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!

Kaiya's 1st Birthday Party!!

 My baby girl is A YEAR old!! The first part of the month I couldn't really wrap my head around it, but now that we're half way through it, I am not only ready to embrace it, but I can confidently say it is my FAVORITE stage yet!!

Kaiya is walking and talking and fully expressing all her Kaiyaness and it's AMAZING. John is blessed to be home with her full time at the moment (though he would also say he'd love to be employed already) and I am soaking in every single moment of this stage. 

I'm sure those of you who were unable to share her birthday with her are eager to see some pictures, so let me indulge you:)

The Outfit (courtesy of Ahma)

The Decor

Kaiya with some of her guests

Her Gift from Mommy & Daddy! (The bike trailer and the helmet)

What a wonderful day. She won't remember it, but I will remember how awesome it was to be so close to family that so many of them were able to share in the special event. <3

Kaiya- 11 Months!

Once again, I'm sending out Kaiya's monthly update in the 11th hour. It's no secret that John and I have had a busy month. We moved to Nashville, put our condo on the market and are now in contract on it, tried over and over again to purchase some land in the Nashville area and finally found something we loved AND was available (see here) and are now in the final stages before closing, were delayed on our tiny house, I started a new job, John has been on probably 100 interviews and informational interviews, and now, to cap off our baby girl turns one tomorrow. ONE! It blows my mind that just 364 days ago instead of our now almost one old we had this:

and now we have this:

How does that happen in only 364 days?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I'm getting ahead of myself though. This is about her 11th month. Here are this month's stats:

My Favorite Toy: Ahma's ipad

My Favorite New Word: "Hot"

My Favorite Food: Beef

My Favorite Song: 10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Newly Learned Skill: I'm a full-time walker now! She can also count to 2 :)

The Strangest Thing I Do: She refuses to stay covered at night. She could be freezing and still kick off the covers. Mommy has to make sure she dresses me just a touch too warm before I go to bed.

Mommy's Favorite Thing that I Do: Mommy still loves that I dance to everything.

Daddy's Favorite Thing that I Do: Daddy loves how talkative I am these days!

Mommy's Least Favorite Thing that I Do: Mommy isn't a fan of this new scream-cry that I've started doing when I don't get my way.

Daddy's Least Favorite Thing that I Do: Sometimes, when I decide I don't want to sleep, I toss and turn and wiggle to keep myself awake.

Thing Mommy Wants to Remember About This Month: Mommy wants to remember how independent and personable I was. I learned so much so fast this month. It was a month of great growth and great fun.

First Predators Game!

She's buckled, but it's still a parenting fail:)