September 2006

We kicked off this month by traveling to Eugene, Oregon to attend Jaimee and Bryan's wedding. Kyla and Rylee were the Flower Girls and walked down the aisle with Becky. Originally they were going to walk by themselves, but after the rehearsal where they sprinted down the aisle, we decided they could use an escort.

On the way home we stopped at Enchanted Village for Kyla's first theme park experience. She seemed a little nervous about going on the kiddie rides, but she got a big kick out of the Wild Waves attractions, particularly the wave pool.

We read to Kyla every night before she goes to bed. Her favorite stories include her collection of Curious George and various Dr. Seuss books. She has become so familiar with some of them that she occasionally reads them out loud to herself.

I'm impressed by how quickly she picks certain concepts up. One morning I was making a grocery list and Kyla asked me what I was drawing. I tried to explain that I was writing down all of the groceries that we needed. She contemplated this for a moment and then asked, "You put Strawberries on the list, Daddy?"

This has been a difficult month for us because my current project is on a Death March, an industry term for the long hours some projects experience when approaching a major deadline. During the week I get home late so Kyla is usually already asleep, and I've also been working Saturdays. This situation has been especially hard on Becky, who is experiencing nausea and fatigue while being the only parent most of the time. Fortunately Kyla gets up early enough that we spend the morning together and we hang out together every Sunday.

I'm looking forward to a far more laid back October.