Such fun!

It is such fun watching you grow these days.

In the past few weeks, Kylie’s moved up from the Toddler One room into Early Preschool Two with Miss Carla and Miss Gina. She loved the first day she visited and couldn’t wait to spend her days in the new space. The bigger kids’ room also has an incredible play set with slides and a climbing wall. It has a huge sandbox and tricycles. She walked around saying  hello to everyone, and even seems to know the new kids’ names. She is so confident!

We also had her Two Year Old Checkup. Apparently that is the last of the “baby” visits. How bittersweet. She is in excellent health and although she is small, still on track to be 5’2” some day! She was squirmy in the visit, and the doctor could sense her energy and enthusiasm for life. He encouraged healthy eating and lots of play time. :)

Yesterday, as we were winding down - which I’ve learned is an important step toward bed- I realized how much Kylie loves giving her all to life. She puts all she has into making her days the best. She smiles constantly, loves to put her head down and run and scream. She shares joy with all and loves to wave goodbye. She also loves her mama and daddy. It makes us so thankful for the role of parent in her life. 

“I don’t know, either!”

Kylie is all about the “I don’t know?” And “what happened?” When something falls at daycare, they say she will talk to herself, asking these two questions back to back. And she has recently added “either”. Haha! She is also teaching herself knock knock jokes. She’s started knocking on the door in the mornings to come down. And will knock during the day and ask, “knock knock,” “who’s there?”

She is definitely a mama’s girl. She will scream her head off if I leave the room to go to the restroom. She likes me to sit right next to her- preferably holding her whilst using my iPhone to watch her favorite YouTube videos. She is precious and predictable. 

The new centerpiece for our non-existent kitchen table

We are working on transitioning away from so much TV at night. I have been lazy in coming home and plopping her in front of a movie for 2+ hours while I decompress. And I know I need to give some energy into reading with her and playing. Our books right now include “Pete the Cat and the missing cupcakes” as well as “Llama Llama Red Pajama”. Amazingly she was looking at the pictures and remembering the associated words! Almost as if she was reading to me. I had fun the other day taking her to the library with me to pick out books. She did not want to leave! 

I am also finding that it makes more sense for me to both pick her up in the evenings and bring food so that she can eat on the way home. If we don’t get her until 5:30 she is really hungry and screams the whole way home. I’ve thought about bringing milk and food with me to work so that I can prep it before I leave. And it will hopefully be healthier than the Wendy’s kids meal we keep buying her. 

Today is Friday, when I try to take time to rest ahead of a big weekend of watching her! I am so grateful for all she learns at daycare and the interaction she has with her teachers. 

Checking back in...

I’ve put off posting on here for SO long! Mostly because I totally lost track of updates once Kylie became mobile.  And then I felt guilty for being so behind. Now she is two years old. But we are still in birthday month (March 18!)- so maybe I can forgive myself.

Kylie is so amazing to us. She picks things up so quickly and is talking up a storm. Even today she was repeating the Spanish words from her toy. She loves to get a story read to her at night. Multiple books actually. I wish I could read them longer. Generally I’m so wiped by the point of story time each day that she is shortchanged.

We’ve started doing prayers at night. I will ask her “who should we pray for?”and she will say “dada pray for”. We will list out many of the people in her world (grandparents, cousins, teachers). But I can tell she is catching on.

Weekends are long. She needs to be with us the whole time- and we often rely on Netflix for chore time. But I love taking her for a walk while she naps and I get exercise. She is doing much better in the nursery also, so we are able to go to church. I am hoping to make more mom-friends and play dates so we can get to know others better. There are countless parks and the weather is usually great. We also joined the Museum of Life and Science, which is this amazing kids museum focused on science of all kinds.

Kylie had a great birthday party. My whole fa,ily came in to see her, which was over the top and made it extra special. So nice of Uncle Ben to come all the way from CA and Kyle, Becca and Jackson from Austin. It was a very memorable weekend full of love.

So glad to have broken the ice here and hope to share more in the coming days!!

Week 33: Sitting up!

Our lil' cupcake is still doing amazing - growing big and strong and keeping us smiling as parents.   We still have our nights when she sleeps less than we'd want.  But on the whole - she's doing much better now.  She is able to roll over and sleep on her tummy, and that helps quite a bit! 

Her 'Back to School' photo!

She is teething - but we don't have any teeth yet!  She is chewing on lots of things - rattles, bibs, shoving large portions of her blankets in her mouth.  A few folks suggested large carrots - but she hasn't as yet gone for those.  She also isn't really into the cold chew toys.  She does her own thing! 

"Sitting up!"

In the "Cozy Corner"

She is sitting up now on her own without much support - and its exciting for both her parents and her daycare teachers.  They took a picture to show us how proud they are! She's able, in general, to entertain herself more.  It makes it a bit easier at home also when we need to make her bottles, clean her bottles at the end of the day, or just have a couple mins to get something done. 

We are enjoying reading a bit more - she seems to be settling a bit more to focus on books and the images.  She is enamored by the books themselves, picking up to chew (drool!) on the corners.  She loves to touch the  pages - and gets into the books that are the 'touch and feel' kind.  I'm still wanting to get a bookshelf for her bedroom so the books are more accessible to us.  I try to keep them scattered around the house so they're within an arm's reach.  I'm not as good about reading to her as I wish I could be.  Sometimes we're all so tired at the end of the day!

She and I did a 5K the other day!  She slept through most of it - but I was proud of us!  She was a fun companion.  It was a beautiful day - and though it was a hilly course, we made our way.  Unfortunately my glasses popped out of my bag along the route - and I had no idea where they were.  I was very lucky to find them quickly at the beginning of the route rather than having to scour the whole thing. 

I suppose since my last post I also had my first trip away from Kylie.  It wasn't fun to leave her - but I know it afforded Kylie and her dad some time to bond.  They'd developed a good routine in the few days I was gone.  I tried to enjoy the things being away afforded me - such as longer to get ready in the mornings, not having to wake up in the middle of the night, and a bit of respite from working her into my daily routine.  But I was so excited to come home and see her.  I of course didn't wake her up when I got home about 11pM at night - but was glad to see her when she woke herself up to eat around 1AM. 

I've been making her some foods.  I got good there right before my Chicago trip.  I've not felt as well since getting a cold, and we got some ants in our kitchen.  But I hope to catch up this weekend.  I puree fruits and veggies and put them in ice cube trays made for baby food.  It's super convenient to throw into her lunch bag before we take her to school. 

Excited for the next few weeks.  We love our Kylie <3

Doing well in her Bumbo seat!

Here are my feet!

Loving to chew!

Great visit with Grams!

My new coat!

Week 29: Trip to Chicago!

Kylie took her first airplane ride on Tuesday, September 13th up to Chicago!  She (and me and Mike) went to meet her great-Grandmother, Gerry, who lives in Carol Stream, IL - a suburb of Chicago.  It was a beautiful and short trip up and back, and Kylie did so well. 

I wasn't quite sure what to pack - so I surely OVERpacked.  Mike, Kylie and me all shared one large suitcase - and he and I packed very minimally.  We tucked her diapers, food, clothes, blankets, etc. all in that and checked the bag for our direct flight from RDU to Midway.  We flew Southwest, and fortunately were able to use family boarding and not worry about being seated apart from one another. 

Initially we weren't sure whether to bring the stroller - or the car seat base.  I think we were glad to have had both - though we didn't like having to carry the base through the airport and decided to check it.  The stroller was super helpful to have as we could set her in the carseat and wheel everything around.  Again - it was wise not to plan to bring much ourselves.  I had a magazine and an iPad - and both were enough entertainment for the trip! We made her a few bottles while on the plane - and it helped her keep her ears from popping while up in the air.  She slept some - and by the time we arrived she was a bit more fussy and ready to deplane!

My mom picked us up and my grandmother was so excited that she came along also.  We drove back out to Carol Stream and had lunch at Portillos, which is a Chicago tradition.  We had salads and Mike and a couple famous hot dogs.  But mostly my grandmother enjoyed watching Kylie play while the food was prepared.  We went to her room afterwards and had some time for her to watch Kylie play around.  Eventually both Kylie and my grandmother seemed tired - so we left and headed west.  My aunt and uncle live in Rockford, so we went to spend the evening with them.  

It was SO nice to have time out on the back porch in the cool low-70's weather and have some wine and good conversation.  Kylie was in the BEST mood and excited to play a bit.  She did fine with the time change and really just wanted to be around everyone.  We tried putting her to bed in the pack-n-play they borrowed from friends - but she wasn't ready to sleep.  Kylie sat quietly in her car seat while we had a delicious dinner of Roman Chicken.  It was such a wonderful treat to have a home-cooked meal in a home with peace, quiet, and good conversation.  And there was the most incredible dessert - a cherry peach cobbler with fresh cherries - SO divine.   Couldn't get enough of the crumb topping. 

The next day was just amazing also.  We had time at the Japanese Garden in Rockford for breakfast overlooking the gardens.  Afterwards we strolled through the gardens and enjoyed the views.  My mom carried Kylie most of the way.  We took lots of great pictures.  It was fabulous weather.  Afterwards we headed to Edwards Orchard for shopping and apple cider donuts.  Mike had not been there and I loved it the last time.  I mostly love the amazing samples spread throughout the store to nosh on.  Mmmmm. 

From there we drove back to Carol Stream to see grandmother again.  By then my cousins and aunt were there from Indiana.  We shared some time together and enjoyed catching up. They bought Kylie the most beautiful fall dress with a bright orange tutu.  You could tell Kylie thought she looked pretty!!  We took a picture of Kylie, me, my mom and grandmother - four generations! 

We all went to Fuddruckers for dinner.  Again - Kylie was so well behaved this entire day.  She has really grown up and good about being flexible.  We just kept her warm and fed!  By the end of the evening everyone was ready for bed.  We slept well in a nearby hotel - and my mom graciously offered to drive us to the airport.  I'm not sure what we would have done otherwise!!  We made it home in no time at all. 

I am so thankful we were able to make the trip and make memories for everyone of Kylie meeting her great-grandmother.  I am sorry she wasn't able to meet Grandad - I know he would have loved her.  And I know he's smiling down on all of us today!

Week 28: Catching Up!

Oh my - life got a bit crazy there for a while.  I felt like I was in a good rhythm with posting - and then it all got crazy!  In a good way - baby girl is growing so big and we are loving every minute. 
Over the summer, we were blessed to have my family come and visit (except Ben wasn't able to make it because his dog got sick).  But my grandmother flew down from D.C. and got to meet her great-granddaughter!  It was beautiful and I captured video of the moment.  We also had a bout with bronchitis (Mike) and colds (Amie and Kylie).  And then another round of colds. 
I am in a new job, and that also kept me quite full with hands and mind.  
Its been wonderful to see Kylie growing so big.  She is now 6 months old and getting strong.  She smiles often.  She is rolling over and back again like a pro.  She rolls often as a means of transportation - she isn't quite to the crawl stage yet.  But she can put her hands down and hold herself quite well.  Just last night I was holding her on my lap while her dad was upstairs.  It was amazing to watch her head turn from left to right quite rapidly and then upstairs when she saw him waving. 
She is LOVING daycare.  I am loving daycare also.  Another change we made was to shift from 3/4 time (6 hours in the day) to full time.  Though it obviously costs more- it is such a huge gift of time.  I wasn't able to make it work to come home from the office and work from home.  She was wanting attention and baby wins every time!  So now I can drop her off and pick her up whenever I want/need.  And she's always so happy when I come and get her.  She does often start crying if she sees me and I don't get to her in a short period of time. They keep us informed on the days events with a (nearly) daily info sheet on what books they're reading, songs singing, sign language learning, stroller riding.  There was a summer ending party out back - and we popped in to see the children running around and the lovely dinner they prepared. It was quite hot so we didn't stay long - but we just love the company and its kind workers and being in the atmosphere. 
Kylie attended her first baby shower - driving up to Richmond to celebrate a friend expecting her first baby soon.  She was so good on the drive up and back - and a dream while there.  She was held by some friends and never once fussed.  Amazing!  She loves parties and people. 
She also witnessed her first notary session as Mike and I served as witnesses.  She's gone to the nursery at church for the first time - and they said she did quite well.  She was the only child when we dropped her off - and a couple new ones after that.  It was OK to have her in there - though I missed her in worship.  Maybe we'll transition slowly...for mom's sake!
Toward the end of July - she hit a 4 month sleep regression and started having real trouble sleeping through the night.  It was SO hard.  In speaking with a friend, she shared a new swaddle with me called a "Zippadee Zip" - it is a star shaped swaddle that allows baby motion in legs and arms but keeps her contained and feeling secure.  It certainly helped a lot.   Now she only wakes up a couple of times.  We've also started feeding her solids - beginning first with sweet potatoes, but will get to bananas soon!  We received a Bumbo seat at a shower - and that is strapped to one of our chairs in the kitchen.  She does great in there and has a little tray to bang on while she eats!  I want to learn how to make baby food as it doesn't seem too complicated to cook fruits and veggies and then puree them. 
We have some favorite shows these days - Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (inspired by Mr. Rogers), Tillie the Duck and Stick with Mick on BabyFirst TV on Hulu.  These capture her attention and make her excited when she starts to get fussy in the evenings.  Though its NOTHING like it was in the 6-10 week range.  She gently slows down as we get her to bed.  I recently attended a sleep workshop and got lots of new information and was pointed to a new book - "Good Night Sleep Tight".  I am learning how to get her to sleep so she learns to self-soothe. 
We are doing a bit better with bath time.  We bought a little contraption to put in the tub that is a bit easier to set her in.  I was having to hold her while washing in the other one - and it was really challenging and not restful for her.  She loves to sit there and play with her cup full of water.  At first she seemed more stunned by the experience of being in water.  Now she's a bit more at home in it - and loves the concept of play.  I am not as with it when it comes to bathing her regularly - so I certainly need to get that in order.
I also bought a car-seat adapter for my BOB jogging stroller.  It is awesome to be able to pop her in and go running or walking for as long as I want because she often falls asleep.  It's still a bit hot outside to go after the first of the morning.  I know fall will be a dream.  I just signed us up for a 10K so I hope she is ready!  We were going to La Farm bakery every day and enjoying hot coffee and samples of bread and pound cake.  So this feels like a healthier option.  I'm still trying to shed a few pounds of baby weight - and I definitely feel stronger after using the jogger for a few weeks.  I did about 4.5 miles the other morning on some big hills and surprised myself!
Kylie just had her 6 month check up at Western Wake Pediatrics and she loves Dr. Tabrizi.  She is measuring in the 0.3% for height (eep!) but doing well in the height to weight ratio.  She will be petite like her mom!  Preparing myself for years of shortening pants and sleeves like my mom did for me.  She is healthy and active and loving life and making faces.  She went to town on the exam table paper - loving the sound it makes when it crinkles. 
I am working to organize her nursery a bit so that its like a play room at day care.  It is harder with her room being upstairs - but would love to have a place she feels at home in.  I know it'll be a bit easier when she can sit up on her own to be able to use some of her new toys.  But it is great to still feel as though she's young and small.  I'm in no rush for her to grow up and hit new milestones before she's ready!  She's just sized out of most of her 3m clothes - especially the adorable sleepers she had.  But we got some new 6M ones and they are just as cute - one terrycloth outfit with bunny rabbits, and another with dinosaurs.  I also bought a fleece one just because she's so cozy to hold when she's wearing it. 
Love our little girl and love her dad, too!

Week 19: Precious Moments

Our little baby is still cute and tiny - and I know these moments are fleeting.  It is so wonderful to be able to share in her days and enjoy her as we do.  She's quite the miracle in our eyes. 

My guilty pleasure of La Farm daily coffee continues...

Getting into these "loveys" lately :)

She is so eager to sit up these days. As she reclines on a boppy pillow, she flares her nostrils and opens her mouth - looking as though she's trying to do a sit-up.  When she is held in the upright seated position - she almost continues trying to lean forward.  Not quite as eager to figure out crawling yet.  Tummy time is still just a laying on the floor venture.  She does have strong head and neck mobility these days.  She likes being in the Lille baby carrier and looking around as we shop.  

Got a bath one morning

At school today!

Fell asleep in my car seat

The daycare workers love Kylie - and especially when she dresses up.  The other day I put her in a cute pink dress and they just swooned over it.  Today she wore her "Future Miss America" onesie and they thought that was a trip also.  It is fun how they engage with her and that she connects with so many different women.  I am thankful to have several individuals already helping to raise her. 

We are excited for some trips coming up - to see friends in Virginia, and to visit family up in Chicago.  Kylie is going to meet both of her great-grandmothers in the next couple months. What an incredible experience for both.  It is fun that Kylie is a bit more settled in her personality as well.  She is generally more alert, more easy going, and less fussy in the evenings.  She still will have a hard time going down when she gets too tired - but its way easier to get her to sleep than it used to be.  I'd have to hold her tight as she screamed -  not usually for too long - but its been a while since that was necessary. 

Along for the ride!

The other night was "Cow Appreciation Night" at Chick Fil A - and I was able to quickly fashion together a cow costume using some felt I bought at Joanne Fabrics on a very lucky whim.  Kylie even got a free kids meal!  It was fun to participate. 

Moo!

Kylie is still doing well in her crib these days.  She generally gets up about midnight and again around 3AM - which Mike takes that feeding.  More often than not she finishes her bottle and goes back to sleep.  I generally pass out like a rock and have these intense dreams - even if I only sleep for an hour before she wakes me up. 

Today I received the set of pictures I ordered of her very first days in the hospital, and the few months afterwards.  I look at them often on my phone, and I've wanted to have them tangibly sitting on our coffee table to look at as the mood strikes.  It was fun to put them into the album and recall the memories that go with them.  I still cherish those first four days in the hospital as the best moments together - bonding as mother and child.  And its amazing all she is becoming as each day progresses. What a gift she is that I cherish deep in my heart.

Daycare boppy chilling.

I love my "lovey"

"I wear my sunglasses at night."

Tonight was such a fun and mundane evening.  I picked her up from daycare - and we went to buy chips and cheese for dad's nacho fix on the weekends.  We also got mom's honey roasted peanut butter TUB! (must quit that bad habit!!)

When we got home, we all piled back in the car and headed to Target.  There was a terrible thunderstorm that passed through - and you could hear the rain pelting the roof.  We stayed longer to shop - me in the housewares department, Mike in the electronics department with Kylie.  When we were done, the rain had passed and we got home.   After a bottle, Kylie was happy and content on the couch.  She smiled and was making gurgling noises with her throat.  Mike went upstairs while she and I watched Chopped on TV.  She smiled and watched the fan and wiggled around, and eventually she fell asleep.  I carried her up and laid her in her crib - and asleep she stayed.

It occurred to me that when people say "enjoy every minute, it goes so fast," that these are the moments they are referring to. Even sitting together and enjoying a Friday evening date is the most special of times we'll ever share.  I'm so thankful for our little Kylie bear - more than words can say!

That face <3