that needs to happen, it happens. We've been busy living a good life! It's been filled with a little travel, friends and family, school, work, and so many little priorities, but all good.

Looking back over 2014 is pretty amazing. I lost a job, we decided to move to Nashville, we commissioned a tiny house to be built, we actually moved to Nashville, I got a new job, we sold our condo, John got a new job, we bought a new house, we GOT our tiny house, we started renting it on Airbnb (which became WAY more successful than we'd ever hoped it would be), John graduated with his undergraduate degree after 4 looooong years of dedication and commitment, and these are just the major headlines! Now here we sit on the brink of another new year with not a faintest idea of what could still be in store, but excited for every moment.

Perhaps the most amazing change has been Kaiya. This girl has done an insane amount of growing over the past year. She's taller and more slender, and smarter than I had ever imagined a 20 month old could be. She counts to 10 (though she often chooses to leave out 9), she says her ABCs flawlessly and can even visually recognize about a third of the alphabet, and she talks in full blown sentences. Granted, not everyone can understand them right away, but listen close and give it enough time and you'll be shocked at how well you can understand her! She asks tons of well appointed questions and her favorite thing to do it color and draw. A real budding artist:) She also loves loves loves music. There isn't a day that goes by where she doesn't ask to listen to music either while she's drawing or so she can dance to it:)

"Doing Work"

Coloring

Funny Faces with Mama

Our Big City Girl :)

Playground Time!

Halloween 2014!

Sweet moments worth remembering <3

This isn't even a portion of what I missed documenting this year, but it's enough moments to prove it was a good and productive life:) No promises that I'll be any better next year, but I think that's okay.

Kaiya- 17 months!

If it was assumed that Kaiya could get no cuter, let me inform you that she has beat the odds. Month 17 has proven to be her most adorable month yet. Being the little sponge that she is, her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds every day, and her personality along with it. She's awfully particular and opinionated for being such a little person. This child is pure personality.

Her favorite song this month is "I love you, You love me," and if you can catch her singing it, it's guaranteed to melt your heart.

She LOVES the water, be it the bath, a hose, the rain, the dogs water bowl, whatever.

Her favorite foods are blueberries, lima beans and pirates booty. She's not much of an eater these days but she can eat her weight in these items. 

Along with her developing maturity, we've found that she's also developing her temper. I managed to catch the tail end of her very first real life temper tantrum on video as I didn't want John to have to miss such an important milestone:) I'll share it here for you to enjoy as well <3

Her favorite toy/s remain her dolls and stuffed animals, all of which she has indiscriminately named "Baby." She's awesomely maternal and can often be found trying to feed or change diapers on her babies. John even told me when I came home from work the other day that she was "nursing" her baby earlier. I was so proud <3 <3

During the past month, we were exceptionally lucky to have had a number of family/besties visit from around the world. Kaiya got more than her share of attention from the visits:)

Uncle Nathan and Kaiya at the State Fair

Kaiya and Aunt Els

Nap time for Chris, Zodi and Kaiya

Uncle Bo, Aunt Leah and Kaiya at our favorite local hangout

Kaiya and Chris chilling in the backyard

Aunt Zodi and Kaiya shopping in Downtown Nashville

Aunt Cheyenne and Kaiya at the playground

Kaiya- 16 months!

So, there's been nothing but radio silence coming from the Murphy family blog as of late and I know someday I'll kick myself for the giant gap in chronicling this amazing stage of Kaiya's development. In all seriousness, I honestly can not wrap my head around how much more amazing each stage has been than the last. It's not at all what I expected! I fully expected to get a bit sadder the further she got from being that sweet little peanut of a newborn, all perfect and angelic. I may just be a glutton for punishment because I think I like that devilish glint in her eye even more ;)

Speaking of devilish, this toddler stage isn't for the weak or lazy. Kaiya keeps us moving from sun up to sun down and it's so much fun! She's learning so crazy fast and every day she's coming out with something that amazes me. Today she say me editing pictures of her and she pointed at the screen and said "Kaiya!" Sweet girl recognizes herself! She says a ton of words, like "more, ball, diaper, apple, blueberry, kittie, doggie," the list just goes on and on. Her favorite toys are her baby dolls, and she treats them with so much love and sweetness it physically hurts the heart. I walked in to her nursery with a load of laundry to fold today and she had climbed up on her toddler bed and was sitting on the side with her feet hanging down and was cradling her baby and saying "Awww Baby," while cradling it in her arms and patting it's legs with her little hands. I about melted. She is such a sweet and gentle soul!

Kaiya having a conversation with her bear

We used to get pictures taken of Kaiya every other month, but after having laid out so much cash for the new house and the tiny house, we've been trying to limit those type of expenses. I got to the point where I couldn't take not having decent pictures of her though, so I decided to have a little mini shoot and force myself to figure out how to use the Photoshop program I have on my computer. I'll warn you here that I might have gotten a little carried away, but it was so much fun once I got started! 

So here you go, Kaiya's 16 month photo shoot:)

 

May 2014 Murphy Family Update!

AH!!! There have been SO many awesome things happening with the Murphy family recently! The silence here on the blog is mostly due to the insane amount of change and amazingness that is coming to be our reality.

Let's start with our new HOUSE!! It was no small miracle that we were finally able to find something, ANYTHING, that even remotely fit even some of our wish list. The Nashville market is seriously fierce right now, and properties are selling within hours of hitting the market. Seriously, hours. We thought we'd found that perfect spot, and I posted about it on the tiny house blog, but it wouldn't pass the inspection and the owner couldn't afford to make the repairs and refused to drop the price, so we backed out and prayed we'd find something else quickly. God provided and one fine day during my lunch break I took a quick 3 minute drive from my office to drive by a little 1940's house that had been mostly renovated and had been put on the market a short 2 days prior. It was adorable, with a nice big fenced in yard. I told John it was worth a look, and the next day we were walking the house and 20 minutes later we were making an offer. The rest is history!!

Here's our new house!

Back (with fire pit!)

Front

There aren't any pics of the inside yet, because we haven't finished painting and decorating, and when we do I'll be sure to post lots of pics.

If a new house isn't exciting enough, let's add to the list that John starts his first day tomorrow working for a lovely new not-for-profit who uses whole foods to help feed impoverished cancer patients, on the belief that whole foods are healing to their illness. It's an organization after my own heart <3. If you're interested, feel free to take a looksie at their page here: https://www.heimerdingerfoundation.com/

It makes my heart so happy that John can continue to use his powers for good.

New house, new job, what else could possibly be going on? How about a new Murphy??

Meet Knox!!

Knox came into the Murphy family very suddenly, and unexpectedly, but we're giving it a go. In the 36 hours that he's been with us, he's already learned two new commands, and he's stopped scarfing down his food like he won't ever get any more or it. He's a sweet soul, he's good with Kaiya (though his puppy enthusiasm knocks her over more often than not), and Cooper is tolerating him like the champ that he is.

And... it wouldn't be a Murphy family update if I didn't flood you with adorable photos of Kaiya :)

Kaiya's first baseball game!