Saturday, November 23, 2013

Kylie is THREE!

Three years old!



I don't know how it happened, but my sweet, little preemie has grown up! Kylie turned three years old on Novemeber 19th. I remember the day she was born so vividly that it's hard to believe it was three years ago already.

Kylie is becoming a smart, sweet, sensitive little girl. She is learning so much every day. She regularly surprises me with the things that she says, does, and remembers. She is a very sweet girl. She takes care of her brother and her baby dolls very carefully. She is gentle and soothing with all things little and delicate. She is also becoming sensitive, which is typical of a Scorpio! :) She has started to take notice of other people's feelings. She is always asking if we are happy or sad. When someone is scowling or seeming angry, she will ask if that person is happy. She also likes to tell people to smile! :)

Kylie has some favorite things, and I love that she can tell me what she likes now. I did a little birthday interview with her, and these were some of her answers...

Favorite color: black, green, and yellow (I think the real answer is pink, though.)
Favorite animal: giraffe
Favorite TV Show: Barney
Favorite Movie: Monsters, Inc.
Favorite Food: pizza
Favorite drink: milk and water
Favorite thing to do outside: water plants with Grandma Susan
Favorite thing to take to bed with you: bunny
What do you want to be when you grow up: dump truck girl

A few other things she likes to do...Dress herself, wear accessories (hats and jewelry), help me cook/bake, do preschool, go for walks/runs, "swim" in the bath tub, watch her "pretty" shows (PBS Kids), ride on airplanes, and color with markers.

I didn't ask her about the things that she dislikes, but I can list a few off the top of my head...

Sharing toys (especially new toys), eating peppers, strawberries, and onions, and going to bed when she's not ready. I guess she's pretty laid back...I can't think of too many things that she really detests.

As far as her milestones, she's mostly developing cognitively. I really enjoy this age because she can express herself through her words without getting frustrated. She seems to be able to control her emotions for the most part as well. Some of her recent developments include learning most of the alphabet song, counting 1-10 correctly, drawing people and faces, singing all the lyrics to a few songs, starting to color within the lines, playing with friends rather than along side them, understanding other people's emotions, and "reading" books aloud to herself (memorizing the words that she has heard a million times).

Because her vocabulary and sentence structure is expanding, she says some really funny things. I wrote down a few one day, but I hope to keep track of some more in the future for the blog.

I was holding Kylie on my lap one day and Brooks was whining at me. I said, "Are you a little jealous?" Kylie said, "Yes, he is the jelly, and I am the peanut butter."

As Kylie was putting her shoes on the wrong feet, I said, "That's not the right way to do that." She said, "No, that's the left way."

Not much is changing with her gross motor skills except that her coordination is improving. She throws a ball, but not well, and is learning to catch with two hands underhand. She likes to run, and I hope she always likes it! After I go for a run with the jogging stroller, she likes to get out and run for a bit too. She will usually go for a 1/2 mile to a mile before she is done. I can't wait for the day when we can run a race together! :)

She is still a good sleeper and eater. She still takes an afternoon nap, and will sleep anywhere from an hour to three hours, but I always make her stay in her room for two hours...When else am I going to sew? :)  She eats almost everything I give her, and drinks lots of milk and water! Here potty training is coming along. She is completely dry during the day, including naps, but is still wearing a pull up at night, and she wakes up wet most days.

I'm not exactly sure of her measurements, but I weighed her on our scale and she came in at 34 pounds. I think she is still really tall. She is quite a bit taller than most kids her age. *She has her 3 year check up in a few days, so we'll know more then! She is wearing 3T and 4T clothes, mostly because of her height, and size 8.5-9 shoes.

*At Kylie's 3 year well child visit on December 3rd, she weighed 36 pounds, 9 ounces and was 39 inches tall! That's 85th percentile for weight and about 90th percentile for height! She may have started small, but she's dominating those growth charts now! :)

On her birthday, we celebrated by going to the Franklin Institute Science Museum with some friends, opening presents throughout the day, and eating special cupcakes from Pamcakes!

Here are some pictures from her day:

Statue of Benjamin Franklin.

 Playing with trains.

 Fun in the water!

 
 Doing surgery.

 Racing cars.

Looking at "outer space."

 Playing in blood vessels.
Kylie and Natalie.

Enjoying her special cupcake!

Kylie Bean is such a special girl and wonderful blessing! We love her sweet, gentle personality, and happy, laid back demeanor. She brings more love and joy to our family than I could have ever imagined possible! We love you so much, Kylie!

Birthday Bash!

Having kids with birthdays a mere 8 days apart can be challenging. A lot of money is spent at one time, and neither kids gets to feel special for more than a few days. There is one big positive though. I only have to plan and execute one birthday party per year...At least until they are old enough to realize they are getting a little ripped off! :)

This year we had a joint Sesame Street Party for out two little munchkins. We invited a few friends over, threw up a few decorations, and ordered a pizza. We didn't do much except eat and hang out. We sang "Happy Birthday" to the kids, and let them dig into their cakes! Kylie and Brooks each had their own little smash cake. Kylie had Elmo and Brooks had Cookie Monster. Kylie loved the attention, and Brooks loved the cake! It was a blast!

 Before the party, waiting for our guests to arrive.

 All dressed up and ready to party!

 Brooks' Cookie Monster smash cake.

 Kylie's Elmo smash cake!

 The cakes and cupcakes!

 Singing "Happy Birthday!"

 Digging in...
 ...and loving it!

It's a busy time of year...

This is most definitely the busiest time of year for the Barlow Family. Along with the holidays, we also have two birthdays to celebrate! :) So that's my excuse for slacking on the blog for the past couple of weeks. Here's a big catch up picture post...

11/8/13
 We flew back home for a quick visit. 
This is Kylie walking through the airport with her back pack like a big girl!

11/9/13
 Reading with Grandpa Doug.

Also 11/9/13
 Kylie drew her first person.
Cousin Elias taught her how.

11/10/13
 Ready to fly back to Philly!

11/11/13
 Our little princess enjoying a cookie.

11/12/13
 Having fun at the Please Touch Museum.

 Future orthopedic surgeon?

11/13/13
 Angry bird!

11/14/13
 Enjoying some beautiful fall weather.
Temps have been in the 60s, and we are loving it!

11/15/13
 Two peas in a pod!

11/16/13
 The love each other!

11/17/13
 Messing around with a fun Christmas app!

11/18/13
 Doing "kymnastics" with "Fercommando!"

11/19/13
 Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweet Girl!
Loving her new scooter and helmet!

11/20/13
 Showing off some of her birthday presents!

11/21/13
Mother/Daughter selfie!

11/22/13
Out to brunch with some of my Side By Side Philly friends!

11/23/13
Getting ready for Kylie and Brooks' birthday party!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Pictures Galore!

It's finally starting to look like fall around here. The leaves are changing, and it's gorgeous! We've been enjoying some nice fall weather, and we're not looking forward to having to bundle up soon! Here is our latest installment of pictures...

10/28/13
 Carving pumpkins.
Kylie called the seeds, "peanuts" all night! :)
Here are the finished products.

 Mine and Kylie's pumpkin.

Jon and Brooks' pumpkin.
 I think we can all agree that Jon and I are extremely artistically talented!

10/29/13
Silly boy! 
That's not the way that works.

 10/30/13
 Getting into the Halloween spirit.
Making masks and sorting candy!

10/31/13
 My cute cheerleader and adorable football!
We are working on Kylie's smile.

11/1/13
 She has developed a new obsession with skirts...just in time for winter. Yipee!

11/2/13
 My boy!

11/3/13
 It's finally starting to look like fall!

11/4/13
Check out the bruise in the middle of his forehead.
He is also now sporting a scratch on his forehead and a wound under his eye from a battle with a rolling pin.
He's a mover who continuously throws caution to the wind!
I think we have many more bumps and bruises in our future!

11/5/13
 "I'm going for my run."

 F is for Fox!
And, yes, we did listen to "What does the fox say?" as our musical portion of the lesson! :)

11/6/13
 Just mailed a shipment of 16 bibs and 6 changing pad covers to my friend Rebecca who is expecting twins.
Time to get working on a few secret surprises for her...

11/7/13
 I just love when these two play together.
It melts my heart!