November part 1

Casey really liked when I put make-up on her for Halloween. So much so, that when I was folding wash a few days later, she got into the make-up and put it on all by herself :o)
Marine Corps Ball 2009

Sliding all by herself!

Pigtails

Sick baby...

Hi Everyone,

Happy November. It seems like things have cooled off a little down here...weather has been beautiful. Highs in the low 70's most days and MUCH less humid...and cool nights in the 50's. I'm a happy girl...wouldn't mind if it got even cooler, but I'll take what I can get!

Casey had a yucky stomach bug last week. We were having our "girls night" last Tuesday...eating dinner and watching Annie. All seemed fine, when she walked over to me and asked for me to pick her up while simultaneously spewing her dinner all over the chair, the carpet, herself and me :o) She battled it on and off for 3 days. We took 2 trips to the ER for anti-nausea meds but now all is well! Kids are so resilient that way!

Last night was the Marine Corps ball down here. We had a really good time. It is a much smaller scale ball than we've been to before, it was actually held on base at the All Weather Training Facility...but we still managed to have a fun evening out.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving -- can't believe it. The Kilian's are coming down to see us so we're really happy and thankful to have family to share the holiday with. We will head up to PA for Christmas...not sure of dates yet, but really looking forward to that, too!

Casey knows who Santa is and picks his picture out of the circular ads...anxious to see how she'll react when we take her to see him in person!

Ok...hope you enjoy the updated pictures...more soon~~

Love,
Katie, Kyle, Casey and Jimmy

Trick or treating

Here are a few pictures of Casey trick or treating in downtown Beaufort today (Thursday the 29th)...She's going to go out on Halloween, too. Heard this trick or treat downtown was supposed to be great and we had a really good time. She loves all her "tricks" --that's what she called all her candy!

Picture Collage

Found this great new website:

http://www.picnik.com/ where you can do all kinds of fun edits to your pictures for free. Made this collage of Casey...it's her two pictures I sent out when she was first born compared with pictures of her in the past month!

October 2009

Casey and Mommy with their pumpkins.
Her very own pumpkin!

This is how tall I am this year at Holiday Farms!

Remember the picture I took of her as a newborn laying on this chair? Now look at her!!

Jimmy just waiting patiently for Casey to share some of her cake with him!

Practicing say "Ahh" for her 18 month check up!

Learning to use the potty...

Hi Everyone,

It's been awhile since my last post. I used to be so good at keeping up w/blogging. Guess something been keeping me busy??!! Or somebody!? Ha!

All is great down here. In the past few days it has cooled off and we've had to turn on our heat the past 2 mornings! Yay! I know it won't last, but we're trying to enjoy it as much as possible!

Casey is doing great. She is talking more and more. She is starting to discover colors. She knows when something is blue, but if you ask her what color somthing is, she usually says, "blue". She loves to try and jump...she hasn't actually left the ground yet, but she tries really hard. She climbs on EVERYTHING...the coffee table, the kitchen table, etc. She is trying hard to use the potty when she remembers (usually just to do #2)...but we'll take it when she asks! (See picture below). We took her to a pumpkin patch last weekend and she LOVED it. She really LOVES pumpkins.

Kyle is doing well w/his job, too. Not too much to report on that end. He has been fly fishing a lot out on PI for Redfish, but hasn't had a ton of luck. The boat is out of commission again...we had to order a new part for it and once that comes in and it is repaired, we are hopeful to get out at least a few more times before the really cool weather hits us and we can't go!

I'm officially a LINKS Mentor and am hoping to teach sometime soon. I was hoping to do so this week, but childcare fell through and I can't really teach w/Casey in tow! I'm still trying to get to the gym 3 times a week. Haven't noticed a whole lot of results, but it is great stress relief for me and I enjoy going. I FEEL good, so I guess that is what matters most!

Jimmy is Jimmy. He's happy that it's cooled off. Kyle took him for a run yesterday and couldn't understand where all his extra energy came from!

Well, enjoy the pictures. Talk soon~~

Love,
Katie, Kyle, Casey and Jimmy

Happy Fall

Being silly at Gigi and Pop's
Sitting around with my entourage of stuffed pets--wearing my tutu and reading a book!

Here Payton, chew on this!

Nighttime snack!

Can you see me? I'm camoflauged by bubbles...

The confidence course at MCRD Parris Island

Hard to see in this picture but above the door it reads, "Through these portals pass prospects for America's finest fighting force. United States Marines" These are the doors the recruits pass through after they get off their bus and get their Yellow Footprints speech...then begins their 12 week training.

At North Myrtle Beach collecting shells.

Movie star...had to find the right light...

Relaxing on the couch after a long day at the beach...

Hi All:

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. We've been busy! After getting things back in order once our visitors headed back north, we all prepared for a trip up north! Casey and I headed up on 9/7 and spend a wonderful week visiting family and friends...Kyle joined up with us on 9/11 and we became Godparents to our beautiful niece, Payton on 9/13. Casey was a scene stealer during Payton's baptism as she threw a fit in front of our entire congregation, but we don't think Payton minded much :o)

Upon our return to SC, we got things back in order--spent a day as a family out on the boat and then I did 2 days of LINKS training on base. LINKS is a program through Marine Corps Community Services that helps spouses, children, and even service members themselves gain a better understanding of their "world". It was a wonderful training and I got to meet some great people. I've actually signed up as a volunteer mentor and hope to help present some of these trainings myself in the near future! The day after I finished LINKS training, we did a "Windshield Tour" of the Recruit Depot. What an awesome experience. We got to see the squad bays, the recruits training on Leatherneck Sqaure, witness events at the Crucible, and were even given the pick up speech and YellowFootprints speech by 2nd Battalion Drill Instructors. It was pretty incredible. We got to see and witness things that most people who are not in the military will never get to. Especially enjoyed watching the Crucible events. (We were not allowed to take pictures here...)

While I was busy doing these events, Casey got to spend some time in the on-base daycare and she was a trooper. She wasn't super excited about it, but she had a little fun and even got to fingerpaint on her last day.

Casey, Jimmy, and I got to visit w/Kyle's mom, dad, aunt and uncle up in North Myrtle Beach this past weekend. We had a great time. Casey and Jimmy enjoyed walking on the beach! We got to shop and play cards and eat some yummy food. It was a lot of fun. We even got to visit with an old friend of mine (Shannon) with her little girl Sianna and her husband Abe on Friday for lunch!

Hope you are all doing well...we are hoping for some cooler weather soon~!

Take care --

Love,
Katie, Kyle, Casey and Jim

End of visitors :(

She brought me the camera and stood there smiling waiting for me to take this picture :)
Jimmy eating his birthday cookie.

Jimmy has us sing Happy Birthday while he patienly waited for his cookie!

Her first pair of Chuck's--they're pink!!!

Singing Happy Birthday to Daddy--

She learned how to climb into her toybox :)

Wearing nothing but my raincoat :)

So on our first trip out on the boat, we ran out of gas...here we are waiting (not so patiently) for Kyle and my dad to come back with gas :)

Casey, my mom, Jimmy and I on the boat :)

The boat arrives in SC!

Hi Everyone,

It was a busy few weeks down here for the Kilians. We had a string of visitors from up north...and sadly our last guests (Joey and Lindsey) left this morning. After my mom, Heather, Payton, and Sherri visited the end of July into early August...my mom and dad drove back down with our new boat (the Stay Classy!!!) They arrived the second weekend in August...upon their departure, Kyle's parents and his aunt and uncle arrived to spend the third weekend in August with us. They were able to be a part of Kyle's promotion ceremony on August 14th. (He was promoted to Major--yay Kyle!!!) It was a very nice ceremony and Kyle made a short speech where he recognized all of us---very touching. He even called me his personal drill instructor ;) We all went to a great dinner out for both Kyle's birthday and his promotion...
Joe and Lindsey arrived this past Thursday and stayed with us until the morning. They got to help us celebrate Jimmy's 5th birthday!
The Stay Classy has gotten some good use so far. The guys have caught a bunch of different fish and Kyle is psyched to get out on the water without having to paddle :)
Casey is doing great...I joined a gym and she was having some rough times leaving mommy to go to the nursery while I worked out...but it seems like she may be over that as the last time we went she didn't want to leave :)
Other than that, we are hoping for some cooler weather soon--and also hoping that hurricane season passes us by ;)
Miss you all--we'll be in PA from 9/7--9/14...come and visit us here anytime!

Love,
Katie, Kyle, Casey and Jim

End of July

Getting ready for the photo shoot w/my cousin Payton!

In the Radio Flyer

Probably the best of the bunch :)

Our not so Itsy Bitsy "Ida" (Spider)...

Getting ready for the photo shoot :)

Casey gets a haircut from Aunt Sherri

Payton is all smiles :)

Casey feeds Payton her bottle!

Casey lou who...

Mmmmm...spaghetti!

Hi Everyone...

All is well down here. We just had my mom, sister, niece and aunt down to visit. It was a great time. Baby Payton was a very good girl :) Enjoy the pictures of the girls!!!

Next weekend, my mom and dad are back down as they are bringing our boat :) Yup, for those of you who didn't know, we bought a boat! It is an older boat w/rebuilt engines, but hope it will serve us well for the time we are here and maybe beyond! Can't wait to get it down here and use it!

The following week, Kyle's mom, dad, aunt and uncle arrive from Thurs-Sun. Some big news from this visit will be that Kyle will become Major Kilian on Friday the 14th!!!

Hope you are all well and enjoy the pics :)

Love,
Katie, Kyle, Casey and Jimmy